Roko was surprised when he heard where the cult had gone. Not that it was strange to find them in an abandoned warehouse but it was the fact that the warehouse was also stuck in the middle of the city. Not near the border or ports where escape could be easy. But right in the back of a developing market district in the middle of Aporia. Perhaps their religious props were stored here but then how did they manage to sneak them out of the city? There had been no sign of any suspicious shipments in the past 24 hours. Roko crashed out of the second story window as he dropped both him and the monster he was fighting down into the ground outside. Landing on top of the monster, it screeched weakly as its body fell apart and turned into goo. With a grimace, Roko got up and dusted himself off, "Well, we can always ask questions later."
As Roko got up he could see a few members of the cult standing there, looking fearfully at him.
"Or we could do it now. Hey, you guys-"
Roko went to talk to one of the cultists but all of them turned around the moment he approached them and ran off. And from the ground bubbled a new array of eldritch monsters, blocking Roko from trying to chase after them.
"Okay, fine, we'll do it later." Roko sighed as he picked up his sword.
Compared to the giant titan that was at the church and the giant tentacles that Bedlam had used, these smaller monsters were sturdy like the titan and agile like the tentacles. However, none of them reached quite the same extremes as their comparisons, leaving them at a middling midrange where their main bodies were sturdy enough to take a few attacks save for the tendrils that remained soft enough that Roko could cut them into pieces before they could reach him. And once he reached close range, the tendrils could do little as Roko sliced into their bodies, destroying them with only a few slashes. His spells still wouldn't work on these creatures but with such glaring weaknesses, there was almost no need for them. Their only advantage was their numbers but even then, they moved and jerked so slowly they could hardly coordinate an attack. Even a relatively non-combatant like Roko had little trouble dispatching them.
"That or I'm getting worriedly used to combat." Roko sighed as he killed the last one.
A loud crash came from the warehouse that Roko had jumped out from. Worried, he quickly made his way back to the bay doors and found Roland and Roswell fighting Bedlam who had grown in size and somehow gained even more muscles, grotesquely so. Packs of the same black monsters surrounded them but they were quickly getting dispatched by Helena's ice magic. Over in the corner, scared and nervous was Daniel, hiding behind a small group of monsters who seemed to be guarding him. Noticing Roko's return, Helena called out to him, "Roko! Save Daniel!"
"Not much need to save but alright." Roko muttered as he ran past the group fighting Bedlam.
The monsters reacted as Roko drew close, sending their arms out to restrain me. Keeping careful distance away from them, he sliced away at any appendages that approached him, progressing slowly but surely. Once Roko came close enough, the monsters broke away from their formation and tried to attack him directly, dragging its vaguely human legs towards him. However, with their arms still recovering from their failed assault, they had no way to attack Roko properly and he was able to kill them easily. But as Roko shoved his sword through the body of the last monster guarding Daniel, he noticed the goop that would be best described as their foot had shrunken compared to when he first saw them. Pushing it out of his mind, Roko turned to Daniel who regarded him with uncertain fear.
"W-Who are you?" Daniel asked.
"Well, I'm not here to kill you so you don't have to worry about that." Roko sighed as he sheathed his sword, "Though I'm not sure what we're going to have you do exactly."
"Daniel!"
Helena quickly ran over, ducking under a swing that Bedlam threw onto Roland's shield, knocking the knight back a few steps. She quickly grabbed Daniel by the shoulder and glared directly into his eyes, "Daniel! Do you think you can stop your brother?!"
"M...me?" Daniel gulped, "I don't think I can, I...I knew he was part of a cult with strange monsters but...but he hardly told me anything else. I don't...I never could have imagined this."
"It was a long shot." Helena sighed, "Alright. Roko will lead you out of here. Just don't-"
"Now now, I won't let you harm my dear little brother!"
Helena yelped and Bedlam picked her up by the collar and dangled her in the air.
