Part Fifty-Four

Pain.

Pain was now his whole world. At first, his mind had been swallowed by the urge to fight, to kill, and he’d lost himself in it. But now the pain was everything, bringing his consciousness back to the surface. He knew he was in trouble, knew that the sense of omnipotence he’d felt had all been a lie, brought on by the drug he’d taken. It had wanted him to keep taking them, to overuse them. And now, he was to suffer the consequences of his actions.

He could feel something writhing inside of him. In his muscles, in his bones, everywhere. He’d taken so many doses of the drug, that his body was completely saturated with it. It was even affecting his mana, making it more volatile.

His skin began to bubble as it transformed. His bones broke, and his muscles tore and rearranged themselves to better suit their new purposes. He couldn’t even scream, as his vocal chords were already being modified.

The mercenaries were forced to watch on in horror as his form began to collapse. He was already unrecognizable, but the transformation continued anyway. His limbs collapsed in on themselves, molding to his body and growing long serrated claws. His torso shrank and his face and head rearranged themselves to look more beast-like. His overall mass even began to swell, eventually reaching a total four times more than what had been present when the transformation began.

Within the span of a few seconds, he’d become an abomination, something less than man but more than monster. Newly birthed, the beast reared its head back and howled for all the world to hear.

Just like that, the man known as Finnél Du Valec was no more. All that remained was a shell that eternally craved destruction.

[Protag’s POV]

What. The. Hell did I just see!?

Finnél had transformed into a hideous monstrosity before our very eyes. I knew nothing good was going to happen from him eating more of those pills, but I certainly hadn’t expected this! The thing in front of us looked like it was straight out of Lovecraftian horror, something that would eat at your mind just by seeing it.

It was wolf-like, but had six legs and ash-gray skin. Its body was dripping with blood and viscera, and two crimson eyes glared at us on either side of its twisted snout. Whether that was leftover from the transformation, or would just keep seeping from it was still unknown. And its tail, easily as thick as a human, was composed of tentacles wrapped around each other.

I, I don’t want to be here anymore. Dealing with things like this isn’t in my job description.

Everyone, including myself, had backed away when Finnél began convulsing, which while callous, was also good, as it meant no one was near that thing. Weapons were nervously clutched, and I saw several people take a few further steps back. And that was when it began to growl.

“GRRRAAAGHHRRAAGH. GRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAARRRRRR!!!”

After a quiet creaky sound, the beast howled at us. Fear tore at my mind, and squeezed my heart. I felt my breath catch and my heart skip a beat. My own base instincts screamed at me to run, to get away from this thing that wanted to rip me apart, but I shoved them down, hard. No mere beast was going to overwhelm me with just its howling. Even if it had once been a person.

I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood, and the pain finally pulled my mind from the fog. It was then that I realized that that hadn’t just been a howl, it was magic. I could feel the residual mana hanging in the air, as well as what still clung to me. Whatever Finnél had turned into, it was extremely dangerous, and needed to be killed immediately.

Shit, it’s still looking at me. I think Finnél’s enmity towards me carried through to this thing, so it’ll probably chase me even if I run. I’ll have to stand and fig-. Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!

I was the only one to purge the effects of the spell. Everyone else was still frozen by their fear. Some had even collapsed after losing consciousness. Even Braddock and Sampson weren’t moving. Those two looked like they might be able to get over it, but considering that the creature was about ready to pounce on me, I didn’t have time to wait for them to recover.

“GROAUFMFIWQHENDISMWNDJ!”

“Shit, shit, shit! Fine! I’ll kill you myself if I have to! And if anyone wants to help, then come find me once you’ve gotten over all of that.”

“GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGHHHHHHHH!”

“COME AND GET ME FREAK!”

I charged into a nearby alleyway, leading the beast away from everyone else. I sure hope I know what I’m doing.

[Braddock’s POV]

He was forced to watch as Michael led the beast away. But it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t fight.

Each of the creature’s howls were laced with magic, which when combined with the fact that it was an apex predator, stimulated the mercenaries’ instincts as living beings. No normal human should be able to resist it through pure willpower.

