~ Chapter 10 ~
[ Unto Blood ]
Kirito did not consider himself devout by any means, but in that moment, he wished desperately that his prayers could reach the goddesses if it meant salvation.
It was strange, really. He'd thought he'd gotten a fairly decent grasp on what it was like to see death approaching oneself. Perhaps that seemed rather egotistical to say, considering that he'd never exactly put himself in a situation where his life was on the line… except that he had. And on two occasions, no less (he'd consider the Deusolbert incident, but there wasn't really a risk of dying there).
Gabura had fought him with the full savagery of a warrior, giving him no leeway as he and his comrades flanked him from every corner with the full intent of killing him. And Selena's curse had been no less difficult of a challenge, forced to confront it and fell it with his own two hands.
He'd survived both trials, coming out stronger and, perhaps, a little more appreciative of his own life. At the time, he'd been fuelled with nothing but adrenaline to keep himself alive in the midst of battle, but the opportunity to rest and digest had helped him see the bigger picture. And, in the process, he'd learnt what it was like to see his own life flashing before his very eyes.
But this? This was just too much.
He'd been mistaken to think that the creature was as tall as the Gigas Cedar. It kept rising, likely adding a whopping thirty Mel to its full size. The moment it ceased rising from the ground and the terrain around it had finished collapsing, with eyes popping out and scanning the world around it, Kirito could only think of one thing.
How this world managed to survive for years with this thing around was just insane.
The blood-red flesh of its body pulsated like an amalgamation of hundreds of living things put together as a sick joke, writhing uniformly. The eyes that stared everywhere and nowhere were too human, giving it a visage of a creature brought about from some form of mutation that simply gazing at it for too long was beginning to make his stomach roll uncomfortably inside of him.
This? This was the thing they were meant to kill? This was what had likely abducted everyone in their village?
"Sir Fanatio…" His voice felt weak, almost carried away by the wind if he didn't articulate himself properly. He tried to say something—anything—"…" But his words failed him there and then, reduced to a choked breath.
A firm hand on his shoulder ceased his trembling, head turned back to stare the knight where his eyes would be. "Calm yourself, boy," the knight said, displaying an impressive amount of calm. "That thing may be enormous, but it is not possibly invincible. If so, it can be killed, and I assure you on my pride as an Integrity Knight, it will die today. You had done your part to locate it, had you not? Now trust in me and your friend to put an end to it today."
That… was a pretty bold claim, though not one he had any right to criticize. Just moments ago, he'd been so hotblooded about coming here to keep his friend safe from danger, even if he realistically knew that he wouldn't have been able to do anything actually helpful…
Wait… Hang on a second. He'd come here for a reason. He hadn't just made the brash decision to come out here for nothing. Just what did he…
'The one I came here for… Eugeo!' His eyes widened when the realization finally set in, his head snapping down towards the site of wreckage at the base of the abomination's body. Whatever fear that had stilled him was quickly pushed out. "Sir Fanatio, we need to move down now! Eugeo and Charlotte might still be down there!"
The knight made a sound he wasn't certain of, a mix between pleased and uncertain. "Hmm. It'd be too difficult to find them. And getting closer to that thing sounds like a far worse idea than anything else."
"B-But..! Wait a minute!" Forcing himself to ignore the massive million-eyed worm-like creature, he looked down at the collapsed mountains, squinting his eyes, searching amongst the browns and greens. "…There! It's Eugeo!"
Fanatio followed his trajectory. In the darkness and with how high up they were, it would have been close to impossible to spot two people. But the faint glow of pale blue light on one point of a cliff was a clear beacon that helped separate him and his companion from the rest of the background.
Relief and joy flooded his chest at seeing both of them alive, bleeding into his tone. "Oh, thank the goddesses, they're alright! Come on, Sir Fanatio, we should—"
"Boy," Fanatio said. "We have a… situation."
A situation? Yeah, they definitely do; a big ass monster that might just enact the end of the world if they don't put a stop to it. Still, he stamped down on his brief pang of exasperation and frantic horror, recognizing how asinine it was for him to be so devil-may-cry about this entire matter. "Yeah? What is it?"
"Hmm. Well, if I were to make a long story short, it's doing something," that had him staring at the monster alongside the knight… and he was made keenly aware of the fact that all of its eyes were now focused on them. And he meant it; every single eye on the side that faced their direction was now staring directly at them. "That can't be good, can it?"
"Ehh. It might not be bad."
So said Kirito, right as the pupils on every eye staring at them dilated to leave only a sliver of white left… and then, energy materialized in front of each eye. It seemed as if it had come out of the eyes, forming hot white orbs that glowed like a star.
Which, with a whirring sound cutting across the air, then shot right at them.
"I spoke too soon and I hate myself for that WATCH OUT!"
"Murasaki!"
Fanatio immediately closed the distance between himself and his dragon, practically hugging it. With a snap of the reins, Fanatio's dragon let out a shrill cry before it folded its wings inward—"Eh?"— and they began dropping downwards, approaching a velocity that sent wind whipping against his ears. He didn't even realize he'd started screaming, feeling as if his voice was being dragged away. "Ahhhhh!"
