"Wha."
"Huh!?"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!!"
Many asked as they stared at the creature that pierced the clouds, leaving many flabbergasted faces behind. They couldn't take their eyes off of it, and the visual they were presented with made sure they did not do so.
They saw the silhouette of the monster each time the lightning crackled. The heavy rain drenched their entire being, but no one moved one inch from their position as they kept their eyes on the monstrosity that was being constantly zapped by the lightning.
Erik and Valcroy couldn't get to see it as they were in the Crucible chamber and it was very good at noise-cancelling.
But Collum and Mallory were present along with their soldiers as they took in this horrific sight. Even they wondered if this was the end of the world. The giant creature that was swimming in the clouds gave both of them goosebumps. They felt like they were looking at something that shouldn't exist in this world, their instincts telling them to not go against that thing.
Collum ran to Kendrick's room to get his help. It wasn't time to play games with Erik and with such a thing in the sky; the training can go to hell. But just as he arrived before his study room, his vision distorted, and he felt like the space was his turning solid. Before he could do or say anything, he found himself standing before Erik's room.
Collum stood there speechless, but the rumbling thunder woke him up. He tried one more time and ended with the same result. He wanted to cry, but had no tears. So he could only brace himself and arrived at the wall guarding the city. Turning to Erik would achieve nothing other than killing his will to try and save the city.
Collum readied himself for anything, or at least thought that way. He felt that the alliance might take advantage of this and siege. Heck, he felt this monster was something that the Alliance brought with themselves, and wondered how they did that.
Meanwhile, the council was also looking at the creature through a screen which displayed what was happening in the skies of Iron'Heits.
"What is that?" One of the Alliance leaders asked, clearly intrigued by the creature. He had seen many monsters before, some even bigger than the whale that was swimming in the clouds, but he hadn't seen such a unique being before.
Everyone looked at the veiled figure like she was an expert in these matters, and were disappointed when they heard her say, "I don't know."
The veiled lady was looking at the whale with curious eyes, she hadn't seen such a creature before, in fact no one had any experience with ocean creatures because of the poisonous nature of the ocean, yes the ocean around Avaloria was extremely poisonous and dangerous enough that it made even a Knight King tread carefully when dealing with it. In fact, the ocean was the only forbidden place that no one wanted to explore. This was why the shores and beaches had fortresses around them and no ships sailed unless they were commandeers under the guidance of a powerhouse.
The veiled lady wanted to capture the monster and see what it was, but couldn't act personally. She snapped her finger and a masked figure appeared and was about to send him to capture it when Arjen's words stopped her in her track, "The seal can not allow a master realm expert in anymore."
She shut her mouth, thought for a moment before sending the masked figure away, and then asked, "That thing will be a problem then."
Her words made everyone's expression turn severe. If the creature in the sky started attacking their soldiers, then it would really be a paradise for it, they could tell from here that the creature strength was just above an advanced realm expert but was below a master realm expert, it was like it deliberately chose this time to appear.
"Let's hope it doesn't, then." Hidragges said and felt like he shouldn't have as he saw the whale turning its course.
The seductress, Nenath, took this chance to tease him, "Someone should keep their mouth in control," and giggled, but no one was paying attention to her as their eyes were glued to the projection that was showing them what was happening, and it was not pretty.
....
After getting rid of the lightning problem, the whale's myriad eyes swirled around like searching for something and then slowly stopped as every eye in those two giant eyes looked down at the soldiers that were looking up at it.
Huuunnnn*
With a loud sound that echoed throughout the sky, it flapped its tattered fins and with a push from its tail; it dived from the clouds. Its massive body sliced through the air, hurtling toward the ground with full force, enough to make a crater wide enough for a lake to appear. The soldiers below watched in helpless terror as the giant leviathan took an interest in them.
"R..run!" someone said out loud, and the chaos ensued. The soldiers forgot their training and scattered, trying to get as far away as possible. But that did nothing, the moment the whale was about to collide with the ground…
Splash*
Like a bucket of water dropped from a height, it splashed. The whale's humongous form transformed into a tidal wave of blood, with Iron'Heits at its back. The wave hit with such ferocity that it tore through whatever the front ranks of soldiers remained, like a scythe slicing through the wheat.
Those unlucky enough to be caught in the front line of the initial wave were enveloped in that warm, cloying liquid, their screams quickly silenced as the blood forced its way into their mouths, noses, and lungs, rotting everything. Eyes bulged with terror, hands clawed desperately at the air or the bodies of their once comrades as they were swept away, struggling to get out of this hell.
The sheer pressure of it crushed bones and ripped their flesh, but this was not all. The reddish blood rotted whatever remained of their body as the tide moved forward, leaving nothing behind.
Some who successfully survived tried to stand and slipped, only to fall; their limbs bent at weird angles like something had corroded their tendons. Maybe the deep reddish mist that surrounded them had done that. The wave retook them mercilessly under. The battlefield was thus transformed into a blood-curdling ocean, where nothing but corroded ground remained that would tell the story of the terrifying events that took place here.
The faces of the soldiers, who were full of pride before, were twisted in expressions of nothing but terror and desperation. The futility of it all broke some completely; their minds shattered, paralyzed with fear as their mind denied of what was happening before them. They denied it with whatever sanity that was keeping them—final thoughts and realizations muddled and disorganized. Others, following basic instincts, were struggling on, for life itself, but the further they tried—the deeper they sank into the thick, suffocating blood and corroded just as fast, even an intermediate realm expert couldn't run from it and was corroded but he was the only one whose body remained behind, followed by 2 or three more intermediate realm experts.
And, as inch by inch the wave crept amongst the enemy ranks, it devoured all in its path, leaving nothing but an eerie hell-scape littered with the remains of what once dared rise in opposition—the army of Alliance was in shambles.
