The hunter grinned at his O.D.R's glowing screen, then whirled and fired at a towering mahogany tree.
KABOOM!
The arrow's impact splintered the trunk in half, sending the massive tree crashing down in a thunderous boom.
"Tch." He kicked a rock aside.
"Where the hell is he?"
Leon's POV:
Pressed flat against the mud beneath a thorny bush, every muscle locked.
"If he checks his radar now, I'm dead. Maybe i should Crawl? No—he'll hear me!"
His heartbeat pounded in his ears loud enough to betray him.
The hunter stomped into the clearing's center, tapping his O.D.R violently.
"Finally, fucking thing turned on!" He mashed the button twice.
"WITH THIS, YOU'RE DEAD!"
Leon squeezed his eyes shut—
Click.
Silence.
Leon dared to peek.
The hunter was slamming his fist against the device, veins bulging. "I PRESSED THE DAMN BUTTON! WHY WON'T IT—?!"
"Huh?" Leon's mind raced. What's going on? He should've found me by now. Is the O.D.R broken somehow?
Then—CLICK—the realization struck like lightning.
No! The O.D.R isn't broken! His grip on the bow tightened.
"The radar won't pick me up… if I stay still! "
A memory flashed—the hunter's arrow obliterating the tree.
"That worked because it was the last place I moved before he fired! "
Leon didn't dare blink.
"And now that I'm frozen here he cant pick up my location."
The hunter's screams confirmed it:
"PIECE OF SHIT TECH! WORK, DAMN IT!"
Leon's lips curled into the faintest smirk.
The radar can't see what doesn't move.
Leon remained frozen,
mind racing: Based on his earlier reaction, the O.D.R has a short cooldown. I can use this to my advantage!
Slowly, silently, he gripped his bow and inched through the undergrowth—circling behind the hunter.
CRUNCH.
A twig snapped under his knee.
"I can HEAR you, y'know!" The hunter nocked another arrow, grinning wildly.
Leon stopped breathing.
THOOM!
The arrow detonated two feet behind him, showering his back with searing shrapnel and dirt.
If one of those hits me directly...
Then came his chance. The explosion's smoke billowed outward.
Leon hurled his smoke grenade in a high arc—right over the hunter's head.
"Huh?" The man looked up just as the canister POPPED, engulfing the clearing in thick gray fog.
"SHIT! He's using the smoke to run away !"
Leon was already sprinting.
"I WON'T LET YOU ESCAPE, KID!"
The hunter's voice distorted as he crunched another capsule between his teeth.
His body convulsed with euphoria, his veins pulsing black under sweat-slicked skin.
"Ahh~!" he moaned, tongue lolling as he slammed another foot forward through the choking smoke. His lungs screamed, his vision swam with tears—but the drug burned through the pain, turning his blood to molten lead.
Then—light.
Fresh air hit his face as he stumbled free of the smoke, His boots skidded on moss.
A shadow moved.
"That's enough."
Leon's voice was winter-cold.
The hunter spun, his own bow half-raised—
—and froze.
There, ten paces away, Leon stood framed by the dying embers of sunset. Every muscle in his drawn arm stood taut as steel cables, the arrow's razor tip trembling with pent-up kinetic rage. The fading smoke curled around his legs like a loyal hound.
"SHIT! He didn't run—he used the smoke to circle me!?"
The hunter's bloodshot eyes gleamed with perverse admiration.
"I gotta say… I'm impressed."
His words slurred slightly, the drug's grip loosening just enough for fear to creep in.
Leon's arms trembled—not from fatigue, but rage.
"DROP THE BOW!"
Sweat dripped from his chin onto the drawn bowstring.
The hunter's fingers twitched near his quiver, movements deliberately slow.
"If you're thinking of grabbing an arrow, you're mistaken," Leon hissed. "I'll shoot before you even try."
A beat. Then—
THUD.
The hunter let his weapon fall, raising his hands with a chilling chuckle.
"Kid, we should team up. We'd make a hell of a duo."
"SHUT UP!" Leon's arrow didn't waver. "If you wanted allies, you had your chance!"
"With that old man?" The hunter's lips curled. "Don't make me laugh. I'd never team up with someone who thinks like a child."
