Last few paragraphs of this chapter are kinda gory and the first half will contain body horror. It's kinda expected at this point.
Reviews
Space Dimentio-I do not joke about body horror.
NormanWhitesmith-I'm glad you're liking the plot, I have a very narrow outline of it on my phone at all times and the actual details just kinda materialize.
Guest-I'll keep that in mind when I get stuck.
GreenCAT the second- I only have one response for your :'( , and it's :).
DISCLAIMER: Nintendo owns the right to Mario and anything associated with him.
Forcing himself to leave Darkland's remains was difficult, but Luigi knew that things would get even worse if he didn't act, such was the case with his route to Toad Town; the Pure Heart, after being removed from Luigi's bag, had begun to tug slightly in a certain direction. The direction in question was towards Toad Town, but the man in green felt it best to maneuver through the barrens in attempt to go avoid Flipside and the problems that came with seemingly all forms of civilization housing monsters.
The barren were infested as well, but it was mostly the filth-colored corrupted that he began to assume were goombas. They were just stalks that crawled around on root-like limbs at this point. Their eyes were either blank, needle-infested, or so inflated by spores and puss that they were ready to burst, with each variation having its problems. The blank-eyed were simply the hardest to knock away, while the needle-eyed were particularly strong and had thorns in their roots; the spore-eyed levitated in a particularly intimidating manner as the bones of once feathery wings clattered and swayed in the wind.
All the corrupted goombas traveled in groups that rarely contained more than one variant. The forests at least were dense with dying foliage; the barrens, though more navigable, were filled with foes that would eventually reanimate, making any and all fights a waste of precious health. While seeing to it that he should avoid fighting altogether, Luigi began to notice the goombas heading towards his direction, but not directly towards him. Fearing for the worst, Luigi prepared his hammer as he got closer to the conglomeration of corrupted fungi.
Near the foot of a steep cliff, the vulture-like beast from before lay before him in agony, snapping at anything that got near. The bird seemed to recognize his scent as it kicked away the tiny foes to rise and charge him. Such a mighty bird of prey was expected to be clever as it pecked and scratched the plumber, memorizing his own attacks to dodge in time. Each consecutive seemed to bring Buzzar increasing worse internal pain until it's stomach tore open from the inside; erupting from the guts of the avian was a familiar worm but in a much more grotesque state. No longer was Quizmo a sensible individual, in his place was a hideous parasite with a hook-filled mouth that split four ways. The eyeless spawn of Hell was somehow even larger that the host that had previously eaten him and took no time to engulf it's former predator and all the corrupted nearby in large gulps. Tendrils inside it's mouth pulled in nearby food while similar ones projected from around the neck like a lion's mane.
With very little food left to eat, Quizmo quickly noticed it's runaway prey. Luigi, though mortified and queasy, stood his ground this time. The worm lunged at him, it's maw wide open, while Luigi dodged and swatting away the beast's tendrils with his hammer. One tendril avoided the weapon and wrapped around one of Luigi's leg; the plumber retaliated by stomping on the tongue. A blood-curdling screech emitted from the worm. It attempted to pull away, but Luigi continued to nail the tendril down with his foot, making Quizmo struggle more to pull away. Luigi lifted his foot. The potential energy of the worm's struggle backfired from the release as it pulled itself onto the wall of the cliff. It writhed in agony before changing tactics and burying itself underground.
Quizmo surfaced underneath the plumber to snap him up, but was not fast enough as its prey noticed the shifty movement of the ground. The worm continued to dig underground and resurface, missing each consecutive time due to the contrasting speeds of both man and worm. The smaller of the two fighters was growing tired and knew that slowing down would make him vulnerable. He huffed in exhaustion. The realization that he could die right now disrupted the smooth rhythm of his breathing. His air intake increased and his hands shook. His heart beat faster with the fear of death clouding his judgement.
He didn't notice Quizmo burrowing under him again and failed to react in time. The launches him into the air and opened its maw wide. One of the tongues wrapped around Luigi's neck, wringing it. Luigi swung his hammer blindly. He prayed to hit something. He prayed for survival. He prayed for something. Anything. Anybody.
He struck something. His hammer was lodged onto it. He pulled the hammer. His vision blurred. He pulled more. Everything was darker. He pulled. It got darker. He pulled. Almost black. Once more, he pulled. The hammer dislodged itself. He was falling, his neck released. There was a screech. He swung his hammer once again, his vision still blurred. Another screech.
Pain! Luigi moaned on the hard ground. He shakily pushed himself to get up. He saw Quizmo flailing with red gashes on the side of its face. A black liquid spilled from its mouth, as did the gashes. Quizmo fled as it bled out a trail of the grossly dark blood.
Luigi examined hammer. It was coated in the black substance as many hook-like teeth were embedded into one of the hammer's business ends; gum tissue was still attached to some of the teeth. He threw the hammer in disgust as it dawned on him where the teeth came from and felt ready to vomit as a result. Steadying his stomach, Luigi picked up the disgusting weapon to return it to his belt. As vile as the hammer was now, it was still a weapon, and a more powerful one too with the sharp teeth embedded onto it.
Expecting lesser corrupted to draw near Quizmo's trail of blood, Luigi pulled out the Pure Heart to march towards the direction of its sibling. He silently prayed for sanctuary as he moved farther and farther away from the battlefield behind him.
The next chapter is gonna be suspenseful and may be unnerving for those with arachnophobia. Please be weary.