The fortress of Iron'Heits was silent, everyone there watched the blood tide sweep with vicious, murderous fury through the land, flooding the terrible field that was once occupied by the Alliance soldiers and drowning it beneath an apocalyptic red sea of death. But it was just the beginning, as the tide vanished the next instant and the giant whale took to the sky once more.
"Fire!!"
An officer, brown hair, wearing a captain hat, brown eyes, golden teeth, oval face, wearing many medals on his blue suit, a decorated one, said out loud and along with which followed…
Swish* Swish*
Boom* Boom*
Bam*
Arrows, cannons, magic beams, boulders, everything they had in their arsenal was thrown at the whale, drowning the creature in a sea of fire. The sounds and visuals blinded many as even the advanced realm experts had to squint their eyes to see what was going on in there and then wished that they shouldn't have.
The creature took the whole onslaught without blinking a single eye and when they were done; it diffused into red mist, blowing toward the alliance soldiers. It was ready for round two.
"Take cover," The decorated officer said as he unfurled a scroll, and infused mana into it, the scroll glowed and enveloped the surrounding soldiers but it wasn't big enough to provide shelter to everyone, the soldier's upon seeing that, scattered, many ran toward the officer but some intelligent ones didn't and ran in a different direction as they observed the red mist following the soldiers that ran toward the officer.
In a predatory manner, the mist silently infiltrated the area, engulfing the soldiers in its clutches, stopping just at the edge of the dome that protected the decorated officer and others in a 10 meter radius, surrounding them from all sides. The officer, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, snickered when he saw that.
A few bootlickers began complimenting him, which further boosted his confidence. But soon, their words died on their lips as they saw the impossible—the whale appeared. It was looking at them with its glowing eyes and, for the first time, they saw those two glowing orbs had trapped a myriad of eerie eyes in them; it gave them a shiver when they saw those eyes looking at them.
Just as the whale slowly materialized around before them, the soldiers trapped within the red mist felt the ground shift beneath them. An ominous feeling overtook them and they realized the horrific truth and it solidified when they saw spear-like teeth appearing around them—they were inside the creature's gaping maw. Panic exploded in the ranks, and terror-filled screams pierced the air as the massive jaws of the whale closed slowly, killing their last hope of survival.
"AHHHH—"
Crrunch!
The sound was indescribable—a symphony of bones splintering, flesh tearing, and lives snuffed out in an instant with just closing the maw. Blood oozed from the corners of the whale's mouth, spilling down reddish streams that stained the earth beneath. Its many eyes gleamed as it turned its gaze toward the soldiers huddled within the dome, their faces pale with horror.
"Fire!" The command rang out once more, desperate and hollow, and another volley of attacks took upon the monstrous form. But as the projectiles hit, the whale seemed to dissolve into the mist once more, vanishing with an unnatural fluidity. But the soldiers couldn't celebrate their victory as they saw the twisted remains that the creature left behind.
Mangled corpses littered the ground, their bodies mangled. Limbs severed, some bodies riddled with gaping holes as if gnawed upon by enormous, jagged teeth. The sight was too much for many; soldiers who had stood resolute moments before now couldn't take it, retching violently at the grisly scene before them. The smell of iron and decay filled the air, mingling with the acrid stench of vomit and fear. Those still capable of thought realized the nightmare had only begun, as the mist, infused with malevolent intent, began circling the dome once more, its hunger unsated.
The decorated officer's heart pounded in his chest as he clenched his fist, his knuckles white with fear and frustration. The creature was too abnormal. He knew what fate awaited them. If nothing was done, the horrific end that had befallen those outside the dome would soon be theirs. Just as he steeled himself to act, the whale reappeared, its colossal form swallowing the dome whole.
The dome that was meant to protect them, was now engulfed by the creature's maw, but somehow it all fit within the abyssal cavity of its mouth like space was just an illusion to the creature who could bend the rule according to how it wanted.
The ground beneath their feet was uprooted, the very earth plucked from the world as the dome was now encased within the monster's jaws. There was now a crater left where the dome and the soldiers used to be. The whale took them and flew back to the clouds, leaving behind the shocked soldiers who just stood there, looking at the creature in a daze.
The whale completely ignored them as it ate its meal, its jagged, misaligned teeth that once appeared haphazard now begin to form an eerie, unsettling symmetry. Each razor-sharp tooth aligned neatly now, the gaps closing like a monstrous puzzle, and a realization dawned on the officer.
"It can't be," he whispered, his voice trembling. He felt this to be unreal, but what he was thinking was correct.
The creature was using them to heal itself. The officer had observed it clearly, upon their first contact, the suicide dive, the creature's body riddled with wounds, its flesh scarred and torn. But now those wounds have vanished, the scars fading. The teeth, once jagged and broken, were reformed, aligning into perfect rows like the work of a skilled and sick (twisted mind) sculptor, as it fed on their lives.
A wave of horror washed over the officer, paralyzing him as the monstrous maw closed. The dome, which he was proud of, once a symbol of hope, now felt like a coffin. He remembered the maw of the monster. It wasn't big enough to encase them. So either the dome was shrinking or perhaps they were swallowed by the ever-expanding mouth of the creature. He didn't have the time to find that out as the walls of the dome started trembling, and the air grew thick with the palpable fear of the soldiers trapped inside.
Crack*
The sound echoed through the dome, the unmistakable noise of something vital giving way. The light flickered, and the soldiers' faces contorted in terror as they realized their fate was sealed. The walls of the dome, their last barrier against the nightmare, began to fracture, thin lines spreading like a web of doom. They knew what was coming, a crushing end within the jaws of a beast born from their darkest fears and…
Shatter*
Crunch*