Chereads / StarDuster / Chapter 26 - A Fungal Infestation

Chapter 26 - A Fungal Infestation

"Lord Umbra will have his will maintained in this world… you cannot interfere."

His voice lingered in my head, was this the first time I heard him speak-?! Dante… no, please, you can't tell me Dante has some form of superior?!

I wept, white sap dripping from my eyes as I listened to the battle occurring just outside nearby. I was once the only one brave enough to face Dante and the Undead, but now I can't even move… how can I possibly defeat this… this… Umbra, whoever they are-- no, I can't--!

A massive burst of splinters caught the left side of my mushroom cap as what seemed to be an Undead burst through my small hiding spot- it was launched, its body turned into a mushy paste upon impact, but I gripped my head in pain from my cap being cut.

"E-ah-!!" I winced out in pain as I touched it again before slamming my mouth shut with my hand.

"Ah~ Curious…" I felt a presence locked onto me, a voice unlike Dante's or the Myconids… it was smooth and elegant, and I nervously peered through the crater in my hiding spot.

It was a large humanoid, not unlike the Rot-Folk or Myconids that lived here. It walked with two legs, held a large object with two arms, and was smeared in a black blood which highlighted its silvery skin.

"Hey-! S0-BK! I found something, not undead but-..."

I gripped my spear nervously and backed away, holding it out in front of me as a last line of defense as I yelled out in fear. "W-WAIT-!! NOO-! DONT EAT MEE-!!"

I could barely see with my tears blurring my vision, but the lady seemed to turn away for a moment.

H-had my pleas truly worked-?

"Ah, A Primordial Myconid… figured we'd find one here… fuck, that means we are in the Realm of Rot-!" Another Silver-Skinned being entered my vision.

They were like… made of metal, but not rusty metal like you would find here… no, they were clean aside from the splatters of blood that seemed to be boiling off their skin.

"So, what about it, S0-BK…? While Avery deals with the undead, he told us to not touch anything… do we, uh, just let it go-?" The woman asked, flicking her beautiful hair and sheathing what seemed to be a large spear with a curved edge.

"We can't let it just up and leave, it spoke earlier so it must understand us-- right?" S0-BK knelt down to me. This one was bigger, much larger than the other model, and equipped with a large rectangle of metal that resembled a wall. It offered out it's shiny, metal hand to lift me out of my cubby.

Nervously, I pulled myself further away from him while staring at him intently. "P-please go a-away-"

"Hmph, so scared and nervous." It scoffed before turning to the other one "Avery is not going to like that, if Nyztafix has anything to say about that."

"Hah, poor dragon-- first Monster he met and it was a sniveling coward who betrayed and doomed the others-- wait, I think that is why Avery may have been mad…"

"What-? No, it was definitely cowardice. You remember what he said-?"

"I mean, that may be PART of it but consider TH-OT or whatever his serial number is… kid is the most cowardly Automata on base and Avery liked him."

The Silvered ones seemed to bicker lightly amongst themselves as I tried to make sense of their speech. I couldn't run, not at the angle I was at, and I couldn't beat them- no, if these two defeated Dante in combat I stood no chance.

"Right, right, that makes sense- so, what are you getting at-?"

"I think he killed Nyztafix because he betrayed and killed the other dragons-- I mean, after all, Avery sees all monsters, including dragons, as his people. It only makes sense, does it not-?"

I slowly crept and tried to sneak away as they were distracted, and tried to make a break for it by quietly scooting away.

"Ahhh, fuck, that's a good point--" It's attention turned to me almost instantly as I tried to escape, snapping it's head into place and firing off a beam of light in the direction I was moving towards.

The other one glared and yelled. "No point in trying to get away, we may be friendly for now but we can't just let you go- capiche?"

"A-ah… o-okay-..." I barely stuttered out. My mind was racing with the potential of how to get away from this situation, these foreign aliens were… without a doubt, in the advantage. I should have ran away when I had the chance--

"You certainly are shaking… what, never seen an Automata before-?" The one known as S0-BK smirked. "Well, you are about to see a lot of us. I'm sorry this is our first way of meeting-- mm, would you like some rations we brought with us-?"

He offered his hand out to me, filled with small items I'd never seen before-- their shape and smell were odd, and they were dry and well-kept. I humbly declined by shaking my head, and he pulled them away. "N-no, I am f-fine. Are-... no, what are you here for?"

They both shook their heads, S0-BK approached slowly and smiled. "Well, that's hard to say. I guess, in a way, we are here for you."

"Psh." The other one scoffed. "That makes it sound like we are here specifically for that one."

"Haha, no, we're here to get some new friends and such- capiche?" The S0-BK one smirked.

I looked once again at these two silvery figures, and still a little intimidated, I did my best to put on a stoic expression. I was the only one to show any bravery among my people, even if I'm still such a coward. So now, I suppose my fate is to face these beings before me.