Chapter 143: The First Stroke
Magian Verdant hovered above the gaping maw in the earth, his green robes fluttering in the ominous wind. Below him, the abyss exhaled an air thick with ancient malice, a reminder of an era long past. He planned on staying vigilant until the Giant King rose, therefore, flying above the abyss was his plan.
The pit had widened, its depths pulsing with a sinister energy. Verdant had already dispatched a handful of grotesque creatures, but his eyes remained vigilant.
Apostles from all three towers were now on the scene, spreading out in defensive formations. Their purpose was clear: to prevent anything from slipping into the heart of Bask. These apostles, seasoned and at least Rank Three, were formidable. Yet, Verdant knew deeper horrors awaited.
A low rumble drew his attention, and from the depths of the pit emerged a monstrosity unlike any before.
The creature crawled out initially without a problem, its bat-like body grotesque and malformed, lacking a head. Chains, ancient and rusted, dangled from its legs hitting the dirt walls, clinking ominously with every movement. Its fur, matted and brown, gave it a filthy, diseased appearance.
Its arms were covered in eyes and from its torso, gill-like slits expelled a thick, yellowish smoke that writhed like living tendrils in the air. Its orange wings, partially translucent, shimmered with a sickly hue, while three rat-like tails writhed menacingly behind it.
Verdant’s eyes narrowed as the creature ascended after a leap, hovering before him. This was no mindless beast. The slit where a head should have been peeled open, revealing a grotesque, worm-like appendage adorned with multiple grinning mouths.
Verdant's mind raced as he studied the grotesque creature before him, its monstrous form unlike anything he had ever encountered. Despite his extensive knowledge of Bask’s long and storied history, identifying this specific beast was proving impossible. The sheer breadth of Bask’s past, with its countless epochs and forgotten eras, rendered the task daunting. The land had always been a crucible of ancient mysteries, with many things lurking beneath its surface, sealed away or left to slumber in the dark recesses of time.
The rise of humanity on Bask was but a brief chapter in the annals of the continent’s history. Before humans claimed dominance, they had been a relatively insignificant race, skirting the edges of survival as they avoided the far greater threats that roamed the land. During those ancient days, Bask was a battleground for numerous powerful races—some so mighty they shaped the land itself, while others vanished into obscurity, pushed to the fringes or entirely off the continent. Yet, humanity endured, surviving through adaptability and tenacity, even as other races faded into legend.
Verdant considered the possibility that this creature was a relic from a time long before humanity’s ascent. Its very existence hinted at an era so distant that even the oldest human records bore no mention of it. This realization filled him with unease. What other ancient horrors might stir if such beings existed, hidden beneath the earth? The idea that Bask’s depths could harbor creatures from forgotten eons sent a chill down his spine. It was a stark reminder of how small humanity’s footprint was in the grand tapestry of the world’s history.
This creature, Verdant surmised, might be a vestige of a time when the land teemed with entities beyond human comprehension—a time when the forces that shaped Bask were raw, primal, and utterly alien.
Each mouth of the creature twisted into a macabre smile as more yellow fumes billowed from its gill slits, surrounding it in a toxic haze. The aura it emitted is comparable to a Stage 1 Magian, therefore, it wouldn't be an easy battle.
The creature emitted guttural noises, strange and alien. Verdant remained silent, his guard up, but curiosity flickered in his eyes.
The monster continued its incomprehensible muttering, attempting various sounds, each more disjointed than the last. Finally, it croaked out fragmented words in a halting, human tongue: “Human... Livestock... Cattle.”
Verdant’s expression hardened, a mix of astonishment and revulsion. Not only was the creature intelligent, but its words carried a sinister implication. He floated back cautiously, eyes locked on the abomination. The creature’s many mouths widened into unsettling grins, and without warning, it lunged.
Verdant reacted swiftly as he flew backward facing the creature, summoning his green disks with a flick of his wrists.
They spun towards the beast with lethal precision, but the monster’s agility was uncanny. Most disks missed, though one grazed its wing, slicing off a small piece. It showed no sign of pain. Instead, the gill slits on its torso widened, expelling more of the malevolent yellow smoke, which coiled like serpents towards Verdant.
Verdant maneuvered deftly, evading the gassy tendrils with practiced ease. But the creature pursued relentlessly, its claws slashing through the air.
Just as it was about to land a devastating blow, Verdant conjured a greenish sphere around himself. Within the sphere, green gas swirled around almost similar to the yellow smoke the strange creature possessed.
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The protective barrier absorbed the impact with a deafening crash before breaking into dissipating green smoke, sending Verdant hurtling backward. He spun through the air but managed to stabilize.
The beast was undeterred, soaring after him with murderous intent. Verdant dove, streaking towards the earth, but the creature anticipated his move. Hovering above, it gathered the toxic smoke into a pulsating sphere of malevolence. With a guttural roar, it hurled the mass downwards.
Verdant barely had time to veer off course as the sphere detonated on impact with the ground. The blast sent shockwaves through the forest, obliterating trees and tearing the earth asunder.
