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But the bigger question was not how but who?

And there was only one person I could think of who would do something like this.

“That dickhead Sergeant Richards,” I muttered as I made my way towards the side door. “Should have killed his ass.”

But it wasn’t my place to do that at the time.

Now though, my blood was already boiling and feeding my Flame .

The outer door to the airlock was flush to the bunker surface, a flat rectangle of rusted steel with no handle for obvious reasons. Evidence of those reasons was visible in the form of half-inch-deep claw marks excoriating the door.

The demons that came under the influence of the Bloodmoon made it this close each night. And without the mile-wide protective barrier that Threja’s sword provided, they would soon be here again. I glanced at the darkened horizon, the curved edge of the moon now visible and seeping poisonous Dark Frenzy into my soul.

Shit…

I needed to get inside the bunker and down to the lower levels to hopefully shield myself from its influence. I wasn’t even sure if that would work or not, but I knew for damn sure what would happen to me if I stayed out in the open.

And I couldn’t afford that.

The last time I nearly lost myself, becoming a true demon.

Not to mention all the other demons who wanted me dead.

Already I could hear their howls and shrieks in the distance.

I banged on the steep plate of the outer door with a Frenzy-charged fist.

“Hey! Open the damn door!”

The chickens and pigs squealed and squawked on the cart, banging against the sides of their cages, instinct telling them to flee. I kept slamming on the door, not even sure if anyone could hear me or not. I could break it down of course, but that would leave the bunker wide open to the swarms of demons likely already on their way.

Precious minutes went by and the pressure of the Dark Frenzy began to build, filling my soul with the foul aroma of death. Weakness struck me as my Flame struggled to fight back against it. I was already weak both physically and spiritually, with mere rice grains of solid Frenzy left to my name.

I needed to generate more if I was going to withstand this.

I couldn’t fall prey to the Bloodmoon again.

I focused on Richards.

That dumbass had to be responsible for this!

Fresh anger caused my Flame to ignite, pushing back against the Bloodmoon. I used the meager Frenzy it generated to slam my fist harder into the door and shouted with [Struggler’s Resolve].

“Open the damn door before I break it down! You know what’ll happen to all of you if I do!”

That must have finally gotten someone’s attention because a moment later a burst of static crackled overhead and the tinny sound of voices came through an unseen speaker somewhere. There was muffled shouting like an argument going on.

“Hey!” I shouted again. “It’s me, Max! Open up!”

“Yeah, I see who you are,” a voice suddenly came through the speaker clearly, like someone had just won a wrestling match over control for the mic. “And you can go and die out there for all I care.”

Son of a bitch. It was Richards.

“Richards, you damn asshole! What did you do with my sword?”

“I did what you said. So long as we remained under your protection, you were in charge, right? So I went and fixed that.”

This guy was a moron for real.

“You realize what you’ve done? You damn stupid idio—”

My words cut short as sudden pain hit me internally.

My Flame changed color, dimming and turning from blue to yellow as the Dark Freny pressed in further.

“Don’t matter now. We’re under new leadership. And the first thing we—Ow! Dammit! You little bitch!”

There was a scuffle for the mic again and then a new voice emerged, young and female.

“Just hang on, Max! I’m bringing help!”

Kelsey!

“Hurry, Kelsey!”

“Get back here,” Richards shouted faintly in the backdrop, seemingly running away from the mic now. “Son of a bitch. Told them we should have locked her up with her damn mother!”

Locked her up with her mother?

What the hell was going on in there?

Only static remained on the mic, as minutes went by, its eerie sound adding backdrop to the howls and snarls that were growing closer in the distance. I reached for the axe slung to my back and found it surprisingly heavy.

Not good, I thought.

I turned from the door to face my soon-to-appear attackers.

The moon was almost fully exposed now and the pressure of the Dark Frenzy started to win the battle for my soul. Tendrils of black smoke wafted from my Flame as it changed from yellow to red. The edges of my world shrank inward as I began to lose control.

No… don’t give in.

You’ve got too much to do yet!

But the Bloodmoon was strong.

I was only vaguely aware of my surroundings now, the world shrinking to a small window, like a faraway TV screen. Vaguely I saw something the size of a horse crash into the wagon—chickens, pigs and rice flying everywhere. More forms then rushed in from the darkness of the treeline. Giant spiders, ridden by demons clad in blackened armor. They howled and screamed, but in my mind I could hear their thoughts.

~It is here! The demon of the Cur-sed Flame!~

I roared and charged instinctively at them, half out of my mind.

I watched it play out in third person, my axe cleaving through the demons and spiders with abandon as they scraped their spears against my Frenzy-hardened skin. I tried to pull back, struggling to give rational thought to my actions, but I barely had enough wherewithal to maintain my Flame, much less pull myself back from the brink.

I was going into full Berserker mode now.

The world shrank yet smaller.

Cut and cleave!

Hack and bleed!

I wasn’t sure what I was doing anymore.

And then in the darkness on the edges of my shrinking vision something new appeared. I sensed it before I saw it. A new source of Dark Frenzy, pungent and threatening.

