carrarn
patreon
Kernstalion - chapter 86: Dryland
🕑 Added 2022-07-24 20:21:28 +0000 UTCI spun around, rushing back to the bottom of the chest cavity. All around, flashes of light slammed into each other, creating dull booms and large underwater surges. Each one that hit me shoved me sideways many feet, and I was glad I didn't get too close. I'd have been crushed if I hadn't been aiming for the opposite side of where they were.
"If you think you can trick me into following you, you are a fool," Ux shouted mockingly.
Yeah, you go and think that, I thought as I kept swimming, my nimble body moving like a dolphin.
I kept taking the occasional glance back, and when I reached the edge of the body-strewn area, Ux finally started moving forward, glaring at me. He seemed to realize I wasn't actually trying to get him to leave the entrance to try and double back.
As I turned back around, a large silver bolt rushed at me. It moved so fast I could only blink. Then it was knocked away by a golden and red. Rathica, hand in hand with a slim, pale woman covered in red tattoos, appeared opposite Nimron, then I was shoved backward by a wave. The image of Nimron glaring at me was burned on my retina. When I stopped spinning around, they were gone, but three more flashes had joined the golden-red one in attacking the silver one. Although massively outnumbered, Nimron was over twice the size of the others. His silver flash struck two others before vanishing out of my sight.
Was that Seriona? I wondered as I reached the area strewn with bodies.
A quick look showed Ux was temporarily stopped by the beams, which suited me just fine. For all I cared, he would stay there and die. I flew between a narrow gap between the closely pushed together demon bodies.
"What are you trying to do… there is no way out there!" Ux whispered, his voice echoing all around me.
I ignored him and swam between the bodies looking for one that matched Par's description. I still couldn't believe how valuable my Mindscape was. Now that I could actually bring inanimate objects inside! I'd never have to go hungry again.
> Go to that Flexinyp corpse, and let me bring it inside your Mindscape!
I blinked and looked around, with no idea what he was talking about.
> The what?
> The one with the green hairs!
It still took me a few moments to locate the demon he meant. It was a heavily damaged body the size of an elephant, thick and round with green hair across the undamaged areas of its flesh. I moved towards it and put my hand on it.
> Raparion requests to bring the Flexinyp corpse into your Mindscape
Yes/No
I selected yes, hoping I didn't have to use it for what it was for: sustenance to boost my regeneration.
Even following Par's directions, it took minutes to navigate through the maze of bodies. The explosions from behind had increased in intensity, and the bodies around me shook and thudded against each other. Every now and again, I was shoved into a body, and soon I was covered in rotted demon flesh. Then I saw the opening ahead, pale bones that indicated I was almost at the bottom of the chest cavity.
> Ux is chasing us, persistent low-tier demon scum!
> If only I had my old abilities, I'd grab him and squish his mind into oblivion!
I grunted. I'd not expected anything else, though I wondered again how powerful Par had actually been. Or was it all just hubris?
> Where is that entrance?
> Left and straight ahead!
I grunted and skirted around a gray-scaled demon with arm-length teeth that jutted forward like spears. Beyond it was a massive rip in the giant body, unlike the perfectly round one above through which we had entered. Parts of the massive body's bones were shattered, and chunks of flesh still hung around. It was gloomy and dark inside, and it took a second for my dark vision to show me the deep fissure below.
"Pathetic mortal, you won't get away from me!"
Ux's whisper seemed to come from the body to my left. I narrowly managed to clench my teeth before I yelped, potentially revealing my location. He probably already knew where I was, but there was no reason to help him. I swam down the rough opening. The bone to the sides had been splintered to pieces by the force that had burst it open.
What the hell can do something like this to a being the size of an apartment building?
Below the body was a cavern. I could barely make out long gouge marks on the sizes like something had dug down and through the body. Or the other way around? Way below me, on the bottom, lay a long and curled-up skeleton, more vertebrae than anything else. In the center was a dull white glow, and as I swam further down, I recognized Lark and a tiny figure hovering before it.
Is that a Dracoserp body?
It made sense as, apparently, there was a nest. If it had been a Dracoserp, they were way bigger than I had thought. Still, it was only a worm compared to the body it was squished below.
The deeper I swam, the more I noticed that a thin film started accumulating on my skin.
