Hey Yo! NerdRyuu for the twelfth capter of Udan's Legends! The last chapter of the year! I am very proud that I managed to publish a chapter a month this year, but I don't know if I'll do the same next year, 'cause it was exhausting!
Last chapter was packed! A fight, a conversation with a dragon, and a new quest to take care of the creatues that killed the Sage!
but before we begin, letsee this month's questions!
Skully13: Besides Luan, Lori, Leni and Lynn, are any other louds be antagonistic?
Yes, I won't say who, 'cause would be spoiler, but yes, at least 2, besides Luan, are going to be antagonistic towards th group.
Guest99: Sine this story is like an RPG game, will we see our heroes getting upgrades lime armor, new weapons amd magic?
Yes, specially Lynn will have some new toys to make her keep up with he others when things start to heat up
Without any further, let's start!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own The Loud House
"You already did much for us. You don't need to do any more for us." the Jarl spoke with a sigh. "I'll order to block this hole and this will be the end of it."
"But these monsters may find another way to the surface, and more people may be hurt." Lincoln reasoned. The Jarl Pursed his lips and looked again to the deceased body of Vito, looking ashamed.
"If I wasn't so thick headed, Sage Vito wouldn't be dead." He said sadly. He looked to the young wizard. "Be careful. All of you."
"Okay!" Luna spoke clapping her hands. "I'll lead us down there!" She proposed.
"What? Why?" Lynn questioned.
"Cytinn are attracted by light, right? Well going down there with torches is like sailing in a pirate infested sea with a golden ship!" Luna explained.
"I… don't follow." Lynn said narrowing her eyes.
"Well, you know what echolocation is right?" Luna asked.
"Echolo-what?" Leni spoke confused.
"It's what bats use to see in the dark." Lincoln explained to the elf before looking at Luna. "Can you do that with your Zettaiotokan?" He questioned with a smile.
"Yes!" Luna answered excited. "I can guide us down there in the dark, and when we find the nest, we'll catch them with their pants down!"
"No! Ew!" Leni said cringing. "I don't want to see giant bugs without pants!" Lynn face-palmed.
"Pants or no pants." Lynn said. "Going down there is already a insane task, blinded then? Don't let me get started!"
"Yeah Linkie, if Lynn feels this is too much for her and you, I can go down there alone." Leni offered and Lynn gasped offended.
"Are you implying I'm cowering from going down there?" Lynn said between teeth, her head getting red from rage. "Well, I'll show ya!" She said turning around and marching to the hole, before Lincoln grabbed her by the collar of her metal cuirass.
"Lynn." The boy said severely to apprehend her, that was not time for an ego fight. The knight scoffed, crossing her arms and stopping on her tracks.
"Sorry, I wasn't trying to imply anything I thought I spoke clearly…" Leni tried to apologize tossing her head to the side. Lynn turned again to the elf with her face beet red, clenched teeth and a furious look.
"Leni, I think it's better if you stay silent for now." Luna suggested putting a hand on Leni's shoulder. The elf nodded to Luna with a smile.
Lincoln sighed and looked at the hole in the wall. He pursed his lips and whispered a pray for Maja before turning to Luna.
"Luna, lead the way."
"Okay, stay close and watch your steps!" Luna ordered as the four of them entered the hole. In a straight line as the narrow path had space for just one at a time. In that order, Luna, Lynn, Lincoln and Leni followed her with a hand on the shoulder of the one in front of them to make sure they wouldn't get separated.
Slowly the dim light of the dungeon faded and the adventurers got swallowed by the darkness.
"Leni?" Lincoln whispered back to Leni who still had her left hand on his shoulder.
"Yes Linkie?" The elf said gently.
"I wanted to ask you before, but what was that third eye on your head?" He questioned.
"The what?" Lynn whispered to them shocked.
"Oh, Well, when I tell people I am enlightened, I'm, like being quite literally, I have this divine blessing from Lady Siddha, the elven sages back in Akkuan have different names for it, like The Eyes Of Siddha, or The Windows to Tomorrow, The Bacons of Hope…"
"Bacon?" Lynn interrupted, surprised by the unexpected name.
"Don't you mean Beacons of Hope?" Lincoln asked.
"Yeah, that!" Leni responded with a smile. "But I like to call it like one of the ancients calls it, The Terasu Eyes." Leni made a moment of silence, waiting for any reaction of them before resuming. "With them, I was blessed with the power of seeing the future.
