Chapter 35: Worms
It didn't take long before Huey reached the structure's end. He had ignored all the tendrils and attacks along his path, proving the mettle of the warriors from the Ntuli Tribe by decimating every ugly tendril that swept the air.
Contrary to earlier, Huey took slow and steady strides as he navigated the chaotic passages. The walls were covered with pulsating masses resembling ugly flesh, and occasional stray Elder Gods appeared in his path.
From within, Huey could feel the tremors of the battle raging outside. He was grateful that the Ntuli warriors had entrusted him with facing the supposed boss while they handled external threats.
"I have to make this quick," Huey muttered, feeling pensive as he leaned forward and dashed. His figure blurred into a black streak, penetrating whatever the boss sent at him.
As he approached the Heart of the Den, Huey found himself swearing at the odds. Ever since the briefing, he had an idea of what they were up against. Judging from the reactions of the Ntuli people, they seemed unaware of the true nature of their latest enemy.
He wasn't sure why he was surprised. Perhaps it was because, since returning, Humanity truly hadn't been wiped out by... those creatures.
The closer he got to the center, the higher the density of radiation in the atmosphere increased. But "Mana" radiation at such levels was nothing enough to even disarray a single strand of Huey's hair.
TAP - TAP
His footsteps paused before the entrance to a room. Huey's eyes were cold and icy as he peered forward. He had been maintaining the facade of a cold and aloof character since he met Lyra some days ago until now, sometimes even getting absorbed into his act, like now.
The usual Huey was crude, rather than graceful, as many who had met him until now seemed to realize. But it was a fact that Huey's gaze at the moment held no light, only endless cold darkness.
He glanced down at his sword for a short while, then sighed lazily before taking the first steps inside.
"Let's get this over with, Pointy."
The "Mana" radiation surged towards Huey as he approached the door frame, akin to a deafening roar. Yet, Huey remained unfazed; his eyes briefly gleamed, and his sword effortlessly countered the chaotic radiation, swiftly neutralizing it. Pointy 2.0, his black sword, exhibited faint glimmers along its dull red veins as it quashed the onslaught of "Mana" radiation, restoring calm to the surroundings within moments.
"There you are," Huey muttered, his voice tinged with irritation.
In the center of the spacious room loomed a colossal blob.
"Thing-y. Damn, you're hideous," Huey grimaced, his frustration evident at the grotesque, pulsating mass of flesh and tendrils before him. The creature sported numerous tiny eyes on its pallid red visage, with slimy tentacles writhing around its repulsive form.
The Elder God towered nearly fifteen meters tall, its grotesque body undergoing a continuous cycle of contraction and expansion, intensifying the radiation while absorbing it. Its twisted tendrils extended across the floor, walls, and ceiling, resembling crawling vines or exploratory roots.
Above, the numerous twisting tendrils extended to fat, wet sacks dangling from the ceilings and corners. Within these thin, almost membranous swollen cocoons lay its victims—the abducted members of the Ntuli Tribe. Huey's gaze briefly flickered upwards, taking in the grim sight.
"The Ntuli Tribe," he muttered grimly.
The swollen cocoons blanketed the entire ceiling, each one serving as a source of sustenance for the grotesque mass at the room's center. Ugly tentacles snaked from these cocoons, draining the life force and nutrients directly into the pulsating core, which continued to swell and contract, emitting wet squelching sounds with each motion.
It was exactly as he had feared.
As Huey stepped into the room, he felt the tendrils stir and shift slightly. Lowering his gaze, he fixed his dull eyes on the motionless, ghastly abomination before him, raising his sword slightly at his side.
"You've run out of luck now. I'll be finished with you quickly," he declared, his tone devoid of anger or malice towards the creature. He harbored no grudges; it was simply a matter of necessity that it meet its end.
It just simply had to die.
"Before it's too late," Huey added, just as he heard a cry from behind.
"Warrior of walls!"
His face twitched in confusion. "What?"