And just in time to watch as a beam of light shot right past them, a mere Mel from hitting its mark. One shot in particular ended its travel by striking at a sizable patch of land in the distance.
Which then went up in a glorious burst of flames and light, leaving behind absolutely nothing in its wake.
"Yeah, we do not want to get hit by that!"
"Duly noted! Hold on tight!"
Throwing aside pride and his initial distaste for Fanatio, he clutched at his midriff tight as Murasaki switched to evasive manoeuvres, diving low and moving as fast as it could to avoid getting hit. Every orb shot out like an arrow, with each one that struck the earth resulting in a devastating explosion, tearing up the environment and turning it into a wasteland. Lights flashed every few seconds, scorching heat waves against their skin, and the absolute kick of wind against their bodies.
If this is just another day for an Integrity Knight, he was going to be very impressed.
"Woah..!" It was a volley of beams, shot at them in rapid succession that had them ducking and weaving as best as they could to avoid being targeted. The dragon opted to switch to circling the monster, keeping a fair distance between them and the monster to better avoid getting hit. "Holy shit! This isn't what I thought would happen!"
"Neither did I, yet here we are!" Yelled Fanatio, steering Murasaki out of the way of a beam that tore up a wide section of a forest in the distance, razing it to the ground and setting it ablaze. "Damn it! What do we do?!"
"We need to get Eugeo and Charlotte! They're still in danger!"
"I lost them! Do you know where they are?"
"Right there!" He pointed at the beacon that which was Eugeo. Selena must be using her scanning art to produce those light signals to grab their attention. "They're on that piece of land that's been demolished! They're hidden for now, so they're not at risk of getting blasted away by that thing! Think you can get close to them?"
"Haaah… It will be a challenge, but not one I will shy from. Hold on! We're going in to rescue them!"
On cue, Murasaki folded its wings once more and began its descent downwards, likely attempting to pick up enough speed from the fall to better help propel it forwards when it would then pick up Charlotte and Eugeo.
Didn't make it any easier with all the beams of light shooting their way. Massive explosions lit up the world and his vision like a firefly, setting the terrain on fire and destroying just about everything caught in the blast or its immediate radius. Kirito watched, horrified, and held steadfast onto Fanatio as he commanded his dragon with small motions, still dropping.
Fanatio and Kirito went down, fast. The ground was quickly approaching them now. The air sweltered with heat from the vaporising effect of the light beam, and he felt his world seize up like the snap of a whip as they approached a speed far too dangerous for the human body. They were going to survive this, right?!
In what felt like a fraction of a second, Fanatio's dragon spread its wings in an attempt to catch the air, slowing its descent. The jerky motions of this had Kirito buckling in his seat, grabbing hard onto the knight's torso as they fell down and reached the landslide zone. Blond and black hair were growing closer.
"Hurry, grab on!"
Heeding Fanatio's command, both Eugeo and Charlotte were quick to react, reaching out for Murasaki. With immaculate precision, the dragon unfurled its claws and promptly swept them off the ground—just in time to avoid yet another devastating explosion that shattered their last location.
"K-Kirito!" His best friend climbed up the dragon's side, happiness shining in his emerald eyes.
"Eugeo! You—Urp..! H-Hol'up, I feel like I'm about to throw up… Urk…"
"Please do not throw up here. Neither myself nor Murasaki will appreciate that."
"W-Whose fault do you think it is..?!"
"What is this thing..?"
Everyone turned to look at Charlotte, noticing her distraught expression (with just some bits and pieces of grit and gravel in her hair and on her face) as she kept her gaze affixed on the creature they were currently trying to gain some distance from.
"No idea… That thing popped out of the ground after all those earthquakes, right?"
"The earthquake, the cliffs collapsing, the sinkhole—all of that was that monster's doing. Likely because of the earth shifting from its motions. It appeared out of the ground right after."
There was a moment of silence as Kirito stared at the creature, then averted his gaze because looking at that thing made his insides roil up. "Damn… That thing's so damned massive. How did it manage to hide itself for this long?"
"No kidding. And the damage it did…"
Destruction alone couldn't possibly explain the sheer wreckage it left this place in. Leaving aside the beams of light it had fired everywhere, just it moving out of the ground had completely destroyed the mountains. And whatever used to live there are probably buried underneath all the rubble or made the smart choice of booking it out of there. This this place likely won't be habitable to anything for a very long time. Got absolutely turned upside-down.
"…Well, on the plus side, it's no longer hiding, so that's that," the others made sounds of agreement. Hey. Gotta' look on the bright side, sometimes. "Now then… How the heck do we kill it?"
"Better yet; how to survive this!" Fanatio's sudden interjection had all of them stiffening in their places. His grip over the reins tightened. "Brace yourselves!"
Not even giving them time to prepare, the rider snapped his reins. His dragon jetted forwards to evade the incoming beams, leaving its passengers to either hold on tight and scream themselves hoarse with the deadly blasts missing them or from the sheer speed that they were moving.