"WE COULD'VE ESCAPED, YOU IDIOT!" Leon's shout sent birds scattering.
The hunter's grin turned feral. "ESCAPE BY HIDING? THAT FREAK SAID IT HIMSELF—THERE'S NO WAY OUT!"
Leon's grip tightened. "How do you know?"
"The only way out…" The hunter leaned forward, neck brushing the arrowhead. "...is to kill. For monsters like us? That's the easiest way to live."
His smile was irritating.
"Ishould grab his bow before he tries anything."
Leon inched forward, teeth gritted. "Good thing I'm not a monster like you."
The hunter threw his head back laughing, spit flying. "I know you don't have the balls to do it, kid! HAHAHA!"
"I said SHUT UP!" Leon's voice cracked. "Step away from the bow!"
"WHY?" The hunter spread his arms, exposing his chest. "Isn't it easier to just kill me?"
"I told you—I'm not a monster!"
"Oh, but you are~" The hunter's chuckle was a serpent's hiss. "Everyone here's done something bad. Even that fat old man—"
"I SAID STOP TALKING!"
Leon swung the bow like a club—but the hunter moved faster.
CRACK!
Bony fingers snatched the bow mid-swing, twisting it with brutal precision. Leon's world upended—his back slammed into dirt, the bowstring crushing his windpipe.
Above him, the hunter's bloodshot eyes bulged with glee as he leaned all his weight onto the string.
"Let's see how long your 'hero act' lasts… kid."
"Y'know, I gotta tell you sum'!" The hunter's breath reeked of copper and stimulants as he crushed the bowstring deeper into Leon's throat. Leon's lips moved soundlessly, his fingernails scraping bloody trails up the man's forearms.
"That old man…" The hunter's sweat dripped onto Leon's eyelids, mixing with his tears. "Wasn't personal. I had to kill him! To prove—" A vein pulsed on his temple. "—that childish thinking gets you DEAD out here!"
Leon's vision tunneled, the edges blooming black. His legs thrashed uselessly against the dirt.
"I put an arrow right through his fucking skull…" The hunter leaned closer,
his pupils swallowed by red. "To show him? No—to show myself I've got what it takes to SURVIVE!"
"The grenade…!"
Leon's twitching hand inched towards his pocket.
Leon's fingers scraped against the flashbang in his pocket—cold metal against sweat-slick skin. His vision pulsed with black spots as the bowstring bit deeper into his throat.
Then, Leon's fingertips found the trigger.
He closed his eyes.
Click.
The hunter's eyes flicked down—just for a split second—but it was enough.
"WHAT ARE YOU—?"
Leon slammed the flashbang upward, pressing it between their faces like an offering to the gods of war.
Then—the world turned white.
Leon's world became silent fury—no sound but the vicious buzz of ruptured eardrums. Then, the weight on his throat vanished.
Leon gasped, rolling onto his side, coughing, choking on air like a man who'd just breached the surface of a drowning sea. His hands clawed at the dirt, pushing himself away blindly.
Somewhere in the white haze, a scream tore through the ringing silence.
"MY EYES!!! MY FUCKING EYES!!!"
The hunter thrashed, hands pressed against his face, rubbing furiously as if he could wipe away the burn. His knees buckled, his body curling inward like a wounded animal. Tears and snot streamed down his cheeks, his mouth stretched in a soundless howl.
Leon blinked hard, his vision returning in blurry flashes.
Leon crawled, his muscles screaming in protest, until his fingers closed around the fallen bow.
He stood, legs trembling, the weapon heavy in his grip.
The hunter was still screaming, still blind, still clawing at his face—
—and Leon stood over him, breath ragged, arrow nocked, string drawn.
The jungle was silent.
The hunter's screams echoed through the jungle, raw and guttural. Leon's hands trembled on the bowstring, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
Then—numbers flickered on the bow's digital display:
[ 14% ]
"What the hell does that mean?"
Before he could process it, the hunter lurched to his feet, blood and tears streaking his face. His eyes were still screwed shut, but his snarl was feral, unhinged.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL ME?!"
Leon's voice was hoarse, desperate. "It's over! You can still run—I won't shoot!"
