192 Darkbeast Boss (1/2)

It was a raw, gruesome smell. The smell of butchered innards freshly laid bare. It smelled like raw meat with a strong hint of bloody iron that permeated through the nostrils in thoroughly nauseating fashion.

”Thank the gods we've no Darkbeasts to face under this stench,” said Faye as she crinkled her nose. ”I am precisely this close to retching.”

”You mean, the Darkbeasts he's facing?” noted Ava as she pointed to Li.

”Goodness, you know what I mean,” replied Faye, and the two sisters exchanged light smiles.

”We've never made it this far,” said Celeste in almost a whisper. ”I'm nervous.”

”The center of this swamp is but a few minutes away,” said Launcelot. ”And already, the pressure is unimaginable. I feel I am wading in the jaws of some monstrous, unfathomable beast, and at any moment, it may think to grind me under its teeth.”

”That isn't helping with Celeste's nervousness,” said Ava to Launcelot.

”I agree the feeling of this place is rather unpleasant, but nothing that dramatic,” said Li. ”But we shall see when we get to the heart. I somewhat look forwards to what these Darkbeasts can muster up as a final defense.”

”He said he looks forwardto moving ahead?” said Faye. She paused, blinking. ”Ah right, I did tell myself to not be surprised.”

”You know, seeing that confidence, I myself feel far less fearful,” said Ava.

”It is truly a relief to be standing behind the back of one strong,” said Launcelot. ”I had been a living shield for so many for so long that I had come to nearly forget that feeling.”

”And it's good that you're humble enough to appreciate that feeling,” said Li. ”But come, the end is near for this journey, and with it, there will be answers to your crusade to aid heroes.”

=======================

The heart of the Chattering Forests appeared abruptly in front of the group. The trees with overgrown roots suddenly stopped, leading to a wide clearing that looked like a lake, except the liquid was not the reflective, sun-kissed blues of waters in Riviera, but thick, cloying black liquid that had the consistency and color of tar.

At the edge of the swamp where there was still some solid ground underfoot, Li and the adventurers watched the lake, their eyes gliding over its bubbling surface. A black smoke plumed outward from the popping bubbles, flying in the air and gathering into a dome of darkness overhead that prevented any light from penetrating through despite it being no more than midafternoon.

Launcelot had naturally high resistances as a warrior sub classing as a shielder, and the heroes seemed to be innately more resistant to Dark beast related effects than the normal humans of this world.

”No enemies,” remarked Launcelot quietly. He instinctively raised his shield, for he knew his words were too good to be true.

There was a feeling that settled in this lake of primordial darkness that did not speak at all of gentleness. Instead, a deep, concentrated sense of foreboding as thick as the black liquid of the lake permeated the air, making the heroines also put their hands to their sides in preparation to use their powers.

”Dark beast movement into this area stopped a few minutes before we arrived,” said Li. ”If I heard correctly, they swam under the surface of this…lake, if it can even be called that. It is more like an oversized pool of filth.”

”Then, are they waiting for us?” said Launcelot. His eyes cast downwards to the black liquid that was but a mere step ahead. ”For us to submerge?”

”I'd truly rather not,” said Faye, shuddering.

”No,” said Li as he began to hear movement from underneath the tar-like water. He thrust a hand out to his side, motioning the humans to stand behind him. ”They were simply waiting for us to arrive. Gathering their strength, or, hm-,”

The surface of the lake began to undulate, as if a great force had begun to swirl underneath, and then it began to bubble like mad, the rolling boil of black spheres far larger and more energetic than before.

A groaning sound rumbled through the lake, shuddering even through the unstable and marshy ground everyone stood on, the shockwave of that sound traveling up through their bones. It sounded like the groaning heard right before some colossal building fell – the great death rattle of things that are mighty and tall and meant to stand for ages.

”I see,” said Li with a nod.

”See what?” said Faye with a hint of panic, her eyes darting from side to side as she slowly floated backwards. ”We are not as gifted as you are, you know.”

”The Dark beasts did not come here to concentrate their numbers in one area,” said Li. ”No, they came here to become one. A single entity. A wise decision, I would say, considering I have already shown the ability to wipe out armies of their lesser forms with ease.”

The earth began to shake, and as it did so, the lake's boiling reached a peak, geysers of black bursting upwards.

Then, in a grand instant, the lake surface broke, and a colossal arm emerged.

It was comprised of the same organic darkness the Dark beasts were made of, but on closer inspection, Li realized that it was the amalgamation of every single Dark beast in the forest all bound together in the structure of a hand, all of their writhing forms glued together with the organic tar of the lake.