There was fluidity to Murasaki's flight that allowed it to effortlessly move across the sky, practically like the wind itself for how fast and sly it was. A distant part of his mind was awed by its skill and its lack of fatigue. The bigger part of him, however, was more busy being occupied with screaming during the ride.
Fanatio made a sudden motion, and then they were dropping again. Fast. Fast enough that Eugeo beside him was almost thrown off, Kirito's reflexive action to grab tightly onto his arm being the only thing that prevented such a fate.
The moment that they reached close to the ground level, Fanatio purposely manoeuvred them into a dust cloud, slowing down his dragon's flight. A beam of light travelled over their heads, temporarily illuminating the cloud, though darkness was quick to return. It obstructed their vision and served to irritate their nostrils and eyes, but the lack of firing quickly cued him in on what just happened.
"W-We lost it…" He breathed out.
"Indeed, though it's only a temporary measure. Sooner or later, the dust will settle, and we will be made open targets once more," just the thought of that was enough to make him tense up, knowing that they couldn't possibly keep evading it forever. Murasaki would run out of steam sooner or later.
They had to kill it, here and now. Otherwise, the Human Empire would have no hope.
"Right now, we need to figure out what our next plan of action is. What are we going to do now?"
And that was the million Shia question now; how in the world are they supposed to kill a creature that was just about two hundred times their size and save everyone likely inside of its body?
Just looking at the thing during the flight had been doing all sorts of things to his body that he was able to ignore only with the power of sheer determination (otherwise, he really might have just thrown up). But having not averted his gaze, he'd been able to pick out several important features; namely, that the whole thing was essentially an oversized worm of sorts, its diameter consistent although its body often contracted and expanded in regular intervals. Likely red from an abundance of blood vessels beneath the outer layer. And it had no other limbs or organs that he could make out; likely a gaping mouth at the very tip of its body, hence its ability to produce sounds as it had the entire time.
The worst part were the eyes. Those particular attacks hadn't been simple beams of light; those had been «Sacred Arts»—he caught the use of spatial resources each time it would charge up its attacks, meaning that it was somehow intelligent enough or had a decent «System Control Authority» to be able to execute those powerful attacks (though why the resources seemed to come out of it and not from the air was a mystery).
Case in point…
"There's no head, so decapitating it might be out of the question. We still haven't figured out where everyone it captured are; best bet is it's probably inside of it, so that might make it too risky to directly attack the monster. We'll need to get close enough to confirm. Perhaps take out the eyes to keep it from tearing up everywhere."
"And not a sure-fire method to permanently kill it…"
"Wait, there are people in there?" Fanatio asked, turning to look at the boy. "How are you certain?"
"I'm not; it's just a guess. I mean, the most I can imagine is that thing probably swallowing up its prey. Again, we won't know anything unless we can get Eugeo close enough to use his «Sacred Art» to scan its insides."
His words earned him a grossed-out expression. 'Seriously?' Eugeo deadpanned.
'What? Not like we can figure out any other way—unless we go inside of its body, although I'd prefer if we make that our last resort. Otherwise, can't Selena just use her thingy on that monster's body?'
'That would not be impossible,' Selena responded through their shared mental communication space. 'But again, we would need to get as close as possible. In fact, if we're sitting directly on top of it, it would be the best.'
'Then we know what to do,' he nodded back. "Alright. So I think we should—" Before he could finish his sentence, a dreaded wail split the air. "Oh, come on! What is it this time?!"
"We can't see anything in this cloud… Murasaki, blow away all this dust!"
With a faithful cry, it ceased moving to properly flap its wings, kicking up a strong gust to disperse the dust. The immediately cleansed air was so refreshing, Kirito taking in a deep gulp of the air as he scrubbed his eyes to clear out any remaining debris.
"Uhh, Kirito. You might want to take a look," oh, he'll take a look alright. What the hell could possibly be…
Oh. Oh shit.
The grotesque worm-like thing was writhing in place. And time seemed to slow down to a painful grind as, bit by bit, more of its body was being pulled out of the sinkhole. Dust kicked up as a result of its movements, bits of rock falling deep into the hole.
And then, as it slowly wriggled its way out of the ground, it seemed to bend its body over before finally—finally—tumbling onto the earth and providing yet another shockwave that rendered the earth shocked.
"I-It pulled itself out of the sinkhole?" He muttered in horror. "Well, shit. Now it can move outside of the ground. That's not what you want to see."
As if to spite him, it seemed to undergo a biological change; the eyes across its body began to fuse, cutting down the number of total eyes but increasing the overall size. Some experienced incomplete combination and were left as awkward products of a whole, but they only served to add to its terrifying visage.
The most prominent alteration is the way that its body began to alter in its property; its flesh underwent a shift in biological make-up, as rings began to form around its body with a similar gap of ten Mel between each ring, swelling outwards to form a proper circular outdent that hardened into what looked like rock. Where the rings formed, the eyes were sucked inwards, further cutting the number of eyes on its body.