"YOU CAN SEE THE FUTURE?" Lynn shouted in shock, just for Luna to harshly shush her, making the young knight flinch. Leni chuckled.
"I can see, clearly just 3 to 5 seconds into the future, if I force seeing further, it gets blurrier and blurrier, so, I just don't look that much into the future." Leni explained.
"But seeing the future, even if just by some seconds is already very powerful." Lynn said. "You could see everything your opponent will do and respond accordingly." Lynn spoke amazed. "A knight like me would do anything to have a power like that!"
"Lynn's right." Lincoln spoke. "You have the power to look into the mystery that is the future." Lincoln spoke with amazement.
"Yes, the future is a mystery." Leni interjected. "Looking into it repeatedly just takes away the fun of the unpredictability of life."
"I… See." Lincoln spoke. The boy reflected for a second. She was right. What fun life would be if you knew everything at every time?
"And that light thingy?" Lynn asked. "We could use an warning when you use that, we nearly also got blinded by that!"
"Sorry." Leni said sheepishly. "But that was just a elven spell that made light. Here I can show you-" Leni was cut off by an sharp shout be Lynn.
"No!" Lynn scowled. "Do you have pixie dust for brains? We need to retain the surprise effect!"
"And I need silence to work here!" Luna said finally annoyed. The others fell in silence, Lynn muttering an apology.
Luna closed her eyes again and clicked her tongue. The waves bounced off the walls and returned to her ears, forming a mental image on her head off the cave.
As they walked, the narrow passage widened. Luna made a sudden stop, almost making the others trip over each other.
"Everyone, place your hands on the walls to our right." She whispered and the others did so. "Don't let your hand go from the wall, and watch your step. We're on a underground ravine, and there's a chasm to our left."
Lynn gulped and looked down to their left, but the absolute darkness didn't let her see anything, the girl subconsciously held the wall tighter.
They cautiously descended further and further, completely in darkness and in silence. The sounds of the clicks of Luna, their breathing and their footsteps were the only thing they could hear.
Until it wasn't.
"I hear movement." Luna whispered. Lincoln chilled when he stepped in something squishy.
They felt the rocky walls of the cave soon being replaced by a surface that felt rough and firm, like an crab shell.
Lincoln tried to remain calm, but the faint sound of crawling and buzzing he started to hear as they descended further into the nest made out of that material.
Luna a deep breath, grabbed her ax from her back and positioned herself. "Leni, light on when I give the signal." The musician whispered, Leni muttered an affirmation noise.
The four were tense. Right in the middle or the nest, they could feel the buzzing creatures cradling around them, grazing on them, making them have chills.
Lynn placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, Leni was biting her lips, darting her head around, with her staff held safely on her hands and Lincoln breathed deeply with his mouth to keep himself calm.
"Three." Luna whispered, loud enough just for the three of them to hear.
"Two." Lincoln Lynn gulped, starting to think they were a little over their heels when they decided to confront a full nest of Cytinn head-on. Even a full squad of well trained solders wouldn't be able to destroy one, much less just 4 young adventurers like them.
"One."
"NOW!" Luna shouted and immediately, Leni flashed bright, her light magic illuminated the insides of the nest. Avoiding the flash bang that was Leni's light, Lincoln, Lynn and Luna closed her eyes for some moments as they heard the screeches of the giant insects around them.
"Here comes the Goo!" Luna said with a smile as she swung her axe, immediately digging it into the head of one particularly big nymph, splitting it into two, making green colored goo fly on her.
Lynn unsheathed her sword and readied her shield, bashing it on a pouncing Cycata.
Among the young nymphs, there where also the larger adult Cytinn. Winged creatures that resembled praying-mantis with four spear-like legs and arms with claws that resembled scythes.
Lincoln fired balls of fire from his hand around, Leni bashed her staff around with enough force to pop their bodies, making goo spurt around.
"Gah!" Lincoln was caught by surprise when a nymph jumped and started gnarling on his left arm. Hearing the boy, Lynn swung her sword, severing it's head from it's body, making the lifeless head hang on Lincoln for a little, being held by their fish-hook shaped teeth. Lincoln shook and it fell, but his arm still stung severally.
Having distanced a little more from the group, Luna swung her axe around, killing and splitting the creatures that approached her. But from behind, an adult Cytinn approached her ready to stab the musician.
