The night was supposed to be a quiet one. Conton was generally quiet at night, as the majority of the people retired early to their homes after the day’s work. Today was different, the air was filled with agonizing screams of people, desperate cries of children, and the rumbling sounds of destruction.
The darkness had a red ambience, one that was imposed by the sky above, and though it didn’t improve visibility by any means, I could clearly see the creatures responsible for the chaos and mayhem.
It didn’t take long until spells started flying at the creatures from different directions, but they were rendered ineffective the moment they struck.
Everything that just happened unfolded very quickly. I snapped out of my initial shock, and my body moved. Triggering my stillbring, I dashed towards the creatures at an insane speed. Up close, the situation was even more grim. People were running helter-skelter in different directions. The city square was completely destroyed, and the destruction encroached on other parts of the city at a rate that would destroy the whole city in no time. The creatures seemed to notice my presence, and they turned their attention towards my direction.
The monstrosity of their appearance was terrifying. They were very different appearance-wise, yet it felt like they had a lot in common. Both of them approached me at the same time. They both towered in height, and their sizes were menacing. The one on my left had a skeletal and insect-like appearance. Its torso was heavily guarded resembling a collection of bones and darkened metals. It had multiple elongated limbs that resembled appendages, each adorned with sharp, jagged edges. Its head was skull-like, with multiple eyes, two of which glowed ominously red.
The second creature on my right had an elongated serpentine form with jagged tentacles extending from different areas on its back. It had two arms that terminated into hands possessing massive claws. Its head was elongated, and its mouth was open, revealing menacing teeth which resembled clustered claws. Its eyes were piercing, glowing in the same red hue. The sight alone was enough to strike an overwhelming sense of fear into anyone that dared to look.
Before I could decide on what course of action to follow, a tentacle from the serpentine creature whipped in my direction. It approached at an incredible speed, and the force it projected was strong enough to move the debris around me even before it struck.
My stillbring shifted, reinforcing my body with mana even before I put any thought into it. I manifested Repulsion in an attempt to stop the tentacle from reaching me, but I was welcomed with a rude awakening. Repulsion had no effect on it. Before I could react further, I was hit, sent flying, and ended up crashing into a building.
I wasn’t even given any chance to gather myself, and this time, more tentacles came at me. It took only two slashes, and the entire building was destroyed, crumbled to bits of debris, and once again, I was exposed bare to its onslaught.
I panicked a little upon the realization that Repulsion had no effect on the creature, and my guess was that Attraction would meet a similar fate. I switched my perception to the grey domain, and upon my intent, every stillbring came alive at once. I evaded the tentacles with ease this time, as I charged at the creature.
The energy the creatures gave off was familiar. At first, it was difficult to settle my thoughts on when I had initially encountered such energy, given everything happening around me, but after I managed to pull myself together, I recognized the lingering sense of familiarity.
Azkhan lieutenants, and even Sophia, gave off similar energy when they fought, although theirs were faint compared to the ones the creatures gave off. The luxury to indulge in a curiosity-driven thought process was far-fetched at that moment. The questions could come later, as the task ahead of me took precedence.
I struggled to come to terms with how flexible the creature was, compared to its size. It kept up with my pace as I avoided its tentacles, which it swung precisely, at an incredible speed and force. My goal was to get to the top of its head, though I wasn’t sure of what to do when I got there.
I triggered Realm Slip, plotting my destination to the top of its head, and surprisingly, it worked. Upon landing on its head, another tentacle came at me. I decided to test a hypothesis; my plan was to use Hollow Shield to deflect its attack, sending it to the second creature. Just as I thought, it didn’t work either. I came to the understanding that the creatures were resistant to spells conjured against them. This was a new experience for me, and I got a bit excited. I readied myself, as a single tentacle swung towards me, and it struck. My stillbring did a great job shuddering the impact, as I did my best to stay on my feet. The resultant of the impact was transferred downwards to the head of the creature, and from its reaction, it was hurt.
The insect-like creature tried to get me off the head of its companion, as it stretched one of its limbs towards me, in an attempt to grab me with it. I grabbed the part of the limb that came at me by one of its jagged edges. The width of the whole limb was just a few inches shorter than I was, but I wasn’t fazed.
My spells weren’t effective against them, and probably other spells too. They seemed to have some kind of immunity towards any form of mana conjured against them, but they were still well within the constraints of physical forces.
I’d never paid much attention to my abilities as a stillbringer. Most of the time, I wielded them subconsciously as they seemed to manifest on their own during combat situations. The situation had forced me to conform around my stillbring, and I was amazed. The amount of sheer power I was able to generate was overwhelming.
