As soon as we breached the tunnel exit I saw several sleek and powerful looking quadrapedal monsters that looked like a snake had sprouted legs and bulked up, and their smooth heads had a long slit on each side that held multiple iris’ in the same long sclera - the white eyeball bit.
I drastically increased my pace and sprinted towards the side service roads.
Even though my EP was running on fumes, it was imperative we got away from the tunnels and somewhere safe where I could check on Siya, but my luck seemed to also be running on hopes and dreams, as I bumped into a circle of demonic chitinous armoured monsters that were performing some fucked up ritual around a pile of monster corpses that had a ghostly green mist swirling around it.
That looks like something I SHOULD probably stop, but ‘I’ve got nuffin left’ in the tank..even if they may only be in 40-50 mag level range and what kind of rewards could be hidden..
A small part of me whispered promises of riches and rewards–all those years of playing games I’m sure–I glanced back and felt a chill run down my spine at the sight of all their multiple glowing-eyed-heads twisted, staring soullessly into mine. Their spike-toothed mouths slightly cracked open, breathing out plumes of mist in the damp chilly air, being the only indication that they weren’t just some twisted horror art display.
Yeah..maybe not worth it.
I sped on..
The area was very industrial but it was surrounded by rolling hills and stretches of overgrown grass and wildflowers, and, once the opportunity presented itself I Slipfolded to a distant grassy hill and from that one I folded up to the top and then finally for good measure to another that had strangely had white paving stones embedded in the grass.
Whatever, this should do. Okay Siya let's get a look at you..
Her cloak had dissipated back in the tunnel after I picked her up, but considering how bruised and cut up she still was, it was clear that it had saved her life many times over. I laid her down and inspected under her rags of clothing to assess the worst wounds.
If she hadn't lost her wing, she'd be dead 100%. Although, on the fip side, we wouldn't have been able to fly so we would still be travelling on foot..meaning the tunnel would most definitely have filled up fully with water making it impassable..but maybe the colossal fog wall would have been lifted?..There are so many variables where the slightest deviation would have drastically changed the outcome.
"Hmph.” I snorted. “And so much pointless bullshit to hypothesise." I muttered to myself.
She was at 10% HP and her status reported some broken bones that reduced her speed by 80%, disabled her ability to fly and reduced her energy and Majik production by 90%. But fortunately there were no severe bleeding debuffs or poisonings which was a big relief as it meant she was stable and with a bit of healing, she would make a full recovery. Unfortunately, she had lost her pack but I had enough of the handy ol’ healing juice left to fix most of the nastier surface wounds and a final mouthful to do a light bit of internal regeneration.
"You just rest easy Siya. I'll take it from here." I smiled and took out some of the spare clothes from my pack, cursing as I realised they were soaked from the swim.My currently equipped apparel was still wet as well, making it miserable and exhausting to keep my body temperature up, at least for my body anyway, not so sure whether little miss pantless here cares much, so I would need to find dry clothes sooner rather than later for the both of us.
Piss-sakes..I'll just add that to my list of things to do.
Heal Siya, get dry clothes and get home before bedtime.
I was tempted to Slipfold back to the sports store at the shopping mall, but I was also petrified of going back and then something going horribly wrong and having to start the journey all over again.
Fuck tempting fate..at least for a long time anyway. I'm sure there's a house or shop with some spare clothes on the way.
From up here I could see around me quite some distance, and so I surveyed the horizon and the scene before me took me way back when I got my first good look at a coastal city in Italy. There were tall monsters lumbering around in the distance, stomping and stalking through the towns and buildings, albeit far fewer in number and in smaller areas of space. Again, periodically, a swarm of flying monsters would burst out of some dark hidden place and dive down into another, and you could make out small groups of unidentifiable black dots clashing in furious flashy, destruction battles, running through the streets only to then disappear down an alleyway or building–whether it was groups of human survivors or just humanoid monsters was impossible to say..The buildings themselves had taken an absolute beating and clear signs of disrepair and neglect were evident everywhere now, with mother nature jumping into civilisations grave, and putting up her festive overgrown decorations in every nook and cranny.
