"Where are you going?! Are you running for help...? You need us, not them!!"
The tunnel ahead cuts sharply to the right, which poses no problem for me but the monster smashes right into the wall, stumbling for a bit before continuing its pursuit.
So far all of these fast turns are the only reason this thing hasn't caught up to me. I could over-enhance myself to outpace it, but I'd need to be absolutely positive that I'll reach the surface before my mana hits rock bottom and my legs begin to give out. I just finished repairing them while the knights were chasing me earlier, I can't believe I might have to do it again already.
"Why them? Why not us...? Cheating slimy rag... She'll change her tune when we catch her!"
... I need something else. All these twists and turns make it painfully obvious that this isn't a straight shot up toward the ground, so over-enhancing is a horrible choice outside of emergencies.
Raising my right hand, I pour a little mana into the first ability, just enough to create it and nothing more. A little bit of frost coats the top of my palm.
Frost... Right, I do remember seeing a knight blasting a direct line of frost at the goblins.
"We felt that! Planning to hurt us are you? Always hiding, always running... Spineless woman! Don't worry, we'll fix her... Oh yes, yes we will!"
One by one I tested them as we passed through another sharply curved tunnel. Rope of light, the sonar ball of light, a strange metallic-like ball, lightning, and lastly one that activated but I couldn't figure out what it did.
The rope of light I saw before is the one I was hoping for the most. Of course, it still depends on how fast the monster can burn or purge it off...
I cursed under my breath as the end of the tunnel came into sight, revealing a large open cavern like the one I fought the knights in earlier.
End of the line... I won't be able to outrun it here. Whatever I do needs to work here, or that's it for me.
As soon as we both entered the cavern I heard the monster almost imperceptibly whisper, "Now."
Between that and the massive spike in aura behind me, alarm bells were ringing in my head. With no time for even a medium enhancement, I put what I could into my legs and leaped to the right. The monster blitzed forward as fast as the large goblin did earlier, leaving a trail of fire in its wake as it smashed into the pillar ahead. I thought I had avoided it, but then I noticed the large clawed wounds on my left torso, going from my waist up to above my chest. Black blood had been pouring out but my body sealed it up almost immediately. The only saving grace is that my left arm was somehow undamaged.
"GAH, stop struggling!! It will be over quickly, we promise... And then you'll be with us forever! So many friends waiting, you'll be... Happy. Oh so very happy! Just like they are!!" The monster said as it ripped its right arm out from the pillar.
Before it was fully free I summoned the rope of light, whipping it towards the creature while imagining it wrapping around its' legs, but instead, it smacked right into the back of its ankle, searing it deep.
"ARGH...!! Why?!"
THIS is why I test out new abilities in my soul realm before using them in combat. Damnit this is not the time or place to be 'figuring things out'.
As it ripped its left arm out from the pillar, I summoned the rope for one last try, tossing it to the right of the pillar this time while imagining it wrapping around it. It was rather sloppy and used up more mana than I had hoped because of how much rope I needed, but it began wrapping around the large pillar, tying the creature to it.
"What? No... No, no, NO! YOU WILL NOT LEAVE US HERE!! WE WILL NOT ALLOW IT!!!" The monster said as it began burning brightly.
Not waiting around to see how long it held the creature, I sprinted past the pillar towards the tunnel at the far end of the cave. However, on the way, I saw some more Merman flooding out of the lake near the tunnel entrance.
Holy shit are these things everywhere?! No wonder why the goblins hate them. I've only known of their existence for a day and I already want to exterminate them.
Halfway towards the tunnel, I smelled the familiar scent of sulfur in the air as a bright orange light flashed behind me. Glancing back I saw the monster dash out from behind the pillar, continuing its pursuit.
So it can purge it off, as I suspected... How annoying.
The Merman were preparing to cut me off at the tunnel, but as soon as they saw the monster they practically fell over themselves as they sprinted back towards the lake.
"Fishies!!"
