CHAPTER 108: Demons to Face
Adam held the crystal in his hand, marveling at its looks. It was translucent but didn’t reflect the light from inside. There were no angles or cuts to it, the shape felt unnatural. As he placed it in his mouth he felt the solidness of it. That shape would shift to fit the space it was in even as it never changed mass or its cohesion. He rolled it around on his tongue, receiving no flavor from it. It was like solidified air.
After a few seconds, he felt it dissolve. It went from something more than gelatinous, a solid and liquid at the same time, to simply no longer existing. A jolt hit both his brain and soul at the same time. Tom hadn’t mentioned it feeling this unpleasant though.
[System Standard] learning capsule absorbed. Instilling knowledge…
Being able to know the language would open so many possibilities for Adam. He would read the foreign communications, understand the entirety of the Rift Menu, maybe even get some books or [System] materials from the shop that might teach them the things they were missing to effectively fight back.
This little crystal could change everything!
Soul Corruption found. Unable to absorb learning capsules.
“Damnit!” Adam bellowed so loudly that many in the Rift jumped in startlement. A few people who were walking towards him stopped dead. Things became quiet except for Andrea and Alissa laughing from their assumptions of what happened. They could feel his frustration through their connections.
Tom had to practically force the three humans to continue walking towards him. Adam took a deep breath and then addressed the trio.
“I’m Adam, also known as The General from the news prior to the invasions. You’re Matt, then? The one who called us?” Adam asked.
“Yes, sir,” answered the man deferentially, probably twenty years older than Adam and two inches taller. “The Leputi had us do it and set up the call.”
“What happened that led you to be here?”
“After the invasions we were all scared. No one knew where to go or what to do. After a few weeks, people started seeing rabbit people…”
“Bunny people,” interrupted Tom.
“They reported seeing bunny people,” continued Matt, with a side look at Tom. “We thought they were just jumping at shadows. Then the screams started. There were these demons being ridden by three headed dogs. Vicious, slobbering beasts tall as a tanker truck.”
“We’ve seen them,” added Adam. Matt nodded in acknowledgement.
“They began chasing and eating people,” said Matt, looking haunted and ready to be sick.
“The doggies or the demons?” asked Tom.
“Both, sir,” answered Matt. “The demons would laugh and then literally tear into the people on the spot, ripping them to pieces or throwing them to the dogs to eat. Everyone ran, making them laugh and chase us even harder. The...bunny…soldiers then showed up and led us to this place. More of them distracted the demons so they didn’t see the direction we went.”
“Sounds terrifying,” said Adam sympathetically.
“Oh, it was, sir. I don’t know if I’ll ever escape the nightmares,” whined Matt, and the man and woman on either side of him nodded in agreement.
“Here’s the deal, Matt. We call ourselves the Sentinel Army. We’ll be taking all your people back to Jackson. There we’ll help you adjust to the [System] and will provide you with the information we have on what has happened. After that you can choose to become a fighter to try and take back the world, or you can accept being placed in a position of support for the community. We won’t force you to fight the invaders when we attack them. However, you can’t stay level zero. Leveling up is non-negotiable and that does require some fighting and killing, though usually mutated animals in hunts. If anyone isn’t willing to do that, they’ll be kicked out.”
“Sounds fair, sir,” said the elderly man.
“If you stay with us then we’ll all work together to get food, clothes, and other necessities. Life won’t be…can’t be, really, like it was before the invasions. However, we’re doing our best to keep things moving forward for everyone under us.”
“How will we get there, if you don’t mind me askin’?”
“Lashtam, the Leputi chief, says we can open a portal. It won’t be directly to our main base, but to a close by secondary one. From there more of our Army will come to bring you to the area where we integrate those we rescue. Before anything else, how would you rate your treatment by the Leputi.”
“It was pretty good. We were all bored, except the kids who they liked to play with. They never demanded anything from us or mistreated us. I am a bit tired of only raw vegetables for meals though. I’ve lost 30 pounds since the invasion,” said Matt.
“Get ready for lots of meat, since that’s what Jackson has the most of. Our hunting parties bring it back daily,” said Tom. “We’re still working on fresh vegetables.”