"A pathetic rich bastard like YOU?! NO!... I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"
The hunter charged blindly, arms outstretched like a zombie from a nightmare.
Leon let go.
THWACK!
The arrow punched through the hunter's bicep, spinning him sideways. He collapsed with a choked scream, his good hand clamping over the wound, blood oozing between his fingers.
Leon's vision swam as he stared at the blood—thick, crimson, pooling in the dirt beneath the hunter's writhing body. His stomach lurched, bile rising in his throat. The metallic stench clung to the air, mixing with the sweat dripping from his brow.
His breaths came in ragged, uneven gasps, his hands trembling so violently the bowstring hummed with tension.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!"
the hunter shrieked, his voice raw and broken. He clawed at the ground, fingers digging into the earth like a dying animal.
"FINISH ME OFF ALREADY!"
Leon's mind raced, a storm of fear, disgust, and something darker—survival instinct.
" I can't… I can't… I can't—"
"HUNT OR BE HUNTED," the hunter spat, his one good eye locking onto Leon's.
"That's the rule of the jungle, kid. I simply…
got hunted."
Leon's grip on the bow tightened.
If their roles were reversed, he'd be dead already.
But did that mean he had to become like him?
Or could he honor Paul—die as himself, not a monster?
"I need to evolve…" Leon muttered, his voice barely audible.
Then—resolution.
His arms steadied.
The arrow drew back.
"If I want to survive…" His voice shook, but his aim didn't.
"I NEED TO EVOLVE!"
TWANG.
The arrow screamed through the air—
—and Leon's own scream followed, raw and primal, as the hunter's body jerked—
The arrow punctured bone with a sickening CRUNCH, burying itself deep in the hunter's skull. His body twitched once—then went still.
The bow's digital display flickered:
[ 22% ]
Leon's legs gave out. He collapsed to his knees, tears streaking through the dirt and sweat on his face. His stomach heaved, and he vomited violently, his vomit splattering the grass.
"H-hah… hahh…"
He coughed, spitting out the bitter taste, and stared at his hands.
Blood.
It stained his palms, clung under his nails, smudged across his wrists. He scraped at it furiously with his shirt, but the crimson only spread, turning the fabric dark and sticky.
"FUCK!" he screamed, his voice raw, breaking.
Then—BUZZ.
His O.D.R lit up:
[ 6-HOUR SURVIVAL PERIOD: COMPLETE ]
[ GOOD JOB, PRODUCT. ]
Leon blinked, his breath hitching.
"Huh…?"
The screen shifted.
No more green dots.
Just a single line, pointing toward a pulsing marker:
[ BASE ]
And at the top—a new timer:
[ 59:58 ]
[ 59:57 ]
[ 59:56 ]
Leon's stomach growled like a feral beast, a sharp reminder—he hadn't eaten since whatever "breakfast" had been before this nightmare. His fingers clutched the O.D.R, staring at the merciless timer:
[ 58:21 ]
[ 58:20 ]
"I'm guessing… it's the time left to get back to base before sunset." His voice sounded hollow, even to himself.
Two paths:
1. Return to the ship—where the antlered man and his masked puppets waited.
2. Stay—and meet whatever lurked in the "Dark."
A dry laugh escaped him. "It's pretty obvious they want us to play their game. They won't kill me… "
"Then there is no choice." He wiped bloody hands on his pants. "I'll die out here with no food… and water."
With a final glance at the hunter's glass-eyed corpse, Leon turned toward the direction the O.D.R pointed—
—and ran.
***
Leon's lungs burned as he staggered into the clearing, the massive hull of the Quincy ship looming before him like a steel fortress. At the gangway, masked soldiers stood guard, rifles trained on the ragged survivors filtering back.
One jabbed his gun barrel at Leon's chest. "Drop the bow."
Leon let the weapon clatter to the ground, followed by the arrow pouch.
"You got anything else?" the soldier snarled, eyeing Leon's bloodstained shirt.
"No," Leon panted.
A second guard fitted strange goggles over his eyes—lenses flickering with a holographic scan. After a beat, he nodded.
"He's good. Let him in."
The first guard yanked Leon forward, shoving him toward the stairs.
"Congrats on surviving Round One."
Leon scuffed his shoe against the metal steps—
BANG!
