Chapter 127
Kill the Reaper
With the fires now surrounding them, Erin was now ready to initiate her plan to finally kill the infamous Reaper Maggot. After learning about the Aggressor Dust and having seen the effect it had on the beast, the redhead had formulated a plan in her head. Using one of Lexton’s golems to absorb some of the leftover dust into itself, the man-made creature was able to create a trail that would lead the Reaper Maggot to a better place for them to slay it. Namely, an area where the ground was a lot harder and wouldn’t allow it to dig itself underground and gain the advantage over them. With the flames surrounding them, the legendary underground monster was now effectively trapped.
However, the real hard part was only starting now. Even if they had an advantage over the beast, it was still a fearsome monster. One wrong move could mean death in this situation. They would have to be extremely cautious, if they wanted to get out of this alive.
“Alright, guys! Get ready!” Erin shouted to her companions as she drew her sword. “This is where the tough part comes!”
“No shit,” Lexton said as he got some of his vials at the ready. “I’m still wondering if taking on Rayleen would have been the better option.”
“Oh, Lex, quit your bitching and grow a pair!” Ryle shouted as she got ready for the battle ahead. “It’s not like you have the luxury to changed your mind right now!”
The rest of the group didn’t say anything as their attention was solely focused on the monster before them. They were closely watching its movements, anticipating what it might do.
Meanwhile, the Reaper Maggot itself was looking over its opponents, analyzing them all in order to determine who it should go after first. Thanks to its years upon years of experience in facing those who had come to slay it, it was capable of determine who was the strongest and weakest among the ones surrounding it. In a moment, it had come to the conclusion that Durge and Ryle were the strongest and most likely the most dangerous of its opponents, while Arkay and Lexton were the weakest.
Having finished analyzing the group, the Reaper Maggot had decided on who to attack first. With a furious screech that echoed through the area, it lunged towards Lexton, having decided that he was the easiest to kill.
This was soon proven to be a mistake.
“Bad choice, worm,” Lexton said as he took out one of his vials and threw it on the ground, causing a sickly green cloud of smoke to erupt from it.
As soon as the beast caught the stench that had just blasted out of the smoke, it quickly backed away while screeching in anguish. The effect had been so strong that it ended backing all the way to the surrounding fire, which slightly burned and hurt the creature, causing it to screech out in pain even more.
What Lexton had thrown at the Reaper Maggot was a mixture similar to the repellent he had used to keep the wasteland beasts from approaching their camps, whenever they were forced to rest in the wilderness. The only difference was that this particular liquid had been specifically made to have an even stronger smell in order to ensure that it had an effect on the Reaper Maggot.
However, while it had been a success in driving away its intended target, it did have an unfortunate side to it. Particularly when it came to the kobold’s companions.
“Goddammit, Lex! Would you kill you not to make some horribly stinky shit like that!?” Ryle cursed as she held her nose in disgust. “I swear I can feel my nose hairs burning from that!”
“Well excuse me for making stuff that works and does what it’s supposed to do!” Lexton shouted back at the blonde. “Besides, considering what we’re doing, I’d assume that you would be enough of a big girl to handle a bit of a nasty smell! Guess I was wrong about you!”
“A bit nasty!? I’ve been to sewers that didn’t smell anywhere near as bad! And may I remind you that my sense of smell is a lot better than yours, so this is pretty much hell to me!” Ryle shouted. “Not to mention, I don’t see how you get to talk all big, when you’re the one with a gas mask to protect yourself from this!”
“Hey, I just came prepared! Can you blame me for that!?” the kobold said from behind his mask.
Ignoring the argument between two of his companions, Durge decided to use the opportunity of the Reaper Maggot being distracted by the flames and the smell of the repellent to launch an attack. Charging towards the monster, he activated the rocket boosters on his weapon and swung the hammer with all his might. The blow was powerful enough to shake the Reaper Maggot, which now switched its attention to the orc. Opening its massive maw, the monster then charged towards Durge, but was unable to catch him. This was because the end of a whip had caught one of its claws and forced it to go to the side, missing the orc.
