Joe rushed over to Sera, seeing Gerad peeking his head out from a doorway next to her, “What in the hell are ya doing here!?” Joe questioned, grabbing her by the shoulders, “How the hell are you here?”
“I could say the same thing to you.” Sera said, “Come on, we must be away.”
She then nodded to a nearby alley, where Joe could see a small brown-haired head peering at him from behind the corner. Joe glared at Gerad for only a brief instant before Sera began pulling him along, grabbing his hand to get him going. With Sera here, Gerad wouldn’t be able to pull off any trap on Joe and get away with it… plus them finding him here had to have been pure happenstance, Gerad couldn’t have been counting on this.
The halfling barely even seemed to notice Joe as he and Sera passed into the alley, knees shaking as he said, “I didn’t think it would actually be here…”
“You should be glad, it is the whole reason we came after all.” Sera replied, releasing Joe’s hand as soon as they entered the alley.
That’s right… they needed to accomplish a great feat, and what greater than killing a Forgotten Beast? That explained why they were down here, but Joe still didn’t understand the ‘how’ of it. They couldn’t have gone through Ugals to get here, that was impossible. Then he remembered something that Varig had told him.
“Did you get here through the Dark-Wastes?” Joe asked her.
Sera nodded, “It was the only way, we couldn’t go through the Dwarfhold for obvious reasons.” She explained, a finger tracing one pointed ear, “I heard the legend of Jilamaka years ago from a human merchant, I figured we could come down here and kill it to fulfill our contract… that doesn’t explain why you’re here though.” She finished, wrapping her arms around him, “I see you finished your dragon project.”
“We ain’t got time for hugs woman!” Joe said quickly, grabbing her by the shoulders, “Thank God you’re here, this is gonna make killin’ that thing a whole lot easier.”
“Remember, it has to be Gerad that does it.” Sera pointed out, “He has to land the killing blow or it won’t count.”
That was fine, he could just hand the little prick the detonator when it was time to trigger the trap.
“Sounds good, remember that c4 I told you about?” Joe asked, receiving a nod in return, “We’re gonna use that and blow Jilamaka to hell. If we got time, I can plant a few on them bodies over there, it might get hungry and go to eat something soon, I blew a hole in its gut earlier.”
“I don’t think it would be hungry after that.” Gerad stated, still observing Jilamaka from the alley mouth, “It’s thrashing further away now… maybe we should just leave?”
“It’s a regenerator boy.” Joe pointed out, “It gets hungrier the more it heals damage, when it’s done with that tantrum it’s gonna go find somethin’ to munch on, and there’s lots of bodies in that there plaza, as you can see.”
He wasn’t planning on setting it up there initially, but with Jilamaka moving further away it would be relatively safer to do so. It would come back here to feed on its own, but he’d use a flare to draw it here once the trap was fully set, and with Sera, the beast could be paralyzed in place if need be… in fact, with that being the case, he may be able to plant the charges on the monster directly, as long as Sera maintained the spell of course. He explained the plan, but Sera seemed to turn pale as he went on.
“What’s wrong?” Joe asked her.
“It is one thing to paralyze a man Joseph… but a Forgotten Beast?” She said, putting a hand to her chin, “I just don’t know… I’ve never been tested like that before.”
“How else didja plan on killing it?” Joe questioned.
“...I was just going have Gerad shoot it in the head with the gun you gave me.” Sera admitted, “I had no idea it could regenerate though.
Joe shook his head, “That little thing probably wouldn’t have managed to get through its skull even if it couldn’t heal itself. We have to use c4, but if you can’t paralyze it, I can still make it work.”
“If I can hold the beast in place, it would only be for a few instants, maybe enough to save your life if it came down to it.”
“That’ll have to do. By the way, if its stomach is still open could you create some water inside of it? Waterlog the bastard a bit maybe- Wait, can’t ya use that one thing?” Joe asked, remembering Sera’s other spell.
“Evacuation is already draining enough on a human sized opponent, I may simply fall unconscious if I even attempt it on Jilamaka.” Sera said, shaking her head.