Still, it hurt his pride to cower like this. Even if his body wasn’t willing to do so, he’d push himself forward. Of course that wouldn’t be easy though. Biology is a hard thing to overcome, even with a will as strong as his.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sampson battling his own body to regain control. The mercenary was gathering mana to himself in an attempt to do something, though it wasn’t obvious what it was. He’d heard that Sampson could use some sort of Skill that made people berserk, so maybe it was that.

Deep breaths. I’m not out of this yet.

Ever so slowly, the magically induced fear he’d been filled with faded away. He regained his calm and could now make rational decisions again. With each breath, his heart rate continued to stabilize, and his mana calmed.

“Raaaaaa!”

Sampson roared and released a small mana shockwave. Whatever he’d done had snapped him out of his fear induced stupor. The two men turned to face each other, each judging the other based on some criteria known only to them. Neither man made a move, up until the point where they heard the beast howl again off in the distance.

“Well you heard him, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Will you be able to stay calm this time?”

“Calm, no. Beat the living shit out of that thing? Yes. It’s gonna regret making me look bad. But what about you?”

“I’ll be fine. Something tells me I’ve overcome something just now.”

“grooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…..”

“We’d better get over there before that thing kills him. Kid’s got guts, but that won’t keep them inside of himself.”

Braddock nodded, before glancing at the other mercenaries. All of them were either unconscious or still overwhelmed by fear. Though he did get the feeling someone was missing. But he didn’t have the time to do a headcount, so he put it out of his mind for now.

The two men started off in the direction Michael had led the beast. While he still felt some trepidation at the prospect of fighting it, he knew that it would massacre everyone if they didn’t. And so he set his resolve to fight until the end.

For a moment, he thought he felt a brief tingling inside of himself, but when nothing came of it, he dismissed it as a nervous spasm.

[Protag’s POV]

*Clang clang clang clang clang*

“GROOAAAAAAAAAGHGHHHHHH!!!”

“Fuck off you stupid shit! Why are you so God damn obsessed with me!?”

It had been extremely persistent in its efforts to kill me, even going so far as to tank deadly attacks just to try and hurt me. I was using Grudge Magic to its full potential though, and had kept it from killing me so far.

It leaped at me for the umpteenth time, and I dodged and gouged out a chunk of its rotted leg as it passed. Even though three of its legs were half decayed, it still managed to stay upright. The rotting made its flesh much softer and easier to cut, so it wasn’t a bad deal altogether. And since it was only a size smaller than a Shadow Wolf, the wounds were slowly weakening it.

The only issue was that I wouldn’t be able to do this forever, and it seemed to have limitless stamina. Even having to drag part of itself around wasn’t doing much to slow it down. It was possible that the creature was B-Rank, as it was definitely stronger than anything I’d ever encountered before.

“GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Oh not this again.

The tentacles making up its tail all untwisted, and plunged into the ground at the same time. They could extend seemingly infinitely, and would pop out and attack me in sequence. The few hits I’d received had come from the first time it had done this.

The first two tentacles shot out from under my feet, so I jumped sideways to avoid them, and slid under the claw that swiped at me. Three more tentacles attacked me in a triangle formation, but I simply cut the blades off of them and kept going. They’d just regenerate anyway. However, the last one popped out from behind me and wrapped around my throat, strangling me. I managed to hit the base of it with [Rot] and severed it before pulling the tail away from my neck.

Using Grudge Magic was the only way I’d found to keep the tails from regenerating. The beast had started with a dozen of them, but I’d worn it down to half that over the course of the fight. But since I was running out of mana, it would be hard to deal with the rest.

Shit, this is getting hopeless. If I had some backup, this fight would be over soon. But on my own, I’m not strong enough yet. Alicia, wherever you are, please start shooting this bastard soon.

*Thunk!*

…………I’d also like a million dollars!

[Alicia’s POV]

Even though she was further away than the others, the beast’s howls had still reached her. Their effects had been lessened due to the distance, but it had sent her into a fit, bringing back old wounds. It was only with the help of a Clarity Tonic that she’d gotten herself back under control. That, and the fact that Michael was right by the creature.