“Hey! Don’t forget about the rest of us here!” Ryle shouted with a cocky grin on her face. “You need to dance with all of us or you’re going to regret it!”
The Reaper Maggot responded to the taunt by opening its mouth and shooting out a dark purple cloud of gas towards the blonde. It was obvious to anyone watching that this was poison gas.
However, before the purple gas of death could reach Ryle, a sudden gust of wind blew it away courtesy of Arkay. Thanks to the books he had been studying, the cat boy had managed to pick up a new spell to use. It was a minor wind spell that wouldn’t really damage anybody, but it was more than enough to get rid of toxic fumes.
“Nice save, Arnie!” the blonde said happily, as she gave the cat boy a thumbs up, who happily returned the gesture.
Once again, the Reaper Maggot turned its attention towards the one who had just aggravated it the most recently and prepared to charge towards Arkay. The cat boy immediately realized the danger he was in and responded to it by firing fireballs at the monster. Unfortunately, this had little effect on the creature, as it used the massive claws on the sides of its head to block the fiery projectiles by shielding its face.
With Arkay’s attacks not having an effect on it, the Reaper Maggot was ready to launch its attack, but was stopped by something hitting its two eyes, causing it to screech from pain. This newest attack had come from Erin who used her mechanical hand to shoot a fireball and her other hand to send out a small ice spell at the creature.
The redhead had recently learned how to use both of her hands to use magic at the same time. Most people would normally use both hands on a spell to stabilize it and make it stronger or use just one hand in order to let their other hand do something else, such as hold a weapon or a shield. However, Erin had found out that it was not only possible to use magic from both hands at the same time, but she could do two different spells as well. The downside was that she couldn’t do any really powerful spells in this manner, but that didn’t matter as long as she was able to hit her target in a weak spot, like the eyes.
“You’ve got more than one of us to worry about,” Erin said as she got her sword ready. “We won’t be as easy as all your other victims.”
The battle continued in a similar manner, where the members of Erin’s group would perform coordinated attacks. One of them would attack, which would aggravate the Reaper Maggot to turn towards that person. When the beast tried to attack them, one of the other members would then do something to either harm or stop the monster. While their attacks weren’t powerful enough to cause too much damage, they were beginning to pile on the creature. With the way things were going, it looked like they would win against the Reaper Maggot.
However, they didn’t realize that the monster had more than just a few tricks at the ready.
By now, the battle had been going on for a while and it looked like victory was just right ahead of them. Even if they were starting to run low on stamina, Erin and her friends were in a far better condition than the Reaper Maggot. The creature looked like it was on its last legs.
“Hey… Is it just me or does it look like this thing is about to croak?” Ryle asked while panting. “It doesn’t look like it’s doing too hot.”
“Yeah. Looks like our strategy is working,” Erin said as a small confident smile appeared on her face. “If we manage to keep this up, I’m sure we can end this soon. Let’s keep going!”
The redhead’s declaration managed to get her companions more pumped up, making them forget about their exhaustion for a moment. They all got their attacks ready, thinking of how they would end the legendary monster they were fighting.
Just as they were about to unleash their attacks, the Reaper Maggot did something that took them all by surprise.
The monster suddenly lifted its head up, staring up into the sky above. It then opened its mouth wide open and began to spray something straight up, causing it to fall all around it.
What everyone had expected was that the Reaper Maggot would spray its poisonous gas in order to get all of them in one go. Instead, what it sprayed on them was a sticky white substance, similar to spider’s web.
“Watch out!” Durge shouted as he ran around, avoiding the sticky substance. “It’s trying to stick us to the ground!”
“Yeah, I think we all figured that out!” Zeldana yelled as she used her numerous scalpels to deflect some of the silk that almost hit her.
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The group was able to avoid the silk falling down on them, as most of it hadn’t actually been aimed at them. Instead, most of it seemed to be targeted at the Reaper Maggot itself, which was now covered in the white substance. The creature now looked like some sort of a statue created from silk, as it stood completely still.
“...What the hell? What kind of an attack was this supposed to be?” Ryle asked, confused over what was happening. “Did it realize that it was getting its ass handed to it, so it decided to kill itself or something?”
