NBB3 - chapter 32: A strange day

"So Sig is back?" Norg asked loudly.

He had a wide grin on his dark green, almost black face, but although much had changed, parts of his previous evolutions had remained. His features were sharper and more refined than those of Oytach, and according to Vingria, his smile had not changed. How that was of any importance, Solus didn't know.

"Yes, and he needs this thing," Solus said as he softly pointed at the mana-core Norg had in his fist.

"I'll make sure to give it to him," Norg whispered with a nod.

They stood a hundred feet away, staring at the rift in front of them, where Oytach and Vingria were, ready to depart.

"Your language is so weird," Oytach shouted, still rubbing the side of his head, his voice clearly audible across the distance.

"At least you can understand it now!"

Solus barely picked up Vingria's growled reply, and he guessed Norg hadn't heard her response.

"Yes… that inscription is a wondrous thing," Oytach said as he laughed uproariously.

"You gave him a status window?" Norg whispered

"No, only a small part that helps him speak other languages," Solus said.

"He still had a few skill slots left, so I gave him a multi-language one."

"Good… because I don't trust him. He reminds me of someone, and I can't put my finger on it," Norg grumbled before turning back to Solus.

"You are sure you can't come with us? Perhaps you can just remove Gouldiv's offspring when we return?"

Solus shook his head. "No. It's too dangerous. Besides, this body is resisting me more and more. Go through and close the portal as soon as you get to the other side. Then find Sig and give him the orb."

"Are you sure? Shouldn't we come back to find more mana-orbs?" Norg tried again. "We've been through so many portals, and we couldn't find any as safe as this one."

"I'm sure. Besides, next time you will be stronger, and you can bring Oytach. Between the two of you it should be survivable no matter what portal you go through."

"You shouldn't have let him have that last mana-core," Norg grumbled. "He was stronger than us before. Soon he will be even more powerful."

Solus sighed, gazing at the Kaot Lord as it towered two heads over Vingria. It was definitely powerful, and he was glad there hadn't been more mana-orbs. Beyond that, it seemed Oytach's evolutions worked differently from the ones he knew. Another thing to puzzle about later, hopefully with the help of Drys.

"Nothing we can do about it here," Solus said. "Now go, and as soon as you get back, start increasing the power of your new body. You have the potential to be the strongest there. Make it count."

Norg nodded with a weary sigh. "I hope you can find a body fast and come back. It's boring without you."

"Just wrestle with Vingria a bit," Solus said with a grin. "You should be stronger than her now!"

Norg snorted, and he shook his head, but a sparkle appeared in his eye as he turned to Vingria.

"I'm going to miss your sense of humor," he said after a moment.

Solus didn't respond but grit his teeth as he felt a sudden bout of sadness pass through him.

"Get ready to hold this thing when I leave it. Count to three hundred, so I can get back to my own body before you end it. I still don't know what would happen otherwise. After that, follow me as fast as you can!"

"Ready," Norg said as he grabbed Solus's neck.

Solus focused and exited the body. As soon as he was above it, the canine's muzzle opened, and it started snapping and struggling, trying to reach Norg.

"Bile, this is strong!" Norg hissed as the Urudimu forced his arms in odd directions. "Oytach, come help me," he roared before he started counting loudly.

Solus wished he could see how this would end, but he only had a little time. He shot towards the thin cable connecting him to his real body. He was drawn inside a mana-walled tunnel and pulled away through the portal as soon as he touched it. Everything was black for a moment; then ambient green light lit up everything.

Solus looked up at two immense eyes formed by green mana. As he saw them, they saw him and the pupils narrowed as they stared at him.

O bile, Solus thought.

The mana stream carried him forward, but the eyes shot after him as he rushed away. He tried to increase the speed at which he was moving, but it didn't help at all, and his eyes widened as fingers of green mana appeared, stretching towards him.

~ What are you? ~

A horrid voice, laced with insatiable hunger sounded, as images of a massive maw devouring undead, feeding on them in droves appeared in Solus' mind. The fingers started closing around the thread, appearing to move in slow motion.

It's going to grab me! Solus knew as he saw the fingers ready to close around the spot he would be in a moment.

Fear surged forward, and without holding back, he projected his fear and anger outwards at the green mana-hand. A shock wave of jade-green mana erupted from him, and the section of the mana corridor shook, cracks appearing in its walls. The fingers closed around it and stopped for a moment, a bubble of jade-green mana appearing to hold it open.

~ How!? ~ the voice howled as a long thin slit appeared in the mana below, revealing a star-filled maw.