She’d gotten back up, fully intent on aiding him, only to discover that both the beast and Michael were gone. He’d clearly led it away from the defenseless mercenaries, which was quite like him, but it meant that she didn’t know where they were. And since the fort was quite large, it took her some time to find them again.

But thankfully, Michael had led the beast towards the wall along one of the larger paths. Once she’d finally found them, she made use of everything in her arsenal to launch a single attack to hurt the wolf as much as possible. And as such, her first shot was able to strike the thing right in one of its eyes, half blinding it.

“Arrrrrrroooooooooooo!!!”

Even its cries of pain tear at my mind. I can’t imagine how Michael is able to resist it up close like that. Does he just not feel fear?

Michael and the creature formerly known as Finnél were right at the edge of her effective range, meaning that not every arrow hit it. And since it occasionally moved or deflected the arrows on its own, her attacks weren’t hampering the beast as much as she’d like. She’d gotten lucky on her first strike, but Michael would need more support if he was to kill it.

Hm, looks like they finally pulled themselves together. Good, they’ll be able to give Michael a break. Oh, who’s that guy? Is he the one Michael called a “Hunk wannabe”, whatever that is?

A strangely dressed figure had climbed onto a nearby roof, and was leveling a revolver at the monster. At first, she thought he was an idiot. Even Michael was having trouble cutting the monster. What good would a gun do here?

*Bang bang bang bang bang bang*

No way. How did he do that?

[Protag’s POV]

*Bang bang bang bang bang bang*

That series of rapid gunshots came from nowhere. At first, I thought some idiot had gotten a dumb idea into their heads and blindly fired at it. But then it screamed.

“Graaaaaaaaaaaagh!”

Every single bullet slammed into its remaining eyes, completely blinding it. While I’m sure it could navigate through smell alone, it was a decisive blow in the battle, and a display of godly skill. A quick glimpse around revealed the Hunk wannabe nearby, though maybe he wasn’t actually a wannabe.

Hm, if it can’t see anymore, then I should be able to do that. To be clear, I’d tried to blind it multiple times throughout the battle with [Rot], but it had always cut through the spell before it could hit. And since its claws were somehow metal, they didn’t rot at all. But if it had to rely on smell alone to attack and evade, then [Rot] should be able to hit it how. After all, spells lacked any scent.

I quickly cast [Rot] towards it, but didn’t quite get the result I wanted. It still tried to cut through the spell, but messed up the timing, causing its leg to get hit. That meant four of its six legs were rotting. My guess was that it had sensed the spell being cast, and tried to block it like normal. But it messed up the timing since mana sense wasn’t as exact as sight.

It’s definitely less intelligent than Finnél was. He would’ve dodged that attack, rather than try to block it in an uncertain state. I think this fight is just about over now. With most of its legs rotting, it can no longer fully support its weight. I can see the decayed flesh splitting from the strain. Though I’m still not certain exactly how to kill it. Will it die like a normal living thing?

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAH! EAT THIS YOU PIECE OF SHIT!”

Sampson came roaring out of an alley. He must’ve been using the berserker magic Alicia and Cameron had told me about, because his eyes were completely bloodshot and he’d rushed straight at the monster. Luckily, it was too distracted to react in time, so he was able to hit one of its decaying legs head on. The sickening sound of its kneecap popping and shattering, was accompanied by the howl of the beast.

“GRREEEEEEEEE!”

“YEAH, YOU LIKE THAT, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!? I’LL CUT YOUR HEAD OFF AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!”

Wow, um, that’s new. I know you have to cut loose some to cope with the effect of its screams, but that image. I just, now I can’t get it out of my head. I’m traumatized, and not because of the Monster dripping with blood and viscera.

*Bang bang bang bang bang bang*

More gunshots sounded out, and the bullets all struck the decaying parts of the beast. That Hunk lookalike had some serious skills to be able to keep pulling that off. If he wasn’t so damn suspicious, I’d try to recruit him.

