Loran had met up with his friends, but not in a way he had hoped or envisioned.
Fire engulfed the area as Reia was heating up and readying for battle.
Wild Claw’s [Wind Claws] caught on fire, which he used to send burning claw swipes flying at Loran.
His body moved and evaded the burning claw swipes flying at him, which tore large gashes into the ground behind him.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
Wild Claw cartwheeled to the side and had a burning wolf tail slam into Loran, pushing him back
“Oof, this thing is heavy…” Wild Claw wiped the blood off his face with a smile. His beast kin regeneration had set in, and his face had stopped bleeding, allowing him to fight unhindered. “Varek, are you alright?”
Varek wheezed and tried to get up.
“I suppose that’s a ‘no’, leave this up to Reia and me.”
Wild Claw rushed in, moving in a zigzag and erratic manner.
A black armored claw missed as Wild Claw ‘disappeared’.
Claws grabbed Loran’s head, attempting to twist it, and jumped away when that failed.
“What the? I thought there was someone inside!”
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
Wild Claw evaded yet another claw strike.
The area lit up as Reia was bombarding Loran with fire.
“I don’t think it’s working! Maybe Varek was right, we need to retreat and come back with a plan!”
A [Fire Mine] went off, blasting Loran to the side, saving Wild Claw from getting clawed.
A [Wild Claw] clanged off Loran’s body, who tried to fight against the cursed armor to spare his friends.
An acrobatic flip saved Wild Claw from taking another claw swipe to the face. Reia ran over the battlefield, laying [Fire Traps] and gave Wild Claw the ‘okay’ sign.
“Hehe, I hope you like explosions!”
Wild Claw leapt back and started chucking [Gas Bombs] which set off the [Fire Traps] and setting off the minefield in a controlled manner.
The blowback of the explosions pushed Loran back and made him unable to make create controlled movements.
The beast kin had quickly discerned that magic would be ineffective, but that forcefully moving the cursed armor around would be their best shot.
“And as a parting gift, my Wild Claw special! [Wild Clawnado]!”
Wild Claw spit as a top, creating a twister with protruding wind claws.
Wind got sucked into the twister, enlarging it and sucking in strange creatures and shredding them while approaching Loran.
It was then that Loran noticed something off with the moorlands.
Countless strange creatures were flying around and making noise.
His mental state had failed to notice these as he had only focused on his friends.
These flying abominations were everywhere and were the only perceivable life forms nearby besides these beast kin.
The abomination didn’t bother the beast kin as much, but a swarm had locked on to Loran who in his horror looked at different types of abominations with countless eyes; enormous tortoises with a large eye for every scute and more legs than normal, strange fuzzballs with a single large eye, bunched up in the form of a bear, a two-headed bird that had its other head where it’s tail was supposed to be with an eye on every feather and many other strange beings.
The appearance of these beings were nauseating but the only trait they had in common were countless eyes on places these didn’t belong, them being noisy and creating a strange unpleasant sound that filled the head but didn’t propagate as normal sound would.
Involuntary movement shook Loran as the [Wild Clawnado] had collided with the armor and lifted it off the ground.
Audible feedback indicated that the cursed armor was getting hit by countless claws, but no damage was incurred by these.
The abominations however demonstrated the destructiveness as chunks of flesh and red liquid filled the [Wild Clawnado].
A [Fire Trap] went off, and the strange attack ignited, boiling the blood mixed within and cooking the shredded bits of flesh.
Loran could only help but stare at the backs of his friends, who took this moment to escape as the tornado of death brought him further and further away.
The abominations kept flocking in, like moth’s to the flame, and Loran’s visibility had been reduced to 0 due to all the gore and fire that this attack carried with it.
Thunk, thunk, thunk.’
Went the armor as rocks and chunks collided with the armor surrounding Loran. Screeches and yells of the abominations on the moorlands mixed with it to create an unpleasant auditory experience.
The [Wild Clawnado] subsided after minutes and Loran got freed from the gory twister.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
The running started again. This time it were Loran’s claws that mowed down the noisy abominations, which all flocked toward him as if they were specifically targeting him.
Black armored arms swung in front of him and an abomination got torn to pieces and fell after every claw swipe.
The noise was deafening and Loran would have gotten a massive headache if he were in his uncursed state, in his wolf beast kin body.
Pain, besides emotional pain, had become a foreign concept to Loran and his mind was numbed and dulled.
He would have been more upset in the past, but the years in darkness and solitude broke him and just turned him into the hollow shell of a man he used to be.
There was still something there, something for his friends, but it was way more apathetic and indifferent than he had hoped.
Loran sped up, and the abominations were getting left behind.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
The Aquini river drew near, and 3 beast kin were trying to cross it.
Loran’s attempt to slow down or stop ended up successful and locked on the slowest beast kin of the group; Varek.
Wild Claw and Reia got into action but were too late. An arm raised, launching Varek into the air with [Spectral Fire Pillar] and got caught up in the follow-up [Spectral Explosion].
