Another beast was already coming.
He turned just as a claw came for his head. He ducked, slashed at its legs. The beast stumbled. Ash jumped, flipped over it, and slashed its body into two parts.
But they just kept coming.
Ash's body was burning, every muscle torn apart from exhaustion. His sword was stained black with blood, his arms numb from swinging it over and over. But he kept going. He had to.
Then something cut through the air. A thin steel chain snapped through the darkness. It moved like a snake, hissing as it coiled around a monster's throat before it could react.
Spikes along the links dug deep into flesh.
CRACK!
The creature's head ripped clean off.
Ken had arrived.
He floated a few feet away, chest rising and falling heavily. His short reddish brown hair was messy, strands sticking to his sweat-drenched forehead.
His kusarigama moved before he did.
The sickle flashed through the air, carving a straight line through a creature's skull. Before the body could even drop, he was already moving. Another chain shot out, wrapping around a monster's leg. He pulled.
The creature fell. Ken swung his sickle down, burying it in the beast's chest.
But he wasn't perfect. A shadow moved behind him. Before he could react, a beast lunged, slashing at his ribs.
Ken barely twisted in time but not enough.
The claws raked across his side, cutting deep. His body jerked from the impact. His breath hitched, pain flaring like fire.
He gritted his teeth and threw himself backward, barely avoiding the second strike. His feet stumbled, but he stayed up, pressing a hand to his wound.
The monster reared back for the killing blow. Suddenly, A blade drove through its chest from behind.
Ash.
He had moved in an instant, his sword piercing straight through the beast's body. Ken barely had time to register it before Ash twisted the blade, ripping it free in one brutal motion. The creature crumpled.
But Ash didn't get away unscathed.
Something massive slammed into his back. The force sent him flying.
Ken's eyes widened.
"Ash-"
Blood soaked Ken's fingers. His own blood. He exhaled sharply. Fine, He could use it.
He raised his hand. The blood from the corpses around him quivered. It pulsed like a living thing- then shot up, forming spikes. He clenched his fist, forcing them forward.
Some hit their mark, spearing through creatures. Some missed. Some lost shape mid-air, breaking apart before they could land. One curved awkwardly, barely scratching a beast's side.
Ken's jaw tightened. He forced more blood to rise, straining to shape it, to solidify it. The spikes trembled, vibrating under his control
A beast lunged from the left.
Ken twisted. The chain wrapped around its arm, but before he could tighten it another monster slammed into him from behind.
He hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs.
Claws came down.
Ken rolled, barely avoiding them. He threw out a hand, yanking blood from his side wound, shaping it, hardening it, spikes!
They shot up, stabbing the creature through the throat.
Ken gasped, dragging himself to his feet, body swaying. He barely had time to recover before the next wave came.
Then--flashes of light in the distance.
Reinforcements.
A wave of heroes shot into the fight. Energy beams ripped through the monsters. Explosions sent bodies flying. Blades, bullets, and burning light tore through the chaos.
It was over.
Ash spitted blood and stepped back. His sword slipped from his fingers, spinning slowly as it floated away. His arms, his legs, his chest--everything burned. The wounds on his body pulsed with pain, but it wasn't the pain that made him stop.
He let himself drift. His head tilted back, eyes staring into the endless dark of space. He could still hear the distant sounds of battle, but they felt far away, like they didn't matter anymore. His mind blank.
Then, something brushed against his hand.
A hand.
Not his.
A severed human hand floated near him, the fingers stiff, frozen in place. Blood had dried on the skin. It drifted closer, touching his fingers, like it was reaching for help--help that never came.
His throat felt dry, but he didn't scream. He only stared, his breathing slow, his eyes empty.
He was a failure.