To my surprise, the monster veered off towards the right so it could cut off the merman from escaping. Once it was in range, the monster stretched its arm out towards them, incinerating them one by one.
Seeing that and remembering the goblin village, it appears that its burn ability has a roughly five-foot range from where its palm is. That's gonna be very important if I can find my allies. I hope their barriers can withstand it... It's going to be impossible to avoid it entirely with how fast it is. Also, it apparently absorbs the souls of anything it incinerates. I can see the merman's souls ripping out towards the monster. I saw it back in the village too, but at the time I was preoccupied trying to figure out how the hell to get out of there.
As I'm sprinting into the tunnel, I could hear the monster stomping in my direction.
"Running, running, RUNNING!! That's all she does!"
For the first time yet, I was in a tunnel heading up, which also gave me another idea. The monster entered the tunnel, barreling up towards me at the same ludicrous speed as before. It took about a minute for us to reach the top, with the monster nearing me by the time we got there. I poured eighty percent of my remaining mana into the frost spell right before I reached the exit, turning around and blasting it outwards under the monster's feet. As it slipped into the air, I made sure to shoot the ground behind it as well. After that, I coated as far down as I could see before turning back around and sprinting into the next cave.
"NOOOO!! DON'T GO!! YOU NEED US!!!!" The monster screamed while expelling heat around itself, but all that did was melt the ice and create a giant water slide. It tried digging its claws into the side of the tunnel but it was pointless. Very few places underground can be damaged after all. Most of the rock down here is damn near invincible. A shame the pillar back there wasn't... The monster would have severely damaged itself if it was.
"WE'LL FIND YOU! OH YES WE WILL!!"
----------------------------------------
About an hour later I began to hear a very familiar stomping sound accompanied by more inane ramblings.
"Vile, disgusting, repugnant, loathsome...!!! No... She doesn't know better. She has yet to learn... But she will... Yes, she will!!"
Ever since I lost the creature it has mostly been a straight shot with very few turns, so I should be close to the surface if I compare this to how long I was running underground earlier.
Earlier I tried coating another slope in ice when I heard the creature approaching again, but this time it wasn't deterred at all.
Hmm... I'll risk a little over-enhancement... I have to be close to the exit at this point.
I had one last 'just in case' scenario planned out, but it'll put me behind by several hours or longer. I've passed by a few merman lakes with my aura up and it hit me. They might hear me in the water, but I think I still have a higher chance of surviving in there as opposed to fighting the monster alone. It sensed me in the goblin village when I had my aura up, so hiding in these caverns is pointless.
Speeding up a little, I sprint through the caverns for another fifteen minutes before the last tunnel opens up to a vast snow-filled plain and a blackened sky.
Thank god finally!!
Knowing it'll see my prints, I instead leap onto the bare mountain, jumping higher and higher until I reach a place far enough away for me to feel comfortable. Ripping some blood out from my used-to-be sealed wound, I quickly create a large piece of cloth and stick it to the mountain. Infusing it, it quickly camouflages, appearing as if it's just part of the mountain. Crawling inside, I alter it so I can see out, making it transparent on this side only.
About forty seconds later the monster comes rushing out of the exit, looking every which way for me. It marches around looking between the snow and mountain for a while before noticing something else that catches its attention. A village far off in the distance, creating just enough light to give me vision here.
Normally I can see the other village next to it as well though... Seifer said they were spaced out enough to assist one another, but they're slowly adding on to each village with the intention of merging them all into one large city. That's their plans for the future anyway, who knows what will happen now. With that said, why can't I see the village to my right, but the one in front of me is plainly visible? It can't be the disappeared village I was at earlier, those lights should still be running...
"New friends!!" The monster yells, sprinting off towards the village.
Well, I knew that was going to happen if I led it to the surface. I can't imagine people will be happy about what I did, but now we know where it is and can kill it... Wait, if it's been up here torching villages, how the hell is it getting back underground? This thing doesn't appear to be very smart. If it was up here burning his new 'friends', he wouldn't stop at one village and go back underground... At least that's not the vibe I get from the monster.
