Hector looked at his hands for a second, awed and frightened of himself. He spotted a bundle of rope by the bed, presumably used on the victim earlier. He wrapped it around the killer and tied a triple knot as tightly as he could manage.
Then he saw the woman in the bathroom. She was still alive, and conscious, even. When she saw him, she tried to scream and wriggle free, but her constraints kept her in place all too perfectly. She’d been beaten, apparently, and shallow cuts riddled her arms and face and stomach.
Hector stepped toward her and then stopped, thinking better of it. “Sorry,” he told her. “I’d untie you, but... you should probably stay and explain... uh, to the police... about what he tried to do to you. Otherwise, he could... you know... get away with it... and... yeah...”
She only stared back at him, wide-eyed.
“Oh! But, uh... don’t worry! The police will be here any minute. And he’s unconscious now. And I tied him up just in case. So... uh... y-you’re safe, now. And I-I should, I should go...”
Upon hearing sirens in the distance, he ran. Some onlookers had gathered outside, the security guard from earlier among them, but he just pushed past them. He didn’t stop running until he couldn’t see the apartment complex anymore.
Garovel grabbed his shoulder, and suddenly, his strength left him. He fell to his knees, gasping for breath. His deathly body, however, returned to normal. The blackened and missing chunks of flesh grew anew, becoming the livelier ashy brown color they were before. He barely felt capable of walking, as if he’d just run a marathon where the prize was getting run over by a bus.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
I love that final sentence. Laughed way too hard at it.
ReplyDeleteAwesome. Thanks for reading.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear you explain how Garovel did *that*....
ReplyDeleteHmm...what happened kinda reminded me of other stories where characters lose the feeling in there nerves. This would have a side effect of letting them use 100% of a body's strength. The theory goes that humans are a lot stronger than they seem to be, but they have natural limits through their pain receptors in order to prevent them from hurting themselves. Take the nerves away, the pain is gone, without the pain, the brain doesn't know when to stop using the body's strength, and thus the body becomes stronger.
ReplyDeleteHector becoming "dead" seems to indicate a similar reaction. However, I'm stumped as to why he started rotting. He's only been dead for like a day, right?
Did you get that idea from 'Kore wa Zombie desu ka'? Anyway, my theory is that Garovel increased Hector's muscle density using his 'unnecessary' flesh as materials. The implications of this are very interesting.
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't read that story, though it soinds familiar. I've read the story element a few times, but I first read it in the manga Berserk. In it the MC attains a cursed suit of armor that dulls the senses, allowing him to use 100% of his true strength. As the MC was already quite a good human fighter, he becomes monstrous with the suit on.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read past volume 24 of Berserk, but I had heard of the Berserker Armor (and it's curse). In KWZDK it's played for quality comedy: the MC is an immortal zombie too and doesn't have to care about his body at all because insta-healing powers. Episode 2 or 3 I thought .
ReplyDeleteAh. I'd tell ya to continue reading Berserk (I mean, you got passed the Eclipse) but the chapter are coming slow. Better to check on it next year, if anything.
ReplyDeleteMiura only started again back in April, after getting over his Idolm@ster addiction and finishing Giganto Machia. I mainly stopped because I read it in volumes at the library and I didn't like scans after that. It destroys Miura's art imo.
ReplyDeleteWe are very much off-topic now, Thanatos. Let's say we have similar interests and leave it at that.
ReplyDeleteAnd The Zombie Knight is awesome
I consider myself a professional derailer, both online and irl. And word :)
ReplyDeleteGamma radiation
ReplyDeleteIts how all *that*s happen