It had halted all motion during its transformative phase, yet the implications are so much worse. "You have got to be joking me… It's armouring itself. And does the change in eye size affects it power output?"
"It'd be foolish to discount the possibility," Charlotte muttered. "It really is like a worm… With separate segments, each either being the hardened portion that protects the body or the one that consists of the eyes that attack any attackers."
"That means the unprotected portion is the weak spot," Fanatio's words held truth in that. The part that hadn't hardened was still made up of that red soft flesh that its whole body had initially been made of. "If we can strike hard enough at an unprotected part enough times, we might be able to wound it to the point of killing it."
"But we still have no idea where any of its victims are being stored inside of its body. Carelessly attacking might put them at a lot of risk."
Damn it, what kind of situation was this? If only this were the dragon cave all over again. Then maybe it would have been easier to handle.
What can they do? With the six of them (counting Selena and Murasaki), there should be something that they can do; they have a lethal fighter, an Integrity Knight, a dragon spirit, a lesser dragon that can still fight good… and two boys who are more dead weight than anything else (then again, Eugeo's already helped much).
So what do they do? The only immediate plan that came to mind was stall the beast long enough to… to what? For Fanatio could request backup from the Axiom Church? That would be for the best, but it would also make this whole thing even more chaotic. It had the possibility of turning the entirety of Norlangarth into a warzone. And keeping it from spreading destruction to the rest of Norlangarth was important—they may be far out, but if it decides to go trigger happy, then they'd all be screwed. And how long would it take for reinforcements to arrive?
Straining his mind, he searched the area for any clue as to what their next plan of action should be. Nothing. Nothing that they could make use of to help them in combating this monstrosity.
'No, no, there has to be something here… Something we can do if we work together…'
As he continued thinking, however, not a single idea came to mind. Instead, his thoughts wandered to Eugeo's brothers and his friends probably sitting inside of that thing's belly.
Are they alright? Are they already dead? He was praying so desperately that wasn't the case, but if they end up killing this thing and all they get in return are hundreds of bodies…
"Kirito?" His dismay must have shown on his face, for Eugeo was quick to notice it and reach for his arm in an attempt to calm him down, his despair reflected in those green orbs. "Hey, relax. You don't look so good…"
"…Trying to figure out some way we can take that thing out with our collective force," he replied sincerely, though with a strain in his voice. His gaze refused to leave the creature, watching the ring-like segments turn into a rock-like material that would surely resist even the strongest of blows. "This is tough… What can we do..?"
There was no confirmation any of them would have the strength necessary to kill it right away. And it would put the people inside at risk. Getting close whatsoever would be a trial, what with that thing being able to fire so many beams at once. Even if the number of eyes have reduced, it might mean that it could shoot larger beams, or the delay between each shot have gotten shorter. That would be so much more dangerous.
But right now, they have to get to it. They need to have Selena to use her spell on the creature's body to locate each person and map out their placement. That would give them a rough idea of where it's safest to strike—if they could get rid of the eyes, that is.
Damn it. It's a poor excuse of a plan scraped together with whatever idea he could come up with, but it's their best shot at making out of this alive and rescuing everyone from this abomination!
"…Alright. Everyone!" He cried out, getting their attention. "I've got an idea… Ready to give it a shot?"
Over a hundred Mel in length and a diameter of seven Mel, it was a force to be reckoned—and one that their unlikely group might be the only ones present to defeat.
Didn't make him feel like he'd prepared enough, both physically and mentally, for the task though. Not like there was anything that could be done about that anymore now, actually; not when they're actually speeding right for the thing.
' We need to get Eugeo close enough to the Million-Eyed—yes, we're gonna' call it that for now—so that he can use his «Sacred Art» to trace everyone's locations. Charlotte will go with him to protect him just in case, and Fanatio will handle the eyes. It should be fairly safe to shoot at its body and not harm the people inside.'
Everyone would have to play a role in this (Kirito was forced to stay out because he doubted he would be able to do much), but the fact that Eugeo was involved at all did not fill him with much confidence. Even so, he knew he just had to suck it up and do what he can.
Because the concept of failure goes beyond failing his friend; it meant the absolute end for the people of Rulid, and perhaps Norlangarth itself—the extreme? The entirety of the Human Empire. That kind of pressure left him feeling so much heavier, so uncomfortable that he almost lost focus.
'Ease yourself, Eugeo,' he heard Selena's voice speaking directly in his mind, likely sensing the inner turmoil raging inside of him. 'Fanatio will take us to the beast safely. Once we get there, leave the rest to me. And Charlotte will be there to protect you from any harm.'
'I know that, but still… I can't help but feel nervous.'
'A reasonable feeling. This is no easy thing for one to do, much less a child such as yourself. Now is the time to do or die, however, so be prepared to act.'
There really is no other way out of this; none but to face it head-on.
"Be prepared. I shall fly us directly above the beast. Charlotte and Eugeo, the both of you are to drop off and attempt to trace the people kept inside. Once you are done, signal for me and I shall come to you."
"There ya' go. Now's time to put our plan into action. Let's get moving!"
"Very well. Murasaki!"
