Eater Blade: Grinding in Apocalypse

Savier's heart slammed in his chest.

"Move!" he shouted, launching himself up a crumbling fire escape. His hands gripped cold bars, feet hitting steps three at a time until he reached the top. He ran full speed, launched off the edge, and flew.

He landed on a rooftop, skidded, and kept running.

Johnquis followed behind, Tanker close at his side. The chains at their waists slowed them—dragging, resisting but they pushed forward, sprinting as fast as they could.

Savier was already two buildings ahead. Moving like a blur. A leap. A roll. Another turn. Another jump.

And then, he reached it.

He saw it.

Below—down in the heart of a cratered courtyard, was a squad. Three young Eater Blades, surrounded. Pinned.

Dozens of Eaters circled them like vultures, twitching and shifting with that strange, broken rhythm.

Two Blades were already down. One screamed in pain, pinned under rubble, her leg bent horribly. Another tried to hold the line, blood covering his arm.

And near the center, barely holding her ground, was a girl with samurai—her face pale, wild, and desperate.

Savier's eyes locked onto her.

That hair. That stance. That voice.

He stepped forward, breath stuck in his throat.

Then he shouted, loud enough to shake the night:

"PAULA!"

Twenty minutes earlier…

The courtyard was a graveyard.

Chunks of shattered asphalt, twisted rebar, and the craters left by some long-forgotten artillery strike marked the area. Moonlight filtered through cracks in the shattered skyline above, painting everything in cold silver.

But the worst part wasn't the battlefield.

It was the silence of the Eaters.

Dozens of them. Crawling, twitching, inching closer—some upright like mockeries of men, others on all fours like broken beasts. Their joints cracked with every movement, heads jerking in unnatural spasms. They didn't roar. They didn't rush.

They waited.

Like they knew.

Like they were watching.

And in the middle of it, a squad of young girls—fresh Eater Blades. All between 15 and 17.

"Where are they coming from—WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM!?" screamed Kira, spinning in a circle, blade trembling in her hands. Her voice cracked into panic. Her hair was soaked with sweat, eyes wild and darting.

"They're not supposed to wait! Why are they waiting?!" cried Mina, back pressed against a broken pillar. "They're supposed to charge! That's what they do! That's what they're supposed to do!"

"They're—they're messing with us!" yelled Saya, blade shaking. "They're making us panic!"

"SHUT UP!" Paula roared.

The only one still fighting.

She stood in front of them, her blade already stained dark, armor slashed in three places. Her mouth was tight with focus, her breathing shallow, her legs set.

"They want you to scream. They want you to lose it. HOLD THE DAMN LINE!"

Another Eater lunged, skittering low across the ground. Paula struck, her blade slicing down in a clean arc. It shrieked and fell limp, twitching. She reset her stance without even blinking.

Behind her, the squad fell apart.

Kira bolted for cover, crying. "I can't—I can't—I CAN'T DO THIS!"

"KIRA—!" Paula started, turning—

But too late.

An Eater lunged from the rubble and grabbed Kira by the ankle. She shrieked and kicked, but it dragged her into the dark in seconds.

Her scream stopped too fast.

"No—NO NO—KIRA!!" Mina wailed, trying to run after her, but Paula grabbed her wrist and yanked her back.

"You step out there and you DIE too!"

"But she's—!"

"She's gone!" Paula snapped. "We STAY TOGETHER!"

Mina sobbed and collapsed to her knees. Saya was already hyperventilating, crouched behind a rusted generator, covering her mouth like that would make her invisible.

Paula could feel it.

The collapse.

She turned, blade up, watching the Eaters creep in again. They moved closer with every second. Playing with them. Herding them into a corner.

Her arms were burning. Her heart hammered. Her mind screamed to run. But she didn't move.

"You're trained. You're trained. You're trained," she whispered to herself, barely audible. "Form. Reset. Guard. Counter."

A low clicking sound.

Then—

An Eater sprinted out of the dark.

She reacted, cutting it in half. Its blood sprayed across her cheek, stinging her eyes. Another came from the left.

She blocked. Countered. Step-turn. Cut.

"COME ON THEN!" she shouted, voice breaking. "COME AND GET ME, YOU UGLY FREAKS!"

Another Eater lunged toward Mina.

Paula threw herself sideways, shoulder-slamming the girl to the ground and decapitating the creature in the same motion.

"I TOLD YOU TO STAY BEHIND ME!" she screamed at her.

"I—I don't wanna die," Mina sobbed. "I don't wanna die like Nina—"

Paula froze.

The name hit her like a punch.

Nina. The first to fall.

Ripped apart not twenty minutes ago. Her screams still echoed in Paula's head. Her arm was still lying out in the open, twitching. Her head had rolled to Paula's feet.

Paula had seen it happen. She'd heard the bite. The scream. The silence.

Mina grabbed her by the vest, weeping.

"Please—please, Paula. You're strong. You're strong. Please don't leave us."

"I'm not going anywhere," Paula whispered.

But she wanted to cry, too.

Not out of fear but rage. Her grip tightened on the blade.

Another screech. More movement.

A second wave was coming.

"GET UP," Paula growled. "Mina. Saya. STAND UP."

They didn't move.

Paula turned, blade shaking now. Her voice cut like a whip.

"I said GET. UP."

"I—I can't—I forgot my form—I don't know how to fight them like this—I'm not ready—" Saya whimpered.

"You were. You trained for two years. You passed every drill. You got the Blade."

"NO!" she screamed.

"I only made it because of you! Because you were strong! I graduated because you were there… I've never even fought an Eater alone. I've never even looked one in the eye…"

Paula's stomach twisted. Her legs trembled. The fear in her chest bloomed deeper, heavier. Like drowning.

Saya clutched her arm, eyes wild. "Please… please save me, Paula…"

Then—

A flicker.

Movement in the corner of Paula's eye.

Fast. Blurred. A shape darting through the shadows, bouncing off broken walls, debris, rusted steel.

Too fast.

Her breath caught. Their eyes locked for a split second.

A long face. Jagged limbs. Razor grin. Deep violet veins pulsing through thin white skin.

[ABNORMAL HIGH EATER]

[CLASS: RUNNER]

[LEVEL: 2]

[FEED POINTS: +2000]