Chapter 300: A Long Time Coming (1/2)
As he flew down the tunnel, the air began to get warmer and it smelled of ozone. At the same time, he began to feel a strange sense of disorientation, almost like his vision was wavering. The further he traveled, the worse it seemed to get. Just to be on the safe side, he used a quick burst of Life Magic to ensure that he hadn't been poisoned or drugged.
While his mana did manage to cure a minor headache, which he hadn't noticed until then, it did nothing to correct the abnormalities in his surroundings.
[The air doesn't appear to be causing this. Hell, it's almost like the world itself is warping…]
With a sense of foreboding, Mike channeled some mana in his Space Magic and expanded his awareness. Instantly, he understood the cause. It appeared that the very fabric of existence was bending and twisting. He could even detect a few fraying tears, which were too small to be visible, but were quickly growing in size.
”Shit.” He muttered.
It was clear that he'd stumbled on a potential world-ending threat…again.
After about a kilometer, the tunnel opened up into a vast chamber. It was unnaturally smooth and spherical in shape, extending several hundred meters across, and was centered around the long crystal spike, which Mike realized must pass all the way through the island. Built at the exact epicenter of the room was a platform that circled the spike. There, he got his first look at the Asani, as well as the creature they were fighting.
Winged humanoids that would have resembled angelic beings, if not for their distinctly avian head and arms, were frantically trying to protect themselves from a monster straight out of nightmare, which his senses told him was the cause of this disturbance.
It was a misshapen and strangely transparent mass of a rubbery material that reminded Mike of gelatin...or at least would have if said gelatin had been left out for far too long, exposed to some kind of mutating radiation, and evolved into a cosmic horror bent on devouring the world. As if to prove that point, its body began to change, forming a seemingly random collection of fanged maws, writhing tendrils, and glassy, staring eyes all over.
While horrific to look upon, the beast was far from the worst thing he'd seen since reincarnating. Yet, for some reason, merely glancing in its direction was enough to make him feel queasy. Something about it was so wrong, so immiscible to this world, that its very presence seemed to distort his perception of reality.
Hoping to get a better idea of what he was dealing with, Mike tried to Appraise it.
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[That's different…] He thought initially, before remembering that he'd seen the System behave this way on one other occasion. Specifically, in his own class description, when listing the name of the Ancient One who'd sent him to this world.
[Whatever this means, I doubt it's good.]
The Asani, for their part, appeared to be engaged in a series of hit and run attacks. The fast-moving warriors would swoop in low, stab at the squishy mass a few times, and then escape before the grasping tentacles could reach them. They didn't appear to be having much effect, and Mike was a bit confused as to what their strategy might be.
Suddenly, one of the bird people on the platform issued a shrill cry. The flying Asani began putting as much distance as possible between them and the creature. Almost simultaneously, a cylindrical device on the platform around the crystal started to glow with an angry, red light. After a few seconds of charging, a beam of intense crimson energy exploded forth from the weapon in a shriek of tortured air and slammed into the strange creature. It silently recoiled from the blow, as some of its component mass began to disintegrate.
For a brief moment, Mike thought the Asani had won. Every second the weapon remained operational, more of the creature was dissolved, but that changed when it counter attacked.
It spawned a particularly large tentacle, which it whipped at the platform with blinding speed. Rather than the terrific impact he'd expected though, the limb seemed to simply pass through the weapon and a few of its surrounding defenders, leaving nothing but empty space in its wake.
As Mike watched the severed arm of one of the Asani warriors fall towards the distant floor, he realized that this is what must have happened to the other bodies above ground.
[So, it can dissolve things on contact…or perhaps erase them from existence is a better explanation.] He thought while examining the resulting spatial disturbances caused by the creature's act of destruction. [However, based on the way it seems to still be affected by the Asani's more mundane attacks, it isn't constantly active. In which case…]
With a few plans in mind, he began chanting.
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Sahel dodged to his right at the last second, but couldn't get fully away from the Invader's attack. A searing bolt of pain shot through his body as his left wing was caught in the blow.
”Grrrrgh.” He grunted, slamming into the plating of the Command Platform. He felt the Sky Steel structure creak ominously, and a distant part of his mind realized that the lower supports must have been hit.
Struggling to his taloned feet, he briefly glanced back at his wing and immediately regretted it. The appendage had been sheared off a little after the middle joint. Thankfully, it had apparently been cauterized in the process, so he needn't fear bleeding to death, but it would require several weeks' worth of visits to the Medical Corps to regenerate. Of course, that was assuming he survived the next few minutes.
The Invader chose that moment to become agitated, swiftly recovering its lost mass in a flurry of growth and change which had the other warriors scattering to avoid being caught by one of its flailing limbs.
”Sahel!” Tuli called as she landed nearby. ”Are you alright?”
With an effort, he managed to steady himself and answer in a manner that would not alarm her. ”I'll live. Where are the other weapons platforms? We cannot hope to hold the Invader with strength of arms alone.”
”Most were damaged in the crash, and the few that weren't have to be recalibrated, lest they self-destruct when activated. The engineers are working, but it will be several minutes, at least, before they can get here.”
Sahel stared up at the Invader, who seemed to have overcome its momentary outburst, and was now menacingly drifting closer to the Command Platform, no doubt intending on destroying the flight matrix which its fellows had damaged. ”We do not have that long.”