I pulled the part of the limb I grabbed, and the whole creature moved. Focusing my intent on strengthening, I struck at the most distal joint of its limb, and the power was just enough to dislocate it. I struck again, this time, ripping it off from the rest of the limb. The creature jolted backwards as it made a loud writhing sound.
I was washed with a sense of satisfaction, but I wasn’t slowing down. I grabbed the part of the limb I ripped off, and smashed it on the head of the serpentine creature beneath me. The impact sent shockwaves through its massive form, and its tentacles flailed widely, crashing into nearby buildings, and sending debris flying.
I leaped off the creature, its erratic movements became too unstable for me on top of its head. Both creatures regrouped, their movements synchronized, despite their differences. The insect-like creature lunged at me, the remainder of its intact fore-limbs slashing through the air at terrifying speed. The serpentine creature joined the assault, with its tentacles whipping towards me from all directions.
I avoided each and every attack thrown at me, thanks to the grey domain. Their coordination was impressive; the insect-like creature relied on its sharp jagged limbs for a close-range attack, while the serpentine creature used its tentacles to attack from a distance.
Though it was easy to keep up with the pace of their onslaught, it was difficult to focus on taking them down individually. The tentacles of the serpentine creature was the main problem as there were many of them whipping almost simultaneously. Unlike the insect-like creature, I couldn’t rip out one of its tentacles. Even if it was possible, other tentacles would whip towards me, distracting and putting an end to my efforts.
I clicked my lip, if only my spells worked on the creatures, they would have been dead. I evaded slash attacks from the insect-like creature, and charged towards the serpentine one, avoiding its tentacles before materializing on its back using Realm Slip. I attempted to rip off one of its top most tentacles, and just as I anticipated, others whipped wildly towards me. I watched as every one of its tentacles came at me, and the grey domain, as always, rendered their approach slow. Triggering Realm Slip just at the right moment, I vanished from its back and materialized in front of the insect-like creature. I watched as the serpentine creature jolted upon tasting its own medicine. I smirked, buying myself just the amount of time I needed.
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The insect-like creature made a move, and I dodged. With every strength I could muster with my stillbring, I struck at another joint on its limb, severing it.
I felt good, getting into the rhythm of the battle, until I watched in horror as both limbs I’d severed regenerated with ease.
“Oh, you had tricks up your sleeve. This is going to be fun,” I remarked.
Once again, it tried to grab me. Just as it stretched its limbs in my direction, something crashed into it with a tremendous amount of force. I stood in awe, unable to believe that a creature that size could be lifted off the ground, let alone sent crashing. A familiar silhouette with a blue shine in the grey domain walked towards me, and I switched out of it.
“Did you think I would let you have all the fun alone?” Yukina asked with a playful smirk on her lips.
I quickly grabbed one of her swords,
“I wondered what took you so long?” I said to her, before dashing towards the serpentine creature.
“You can have that one, I will take care of the insect,” her tone casual, as if she were doing me a favor.
Yukina’s entry exposed something that made me regret not indulging the earlier thought that crossed my mind. I had recognized similarities in the energy the creatures, and high ranking Azkhan soldiers gave off, but the connection felt too far-fetched, so I quickly discarded the thought.
Even though the silhouettes of the creatures were covered with black flames, the grey domain didn’t expose any weaknesses—maybe their resistance to mana played a role in that. If I had indulged the thought further, I would have realized how similar the creatures were to the falxes. Though falxes were resistant to physical attacks rather than mana, something was conveniently similar; the blood-red hue in their eyes.
Somehow, Yukina was able to strike the insect-like creature with so much force that exposed the grey area in its eyes for a brief moment. Instantly, the thought of the falx popped in my head. At that moment, I had a clear objective—its eyes.
I manifested right in front of its right eye using Realm slip. Its eye was slightly larger than my head in size. It had an overall red hue, but some parts of it were much darker, especially its slender pupil—though it looked black from afar, upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a very dark tone of red. Before the creature could react further, I drove my sword into its eye.
It shot itself away from me with a powerful recoil. I knew I hadn’t done enough to kill it, but I was right about its weak spot. I followed up immediately, aiming for its left eye, but the creature responded by completely covering it with one of its tentacles. It lashed out at me, this time, with even more ferocity.
Physical black flames erupted, burning on the body of the creature; one I was also familiar with. I tried to trigger Realm Slip to put a distance between the creature and I, and to my surprise, I couldn’t. I didn’t panic, immediately switching to the grey domain, avoiding the relentless whipping of the tentacles that came my way. Thankfully, I was still able to trigger my stillbring.
The flames blazed fiercely, making it impossible for me to conjure any spells close to it. But I wasn't fazed; I already knew how to take it down.
Yukina was a much better stillbringer than I was, she had spent all her life harnessing her abilities as a stillbringer. I was just a novice compared to her. I couldn’t generate the kind of power she unleashed on the insect-like creature, but that was precisely what I needed.
