Eater Blade: Grinding in Apocalypse-Chapter 59: DEEP DOWN: THE HELL HOLE QUEST.

Savier squinting into the maze of holes like he was picking a favorite dessert.

He said with a stupid grin. "Well, worst case, we go in the wrong hole and it bites back. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had regrets about which hole I picked."

Johnquis didn’t even look at him. "Don’t."

"What? I’m just saying — any hole can be a goal if you commit."

"I said don’t."

Dancer flicked her eyes toward them, unimpressed.

Savier just chuckled and cracked his knuckles. "Alright, alright. So which one’s the jackpot?"

They all stared at the pits. There had to be twenty of them, carved into the station floor like the world’s worst mole colony. The quest marker in their HUD still blinked vague:

Objective: Locate and Destroy the Eater’s Nest

Savier muttered. "That’s helpful, doesn’t even give us a proper nav marker."

Johnquis said. "It’s not meant to, these quests don’t tell you where. Just what. The nest’s down there — somewhere."

"So... pick a hole and pray?"

"No. We wait—"

Dancer’s claws scraped softly against the resin-coated concrete. Her head tilted, nostrils flaring. Then, without a word, she slinked toward one of the deeper tunnels on the far side. It was jagged and pulsing faintly, the air seeping out of it warmer and fouler than the rest.

She crouched by the edge, peering into it like a cat watching prey.

Johnquis muttered. "She smells something, that’s the one."

Savier strolled up beside her, giving a casual shrug. "Works for me. Any hole’s a goal, baby."

He hopped in without hesitation, boots thudding down the slope and echoing into the dark.

Johnquis stared after him for a moment, deadpan. Then sighed. "Dumbass."

He looked at Dancer. "I can’t leave that idiot. He’s strong, but that head of his’ll get him killed. Ugh... fucking Savier."

He followed next, cape trailing behind him as he slid into the pit.

Dancer glanced once over her shoulder — then dropped in after him, vanishing into the shadows without a sound.

The drop was short but steep.

Johnquis landed in a crouch, feet sliding across the sticky floor. The tunnel opened into a cramped chamber, ribbed with veiny walls and pulsing growths. The light from their suits flickered across mounds of old bones and twisted nests. The air was hot, wet, and smelled like sour meat.

Savier was already moving.

"Showtime!" he roared.

He charged forward, laughing like a lunatic as his hybrid weapon clicked open — his brutal shotgun mode activated. He fired point-blank into the first Eater that lunged, blowing a hole straight through its chest.

BOOM!

Gore splattered the walls.

[Feed Count: +100]

[Feed Count: 7,300 / 20,000] - Savier

Then he rotated, activating the sword mode, the blade slicing the next one clean from shoulder to gut. "Next!"

[Feed Count: +100]

[Feed Count: 7,400 / 20,000] - Savier

More Eaters burst from the side tunnels — crawling, running, howling. The sound echoed like a thousand broken radios screaming at once.

Savier answered with a louder roar, charging deeper into the chaos, blasting and swinging in wild rhythm. His shotgun pumped fast, unforgiving. Shells slammed into Eaters. Blades chopped heads.

Johnquis followed — tighter, faster, calm and focused. Chains coiled around his forearms. His violet eyes lit up as he snapped them forward.

The hooked end of his chain shot out and speared into an Eater’s skull. With a sharp twist, he pulled. The thing’s head tearing free as the body collapsed.

[Feed Count: +100]

[Feed Count: 50,900 / 70,000] - Johnquis

Another Eater lunged from the left. He sidestepped, chain swinging again. This time wrapping its legs, then pulling it face-first into the wall. Bone cracked. He moved with clean, brutal efficiency.

[Feed Count: +100]

[Feed Count: 51,000 / 70,000] - Johnquis

Dancer hit next. Her landing so soft it made no sound.

And then she moved.

She flipped into the swarm, heels gleaming. Her long legs sliced through Eaters like wires through clay. She spun once, twice — then kicked with both feet, heel-blades tearing open two throats at once.

Claws followed — swift, sharp slashes across chests and eyes. Her footwork was sharp, balletic, and lethal.

[Feed Count: +900]

[Feed Count: 51,900 / 70,000] - Johnquis

She was dancing death, and every motion counted.

They moved as a team — chaos in sync. Every kill lit up the HUD, flashes of color painting the dark.

Savier kicked open a ribcage and unloaded a shell through the mess. "Boom! Get some!"

[Feed Count: +100]

[Feed Count: 8,200 / 20,000] - Savier

Johnquis vaulted over a nest-pillar, chains sweeping the legs of three Eaters. They dropped, and Dancer pounced, heel-blades stabbing straight down through their necks.

[Feed Count: +300]

[Feed Count: 52,600 / 70,000] - Johnquis

The tunnel trembled. The nest didn’t like losing.

From deeper in the maze, fresh Eaters flooded forward. But the trio didn’t slow.

Savier grinned like a man drunk on blood and glory. "More guests! Come on, I’m still starving!"

His blade sliced an Eater’s arm off. The shotgun finished it off with a stomach blast.

[Feed Count: +100]

[Feed Count: 8,300 / 20,000] - Savier

Dancer leapt off Johnquis’s shoulder, flipped midair, and kicked an Eater so hard its head popped. Johnquis caught her chain as she landed, spun her like a weapon and sent her heel-first into another’s skull.

[Feed Count: +200]

[Feed Count: 52,800 / 70,000] - Johnquis

More kills followed. Feed count ticked up and up. Gore caked the tunnel walls.

Until finally...

It was quiet. The swarm was gone. The pit stank of death, blood, and burnt flesh. The three stood at the center of it, breathing hard.

Then — something strange.

Savier turned to Dancer.

And froze.

The way she stood in the dark, her pale skin glistening with sweat and gore. The way her long legs were splattered in blood, heels still gleaming. Something about it hit him square in the gut.

He blinked, mouth half-open. "Goddamn... you’re like... a sexy ghost ballerina dipped in murder."

Dancer tilted her head at him.

He smiled, dazed. "You single? Asking for a—"

He didn’t finish.

An Eater behind him, somehow still alive, lunged.

But Dancer was faster.

She pivoted in front of him, heel kicking straight up. The blade punched through the Eater’s jaw, out the back of its skull — a clean, perfect vertical split.

The body slumped behind her.

Savier stared. "Holy shit..."

She leaned closer, sniffed him once, then turned away like he wasn’t even worth biting.

He blinked again. "Did she just... ghost me?"

Johnquis walked past and slapped the back of his head. "Stop drooling and keep moving."

Savier grinned. "What? A man can dream."

Dancer flicked blood from her claws.

[Feed Count: +100]

[Feed Count: 52,900 / 70,000] - Johnquis

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