This is not good, not good at all. A deliberate attack with specific targets.
Brows knitting into a frown at his train of thought, Leon ran out of the village with his puppet leading the way.
Enemy action it is, all signs point that way. Too far inland for it to be the Empire’s work.
On the wrong side of the region for it to be one of Zeldritch’s abominations.
Unlikely to be new spontaneous mutation caused by flux poisoning.
Possible Jaeger involvement?
Not quite their usual MO but… no matter, I can find out later, safe rescue of civilians is the first priority.
All other secondary objectives can be dealt with after the extraction of the non-combatants or the termination of the main aggressor.
Ok, sensors indicate I’m in the clear. Good, I should be able to pick up the pace now, let me not be too late.
Leaping onto his puppet’s back with a well-practiced motion. Leon sent the blue knight into a dead sprint with a twitch of his fingers.
“Flux capacitors at full charge, weave connection is good. Acceleration burst in three. Two. One. Boost.”
The Ceph crystals on the control glove lit up briefly before the spell activated. A shimmer in the air indicated the usage of magic and the knight’s speed shot through the roof.
Running at speeds far beyond the capability of most land based vehicles.
The scenery blurred by as Leon’s attention was completely focused on the rapidly growing speck on the horizon.
The Umbra forest loomed ahead in all its fearsomeness. A solid wall of darkness seeking to discourage all who laid eyes on it greeted Leon as he pushed on undaunted.
Once inside the forest, things changed nigh instantly, as though a switch had been flipped.
The once bright and sunny landscape gave way to a messy collage of dark green, brown and black.
The near unbroken canopy overhead swallowed virtually all light.
The few sunbeams that managed to filter through were reflected haphazardly all over the place, creating dangerous and disorienting illusions capable of leading the unwary to their early demise.
For the most part the ground was shrouded in shadow.
“Damn, the forest of night indeed, this place certainly lives up to its name.”
Scowling, he cursed his luck. The magic hour of noon had elapsed a long time ago, the brief window where most of the forest floor would be illuminated had long since passed.
Craning his neck to look at the canopy, Leon let out another curse.
The sun was already beginning to set. The more time he spent in the forest, the lower the sun would get.
The shadows would get darker and the distortion of the sunbeams would increase, resulting in a far more treacherous environment as dangers would be even harder to spot.
Leon’s impatience and worry were rising despite himself.
The nature of the forest was forcing him to slow to a snail’s pace.
At the rate he was going, he was more than a little afraid that he would be too late to rescue the civilians.
He had absolutely zero intention of being drafted for burial duty, but charging ahead blindly would only lead to a premature end.
“Sheesh, talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t”
After searching fruitlessly for a few more minutes, a sound caught Leon’s ears.
Stopping his puppet’s motions, he strained his ears, trying to catch whatever it was that he heard.
There.
A distant screech reached his ears. Despite how soft it was, it was both terrifying and disturbing, unlike anything the boy had ever heard of on his travels.
“Bingo. Found you.”
Reorienting his puppet, Leon charged off in the direction of the screech, having his puppet cut down anything in his path. Hope began to rise in his chest.
Perhaps he might just make it in time after all.
Seeing an opening in the trees ahead, Leon had his puppet slow to down before leaping off.
Together the two ran through the opening, ready to face whatever was awaiting them ahead.
And then there was light.
Temporarily blinded by the sudden light in his eyes. Leon brought his arm up to shield his eyes so he could get a look at what was going on.
His jaw dropped in a mixture of surprise and horror at the sight before him.
Where there once was a portion of the mighty forest stood since time immemorial there was now just a clearing.
Countless giant trees had been felled, completely uprooted and thrown aside like so much trash. Most of them reduced to kindling in their violent upending.
A cliff face at the edge of the zone marked by massive scores in the rocks and partially dissolved in some places.
And there, against the cliff stood the culprit in all its terrible glory.
“Damn you are one ugly sonofabitch, I knew you were ugly but this?
The old man has a knack for understatements huh, first the Ysmos and now you.”
Nothing could have prepared Leon for the monstrosity that towered over him. Easily seven metres tall, a titanic monstrosity covered in thick leathery skin a sickly shade of green stood before him.
A veritable forest of bone spikes jutting out of its back and limbs. Thick brackish fluid oozed around the spikes, dripping onto the forest floor and sizzling wherever the droplets landed.
A long sinewy tail whipped through the air, the spikes at the tip shearing another tree in half, gouging huge chunks out where they didn’t cut through completely.
The corpses of no less than eight dire wolves, the hitherto apex predators, were impaled on the bone spikes, red lifeblood leaking from multiple puncture wounds.
Several of the corpses were partially dissolved and seemingly being absorbed into the creature.
Seeing as how the beast before him was so much more than the description Regis gave and the fact that the dire wolf corpses were a new addition based on the rate of decay.
Leon showed a bitter smile at his conclusion.