“Alright, you can create water, use Evacuation, Paralyze… you said you knew two other spells? What are those?” Joe asked her.
Gerad gave a shaky sigh, “They won’t help. One can clean any dish instantly, while the other kills fleas and head lice.”
“A tome is a tome.” Sera said, tone offended, “You did not seem so unimpressed when I saved you from your infestation.”
…Well that explained why the dishes she put away in the sink were always spotless. He had thought she was just licking everything off the plate.
“Alright look,” Joe said, “I’m gonna go set up the c4, I want you two to keep an eye on that freak and let me know if it’s coming back. Once I got everythin’ set up, Gerad will blow the fuses and we’ll see if that kills it. If not then we got some other things we can try. Sound like a plan?”
“Yes but why are you down here?” Sera asked him, “I still don’t understand, were you treasure hunting?”
Joe shook his head, “Assassins called ‘The Black Hand’ are after me, they know what I am so I figured me n’ the dwarves could settle our debt by wiping them out.”
Sera gasped, “The Black Hand?” She asked, her eyes beginning to scan the rooftops, “They’re down here?”
Joe nodded, “That’s right, I came down here to kill ‘em all so they’d stop comin’ after me. You know ‘em?”
Sera sighed, “I had an old friend of mine fall in with them a decade back. I’ll tell you more later, let us set up the trap.”
Joe nodded, rushing back out of the alley with Sera following quickly behind, Gerad maintaining a good distance behind them to keep an eye on Jilamaka. Joe hastily piled three corpses together, setting up the c4 quickly as Jilamaka continued to rage. Hopefully it had crushed Yugo and his ninja buddies by now, but only time would tell. Then, inspiration struck him… he could shape the c4 into a few of these breastplates, creating a few makeshift claymores. A few thousand shards of metal shrapnel wouldn’t hurt… at least it wouldn’t hurt him, hopefully. Quickly he ran over to the dwarven corpses, dragging them closer to the center of the plaza and stuffing their armor with a decent amount of the c4. Varig wouldn’t be happy with this, but they needed to hurt Jilamaka as much as possible and this was the best way to do it. Varig was a rational guy, he’d understand.
“Is the explosive going to shatter the armor? Is it that strong?” Sera asked, not tearing her gaze from the distant Jilamaka.
“Oh yeah.” Joe said with a grin, “We gotta hurt as much of this thing as possible, and this will get the job done.”
Once he was satisfied with the bomb's positioning, he grabbed Sera by the wrist and ran back to Gerad, the three of them taking up position in the same alley as before.
Hiding in a house was not an option, if Jilamaka continued to tantrum it could crush their hiding place and turn everyone in it into paste. At least here in an open alley way they’d be able to retreat if Jilamaka drew close. He underestimated just how damn mad he’d made the creature though. It continued to scream threats and thrash about, only stopping after another ten minutes had passed. If Joe had to guess, Jilamaka had never been so seriously injured before, and being presented with its own mortality likely strained its mental state.
Gerad held the detonator in his hand, eyes locked on the plaza. The halfling didn’t even blink, completely locked in on the c4, thumb hovering just over the button.
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“Remember, try to wait until it tries to eat them.” Joe told him, “But if it puts one of it’s big ass paws on there, hit the trigger. We blow off a limb, there’s no way it can regenerate all that damage, it would have to eat a ton of food to regrow something like that.”
“Y-yeah.” Gerad said, eyes bloodshot, “Yeah.”
“Take cover before you hit the button,” Joe said, You don’t want shrapnel hittin’ ya in the eyes or anywhere else. “I’d be fine, but not you.”
Joe could tell the punk was terrified, but this was what he had wanted, to accomplish a great feat.
“Blowing off the limb probably won’t kill it outright, so if that happens, we’ll have to pump it full of lead.” Joe said, “You’ll run out in front of it with my shotgun, and hit it in the head a few times, that should do the trick.”
“In front of it!?” Gerad questioned, finally blinking, “Where it can see me?”