"Well, well! So there was Dracoserp spawn hiding below here?" Ux's voice reverberated through the fissure. "Perhaps I can salvage something after all!"
I spun around, feeling my heart shoot up into my throat. Ux was hanging in the opening behind me, his eyes like red lanterns in the darkness.
> Ux is here!
I messaged Par, not even sure what I expected him to do.
> Then bloody move, mortal! Casiron says Grem is ready!
Ux's eyes were focused on something behind me, and he shot forward like a torpedo.
Shit!
I turned and swam as fast as I could.
Grem was making large, sweeping gestures. A cloudy area was growing behind him, and it was what generated the dull white glow. Lark was holding a half dozen eggs inside one of the coils of his body, his eyes flickering between me and something behind.
> It's going to be close soon
> As soon as you reach them, allow them into your Mindscape but don't stop for anything
> Enter that portal!
I growled as I felt my hackles rise. Par had been doing things that helped me, but I never could shake the feeling he only did it because he expected to gain something in the end. Something about how he said this made me worry he was trying to pull something again!
> Par, don't try to pull any funny business!
> Damnit, mortal! Why do you think I would?
Why ever would I think that? I thought as I gnashed my teeth.
A dull boom came from above, and a shockwave shoved me down. I felt something in one leg snap. I growled and gulped down some of the water while I resumed swimming. A burning sensation came from my leg, showing it was regenerating. Still, this would cost me time I didn't have.
A quick look back made me wish I hadn't turned. The entrance above had changed into a massive hole, and pieces of bone drifted down. The godly beams of light were speeding around above, Nimron's massive silvery light in the center, while five smaller lights rushed around him. Each time they hit each other, a large boom erupted, almost like they were building up to something. If that hadn't been enough to cause me to continue speeding down, Ux's shape closing in definitely was. His eyes were focused on Lark, or probably more likely, the eggs. I focused on the cloud.
"Get ready," Grem shouted, and I nodded as I locked gazes with him. His eyes were wide open, and fear etched his face. Still, his fingers moved as expertly as always, winding through gestures so hard I couldn't even follow them.
Five hundred feet, three hundred, one hundred.
"You won't get away from me," Ux howled, and I could almost feel his breath on my neck.
A loud ping came from my status, and a tiny message box popped up before I could open it.
> Par requests access to your Mindscape for: Thiwick 'Grem' lo Thiwick, Lark, ???, ???, and ???
Yes/No
I almost clicked no when I saw the question marks. Then I hissed and selected yes. There just wasn't any time to worry about this! Casiron was in my Mindscape, and he wouldn't allow anything to harm the eggs which were also there. Hopefully.
I'd not seen how Libidi had vanished when I allowed her entry, but I had a front-row seat this time. Lark and Grem turned translucent, then disappeared in a stream of tiny watery drops that darted my way.
A dull ring of pings came from my status, but I didn't have the time to check on it.
The stream of drops was gone, and the only thing remaining before me was the white cloud.
That meant it was just me, Ux, and a half dozen warring Deities. I was pretty sure I was the odd one out, so it was time to get the hell out of dodge.
I resisted the temptation to look behind me, at the howling thing that seemed right atop me, and focused on the portal. It reminded me of the portal I'd used in Boglodon.
My arms outstretched, I suddenly thought of something. How the hell would the people react if I popped out the other end, looking like some four-armed, green-scaled serpentine monstrosity? Then my fingers pierced the cloud, which felt like cold smoke in the water, and there was no more time to fix it.
My body cooled down, then froze over. The lights and noise that had constantly erupted behind me vanished, and I sensed my connection with Rathica stretched away a great distance. For a seemingly infinite moment, I hovered in a limbo of cold blackness. Then a ruddy light appeared before me.
I shot out of a glowing rip of fuzzy white light towards a gray paved ground. Screams and raging battle sounds surrounded me, and I felt a burning sensation in my gills.
I smacked onto the ground. I felt both heavy, like I was covered in lead, and free at the same time. The pressure of thousands of miles of water pressing down on me vanished. The stone was hard and cold, and the breeze on my scale-covered skin felt divine.
A soft hissing came from my arm, and I looked up. A thin mist hissed out from between the scales, and a headache grew rapidly. It lasted a second or two, then stopped, the headache fading and mist vanishing.
Confused, I tried to stand up. The lack of bones in my body made me feel like I was made of jelly.
