CHAPTER 14 FINALE
A BOOT ON ALL THEIR NECKS
Lucas reached the bear from behind as it got to all fours, shaking its massive head. The one obvious place he could hurt it was right in front of Lucas’ face now, so he manifested one of his Porcupine quills and rammed it with all of his might up the bear’s backside.
Lucas encountered little resistance as half a metre of quill was buried into its rear end. The bear swung its bulk around, its Aura exploding with pain and fury. Lucas let the quill go and sprinted to the biggest nearby tree. With the greatest leap of his life, enhanced by 4 Strength and Agility, Lucas flung himself into the air and caught the lowest branch across his chest.
He was already clambering up to the next branch as the bear hit the tree. His body swung out into open air as the tree buckled, but didnt break, under the impact. 4 Strength was enough for Lucas to keep his grip on the branch, so he simply swung himself with the momentum, catching a higher branch with his other hand. He didn't pause to look down as he continued to climb, trying to get out of reach before the bear stood on its hind legs.
For the second time that day, the bear reared up to its full height, trying to shake prey out of a tree. It began to push its immense weight into the tree over and over in a rocking motion, building up momentum. Although Lucas could keep his grip easily, the tree's root system was getting incrementally ripped out of the ground with each rocking motion.
The bear started to sway side to side as much as back and forth, apparently having trouble keeping its balance. The two Combat Spiders on the bear’s back began to glow with triumph as they saw the tell tale signs of the venom taking hold. Sure that Lucas wasn't going to escape, the bear went back to all fours and began to glow with green energy again. That was the fourth time Lucas had seen it use Regeneration, which should have used the last of its Mana.
Time seemed to drag on as the bear sat still, the Regeneration taking much longer than usual. So much of its blood had been drained out by Korah’s wounds that the toxicity of the venom could reach deadly concentrations with smaller doses. Eventually the bear’s Regeneration had cleansed enough venom to stave off the worst of the effects.
It stood up on all fours, then immediately rolled onto its back in an attempt to dislodge the spiders. The spiders saw the threat coming and leapt off the bear, immediately spreading out in opposite directions so it couldn't keep track of them both. Lucas was impressed with their team work, but he figured that Cave Arachs had probably been hunting bears for a very long time.
One spider stood up with four scythes out in front, the classic Cave Arach combat pose. The Scythes would be totally useless against the bear but he figured the threatening stance was designed to get its attention, like a matador. The other spider crept in close from behind, ready to pounce. Lucas didn't think they would last long on their own, and if they died he would surely be next. Left with only bad options, he climbed down to join them.
As soon as he landed, the bear charged one of the spiders. The one which had crept up behind the bear leapt onto its back. Using its Scythes to clamp onto the bear's hide, it resumed pumping venom furiously. The Combat Spider that was being chased could not outpace the bear in raw speed, but it could dart from side to side and change directions with incredible alacrity.
As Lucas ran towards the bear, the spider had managed to dart out from beneath a blow that would have flattened it. Just as he reached the bear, the Combat Spider attempted to dart underneath the bear's legs in a particularly daring move. It did manage to escape, but not before having a couple of its legs pinned underneath a heavy paw. Two wet popping noises accompanied its legs getting yanked out of their sockets as it pulled itself to safety. The Arach stumbled forward but quickly compensated for the lost legs by using its combat scythes for balance. Lucas used the chance to leap onto the bear's back, but he couldn't find a good grip.
When the bear spun around he was tossed like a ragdoll. As he sailed through the air, Lucas had an odd moment of reflection, deeply regretting not saving enough Mana to use his Enchanted Armour. He slammed into a root sticking out of the ground and continued to tumble uncontrollably along the forest floor. The sound of snapping ligaments and cracking ribs filling his ears. When he finally skidded to a halt, he got out his Regeneration Bracelet but only ended up cursing himself again for not sparing any Mana.
For a terrifying moment Lucas couldn't understand why the world had frozen. Then he remembered his Scout. It had been knocked off his shoulder, robbing him of his vicarious vision. Without a set of eyes to see changes in real time, his perception of the world was locked in the state that the Scout had last seen.
