Back on the Garden of Eden

The man stood on the platform, a sea of cascading parasites wriggling within the palm of his hands.

The whites of the man's eyes had a red tint to them, like holding a candle flame too close to a glass jar. Droplets of sweat emerged from his pores as they dribbled down the side of his face.

He strained his neck to get a waft of air into his tightly fit uniform.

The only thing he could see was an ocean of fire as a frown transformed his face into something unsightly. The man lifted his wrist to his mouth. "He set the jungle on fire…"

"I can see that, genius." A strong, rugged voice crackled into his ear. "Do you think he knows?"

"How the hell would he know?"

"Not sure, but don't you think your parasites are incredibly useless?"

"They're not meant for combat." The parasite man spat at his wrist.

"Whatever, don't talk to me again. I've got it from here."

Then, the transmission was cut.

"Captain Royce, you're needed at the bridge." A lazy voice wormed its way into ears.

The parasite man sighed and nodded. It couldn't mean anything good if he was called.

***

Alphonse bit down into the leg of the human as the fire raged around them.

Hunger is satisfied.

Chef’s Kiss activated.

Recipe: Roasted human leg

Roasted human leg: Cooked well, using proper cooking techniques. Faint smoky flavour using the leaves of tarin, basted in fruity tree wax.

[ Rating C+ ]

Stat boost 20% from set bonus.

Efan Hacket, human consumed

| 19.4 -> 23.2 dexterity added

| 12.8 -> 15.3 intelligence added

| 11.2 -> 13.4 strength added

| 9.2 -> 11.0 constitution added

| 5.3 -> 6.3 wisdom added

| 3.8 -> 4.5 charisma added.

Trait extracting…

Epic trait successfully extracted.

Verify Weakness: Using your highly trained eyesight and knowledge of monsters, you know exactly where to attack to cause the most damage. Only works under a stressful mind.

Alphonse finished with the wall of text and nodded in satisfaction. Although he was a bit confused by the trait he received. He can only use it while stressed?

Julian had already poured a readily made potion over his head. The heat seemed to have no effect on him.

Red fluorescent scales emerged from Alphonse's skin, cooling him down.

"So mind telling me why you set the jungle on fire?" Julian questioned.

"Fighting with the parasite controlled monsters… they are clumsy and simple. I've fought them without the parasites and it's a completely different opponent. I think someone is controlling them."

"What makes you think they're being controlled by someone and it's not just their own mind?"

"Like I said, it's the way they fight. Like puppets attached to strings."

"Then that would mean that they know that we're here." Julian looked over his shoulders. "People from your ship?"

"It's a possibility." Alphonse nodded.

"I can't believe I'm getting caught up in your shit."

"Hey, you insisted on coming to get revenge. Don't act all petty now that danger is facing us." Alphonse said.

"Yeah, too much danger. You're like a damned magnet."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"Then we better move. God only knows what's on its way this time." Julian's bones creaked and groaned as he stood up.

"Sure you can make it, old man?" Alphonse smiled.

"I'll manage." Julian popped open a potion as he downed the contents in one big gulp. The fatigue on his face washed away. His previously slouched shoulders perked up, he stretched his neck as popping sounds were released.

Alphonse watched the scene.

"Don't even think about it." Julian spat.

"What? I wasn't even going to say anything."

"Sure you weren't."

"Let's steer clear of the path of corpses." Julian advised.

"Good idea." Alphonse agreed, as he turned to another direction. He wasn't sure if one of his teammates was the culprit for the dead bodies but, it was safer not to wait and find out. After all, Alphonse didn't have half of the strength to pull off whatever had done that to the monster corpses.

***

Few hours later

The man, wrapped in monster fur, stood over the human corpse… or what was left of it. Dense, metallic gauntlets covered his hands and continued up past half of his muscle-bound forearms.

He was walking through the burning jungle, the flames merely bounced off of his skin. The thin layer of perspiration was like a Cicada's wing of armour as it reflected the light of the crackling flames.

He lashed out a kick as it collided with the burning tree. The entire trunk exploded in a storm of shattered wooden splints.

"Fuck, it's hot." He grabbed hold of the beast's fur slung around his shoulder and yanked it away from him, tearing it off. "The damned apostle runt needs a punishment."

A savage grin flashed onto his face as he disappeared into the dense flames.

***

Alphonse and Julian climbed a steep hill. Julian had said there was a safe house in this location but… all Alphonse could see was endless, dense jungle. Thankfully untouched by the unruly fire.

"Is there more peanut butter in there?" Alphonse asked.

"By the hell's, is that the only thing you think about?" Julian wipes the sweat that was pooling into his mouth.

"Well, I get a little cranky if I don't eat." Alphonse wryly shook his head, patting his stomach. The growl was never ending.

"Can you clear a path forward? It should be right here." Julian pointed to the dense jungle bushes.

“How the hell can you tell?” Alphonse shook his head, but did as he was told, anyway. His cleaver hacked into the bush.

“Like I said, I’ve lived here for a while.”

Alphonse finished chopping, and a house appeared in his view. A decking was at the front of the house, but most of it was reclaimed back but the jungle. Vines had penetrated the brick of the building after many years. He could tell that the only reason the house was still standing was because of the many vines and roots. Alphonse looked back toward Julian. A pained expression filled his face.

“C’mon.” Julian walked past, entering the old rickety house.

Alphonse walked in and over toward a picture frame that lay broken on the side of a table. The face reminded him of Julian, although much younger.

“You?” Alphonse held up the picture.

“Yes, and my wife and children.” He grabbed hold of the picture frame, his finger gently wiped across the dust ladened glass.

Alphonse nodded and patted his shoulder. Then, he was distracted by a sweet smell down below. Following the scent, he made his way down the stairs. He was instantly attracted to big bold letters. Peanut Butter. Alphonse’s eyes lit up as he picked up a jar.

“I admit, it’s quite the tasty treat before you die.”

Alphonse turned around at the sudden words. Blue scales emerged from his skin. He immediately used [ Flicker Steps ] as his body tore towards the mysterious man. His new trait [ Verify Weakness ] activated, but he couldn’t see anything. He doubted if his new trait even worked. Alphonse had no time to think about it as he reached the man in an instant. Black shadowed teeth covered his face as he chomped toward the man's skull.

“The records are accurate. You’re like a rabid animal. Good thing I specialise in exterminating pests.” The man’s chuckled words left his mouth. Avoiding Alphonse’s teeth, his fist rocketed forwards.

Alphonse couldn’t see the attack, only an impending doom targeted his senses. He lifted one arm in defence before he felt like he was hit by a moving building. The air swirled around him as he was catapulted like a cannonball. He smashed through the building with ease, crashing into the ground a distance away. Alphonse's body, like a broken kite, looked forward. The old rickety house in view. Blood spilled from his mouth, nose, and ears as he struggled to get up.