"Helena!" Roland ran up and tried to slash Bedlam but whatever cuts he made were quickly closed. Roland persisted, trying to rescue his princess but Bedlam raised a fist and smashed the back of his hand against Roland. Roland put up his shield but still got thrown up into the air and fell into a bunch of crates.
"Roland?!" Helena cried as Roland moaned on the ground. She pointed a finger at Bedlam's face and fired a point blank ice spell, doing enough to drop Helena back on the ground. Roko quickly helped her up and moved her away from Bedlam as he gripped the ice with one hand and crushed it, freeing his face.
"This is almost sad." Bedlam sneered, "You have no way of harming me and I have the numbers on my side."
"Yeah well your numbers suck." Roko scowled, "They don't have the strength to pose a threat and they're too slow to use pack tactics."
"Oh my, such sharp words. Keep it up and I might have to do everything myself."
"That'll be a first."
"Roland?" Helena called, "You okay?"
"I'm fine." Roland grimaced as he pulled himself up, rolling his shield arm, "Man I do not like shields. They're so bulky and gets in the way."
"They're meant to get in the way." Roswell said as he kept his eye on Bedlam.
"Of the enemy, not me!" Roland snapped, "It's so heavy too, it just feels weird on my arm."
"Well maybe you should have brought that up before we got into this fight." Roswell shrugged, "Besides, we're meant to protect people. Going to have a hard time doing that without a shield."
"I know, I know." Roland growled.
"Roko, do you have a plan?" Helena asked.
"Give me a minute." Roko sighed, "Scan. Analyze."
Bedlam Dietrich
Level: 45
Strength: 49
Dexterity: 44
Constitution: 56
Intelligence: 40
Wisdom: 39
Charisma: 61
Spells: None, ???
Weaknesses: Water, Ice, Slow
Bedlam Dietrich
Health: 100%
Mana: 100%
Attack: 74
Defense: 57
Bedlam's low defenses allow hits to be delivered with little issue but his regeneration means all attacks are meaningless. His bulk enhances his attacks but also makes him heavier, leaving him slower but still flexible. Inhuman blood now runs throughout his body, stimulating his muscles and swelling his body to its limit. However much of this enhancement is due to the inhuman blood filling his body, making him more liquid than physical matter at this point.
"He's more mud now than man." Roko said, intrigued.
"Say what now?" Helena blinked.
"He's infected with this black liquid. Very similar to the black stuff the monsters are made up of. It's what made his body this way but it's also what makes up most of his body now."
"Okay. Does that tell us anything about it?"
"Well he's essentially a giant water balloon. If we bleed him out enough, we might be able to incapacitate him."
"So not much difference there then huh? But how do we do that? He's recovering too quickly from any attack we can make."
"Well his weaknesses say he's vulnerable to Water, Ice and Slow."
"Slow? That's a weird spell. Your scan really doesn't hold back on the more esoteric weaknesses does it?"
"I like to think it's through."
"Well the only spell we have access to is frost and I already tried frost and it didn't seem that effective."
"You haven't learned intentional casting for ice have you?"
"I'm working on it."
"Well if the outside doesn't work, we could always try the inside."
"Freeze the inside?" Helena looked interested, "Well that's certainly an idea. A bit gruesome though."
"Can you do it?"
"If I can lodge a blade in him, I should be able to channel my Ic-frost spell though it."
"You can do that?"
"With archeomancy, yeah."
"I still don't know what that is."
"I'll tell you about it later." Helena said, "For now, let me use your sword."
"Good luck with it." Roko shrugged as he handed Helena his sword.
"Whoa. This is heavier than I expected." Helena said.
"Never held a sword before then?"
"Nope. I leave all that stuff to Roland."
"That remind me, Roland, Roswell! Open up a path for Helena!"
"Why the hell does Helena have a sword?!" Roland cried.
"Who cares?! Just cover me, Roland!" Helena cried as she charged towards Bedlam.
