The ground around the chapel heaved and split, rupturing in waves as a mass of mottled flesh surged upward from beneath it. In a matter of seconds, it filled the space inside the chapel to the brim and started bulging out, coming out of the windows and doors. The villagers ran at the sight of it but not as fast as they should have been.

With a crunch, the chapel’s roof fell away, and then the walls crumbled. Where the chapel had stood mere seconds ago was now a giant blob of writhing flesh. I froze, wide-eyed, at the monstrous mass and its sheer size.

* [t7] RO-71 [Triple Skull]

Yet it continued to swell and spread. From its sides, thick tentacles sprouted, coiling and lashing out in every direction, crashing into nearby structures with brutal force. They whipped through the air, each one lined with small, barbed tendrils that latched onto anything they touched, tearing through wood, and stone.

The entirety of the blob started to creep toward the houses, seeking out prey. Villagers’ lives were in danger. The old and the slow were going to get caught and die tragically. Do I fight it, or do I evacuate the residents? The houses could be rebuilt in the Nexus, but people’s lives were another story.

From eighty yards out, I unleashed a salvo of [Infernal Barrage]. Three fiery bolts streaked toward the monster, striking it with explosive force. The creature wailed, though no visible mouth emitted the sound. It recoiled, and from its top, a round shape emerged—twisting until it faced me directly. An array of glaring eyes dotted its surface, with a dark, gaping void at its center, fixed in my direction.

It burped and heaved, its grotesque sphere swelling rhythmically as if pumping. Then, in an instant, a torrent of sludge erupted from its open cavity, spewing like a firehose. I [Leaped] aside just in time as the foul liquid surged forth, and wherever it splashed, noxious smoke billowed up, melting every bit of vegetation on contact. A tree caught in its path gave way, its trunk dissolving into a pool of rot.

I didn’t know if it noticed that it had missed me, but the sphere sunk right back into the blob, vanishing. It did give me pause—bystanders could get caught in the acid spray’s path. I didn’t want to endanger others by provoking that attack again.

There was no time for an orderly and coordinated evac. Every second mattered. I dashed and leaped to find any stranded villagers, crashing through the doors and checking inside the houses before it could reach them.

Panic and yelling erupted around me. People were grabbing their kids, and herding animals away from the oncoming danger. I could understand the kids, but farm animals? I didn’t have time for those.

I sprinted past a villager who had his arms full carrying a cauldon, barely managing to come up to a jog. Was he going to make it? I had no time for idiots. I ran past and jumped through an open window, turning my head from side to side, searching inside. A cat hissed at me, tried to scurry away, but I grabbed it by the tail and out the door I went with it. Behind me, the sounds of splintering timber and crashing rubble filled the air, mixed with shouting. The cat wasn’t happy either.

I dashed across the street, burst through the door, but the place was empty. A tentacle crashed through the wall next to me, flailing about. I barely managed to go out the window. Then, I leaped to the next house down the line, across the street. An old man looked up from where he was sitting at the table, seemingly annoyed at my sudden intrusion.

“What in the name of-” he started to say.

Did he resign himself to die, or was he hard of hearing? I didn’t have time to ask, or get an answer. I shoved his table aside and his meal clattered to the ground. Sadly, I had to drop the mace to free up another hand -- I’d dig it out of the rubble later. Unceremoniously, I grabbed him around the waist, and hoisted him over my shoulder in a fireman carry.

Cat in one hand, old man’s knee and wrist in the other, I ran out the house, bulldozed through a rickety fence and burst straight into the next residence. And just in time too. The sounds of cracking and splintering timber followed me. I didn’t have to look to know what just happened behind me. Debris flew in the air like a tornado was tearing through the place. Something struck hard against my back plate, nearly sending me sprawling. The old man yelped, growling in pain. I stumbled but regained my footing and pressed on.

Inside, scared eyes looked up to me from under the table, where two kids were hiding. The table wasn’t going to protect them, not when the whole house was going to come crashing down.

“You have to get out!” I yelled through my helmet, pointing out the door with the cat in my hand.

Yet they remained frozen. I had to think fast. Any second now, the mass of flesh would reach this house and destroy it too. I dumped the old man and the cat on the ground, reached under the table and pulled out two kids by their wrists. I swept them up into my arms and carried them out like sacks of potatoes. In an instant, the tentacles thrashed through the house. I didn’t look back, but [Leaped] a couple of times in the direction of the portal by the lake’s shore.

“Go inside,” I pointed at the wide portal. “You’ll be safe there for now,” I told them, but they didn’t seem convinced.

Without wasting another second, I [Leaped] back to resume the evacuation, pushing thoughts of the old man—and the cat—out of my mind. On the street, I wasn’t the only one helping. Darya ran past me with a child in her arms, and the rest of the family on her heels.

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“What is this thing!?” she yelled in my direction.

“Help is coming,” I shouted back.

