Perilous Arc |AU|

Safety Net [Chap. 10]

I stomped on the head of a Lurker that had no bottom half, leaving shards of bone to pierce through the head and squirt gel everywhere. A grotesque hand came an inch from gripping my face before it was sliced off by Crocea Mors, and I bashed the rest of the Lurkers off with my shield and the pommel of my sword. Gel slicked the concrete in front of the building and smoke from evaporating Grimm rose high to the sky while I backed away from the now reduced swarm.

I took a moment to wipe the gel from my blade on my pants while backing further, and checked my map. According to the information Glynda sent I'm not hopelessly far from the Guild depot, only a few blocks from the closest one. The scroll was put away, but something caught my attention. I stopped in my tracks and stared at the big black spot on the ground beneath my feet. It was settled on the otherwise bright sidewalk, and I couldn't help but look at it oddly.

"Manhole?" I questioned, never having really paid much attention to the sewer covers in Vale before. I prepared to walk off, but a skull floated up from between my feet and two arms launched from the black spot with bone fingers clamping down on my ankles.

"AAAAHHHHH!"

"KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA"

The tip of Crocea Mors pierced the forehead of the skull and then the concrete beneath. Its hands unclasped and I immediately jumped from the Grimm. I looked carefully once on solid ground and studied it. Gel oozed from the gaping hole in the skull, and the spindly bone hands looked familiar. I narrowed my eyes at the lumpy mass of black that was squished against the concrete, trying to piece together what it was.

"KA-KA-KA-KA-KA"

The chattering came from my left so I dodged right, and at just the right time too. I heard wind whistle an inch from my ear and saw the same lanky claws sail passed from my peripheral, and then mentally patted myself on the back. I lunged forward and had to block another jab towards my neck, though I sliced off its opposite arm in return. The head soon was separated, and the Lurker fell back onto the ground leaking gel. I narrowed in on that and looked between the quickly smoking spot and the Lurker.

'Seems they're the same, but how? They look so different...' I thought silently, grunting while bisecting another Lurker from the pelvis up through the skull. 'Grimm are Grimm, I guess.'

I shook my head and took a breath before running forward. I cut a swath through the reduced crowd of Lurkers and followed my memory of the map towards the depot. I ducked and slid under the arm of the Grimm at the very back of the pack and raced towards the first turn. Cutting the corner I felt I was home-free, only to be clothes-lined by a lanky arm that extended from the brick wall. My back hit the ground and I gasped out, and I wasted no time in rolling away from the wall and pushing myself back to my feet in a fluid motion. I was greeted by the sight of yet another Lurker... this one pulling itself from a dark black spot on the wall to stand imposingly over me.

Everything clicked together in my head upon seeing that, and I had to block four jabs in rapid succession with my shield that were angled towards my eyes. I slammed my shield into its stomach which simply bounced off, but succeeded in breaking the flurry of attacks it was dishing out. I lashed forward and separated the top and lower halves. As the Lurker fell I remembered the crawling ones from the stairwell and decided to prevent myself from making another. I lanced my shield forward when the head of the Grimm was falling past, and crushed it between me and the wall. The skull shattered and the bricks behind it cracked from the force of my hit, and I wheeled back a few steps letting the corpse fall to the ground. I grimaced at what I learned.

"They can flatten themselves." I muttered to myself, realizing that's how they got behind me in the dark. If they're able to move on walls and floors completely flat, it makes sense now what Winter said about them. I scowled as I thought further. "Means they could slip into the Green Zone no problem, couldn't they?"