“Think about it kid.” Joe said, “We blow off a limb, its regeneration is gonna turn it into a shriveled husk trying to keep up with the damage. It’ll hardly be able to move after that. Trust me, I’ve killed things like this before.”
“Easy for you to say.” Gerad said, “I don’t want to be where it can see me.”
Joe sighed, “Then ya ain’t gonna get it done, not as quickly anyway.”
Everyone fell silent, hearing that Jilamka had ceased its thrashing and rambling. Instead, they all heard loud footsteps, slowly approaching their position. Joe tried to picture the direction it was coming from… cursing when he realized that Jilamaka was approaching from behind this building. Quietly, he urged Sera and Gerad to follow him, rounding the building as Jilamaka drew closer. He froze as he rounded the corner… seeing who else but Yugo standing there, daggers drawn and staring right back at him.
His low crouch indicated that he was trying to sneak this way… was he trying to get the drop on Joseph? His buddies weren’t around from what he could see, that was a relief. However, they couldn’t get to killing each other just yet.
Neither of them moved as Jilamaka passed by the building, Sera and Gerad rounding the corner and also freezing when they saw Yugo. Yugo, strangely enough, seemed to flinch at seeing Sera, but still said nothing. Joe heard Jilamaka finally enter the plaza, and he urged Gerad forward silently, still clutching the detonator. He raised his hand, palm forward to Yugo, trying to indicate a pause to their fighting. Yugo nodded, kneeling down and keeping an eye on the halfling, who peered out from beside the armored ninja.
Joe couldn’t see what was going on, but after a few seconds, Gerad gasped, darting behind the building just before pressing the detonator. A massive explosion rocked the plaza, causing Joe’s ears to ring as all other sounds save for Jilamaka’s pained scream, which nearly made Joe try to clutch his ears through his helmet. The plan had worked! Now all they had to do was finish it off and then kill Yugo, then it was smooth sailing from here.
Joe ran toward Gerad, giving Yugo a wide berth. When he came upon Gerad, he saw that Jilamaka’s rear paw had been blown completely off, leaving an acidic bloody stump in its place. The entire plaza seemed to sizzle with splattered blood, eating holes through the stone. The hole that Joe had blasted through Jilamaka’s gut was no longer there. However, the beast's ribs were now visible against its furred scaly flesh. The regeneration had forced it into emaciation, and with the c4 having blown off a limb… Jilamaka was essentially helpless now. Not just that, the improvised claymores had done their parts marvelously, its mutant flesh was perforated with metal shrapnel, dwarven steel embedded into the monster from neck to foot. Acidic blood seeped down the entire creature, and it wobbled for a moment before finally it collapsed, shaking the plaza and convulsing as it tried to heal itself.
Joe handed Gerad his shotgun and urged him toward the monster, drawing his pistol and keeping an eye on Yugo all the while. If Joe hit him with his poleaxe, would it reflect back at him? Shooting him wasn’t a real option, but his instincts screamed for him to put a bullet through his head regardless. He ignored the feeling as he considered how to kill him. With Sera here, it would be easy, all she had to do was paralyze him, then Joe could remove his helmet and end him that way.
Gerad didn’t move, clutching the shotgun in his hands nervously as he stared at the still form of Jilamaka, not even thrashing as its body struggled to regenerate. Joe let out an irritated huff before saying, “Hold on tight, aim the hole at the end toward it, and pull that there trigger, and boom, dead monster. Now git!” He said, slapping the halfling’s back.
Gerad gasped, running forward with the large shotgun clutched awkwardly in his grip. The little guy was probably gonna get put on his ass from the kickback, but with how screwed up Jilamaka was, it may take only one or two more blasts to end it. Joe looked to Sera, and drew a thumb across his neck, pointing to Yugo. Sera seemed confused only for a brief instant… before she paralyzed Yugo, who’s eyes were still locked onto Jilamaka.
“Good job Serry,” Joe said, approaching the ninja, “Gonna kill this punk and make sure there ain’t none left, then we’ll be done.”
“Serry?” She asked, glaring at him, “Are we using pet names now?”