“YAHAHAHAHAHA! I’LL CRUSH YOUR BALLS AND FEED THEM TO YOU!”

“Whyyyyyyy!? Why would you say something like that!? Just kill the damn thing, so we can finish this!”

“I don’t think he can even understand you Michael. He’s so focused on fighting it, that he’s blocked out any other stimuli. Whatever he’s done has completely taken over for now. Let’s hope he can still dispel it on his own, or we’ll have to subdue him next.”

“That’d be a pain. He’s strong enough that we would need to knock him out. I definitely don’t…want to…do that. K-Kalia? When, when did you get here?”

“Awhile ago. I followed you after I made sure everyone was healed. I had to take a roundabout way here though. I, uh, I didn’t want to get in your way, so I stayed back until now.”

“Uh-huh.”

Odd, I’d have though she of all people would’ve succumbed to the fear. She nearly fell apart multiple times in the forest. Actually, am I remembering that right? I don’t remember her ever screaming or appearing scared due to the monsters. She only passed out when I was carrying her. Maybe she’s made of sterner stuff then I’d first thought?

“So, um. Can I help?”

“I, I mean, I don’t know. Obviously if someone gets hurt, but-.”

“No! I, I don’t want to have to wait until then to help! I’m tired of only being able to act after things have turned bad.”

“Uh, but you can’t fight? I mean, you don’t even have a weapon.”

“I know that! I know that all I can do is heal and that I’m not as strong as you, but I still want to try. And I may know of a spell that could help. It’s a Blessing Magic Spell that strengthens everyone in an area.”

Blessing Magic? Weren’t Blessings supposed to be buffs? So it’s Magic meant to buff? Which would be useful, but…

“If you know this spell, then why haven’t you used it before?”

“Um, because I haven’t actually managed to cast it. I, I know how to do it, but it always fails on the last step!”

I glanced back at the battle while groaning to myself.

At some point, Braddock had joined the battle. He, Alicia, Hunk-lite, and Sampson were putting up a good fight, but they couldn’t deliver the death blow. The beast managed to barely keep any attacks from hitting its vitals. It had shifted to fighting defensively, but I was worried that it might go completely berserk at any moment.

But if Kalia could really bless us, then it could provide us the opportunity to finish it off before then. On the other hand, since the beast was sensitive to mana, her trying to cast the spell would grab its attention, though maybe I could use that to my advantage.

“Fine. Do it. But you do know what you’re getting yourself into, right?”

“I do. But even then, I want to do this.”

It’s your funeral then. If she’d been watching my fight, then she knew that the beast would react to the mana surge that occurred when casting a spell. If she failed to cast the spell, she’d only be needlessly attracting the creature’s attention.

But that might also be an opportunity for me. The second it felt the mana surge, it turned its attention to Kalia. This creature had an even worse attention span then a goldfish. It somehow completely forgot the very people it was fighting seconds ago. Which was a mistake. A [Rot] sphere slammed into the side of its head, causing the flesh there to peel away and expose its brain. Which gave me another idea.

If we can destroy it, then even this abomination should die. No living thing should be able to exist without its brain. Though I guess this only matters if this thing is actually alive in the first place. It’s like no living thing I’ve ever seen. It looks more like an undead monster.

Braddock must’ve figured out what Kalia was doing, as he’d moved into position to defend her. With me distracting it, Braddock guarding Kalia, the two ranged fighters providing cover fire, and Sampson being Sampson, we had a good chance of actually finishing this fight. It would just come down to Kalia coming through for us,

*WHOOOOOOSH*

At that moment, a field of shimmering light spread outwards from Kalia, and I felt a surge of energy go through me. Whatever spell she’d been trying to use had worked. It felt similar to how Beast of the Nightmare felt, but not as potent. I only got about half of the boost as normal, but this wasn’t as limited as the Skill’s was. It would probably last longer than a minute.

“Heheheh, oh yeah, I could get used to this.”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAH, YES, I FEEL THE POWERRRRR! NOW YOU’LL FEEL MY HAMMMMMERRRRRR!”