With a disdainful scowl, Roland ran after Helena, standing in front of Bedlam as he slammed his shield against Bedlam's fist and pushed with all his strength to force Bedlam's arm back. Bedlam raised his other arm to bash into Roland's side but Roswell quickly intercepted it, holding both of his arms back together. With strained grunts, the two knights raised their swords and slashed into Bedlam's body, knocking him back and freeing their shields. The wounds they made were being closed but they had managed to open up Bedlam enough for Helena to charge in with her sword, ready to stab Bedlam. However, Bedlam recovered enough to take a step back and lower his arm, blocking Helena's sword as it stabbed into his muscular arm instead. Still, it was enough.
"Ice!"
Cold air floated down the sword and into Bedlam's body, immediately coating the wound in ice. Slowly, the body beneath the skin began to turn snow white and the skin began to grow purple with signs of frostbite. Bedlam cried out in pain as he quickly dislodged Helena's sword and raised his other fist to smash down on her. Roland swiftly stepped in and blocked Bedlam's attack, deflecting it to the side and allowing Roland to make one last slash down on Bedlam who managed to block it with his frozen arm. As soon as Roland's sword impacted the frostbitten arm, the am shattered, throwing bits of ice and splattering blobs of both blood and the mysterious black liquid all over the three of them. Screams of terror erupted out of the warehouse at the sight of a person's arm being utterly demolished.
"Oh god! Oh god!" Helena yelped as she wiped away at the blood and the eldritch goop from her body.
"Oh no, it's in my hair!" Roswell moaned.
"Hurlp." Roland heaved, "I didn't swallow any did I?"
Bedlam whimpered weakly as he regained his composure and managed looked at his arm. The entire arm had been stripped away cleanly, leaving only the small skeleton of his arm dangling from the rest of his enlarged body. Upon seeing this, a new chorus of horrified screams echoed around the warehouse as Roko just stared at them.
"Rokooooo!!!" Helena cried as she ran back to him with his sword, "It worked but I really wish it didn't work!"
"Calm down." Roko chuckled, "His arm is regenerating."
"Huh?"
Looking closer, they could see the liquid bubbling out from his torso, reforming his muscles and fibers but very slowly.
"I don't have the stomach for this..." Helena said as she handed Roko his sword back.
"Well we can't kill him without you."
"Uuuu..."
"I'll figure something out." Roko sighed as he sheathed his sword, "Go take a break."
Roko walked up to Bedlam who was still hyperventilating over the gruesome loss of his arm, "Hey. You look like hell. Feel like calling a truce? Handshake?"
Roko offered his hand...the hand that would require Bedlam's missing arm in order to accept.
"You smarmy little so and so." Bedlam growled, "How has anyone let you live up to this point?"
"That's a valid question that I have no answer for." Roko shrugged, "I try not to think about how many times I've escaped death."
"Well, I'll be sure to fix that." Bedlam scowled as he stepped back and used his remaining arm to grab onto the grimoire tied to his waist.
"Don't try anything stupid." Roko said as he drew his sword again, "Or do you want to see if your new body can regenerate bone?"
"S-Stop this!" Daniel suddenly ran in between Roko and Bedlam, blocking him from approaching any further.
"Daniel?!" Helena cried.
"Haven't you done enough?! I know he's done questionable things but..."
"What we've done doesn't matter." Roko stated, "He's regenerating as we speak. We can hardly say we've done any real damage."
"But still! At the very least, allow him to face justice! You don't have to kill him!"
"I can't kill him even if I wanted to." Roko sighed, "The only one who could possibly do that is Helena and she's not willing to do it. I'm not here to kill anything that is human or used to be anyway. I'm willing to have him tried. The only thing standing in the way of that is Bedlam himself."
"Bedlam!" Daniel turned to his brother, eyes full of hope but Bedlam seemed less than amused.
"You want me to face justice?" Bedlam snorted, "What kind of justice could possibly constrain me? There is no cell that can contain me. No power that can stop our God. I am above justice. I am above this city and their king."