The face moved forward, making a biting motion, but Solus shot through the fingers, drained and weary. He felt himself grow more and more tired, and a look at his own body showed he was becoming more transparent, almost as if he was fading.

The face slowed, the mouth and hand vanishing as the eyes radiated ridicule.

~ Dieing already? Weak! ~ the voice said, a crazed bout of laughter following it.

It stopped almost as fast as it started, so suddenly it made Solus' head spin. Then the eyes turned, focusing on the planet they had just left, which was now a tiny spec in the distance. Hunger wafted from the being, and it moved towards the planet at blinding speed. A moment later, the eyes disappeared, and Solus couldn't make out anything but darkness filled with swirling chaotic mana in different colors.

…

Solus couldn't form a straight thought as his mind slipped away like a ball of yarn, and all he could do was cling with mental fingers to a single thread.

---

Tirella moved through the air like a streak of mana, watching the remains of the vast city in the distance. Only the towering buildings on the outside remained standing, the center reduced to a mass of rubble. Yet, even from this distance, she could see the massive thing as it lay curled up on its side, covered in shiny black spikes.

Closer to the city's edge was a dust cloud as a Wyrm rushed towards the city. Behind it was a mass of swirling specs with a mist of red mana surrounding them. The Wyrm was navigating between odd craters dwarfing even its massive bulk that dotted the landscape around the city.

Kaots chasing a Wyrm?

She frowned as she looked at one of the buildings close to the city. Two bright green specs sat on the top floor. She wasn't sure what they were doing, but from the brightness of their mana, she guessed they were strong, perhaps even three times evolved.

Solus didn't mention such strong undead here, Tirella thought.

Should she take a look? She wanted to ignore them. She had to find the undead Solus had mentioned before, after all. They were supposedly locked away in some stone building and likely held something she could take over.

What if these are the ones Solus was talking about? she thought, her curiosity getting the better of her.

She changed course slightly, moving towards the building when one of the two green specs started increasing in brightness. Within a split second, the glow doubled, then tripled. It continued until it was so bright she couldn't see the building it was in and slowed down.

A bright burst of mana came from the building, almost immediately followed by a massive boom. The bright mana vanished as debris and dust burst out of the building's openings, and a beam of crackling green energy flashed through the air. It slammed into the Wyrm and the Kaots surrounding it. A blinding flash of light, even brighter than a moment before, made her look away as an explosion deafened her. The buildings around her rocked and swayed, pieces breaking off and tumbling to the grey streets below.

The light lasted for only a second, and when she turned back, a cloud of dust was rising in the sky. Dirt, stone, and debris pelted the area around a crater where the Wyrm and the kaots had been.

Tirella gazed at the crater in shock, noticing that both Wyrm and the Kaot mana signatures were gone. She slowly turned to the two specs at the top of the building. They were moving to the back of the building. With a last look at the crater, she zipped towards the building. It took her only a few moments to reach it, and she entered through the hole from which the blast had come. The room was free of dust and debris, and as she flew through it towards the retreating undead, she examined them quickly.

One was a heavy-set, chunky zombie with tufts of dark hair growing from its back, while the other was a skeleton unlike any she had seen before. The skeleton's upper body, head, and left arm were tiny compared to its massive legs, but most impressive was its right arm. It was huge, dragging across the ground with a blackened hand.

"They are coming faster," a weary voice came from the zombie as it moved to the edge of the building.

"Do you think Ourlin will get help?" the other one asked as they reached the edge of a gaping hole in the side of the building.

"What? From those pussstained pukesacks in Zombra?" the zombie grunted. "Never. They can barely cope with the crazies and the lethargic ones."

"Then why isn't he back yet?" the other asked, slightly emotionless.

The zombie struck the side of the building and hissed. "I don't know, Pelsin! But if he doesn't return soon, we won't be able to keep the wyrms away. We are almost out of wyrm orbs."

"Girigen?" Pelsin said, turning his burning green eye-sockets to the zombie.

"What?" the zombie snapped,

"That was the last one."

"The last? Rotting Kaots, let's go down and see if the one you just blew up left its orb."

Girigen jumped forward, appearing unfazed by the fact they were twenty stories up. A moment later, Pelsin followed after him.

They will probably go back to their base, Tirella thought, flashing after them and staying close to the skeleton as it plummeted to the ground.

Pelsin landed with a loud slam, its thick legs barely even budging while its thick arm created a deep indent where it landed. The zombie stood a few steps away, waiting.

"What do we do if there is no wyrm-orb?" Pelsin asked.

Girigen trudged through the rubble-filled street, shaking his head. "There are only three of us left… if there is none, I say we leave and go to Skulltown."