"A gunshot? No—a scream."
"IF YOU DON'T GET ME OFF THIS ISLAND, I'LL SHOOT!"
Leon whirled. A bespectacled man trembled at the tree line, his own bow shaking wildly as he aimed at a soldier's head.
The lead guard barked,
"Last warning—drop it!"
"I SWEAR TO GOD—!"
ZZZT!
A masked technician tapped his wrist. The glasses man shrieked, his O.D.R erupting in blue sparks. He collapsed, body convulsing as the voltage coursed through him.
Silence.
A masked soldier rushed over and pressed two fingers to the man's neck, then shook his head.
"Product terminated," the guard muttered.
Leon's stomach turned.
The gangway creaked beneath him as he was herded upward, into the ship's gaping maw.
The ship's interior was a wounded animal—survivors huddled in corners, some sobbing, others punching walls, a few passed out on couches like corpses.
Then—her.
Lucia sat curled against a porthole, arms wrapped around her knees, her usual sunshine-blonde hair dull with grime.
"She's the girl i bumped into earlier"
He shoved pass, slamming the bathroom door behind him.
The faucet screeched to life.
Leon scrubbed, the water swirling pink, then crimson, as the hunter's blood sloughed off his skin. His reflection stared back—pale, hollow-eyed.
" Ijust killed a man… but… what is this feeling? "
His hands stopped shaking.
I don't feel… guilty?
A dark thought slithered up his spine:" It almost feels like it wasn't my first time— "
"NO!"
He slammed his palms against the sink, water splashing the mirror. "What am I saying?! It can't be!"
Then—the mark.
A tiny, circular scar on his neck, barely visible under the grime. Leon tilted his head, fingers brushing the spot.
It was a Needle mark.
Leon's eyes widened. "Don't tell me… they drugged me somehow?!"
"Why? DAMN IT!" He punched the wall—
Then he heard it.
Screams.
From inside the ship.
Leon burst out of the bathroom, shoving through the crowd gathered on the deck. People pressed against the railing, their faces pale, eyes locked on the island.
A woman behind him clutched her O.D.R, her voice trembling:
"I swear I'm not making it up! I heard screaming—someone begging for help out there!"
Leon's gaze snapped to his own O.D.R.
[ 00:00 ]
Time was up.
Then—
"HELP ME, GODDDDDD!!!"
A man's voice, raw with terror, ripped through the night.
Silence.
The deck went dead still. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Then—
"AHHHHHHH!"
A woman's scream this time, shrill, agonized, cutting through the trees like a knife.
And suddenly—
More.
From every direction.
"NO! NO, PLEASE DONT COME ANY CLOSER—"
"IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE—"
"DON'T LOOK AT IT! DON'T—"
The jungle had become a chorus of screams, sobs, wet choking sounds, all overlapping, growing louder—
Then cutting off, one by one.
"I can't hear them anymore!"the woman behind Leon cried.
Leon's breath came in short, sharp gasps. His O.D.R screen flickered, then displayed a single word in pulsing red letters:
[ DARK ]
From the tree line, something moved.
Not an animal.
Not a person.
Just—
A shadow, darker than the night itself, slithering between the trees.
And then…
Silence.
Total. Absolute.
The kind of silence that made hearts pound too loud, that made people hold their breaths without realizing it.
Someone on the deck whimpered.
Leon's hands shook.
"What the hell was that?"
THUNK.
Every monitor aboard the Quincy ship flickered to life at once, bathing the terrified survivors in an eerie blue glow.
There he was.
The Antlered Man.
Seated behind his ornate desk, fingers steepled, his grotesque antlers gleaming under the dim light.
A businessman in a rumpled suit - Klum - shoved through the crowd, his face purple with rage.
"CARE TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED OUT THERE?"
Spittle flew from his lips as he slammed his fist against the monitor.
The Antlered Man's head tilted slightly.
"I made sure Captain Kirby told you beforehand." A gloved hand waved dismissively. "But...oh well."
He leaned forward suddenly, his antlers scraping against the camera, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. The screen zoomed in until his face filled every display, his voice dropping to a whisper that somehow pierced through the ship:
"That, ladies and gentlemen...was the Dark...
hunting its food."