Meh. Same old shit. I sniffed and moved toward the motorway.
..
As I travelled north on the M20, I was surprised to find a few abandoned broken carts, very familiar to the ones Grave and Vyolyn's people used. How interesting, I wonder if there are roaming caravans or if this was just a small group that got unlucky.
There was no sign of human remains, just shredded walls and some strange coral reef structure wheels hanging off a snapped wheel axle.
After a few more hours had passed, of me carrying Siya and Slipfolding when my MP regenerated enough, I decided to take a quick break and look at a large town called Maidstone in search of some fresh clothes and to find somewhere where I could rest for a bit and straight away my luck paid off as I found a rather massive Next store that was a square building and looked in great condition.
However, once I found the main entrance wide open and looked inside, there were clear signs of heavy looting, vandalism and spray painted phallic artwork dotted around, making me wonder if it was even worth venturing any further; in my current exhausted state, every decision needed to be weighed up for the risk of encountering some eldritch nightmare versus any potential rewards..
My gut told me to just go for it, and surprisingly the upper levels were only half trashed and I was able to find some fancy cargo trousers, a nice white t-shirt and a beautiful leather biker jacket - all in all a fantastic looting experience with no monstrous encounters.
It felt glorious to peel off the soggy dirty clothes and to hop into fresh clean ones–I didn't forget fresh pants and socks of course–and I also transferred what little stuff I had from my soggy backpack to a leather satchel bag and shovelled in a bunch of spares as well.
For Siya, I found the biggest zip up hoodie, removed her wrecked old stuff, and carefully wrapped her up in the unused clean fabrics. She was still out cold, but her health and status had improved by a few percent, albeit slowly, and her breathing was still steady and normal which helped reduce my worries.
In the soothing silence of the deserted clothing store, I rested for some, then spent a bit more searching for food, but to my hungry dismay there was not a crumb to be found.
I pressed on.
..
It was getting dark by the time I made it to the M25 and my emotions were starting to hyperventilate.
I think this is the longest I've been away from Marri..What if she's not there?! Or what if she's moved on and found someone else thinking I'm dead?!!..I..don't actually know what I'd do. I don't think I'd hold it against her, considering the circumstances, but fuck..It would still break my heart.
I Slipfolded down a several kilometre straight and then sighed as a long bend came into view up ahead. It was more efficient on my energy and Majik pools to stagger Slipfolds as much as possible since, even though they didn't cost that much, if I folded wastefully down into the red then the universe would surely notice and throw me into a life threatening situation where I needed those resources.
Because that’s life…Argh! Fuck it. If she's moved on with someone else, I'll just drop the cunt into the tunnel and let him play with the creepers and maggots..I’ve still got a few anchors down there..
In reality I wouldn't.
Being honest with myself, as long as I could still see and raise Lone, I'd stay friends with Marri no matter what her choices were. My ego didn't extend to the point where I felt entitled to her, and at the end of the day, she was her own person and it was my decisions that would have led to that scenario.
Piss sakes..I'm thinking like it's all happened already and not just my paranoid insecurities. I mean, for fuck sakes! I've travelled through an apocalyptic Europe, fought and killed horrors and sadistic shitheads, saved a leader, a mother and child, AND a moth girl, AND, liberated a bunch of prisoners inside a cube where I was tortured and enslaved as a fighter in some fucked, bloody, gladiatorial arena…hmm anything else? OH YEAH!-I've got a very new best-pup-friend-for-life-wolf and my secret daemon entity that both reside in my body and mind.
And I can teleport. Something that only Steve ever saw..
..
Another couple of hours passed and I was getting very tired. It had been an incredibly long day and even though I had absurd endurance and stamina, if I didn't get solid sleep my regen for both EP and MP would plummet, and I'd become about as energetic as my hungover hormonal once-teenager self.
