He barely dodged, stumbling back and falling hard on the broken street.

His heart pounded. He gripped his chain tight, feeling its cold weight bite into his palm. No flashy skill, no power surge, just him and this weapon that everyone mocked.

The Eater growled, swinging its heavy claw down. Johnquis rolled right, letting the blow miss by inches. He scrambled up, keeping low. The chain whipped out, slicing through the air. It caught the Eater's arm, biting deep into its flesh.

The monster screamed and swung wildly, blinded by pain. Johnquis pulled the chain hard, pulling the Eater off balance. He swung the chain again, wrapping it around the Eater's neck like a noose.

The Eater thrashed, trying to break free. Johnquis felt his arms burning, blood pounding in his ears. He tightened the chain. The monster gasped, struggling under the tightening grip. He pulled with all his strength, ready to finish it.

He gritted his teeth.

"I won't fall behind. I have to get stronger!"

But before he could, a sharp crack echoed. A nail round hit the Eater's head. It dropped instantly.

Lex stood above him on the bus roof, smirking.

"Hey, don't look so surprised. Thought you were about to get yourself killed."

[Feed Count: +100]
[Feed Count: 25,900 / 70,000]

Johnquis breathing heavy.

"I had it."

Lex laughed softly. "Sure you did. You looked ready to be food. Lucky for you, I'm quick with my eater blade. PFFT!"

Mars called out. "Keep up, Johnquis. This isn't a game."

Johnquis forced himself to stand. His hands still trembled, but he tightened his grip on the chain.

Randy was swinging wild in the middle of the road. He roared,

"Come on then!" 

Randy's sword flashed wildly, cutting through the swarm in the middle of the road. But the Eaters kept coming. More than he could handle. They closed in fast, biting and clawing.

He swung fiercely, but a sharp pain exploded in his side as several Eaters sank their teeth deep.

"Get off me!"

Randy growled, struggling to fight free.

The horde pinned him down, knocking him to the ground. Teeth sank into his arms and legs. He growled but the pain was too much.

Mars shouted, charging through the crowd, hammer raised high.

"Randy!" 

Lex fired from above.

"Hang on, dumbass! Guess I've gotta use my skill again, even if the blood cost hits hard!"

[Skill: Nailstorm—Blood Cost: 6%]
"NAILSTORM!"

Nail rounds tore through the Eaters, shredding flesh and cracking bone. Mars smashed the nearest Eaters apart, giving Randy space. Lex's shots cleared a path. Mars grabbed Randy's arm, pulling him up.

"Stay with me!" 

Randy gasped, blood dripping from fresh wounds.

"I'm not going out like this."

In a flash, on the roof of a flipped bus, an Eater crawled up and leaped at Lex. She reacted quickly and aimed her nail gun, but when she pulled the trigger, her right arm refused to move.

"Shit! I used too much blood—"

The Eater jumped on her, pinning her down and biting. She blocked the jaw with her right hand just in time.

"GRRRKKK!"

She screamed.

"AHHHH!!!"

Blood sprayed.

Johnquis was close enough to hear Lex's scream. Without thinking, he lunged toward her, chain swinging through the air.

He wrapped the chain tightly around the Eater's neck, pulling hard. The monster snarled and thrashed, trying to break free, but Johnquis held on.

The glass window beneath them cracked suddenly, spiderwebbing fast, then shattered. Both Johnquis and the Eater lost balance, crashing through the broken window and tumbling inside the dark, overturned vehicle. Lex's scream echoed behind them as she fell, landing hard just a few feet away, clutching her wounded arm.

Johnquis hit the ground hard but rolled fast, keeping the Eater pinned under him. Its jaws snapped inches from his face. He shoved his chain into its mouth, blocking the bite.

He punched and struck with every ounce of strength. Then he punched.

Again and again.

He kept hitting the Eater's head until it caved in, blood splashing across his arms and face.

[Feed Count: +100]
[Feed Count: 10,000 / 20,000]

[SYSTEM NOTICE]
-Feed Count Threshold Reached

[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED]
[Skill: Chain Slave LVL 1 - Blood Cost: 0%]
- Allows you to forcibly bind a target. If the target is—

Before he could finish reading the message, Lex ran over, blood dripping from her arm. The wound was already starting to heal, but her face was twisted in anger.

She shouted,

"You idiot! What the hell were you thinking? I didn't need your help!"

Johnquis wiped the blood from his cheek, breathing hard.

"You were pinned down."

"I had it under control! You think jumping in like that makes you some kind of hero? Don't act like I needed saving."

He stared at her.

"You were about to lose your arm."

"I've lost worse! Next time, stay out of my way."

Johnquis stood still, fists tight.

"You're welcome."

Lex turned and walked toward the edge of the flipped bus. With one hand, she climbed back up to the top. 

"Don't fall behind, unranked."

Johnquis stood in place for a moment, breathing slowly now. His arms shook. The Eater's blood was still warm on his skin.

Then he looked up. Lex was at the top, halfway out the window but she wasn't moving. She just stood there, frozen.

Johnquis stared at her.

"Lex?"

No answer.

Something felt wrong.

He climbed up behind her, gripping the edge of the broken window. A drop of blood hit his cheek from above.

Lex was staring at something in the distance. Her eyes wide, her face pale. Johnquis pulled himself beside her and looked out.

Then he saw it. 

Mars was standing in the middle of the street, hammer raised high, his body covered in blood and dust.

In front of him was a much bigger Eater and taller, hunched over, and nothing like the others. It was low to the ground, moving on all fours. It breathed fast, almost shaking, letting out short, sharp hisses. Its claws were long. The nails on its feet scraped the street. Its skin was pure white, so pale it stood out too clearly in the dark of the night.

Lex mumbled,

"The Nemesis?"

That Eater had Randy's head in its mouth.

Suddenly, a sharp tone echoed in Johnquis' mind.

[SYSTEM ALERT!]
Warning: Detected eater exceeds current Eater Blade rank.
Proceed with extreme caution.

It's classification burned into Johnquis' vision, 

[HIGH EATER]
[CLASS: Runner]
[LEVEL: 2]
[FEED POINTS: +1000]