"Shit! Without him, we're screwed!" Kitti watched as the shielder was pulled into the darkness by a black chain. She immediately chased after him, running into the darkness.
The darkness felt suffocating, and she choked a few times, yet she pushed through. The shielder was the only one keeping the rest of them alive, and everyone knew it.
The darkness cleared just a little, just in time for Kitti to see the shielder get dragged into a murky black pool with a grunt.
She raced towards the pool of... sludge? and paused. It didn't exactly look safe to enter. She placed her finger into the pool. It was thick, like jelly, and it seemed to suck on her finger when she pulled it out.
Yep... definitely dangerous.
'But he's a shielder, he's strong, but he needs a frontliner, and the group needs him.' She clenched her fist.
Yes. The group needed him. That was the only reason she was going, not because she had anything for him anyway.
With a deep breath, she plunged into the pool. It was dark, and her body felt like it was being pulled from all directions while being weighed down by a hundred armor all at once.
She tried to swim towards where she hoped was down, but unlike the shielder who was dragged by a chain, she was finding it much harder moving through the sludge.
Eventually, her head broke the surface of the pool, and she took a deep breath.
-BOOM-
The black pool right next to the pool she was in exploded in a black shower, and she nearly screamed in shock. She stared, her eyes wide with shock, as the shielder emerged from the exploding pool, his body covered in black ichor. He was fighting... something. A woman with crimson hair and black stockings, wearing a purple kimono that seemed out of place in this nightmarish landscape.
Her gaze darted between the shielder and the woman, taking in their clash. The shielder's cleaver sliced through the air, meeting the woman's clawed hands. They exchanged blows, their movements lightning-fast.
She pulled herself out of the pool, her eyes locked on the battle. The shielder's shield deflected a kick, and he countered with a swift swing of his cleaver. The woman dodged, her movements fluid.
A chain appeared, binding the shielder's wrist. He stumbled, and the woman seized the opportunity. Her claws raked across his armor, but he didn't falter.
"Die!" the woman shrieked, unleashing four black slashes of light.
The shielder sidestepped, but the attack shattered the wall behind him. Debris flew everywhere, and she ducked, covering her head.
When she looked up, the shielder was trading blows with the woman again. Their fight raged on, the ground shattering beneath their feet.
She watched, transfixed, as the shielder leaped and flipped, his shield and cleaver weaving a deadly dance. The woman matched him, her movements inhuman.
Suddenly, the shielder crashed into the wall, the chain pulling him. The woman vanished, reappearing on the wall, then launched herself at the shielder.
Their clash sent shockwaves through the cavern. She stumbled back, her ears ringing.
The shielder's eyes almost spotted her, and for an instant, she was worried she might have to help him. She wanted to, but... 'What kind of battle is this? I... I can't keep up.' How the hell was she supposed to help?
Then, he was back in the fight, his cleaver slicing through the air.
The woman reappeared, her claws flashing. The shielder blocked, countered, and sent her flying into a stalagmite.
The chain lay limp on the ground now. The shielder stood tall, his chest barely winded.
The woman stumbled back, on a knee, panting.
Her eyes locked onto the shielder, and Kitti saw a glimmer of fear.
With a scream, she unleashed eight slashes of darkness.
The shielder sidestepped, swung his cleaver, and weathered the attack.
And then... he changed.
A grey aura erupted from him, fracturing the ceiling.
Centipedes made of shadows poured out of the ground, walls, and pool.
Cyclopes formed from the darkness.
An undead Ursagorath emerged, its roar shaking the cavern.
The woman's eyes widened in horror.
"Wha..." she stammered.
The shielder's voice was low, menacing. "You made one mistake, bringing me here."
The undead horde engulfed the woman.
Kitti stood frozen, her mind reeling.
What was going on here?
"Yo... you're... You're a necromancer?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
The shielder's gaze turned towards her, his grey eyes gleaming with an otherworldly intensity.
//
'Well, crap. Sally warned me about this.' Chrome sighed as he stared at the still frightened brawler.