"We have come to provide you support!"
"Fucking hell— I told you idiots to stay out of my—" Before Huey could finish his sentence, the abomination at the room's center emitted a screeching cry, causing them to freeze in place.
"Shit!" Huey snapped his head back, but before he could react further, multiple grotesque tentacles, resembling thick trees, erupted from the Elder God's swelling body, lashing out at the newcomers first.
The fleshy tendrils moved with astonishing speed, leaving trails in the air. Stunned by the sudden attack, the warriors were unable to react as the monstrous limbs tore through their abdomens and slithered around their bodies.
The warriors could only watch in horror as the tendrils retracted like fishing lines, snaring prey and swiftly dragging their comrades into the gaping maws of the Elder God.
Huey's brows furrowed as he witnessed the grotesque scene unfolding before him. An abominable chasm tore open across the blubbery body of the monster, swallowing the victimized warriors with a sickening crunch. Blood and intestines splattered everywhere as the Elder God tore apart their bodies and devoured them whole.
A triumphant cry echoed from the Elder God's gaping maw as its swollen body pulsed intensely, sending a thick wave of "Mana" rippling into the surroundings.
"Fuck," Huey muttered under his breath, his frown deepening as he prepared to launch an immediate attack. However, another voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Warrior of the walls! We heard a cry, what happened?!" Barak and a few others arrived at the entrance of the room, causing Huey's frustration to boil over.
"They just keep coming!" he exclaimed, his irritation evident in his tone.
Before he could articulate his thoughts, another powerful pulse surged through the room, ripping apart the ceiling and walls.
BOOM!
A massive explosion of red "Mana" engulfed everyone present in its torrent of fierce radiation and shockwave. Huey clicked his tongue in annoyance, swiftly neutralizing the outburst and dispersing the shockwave, revealing an ugly mass coated in violent crimson energy hovering in mid-air before them.
The force of the explosion had forcefully torn off the ceiling and roof, causing the strange shroud of burning energy to rise higher and higher, pulsating with pure destruction and desolation.
Fierce winds clashed and howled, spawning small storms that engulfed the area. The ground ripped open, and the structure they stood in threatened to collapse under the immense force.
Amidst the tumultuous winds and swirling storm, Tyla's voice pierced through the chaos.
"What is happening?!"
Observing the crimson cocoon of ominous energy, Huey's expression grew grimmer by the second. "That thing is forcing its evolution," his voice easily cut through the storm, reaching the ears of the remaining party members.
Tyla's eyes widened in alarm. "What do you mean, evolution?!" Her voice strained to be heard over the deafening howl of the wind.
Instead of responding immediately, Huey detected a disturbing shift in the "Mana" radiation.
"You might want to go Ozaro for this part," he said to Barak, offering a feigned and hate-filled friendly smile.
In the next moment, a second devastating explosion erupted, even more powerful than the last.
BOOM!
An immolating crimson light engulfed the entire area, reducing the building structure to rubble. Crimson "Mana" raged furiously, burning through the air and causing space to tremble while shockwaves descended. The ground was torn apart, and radiation spread unadulterated havoc across the environment.
Though the party members didn't fully understand Huey's last statement, their instincts told them they wouldn't survive without unleashing their bloodlines.
As the wrath of the explosion slowly settled, leaving the battlefield an apocalyptic wasteland, Huey found himself cursing the absurdity of the entire situation.
"Fucking retards. How many times did I try to tell you not to come with me?" Huey muttered, patting the dust and debris off his body.
The explosion had been phantasmal and devastating, but Huey remained standing, unscathed. However, it was pain to endure it all. Now, frustration simmered within him, fueled by the events of the entire day—or rather, since the day he met with the council.
Brushing off the last specks of debris, he sighed in exasperation.
"And what kind of half-assed transformation is that?" His spiteful words were directed at an average-height humanoid figure leisurely levitating above him.
In a guttural and pr
imal voice, almost like a growl, the figure malevolently responded, "Worms."