“I doubt that’s what it’s doing,” Lexton said. “This is one of the most dangerous creatures in the world. There has got to be a deeper meaning to this. The question is what could that be?”
As the group was wondering about what the Reaper Maggot might be planning to do, Erin came to a realization. Back when this world had just been a game for her and she had been trying to defeat the legendary monster along with the help of Devin, there had been a revelation in regards to it that essentially crushed their hopes of ever defeating it.
During that time she had visited a message board that was full of tips and hints in regards to the game, where she had learned that the Reaper Maggot had a secondary form. One which it would reveal upon receiving a certain amount of damage. And it was a lot stronger than its previous one.
Just as the redhead realized this, the cocoon that was covering the Reaper Maggot began to crack.
“...Oh shit,” Erin said to herself as her eye turned wide from shock.
The cocoon around the monster shattered, allowing its new form to be revealed. The first change that Erin and the others noticed was its new coloring. Its brown skin had now been replaced with bright red one and its mane was now pure white. The claws around its head had now grown larger and had serrated blades on them. Similar serrated claws were now all along its whole body that had also become much slimmer. Lastly, there was a large stinger at the end of its long body.
Letting a primal screech out of its maw, the Reaper Maggot signaled the end of its transformation. The screech carried throughout the entire pit and even outside of it, causing any living being that heard it to be struck by fear. This was no different to Erin and her friends, who were now terrified over the being that they had foolishly challenged.
“Okay… I see that its now got a new look and even all of its injuries have been healed. That’s… definitely not good,” Erin said as she tried her best to not let her fear show in her voice, which was not working. “But we’ve been doing fine so far, right? As long as we keep going at it carefully, maybe we can-”
“Are you trying to convince us or yourself!?” Lexton asked angrily. “We gotta get the hell out of here! NOW!”
The Reaper Maggot let out another screech as it dashed towards Ryle. The monster was now much faster than before, making it almost impossible for the blonde to avoid the attack. Only thanks to using ki to strengthen her legs she was able to jump out of the way, but wasn’t able to fully get away. One of the Reaper Maggot’s new serrated claws managed to catch her on the side, leaving a big wound on her. Ryle tumbled to the ground holding her injury in pain.
“Goddammit! Son of a-!” the blonde cursed as she held her bleeding side. “How the hell did that thing get so fast!?”
“Someone go help her!” Erin shouted.
“On it!” Zeldana replied almost automatically, as she rushed to Ryle’s aid.
“Oh for-! Don’t come over to make this even worse!” the blonde pleaded, but was ultimately ignored, as the elf proceeded to treat her injury. “GYAAAH!”
“Stop whining, you big baby! It’s for your own good!” Zeldana said as she dug her fingers into Ryle’s wound. “Also my amusement.”
Seeing that her friend was receiving the treatment she needed, Erin turned her attention back to the transformed Reaper Maggot. The ferocious beast was observing its opponents with hungry eyes. The transformation must have taken a lot of energy out of it, which it was now looking to replenish by devouring the ones who had forced it to take such an action.
However, while the Reaper Maggot was now obviously even more dangerous than it had been, they might still have a way to defeat it. If it was as hungry as the redhead imagined, then there might come a moment where it uses up all of its remaining strength, allowing them to finish it off. In other words, time might be on their side.
“Guys, listen up. I think I have an idea,” Erin said to her companions who were still in fighting shape. “Changing this way must have taken a lot out of it, so it’s probably running low on energy. As long as we don’t allow it to eat anything, namely us, I think we can win. All we have to do is keep dodging its attacks and it will probably be forced to either slow down or stop moving entirely.”
“...That’s your plan? We wait for it to starve?” Lexton asked. “Perhaps we can make it more efficient by convincing it to go on a fashionable diet as well?”
“Hey! Do you have a better one!?” the redhead asked angrily.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” the kobold replied. “It has the letters G, T, F and O in it. I’ll let you guess the rest of it.”
“Running away won’t solve anything! We need to beat this thing or else we came here for nothing!” Erin argued. “Besides, if we fail on our end of the deal with Rayleen, she’ll be coming after us! Do you really want to take your chances with her, after getting our asses kicked here!?”