Eugeo grasped tightly onto his best friend, who nodded back—right as Murasaki began flying forwards, straight at the newly dubbed Million-Eyed.
It noticed them right away. Even as it was currently altering its body, the eyes immediately noticed their incoming presence. Multiple light orbs ( larger ones, he noticed) the colour of stars were condensed right in front of the pupils before they shot forwards once more.
"Hold on tight!" Fanatio yelled.
Murasaki moved once more, expertly manoeuvring itself past each beam of light that were fired at them—they felt hotter. Eugeo swore he felt his head grow light just from being near the ray for how it must have vapourised the air into nothingness. Each one punched a hole through formations of clouds, dispersing them and leaving the sky empty.
Flying right above the thing doesn't make it any safer by any means, but it reduces the chances of it tearing up the landscape even worse than it had. The ability to dodge heavily relied on Murasaki's skill alone which, thus far, has been nothing but excellent. She manoeuvred past the barrage of rays without taking a breath.
As Murasaki attempted to get close to the beast, the beams of light was enough to repel them from approaching it. Fanatio cursed, attempting to manoeuvre them closer, but they were still kept at a distance away from their target.
"Damn it, this barrage of shots isn't helping us any! Hang on, I will—"
Charlotte tapped the knight on the shoulder, shaking her head. "That shouldn't be necessary. Eugeo and I will simply have to drop from here."
"What? No, it's too high! Let me—"
"It's clearly riskier to get closer to the Million-Eyed. It will continue to fire at you. With just Eugeo and I, we'll be a much smaller target. Eugeo and I will leap off of here and land," Eugeo promptly turned in his place and gawked at the woman, who nodded her head back at him. She may be confident, but he sure isn't! "Come. We should be on our way now."
"Wait wait wait, you can't be serious! I'm not—"
She doesn't even give him a chance to say more words before she grabbed him in a vice-grip hug. And then, without any fanfare, she slips right off of Murasaki.
And all of a sudden, they were falling very, very fast.
Falling tens of thousands of Mel from the air was a cause for concern, and to be experiencing just that was reason enough for Eugeo to start screaming as the air rushed against his ears, leaving him to hear howling. He couldn't even hear Kirito and Fanatio screaming their names as they proceeded to drop faster than they could blink.
"Lady Selena!" Charlotte yelled over the turbulence. "I beg you for your assistance!"
'Charlotte, I expected much better out of you! This is the most suicidal thing you've ever done, and I was not prepared for it in the slightest! '
"I offer you my sincerest apologies, but at the moment, we require your assistance! Please cast a fall-breaking spell upon us!"
He heard Selena cry out in exaggerated anguish for her recklessness before he felt the gentle drafts of wind envelop them. It doesn't slow their descent enough for him to notice, but it seemed as if that was enough.
And just in time, as the Million-Eyed began firing at them once they got closer. As if the winds were responding to her will, Charlotte seemed to bounce and dart left and right, platforming off of the solidified winds. Just as she had ascended the mountain, so too did she descend downwards just as quick.
Once they got close to its body, his vision is spinning round once more as she twisted in the air. And then, bending herself, she crashed directly onto one of the Million-Eyed's organ.
Right in time as the Million-Eyed's body convulsed as its howl of pain emanated throughout Norlangarth. Eugeo almost lost his footing when he first landed, the uneven surface of the red, meaty segment doing very little to provide friction to keep him grounded. But the blessed winds cast upon them helped to stabilize his position, as if Selena herself was holding them in place.
"That went well."
"I thought I almost died!"
"It wasn't ideal, I will admit, but it was much safer for Fanatio," he'll give her that much, sure, but still! "Now then, let us proceed to—"
The sound of something shifting had them turning backwards, expecting nothing save for the formation of the eyes.
Charlotte promptly moved to put herself in front of Eugeo, the former peeking over the woman's body to get a look at what it was. As it turned out, it definitely involved the eyes. They were swelling outwards, losing any form of colour and shape as they began to resemble massive pods that were slick with transparent fluids.
And then, those things opened to reveal…
"…Goddesses, this is the worst day ever."
"After everything I've been through, I agree."
Jagged fangs, wet black fur from the bodily fluids and claws sharper than blades—it was but a mere second before they came charging right at them as their maws gaped wide open to release throaty snarls.
Acting purely on reflex, Charlotte met the bipedal spawn's charge head-on, easily backhanding to parry its attack before twisting for a firm roundhouse kick. It didn't simply knock it away—the attack utterly pulverized it, breaking it apart like cheap glass and reducing it to black dust. Grunting, she sidestepped the next incoming attack, using her momentum to launch a deadly blow to its jugular. That sent the spawn right at another one, knocking it off the body of the Million-Eyed.
No fanfare, and no moment for rest; more eyes began to swell out and form pods all around them, parting slowly to let loose the freshly-born monsters upon them. Red eyes stared them down as they salivated hungrily, letting out throaty growls.
"Hmph. Quantity over quality?" She scoffed, seemingly unimpressed. Even so, she positioned herself in a combat-ready stance. "Eugeo, Lady Selena, begin searching for the people. I will keep them off of you."