"You're also missing an arm." Roko added.
"And you'll be missing your head if you keep talking, you bastard!"
"The only one losing their head over this seems to be you."
"I will pop your head with one arm."
"Shame you can't pop your cherry without resorting to abduction."
"Will you two calm down!" Daniel cried as he stopped Bedlam from lunging at Roko, "Please stop antagonizing my brother!"
"No."
"Well, it's fine." Bedlam snorted as he stepped back with a smirk, "I've brought enough time now."
"What?"
The sound of inhuman snarls and roars and other ungodly noises alerted the group to the outside where a small army of eldritch monsters were sprinting towards them.
"This again?" Roland sighed, "We've been through this already."
"Why didn't he just summon them here?" Roswell keenly wondered.
"These are different." Roko said as he felt a chill run down his spine.
These monsters were composed of the black liquid that occasionally dripped from their body but they weren't formless masses. Their legs, while still not resembling human legs, didn't melt away into puddles at their feet. And while these monsters still didn't have feet as such, their legs ended in a smooth blunt tip that solidly pounded away at the ground as they ran, rather convincing, at them. The odd human feature still poked out from the mass but this time, recognizable bones in their correct places could be spotted, including the occasional rib cage that poked out from the monsters' chest. There were the beginning of a head now forming above the torso but the biggest difference was their arms. No longer were these creatures equipped with whip like tentacles but instead swelled into giant hammers, its hardened blunt tips smashing through the ground as these monsters used them to crash towards them.
"These are more advanced." Roko scowled, "Their forms are more complete and they're equipped with different arms."
"I can see that." Helena grimaced as she took aim at the army marching towards them.
"Our armor isn't going to be as effective against blunt force like that." Roswell said, "Fight more cautiously, Roland."
"I got it." Roland growled.
In moments the monsters descended onto the group, scattering them as they dodged between heavy, powerful attacks. While Helena was able to keep careful distance between her and the monsters, freely firing her ice spell and the knights had their armor and, more importantly, their shields, Roko had to make much more complex maneuvers in order to make attacks while avoiding damage himself. The power of these new monsters were unmistakable, the ground never seemed to stop shaking as they continued to move and attack with their heavy arms. And while their attacks were in no way slow, it was too well telegraphed and still not quite fast enough to actually manage to hit them, though in time they would and if they made one wrong step, one hit would lay them on the ground. But for now, these new monsters were slowly getting dispatched, one by one though with much more difficulty than before.
"Hah!" Roland cried as he dodged the attack from one of the monsters and sliced off their head, "Your magic isn't very impressive, Beddy-boy!"
"I wouldn't take this so easily, Rolly-boy." Bedlam sneered as the decapitated monster reared up for another attack that Roland would dodge, "The horror's just begun."
As Roko dodged the next attack, he could hear the sounds of footsteps. Human footsteps and of a sizable crowd as well. Unable to check what was going on immediately, Roko raised his sword to fend off one of the monsters...until he got tackled to the ground.
"Noooooooo!"
"What the-what's going-" Roko struggled to get back up as he realized he was being held down by a girl. And with a dawning dread, he realized the person holding him down was one of the girls that had been recovered from the cult's dungeons.
In the distance, Roko could hear Helena, Roland and Roswell's cries as they too were accosted and thrown to the ground.
"What's going on?!" Roland cried as he struggled to pull off his attacker.
"What's wrong?!" Helena said, "Why are you all here?!"
As Roko tried to get the girl holding him down off him, he realized the monster he was fighting was ready to smash one of its arms down on him. Grabbing the girl, Roko quickly dove off to the side, pulling him and the girl away as the monster's attack hit the ground. Landing back on his legs, Roko pinned the girl to the ground as he frowned, "What are you doing?!"
"Please..." The girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "Please don't hurt him. That is...that is my child!"
…
"What..."