“Sure.” Joe replied, grabbing Yugo’s helm in both hands.
Strangely enough, Yugo didn’t say anything. The paralyzation didn’t stop you from talking, just from moving. He should be screaming or pleading for his life… maybe he was just taking his defeat with dignity? Still, there was something strange about this, why did Yugo even avert his gaze from them at all? Was this a trap?
Joe’s hands froze before he pulled off the helmet, sparing a quick glance at Gerad, who was slowly creeping around to the skull of Jilamaka. The monster was still breathing slightly, but it was on its last legs, a shotgun blast anywhere at this point would kill it, but the brain was always a safe bet.
He turned back to Yugo, who whispered, “Just don’t let her see me… I cannot bear the shame.”
Why did he sound so distraught? Don’t let Sera see him? Was he the friend that Sera had mentioned to him earlier? If so, that explained why he had just let himself be snuck up on like this. Maybe Sera had some dirt on him that he’d rather Joe not know about? Something he could use to get info out of Yugo?
“I don’t owe you any favors pal.” Joe told him with a sneer, “Sera, do you know this guy?”
“Bastard!” Yugo shouted, “I’ll kill you for this!”
“Yugo!?” Sera gasped, rushing toward him, “What do you think you’re doing here young man!?”
The way she scolded him reminded Joe of his grandma, he raised a hand to Sera to stop her approach.
“He knows what I am and was trying to capture me.” Joe explained, “You know anything about him I can use? For blackmailing I mean, I wanna know what’s in his base.”
“Blackmail?” Sera asked, “No, he was always a good boy.”
“I will tell you nothing.” Yugo spat, “Just kill me.”
“Alright then, well I ain’t got time to interrogate him. Don’t release the spell, I’ll make this quick, got a whole lot more of ‘em to kill after-”
“I cannot let you kill him Joseph.” Sera said, right at a shotgun blast echoed through the air.
Joe quickly removed the helmet and threw it far away, looking to see that Gerad had finally done it. Blood seeped down from the top of Jilamaka’s skull, exposing shattered and perforated bone beneath. Now that Yugo’s helmet was off, all he had to do was execute him. Joe aimed the pistol at Yugo, who shut his eyes tightly.
But Joe’s finger wouldn't pull the trigger.
“Sera. Let me go.” He said sternly, “Now.”
Yugo stood slowly from the ground, and sighed, turning to face Sera, his hard features softening, “I had hoped never to see you again.”
“Am I so horrible?” Sera asked him, glaring.
Yugo shook his head, “Not at all. I just didn’t want you seeing me… at work.”
“You call killing people in the dead of night… ‘work’?” She questioned, crossing her arms, “You’re done here, Yugo. I demand you leave the Black Hand this instant.”
“Let me go Sera.” Joe growled, “I’m serious.”
“Only if you two promise me that you won’t kill each other.” She growled back, turning her glare upon him.
“I promise, but I cannot leave the Black Hand. I will not.” Yugo said, “No matter how much you glare at me.”
“I promise.” Joe lied.
As soon as he was free, he’d put a bullet right through the back of Yugo’s skull. Sera might get mad at him but she didn’t understand the consequences of letting a ninja live to get revenge. Yugo had to die today.
Sera glared harder at Joseph, “Swear to your God that you won’t try to kill Yugo.”
Damn it all.
“Just let me go Sera!” Joe shouted, “This guy and his goons are gonna be chasin’ me all over Everfae if I let him live!”
“Not after I’m done speaking with him.” Sera said, “Now swear to your God or get comfortable standing there.”
How was she so certain that he was lying? Sure, he was, but making him swear to the good Lord was going overboard… and it was also the only way to make sure he wouldn’t go back on his word. Gerad was hurrying back, still clutching the shotgun.
“It’s dead! Sera, the contract is fulfilled… but what is going on here?” He asked, looking between all of them, “Did you change your mind about sacrificing Joseph?”