Thankfully the Scout immediately skipped over to him and climbed back to its station on his shoulder. Wasting no time, Lucas got half way back to his feet, but a wave of pain radiating from his chest almost made him black out. The act of spinning around to face Lucas, made the bear woozy as well, as it almost lost its balance. The venom was quickly stacking up in the bear's blood, but not fast enough.
The bear had fixed its sights on Lucas again when a wave of domineering Aura energy washed over everyone present. Lucas turned involuntarily to look as Korah walked towards them, having used the Healing Potion they had stashed before the fight.
Her Aura radiated an immensely threatening energy, like a boot on all their necks. Everything present, the trees, and even the earth itself seemed to shrink away as her presence loomed like judgement from on high. Lucas knew it was her ability ‘Overwhelming Presence’ but reading about it on a character sheet did not prepare him for how intimidating it felt.
All of that menacing energy was focused on the bear. Lucas was sure that he would be left frozen in panic if the ability was directed at him, but the bear stood defiant. Lucas studied the bear’s Aura as it reared up to its full height. As the alpha of it’s domain, the bear’s power was unquestioned in this part of the forest. It would not be intimidated into relinquishing the crown. Lucas didn't know animals were capable of pride like that, but the defiance in its Aura was unmistakable.
A deafening roar rolled over the forest as the bear charged. Korah let her Aura return to normal and began testing her footing as the bear closed in. She found a rock that was buried deep and immovable, then braced her back foot against it as she positioned herself. Lucas could only watch as the bear bound over the distance towards her, building up tremendous momentum.
Korah’s body didn't look tense, but there was a sense of compressed energy building up in her stance as she prepared for impact. With only a few yards left between them, the bear leapt into the air with its arms outstretched and jaw wide open. Korah crouched under the encroaching titan. In the last moment before impact, her body was engulfed in blue energy and she launched herself inside the bear's reach with an uppercut to its jaw.
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Her Empowered Strength slammed into one side of the bear's jaw, smashing it shut at an awkward angle. The force of it sent a shockwave through the bear's massive head and dislocated its jaw. That didn't stop the bear from wrapping its immense arms around her chest and lifting her into the air. Lucas expected the bear to be stunned, to fall over as it lifted Korah, but the tremendous amount of fat and muscle around its head had insulated its brain from the impact.
Lucas was on his feet now, staggering to reach them as fast as he could. He could feel his displaced ribs moving unnaturally in his chest, his ravaged limbs barely able to keep him upright. He had seen Korah use her abilities four times now, meaning she had exhausted all of her Mana. Both of his Combat Spiders were on the bears back now, even the one with missing legs had found an opportunity to lock itself into place. Lucas’s quill was also still sticking out of the bear’s backside.
Korah had one hand each on the bear's upper and lower jaws, shouting defiance as she struggled to keep the great maw from closing around her. Just as Lucas reached them, the blue energy that amplified her Strength flickered out and the bear's jaws closed around her shoulder and chest. Korah screamed in pain as the bear shook its head, brutally tearing at her. Lucas was sure that the bear’s dislocated jaw was the only thing that stopped it from being able to crunch through her torso completely.
Lucas manifested another Quill and thrust with all his Strength, but with a broken rib he couldn't muster the force to do any damage. The bear didn't seem to notice Lucas’s attack, but began to stumble backwards. He scrambled to get out of the way as the bear's weight alone might be enough to kill him.
The spiders on it’s back glowed in triumph again as the venom overwhelmed the bear's nervous system. Instead of falling backwards, the bear simply sat on its backside with a heavy thud. The quill was still lodged there, the full length of which was driven up into its defenceless internal organs. The bear bellowed in outrage, dropping Korah to the ground. Going back to all fours it began stumbling from side to side, letting out pained and confused moans as it swooned. Finally feeling too overwhelmed and confused, it tried to run.
Knowing the bear wouldn't get far with two Combat Spiders on its back, Lucas turned to Korah. Her armour was shredded and blood coated everything, but the damage done to her torso was surprisingly light. He had expected a pained grimace as he helped her to her feet, but she was grinning broadly. Her bright eyes shone with joy in her blood covered face. Lucas was a little worried she had gone deranged, but she slapped him on shoulder and laughed exhaustedly.
“What a fight! What an absolute beast! That was the biggest, meanest bear I've ever seen.”