With every passing minute, the monstrous mass of flesh tore through houses, obliterating everything in its path. Villagers scattered, sprinting down the road and out the gate, but—as I’d come to expect—a few stood frozen in the face of the advancing horror.

By the lake, where the chapel used to stand, the monster’s spherical head would come up to feed on the cows it had pulled out of the village, swallowing them whole. Its rate of expansion slowed the bigger it got, but was it going to stop expanding at some point? There was no way it would simply engulf the entire world, right?

Many houses remained standing on the outskirts of the village next to the palisade. Fleeing villagers were getting pushed up against the palisade, trapped by the walls that were meant to protect them. A few were climbing over it, but many more ran along the wall in both directions. On the side of the lake, some had waded out, and others were swimming away.

Something needed to be done. Someone had to. Maybe open a portal for them to escape? The tentacles were closing in, slithering in like snakes, expanding its reach. Do I risk it, to stand in one place for ten seconds needed to open the portal?

I jumped into action, at a place where I thought I’d be safe, and out of sight. I used the key, started the process. Yet, I didn’t make it a couple of seconds before I was struck, as if it knew, as it targeted me specifically. The tentacles attacked from behind.

Yanked off my feet, I was flung about in the air before crashing to the ground with a bone-rattling thud that left me gasping for air. Before I could recover, I was dragged along the dirt road toward the creature’s pulsating core. I scrambled for my wands, but it was too late. Dangling upside down, I stared into the gaping maw below—a black void, wide open, ready to consume me whole.

I thought it was over for me, but then a blinding bar of light, as bright as the sun, sliced down through the sphere. For a brief moment, the two halves clung together before finally peeling apart, and the crushing hold on my feet released. Freed, I [Leaped] aside as far as I could.

If any villagers weren't already fleeing in terror, they would be now, at the sight of what had emerged from the portal by the lake’s shore. Milu had arrived, fully geared up. Strapped to her body was a massive contraption resembling a scalpel, but scaled up to the size of a telephone pole.

With a thunderous buzz, she fired the beam again, leaving a glaring afterimage in its path. Relief flashed through me, but it was short-lived. Even as the beam seared through the orb, splitting it apart again and again, the monstrous flesh was reforming, the severed parts merging back as if Milu’s relentless assault was nothing more than a temporary setback.

“Fire!” I heard Milu shout from where she floated, out by the portal. “Burn it to ash!”

To add to what she was saying, frantic images of fire flicked through my mind, leaving my mind momentarily frazzled. I knew exactly what to do. I [Leaped] on to the tallest remains of a house, stood on the walls that jutted out of the ruble. From there, I conjured up a [Boiling Tar Bomb] and threw it a great distance, covering the mangled flesh in the process of regenerating. The tar covered only a small part of it, but this was only the start.

To set it on fire, I followed it up with [Infernal Barrage.] A guttural roar of pain reverberated from deep within the blob, but that wasn’t going to stop me. I alternated between throwing more boiling tar bombs and hitting it with an [Infernal Barrage.] Smoke, and noxious stench of burned flesh hung heavy in the air. With plenty of mana to spare and more regenerated every second, I continued and didn’t stop until I ran empty.

At last, the "Experience gained" message flashed across my vision, prompting a weary sigh of relief. More notifications soon followed.

* [Congratulations! You have gained levels 28-30.]

* [15 Attribute points awarded.]

* [3 Skill point awarded]

* [3 Passive points awarded.]

* [Evolution Points gained: 64]

[Please Select One:]

* [t2 Passive] Clever Construction

* Conjuring a [Trap] creates a duplicate copy

* [Trap] skills have 25% reduced AOE

* [t2 Passive] Quickstep

* [Movement] skills gain 2 charges

* [Movement] skill cooldown increased by 50%

* [t2 Passive] Mystic Conservation

* Every 6th cast of a skill doesn’t consume any mana

As the adrenaline rush subsided, a deep exhaustion settled over me. The new levels and a freshly unlocked passive skill barely managed to bring a weary smile on my face. I didn’t have much time to think about choosing a new passive. Still, I took a peek at what was offered. Mana regeneration hasn’t been a problem for me, not since Bob’s tinkering that doubled my mana. Clever Construction seemed appealing, and I had three trap skills that would benefit from it too. However, in the end, the choice was obvious. There was one skill that I used more than any other, and by far.

Around me, what was left standing after the Brutalorg’s rampage two weeks ago had now been leveled by this creature—whatever it was, without even a proper name. All that remained of it was a smoldering heap of ash and scattered piles of severed tentacles.

There were injured to heal, and people to dig out of the rubble. I knew there’d be casualties, people missing. Also … Milu. The villagers who hadn’t yet fled to the Nexus kept their distance, giving her a wide berth -- if not for her terrifying sight, then from the power she had unleashed with her weapon. Even I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side.

She floated over to me, scanning from side to side with a skeptical eye on the villagers. Darya and Amelia were in the area too, and looked like they had many questions to ask.

“You saved my bacon,” I told Milu.

“Your what, dear?”