But said musician spun around her heels swinging her axe upwards, cutting it's arm clean off. The Cycata screeched in pain. However, even with one arm short it sprung forward swinging it's other scythe.
Luna parried the swing with her axe and used it to cut off it's head.
Just then a nymph pounced on Luna's side, stabbing it's six legs on her side. Luna screamed in pain, falling to one knee, she then grabbed the nymphs head trying to push it off her.
"Luna!" Lincoln shouted after hearing the girl's scream, this grabbed the attention of Lynn, who quickly ran up to Luna and slashed the nymph, splitting it's shell in half.
"Lincoln, come heal her, quick!" Lynn shouted to the boy.
"No! I'm good!" Luna said, forcing the still stuck halves of the nymph out of her torso, making blood gush from the wounds making Lynn wince and the musician grunt as the pain was excruciating.
"You are crazy by saying that! This looks very bad!" Lynn complained in panic, Luna's six stabs in fact, looked horrible, fatal even. But Lynn didn't have time to do anything as another nymph pounced on her, forcing her to continue fending off the creatures.
Luna made deep breaths, holding her side, her blood drizzled down, soaking her hands in it. The world around her seemed to go silent, her full focus was on her injuries, to the point she didn't even acknowledged when Lincoln ran up to her and reached his hands to heal her.
Suddenly, the blood stopped flowing down the wounds. It started to flow up.
The blood that fell on the ground floated up on large red bubbles.
"what…" Lincoln muttered, stepping back.
Luna then reached for her axe that had fallen by her side. The blood crept from her and crawled up the chords, the bubble splat itself on the axe's head, more blood kept coming from her wounds, flowing and flying onto the axe, completely covering the head, and so, forming a second edge on the other side of it, the blood then darkened, hardening.
The blood that was still crawling onto her har also hardened, forming some streaks of crusty hardened blood on her skin, and on her side, the gaping stab wounds were covered by the hardened blood.
Luna breathed rapidly, the pain was still excruciating, but she stood up, holding up her now double sided, blood red axe.
"Luna?" Lincoln muttered in disbelief. The musician looked at him with a tired smile.
"Sorry for worrying you Linkie." She spoke. "But I'll be fine now."
"Hey, if you're good now, you better help here!" Lynn shouted, as four adult Cytinn attacked the knight, making her rely on her shield to survive. Eight scythes chopping her at the same time was too much for her, she had several cuts on her face, arms and legs.
"Lynn, duck!" Luna shouted and swung her axe, throwing it on her direction. The knight did so, and the axe flew right above her, cutting the Cytinn right in half. And after, the axe made an U-turn flying back, cutting the head of a fifth Cytinn that was creeping behind Lynn and returning to Luna's hand.
"Wow!" Lincoln exclaimed. "That's amazing!" Luna laughed, trying to ignore the pain on her side.
"This is my family's namesake!" She explained. "The blessing from the blood moon!"
"Blood control?" Lincoln deduced. Luna nodded. Before swinging back and chopping a nymph in half and throwing the axe again, bisecting a Cytinn and pinning another on the nest's wall. The axe then dragged itself down, and crawled on the floor, cutting the tips of the legs of several nymphs before returning to Luna's hand.
"This would've been useful earlier." Lynn said, impressed by that.
"I control only my own blood, I need to get hurt to be able to, and come on, getting hurt sucks!" Luna explained further.
"Guys, I think we-" Leni started to speak but was cut off by the sounds of growling and crawling.
"Crap." Luna said turning around to where to sound came from an aperture by an corner.
"It must be the queen…" Lynn said. "Angry that we're killing her babies…"
Soon, they saw it peeking from the corner.
It was a mostly humanoid creature, it had an feminine figure, like a cross of a mantis and a woman, it's curves made Lincoln uncomfortable, it's abdomen was stuck in what seemed to be a large, green egg sack.
The queen crawled further. Her main humanoid body was suspended on the air by the massive egg sack, that was being carried by several adult Cytinn.
It's face was uncomfortably human, with a pair of green eyes, a nose and even a human mouth, but, like it was using a mantis shaped helmet, it had another pair of mantis-like eyes and antennae.
It locked eyes with Lincoln and made a smile, revealing green crooked teeth. Before shouting, it's jaw split open.
Finally, the four adventurers screamed in fear, and ran back to where they came from.