The bear in question had not made it more than a few metres, finally collapsing as exhaustion, blood loss, and paralytic venom sapped the last of its endurance. Korah picked up her axe and approached the bear. She reached down, lifted the bear’s face, and gave it a kiss on the forehead as it let out a soft groan.
“Rest easy you beautiful beast. Your death will bring a light of hope to many others, I swear it.”
She positioned herself above the bear's neck, her axe at the ready, and looked at Lucas. Taking the que, he got out his Nexus of the Brood and a handful of eggs. He briefly considered convincing Korah to help him dig a hole in the ground big enough to entomb the entire bear. If he could replicate the efficiency from the tunnels of his cave he could make better use of the bear's energy. He dismissed the idea. It would probably take them an entire day or more to dig a hole that big. They could catch a lot more prey in that time.
With a nod from Lucas, she began chopping. The bear's skin and tissue was so tough that she was swinging like a lumberjack for a long time before she reached a critical artery. Blood began to flow at a torrential rate and it was only a few more seconds before the bear's Aura exploded with a tremendous release of energy.
[https://i.imgur.com/U2OYGVc.jpg]
‘Wow, more recovery powers. And another bear pelt also’ Lucas thought, before realising he had to concentrate on using the Bear’s lifeforce and dismissing the popup.
He already had a design ready for a new spider. His Scout's behaviour was taken from the Spotter half of the ‘Spot and Ambush’ Ancestral Behaviour Template. It was time to add the other half; Ambushers. He also gave them his Map and Stealth abilities. Stacking so many modifications on a fully grown Combat Spider shot the cost up to 9 Mana per spider.
Despite much of the energy being lost to the atmosphere, Lucas managed to harvest a respectable 19 Mana from the bear. One Mana point was unfortunately wasted, but he applied the template to two eggs and watched from inside his Nexus Interface as they grew to a metre diameter. They hatched in under a minute. The two new spiders looked identical to Combat Spiders. Only their behaviour was different. He hadn’t invested any time into experimenting with the design in Dream Training, but hopefully they would be able to figure it out on their own.
When he came out of his Nexus trance Korah was still hacking at the bear's neck with her axe. It’s skin was gone, leaving it looking like a mountain of flesh. A huge amount of blood had filled a recession in the forest floor like a red lake. The Combat Spiders were both crouched near it, drinking blood like the monsters they were. Korah also was absolutely soaked in blood. It took her a surprisingly long time to fully decapitate the bear. She ended up using her axe like a crowbar to pry apart the vertebrae, but she seemed to be enjoying herself.
“Hey Korah, this came from the Bear,” Lucas said, taking out the Regeneration Nexus. It was the size of a plum, a soft teal colour that swirled with complex patterns.
“A good prize. You deserve to keep it, I think. I have the Healing Nexus,” she said, then proceeded to hack through the last strands of tissue in the Bear’s neck. She squatted and tried lifting the enormous head, but gave up after a moment. Chucking and shaking her head, she rolled the tremendous cranium over to Lucas.
“You can store equipment right? Can you store this for me?”
Resting on the ground, the head came up to Lucas’s chest and was probably ten times his body weight.
“Sure, I'll give it a go.”
Lucas placed a hand on the bear's head and willed it into his inventory. It went in without any problems, the space around it folding up until it had disappeared completely. He checked his inventory, and grimaced when he saw that the bear's head was taking up a third of the entire available space. The rest of his gear took up hardly any room so it was fine for now.
“That is an incredible ability,” Korah said loudly, her good mood obvious as her Aura glowed with satisfaction.
“And you…” She said, pointing her axe at Lucas.
“...have the spirit of a warrior! A lesser man would have run and left me for dead after taking a hit like that, but you did not even consider to back down.”
“I don’t think I deserve that. I think… I think I just panicked at the thought of losing you, and being alone again.”
Lowering her axe, she stepped closer and clapped him on the shoulder with a bloody hand.
“In any case, thank you for fighting with me to the end,” She said, then seemed to notice something about his Aura.
“What happened?” Korah said, her good mood evaporating.
Lucas knew immediately what she was talking about, he could feel it in his own Aura. It felt like the eyes of that girl were still looking at him, looking at him while he…
“I don't.. I don't want to talk about it.”