“Well. Shit. The thing literally grows stronger with every kill, better put it down now before it gets large enough to eat entire towns.”
Almost as though it understood Leon’s words, the behemoth turned to face Leon, mighty footsteps shaking the very ground.
If the view from the back was terrifying, it was nothing compared staring the monster in the ‘face’.
A gaping maw large enough to swallow an entire bull whole. Rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth filled it, longer, sharper than any sword and infinitely more fear inducing.
Viscous, oil like drool shimmered in the light and much like the ooze coating its skin, the drool corroded anything it touched on the ground.
Eyes, ears, nose and tongue, the monstrosity was completely void of those things. If they did exist in any shape or form, they were beyond Leon’s ability to discern.
A body that could be somewhat compared to that of an overgrown lizard ending where the neck would be on one. Replaced by a black void of nigh endless teeth and acidic saliva. Truly a walking nightmare.
Rearing back on its hind legs, the creature let loose an ear splitting screech, unleashing a wave of acidic spit in Leon’s direction.
Dodging out of the way, the young puppeteer caught sight of what was previously hidden behind the monster’s considerable bulk.
A half demolished cave entrance in the cliff side. Much of the entrance had been either torn away by claws and spikes or dissolved by acid.
Fortunately, it didn't appear to Leon that the beast had gained entrance to the cave just yet, its size working against it.
“Alright, it’s SHOWTIME!”
Flicking his wrist he sent the puppet knight charging at the monstrosity sword drawn.
Stepping back into the shadows of the forest, Leon began preparing to cast his spells for support while slowly inching around to make a dash for the cave.
Leaping over the creature’s maw with an inhuman jump, the knight slashed away at the bone spikes adorning its back, trying to find an opening in the armour.
Multiple silver flashes followed every swing of his blade.
The resulting cacophony and sparks flying proved the futility of such actions.
Angered by the actions of an annoying fly, the monster tried to bat the blue insect into its mouth before devouring it whole.
Just before the strike could connect, a massive fireball launched out of the woods, smashing into its side and exploding in a blinding blaze.
Taking the opportunity to backpedal away from the threat, the knight retreated to the edge of the clearing opposite from where Leon stood.
“Spikes are harder than steel, the thing’s fireproof, I’ll either wear out the sword or run out of flux before I can break through its defence.” Leon mused as he stared in fascination.
The beast was already rising to its feet, the bone spikes lightly scorched but otherwise it was completely untouched by the conflagration.
Another unholy screech echoed through the clearing as the Leon resumed his two pronged attack.
Ditching his previous strategy of cutting through the spike armour, Leon directed his attention on trying to sever the long tail instead.
Currently flailing through the air in an unpredictable manner, the spikes at the end sheared straight through anything unfortunate enough to be in its path.
That was the single greatest threat to the duo simply by virtue of its unpredictability.
Leon grit his teeth in frustration and ruthlessly suppressed the urge to scream as the flailing limb came uncomfortably close to his face. The tail spikes very nearly giving him an instant makeover.
Weaving between the retaliatory strikes of the beast and constantly trying to take its back, the knight was a blue blur doing its best to strike out at any uncovered piece of flesh.
Judging from the titan’s constant stomping of its feet in a futile attempt to rush the puppet underfoot, it was succeeding in its role as bait.
Whenever the puppet had overextended and was in danger of a violent and lethal counterattack, a flurry of lightning bolts would assail the abomination. Keeping the beast off balance was the key to surviving the battle.
Bit by bit, Leon reduced the number of spells he was flinging at the beast to conserve flux and reduce his threat level in the monster’s eyes.
Finally the monster’s back was to him and it was stationary, the moment he had been waiting for had arrived.
Curling the fingers of his right hand into a finger gun, he directed it at the base of the tail and took a deep breath.
Flux flowed from him and into his glove, the crystals lit up and sparks ran along his arm. Coalescing at his fingertip, they formed a tiny ball of lightning.
Leon took in a deep breath and held it there for a moment.
In that instant, his mind had erased everything that didn’t matter. In his world, only two things existed, his spell and his target. The world seemed to freeze for him as he readied the shot.
Exhaling, the world sped up again and his spell fired.
A singled compressed lightning bolt left his finger and struck his target nigh instantaneously.
The rampaging monstrosity didn’t have the ability to react as its tail was severed at the base by a blast of superhot lightning.
Its screech of defiance and pain caused Leon’s ears to hurt something fierce. But behind his grimace, he was smiling.
One of the major threats to the operation had been dealt with. Now if his fortune would just hold, they could get all this done and squared away in time for dinner.
Distracted by the sudden agony and loss of its tail, the creature was unable to focus on Leon’s puppet and it was finally able to reach its back.
A brutal stab straight into the open wound and a vicious twist later, black blood sprayed out of the beast in spades. Its screech of pain was deafening and the cerulean knight just barely avoided the ferocious counterattack.
The beast was in pain and it was angry. Its prey should not be able to inflict such pain on it. There would be consequences for such insolence.