“I’m sure these bunny people can help. They seem to have some idea of how to grow them even if its winter,” added the middle-aged woman.
“Good to know. Good luck on the trip back. I’ve already made arrangements with my people. Just follow the Leputi chief’s directions and you’ll get to the other humans,” directed Adam.
“Where will you be, sir?”
“My group and I have some demons to face,” Adam said with heat bursting from around him.
***
“Bad doggy!” Brittney yelled as she slammed her shield into the middle face of one of the Cerberus, called Carthraga by the Leputi. The Bobomon riding it pitched forward, landing on the ground, where a bolt of lightning and a spike from the ground both hit it at the same time. Rushing forward, Alissa punched it, getting the final blow.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Bobomon “Ravager [14]” slain. 1,252 shared XP gained.
“Don’t tell PETA. Those guys are jerks,” Joseph said while using his skill [Headhunt]. His long-bladed spear slowly but easily cut two heads off the beast, making the skill twice as effective against the three headed dogs. The Bobomon riding it blew a horn as the beast’s body fell and was finished off by Randall’s spear thrust.
Carthraga “Tamed Beast [16]” slain. 3,609 shared XP gained.
“It’s called a tamed beast, but I’m not seeing the tamed part,” admitted Randall.
The horn was calling more of the beast riders to them. The fight wasn’t easy for most of the group just due to the size of the beasts and the demons. The Carthraga were about 15 feet tall, and the Bobomon were 8 feet tall. Both had exceptional reach.
The Bobomon were mostly physical fighters, wielding axes, spiked knuckles, and blunt objects. The Carthraga were the more dangerous of the two because each head had a different elemental breath. One could breathe fire, another ice like a blizzard in a hurricane, and finally a lightning breath. The elements were in different head positions for each beast, so avoiding all of them was important. The breaths plus the snapping jaws were encouragement enough not to stand in front of them. At least for those not Brittney or Joseph.
“This one begs not to offend the great warriors,” whined Rahsha, who had been sent to escort them. He stayed back, since his knives weren’t long enough to do more than give the beasts a papercut, and his fear of them was obvious. “Your might makes these Carthraga, who have consumed many of my people, seem as nothing.”
Ashtala, the chief’s daughter, was also there, even though she had a class of “Breeder [1].” The chief had sent her to get the measure of the mighty one she would bear the offspring of. She was too stunned to talk as she watched them all fight. They fought together, and well, never shying away from these terrifying creatures. The humans were quickly earning her respect.
“I think Adam has found a way to tame them,” said Brandon as he pointed to where three of the Carthraga were attempted to flee, but not getting far as Adam would just use [Gladiator’s Approach] to catch up and smash their legs. There were another five pairs of the huge beasts and their riders lying on the ground, whining, unable to move further. “Or he might be bullying them.”
“Of course they’re tame before the boss. These puppies know an alpha when they see one,” said Tom as he came walking over with Lucas from the few that they had been fighting. “We should all go get a hit on the downed to get our XP.”
“Get a hit?” asked Rahsha. “You would steal XP from his Excellency?”
“Nobody is stealing from anybody, buddy,” answered Tom, putting his arm around Rahsha and dragging him forward. “This is how we do things. Everyone shares the XP when we can, and we all get stronger together.”
Andrea and Alissa took Ashtala’s hands and dragged her along too.
“You would share with this insignificant one?” Rahsha asked, his eyes becoming watery.
“Sure, the more the merrier. As long as you’re fighting with us,” said Lucas.
“This one will always stand with you for the gifts you are giving so freely.”
“Great to hear, buddy. Now take those tiny knives and get a non-fatal cut on all the downed enemies. Once we get back to base, we’ll ask Garrett to design some useful weapons for you,” directed Tom.
“XP and weapons? This one can’t wait until he is as strong as you mighty ones.”
“We’ll get you there, Rahsha,” said Alissa as she petted him, much to his pleasure.
***
“Do most aliens live under the freaking ground?” complained Joseph as they walked in yet another tunnel.