“...I’m still weighing my options,” Lexton replied.
The argument was cut short, as a loud screech echoed through the area, originating from the Reaper Maggot. The monster charged towards the group before it, its maw open and hungry, ready to devour everything living that was unlucky enough to end up in its path.
Erin and the others were able to avoid being caught in the monstrous mandibles with different levels of success. The redhead was able to grab Arkay and get both of them out of the way in time, thus avoiding any injuries. Durge was able to block one of the serrated blades that came towards him with his weapon, but the impact of the blow knocked him down on the ground. The orc managed to regain his bearing quickly and was soon back on his feet.
Unfortunately, Lexton hadn’t been all that fortunate. While he also managed to avoid certain death, the impact caused by the Reaper Maggot’s attack had sent him flying quite far away from the others. Not only did the kobold end up tumbling painfully on the ground, but he ended up hitting his head on a large stone, which left a bloodstain on it.
Erin was horrified over what had happened to her friend and hoped that he was only unconscious and not worse, but seeing him not move made her fear the worst. She needed to desperately get someone over to him in order to check his condition.
“LEX!” the redhead called out to the kobold, hoping that he would respond. “Somebody go over to him! He needs help!”
“Kind of busy over here!” Zeldana shouted in response, still in the middle of Ryle’s treatment.
“Oh no. Please go ahead and get over there,” the blonde said in a weak tone, not because of her injury, but the sheer horror her treatment was. “I insist. Just leave me alone, okay?”
Seeing as no one else was going to take the initiative, Erin began to rush over to Lexton herself. This, however, caused her to turn her back on the Reaper Maggot. The creature immediately recognized the opportunity before its eyes and wasted no time in taking advantage of it.
Arkay realized what the monster was going to do and wasted no time in trying to save Erin’s life. He quickly rushed after the redhead, pushing her down to the ground and thus avoided the numerous blades of the Reaper Maggot.
Erin could only watch dumbfounded as the monster flew over her. She was struck silent over the thought of what could have happened to her, had her young friend not been so quick on his feet.
Having grown tired of being on the defensive the whole time, Durge decided to use this opportunity to attack the Reaper Maggot for once. Letting out a roar of primal fury, he jumped towards the monster with his weapon held high, fully intent on crushing the head of the giant worm.
Despite his efforts, though, the Reaper Maggot was too fast for him as it moved out of the way of the attack. In order to get further away from its attacker, the monster actually dug itself through the makeshift concrete arena they were standing on, thus disappearing underground. It appeared that its ability to dig had also evolved with its new form.
“Dammit! This bastard is even more slippery than before!” Durge cursed before looking back towards where Erin was. “You guys okay over there!?”
“Yeah, we’re fine! Had it not been for Arnie, I’d be in that thing’s belly right now!” the redhead replied. She then suddenly realized that the cat boy was oddly silent. “...Arnie? You okay over there?”
Not getting a response to her question, Erin quickly turned to look over her young companion. She was horrified to find out the reason for the cat boy’s silence, as there was a large gash across his back and it was bleeding heavily.
“...Oh God. Oh God! OH GOD! ARNIE, NO!” the redhead said as she was beginning to panic. “He’s not responding! SOMEBODY HELP!”
“I’m coming! I’m coming!” Zeldana said as she rushed over to give medical assistance to Arkay. “I can’t be at two places at the same time, okay!?”
“Thank God you’re here! H-He got wounded while protecting me!” Erin began to babble in her panicked state. “This is all my fault! I shouldn’t have-!”
A quick slap across the face from Zeldana shook the redhead out of her delirium.
“Get a hold of yourself, you idiot! This is not the time!” the elf said angrily. “Right now I need you and Durge to cover me, while I save kitty boy’s life! Did you get that or do I need to write it down for you!?”
“Y-Yes! You’re right! Sorry!” Erin apologized as she grabbed her sword and stood close to Zeldana, ready to defend her from any attacks. Durge soon joined them. “This is just going worse than I thought and it got to me! I swear I won’t let that thing come near you!”