"R-Right!" He yelled over the noise of all the screaming, just as the creatures charged her down to slash at her. Tens against one, yet it feels as if Charlotte is unbeatable considering how she's a whirlwind of kicks and blows that completely break them apart. Eugeo forces himself to focus on the matter at hand, placing his right hand directly against the saggy folds—instantly, his whole body just screamed for him to pull away (he is so washing his hands once this is over). "Gross..! Selena!"
A wolf quickly leapt at him, but it failed to meet its mark when a fist thrusts right into its abdomen, crushing its body. Like clockwork, the ravenette is moving about with such ease as she rushes down the enemies, throwing punches that are enough to cause them to break apart like glass. Light on her feet and fighting with such savagery, it left him speechless.
So this was the one who had come to save them that night? The one who had fought off all the goblins to protect him and Kirito?
Never had he seen such focus in her eyes, nor this unbelievable amount of skill as he struck at every opponent.
'Eugeo, focus! '
'A-Ah, sorry!'
On cue, crystal blue light pulsated from his fingertips and travelled across the body of the beast, covering every square Mel of its body. Rather than simply touching the surface, the patterns travelled inwards, revealing faint silhouettes of bodies inside of the Million-Eyed scattered throughout.
'There they are…' Whenever the light patterns struck a body, it seemed to converge on a point in the centre, as if focused on where the heart is. And, looking around, he found many points across the body—be it within the unprotected or hardened segments. 'They really are inside of the Million-Eyed. And there are so many people…'
'There truly is. Makes you wonder how it managed to abduct this many people. Thankfully, all of them seem to be alive.'
All of them? He couldn't believe just how relieved he felt, though when he'd tried to count all of them, he'd lost track after fifty. Fifty. And there are still more people trapped inside of it.
'Calm yourself, Eugeo. Though our mission has been made far more difficult now, it hasn't changed whatsoever; we need to retrieve the people stuck inside of this creature. The question is, how do we proceed with that? ' That's—
The sound of bones cracking resounded across the air. Eugeo witnesses the woman leaning out of the way of a monster's clumsy swing, returning the attack with a brutal hook into its gut before she grabbed it by the arm and then flipped it into the air, ultimately swinging it downward into the main body's eye.
Lights flashed somewhere in the distance, followed by the creature they stood upon trembling in pain. Eugeo catches several rays of light coming down upon the body from up above. It seems like even Murasaki was attacking the main body, destroying any eyes that they could.
"Certainly more than I expected, though not something that I cannot handle," with how calm she had said so, he couldn't help but believe her. "Eugeo. Have you figured out where it's safest to strike?"
"Eh?! R-Right, sorry! Let me see…"
Refocusing on the patterns provided by Selena's spell, he ignored the points of convergence and tried to find where the patterns simply swept throughout the body without any interference. That would give him a good idea of where it would be safe to attack without injuring anyone trapped inside…
'Wait! Eugeo, Charlotte! ' Selena's shout had both of them perking up. 'There's something in the very centre of its body! We need to get there! '
"Is that so? Then let's—"
The 'ground' beneath their feet began to shake once more, Charlotte letting out a sound of surprise while he almost dropped down. Several spawns dropped off the creature's body from this. This time, however, it seemed as the magnitude isn't stopping, with the occasional sounds of… movement?
"What's going on?!" Eugeo screamed, trying to scramble for purchase.
'By the goddesses, it's already started moving! Whoa! '
He almost lost his footing once more when the creature bucked its body once more, the 'ground' beneath their feet beginning to quiver even worse than he realized.
"And it seems to be picking up in speed," clicking her tongue, Charlotte spun on her heel and raced towards the middle. "Come, Eugeo!"
"R-Right!"
Eugeo chased after his companion as they raced across the body of the Million-Eyed. It was indeed moving, as the signs of it crushing the ground and everything beneath it as it slithered across the earth, heading in a direction towards the north. That it was gradually becoming faster was even more shocking, considering its size, and he spotted Fanatio's dragon high above trying to keep up with them.
Multiple more pods formed as they progressed onwards, releasing more of these grotesque wolf-like humanoids to stand in their way. But Charlotte was far more merciless, tearing through their formation like a hot knife through butter. Their numbers were culled much faster than the Million-Eyed could birth them.
'Right here! ' Selena yelled. 'Eugeo! '
He's just about to inspect the area before a wolf lunges at him. Charlotte moves in front of him in time to launch an upward kick into its maw, snapping its head backwards at a sharp angle and killing it immediately.
"Don't worry. I'll watch over you."
"R-Right, thank you!"
Without wasting a moment, Eugeo promptly pressed his hand into the flesh, allowing the dragoness within him to pulsate her spell into the beast's body. Several points of convergence were tracked across the body, indicating that there were more bodies scattered around.
But then, there was something in the very centre of its body, inside of its belly.
"What is this?" He muttered, tracing the outlines of whatever it is; massive, with an irregular shape that reminds him of the pod that these eyes turn into to spawn these things.
