The Psyche Diver Trilogy: Demon Hunters Read Online Free PDF Page A

have to force it. He raised a bloodcurdling scream and launched himself into the air. His left leg burned in agony as his attack connected. Fuminari ignored it. As soon as he landed he fired his left hand upward, putting his full weight behind it, slamming it into the monster’s face. He felt hot chunks of flesh being torn apart. Fuminari landed and vaulted backward. His hand burned, it felt like he had plunged it into a pool of molten lava.
    Unable to bear anymore, Kumiko turned on her torch. The beam flowed over the monster’s face resolving its features. She let out a high-pitched scream. The flashlight tumbled away. In that instant, Fuminari and Kumiko had both seen what was in its mouth. They had seen part of a bloodied human hand.
    Fuminari’s left hand was missing a couple of fingers. The sound of dried twigs snapping echoed, repellent across the darkness. The creature was chewing on his fingers. Fuminari heard a horrific scream emerge from his mouth. The scream was filled at once with fear, anger, and a dizzying hatred. Then Kumiko was at his side, mountain knife in her hand. She had pulled it from the tree. She tugged at his arm and started to run. He was still screaming as he blundered after her, left leg dragging behind, half deranged from anger. His body had long become numb to the pain. The leg seemed broken along with two...maybe three ribs. His whole body felt like it was on fire.
    The beech trees receded from view. There was a snap of cold wind as the sound of water blustered up from the darkness below them. They had reached a small opening at the edge of a cliff. There was nowhere left to run. The monster lumbered slowly into view. The knife was still in Kumiko’s hand, the same knife she had used to slit Muto’s throat. The monster moved to attack. Fuminari had stopped screaming; he watched Kumiko’s back, listless as though his soul had been sucked clean away, only partially realizing that she had positioned herself between him and the beast.
    She charged at it.
    The creature flicked its left hand across her head. Something flew into the air, smacking into a nearby tree with a damp thud; flesh, from Kumiko’s cheek. The single attack had sent her crumpling to the ground.
    Fuminari desperately sought to gather his senses. Almost collapsing, he used his left hand to retrieve the knife from Kumiko’s motionless hand. He pulled himself back up and threw himself into the creature’s chest as it charged at him, arms spread. The creature wrapped its arms around him in a bear hug together with the knife in his hand. The stench was repulsive. Fuminari could not breathe, he heard another rib snap. Wielding the knife in his trapped left hand, he stabbed frantically at the monster’s abdomen, but the creature’s hold was relentless, crushing. He twisted his wrist sideways and sliced the impaled knife along its stomach, driving it back and forth. His hand was soaked in blood, but he had no clue if it was the creature’s or his own. He was beginning to lose consciousness.
    So this is how I die, he thought. Fuminari was unafraid of death. He had killed enough people in his life to know there was nothing to be afraid of, but at this moment, he could not bear to die.
    Why? he thought in passing. Because this fucker’s still alive. The answer presented itself as his life ebbed away.
    The idea that this monstrosity would live, chewing on his fingers, while he would die, was unbearable. He released the knife. It held fast, still impaled in the creature. The hilt was somewhere near Fuminari’s hip. He wrapped his arms, his hand missing its fingers, around the thing’s back. A half-smile flashed across his features even as he grimaced with agony. He summoned all his remaining strength, even his love, and brought the beast into his embrace. The knife pushed deeper, far deeper into the creature’s abdomen. The creature howled with pain. Suddenly, the intense pressure of its hold relaxed and Fuminari was able to