A charred, lifeless body got blasted into the river and carried away by the river stream.
Reia screamed, Wild Claw held her back but glared at Loran who had no choice but to obey the directions of the cursed armor.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
The river flashed by below Loran and landed n the other side with a loud ‘thud.’/
“Reia, leave this to me. Get back to the village, I will try to get him into the mud.’
“No… I…Varek… I can’t!” Reia’s mana flared and a [Flame Wave] made it to Loran.
“Reia, focus! Normal attacks don’t work! We need to send it fly…”
Wild Claw dove at Reia to push her away from a [Spectral Fire Pillar].
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Loran evaded a [Wind Blast] and any attempt to push him back and possibly into the mud on the riverside.
Reia, picked a fruit from a nearby tree, infused mana into it and threw it.
The fruit glowed as it made its way to Loran and he crossed his arms as the fruit exploded and blew him across the river.
Reia tried to run downstream, but Wild Claw stopped her and shook his head.
“Let me at least recover his body!”
“Sis, please, your life is on the line too. Go to the village first, we can look for Varek after we’re safe…”
The 2 beast kin appeared in between black armored cupped hands and a clap marked the activation of [Spectral Explosion].
A bloodied figure, clad in wind, escaped from the explosion and ran, following the river downstream while crying a bloodied and crying woman.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
[Fireballs] shot out from Reia while Wild Claw carried her downstream.
Loran’s body didn’t care about standard magic and kept stalking the two beast kin.
Plants and abominations blocking the path got clawed away by both Wild Claw and Loran who was hot on their tails.
Loran’s arm burst in spectral flames and reached for the fleeing beast kin in front of him.
“Brother, evade!”
Spectral fire streamed out of Loran’s hand and hit Wild Claw’s shoulder, who failed to evade properly.
The two fell to the ground and tumbled into the riverbed.
“Reia, keep running!” Wild Claw recovered swiftly from his fall and spun around like a top, sending out another [Wild Clawnado].
He panted and slowly walked upstream, while showing traces of mana depletion. Reia got further and further from him which put a smile on his face.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
“Yeah! You run!”
For the first time in years did the cursed armor flee. It was close to a muddy riverbed, and it was likely to get blown into mud and getting immobilized again.
Black armored hands clapped together, pulled a spectral sword out and threw it into the air.
How would Loran want to warn his friends, but his voice went unheard, his wishes muted, autonomy absent.
A [Spectral Skysword] dropped on Reia who had continued running downstream and the force of the blast sent Wild Claw flying upstream who had gotten ‘lucky’ enough to be out of range.
Loran jumped over the river and ran downstream after landing.
The [Wild Clawnado] wasn’t a threat anymore as it had been left behind on the other side and Loran locked in on Wild Claw, who wasn’t taking the loss of his sister well.
“First you take my best friend…then the lover of my sister and then my sister herself… are you happy now?! You’ve taken everything from me! Things weren’t supposed to be like this… the world also got plunged into chaos after that wild earthquake, followed by those abominations…”
Wild Claw, balled his fest and leaped over the river to face Loran.
It was clear that he was spent, emotionally, physically as mana wise.
Wild Claw had nothing left, everything had been spent or lost.
2 men faced each other, both who had nothing left.
It was unfortunate, but both were in a similar position; neither could have their body do what they wanted, neither could see nor talk to their friends again, neither were happy or could accept the current situation. Everything they cared for had been taken away, all gone.
Fate is a cruel mistress, as Wild Claw did not know that he was face to face with the friend he had lost years ago. Loran was about to kill his own best friend and there was nothing he could do about it.
Wild Claw’s foot moved and kicked a rock at Loran.
The rock got caught, and Wild Claw capitalized on this.
Not as fast as he would normally be, but he rushed to the side of Loran and used his tail and swiped at Loran’s legs.
Loran’s vision flipped as he got taken down
Wild Claw grunted as he tried to push the cursed armor into the mud several meters away, but his bleeding shoulder prevented him from exerting the strength he needed.
Loran’s claw swipe got blocked and Loran pinned the arm with his body weight while attempting to use his tail as a crane to lift the heavy armor and move it.
The black armor burst in spectral flames and Wild Claw kept going without a yelp or a scream.
The cursed armor moved and smacked Wild Claw aside, who fell into the riverbed and collected mud.
He kept rolling intentionally to put out the flames, which didn’t cease. Even splashing river water on himself failed to put out the spectral flames.
“I see… this is how it is…”
Wild Claw got up while still being consumed by spectral flames.
“I’m sorry Loran, Reia, Varek… I couldn’t avenge you.”
A burning finger pointed at Loran.
“It won’t be me, unfortunately, but someone will beat and destroy you. Don’t underestimate the races of Kaledon! I will not give you the satisfaction of killing me, I will go out on my own terms.”
Wild Claw jumped into the Aquini River and crushed his own windpipe.
A wild death for a wild person.
Loran stood there, watching how the river carried away the body of his best friend.