'It… seems to be some sort of core. '
"Core?"
'Yes. Typically, only primitive monster develop a core as a defense measurement, although it's a double-edged sword; while it prevents it from getting killed when struck everywhere else, it is also the monster's biggest weakness. Destroy the core, and the monster dies immediately. Some may have more than one core.'
"Truly? So someone must go inside of it?" Charlotte looked positively disgusted by the prospect. Eugeo agreed to a great extent. "Damn it… Very well. Let us reconvene with the others. Eugeo, get them to pick us up. I'll keep us safe."
Nodding back, he watched as she engaged the incoming enemies once more. That left him with the duty to send a signal to Fanatio. "Okay then…" Raising his right hand, he felt the focused movement of Selena's spell across his skin and towards his palm, light surging brightly. "Hope you guys see this..!"
They must have, for he saw a brief movement from atop Murasaki before it began its descent towards him. Several eyes began shooting at it once more, but there was a distinct reduction in how many were being shot. And the interval between each shot had gotten significantly bigger—likely a result from the cumulative damage it sustained from Charlotte and Fanatio destroying each eye.
Once Murasaki got close enough, both he and Charlotte prepared themselves to be picked up by the dragon's claws. Kirito was quick to help him up while Charlotte climbed onto Murasaki on her own. "Thank the goddesses you're alright! I saw Charlotte fighting all those black monsters! What were those things?!" His best friend yelled.
"No idea! Some of those eyes suddenly started turning into these weird things and spitting those guys out," Eugeo responded "Too many of them, so we could've been outnumbered. But Charlotte was much stronger than them. But that aside! We found something unique about this thing!" He pointed down at the rock-like midpiece. "There's a core inside of its body, in the very centre. We need to break it if we want to kill the thing."
"A core, you say?" Fanatio perked up, then nodded with a firm look. "Fascinating… although troublesome. We will need to send in someone, don't we?"
"The only option we have is sending Charlotte in," Kirito said, though with some reluctance. "She's our best bet. Perhaps Fanatio will remain outside to take out the eyes as best as she could. Maybe keep it from moving towards the towns."
"Should we really do that? I don't know if that's a good idea or not."
"Well, we'd need to do something quick! It's moving so freaking fast!"
"Kirito and Eugeo should head in to destroy the core."
Everyone went silent for a moment, before they turned on Charlotte to scream altogether: " What?" Kirito proceeded onwards. "Why us?! None of us are as strong as you!"
"I am indeed the strongest out of all of us, that much goes without question. However, we have already seen that it keeps spawning reinforcements from its eyes," she pointed down at the beast's body. Several of those creatures were still out and about. "When it spawns those creatures from the eyes, there are less eyes to fire its beams—that is important because the less eyes there are, the less chance of spawning reinforcements and firing those destructive beams that are destroying the landscape. In fact, there's a chance one of its beams might destroy a settlement. That is something we absolutely cannot allow happen. As such, Fanatio and I shall work together to distract it and keep it occupied."
Eugeo faltered from the points she delivered. It was true that, the more eyes are destroyed or occupied, they could keep it from accidentally killing off thousands of people. Even so, for it to be them to destroy the core?
"…I see your point. Then I will keep its attention on myself and Murasaki from the air to keep it from firing close to the ground. In the meantime, the two of you will have to get to the core on your own," Fanatio paused. And then, he let out a deep sigh. "I… am not comfortable with the idea of allowing two children to walk into the belly of a beast, but there is no other choice here. Boy."
Kirito blinked. "Huh?"
"You brought a sword, did you not? Though you had not unsheathed it, I… a part of me is oddly convinced that you are certain of what must be done. And as such, I will simply place my faith in you two. Please, kill the Million-Eyed for us."
That's… Eugeo looked to his best friend, trying to discern his thoughts on the matter. His expression was nothing but excited, and who could blame him? The both of them would have to willingly go inside the monster's belly. Who knows what's inside of there?
Still, there was no time to consider the flaws of the plan.
"…No time for hesitation, eh?" The sigh he released was exhausted. Even so, his face was set in a firm, determined expression, looking over to him. "Let's do it."
"…Well, if you're going in, there's no way I'm gonna' let you go alone."
They'd always go everywhere together. Always had been, and always will.
Two hours and a half.
At the speed it was travelling, that was the time Fanatio estimated for it to take to reach Zakkaria. Likely an hour afterwards to reach Rulid afterwards—and likely with Zakkaria and other villages trampled and razed to the ground in its charge, countless slaughtered in the process.
That last thought brought forth a surge of desperation and anger within him. There was absolutely no way he could let that play out. Not when they finally have a chance of stopping it.
'Just break the core, and then we'll be done with this. No pressure.'
Gritting his teeth, Kirito meets Eugeo's and Charlotte's gazes before the three of them drop down once more onto the Million-Eyed, aided by Selena's winds to break their fall. Charlotte drops down onto a spawn, crushing it beneath her boots as more were birthed around them.
"There really are plenty of them," Charlotte commented, bracing herself to fight. "Kirito, Eugeo, find a way to carve into the Million-Eyed. I shall defend the both of you."