Wasting no time, I put my body to sleep so I can heal and regen my mana. Entering my soul realm, I test out the new abilities one at a time. The rope is as simple as I thought it would be, I just failed miserably back there on my first try. The lightning is rather impressive and straightforward, but there is massive self-damage inflicted when I use it. Thanks to what I am it didn't harm me much, but I'm kind of feeling bad for the knight who had this ability. I saw nobody using lightning or electricity, so he must've still been struggling to upgrade his barrier to prevent self-inflicted damage. He had a rather powerful ability he was unable to use... Poor bastard.
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The sonar ball is interesting but probably won't help me much here. The last two I'll have to save for another time. I can't figure out the purpose of the metallic ball or the last one that activates but appears to do nothing. I may never figure it out and end up just using his soul for emergency mana. Wouldn't be the first time. I've acquired two abilities in my entire life and I can use neither. The first one I can't even figure out how to activate, and the second one can activate when my aura is up, but hell if I know what it does. I gave up ages ago trying to figure it out.
After I was fully healed and capped on mana I leaped off the mountain, sprinting towards the village in the distance.
It looks fine, but I know that's just an illusion the abomination is showing outsiders. I'm jealous... That ability would be amazing with my skillset.
And sure enough, as soon as I entered the village it turned into a hellish version of itself that I saw moments ago. I appeared next to some people who were banging on an invisible barrier blocking their path, the one showing illusions to those outside of it.
So that's why nobody just runs from the monster when it assaults villages... They can't. It dropped this illusion in the goblin village so it could attack me, but there must be a reason it didn't just activate it again while chasing me.
Putting my hand up to the barrier, my hand goes right through it.
Huh? Why am I fine but these people aren't...? Wait, maybe it's related to the curse...
A man flies through the nearby home, sliding through the mud right up to my feet.
"Fucking hell what is that thing?!"
Removing my aura I call out to him.
"Lindon?"
He whips his head around. "Reimia?! What are you doing here?"
"I was chased by that monster for over an hour and ended up here. So this must be where Keith is stationed?"
Lindon stood up, pulling his pants back up. "Yeah, he's fighting it now... Wait, you brought it here?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
"This is the creature you guys were brought here to hunt. Don't worry, you can thank me later."
"THANK YOU?! This fucking...!" Lindon suddenly stops fuming and looks down. "Huh? Right... Sorry. Uh, Nisha told me to stop, saying 'We don't have time for this'. She's right, you're here to 'help' right?"
"That's the plan. Nisha can hear through you, right? Here is what I've learned. The monster needs to put its palm within five feet of you to scorch you, and when it stops moving to channel a bright orange aura around itself, that's a purge it's about to cast, which has a massive area of effect. Make sure you remove your barrier when it's casting that, because it'll rip it away, making you lose access to the ability for a while."
"For real? Shit... It's on Keith right now! I need to hurry back." Lindon said, turning around and sprinting past the home he flew into before.
Following behind him around the home, we came out to a large open area that was probably meant as a gathering square. It's devoid of people aside from Keith's group, but the ground is littered with charcoaled corpses. Keith is currently backing up as Albel breathes a long line of fire on the monster. To my surprise, the monster is flailing around screaming.
"IT BURNS! IT BURRNNNS!! IT BURNS SO... SO VERY... GOOD!" The monster yells, absorbing the fire before breathing it back out towards Albel. Right before it hits him he turns into a blue ball, shooting off toward the home I just ran by. Ten seconds later he comes running out of the building, fuming.
"DAMNIT!! I'm useless against this fucking thing if it can absorb my fire!"
I walk over to him, yelling so he can hear me over all the madness going on. "Albel! I'm not in a position to give orders, but can you get a vantage point and watch out for anything strange? You've heard of the broodling right? I don't know if it can see through this illusion, but if it can, it might use the local citizens or knights to hit us from behind. Plus, it probably knows exactly where your sister is, given her strong soul sense."