The journey had been comparatively quiet, which was to not to say I hadn't seen anything nasty or disturbing, but more that I had been surprised to see some, if not most, of the smaller monsters and critters actively avoiding me as I approached or rather, when I suddenly appeared–almost as if they can sense that I am not quite so easy a meal anymore. Having said that, conversely there had been a notable incident where some giraffe snake-head looking fuckers immediately took offence to my face and chased me until I gave them the slip..fold. Which was just plain sad because the ugly bastards were just munching on leaves at first, making me fall into a false sense of hope that I’d found some wildlife that humanity could actually coexist peacefully with.
Alas. Tis not meant to be..
Siya still hadn't woken up which left me dangerously alone with my thoughts and the thousand paranoiac voices that came with them, but her status hadn't changed from broken bones to brain-damaged or anything, so I took some comfort in that and kept trudging on forward; enriched with the newly obtained firm knowledge never to assume something isn’t dangerous simply because it’s eating leaves.
..
My journey was on the final stretch now, and I was coming up to my junction on the M25 that would take me onto a final 45 km stretch on the M3. I recognised the signs and places here, having travelled through these parts for work and holidays quite frequently; I would be passing a junction that would have taken us back to mine and Marri’s old home located in Bracknell, which I highly doubt is even standing anymore..
It was still sickeningly jarring and blood curdlingly creepy travelling in the dark with no human souls or cars in sight, even though I had Siya with me, but my anticipation was overwhelming everything else; a toxic mix of fearful hope that things would be okay with passionate heart aching dread that things would be..Not, okay.
As I left the junction, it was interesting to see flashes and bursts of light coming from a nearby roller coaster theme park called Thorpe park; suggesting there was intensive Majik-heavy fighting going on, but it wasn’t something I was going to concern myself with right now, for all I know it could be just monsters fighting each other, breathing fire and shooting lightning out of their asses at each other.
It must have been getting close to midnight judging by the full moon that kept coming and going behind the few fluffy clouds that were steadily floating in, giving enough light that my TEFv wasn't needed unless I stared into the pitch black wooded areas or bushes. It would switch back and forth between my normal vision and the ability base done and I did note that there was a disruptive small delay between the two where my vision was very bad, something that could be exploited if a malicious party were to know about it.
I wonder if my dilating pupils are what triggers the skill..I’m guessing probably. It might all be sorcery, but it still needs something logical, mechanical or computational for it to know when to trigger. I mean, our naturally evolved eyes are pretty mechanical when you break them down, the light goes in and hits the photoreceptor cone and rod cells–cones for colour, rods for low light–which converts the electromagnetic energy into electrochemical energy, which is then used to send the signals to the brain.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
..
More information that I don’t know the origin of. More evidence that information is passed on through EXP and/or Majik and maybe just maybe, my GLYPH attribute has some connection to improving my intellect, although I don’t feel any smarter.
It was amusing to use words like logical or computational when talking about Majik and the abilities that had appeared since the fall. Mostly because these things heavily defied logic and physics..and yet, there were hints of technological order or laws behind it all.
Perhaps Majik is some kind of super advanced technology? Like…nanites?..
"Nanomachines son!" I chuckled over the remembrance of that meme. It was always the case with movies and books that they'd just slap words like 'nanotech' or 'quantum' over super advanced technology they couldn't explain.
I mean..maaybe that's the pinnacle. Maybe once we–well, not 'we' anymore but–if humanity had kept going and not had gotten freight trained by nightmares, once it got to a nanotech level it would be the last thing we would have invented?
Because once you could manufacture on that scale, you removed all limits?
Hmm I don't think so. There's more to the universe than smashing building blocks together. For instance, how do you create the building blocks? And where are the laws and rules that govern those building blocks stored? What tells a particle to have a charge, or an atom to have mass? Physics can be reproduced in repeated tests, but what is governing those rules to make sure those tests are repeatable? Hmph, and then black holes and singularities chuck all that up into the air with their event horizons and unknowns..