Verdant was caught in the force, thrown violently through the air. He tumbled, battered by the explosion, but his resolve remained unshaken. The true battle had only begun.
The creature floated ominously above Verdant, its grotesque form exuding an air of contemptuous superiority. Its many eyes glinted with a sinister gleam, each one fixed unblinkingly on the Magian below. The silence stretched as the monster’s gaze seemed to pierce into Verdant’s very soul, evaluating him as if he were a mere insect beneath its notice.
Then, the creature’s expression twisted into one of visible disgust, as though the sight of Verdant and his humanity offended its very existence. It opened its maw, and from deep within, a guttural, otherworldly sound emerged—half growl, half hiss, a language that had long since faded from the annals of the known world. The harsh noises grated against Verdant’s ears, each syllable carrying a weight of ancient disdain.
Finally, the sounds coalesced into fractured words, barely comprehensible yet loaded with scorn. “Humans… Still Weak… Weak race…” the creature spat, its tone dripping with derision. The words hung in the air, a reminder of the entity’s disdain for humanity. Its eyes narrowed as if the very act of addressing Verdant in his language was beneath it, a concession made with palpable reluctance.
The creature’s pronouncement was more than a mere insult—it was a declaration of perceived superiority, a scornful dismissal of humanity's progress and strength. Verdant could feel the disdain radiating from the monster, a being that likely hailed from an era when humans were insignificant, a race scrabbling in the dirt while mightier entities ruled the land. This was not just a confrontation; it was a clash of epochs, with the creature embodying an ancient arrogance that saw humanity’s rise as nothing more than a fleeting blip in the grand, eternal history of Bask.
Verdant rose from the ground, wiping a streak of blood from his mouth, his expression one of grim determination.
“You think that was enough?” he muttered, his voice carrying the weight of his resolve. “Monsters like you might have overwhelmed weaker Ancient Magians, but humanity has evolved. Back in the day, a Magian could only rely on the power of their spirit, however, things have changed. We’ve crafted something beyond your comprehension through the understanding of ourselves, our runes, and our Spirit—Spiritual Weapons, born from the enlightenment of a Magian.”
The creature’s many mouths twitched, the eerie grins replaced by faint frowns. It could sense the shift in the air, the surge of power building within Verdant. Even the aura around Verdant seemed to change as around him a greenish light seemed to flow and vibrate.
“You’ve been trapped underground for too long, festering in ignorance. It’s time you learned the strength of a true human,” Verdant declared, his voice echoing with authority.
With a flourish, he raised his hand, calling forth his Spiritual Weapon.
“My weapon, forged from the essence of light and poison, embodying the duality of creation and decay, its thrust pierces not just the body but the very spirit, unraveling life with a deadly brilliance. Verdant Lance!” The words rang out with a commanding resonance, each syllable imbued with the gravity of his spirit.
The lance materialized, a towering weapon of radiant light infused with green hues, pulsing with ominous energy. Around the lance, the air shimmered with a poisonous aura potent enough to fell even the mightiest of beings. The air around Verdant also seemed to permeate with danger a the strange poison was affecting the air around himself.
The monster recoiled slightly, the mouths on its grotesque worm-head twisting into expressions of unease. Verdant’s power was undeniable.
He smirked, his confidence unshaken. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had to use this,” he said, his voice calm yet filled with a deadly promise. “Consider yourself lucky—you’ll be the first in ages to fall by my Verdant Lance.”
The creature hissed, its wings unfurling to their full span. The gill-like slits on its torso gushed yellow smoke, which coiled up and around its wings, cloaking them in a toxic miasma. The smoke continued to pour towards the wings as it seemed to glow brighter and more concentrated. With a guttural noise, it unleashed a powerful blast that made the clouds in the sky separate and flee, the yellow smoke surged down in an “X” shape after the monster flapped its wing, hurtling towards Verdant with lethal intent.
Verdant’s eyes narrowed as he murmured, “First stroke.”
His lance glowed brighter, the green hues intensifying as he shifted into a poised stance. With a swift thrust, he drove the lance toward the creature, releasing a concentrated beam of green and white energy, the release of such power destroyed the ground beneath Verdant with a force, causing green smoke to materialize from the cracks beneath him. The beam shot through the air, colliding with the monster’s toxic blast.
BANG!
The impact was cataclysmic. An explosion rocked the skies, shaking the earth below. The force of it sent shockwaves through the forest, causing trees to sway violently and be ripped off of their roots. From within the chaos, Verdant’s beam emerged unrelenting, piercing through the remnants of the creature’s attack.
The monster let out a final, harrowing cry as the beam struck its torso, piercing through it and flying toward the sky causing the world above to glow in a greenish hue for a moment.
A deafening sound echoed through the land with a BOOM! as its lifeless body plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground with a heavy thud.
Verdant lowered his lance, the glow fading as he recalled his Spiritual Weapon. His eyes, however, remained clouded with concern. Hovering above the vast pit once more, he gazed down into its depths, the ominous energy still pulsating below.