"Leave? Solus brought us here with a reason. We are to keep those wyrms away from the large one," the skeleton said.

"Yes, leave," Girigen shouted as he turned to the skeleton. "I know you have no brain, but keep up! There are three of us left. Three! Without wyrm-orbs for you to use, we can't stop any more Wyrms, and there are so many kaots swarming in from the east. They will lure more Wyrms here, or if we are really unlucky, a red one..." the zombie's voice trailed off as he looked around, frightened.

"Let's go," he finally said softly. "If we find a wyrm-orb we can stay a little longer. Otherwise, we find Geldar and leave."

Pelsin didn't respond, and they walked on, out of the shattered ruins of the city and towards the new crater. Dust was still falling, and a quick look to the sky showed Tirella that it would be a while before it fully settled. Girigen rushed towards the edge of the crater.

"Wait here," he grumbled before jumping into the cavern. As his feet landed, they began sizzling softly, and the zombie grunted. "I'll never get used to that," he muttered as it looked around.

Most of the crater was empty, but scales and pieces of wyrm flesh were scattered around.

"Those fools from Zombra would love this," Girigin muttered. "They could gobble it all up, and- AH!"

He ran forward, and Tirella followed him, noting a part of the wyrm head jammed into the bottom of the crater.

"Come one, come one," Girigin said as he circled the head. The backside had a large gaping hole in the middle that showed nothing but fleshy white tatters and half molten goop.

"No," Girigin grunted as he looked at the hole. "Nothing left…"

Tirella watched as he rummaged about a bit before going back to the side of the crater and climbing out straight up as if it was nothing. When he reached the top, she saw black nails slide back into his fingers.

"Nothing?" Pelsin asked softly.

"No. Let's head back. It's time to leave," Girigin muttered, sounding less sure of himself.

Pelsin didn't reply, and the two ran back towards the city. Tirella noticed they seemed slightly afraid, looking around and stopping to listen on occasion. A dozen streets and piles of rubble later, they moved out of the chaotic ruins and into a slightly open space. A low, thick stone wall stood in the center, small craters dotting its edges and a single, black-stained gate on one side.

This must be it, Tirella thought as she abandoned the two and flew towards the wall.

Inside was a small town, with a round open area in front of the main entrance. A two-story building stood in the middle of the town. It was almost as high as the walls, with a massive pile of skulls stacked behind it. A rough assortment of rickety buildings stood around the main building. Unlike that one, these weren't made of a single piece but built from stacked debris mixed with fragments of bone. Two smooth and partially buried stone buildings stood opposite each other at one side.

Those are Solus' buildings, Tirella knew as she shot towards them. It was time she got a body!

She slowed as she reached the front of one of the buildings. It was blocked by a thick stone cover and reinforced by smaller boulders pushed against it.

That's going to be trouble if I need to get out, she thought as she floated through the stone and into a dark room. Three toppled stone tablets lay shattered in the middle of the room, covered with patterns. Bits of bone, flesh, and body parts lay scattered through the room. Holes and slash marks covered the walls and ceiling.

They just put them in here and blocked the entrance, Tirella thought as she floated towards the nearest body.

It had been a skeleton, but its head was torn off.

There has to be at least one still whole here. The one who did all this, she thought as she moved to the next: a zombie with a missing arm but otherwise seeming undamaged.

Let's see how many are whole first, she thought as she looked in distaste at the body.

A few minutes later, she hung in the center of the room, looking around in disbelief. Only two of the bodies were largely undamaged, and each looked strong. From what she could see, most of the remains belonged to zombies, but not all.

Twice evolved… It's almost as if they evolved after being locked in here. If they wake up this time, they will easily break out, Tirella thought as she scanned the two bodies.

There wasn't really a choice. Both were male, which annoyed her, and both fleshies. The only real reason to pick the one she floated towards now was because she thought it was more powerful. When she reached the back of the room, she hovered above a small but massive fleshy with bone horns growing from the sides of its head. Curved and sharp, they looked lethal.

Bull, she thought with a grunt as she recalled the images she had attained from Viridi when she first looked at it. She'd hoped she didn't have to pick it, but there was no other choice now. She floated down, almost hoping she would fail.

Instead, a blow to the head knocked her out.

--

"Seriously? All gone?" a high-pitched voice screeched.

Girigin covered his ears and growled as he looked at the slightly smaller, four-armed skeleton opposite him.

"Yes, Geldar! Now stop screaming, you know I-"

"I don't care," the skeleton screamed, interrupting the zombie.

The two arms that curved around from the back of his shoulders rose, sharp-tipped bone blades pointing at Girigin's face.