Surprisingly, Albel calmly listened to me and nodded. Jumping on top of the home he just came out of, keeping his eyes on everything around that home.
He has a mana line coming out of him that goes directly into that home, just like Lindon does. She must be in the basement of this home... We need to keep the monster away from it.
The monster dashes towards Keith, raising its palm towards him. Instead of backing away, Keith puts mana into his blade, choosing to attack instead, and the reason is obvious when I see fire surrounding the barrier Lindon placed on him instead of Keith himself. As Keith slashed at the monster, it pulled its arm back in time but still took a large amount of damage to its upper thigh. Even I could see the blood pouring out from here as it jumped backward.
"Why do they always fight?! They always resist us... Why? Why?! Maybe they are dumb? Yes, oh so very dumb... Poor, poor Human... He'll understand soon though!!"
The monster slaps the open wound on its thigh, somehow sealing it up instantly. After that it immediately brings its fists up in a criss-cross pattern over its face, channeling its iconic orange aura.
"THAT'S IT LINDON!" I yell out.
Hearing that, Lindon immediately removes his barrier from Keith. Off in the distance, I can see the blue aura around Keith's blade disappear too just as the monster explodes, washing the entire area in a bright orange light while burying everything in the smell of sulfur. Before the explosion had even finished expanding, the monster charged toward Keith with the same lightning speed he tried on me earlier. I thought Keith was going to turn into a blue ball and disappear, but instead, he kicked the ground with his right foot at almost the same time the monster's aura exploded, barely avoiding the monster as it blitzed past him.
Damn, his reaction speed is rather amazing. I guess there's a reason he was called a hero...
"HOW?! Twice... We missed twice today... No one dodges that! You're making us very very angry...!!" The monster looks down, closing its eyes. "Enough. You are not our friends... Now we eat you!!"
The monster's body begins expanding. Its' head, torso, and legs all increase in size, taking the creature from ten feet tall to fifteen feet tall as its muscles bulge in size as well. After transforming it immediately leaps high into the air, dropping down onto Keith who tries to dodge again, but he is far too slow now compared to the monster's new speed. The monster's fist was only a few feet from Keith's head when Lindon's barrier sprung up around him.
The fist connected with the top of the barrier, cracking it a little, which apparently made Keith believe he was fine to counterattack, as I could see a blue aura forming around his blade. However, orange light flared up around the monster's fist, making the barrier shatter. Keith must have seen the orange light and immediately reacted because he managed to just barely dodge the monster's fist that was now buried deep into the ground. Soon after, the ground quite literally exploded, sending Keith flying into the tavern behind him.
"Shit! It purged my barrier with its fist... Did you know about this too Rei?!" Lindon said without looking back.
"No! It must be something it can do after transforming!" I yelled back over the sounds of screaming and buildings collapsing as the fire consumed them.
There has to be drawbacks to that transformation, or it could've just transformed and easily caught me earlier.
Activating my aura I run towards the monster, stopping just close enough to be in range for what might come next.
Either it runs in after Keith, or Keith runs out of there to avoid getting buried in the building. Either way, I'll be ready... Well, as a third option Nisha could drag him back, which might not be a bad idea given the situation.
The monster raises its' right hand, creating a massive fireball above it. As the monster is pulling its' hand back, Keith appears out of the home, already mid-air with a fully enhanced sword pulled back over his head. I drop my aura, whipping two ropes of light with both hands toward each of the monster's wrists. Sure enough, the monster was bringing its left hand up to block, while raising its right hand to smash the fireball right into him. If that lands, Keith will be the first one needing Arkaios to resurrect him.
The ropes successfully wrap around both wrists as I over-enhance my arms and pull hard on them backwards. It was sadly barely enough to stop the monster, and only because I took it by surprise.
"WHAT?!" The monster yells, trying to overpower me, but Lindon has already grabbed the ropes and is helping me keep it in place. Out of options, the Monster tries leaping back, but Keith is already too close. It avoided getting its head cut in two, but a very deep cut went down its entire torso, spraying blood all over Keith.