"Breasts, why it has breasts?" Lynn shouted in panic running.
"Oh my god…" Luna muttered. "Kill it! Kill it with fire! NOW!" She shouted to Lincoln.
Voh
Lincoln turned around and the flames erupted from his mouth, cindering the nest, igniting the goo of the dead Cytinn, and quickly making it into an inferno the walls of the nest started to melt and the rock of the cave started to crumble.
"BETTER WE RUN FASTER! THE NEST IS GOING TO CAVE IN!" Lynn shouted as they ran.
Rocks started to fall, crushing the dead Cytinn and even some of the ones still alive
The queen screeched as it's main body fell on the ground and started to furiously crawl on their direction. However and large rock fell on it's egg sack, making it scream as more goo gushed from it. The queen was now pinned down on the blazing inferno.
Lincoln looked back at the screeching creature. It's screams were too human for Lincoln to not feel a little sad. Lynn then grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him to make him resume running.
Unbeknownst to the hoy, however, The queen started try to rip itself out of the egg sack.
The four adventurers didn't looked back as they heard the crashing of the rocks and the nest caving in until it stopped.
They stopped to take their breath when they arrived on the ravine they passed by earlier, with Leni now illuminating the cave, they could now see how open that section of the cave was. Lincoln checked the chasm and it was much deeper than he thought, even with Leni's light, wasn't able to see the bottom.
Lynn walked to Lincoln's side, also looking at the chasm. The knight hummed and spat down the chasm.
The two counted the seconds before they could heard the sound of it hitting the ground. But they ended giving up, as they didn't heard anything.
"It's sure deep." Lynn said playfully, trying to lighten the mood, now that the danger was over.
"Yea-" Lincoln was then tackled with violence by something.
The Cytinn queen growled and clawed the boy on the ground. The scuffle made them roll down he chasm.
"LINCOLN!" Lynn screamed as her, Luna and Leni ran over at the point he fell. Luckily, the two had fallen on a lower ledge next to the chasm. The queen continued her assault on Lincoln's chest, slashing, clawing and even delivering some punches.
"Hang there Linkie!" Leni shouted, jumping down the chasm with her staff over her head, ready to bash it on the queen. But the creature rotated it's head around, screeching as the two green plates on her back opened and from it, two pairs of dragonfly-like wings unfolded and the queen flew off in time to dodge Leni's attack.
Lincoln, to also dodge the attack, rolled to the side, but accidentally rolled off the ledge. Thinking fast, Lincoln managed to narrowly hold on a protruding rock and hang on for dear life.
"Linkie!" Leni exclaimed after landing on the ledge. The elf quickly grabbed Lincoln's hand with her free one, as she still held onto her staff with the other.
"This abomination is persistent." Lynn said as her and Luna saw the queen flying up from the ledge. The queen observed the two from above, a silent stalemate with the buzzing noises of it's wings being the only thing being heard.
The stalemate was broke when the queen screeched again and swooped down at the two. Lynn tried to slash it with her sword, but missed, receiving a harsh slash on her shoulder as the queen flew.
Lynn screamed and let her sword fall, the cut was deep. She reached for her shoulder and fell to the ground, the pain was excruciating, the cut may have reached her nerves, as she couldn't feel her hand.
Luna gritted her teeth nervous, looking at the queen that flew up again. The creature 's hand was coated in Lynn's blood. The musician and the creature stared at each other, the queen made a devilish grin taunting Luna as it started to lick the blood from their hand.
"You sadistic bitch…" Luna muttered under her breath. She held her axe firmly, the queen then screeched again and swooped down.
Luna dove on the ground to avoid the attack and quickly got back to her feet, turning around to see the queen swooping again. Luna swing her axe, trying to hit the queen.
The queen dodged the attack and flew up again. Luna didn't let her sight go of the creature, she knew Lincoln and Leni would be soon back onto the fight, but Lynn was out of commission until Lincoln could heal her.
It was just her for now. Luna then turned her axe into it's instrument position and sighed. She strummed a fine melody, before dodging the dive from the queen, still playing that song.
Luna moved around, avoiding the creature's attacks in unpredictable patterns, swinging left, right, back, forward, spinning in place, jumping on a foot to another, banging head back and forth, it was like she was dancing to the very song she was playing.
And as the song progressed, the rhythm of her dodges started to increase in speed and randomness, now Luna was flipping over and under the creature, spinning in circles around them and even giving sudden kicks on the queen.