"No more wyrm-orbs means that Blasty over here can't end those Wyrms!" Geldar shouted as he took a threatening step forward. "I told you we should have absorbed them and left!"

A grinding noise came from Girigin's mouth, then he nodded.

"Now what?" Pelsin asked as he moved closer to the other two, dragging his massive canon-arm behind him.

"I'm leaving," Geldar screamed, his voice rising even higher.

Girigin took a step back as a drop of green ichor dripped from his nose.

"We should leave together," Pelsin said, slow and uncertain as his green eye sockets turned from Girigin to Geldar and back.

"No. You two are weak and slow," Geldar said, his voice slightly softer this time, and he backed up. "Go find that Skulltown you keep talking about. I'm heading to the forest."

"You are insane," Girigin hissed, his mouth dropping open in shock. "You know what those two from Zombra said!"

"What? That they don't like fleshies? Well, guess what? I. Don't. Care," Geldar said, screaming the last part so loud that small cracks appeared in the surrounding stone.

Girigin stumbled a few steps back, a stream of green puss dripping from his nose.

"Perhaps, before I leave, I should just end you and-" Geldar began when a soft hum came, and he stopped talking.

Pelsin had taken a step back. His canon arm was pointed squarely at Geldar, a bright green glow coming from the barrel.

Geldar slowly backed up further towards the open gate. "You are a fool, Pelsin. You should come with me, not that weak zombie! You know he will turn lethargic eventually! They all did."

"So did a few of the skeletons," Pelsin said.

"Only the weak ones," Geldar screamed, looking with satisfaction at Girigin as he fell on his knees.

"Leave," Pelsin said.

The canon opening started glowing brightly as green symbols pulsated along its length. A heavy, threatening atmosphere began emanating from Pelsin.

Geldar turned around and ran without another word, but when he reached the gate, his screaming voice pierced through the silent city.

"You two won't make it! Weak, pathetic beings!"

Then the skeleton was gone, and Pelsin lowered his canon, turning to Giridin.

"Are you okay?"

Giridin slowly straightened up again, lowering his hands from his ears, showing more green puss leaking from them. He took a look at his wet hands then wiped them on the side of his legs.

"I'll be fine in a little bit," he said. "It's almost healed already."

"We need to find you a mana-orb," Pelsin said. "You've been forced to heal too much lately."

Giridin mock-grinned and seemed ready to reply when a soft thudding came from behind them. Giridin slowly turned around, staring at one of the stone buildings some distance away.

"Are my ears still mush, or am I hearing something from-"

A much louder slam came from the barricaded stone entrance, and the boulders and stone slab shook.

"No. I hear it too," Pelsin said.

Giridin nodded and moved forward a few steps.

"There is no screaming this time… what's going on?"

The stone barricade shook again as another hit came from the other side.

"We should leave," Pelsin said as he slowly raised his canon-arm towards the door.

"Can you two get me out of here before you leave?" a soft voice projected asked from beside them.

Giridin jumped ten feet back, looking around with wide-open eyes while long black nails came from his fingers. Ahead of him, Pelsin's cannon arm began glowing again. His gaze remained fixed on the door.

"Someone is awake in the pattern building," he said.

Giridin focused on the entrance from which the banging had come.

"I can get out if I continue breaking down this barrier, but it would speed things up if you let me out?" the voice said.

Giridin swallowed audibly and took two steps forward.

"Who are you? How did you get in there?"

"I'm Tirella, a friend of Solus. Now, are you going to let me out, or should I just do it myself?" A loud bang came as the barricade shuddered, small bits falling.

Giridin shared a look with Pelsin, then moved closer to the entrance.

"How did a friend of Solus get in there?" he asked before looking at Pelsin with a doubtful frown.

"It's a skill I have. I can inhibit those lethargic ones. Now, I'm in somewhat of a hurry, so… last chance."

Pelsin's cannon glowed brightly, and he gave Giridin a quick nod.

"Alright, alright!" Giridin said. "I'll let you out."

Anxiously he began removing the debris, easily moving pieces the size of his chest and tossing them to the side. When he removed the last one, he gazed at the cracked and damaged stone door, hesitating before pulling it back. As he stepped away, a short figure moved out of the opening. The shoulders were heavily muscled and scraped the sides of the entrance, and two massive horns stuck up from its head, curved slightly forward. The undead moved away, taking one look at Pelsin and his canon but seemed unimpressed.

"Thanks," came a surprisingly soft, feminine voice. "Better put those blocks back, and some more. There is another one in there who might wake up later."

As the undead moved away, Giridin quickly nodded and closed the door. Then he grabbed the nearest debris and replaced it.

"Strange day, a very strange day," he muttered.