Right, the shape-change!
My hands flashed through the undo spell, and I saw the dark scales rapidly fade away, receding below my skin. The sense of my bones resetting themselves, a solidity returning to my body, was both painful and great. Then the world around me began turning hazy.
Breath!
I opened my mouth, sprayed water onto the floor, and took a gasping breath. Solid footsteps came from a few feet away, and I looked up. Two Grablon soldiers, both wielding daggers in three of their hands, gazed at me, seeming more confused than I was. Behind them, I saw a large brawl. Grablon soldiers were fighting the ragtag group of defenders I'd seen through Nimron's image.
I'd made it!
Par's plan had actually worked. Grem had been able to use Nimron's image to locate Steadfast and create a temporary portal.
Taking another deep breath, I pushed myself up, keeping an eye on the two soldiers. They stopped, one frowning as he looked around as if for help. My strength was returning, and though I felt odd, completely naked, and unarmed, I also felt powerful. More so than I had for months.
"Finally out of that bloody sea," I said as I cracked my neck and grinned at the Grablons.
Whatever I said must have been wrong because they both instantly dropped into a combat stance and spread out. Sadly for them, neither was a Prime, and neither was casting yet.
"Drop your weapons, and I'll let you live," I said as I stepped forward, flexing my lower arms one way and my upper arms the other. Each step I did felt like heaven. Gone was the unwieldiness of being submerged in water or the knowledge I couldn't use my all to fight.
"Say's the naked alien," one of the two Grablons hissed.
I shrugged, which they seemed to take as a sign of weakness. Both rushed me, though rush implies they were fast. They might be. But not to me. My muscles bulged as I moved. I saw the shock on their faces when I reached them.
Two seconds was all it took to throttle them and take their daggers. I gazed at their limb bodies on the ground, one potentially dead from a chop to the neck, the other definitely dead, his head forced to look the wrong way.
It took me a few moments to remove one of their boots and pants before stepping into it, camo style. I pondered taking the rest of the armor, then the screams of the battle reiterated the urgency of the situation.
I looked around, finding I was halfway up the hill towards the city. A group of defenders was engaged in a massive melee with a part of the Grablon army. Far above, roughly a hundred Grablon soldiers had somehow barged their way up and were decimating a group of poorly armed defenders before the towering inner gate. Archers on top were intermittently shooting down, but it was hard to see if they hit the enemy soldiers or the defenders.
The Earthling defenders were mostly Sandasin, the human-looking race of Kernstalion, but mixed in were others; lanky Elves, devilish Graz, and a couple of towering Goliarn. I even saw two other Grablons. The defenders fighting in the melee below seemed powerful and well armed, each fighting in a frenzy. Not so those above. They were skinny, and most were running around, dodging the soldiers.
Far beyond the wall was the massive Grablon army, standing at the ready.
Why aren't they joining in? They could have easily rammed through this defense, I thought as I frowned.
Had Nimron ordered them to stay back, or were they ignoring him? A camp at the back of the attacking army seemed under attack. Figures were running around, and bright flashes exploded every few moments. Perhaps the defenders had sent a group towards the main camp to attack? It seemed unlikely, and I ignored it for now. If they were going to stay out of it, all the better.
Let's clear the inner gate first, I thought as I ran up to the rapidly diminishing defenders.
I would have loved to prepare: create Bolt Casters and Vengeful Spirits, or at a minimum, an ax and armor, but there was no time. So, like a rampaging bull, I collided with the nearest group of Grablon soldiers. Three were down before they realized what was going on, and by then, the skinny Earthlings, backed up against the wall, had realized I was helping.
I almost gaped in surprise as the skinny defenders charged, managing to stab two soldiers to death due to sheer numbers.
"Gogo, kill those four-armed bastards," someone screamed.
I shook my head while disemboweling another soldier. "Hey now," I shouted as I jumped forward faster than the others could even react and sliced another soldier. "It's not the number of arms that counts, got it?"
The remaining four soldiers were backing up, all eyes on me, while a scarecrow-thin, eight-foot-five Goliarn stepped next to me. He looked at me with dark, shiny eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, but not sorry! You could have bloody well picked another race, you know! We all got warned we were at war with the Grablons!"
We where? I thought, wondering what they had been told before they were given a body and sent here.