Perhaps it's all embedded in the pattern of the universe itself. The 'fabric' of reality is an unseen untouchable thing that ensures that matter and energy all behave within a defined set of possibilities, kind of like a train on rails where you can go back and forth, fast and slow, but you can’t deviate off the track–until you distort that fabric with too much matter and energy that is.,
Or maybe it's stored outside reality and..is Majik..the code? The ink? A leak? Is that-..
"AHHHHHHH!"
A blood curdling scream pierced the night and completely derailed my train of thought.
(!)SEV I TASK TX(!)
ESCORT THE SURVIVORS
SUCCESS: ADDITIONAL MEMBERS FOR SAFE ZONE.
SUCCESS: UNIQUE SKILL.
FAILURE: NO ADDITIONAL MEMBERS FOR SAFE ZONE.
"RAAAAAAAGH"
"SCREEEEEEGGH"
Oh bollocks.
"EVERYONE! BEHIND ME! MOVE!" A gruff and impatient man's voice barked.
"COME ON PEOPLE! YOU HEARD HIM! GET YA BUTTS INTO POSITION UNLESS YOU WANNA BE DINNER!" A cheerful yet assertive female voice growled in agreement.
"REMEMBER! PRIORITIZE THE KIDS CARAVANS! PROTECT THEM AT ALL BLOODY COSTS YA HEAR!? I'LL KILL YA MA'SELF IF YOU LET ANYTHING TOUCH THEM!" The gruff man barked again, fear and worry degrading his words.
Mega bollocks. I'm bloody knackered and so gods-damned close to home but..
Brain: Ugh..kids.
Gut: The poor little dudes..
Heart: Kids man..no fucking way we can walk away from this. Spirit ?! What the f-!
Spirit: Kids are our future! WE MUST FIGHT!
"Argh! Fuck it with a stick! Immo! Please help look after Siya.." I grunted as a blast of Majik burst from my skin and printed out Immo.
Immo: Understood Master Lord Base!
Uh….
Godu: Um thanks? But no need for the master, or lord…or base.
Immo: Oh. Uhh. Okay! Weird, Seren informed me you would prefer it..if I…….oh. That no good, deceitful Daemon! Ohh how embarrassing! Ooo I'm gonna say something when I see her-..
Wow Seren you bully.
"Uff-thanks and don’t sweat it Immo! Sorry! Be back in a sec!" Ignoring the poor wolf's ultimate betrayal, I plonked Siya on her back and immediately Slipfolded towards the source of the shouting.
Around the bend, I found a group of people surrounding several of the transport carts and fighting off a pack of leech-headed, panther-like dark scaled monsters that were also equipped with a pair of small pink flesh arms with matching gross little hands and fingers growing out either side of their circular, razor teeth filled mouth. I watched with grimace as a woman was tripped up by a tail and then the small pink arms gripped her by the head and rammed it into the circular mouth hole, cutting her screams off as it severed her entire head from the neck. It swallowed down her decapitated head whole with a loud, disturbing squeaky noise like inflated balloons rubbing against each other; people screamed out in sorrow and anger.
Label: Rubber Gullet
MAGN: 38.809
HP: 780/800
Notes: 'Ohhhhhhh ruuubbber Gullet, whaaaaat's in yer wallet.'
I deployed my claws and shields in config:prime, then Slipfolded on top of the creature and growled as I rammed my claws into its mouth, lifting it up and holding it in place. My shields glowed as they wound up an attack and then released a gritty synth growl as they stabbed into the Rubber Gullets neck and tore down into its ribcage, following up by violently ripping the monster in half, dumping its various organs and insides onto the floor. I dropped the leech-heads lifeless flesh and hurriedly parted the mess and picked up the woman's head; her light brown hair was matted with blood and filth and her blue eyes and mouth were frozen wide open in a haunting, eternal silent scream, painted on a canvas of deathly pale skin. The kind of pale you can only get with a corpse.
