Escalation

by Matthew Peed

  Azra jumped in front of its mouth just as it released the flame, her shield leading. A shimmer covered the surface, then the darkness was pulled out of the flames as if the shield were devouring whatever was in it. Azra had to handle the flames herself, though. As the flames let up, I noticed that she had some type of metal coating her other than her armor. We reached the others and braced ourselves for the coming combat.

  “Ah, little chew toy, I wondered where you ran off to,” the leader said as it turned toward me.

  “Just had to handle some of your friends over there,” I retorted as I pointed toward the pile of dead wolves that Z2 and I had made. A moment later the pile exploded like the other wolves had been doing.

  The wolf snorted in contempt. “Those mutts are nothing to me.”

  I sensed the leader start to channel mana as it came off in waves of heat. Blades made of flame came out all over its body. They were flames, but they seemed to have a solid form. As the leaders shook its body, a nearby tree was cut with the flame blade and was sliced like butter.

  “Filthy mutt, just die!” Natsuko shouted and shot its head again. This time the bullet melted before it could even reach it.

  Azra jumped between us and seemed to be able to channel the heat away from us at least a bit. The leader roared and looked at us as if trying to decide who to eat first. I sent several blades of light at it, but the mana it was putting off caused them to dissipate before they reached it.

  It set its eyes on Azra and said, “You look tasty, you first!”

  Rushing forward, it opened its mouth wider than I thought possible for a creature to do. Azra channeled her mana, and her shield grew nearly a meter larger as spikes shot into the ground and the top of the wolf’s mouth. The wolf roared but didn’t seem too bothered by it.

  “Fuck this!” Natsuko said and placed her hand on her weapon. It started to glow as it changed shape a bit. The barrel got longer, and the end seemed to enlarge. The body also got slightly larger. A bullet formed in her hand that was quite a bit larger than the one she was using in her rifle before. She pulled the bolt and loaded the bullet. “Form two: antitank mode.”

  “That’s quite a bit of mana coming from that weapon, meat,” the wolf said as it spun around and knocked Azra away with its body. One of the blades of flame sliced into her leg, but she seemed alright. The wolf leader started to rush toward her, but Natsuko pulled her trigger first.

  The heat managed to alter the path of the bullet, but it still impacted in the wolf’s upper shoulder. Flesh and blood went flying, and the wolf roared loudly enough to shake the nearby forest. The trees in the path of the roar actually ignited. The damage from Natsuko left the wolf’s front limb barely hanging by a few pieces of muscle and part of the bone.

  “Hit it again!” I shouted at her.

  The wolf turned a glare that could have come straight from Hell toward Natsuko. I tried to think of a way to stop the wolf from moving, but nothing I thought of would have been effective against it. It started to channel hell flame and with a burst sent it toward Natsuko.

  Natsuo actually managed to protect her. A dozen plates of some type of metal shot forward and collided with the flame at an angle, causing it to be redirected into the forest. I was more amazed that the plates didn’t melt from the heat. I could sense some type of energy that coated them and helped to control the energy from the flame.

  With her ice wings, Z2 suddenly flew from the sky and buried her sword to the hilt in the center of the wolf’s back. She struck the leader with enough force that the impact broke the ground beneath them and collapsed a few centimeters. I hadn’t even noticed when she took off; her speed was reaching another level. Steam blasted from where the sword was embedded in the wolf’s back.

  With another roar, the wolf collapsed onto the ground and breathed heavily. It sounded like Z2 had managed to puncture one of its lungs. As it lay there, it struggled to get back up, but it seemed all the strength had left it.

  Steam started to pour out of it, as if all the energy inside of it was trying to escape. “Well . . . done . . . little girl,” the wolf said in pained breaths.

  Natsuko, breathing hard as well, looked at it. We didn’t need to, but it helped us regain mana we had used. “You as well, mutt.”

  “Finish me off. I would rather die in battle than by the curse of this fucking collar!” the wolf growled, its anger causing the air to tremble a bit.

  I approached it, and as I got closer, the collar indeed started to cause green sparks. Most likely the wolf had been given the order to attack us or die trying. I had studied the collars that Father used to capture those two necromancers. I didn’t quite understand them enough to make them, but I was able to mess with them, so maybe I would be able to at least get it off.

  I concentrated as I set my hand on the gem in the center. I studied the spellwork as my mind traveled the inner workings of the collar. This was complicated; it was nearly on the level of Father’s but was much cruder than his. It took everything I had learned from building my drones and all I had studied, but I was able to affect it a bit. The best I would be able to do would be to change the “owner” of the collar.

  I thought about it, then set the collar so that Natsuko would be the owner, as it seemed like they got along. I made sure to erase all the commands that had been given from the previous master and add a simple do-not-attack-us command.

  “How do you feel now?” I asked after I pulled myself back from the inner workings.

  “Better! My mind is so clear!” The wolf leader howled into the air. “I’m free!”

  “Not so much free . . . more like under a new owner.”

  “Oh! Who is my new owner, is it you, chew toy?”