The merged Rift of the Bobomon had included a lot of mounds that spewed superheated air with a smell like sulfur. After fighting packs of beasts and demon-like invaders they had come to a large tunnel in a hill. It led down and had to be big enough for the Carthraga to come in and out of. The further down they got, the more mazelike it had become. The tunnels were hot, annoying most of the humans.
Rahsha had been terrified and huddled against Alissa, who petted him reassuringly. Adam kept throwing them glancing and then shaking his head to himself. That Leputi was already whipped, like some trained pet.
Ashtala had become more open, willing to ask questions and make statements, though she was having trouble getting past being deferential. She still couldn’t approach Adam as he led them downwards, lowering her head and acting overly humble towards him. She seemed willing to have discussions with the others though.
The Leputi chief’s daughter frowned at Joseph’s question.
“Many races find under the ground or living in stone to provide greater safety. Some even find it provides for their needs better,” Ashtala said.
“Bah! Bunch of unsophisticated louts,” responded Joseph.
Once more Ashtala frowned.
“These races consider natives of the worlds they conquer to be unsophisticated since they don’t know how to make proper use of the [System].”
“Oh? Were they the ones who created the [System]?” asked Brittney sarcastically. She was really sweating hard in her armor due to the heat of the tunnels and was quite irritable.
“Of course not,” answered Ashtala. “No one knows who created the great [System], just that it has been in their worlds longer than yours.”
“So, we are unsophisticated because they have had longer to use a tool that they didn’t create or improve themselves. Yeah, because that makes sense,” snorted Randall.
Ashtala looked down, not having an answer to their questions, and rather baffled by their attitudes. This wasn’t at all how she had heard natives should behave. Andrea saw her mood and held her arm.
“Don’t worry about it, Ashtala. We aren’t angry with you. Just all the invaders coming to harm our people and world. Having superpowers is great and all, but we’ve lost a lot of comforts and luxuries due to it, as well as so many people.”
“Yes, mistress,” nodded Ashtala as the group stopped.
Adam was a short distance in front of them. He was looking at very large double doors, about twenty-five feet tall. The group pulled up next to him. As they had descended through the invader base, they had been forced to fight increasingly difficult packs of Bobomon and Carthraga. The group had suffered injuries and damage to their armors. Even their weapons were falling behind in piercing or slashing damage, requiring skills to do enough damage to matter.
The Bobomon’s levels had increased as they continued downward, but the skills and fighting styles all seemed to rely on brute force, making them easy to read and counter. All the magic was fire or heat based. Except for the Carthraga.
The Carthraga were the problem. While the tunnels and hallways were wide for the humans, they weren’t for the oversized three headed dogs. Each beast took up two thirds of the tunnels, preventing their group from dodging their attacks. The breaths would blast a short way down the tunnels, forcing them to keep their distance.
Adam had less issues with them. He would wait until they were about to breathe before using [Gladiator’s Approach] to reach it, usually under its head, then he would take out its legs before turning it so it couldn’t attack his friends. Once more Adam made the fights survivable, even if he allowed them to struggle against the groups of Bobomon.
Everyone checked their gear as Adam pushed the door open. The room that they saw was massive. 30 feet tall, 150 feet long and 70 feet wide. It was rocky, with jets on the floor, walls, and ceiling that blasted out super-heated air at intervals. The room was sweltering, and even Adam began sweating as the temperature rushed past the doors to envelop them.
In the center of the room was a throne, with the largest Bobomon they had seen. He had four horns on his head, the two curved ones below his ears and two that rounded off the head to point forward. He looked to be 20 feet tall if he were to stand up. His legs had thick hair covering them, ending in goat feet. His fingernails had grown long and been sharpened to a point.
Next to him on the floor was an even larger Carthraga, equal in size to the feral behemoths he had previously fought against. Its faces were longer than the ones they had fought, as were the tail and nails on its paws. It had a tag that read “Den Mother [38].”
The room vibrated as the three heads of the den mother growled in unison. Then the Bobomon spoke in a deep voice that could rattle bones.
“More natives have come to give their strength to me,” said the “War Stomper [42].”