"GGRRRRRRAAHHH!!! ENOUGH MEANS ENOUGH!!!"
While in the air from its leap backward, the monster raises its right leg high into the air, burning it a bright red. Upon seeing that, all of us scattered in different directions, while Albel rushed into the home he was standing guard on. I followed after him, chasing him down the stairs into the basement, barely making it as both the ground floor and second floor exploded outwards.
Looking up I see Albel laying on top of a stone casket, pushing his barrier to the max.
There was no need for that since the fire didn't reach here, but he made the right call. Better safe than sorry since his sister has no barrier and no way to enhance herself. A pure support like her is so rare... They're honestly really lucky to have her.
Reactivating my aura, I ran up the stairs to gauge the situation. The area around the monster in a one-hundred-meter radius had been completely incinerated. The people banging on the barrier behind me were quite literally nothing but bones piled next to each other.
To my left, I could see Lindon peeking his head above another basement entrance, fear written all over his face as he glanced around.
I don't blame him. Even if they can revive, it will still hurt like hell being cooked alive. Also, I don't know if they figured it out, but whatever this thing burns, it immediately absorbs their soul too. From my understanding, the souls of Keith's group are now tethered to Arkaios. No matter how powerful the enemy is, they can't overpower Arkaios, so they should never have to worry about their souls being destroyed or absorbed. Although, even knowing that I doubt they can erase their fear of a monster like this that easily. It's going to take many years of getting used to their new immortal forms before they can erase their fears even a little.
The monster rips its leg out of the ground and bends over, breathing heavily as it gasps for air.
I knew it... This transformation is too powerful. Its' body can't handle it.
"What is this madness?!" A familiar-sounding voice yelled.
Looking to my right I see Euphemia nearby, along with everyone else who's supposed to be at the manor. Deactivating my aura, I sprint over to them as the monster glances back at the new arrivals.
"Idiot! Don't draw its attention like that! This is the creature responsible for all the villages being burned down, and it's very powerful. Did you see where I just came from? Go there right now and hide, princess. It's too late to leave now that you're inside its barrier, which I still suspect is an expansion of its own soul realm."
"Rei?! What happened to Tyra? Is she here with you?"
"We got separated in the mountains. If she escaped, and I wouldn't be surprised if she did since they came after me instead, then she's at your manor. Your staff will tell her where you went, so please for the love of god go hide!"
Euphemia looks shocked for a moment, then looks over at the monster who is now forcing itself to stand. She quickly nods at me and runs off towards Albel who is waving her in.
Ishar walked up to me. "Give me the rundown."
"It can torch you within five meters of its palm, maybe closer now that it transformed. When you see an orange light around its body or its fist immediately cancel any abilities you have running, because it will purge them for a while. Also, expect any enhancements to be purged as well. Dodge the best you can, because you won't be able to defend. Its speed level is extremely high too. Most importantly though is that it transformed. Did you see it struggling for air a moment ago? Keith hurt it bad but I think it's struggling to maintain its new form."
Ishar nods. "I'll lock it down. Cera, Alicia, and this Keith fellow should be able to finish it off. If it's as powerful as you say, it will probably only be frozen for one second tops." He looked back at Alicia. "This is it, your first chance to prove yourself. I can see how nervous you are already, but just do it like you did in your soul realm. Wait for my shout, and then attack it, understand? That's it, just watch me and follow up."
Alicia nods, but I can see her visibly shaking from here.
On the other side of the village, a massive meteor appears out of nowhere in the sky as it crashes through the monster's barrier, destroying it completely. Panicked screams erupt from the village as the massive rock hits the ground and begins rolling forward, killing anyone in its way. About halfway through the village it exploded, knocking everyone here down onto the ground while showering the entire area in shrapnel. Barriers flared to life around me while I burned through mana enhancing myself.
As the dust settled, I heard Cera almost literally growl as she said one single word. "Tengu...!!"
Just as she said, on the far end of the village stood a black and white forty-foot tall raven-like eldritch, brandishing a staff the size of a tree.