Chapter 27 – Fallen Ape

“Oh my god,” Arthur stepped back, trembling. “We can’t do this.”

Jake frowned and kicked his ass, forcing him to become the frontline they desperately needed. He shrieked, but seeing the ape metres in front of him, he raised his trembling shield.

“Jake,” Edwin’s voice turned harsh. “You need to face the one behind us with Sloane.”

Jake only grunted in response, turning to the ape on the flank.

He didn’t know if he could defeat it with just Sloane. And the fact of the matter was, Lyle being stuck on bed duty because of his damned heroism was biting them in the ass now. He was strong, and with the added benefit of his fire, made him a big part of their strength.

It doesn’t matter, Jake thought, muscles hardening. I just have to rely on myself.

Jake planted himself on the bridge and waited for the ape to make a move. Sloane didn’t get the memo. She fired a blade of air over Jake and it cut a wide mark across the body of the ape with a dull thud. It was like it hadn’t just hit flesh and bone, but metal.

The ape roared, beating its chest like a drum of war. It made an unsettling hollow sound from deep in its chest to out of its mouth.

It got down to all fours and started galloping at Jake and Sloane. The entire bridge trembled and shifted and Jake’s fear of heights peaked.

He didn’t have time to control his breathing as the monster suddenly leaped off the bridge, only to grab hold of the plank underneath, swing, and arrive from the side right for Jake.

Eyes wide, Jake threw his body down onto the floor. The ape flew by, almost grabbing Jake, before hoisting itself on another bridge and returning.

Jake had no idea how they were going to kill the beast. It was too fast, too strong. If it caught either of them and threw them off the bridge… It would be death without a fight.

They had to do something. He had to do something.

He glanced over his shoulder. The other ape that Edwin and the others were fighting was larger than the other. Denser, made of thicker muscle, it didn’t have the same degree of mobility as Jake’s target.

It engaged with them in a melee. Arthur took the brunt of a backhand, the mana layer in front of his shield shattering in an instant. He flew backwards only for Edwin to replace him. The veteran tried to shoot another bolt into his other eye, but it raised its meaty hand in the next second, the bolt piercing through hand. Barely.

The ape roared and tried grabbing Edwin, only for him to keep his distance, swinging his knife in defense.

Glenn was like an artillery, constantly firing arrow after arrow, his eyes intense like he was in the middle of the finals of a competition.

Susan rushed ahead, screaming. She started cleaving madly into the ape. She ducked underneath a savage swing from the ape’s arm, and reached its back, slicing into its calf. It whipped its arm back and caught Susan, sending her flying back, rolling across the bridge.

The air swished, and Jake’s monster had returned. Swinging towards them, it threw a metal plank. It was practically shrouded by the darkness, but thanks to Jake’s perception, heard it before he saw it. He dodged the incoming projectile.

Sloane fired another blade at the ape, catching its leg as it landed. She was breathing heavily now, sweat forming a dripping layer on her forehead. She didn’t have much mana left.

“I’ll try to hit its arm,” Sloane said, huffing. “I have one more blade left in me. We’ll stop it from swinging. Leave the bastard on the bridge with us.”

It was a sound plan. Any other day, Jake would have agreed with her. But his mind kept on replaying the moment he learned how to use the handrails as some sort of alert.

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Like a spider and its web.

Jake’s spine straightened. That’s it!

“Don’t,” he said. “Let it swing.”

“Are you mad—”

“Trust me!”

Realising its attack and failing, the ape jumped off the bridge again and started swinging. Jake could hardly keep track of it. It used the darkness to its advantage. Sloane tried looking through the cracks in the bridge, below, above, to the side.

Jake stopped, regulated his breathing, and placed his hand on the handrails. The vibrations were faint. More.

He strained his senses, trying to detect the vibrations further away.

His eyes snapped open. Jake threw Gutter Tooth up and to the side, coiling across a bridge before falling down. The ape struck the line, and the entirety of the chain wrapped around its arms and legs and throat. Like a snake constricting its prey, the thorn-like fangs dug into its flesh.

When the ape put more strength into its body to try and escape, the spikes dug deeper into its flesh, ripping it open. It hung in the air.

It had only one arm free now.

“Jake,” Sloane said. “You’re a damned genius.”