“Not in the slightest, Gerad. I’d be careful if I were you, do not try to bring harm upon Joseph or you will suffer. This goes for you as well, young man.” She threatened, looking between the two of them, “Now Joseph, your word.”
“I…” He sighed, “I swear to God above that I won’t cause trouble… as long as he don’t start trouble first.”
And this time he meant it. He wasn’t about to go back on a promise to God. The paralyzation was released, and Joe begrudgingly holstered his pistol, ripping his shotgun straight out of Gerad’s hands. The halfling glared up but didn’t say anything, crossing his arms before letting out a sigh, pulling out a blank piece of paper. Gerad then frowned deeply.
“This can’t be right!” Gerad shouted, looking back to the giant corpse, “It isn’t even breathing!”
“Wait, are you saying that the contract isn’t fulfilled?” Sera asked, “That was a great feat!”
“No, it is for sure… this could only mean that Jilamaka still isn’t… still isn’t dead.” Gerad replied, hands shaking, “We need to go finish it off!”
It was then that Joseph heard a horrid squelching, coming from the direction of the corpse. Everyone fell silent as they turned, seeing something… something breaching out of Jilamaka’s flesh. It emerged like a pillar, long and gaunt from Jilamaka’s ruined throat. The slender silhouette was backlit by a passing fumu, only revealing the creature's frame. Joe stared in shock as the thing spread out long humanoid arms, a single long claw emerging from each individual finger.
“It took eons to build that body… and look at what you’ve done to it… it is useless now.” The thing said, its voice raspy, “I will need to spend days eating what’s left of it… but first, I will consume all of you.”
Joe raised his shotgun and pulled the trigger, but the figure which had to be Jilamaka leaped high, the slug missing it completely… and that was after Joseph had pulled the trigger. He cursed, quickly reloading before he aimed high, the thin silhouette descending quickly toward him. This thing was damn fast, but now that it was in the air, it wouldn’t be able to dodge this one! Joe pulled the trigger, but to his horror, the creature somehow managed to shift itself to the left, its long claws held forward, diving toward Sera with a horrifying screech.
On instinct, Joe shouldered her to the ground and out of the way of Jilamaka’s claws… Just before impact, Joe managed a glance of its horrific features. Pale wrinkly flesh covered a face that was only a massive gaping mouth, filled with shark-like teeth. Two large red eyes were set into its shoulders, the iris slitted and staring at him with hate. Then the claws his his shoulders, ripping straight through the scales of his coat but failing to penetrate the dragonbone.
Despite that, the wind was knocked out of him as he fell to the ground beneath the Forgotten Beast, the world blurring when the back of his head hit the stone. Pain wracked his shoulders and it felt as if spikes were driven into his skull. His thoughts were muddied, but he knew that he’d die here if he didn’t kill this thing first. A dark blur came from the left, and a dagger plunged itself deeply into Jilamaka’s left eye.
It wailed in agony, a nictitating membrane sealing over the punctured eyeball as it leapt back away from him. Joe blinked, seeing who else but that bastard Yugo, the dagger in his hand turning to slag at contact with Jilamaka’s blood. He tossed it at the beast, receiving another yelp of agony from the monster before he quickly heaved Joseph to his feet.
“We’ll settle this later!” Yugo shouted, “We’ll die if we don’t stand together!”
Joe nearly puked in his helmet, wobbling on his feet as he tried to aim his shotgun at Jilamaka. It still wailed in pain, clutching at its ruined eyeball as it retreated toward a body, gaping mouth already open. It seemed far less resistant to pain in this form…
Sera then moved to him, grabbing him in an attempt to stabilize his balance, “Are you okay?”
She asked. He didn’t waste words, aiming the shotgun at Jilamaka’s retreating back and pulling the trigger. His aim was horribly off, as the world seemed to tilt in his eyes, but at least some of the shot had managed to hit its hand, blowing it completely off. It roared again, but with its free hand impaled the corpse of a fallen ninja, leaping high into the air before disappearing onto a nearby rooftop with the body.
“Chase it-” Joe gasped, “Can’t-” He huffed, “Can’t let it eat!”