Crying wasn’t allowed, neither did he feel as bad as he hoped he would.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
The cursed armor brought him away from the murder scene, not allowing Loran to pay his respects mentally.
Everything had been lost. Was there a point to feel anything?
Life had become truly greedy and had stripped away anything he ever cared for.
Buzzing, whispering, hissing and ticking sounds filled the moorlands, besides the cacophony of screams, screeches and shrieks the abominations were letting out.
Claws swung around, bringing down any that tried to get near.
Some attempted to sink their teeth, mandibles or beaks into the armor but all cowshed with the hard surface, leaving minor dents and scratches.
Loran arrived at the water stream, bud didn’t encounter what he had expected.
A two headed wormlike abomination was chomping on something.
It turned around, and all Loran could see was it finish its meal; the flexing water spirit.
This was the state of the moorlands; the abominations had consumed every spirit, weak or strong. Only the Moorland Menace was left.
The abominable two-headed worm got caught in a [Spectral Explosion] but took absolutely no damage.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
A scratch escaped the abomination before it got torn to pieces by the sharp armored claws.
Loran kept clawing and clawing.
‘They’re all gone…’
Black fog erupted from the armor endlessly as Loran was emotionally spent. Autonomy; gone. Friends; gone. Spirits; gone. All gone.
The black fog continued bellowing until a strange laser beam got deflected by the armor. The cursed armor gpt up, slammed the strange fuzzballs into the ground and crushed them under its feet, creating crimson splatters on the floor.
The already battered armor incurred minor dents and scratches but cleared the area after 2 hours.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
The first spot where nature and earth spirits used to hang out was destroyed and empty.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
The sandpit was devoid of spirits as well.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
Every place that used to be inhabited by spirits were empty. The moorlands once filled with various spirits had it’s number reduced to just 1. Just a single lone spirit.
The cursed armor sat down and let out non-offensive spectral flames in an attempt to attract spirits that might have been hidden.
And attracting it did, however, no spirits flocked to the spectral flames. Abominations swarmed Loran who yet again clawed and clawed and clawed.
There was no rest for the wicked. The Moorland menace had returned, but its victims were now the abominations that were plaguing the moorlands.
The more familiar races got spared in the usual killing sprees.
Theories started floating up. One went; it seems angry, it might be taking revenge.
Another one and the most popular one was; The Moorland Menace removes anything that doesn’t belong to the moorlands. Humans and non-humans belong in the moorlands more than these abominations do, we will be safe as long as these abominations plague the moorlands and our continent.
It had been quickly forgotten who came up with the popular theory, but one thing was known. This information got supported by a document called ‘Eileen’s notes’ which had increased in relevancy as the Moorland Menace had resurfaced.
-
The abominations were persistent, and the moorlands became as pleasant as it used to be after most of the abominations had been killed off. There were no spirits to repair the moorlands however and humans and other races had lent a helping hand by collecting the corpses of the abominations for research but mostly to dispose of them and keep the moorlands clean.
They had learned of the mistakes of many before them and always caught a cage with several captured abominations.
These would get set free in case the Moorland Menace attacked, as they knew it would prefer killing the abominations over them.
A policy got made that whenever anyone hears ‘thud, thud, thud.’ that they should set some abomination free without questions for safety.
An armored figure in black walked through the moorlands aimlessly. The blue patterns hardly visible due to all the dirt and grime on its armor.
It used to be known for it’s black and blue shine and always being unscathed and clean, but there was no trace of that anymore.
A group of humans kept its distance from the Moorland menace while being ready to free the abominations from their mana cages.
Much had been learned from the first group that had attempted this; as long as the abomination was visible or audible, the moorland menace would attack, so the cage had to be soundproof, and the Moorland menace wasn’t allowed to see the grotesque creatures.
It proved to be a challenge, as the abominations made sound carried by pressure waves; normal sound. But also made sound carried by mana waves.
Ears weren’t needed to hear these and soundproof barriers couldn't block these, so a lot of trial and error had gone in these cages.
The group was led by an individual who had studied ‘Eileen’s notes’ carefully and had brought his research team to find out more about the Moorland Menace.
The public opinion on the Moorland Menace had changed due to ‘Eileen’s Notes’ and the fact that it always prioritized killing abominations over anyone else.
‘What if this is a system the world has put in place to keep the moorlands clean?’ or ‘it clearly has a purpose and killing might be a means to an end, we can’t draw hasty conclusions, since we know absolutely nothing about it. ‘Eileen’s Notes’ state that it kills to gain fuel, we need to find out what it’s using the fuel for.’ were floating around.
‘Thud, thud, thud.’
The research team grabbed their equipment and sped up.
The Moorland Menace wasn’t targeting them, but a group of abominations that had left the jungle and entered the moorlands.
A member of the research team cast [Wind Walking] on everyone, as they would be left behind otherwise.
They made it in time to witness the slaughtering of the abominations, and then made a shocking discovery; the Moorland Menace entered the jungle to the south.