"Kitti. Are the others okay?" he asked as he inched towards her, his gaze remaining on the mountain made of his summons.
The brawler, seeing him come close, immediately shuffled away from him, taking an aggressive stance. "Undead... are the enemies... of mankind. Necromancy is... evil!!" she half-screamed.
Chrome's expression remained calm, but his eyes narrowed slightly. "Kitti, I'm not going to hurt you. We need to get out of here, and I need to know if the others are safe."
Kitti's stance didn't waver, her eyes fixed on Chrome with a mix of fear and hostility. "You're... you're one of them. A necromancer. How can I trust you?"
Chrome took another step forward, his hands raised in a calming gesture. "Calm down, Kitti. We can discuss this later, but right now, we need to focus on getting out of here."
Kitti's grip on her fists tightened, her knuckles white. "Calm down? Summoning undead abominations? Necromancers... They're monsters."
Chrome's expression flickered, a hint of frustration crossing his face. "Do I look like a monster?"
The cavern fell silent, the only sound, the mauling and biting of the undead horde. Kitti's gaze darted between Chrome and the monstrous creatures. More specifically, she gazed at the skull-like blood mask on his face.
Chrome lightly coughed into his fist. "Uh... Ignore the mask."
Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the cavern, followed by the sound of scraping stone. The lady, now free from the undead horde, suddenly transformed.
The woman's body began to contort and twist, her limbs elongating into twisted, segmented appendages. Darkness billowed from between the appendages.
Kitti's eyes widened in horror as the woman's transformation accelerated. Her body burst forth, expanding to unimaginable size. Segments upon segments of glistening, dark flesh unfolded, each one ending in a razor-sharp claw.
A colossal centipede now towered over the cavern, its body undulating as it grew. The air reeked of acidic venom and decay.
"Oh my Maple..." Chrome whispered, his eyes fixed on the monstrous creature.
The centipede's skull-like head twisted, its jaws opening wide to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth. A blood-curdling scream echoed through the cavern, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
The centipede's scream drowned out Chrome's words, its massive body coiling and uncoiling as it prepared to strike.
"You need to get out of here, now!" Chrome shouted, moving to grab Kitti's arm.
But Kitti stood frozen, her eyes locked on the monstrous centipede. "This can't be happening..."
The centipede lunged forward, its jaws wide open, ready to devour them whole.
Chrome reacted instantly, his grey aura surging as he summoned a wall of undead centipedes to block the Ursagorath's path. "Kitti, get behind me!"
Kitti hesitated, unsure if she should trust Chrome. But the monster's relentless approach left her no choice. She sprinted towards Chrome, her heart pounding.
////
Shade swung for the umpteenth time, cleaving a centipede in half.
Bekhan had covered their weapons in light magic, and fighting the monsters had gotten easier. Well, the little ones at least. The giant centipedes were the real issue.
His arms trembled from swinging his massive sword that many times. He panted. "Huff... Huff... Has Kitti and the shielder returned?"
Jean appeared behind him, swinging his katana as he did. One of the giant centipedes collapsed in his wake. "Haven't seen them. Chances are..." His face turned grim.
Shade gritted his teeth. "Dammit!" he cursed. Kitti was one of their heavy hitters, and without the shielder, the enemy could easily cut through the rest of them.
The ruins seemed to pulse with a dark energy, the shadows growing longer and deeper around them. Shade's eyes swept across the battlefield, noting every movement of his teammates and the creatures encircling them. The air was thick with the smell of decay and venom, and a low, rumbling growl echoed from deep within the darkness.
A chill gripped him, settling into his bones as he tightened his grip on his sword. His vision blurred slightly from exhaustion, but he forced himself to focus. Now wasn't the time to fall apart. Not when Kitti and the shielder might be gone, and the creatures continued to crawl out from every crack in the ground.
"Stay close!" Shade yelled once again, his voice carrying through the chaos as another centipede lunged at him. He swung his sword, cleaving it in half, but another quickly took its place, venom dripping from its mandibles.