"I NEED A HEALER ON THIS WOMAN RIGHT NOW!" I ran over to her corpse and put her head on her bloody stump of a neck. Someone must have heard me as from the ground tiny green shoots sprouted and started to release streams of green Majik. It connected with her neck and much to my relief, the damaged tissues started to grow and reach out to each other. After a few more seconds, her head was reconnected to her torso and her mouth and eyes closed as lifeblood surged back into her skin and muscles.
I looked up as a man ran up to me sobbing–his face covered in dirt and blood, his eyes streaming with tears–but he wore a powerful smile, and he quickly took her off me whilst thanking me with intense emotion.
"You saved her! Thank you! My wife! You saved her! Thank you!!"
I gave a nod to the man and felt a swell of victory at succeeding in stopping a human life from being snuffed out and respect to the unknown healer that didn’t hesitate to believe in a stranger's call. I glanced around to see if I could find the true unsung hero that saved this womans life, but there was no hint as to who it was and I couldn’t stay still for long.
Slipfolding behind the nearest Gullet creature, I slammed my fist down onto the back of its neck as it reared up to attack a defender, forcing it back down and dealing extreme amounts of damage with a single blow. My claws sunk into the blubbery neck skin and I surge dragged the near dead beast on a rampage around the defenders circle, successfully grabbing the attention of all the lizard creeps, provoking their full ire.
They screamed at me in an enraged, high pitched hissing tone.
"Ugh shut the fuck up! Whiny, butthole-faced cunts.." I tossed their gurgling near-dead member at my feet and stomped its head like a watermelon.
The monsters charged, but they were so sluggish their movement was so predictable– everything and everyone else moves so much slower now, it’s like play-fighting against children–so I drew in my shields and lowered my stance, tensing my muscles and braced. As they were almost upon me, with a grunt, I activated blood Wrath and snapped out a single violent spin, my surge integrated shields blazed with azure as they extended out and obliterated every layer of fat, bone and muscle it sliced through; any monster in the striking zone flopped onto the ground, thoroughly dead.
It was immediately clear that my speed and strength were leagues ahead of everyone and everything around me as I rampaged through the Rubber Gullets, pulling them off people, throwing them at each other my shields smashing their heads clean off and one Gullet I kicked so hard it was sent flying as it crumpled in half, bones snapping and shattering from the savage explosive blunt force I was no capable of compared to their lower defences.
I wasn't some graceful, ultimate, ultra powerful hero–my exhaustion was reaching its limits and I started to take damage as my speed drastically reduced–but I definitely made enough of a difference that even though people were still getting brutally wounded, their healers had enough time to attend them and get them back up, allowing them to fearlessly charged back into the fight, even whilst their guts slipped back into their bellies as Majik healing and regeneration defied death in the most spectacular way.
Nobody was dying.
These people haven't survived this long on just thoughts and prayers. They are tough bastards.
And after a few more minutes of fierce fighting, with me zipping about and pummelling the shit out of the lizardy bitches, the battle was won, the Gullets - bloody piles on the floor.
ESCORT THE SURVIVORS - COMPLETED.
...
SUCCESS: ADDITIONAL MEMBERS FOR SAFE ZONE...PENDING..
SUCCESS: UNIQUE SKILL...PENDING...
Pending?..Pending what?-
"YEAAAH! WE DID IT! YOU BEAUTIFUL BLOODY BASTARDS DID IT!" A rather short stocky man with a bushy, long, dark-reddish beard cheered, and a round of laughs and happy shouts rang out as people hugged and helped each other hobble back to the carts in the centre where flashes of green and gold signalled healers were hard at work.
He looks a bit like a dwarf. Too tall to actually be classed as one though.
The guy spotted me and pointed a finger and grinned; it would have been infectious if I hadn't been such an emotional wreck.
"YOU. You crazy guardian demon bastard! Are ya some fallen angel that decided to help us poor mortals or something?? Haha! I don't care either way! Unlimited beers for you my dark winged demon friend!" He laughed as he strode over and held a hand out.
"Um..They're shields, actually.." I tucked them onto my back but didn’t dismiss them. Seeing someone unknown approach me flared up feelings and voices to not trust anyone.
