Even from this distance, I could see the countless bloodshot eyes that covered its body with an ominous glow in them. Multiple limbs sticking out of it flailed about madly as if reaching for something. Every single body making up the creature joined together to give it a unified voice.
WUIIIIGHHHH!!!
The revolting creature screeched as it butted a few flying figures into the distance in a violent rage. It must have been at least 10 meters tall to reach their location as it towered over every building around. Countless attacks made out of fire and ice smashed into it but it resisted them all with a shrug as it turned its attention in our direction.
'Shit!'
I cursed as it tore through the town with blinding speed.
It seemed the trio also shared my sentiments as they snapped out of whatever atmosphere was building up and launched their attacks.
The man with the glass slab that was previously stuttering was the first to launch his attack, rapidly firing multiple ice pellets like an automated gun that followed the worm as it approached our position.
Most of them missed.
Some of the pellets actually did land on the creature's body, exploding into bursts of frost and spikes which rapidly disappeared from its body with little to no damage.
I could tell that whatever magic was used to create this creature gave it a certain immunity to elemental attacks.
That didn't stop the man though as he kept firing, forcing the worm to try and dodge the continuous pelting disturbance.
Just as I watched the worm get uncomfortably closer to our location, a long whip made from glistening water suddenly extended and lashed out at it right through its middle.
PAT!
The woman with the frosty countenance had attacked quite viciously!
The worm was split right in two, and countless bloodshot eyes lost their glow as the bodies fell off from the creature, but it was only temporary.
The two split pieces joined together once more and continued charging forward. The woman had expected that though as she raised her whip for another attack.
It seemed the worm had considered her a threat as it raised its head where a hole had appeared in the middle and spat a black projectile towards her. As the projectile got nearer, I could hear the maniacal screeching that I have now attributed to the creature coming from it.
WUIIGH!
I could see it clearly now, it was a screaming human head that had been inflated somehow and seemed ready to burst open like a balloon.
The woman didn't hesitate as she launched her whip towards the screaming head, launching it into the distance and farther into the air.
Before the head could explode though, a box of ice seemingly solidified out of thin air and trapped the head within.
BAM!
I could hear the muffled explosion coming from the ice box accompanied by the mutterings of the blue-eyed man with the slab.
"Can't have more of them popping up around."
Although the danger was averted, the worm had achieved its goal of distracting its enemies and was now close enough to launch itself towards the direction of the old man and me.
Countless glowing bloodshot turned in our direction, staring intently at the briefcase in the old man's hand. I could even discern the gazes of some of them focused on my glass prison which had me filled with terror.
The woman and man realized this a bit too late and launched their beetles forward to try and intercept the creature, launching attacks at it as they charged.
The worm simply ignored the man's frost-based attacks but when the woman launched her whip at its head, the creature suddenly unraveled its parts.
Countless human figures lunged towards us, limbs outstretched and glowing eyes fixed firmly on their targets as they allowed the terrifying water whip to harmlessly pass through the spaces between them at the cost of one or two unlucky fellows.
I watched as the man and the woman stared at us with alarm, it was because the old man didn't seem to have made a move all this while.
I couldn't blame them as I was the only one who could sense it. That unnatural distorted power from a while back when we had been ambushed by dozens of enemies. The old man had been gathering that power for some time now and I could already see the distortion in his eyes as he calmly raised a palm forward.
WUUIIIIIGGHHH!!!
The human figures collectively screeched as they got closer, the closest one was just about to make contact with the old man's outstretched arm.
And that was it.
There were no fancy lights, no explosions, no burst of power. Everything just went silent.
I watched in silent awe and horror as the outstretched arm of the nearest creature turned to dusty, brown, stone. It froze in place for a moment before plunging to the ground.
THUD!
THUD! THUD!! THUD!!!
Countless statues fell from the sky as it rained dust and stone. Every single body that made up the revolting creature was transfigured into a lifeless statue in an instant. It was a display of power that seemed to transcend the norm, even among the unreasonable abilities I had already seen so far.