“That, I will never get used to. After seeing that, I don’t want to ever be called a battle junkie again.”

Seriously, Sampson was a little too intense for me to deal with. At least he hadnt yelled something that put horrifying imagery in my head.

*Bang bang bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang bang bang bang *

Two barrages, fired back-to-back, struck the beast in its front leg. I think he was aiming for the exposed bone there, as there was a disturbing crack, and for the first time in the battle, one of its legs was completely severed. The sudden loss of the leg destabilized it, causing it to sway as its weight was redistributed to its other legs, which tore even further due to the stress.

With it now highly unbalanced, and unable to react in time, it was simple for me to close in and sever a second leg on the same side, finally causing it to fall. The creature hit the ground hard, but it wasn’t out of options yet. It still possessed several tail tentacles, as well as one of its front legs. You know, the ones tipped with deadly, deadly claws?

Getting close enough to it to finish it off was a tall order, but things were about to get harder. The two legs we’d severed started to bubble in the most ominous way, before bursting apart and revealing that three fleshy wolves were inside each of them. And that wasn’t the weirdest part. I could use Analyze on them.

Wrathful Fang

Rank: D

Description: A Fiend-type monster created from its parent’s flesh and blood. Despite its source, little care was taken with its creation, meaning its potential was squandered, and rendering it weaker than it would otherwise be.

The six monsters all cried out in unison, their cries carrying the same fear-inducing effect as the beast’s, which makes sense considering they were its, (offspring? Clones?). One Fang was quickly killed by the Hunk wannabe, while another charged straight at Sampson and got crushed for its trouble. The other four all made a beeline for Kalia, though I intercepted one of them with [Rot]. They were really weak despite their intimidating appearance. Each one was weaker than a Minotaur.

The Hunk wannabe cleaned up the other before they could even reach Braddock, so I headed over to finish the beast off. Sampson was currently occupied with avoiding the tentacles persistently pursuing him, all the while yelling some things I won’t repeat.

As for the creature itself, it was trying to get back to its feet while simultaneously protecting its vulnerable brain from attacks. Which was quite an odd sentence now that I think about it.

I used [Rot] on its last undamaged leg, but still couldn’t get close enough to finish it. Without its weight damaging its legs, they were fine even after being affected by [Rot]. And trying to get close enough to kill it was just asking for a tentacle to the face, or claws to the chest. I was stuck, with no real way to kill it.

“Michael, you alright?”

“Mostly fine. Just a little freaked out by this thing. How the hell are we going to kill it? Unless someone’s got a rocket stashed away, it’ll just sit there guarding it’s head. I doubt a Combustion Bomb would work, and those claws block the effects of my spells. At least it’s not regenerating.”

That was possibly because of [Rot], or maybe it simply lost that ability after Finnél finished transforming. It was possible his regeneration was merely a precursor of this. Note to self: blow yourself up if you start inexplicably regenerating.

“I don’t think we’ll need a rocket. Look.”

“Huh? What do you-. What the hell!? Where did he get a sniper rifle?”

The Hunk wannabe, no, Hunk-lite, had set up a large rifle he’d gotten from God knows where, and was sighting down it. Using a sniper rifle to kill the creature seemed a bit inappropriate, but I’d take it at this point. With it distracted by me and Braddock we wouldn’t get a better chance than this.

*BAM! BAM, BAM!*

Three gunshots rang out, and each was accompanied by a spray of blood and brain matter. The beast’s body went limp, its life finally extinguished. It might not have gone as well as I’d hoped, but my plan had ultimately caught the culprits, even if most were probably dead. This will count, won’t it? They won’t try to pin this on me because they went on a rampage, will they? I mean, this is exactly why I didn’t do this before, though I didn’t know about the while eldritch horror thing then.

As I sighed at the unfairness of it all, the gentle rustling of the creature turning into ash reached my ears. Whatever the transformation had done to him, it seemed that Finnél wouldn’t even leave a body. All that was left of him were some ashes, and a few lumps of cloth hidden within them.