As the crescendo of the song was reaching it's limit, Luna boldly faked an spin around the queen to bait the creature into spreading it's legs and used the opportunity to use the momentum of the dance to slide down on her knees under the creature's legs and in a fell swoop, finished her performance with a final strum, swinging the axe up and slicing a pair of the queen's wings clean off by the stems.
The creature screeched, turning around, it was extremely furious, and, although having it's wings cut off, At an advantageous position, still up on their feet while Luna was kneeling down and facing backwards.
Fortunately for Luna, However, aid came when Leni bashed her staff onto the queen's head in the back. She and Lincoln we're finally up again.
The hit distracted the queen enough for Luna to hit the queen on the leg, their exoskeleton was touch, but the axe managed to lodge itself deep onto it before Luna pulling it from the leg.
The queen tried to slash back to Leni, but the elf ducked under the attack and pashed her staff on the queen's torso. The queen tried to turn back to Luna, swinging her arm onto the girl.
But it was cut clean off by the blade of Lynn's sword, being held, by an desperate Lincoln.
It was now three versus one, the queen was severally injured, with a pair of wings and an arm missing, and a sizable wound on their tight.
In a desperate attempt to fight, the creature weakly lunged onto Lincoln, who slash down the sword, hitting the queen, and lodging it right in the middle of the creature's left mantis eye.
Shocked by what he just did, Lincoln let go of the weapon, as the Cytinn queen stumbled in pain, reaching the edge of the chasm.
The creature's green blood was trickling down the injured insect eye, still with Lynn's sword lodged onto it, down the human face. The queen looked at the adventurers, barely being able to remain standing up.
"The hive won't die." The weak and screech voice came from it's mouth before it lost it's strength and fell down, being swallowed by the darkness and the chasm.
The four adventurers remained in silence for some moments before Luna sighed.
"Is it dead?" Leni asked finally.
"I hope so." Luna answered, walking up to Lynn and cautiously grabbing the knight, who had passed out. "Linc, come heal her. Linc?"
The boy was staring blankly at the chasm. Tears streamed down his eyes.
"Linkie?" Leni approached the boy and put her arm around his shoulder, concerned for the boy. "Are you okay?"
Lincoln sniffed, biting his lip, then he wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Yeah… It's just…"
"It's okay to feel sad Linkie." Leni spoke.
"I… promised myself to never take a life." Lincoln spoke. Leni hummed. "I promised that I would find another way. A peaceful way." He said, almost in the edge of crying. Leni sighed.
"Lincoln, It is not a sin to fight for what you believe. But also there are those whom words will not reach... You are gentle. You do not like to hurt. I know because I too have learned these feelings. But it is because you cherish life that you must protect it. It is hard, and will never become easier… The only thing I have to suggest is… respect life, even if you have to take it. Pray for your rivals."
Lincoln then let his tears flow. He then cleaned his tears again and made a deep breath, smiling to Leni.
"Thanks Leni."
Lincoln had healed Lynn enough for her to be able to stand with help, the knight held onto him while them walked back the tunnel, even tired, Lynn had demanded, to know how they defeated that creature.
"I'll need a new sword then." She said after receiving the notice that hers fell along with the queen. "Remember me to ask a new one to the Jarl."
"Something weirds me about that creature." Lincoln thought out loud. "It didn't looked like the one in the illustration on the book Marlin gave me." He said.
"What do you mean?" Luna said, she rested her still bloody axe om her shoulder as they walked. Lincoln grabbed his satchel and pulled from it the big book from Marlin.
Lincoln opened it and flipped some pages until he found what he wanted. "Here, look." They looked at the book, it had a rather detailed drawing of a tick-like creature with a small mantis head, below it written the words Cytinn Queen.
"Wait, if this is what a Cytinn queen looks like…" Luna spoke, trailing off.
"What was that thing we just fought?" Lincoln completed the thought.
Lynn grumbled. "Just forget it, it's dead, let's get out of here."
N/A: And so, we finish this chapter, and this year. This ended up being longer than I expected, I thought it was going to be a short chapter, without much plot, but ended being an important chapter with important lore.
So, yeah, Leni ability is to see the future and Luna can control her own blood!
This ability of Luna's is the what inspired the name Lunarossa, meaning red moon in italian.
Anyway, I wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new year! See you next year. hopefully.
Be good.
Bye.