"Yeah, but that implies I was told," I said as I grinned at him while stalking forward.
"What the hell do you mean?" the Goliarn snapped.
"How about I tell you that bloody long story after we get through this! Now, let's go and clear up the top before we assist the bottom!"
"Who does he think he is? Superman?" I heard one of the others whisper, and I grinned.
"Let's go," I shouted, charging the next group of soldiers.
The battle at the top lasted longer than I'd imagined, as, after the third group, the Grablon soldiers had realized there was a Prime around. They regrouped a little below and created a second line. Normally that would have been the right choice.
"Jack, let everyone stay here," I said to the tall Goliarn.
Jack, a talkative fellow even amidst combat, nodded. He wasn't as skinny as ten minutes earlier as he had leveled up a few times during the battle. Still, he was only as lanky like as an elf.
"Got it. You make sure you don't get yourself killed, a'right, Est?" Jack said.
I grinned and nodded as I cracked my neck and arms.
"Of course, and remember, call me The deliverance!"
"Sure," Jack said with heavy sarcasm.
I guessed he thought I was some vain pompous ass. That was fine, as long as he spread the title. I took a quick look at my Karma, then took a deep breath.
> Karma: 39/800
It dropped by one, showing the people in my Mindscape were slowly draining it.
Plenty left!
I looked at the line of Grablon soldiers, preparing Controlled Conflagration. Now that I wasn't inside the water, I was pretty sure I could use it without blowing myself up in the process. Though, to be safe, I was going to use only a single point of Karma.
"You guys," I shouted at the Grablon soldiers. "Lay down your arms and surrender, and I'll let you live!"
There was a hiss of surprise from behind while the Grablons calmly stared at me. Then one of them, an older one with gray hair, barked a laugh.
"You may be a Prime, but that doesn't mean you can defeat all of us!"
I didn't say anything but ran forward and began casting Controlled Conflagration with my lower arms. There was a shout from the soldiers, which I ignored.
Please don't explode in my face, I thought repeatedly as the spell finished. I raised my hands at the line of soldiers, pushed Karma into the spell, then instantly completed it, not giving it time to add more than a single point.
A roaring bright fire erupted from my hands, and a massive force attempted to push me back. I grit my teeth, dug my feet in the ground, angled forward, and closed my eyes against the blinding flare. Fire roared in front of me, the heat scalding my skin. I could feel my eyebrows and hair singe and burn.
I didn't know exactly how long it lasted, seconds probably, but it felt like forever. When the powerful force finally stopped erupting from my hands, I stumbled forward. As I blinked to regain my sight, the ringing quickly vanished from my ears. Moaning and cries of pain became audible before I could see.
When I could, I gasped.
A swath of land, starting from me and widening until it covered the whole width of the path, was scorched and blackened for over twenty feet. Sooth drifted down across the entire area, and where the line of soldiers had been, now lay a line of bodies. Those in the middle were charred beyond recognition, arms around their bodies and fingers turned to claws. Some bodies on the edges were still moving, and a few dozen soldiers were stumbling back, many covered in blistering wounds.
My stomach roiled, and I swallowed back bile. Perhaps it was a good thing I never ate that much.
"What are you? Some fire blaster superhero?"
I swallowed again, then looked at Jack, who stepped beside me.
"I'm a Prime," I said as I shivered.
I'd killed people before, even lots of them during the sieges, but nothing like this. Not even when I was shooting fire from the back of Casiron did I feel like I had left this much destruction in my wake.
"Well, remind me not to piss you off," Jake muttered, taking a look at me before staring back at the dead soldiers. "You might wanna lie down, though. Your face is almost burned off."
I didn't respond but started running forward. I didn't care about the wounds. My regeneration would either deal with it or not, but there was nothing I could do about it now. The battle below still raged, and there was a massive army beyond the gate. No time to lay down now.
> Par, I need some demon meat
> Right, sure. Like I'm your butler or something!
Though he sounded angered, a ping came and a request to have Par send something out of the Mindscape a second later. I allowed it, and an arm-length slice of meat appeared in my hand. I wish I had time to bake it before eating it, but that was a luxury I didn't have.
Hoping I could keep the meat inside long enough for it to do its healing work, I bit down on the raw meat. The skin on my lips ripped apart from widening my jaws even that little, and I growled at the soldiers far below.