"The name's Rant. Good ta meetcha Mister..?"
I stared at his hand in silence. A small voice was screaming at me to run, Slipfold away and disappear into the dark. Humans could be no different to monsters.
Fucking shaking hands?! I don't know you. You could be trying to fucking get me to let my guard down and then shit me over and-
"Hmm..shit." He sighed and put his hand down. I looked up to see his face plastered with a sympathetic half smile.
"I recognise that stare. Someone fucked you over and up eh? And yet you still jumped in to come help us..” He sighed and scratched the back of his head. ”This fucking world..I won't pry. But..I promise you-" he gestured to the people behind me. "These are good people. And it's quite clear you're capable of holding yer own as well as saving others. If only we had more people like yourself.." He looked deep down into the ground. "If only.."
I looked around as a tug of war between feeling socially awkward and fierce cynicism battled inside me, and realised it had gone very quiet, with people watching nervously.
"Anyways. Please, have a drink or something to eat. Ya don't even need to talk if you like, but I'll be damned if I don't give ya something in return for just jumping in and fighting like that. Heck, my Ma would probably come back from the grave just to beat my arse if I did."
I couldn't help but smirk at that. I relaxed. It was good to hear the familiar voices and language of my home.
This guy. Too much charisma.
"Well, I can hardly so no to a drink. Thank you. I'm Godu." I held my hand out.
"Yeaah! That's the spirit! A true pleasure Godu, a true pleasure." He enthusiastically shook my hand and patted my arm in that jovial friendly way all good natured extroverts do. The tension in the air evaporated and people started to move about with voices and conversations chirping up.
“Yeah likewise, I-..” I paused, pondering how best to break the ice on my companions. Probably best to just be direct..
And I was.
There was a brief moment of panic and a few suspicious looks when I mentioned I was travelling with a wolf and an unconscious 6 month old moth girl, but after a few shouts from Rant, people got back to sorting out the damage, moving the monsters corpses with some people even carving them up for bits and pieces that I wasn’t quite sure the end purpose of.
As people went about with their tasks and generally setting the convoy back up ready to move, the initially concerned faces quickly turned to interest and awe filled ones as Immo padded towards me with Siya and gently laid down, resting her heads onto her paws.
It was amusing to see how much her behaviour had changed from the timid wounded wolf to the now cool, casual and calm presence she exuded; her strength was linked to my own and so she was quite content to be right in the thick of all these unfamiliar humans, although a complex part of my mind pieced together that she probably saw this group in the same light as the one she was wanting to call her own, and thus by choosing to walk and sit amongst them, even if only as a temporary guest, she was fulfilling the goals she had set with that previous group.
Coordination was impressive in this group; barely anyone stood still or sat down for long. And before I knew it, a bunch of foldout seats had been set up with a fire and pot of food constructed and then I was being handed a genuinely frosty cold, no labelled bottle of what I presumed to be beer.
“Ahh, thanks Jerry you are a true hero.” Jerry was a tall brown haired man, wearing a big long blue jacket that had patches of leather sewn on in specific places. Homemade armour.
“That’s Jerry. He’s basically a frost mage. A true beverage Saint in my opinion. Only crackheads and krauts drink warm beer.” Rant winked and raised his bottle to Jerry who rolled his eyes and flipped him off, muttering something in German as he walked off chuckling.
“Heh a true Saint..Anyways. Here’s to not losing a single person, for the first fucking time in the past 6 months. No doubt in large part thanks to you Mr Godu. Bloody cheers to that ay.” He toasted and downed the drink whilst I took a reflexive sniff.
Jeez..What am I expecting to smell here? Almonds?
I shrugged off the silly paranoias before nodding a thanks and taking a swig.
Beads of condensation slid down the bottle and moistened my lips as the breezy liquid went down easily.
It was delicious, crisp and oh so satisfyingly cold..
Damn, he’s right.
Jerry is a true Saint.
…
..
.