Jean stepped in beside him, his katana flashing in the dim light as he carved through one of the larger centipedes, leaving a trail of black ichor splattered across the ground. "We need to fall back," he said, glancing at Shade, his usually calm face drawn tight with worry. "Without the shielder, this fight isn't in our favor."
Shade grunted, wiping sweat from his brow. "You think I don't know that?" He cut down another centipede, the beast's shriek filling the air before its segmented body thudded lifelessly against the stone.
A sudden tremor shook the ground, nearly knocking them off their feet. Suddenly, the ground burst apart around them, and a shriek tore through the air. Something large shot out of the sky, shockwaves sending the adventurers flying.
The centipedes meanwhile, clicked their mandibles in joy, and gathered around the newcomer.
Shade's heart leapt into his throat as he looked past the writhing horde of creatures, his eyes catching sight of something moving above the shadows. It was larger, towering, something so massive it nearly filled the sky above the ruins.
A centipede… No. This wasn't just a monster; it was a nightmare made real.
The creature's eyes glowed a sickly purple, rows upon rows of teeth gleaming as it hissed, coiling its massive body. A trail of acid dripped from its maw, sizzling and eating through the stone floor.
Jean's face paled. "Shade…"
"Yeah, I see it." Shade's voice was barely a whisper, a mix of fear and awe. His mind raced, assessing their options, but none of them were good. Not without Kitti, not without the shielder. And as much as he hated to admit it, they couldn't hold out much longer.
"We're out of time," he muttered. "Either we fight or we run."
A roar broke through the ruin, this time deeper and more menacing. The monstrous centipede twisted its massive head, and to their surprise, it wasn't looking at them.
Shade followed its gaze, squinting through the dust and shadows. At first, he saw nothing, but then, somewhere on the carapace of the behemoth of a centipede, he spotted a lone figure, hanging on to the body of the beast high above them.
It was the shielder, cloaked in an eerie grey aura, his cleaver gleaming in his hand, ichor dripping from his armor.
Jean let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Look…"
But Kitti was nowhere in sight. Shade's jaw clenched. She'd either made it out or… oh. The shielder held her over his shoulder as he climbed.
The shielder clung to the centipede's side, Kitti slung over his shoulder. She came to, groggy, barely making sense of their dizzying height.
"Wha..?" Her voice was weak, but he gave a slight nod, gaze locked on the writhing creature beneath them.
"Yeah. Just hold on." His tone was steady, a stark contrast to the chaos around them.
The centipede bucked, its head smashing against the ruins pillars, sending stone fragments raining down. The shielder tightened his grip, his shield braced, absorbing the brunt of each impact. He was strong, but even he couldn't strike hard enough to make a large enough dent in this massive creature.
"Kitti, if you're up for it, any help here wouldn't hurt."
She grimaced, forcing herself to focus. "Help? You want me to… from up here?"
A deep rumble echoed from below, a reminder of the danger they were in. The shielder's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the beast's undulating form.
"This thing won't stop until one of us does," he muttered, frustration in his voice.
The centipede bucked, aggressively this time, and the shielder lost his grip on the centipede's side.
|| Cover ||
-BOOOOM-
Shade froze as something crashed through a pillar with enough force, the ground trembled.
He blinked as the shielder pulled himself out of the rubble, Kitti clinging to his side.
"Wha...?" She groaned, dazed from the fall. "What happened? Why'd you let go? I thought you said we were gonna attack it."
The shielder smiled, his gaze resting on the centipede's face. No. Above it. "Nah... Reinforcements are here. The fight's over."
Shade was about to ask what he meant when a sudden pressure washed over them from above.
The shadows immediately cleared from a bright light. Scattering as if hiding from a burning sensation.
The gargantuan centipede turned its head to the sky where two massive stars shone like the sun.
One of the stars was a blazing green, and the other was a sparkling pink.
.
.
.
.
|| Double Impact ||