The man and woman stared wordlessly as the creature made of hundreds of bodies was taken care of just like that. I already knew enough by now to guess what sort of power could do that.
It was something spoken of with reverence and fear by all who knew of it.
Foutier!
The unnatural glow in the old man's eyes vanished as he let out a small smile.
"The best way to take care of it is to kill every single part of it at the same time, or else it will just kill more people and use their bodies to recover. Isn't that so, my little hydrangea?"
The old man cocked his head to the side as he looked at the woman.
The woman's steely gaze faltered for the first time since I saw her and her lips quivered as she let out a croaking voice.
"Y-You are under arrest for the murder of Anabelle Deplaid, the destruction of the city of Roccia, and the deaths of countless members of the tower."
Her voice got firmer towards the end but she just stood still after she finished talking and stared at the old man with complex emotions in her eyes. The old man seemed content with matching her gaze, also with his own thoughts running through his mind.
'She called him master?'
I suddenly realized I knew very little of the old man who had been my tour guide around this absurd world. He seemed to be a very complex person with a very heavy past and I sometimes couldn't decide if he was a warm, kind-hearted, and benign old man or a cruel, logical, and decisive powerhouse who doesn't tolerate anything getting in his way.
All I knew about him was his apparent obsession with souls.
"What do you think the soul is?"
I suddenly asked him at this moment.
I realized that I had indulged in our conversation for so long that I never bothered to find out his own opinion on the matter. The fundamental question to our entire discussion.
The old man smiled when he heard my question as if gratified that I decided to ask.
"The soul is a path."
He answered simply.
"A path?"
"Yes, a path."
"A path to what? Leading to where?"
The old man's smile got wider as he turned his head towards the dark blue sky. Countless stars twinkled about and I could see the faint silhouettes of three moons in the distance positioned in perfect symmetry with each other.
"To ascension."
BOOM!!!
If I were to be completely honest, I was getting tired of explosions at this point. Before I could completely register the old man's answer, another explosion erupted in not one but three locations around the city.
The repulsive figures of three more worm-like creatures created from the bodies of hundreds of people with bloodshot eyes erupted from the city with eerie screeches accompanying them.
WUUIIIGGHHH!!!
The flying figures of numerous people and beetles surrounded these creatures and peppered them with attacks. Two of the creatures seemed to be well contained, unable to get far before they were intercepted and assaulted with a barrage of different elements.
But one, in particular, seemed to be faring a bit too well against its aggressors. This one was noticeably larger and more vicious, even one of the beetle riders got taken down to the ground before his body was swallowed up by the revolting mass.
"Heiheiheiheihei!"
A familiar laugh came from the creature that send chills down my mind as I recalled the man in the brown trench coat from the train. Although I could guess by now that that wasn't our aggressor's true face, it was the only image I could attach to him right now.
"I have no business with you steel corps! I only want to meet with the holder of Foutier!"
The voice cackled maniacally but his declaration was met with furious yells and retaliation from the people around him.
"These bastards from the Order!"
The woman had regained her steely gaze as she formed a sign with her right hand. A large serpentine figure made with water was gradually created above her.
It was about 5 meters long and as thick as a tree trunk with glowing blue eyes that resembled its creator and a large mouth filled with fangs.
It moved through the air like a snake and launched itself towards the worm where the voice was coming from.
"You were always rather good at creation and transformation, you should really develop it more."
The old man watched the snake moving away with fascination and complimented her.
The woman's gaze snapped towards him, decisively launching her water whip towards him in a bid to capture him.
"You can tell me more about it when you are in jail!"
The old man sighed as he launched an attack of his own, sending the whip careening to the side. His hand then quickly turned behind him and erected a large stone wall to act as a shield just in time.
BANG!
A large ball of fire had appeared out of nowhere to attack him.
"He wouldn't get to see the walls of any prison, I will kill him right here!"
A somewhat familiar voice which I guessed belonged to the middle-aged man who ambushed us earlier came from behind. The old man turned to look behind him and I could confirm my guess.
He was flying towards us in his loose pale blue robes, his fiery yellow eyes reflecting the swaths of flames dancing over his palm that was held up in the air.