“That’s good and all, but what about Lex?” Durge asked. “He just took a pretty bad hit.”
“Right now, the best we can do is hope that he’s okay,” the redhead replied. “Having one of us go alone to check on him would make for an easy target to the Reaper Maggot and we need to have people here to look after Zeldana and Arkay.”
The orc glanced at Zeldana, who was in the middle of treating Arkay’s injury. His face immediately turned pale at the horrible sight before his eyes. The only reason Erin hadn’t witnessed it was because she was too busy looking for the monster they were fighting.
“Somehow I feel like I’d be safer with the worm than with her,” Durge muttered to himself.
As Erin was looking around for the Reaper Maggot, she noticed movement from the corner of her eye. However, this was not the monster they were having trouble with. Instead, it was Lexton, who was regaining consciousness and trying to get up.
“Lex! You’re okay!” the redhead said happily.
“Yeah… No thanks to you assholes…” the kobold said in a groggy voice as he was having difficulty keeping his balance. “Everybody else gets immediate assistance, but my ass gets thrown around and I’m all on my own. The hell is with that?”
“...I didn’t think you’d hear that,” Erin mumbled, feeling ashamed over herself. “You know I didn’t do that because I wanted to! I had no choice!”
“Sure… Keep telling yourself-”
Lexton’s complaints were cut off, as something burst out of the ground close to him. Time seemed to slow down for him and everybody else, as they watched the Reaper Maggot shoot out of the ground like a massive missile and fly right towards the kobold.
However, there was someone who was faster than the gigantic worm. This was none other than Ryle, who despite her recent injury was back in action and had sped up to Lexton. Pushing the kobold down, he was saved from the hungry maw that had tried to devour him.
Or at least, that’s how it looked.
“Ha! Back in action and already saving your ass! Who is the useless one now, huh!?” Ryle boasted, expecting some sort of a snarky remark yet received only silence. “...Lex? The hell is wrong with you? Aren’t you supposed to be calling me a mongoloid or some other weird thing right about now?”
“I wouldn’t mind doing that, but there’s something that has taken all of my attention right now,” the kobold said in a voice that was trembling from pain. “If you’re wondering what that is, take a look at my behind and you’ll see.”
The blonde did as she had been advised and quickly found out what was Lexton’s problem. The place where his tail was no longer had such a thing. Instead, only a bleeding stump was left behind.
image [https://i.ibb.co/hCKsG3q/Ch-127-Pic-1.jpg]
“Oh! You lost your tail!” Ryle pointed out. “Must have gotten lost when the worm attacked. That’s a surprisingly clean cut, though…”
“No shit! Do you have any idea how bad this is!?” the kobold shouted angrily with tears in his eyes. “Not only am I in agonizing pain, but I’m about to bleed to death at this rate! My healing potions can’t fix an injury this large!”
“I don’t see what the big problem is! I mean, lizards lose their tails all the time, don’t they?” the blonde said with a shrug. “Can’t you just, you know, grow a new one?”
“I’M A KOBOLD, YOU IGNORANT TURD!” Lexton yelled. “My body can’t do that! I’m not a goddamn lizard!”
“Okay! Okay! Sheesh! I’ll try to look for your missing-”
Ryle stopped upon seeing the Reaper Maggot hold something red that was rather familiar in its maw, before swallowing it.
“...Never mind,” the blonde said.
“I freaking hate that thing,” Lexton said as he glared at the Reaper Maggot. “Now what are we going to- GYAAAH!?”
The reason for the kobold’s sudden scream of pain was Ryle’s treatment for his injury. In order to stop the bleeding of the area where his tail had been, the blonde had wrapped her whip around the stump and made it VERY tight.
“There we go! That should stop the bleeding!” Ryle said, looking over her work with a proud grin on her face.
“Just… Kill me already…” Lexton muttered. “I can’t take this humiliation any longer…”
Ignoring the kobold’s complaints, the blonde turned to look over the others and soon found something that made her freeze on the spot and her eyes go wide. She saw Arkay laying down, not moving and with blood covering his body.
An animal-like growl escaped her mouth as something within her snapped.