Its underdeveloped brain had associated the loss of its tail to the annoying blue insect jumping around the place. Every bit of effort it could muster was focused on turning it into paste.
Leon’s glee at wounding the beast had abated relatively quickly and a scowl set in. Contrary to what he believed would happen, the beast didn’t slow down or weaken.
If nothing else, rage only drove it to attack faster and more often.
Well, at least it’s not trying to demolish the cave anymore. Shit I’ll need to get it away from here before I can spring the civilians, it’s too dangerous to make a break for it otherwise.
His scowl deepened as he witnessed the wound close up and stop leaking.
Nothing to it but to continue his efforts to bring down the target the old fashioned way. With magic and steel.
As his puppet leapt back into the fray, he followed up with a series of devastating lightning bolts, refusing to allow his masterpiece to be destroyed.
And so the dance of death continued.
-*-
Leon was beginning to tire and a stab of fear ran through his heart.
Initially writing off the creature’s screeches as the normal response of an angered animal under attack, it took him more than awhile to notice the effects of the screech on him.
Once adrenaline could no longer mask his exhaustion, Leon came to the startling realization that he was tired. Far more than he actually should be.
A quick check of his flux reserves revealed much the same, just over half of it had been depleted.
The run from Albri to the heart of the forest had taken up barely ten percent, yet in the span of fifteen minutes of combat, more than forty percent had been erased.
The situation was rapidly becoming untenable and Leon knew it.
The creature had yet to take any kind of substantial damage while he himself was reaching his limit.
Constantly focusing on the flow of battle and getting his knight to dance while firing off spells at opportune moments was putting a further strain on him.
Out in the clearing, the knight continued to fight on, his sword a blur as he thrust, slashed and parried endlessly.
Armour already missing a few pieces from where he was unable to dodge or parry the claws perfectly, his defences were being worn away one strike at a time
Scratches and holes littered the rest of it in places where he came an inch from being skewered on the spike forest.
To compound his problems, every time the knight struck or dodged, some of the ooze on the monster would land on him, coating him in the black sludge.
Despite the quality of the armour, the ooze was already beginning to eat through it, putting the knight at risk of being dissolved into nothingness.
The more he struck the more damage he sustained.
Now sweating hard, Leon decided to gamble everything on an all or nothing move.
Putting every bit of flux he could spare without killing himself into his most powerful offensive spell, the puppeteer’s arms cackled with electricity.
Raising both arms in the direction of the beast, he bared his teeth in a feral grin.
“Block this you piece of shit.”
A blinding light flashed from Leon’s outstretched hands towards the monster, followed by a titanic clap of thunder.
The very land itself shook as the giant bolt of lightning struck the beast dead centre, blasting it off its feet.
The creature’s shriek was lost in the thunderclap as it was hurled through the trees into the distance, unable to maintain its position despite its colossal size.
Switching the puppet to auto mode and dumping his remaining flux into its storage crystal, Leon sent the knight off with orders to discern the status of the monster.
Completely drained now, both physically and mentally, Leon staggered tow
ards the cave entrance.
Eyelids drooping and barely open at this point, it was all he could do not to collapse on the spot and allow sleep to claim him.
Once at the near completely destroyed cave mouth, he squinted into it, eyes unused to the darkness, trying to make out if his rescue targets were still inside and unharmed.
He was not disappointed.
Letting out a sigh of relief, a tired smile slid across his exhausted features.
Behind a shimmering barrier, thirty pairs of fear-filled eyes stared back at him.
The students, their teacher and the few rangers who stayed behind to guard the class were huddled at the back of the cave, afraid but alive.
“I’m here to help.”
Lifting his hands in a placating manner he continued in his most reassuring tone. No sense in spooking them and getting shot or stabbed.
“Elder Regis sent me here to rescue you all. Is everyone here alright?”
As the barrier dropped, one of the rangers rose to his feet and stepped forth to query about the status of the thing that had nearly made a meal of them.
At this Leon pointed to the long line of shattered trees stretching out into the distance.
“I am unsure as to whether or not that thing is dead. My liege has gone to investigate, can I count on you to lead these people home safely?”
He was answered with several shaky nods.
“No need to worry about us sir! We know these woods like the back of our hands, a-as long as nothing like that… thing shows up again we will be fine. Are you not coming with us?”
“We need answers and even if it means spending a night here we need to see this through. I’ll meet you all back in Albri soon, now go. The clock’s ticking.”
Leon gave the ranger a confident smile that did its best to hide his insecurities about the situation, and gave the man a pat on the back and sent the group on their way.
Turning to face the trail of destruction he wrought, Leon let out a sigh before charging forth, aiming to regroup with his puppet and preferably escape without needing to spend the night.
An odd sound reached Leon’s ears causing him to frown.
The ringing of blades against a hard object. The same ringing as the one produced by the impact of the knight’s sword against the bone armour of the beast.
Opening Moves (The Lion Knight Book 1) Page 3