Chapter 227: Breaking and Entering (1/2)
”So you didn't notice any weakness? What about a central core, or some kind of nucleus?” Mike asked conversationally while observing the creature in question. ”Did it seem like it was vulnerable to any specific kind of attack?”
”I already told you everything I know! Now, would you help me already!” Captain Henry yelled back as he fended off a smaller flesh blob. It had succeeded in pulling the man's shield free of his arm, and was now attempting to impale him on one of its spiky forelimbs.
”Come on. There has to be something.” Mike commented absentmindedly as he raised an arm and casually blasted the monster with a bar of intense fire, incinerating much of its body and leaving a few charred, twitching limbs behind. He glanced at them before muttering, ”Maybe I should just blast it with as much firepower as I can muster and hope for the best.”
”Haa...” Henry sighed in relief, ”Couldn't you have done that a bit sooner?”
”I was thinking.”
The captain looked as if he was about to shout a reply, but stopped himself and finally sagged. ”Whatever. I suppose it worked out. Anyway, Sir Erasmus, I don't have any information that you might find useful.”
Mike took a moment to scan the battlements and locate his party members. They had split up and were in the process of dealing with the other flesh blobs. Now that the main monster was no longer producing them, their number was quickly dwindling.
[They seem to be doing alright, so it should be safe to leave them here for now...]
He glanced back at Henry with a frown, ”But you watched Emmanuel while he was fighting it, right? Did you notice anything out of place?”
”You mean the part where the Marshal threw a bunch of high level magic at it, literally tearing it into pieces multiple times, only to have it regenerate repeatedly? Yes, I did see that.” He replied sarcastically before leaning against the parapets looking exhausted. ”We all thought he was making progress until it started eating the trees...”
”Wait, explain that bit.”
”Well, it seems to be able to absorb other living things-”
Mike cut him off, ”No, I already heard about that. What do you mean he was making progress?”
”Oh. Uh...I think it was when he used some kind of spell that caused sections of the monster to disappear. It regenerated from the injuries, but it had gotten smaller afterwords.”
His mind started racing as he considered the possibilities. He'd been hesitating to attack the creature, because he was worried about burning through his mana in a few big attacks, only to have the monster come out the other side unscathed. However, if he could just destroy enough tissue...
”I suppose there was one other thing. Not sure if it will help you though.” Henry spoke up while he was concentrating.
”Oh?”
”When it was regenerating after the Marshal's spell, I could have sworn I saw...something buried deep in the creature's flesh.” The captain gave an involuntary shudder at the memory.
”What did you see?”
”I'm not sure. I only saw it for a few seconds before the flesh closed over top of it, but it looked like the upper body of a person was trapped inside of it. At first, I just figured that it was some unfortunate bastard that the creature had grabbed, but it seemed strange that he hadn't been fully absorbed yet. Maybe he's related to the monster somehow?”
Mike stared hard at the captain, remembering Emmanuel's evaluation of the man prior to their ill-fated diplomatic mission. Supposedly, Henry was lazy and a bit cowardly but had excellent intuition, which had served him well during his time in the watch. He had a knack for finding his way to the heart of whatever problem he came across. It was part of the reason he'd been promoted to his current rank, despite his young age.
[Could that human figure be its core? Maybe that's what Sera was talking about.]
His thoughts were interrupted by a furious roar of pain coming from the two creatures doing battle on the plains before the walls. The roar was accompanied by a panicked mental message from his dragon ally.
Without taking the time to think it through, Mike leapt into action, blasting himself towards the combat with a jet of concentrated air. So intense was the movement that several nearby soldiers were thrown to the ground by the wind his passage created. He began gathering his mana while surveying the situation.
Red's left hind leg had been snared by the creature, and he'd been forced to the ground as a result. Now he was furiously attempting to shred his way free as the much larger monster started to engulf him. Tentacles of meat were wrapping about him in a bone crushing embrace as he was dragged towards the creature's center.
A spike of adrenaline surged through Mike as he realized that he only had seconds to act before his companion was devoured by the monster. He felt his mind grow cold as a familiar calmness fell on him, allowing him to perceive his surroundings with clarity. A small part of him realized that he'd unconsciously pushed a large amount of mana into enhancing his Willpower, but the rest was concerned with making the most of his time.
[Judging from the ineffectiveness of Red's breath, the creature has either learned to endure the flames or somehow gained a resistance skill since the start of the battle. As such, fire will be difficult to use against it. Based on its body structure, it likely has a resistance to blunt force trauma, and its unclear how it would respond to lightning or freezing. Both methods also have the negative aspect of potentially damaging Red in the process. Therefore, cutting would be the most expedient method...]
This entire line of thought had taken less than a second, and before he'd even traveled halfway to the rolling combatants, he was finished with a hurried chant.
”By aural heights doth thy loose. Let thine roar cleave the heavens. [Howling Wind Blade!]” He called, naming the spell he'd invented on the spot by combining elements of other spells he'd used in the past.
With a mournful howl, shimmering lines of compressed air, buzzing with barely contained energy, roared forth and slammed into the fleshy mound surrounding the dragon. They cleaved through the tissue with ease, cutting the monster into chunks of blood-soaked meat, and freeing Red from its grasp.
The dragon awkwardly hopped away, broken and shredded wings flapping weakly in the process. In his state of enhanced concentration, Mike took note of the numerous wounds that now covered Red's body. Wherever the creature had touched him, it had torn away scales, skin, and even muscle, leaving patches of bleeding flesh that almost looked like burns.
Regret filled Mike's heart. He saw now that letting the overconfident dragon tackle this thing alone was folly. It was far more dangerous than he'd originally given it credit for. He felt even worse when he came to the logical conclusion that he didn't have the mana to spare in healing Red, and that he would have to employ his wounded companion for an additional task.
As the creature began the process of putting itself back together, Mike channeled his mana into the ground below it. Dozens of earthen spikes erupted into the air, spearing the chunks of flesh and holding them in place while he moved towards Red.
He pulled a squawking Audra from his pocket and tossed her over to the larger dragon with a quick mental message. [Take her and get clear of this thing.]