~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!~
The earth shattered as though it was fragile glass, sending debris in multiple directions—even as far as the high ceiling that existed high above the place of impact.
The Luminous Crystals cracked and broke into several shards, all of which caused crashing sounds and sparks of light as they met the hard ground and broke into further tiny pieces. Bursts of large earthen mounds, coupled with sharper and tinier crystals danced in the air all at once.
… All due to the emergence of one thing.
'Eve never told me about this…' Des' eyes widened as he lay eyes on the creature that slowly rose from the gaping hole in the ground.
It seemed to be a mixture of snake and centipede—with a long, massive body that resembled the reptile, but hard exoskeleton reminiscent of a deadly centipede.
This 'thing' had multiple arms that made cracking sounds with every motion, and its body danced in the air so flexibly—almost as if its body belonged to a worm and not a monstrous giant of indescribable proportions.
It was at least twice as large as the Colossus, and its bark seemed even harder than the horrid creature that took Des so much time to plan for and defeat.
The centipede-like thing had multiple eyes on its flat-looking face, and its slimy maw was decorated with razor-like teeth. This was a beast among beasts, a creature unfathomably stronger than anything Des had fought.
He knew nothing about it, so there was no preparation he could make regarding how to deal with the present situation.
Des ws completely stuck.
'Ah, no, there is something I know about it…' He remained still as his widened eyes took in the Horror.
'It's much stronger than I am.'
That was it.
The Horror's bottom portion was still underneath the hole, so Des couldn't see just how big it really was.
He only knew that it was very, very tall.
As the Horror's corrosive saliva dripped on the ground, it sizzled, leaving hissing mists that dealt a pungent odor to everything around.
'Poison. A very strong one too…' Des swallowed, remaining in his position, absolutely stuck in place.
He was motionless, not because he thought that was an effective strategy, but because he didn't know what to do at that moment.
Run? To where? How?
His second leg wasn't done healing, and even if it was… could he even outrun this creature?
'I've lost all my Items, so I can't even distract it with any of the tools that Eve made for me.' A bead of sweat fell from his face.
What could he do in this situation?
For such a creature to have broken through such a hard surface, that meant it had to be very strong—absurdly strong. Des couldn't even imagine how it would feel like to fight such a monstrosity.
His best bet was escaping.
'I just have to figure out how somehow. Its eyes seem adjusted to the darkness, so should I wait until daytime? No… that's too optimistic, isn't it?'
What was the guarantee that he would survive until the lights went on?
'The only proof I have of its sight's affinity with darkness is because it came from underground. That means its eyes must share characteristics with the Worms. But, I could be wrong. What if it can adjust its sight… like me.'
Then, even if he waited for Daytime, all of his efforts could still be in vain.
'So what should I do? Go to the Cave that Eve made?' A small tilt of his eyes, and he saw what happened to his only viable means of hiding.
A massive chunk of earth was obstructing the cave's entrance, so he couldn't simply rush—or even crawl—into the cave.
To access it, he would have to get rid of the rock.
'That's not impossible, but… I would definitely make a lot of noise doing so. That could attract it to me, and once that happens…'
It would be game over.
'I wonder what prompted it to show up. Was it the noise I made while defeating the Colossus, or the death of the Colossus? I don't know, but… at least now I know that the Worms weren't running off because of Daytime, but because of this.'
The same Horrors weren't even concerned with the Colossus, which meant this thing had to be far deadlier.
Its sheer mass spoke for itself.
'That gives me less confidence that I'll survive, even if I manage to get into that cave.'
This was a Horror that could destroy layers of thick earth just to get to the surface. There was no way that it wouldn't be able to chase Des to the cave and destroy the walls around it.
Ultimately, he couldn't guarantee complete escape using that method.
'What of hiding behind a massive rock pending the time it leaves? Will it leave, though? How long will I have to wait? Damnit…'
Des didn't know what to do.
He was currently hanging on a very thin line—one snap away from death.
Should he move?
Should he not move?
If he was to move, how quickly was he supposed to do so?
If he wanted to escape, how was he to go about it?
Hide?
Run?
So many questions and possibilities echoed in his mind. Unfortunately for Des, he wasn't to decide any of that.
After all—
"SKRIIIIIIAAAAAAKKKKK!!!"
The loud screech of the horrifying creature caused everything within the hall to shake, and the moment it concluded this scream, it turned its gaze towards Des and looked him dead in the eyes.
At that moment, he knew exactly what it meant.
'RUN!'
He had to run—and fast.
~WHOOOSH!~
Des instantly thrusted his entire body away from his position, grateful for his leg healing at precisely that moment.
~WHUUUUUUUUM!~
The colossal body of the Horror darted straight towards Des' location, barely missing him by mere inches.
~BOOOOOOOOOM!!!~
The ground erupted, sending harsh pressures of wind to Des, which forced his powerless body to be hurled towards a nearby wall.
A portion of the wall shattered upon impact, and he was forced to vomit blood as he felt the powerful shockwave of the creature pierce his body in a blunt blow.
"Gaaahhh…" Des recoiled.
Before he could react to the second bow, several appendages of the centipede-like Horror stretched out—extending like whips—and lashed out to his position.
~FWIP!~
He hurriedly leaped away, witnessing how the damaged area he abandoned was diced to pieces due to the powerful strikes that were sent there..
'If just one had grazed me…!'
Des didn't have to leave that to his imagination, as even more of the creature's many limbs stretched out and pursued Des, finally piercing him all over his body.
"Gahhhh!!!"
He screamed out, but all of that was useless against the one who had already pinned him on the wall with its many outstretched limbs.
Like massive nails, pegging him to the cracked wall, the several sharp limbs held Des' wounded body in place—a considerable distance from the badly damaged ground.
His blood dripped down, almost like the saliva of the Horror that watched him in satisfaction.
'No… no, not like this!' Des coughed out even more blood as he shut his eyes and groaned.
He tried squirming away from the creature's grip, but it was all useless. This thing was much stronger, faster, and overall better than him. Even while using his Horror Aspects, he appeared to be no more than a child before it.
—Truly pathetic.
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
Des truly tried his best, didn't he? Unfortunately, that isn't usually good enough.