"Thanks!"
Without wasting a beat, Kirito unsheathed the Blue Rose Sword. The cool metal against his palm is oddly comfortable, but he pushes that thought aside as he passes the sheath over to Eugeo. And then, he reversed his grip over the hilt and plunged it straight into the Million-Eyed's flesh.
That sent the Million-Eyed into a howl of pain, trembling to throw him off. Several careless spawns fell off while Charlotte helped to strike the others away with well-timed blows, moving from one to the next with such precision that Kirito knew from a first glance that her battle with Gabura that night hadn't been a fluke.
No time to lose focus. Kirito attempts to hack away at the flesh with the sword, swinging precariously in attempts to hack away chunks of its body. Each slash gored into its body, spraying blood in the air. But no amount of slashing was actually tearing even a groove into its body.
"It's not working!" He yelled, watching Charlotte thrust an open palm into a careless spawn, sending it flying at a mob. "I don't think it's making a single effect! It's regenerating too fast!"
'Such is the advantage that core-possessing monsters have; many of the higher-levelled monsters are capable of regenerating almost instantaneously from any damage caused. The eyes thus far seem to be more permanent, but it seems useless to try and injure the outer body.'
"Great. Then how the heck do we have to get inside of it?"
"The Million-Eyed has a mouth at the very tip," Charlotte said. "Perhaps you can enter it through there—"
"You cannot be serious."
"There are no other entry points. That might be the only choice you have."
Damn it. This really is the only way, then?
Cursing their situation, he quickly weighed the choices they have at hand, only to realize that there really is no other way. Any more time wasted is going to end up even worse for all of them; he can't allow that to happen.
'Kirito,' he heard Eugeo's voice in his head. He turned to look at his friend, clutching the Blue Rose Sword's sheath with a determined smile on his face. 'It's okay. We can do this! '
'…Hah. Now you're being the confident one? ' Still, seeing the certainty in his face helped him feel much better. "Alright. Charlotte, can you take care of things over here? We're heading in!"
She didn't say a word, throwing jabs and hooks to decimate the enemy forces. Meeting his eyes, she threw him a quick nod which he returned, signalling for him and Eugeo to rush off towards the end of the Million-Eyed that was directed towards the 'head'. Behind them, the sounds of bones breaking and explosions trailed off.
It doesn't take too long to reach their destination, Kirito coming to a skidding stop as he stared over the edge of its 'head', feeling it bob up and down from its hasty movements. He peeked over its temporal, gulping. The ground was swiftly moving backwards, disappearing beneath its body.
"Oooh, man. Looks like we're already here, although I do not like this. But this is all for the sake of humanity, isn't it?"
"And we'll get a good story to tell everyone when we get back home, won't we?"
"Hah. We sure will…"
Both of them fell silent right after. It seemed so out of place, knowing that they were standing atop an oversized monster that's come out of the worst imaginations of someone and were about to enter the literal jaws of death. That the lives of thousands were on the line made it even worse.
Kirito considered how, just months ago, he'd only been living his day-to-day life without thinking about anything beyond what he'd be eating for lunch with his two childhood friends. Perhaps, at times, he'd plan for where they'd go during a rest day, and that was the extent of their troubles.
And then, so many things happen; they entered the Dark Territory. Alice got arrested. They encountered goblins in the forest at night. They met Charlotte. Fanatio came to their village. And now, they're fighting this creature he dubbed the Million-Eyed to rescue hundreds of people.
It felt like a lifetime ago since he'd just been a child. And, for just a moment, he can't help but wonder if he could have done something different to make it so that things hadn't ended up this way.
Then again…
"Eugeo, you ready?"
"With you by my side? Always."
Black and green eyes stared into one another. Faith strengthened and the will to see this through to the end bolstered, the two stare downwards…
And leapt into the belly of the beast.
Author's Notes:
Wow, a whole week without updating, eh? Talk about being gutsy.
Without going too much into details, the entire week had been nothing but preparation for things. Families visited our home and we celebrated and all. I was exhausted all the way through, and only now have things calmed down long enough for me to pick up writing once more—doesn't help that my studies have started again once more, but hey? You can't win it all.
Nevertheless, this chapter was a whole lot of fun to write. Sure, it's not a one-on-one fight that I got used to writing back in my old My Hero Academia fics or stuff like Phantom Swords, but this is no less fun. Had a blast just going all out—and I sure as heck did just that!
This was actually the third version of the battle scene I had envisioned. The original was scrapped, and the second would have been one extremely lengthy chapter. I sort of wanted to end it in just chapter ten, but oh well. This'll make the climax feel more worth it.
Unfortunately, it wasn't as fast-paced as I hoped it would be. Considering the sheer scale of this battle, it couldn't be as quick as one might expect from a sword fight, so I did my best to keep it full of action, twists and turns. And because no one here is completely overpowered, there was no one-shot solution. It's a little prolonged, unfortunately.
Nevertheless, we're now approaching the final battle. Thanks for being patient, and let's get to it!