I brought myself to a safe distance; away from the effects of the creature’s flames. The creature didn’t charge at me, as it assumed a defensive position. I looked around me, hoping to find a solid metal pole. Luckily, I found one just the size I wanted, lying among the rubble of a destroyed building. I grabbed it and shot myself upwards using Realm Slip. The height at which I materialized wasn’t satisfactory, so I repeated the same action ascending even higher until I was satisfied with my vantage point.
The creature was barely visible to me, but it didn’t matter. I let myself fall, launching the pole towards it with the maximum output my stillbring could muster. My plan was simple; I needed to generate more power from free fall. Just as the pole struck, I triggered Realm Slip in the direction of the creature.
My plan worked. The resultant of the impact tried to force the creature into the ground, creating a crater. The ground quaked, and fault lines ran in different directions. The creature was yet to recover from the effects of the impact; the rod had pierced its back, leaving the creature significantly injured. It was still conscious, but I was sure it was weakened by the impact, as it struggled to heal the wound.
I released my Realm Slip at a safe distance, to avoid the effects of the creature’s flames, letting myself fall towards it. I couldn’t tell if the creature was too weak to react, or if it didn’t notice my descent, but I crashed directly on its left eye, plunging my sword deep into it.
The creature let out an agonizing screech, as its flames began to burn feebly. I leaped to the ground and stared at the creature, watching it die slowly. The battle turned out to be a lot harder than I had expected, but I was victorious nonetheless.
Yukina had equally taken care of the insect-like creature, and It didn’t seem to give her so much trouble. She approached me from a distance as the dead creature sprawled behind her. We had destroyed a considerable portion of the city. Although we didn’t do it intentionally, we were still implicit nevertheless. It was an unavoidable situation, and we had to react immediately in order to reduce casualties. Though I was confident that the survivors of the initial attack from the creatures all ran to a safe distance, away from the fray, I still hoped that nobody was caught in it when we got involved.
I tossed Yukina’s sword to her as she reached me,
“Thanks,” I said to her.
She grabbed it, sheathing both swords behind her back.
“The insect was pretty tough. What are these things? What’s going on?” She asked.
“I think I have a vague understanding of the situation,” I replied absentmindedly.
My encounter with Valery came alive in my head. What were the odds that the creatures conveniently attacked just after our encounter? I knew that we were in for a lot more trouble. Though creatures like these were enough to cause a lot of problems, I knew we were yet to encounter the dark ones Valery spoke of.
I was still unsettled. The red ambience did not disappear, neither did the cracks in the sky, and a sense of foreboding still loomed. Two lieutenants and some soldiers approached us. One of them, a young man called Malloy Schalzark spoke to Yukina,
“Commander, We were able to evacuate every civilian around the area. No one else was harmed.”
“Good. Now we can focus on cleaning up this mess,” Yukina replied.
I felt a wave of relief upon hearing that they evacuated the people away from the heat. Unfortunately, that relief didn’t last long. Something approached at a speed defined by a blur in normal perception. One by one, the soldiers around us fell. It was a little too late to save them, and before I could react, they were all dead. The figure responsible for the slaughter came to a halt, and I could see her clearly. It was easy to tell that she wasn’t human. Though her overall appearance looked human, humans, and even Arcanes didn’t have horns.
She had long flowing black hair ending with red highlights, cascading down her back. Her pale skin, exposed by her sleeveless vest created a stark contrast against the dark tones of her attire. Her outfit, which was form-fitted, had a dark, almost metallic finish. Her ears were pointed, and her horns curved upward from her head.
Another figure approached slowly from a distance. It was easy to tell that they were partners. The figure was masculine, and he wore a skull-like mask. He had horns too, but he’s had antler-like protrusions. His outfit was a combination of armor and fabric, with a dark base layered with various textures. He walked confidently, gripping the handle of a sword strapped around his waist.
The woman in front of us said something, but I couldn’t understand what she said. She spoke in a language I’d never heard of, and she ended whatever she said with a grin.
She took slow steps towards us, and Malloy drew out his sword, assuming a defensive stance. She charged, and the duel ended in an instant. I had never seen lieutenants appear so helpless as she went through him like he was fodder.
“I understand you now,” Yukina said to me. The tone of her voice could tell that she was a bit shaken.
The second lieutenant, visibly shaken, took a few steps backwards, bumping into me. Fear radiated from her and the look in her eyes spoke volumes. She didn’t say any word, but her expression screamed,
“Save me.”
The woman in black charged again. I moved to meet her, but someone stopped her before I did.
My perception was already switched to the grey domain, and I noticed the masculine figure charging towards us.
I sighed,
“It never stops, does it?”