Then I saw what it was—a mass of writhing tentacles filled with bloodshot eyes.

The alien demon god.

I’xol’ukz was here!

But how?

Where even was here exactly?

The mass of tentacles moved like an octopus with the darkened space between wherever I was and the small cube of light that was my vision to the outside world. I lost almost complete focus of that now, vaguely aware of my own hulking form being sliced by rusted swords as I hacked through three demons at once.

“Sweet vessel of the Cursed Flame,” I’xol’ukz said as it approached me, its voice grating and unnerving. “A prize easily plucked through the aperture of the moon.”

Come and try it! I screamed back. I’ll kill you again!

But I had no voice.

I had no form.

Not in this space.

It was like being trapped within my dead body all over again. A helpless observer to the actions playing out around me. The only thing that I could sense was my Flame growing ever darker, threatening to be choked out by the Dark Frenzy pressing into my soul.

The monster surged towards me, its tentacles blocking my vision as it embraced me and my Flame flickered, nearly going out.

Pain coursed through my entire being, a spiritual attack for which I had no defense.

No, I cried. Not again!

I had beaten this thing once before by using my Flame, but now my Flame was nearly snuffed out. I dug deep with [Struggler’s Resolve], trying to take back control again.

It was no use.

The Struggler was taxed enough already just keeping my small window of sanity alive in the outside world.

And then faintly I heard it.

A sweet voice on the winds of chaos dancing through my soul.

“Max...!”

It was Kelsey.

But I couldn’t see her. I couldn’t see anything really. Even my vision to the outside came only through glimpses now between the tentacles writhing against my soul.

“Max! Stop! Get inside!”

Suddenly the tentacles retreated, the monster jetting backwards like a giant squid.

“What is this? Another demon of the Cursed Flame.”

Another?

Then I saw it, like a candle in the darkness, the faintest glow of a Frenzied Flame.

I’xol’ukz edged away from it like it was made out of kryptonite.

I sensed it too.

Frenzy, fresh and pure. I reached for it, drawing the tendrils of energy into my soul. I forced it back through my Dantian. It wasn’t much but it was just enough to help tip the balance of the scales.

[Fear the Flame]!

I shot the entire amount into the technique and my Flame surged, glowing hotter and brighter as it burned off the sludge of Dark Frenzy poisoning it. The monster recoiled again, reacting to my technique, hissing and screeching in my mind.

In that brief reprieve, I urged the Struggler to regain control, and like awakening from a dream I was suddenly back in my body again. Pain coursed through me like molten lava in my veins, multiple wounds covering my bare skin. Around me was a massacre of demon bodies, cut into too many pieces to even count how many there were.

“Max!”

I turned towards the scream and saw Kelsey there, a huge pipe wrench in her hand and a demon with a busted skull at her feet.

Whoa…did she actually kill that thing?

And then I noticed something else. Deep within her soul, her smoldering ember was no longer an ember.

There inside of Kelsey was the faint flicker of a Frenzied Flame.

Holy crap…I thought. Had she just overcome her Fear of Uncertain Death by running out here to save me?

I was so stunned by the sight that it took me a second to realize she was still shouting at me.

“Max!

“Max!”

She had a hand cupped to her mouth as she continued to call for me, standing just outside the open bunker door. Behind her soldiers with rifles were firing into the darkness around me.

“Kelsey, get the hell back in here!” one of them screamed.

“Max, come on!” she cried. “MAX!”

I snapped to my senses.

Through pain and the anguish of the Bloodmoon still attacking my soul, I ran towards her. Some of the soldiers even shot at me, screaming in terror at the behemoth of a man running covered in demon blood towards them, but I couldn’t care less. I barreled into them, hazily stumbling through the bunker door.

“Move! Move! Close it!”

Soldiers in combat gear rushed to lock the door behind me, shoving me forward through the inner hatchway. I collapsed onto the cold hard grating on the bunker interior. I could see only combat boots now, stamping about in a flurry of activity.

“What the hell, Kelsey!”

“You could have gotten yourself killed! And all of us too!”

“I told you we should have locked her up!”

It was Richards’ voice who spoke last, but I couldn’t see him.

Not that I could afford to focus on him now.

“Kelsey,” I croaked weakly, still fighting against the effects of the Bloodmoon.

I was still too close to it, its rays penetrating through the bunker.

I needed to get deeper.

Kelsey’s face suddenly appeared in my vision as she stooped down to me.

Her features were fixed and no-nonsense, but in her blue eyes I could see concern. But more than that, I could still sense her Flame. Perhaps the influence of it alone was what was still keeping me from collapsing inward again.

“Kelsey, you did it… it was you.”

“Max, you’re okay now, right?” she said, ignoring my babble. “Come on, get up. Show these guys that you’re real.”

Real? What did she mean?

“Out of the way, Kelsey!” someone barked.

A new voice, strong and authoritative, a man of status.

“Please…” I reached out to Kelsey feebly, my vision starting to tunnel as my Flame started to weaken again. “Take me…below. Before I…”

“Oh, you’re going below alright,” the new voice said as a pair of polished boots appeared next to Kelsey. “Take them both to the brig.”