  “No, I have enough to deal with. I left you to Natsuko,” I said as I rubbed my neck.

  “HUH?!” Natsuko shouted in surprise.

  “Pet,” Natsuo said as he looked the wolf over.

  “Ok, Natsuo,” Natsuko said, entirely dropping the issue.

  “What’s your name, anyway?” I asked the wolf. It had shrunk down nearly two meters in the time we had talked, and I noticed that its wounds had also healed considerably as well.

  “Name? I’m the Great Cadum, ruler of the West Forest!” he howled, his name making it clear the wolf was a he. He stood up and shook his mane, then walked over to Natsuko. Even shrunken down the wolf was still almost a meter or two taller. He sniffed her once or twice. “Hmm, you smell weird but not bad. Those necromancers smelled horrible.”

  “Sit!” Natsuko said with steel in her voice. Cadum sat with a small boom. “It’s rude to sniff people without permission!” she said as she put her finger in Cadum’s face.

  “Little girl!” Cadum said with a struggle, then seemed to give up. “I . . . understand.”

  “Very good,” Natsuko said and started to pet him.

  “What are you doing to my glorious self?!” Cadum demanded.

  “Huh? Never been petted before?” Natsuko asked as she stopped.

  “WHO SAID YOU COULD STOP?!” Cadum howled loudly, causing the heat in the air to rise a bit.

  Natsuko looked at him, shocked for a moment, then burst out laughing. It was the first time I had really heard her laugh so loudly. She went back to petting him as we took stock of the damage the battle had caused. Thankfully, it was light, but I would have to be better prepared for the next time. I should have known better than to think that the enemy would only attack from the front.

  We set the automata back to charging. Most had lost a bit of power while maintaining the barriers on their shields. It would only take an hour or so for them to be fully charged. The biggest issue was the injury that Azra suffered. Natsuo moved over to her and pressed his hand against her leg. It looked like he was able to help flesh and blood ones as well. That was good news in case we ever had to bring mortals into our party for some reason.

  When dawn came, we set off. I made sure to keep a better vigilance than before with several smaller drones circ
ling the convoy at all times. I also tinkered with some parts as I tried to make a land-based drone that resembled a spider. They had excellent 3D movement, which was helpful when in a forest. I added some explosive powder in the very center. That way if something went to crush them, they would get a nasty surprise.

  I toyed with several different types of weapons to equip the spiders with but went with venom, after all. Only, I gave them launchable needles from their fangs, so, if they were able to get a good shot, they wouldn’t be constricted by having to get close to the target. They were tiny at roughly thirty or so centimeters, and I had added active camouflage to them. They would be quite deadly to the unaware.

  I wanted to test their speed, so I activated one and tossed it on a nearby tree that we had just passed. It sprang to life, and the needlelike legs dug in to find purchase. I set it to follow us, and it kept up easily. The thought of the chaos these little things would cause in the future made me grin.

  We made good time through the forest with Cadum as our guide. He knew all the game trails that moved in the direction we needed to head. Natsuko was using him as a mount now, which he took to surprisingly well. I figured as he was a boss-class monster, he would take offense to being ridden by basically two children. Also, I had several dozen of my spider drones now, which were more useful than my basic drones, while only costing a bit more mana.

  Even with Cadum, it took us a few days to reach the gathering of monsters. The mana in the area felt weird as we approached, as if it were tainted by something. The noise was on another level even a few kilometers out. Roars, howls, and all manner of vocals sounded out from in front of the convoy. We had to move carefully to avoid several patrols, but Cadum was able to get us past the first few. I wasn’t sure if the monsters’ survival instincts were still working or if it was a scent thing, but nothing approached within a few hundred meters of him.

  I called for a stop when we were close enough for my drones and me to get a better look. I nodded to Azra, then she began to channel her mana. A moment later a mound of dirt and stone formed into an artificial cave and surrounded the group.

  “Alright, I’ll send out the spiders first, then follow them to get a closer look.”

  “There are all manner of creatures over there, so I would watch my back if I were you,” Cadum said as he lay down.

  “I got it.”

  I released my spiders, then followed after they had gone a few hundred meters out. They would be a good safety net for me. I jumped into the trees as I made my way toward the horde, glad that I didn’t have to breathe and that I basically didn’t have an odor on my body. I quickly made my way over, making sure to stay absolutely quiet.

  Upon reaching the edge of a clearing, I stabilized myself near the top of a tree branch. I was only a few months old by mortal standards, but I had never even conceived of such a large number before I saw the horde in front of me. Monsters of all kinds ate, fought, slept, mated, and did other activities down in the clearing.

  I ordered my drones to observe as much of the horde as they could, as I needed to send a report to Father later that night if possible. I was in the middle of checking out an area that seemed to contain actual tents when a group of monkey-like monsters landed in the tree below me. I panicked at first, thinking they had found me, but they just rested against the tree in the branches below.

  I waited for nearly two hours before they finally moved away. If they had all taken a nap at once, I might have made a break for it, but they seemed to take naps in shifts. Considering the number of monsters that were killing other monsters in just the two hours I sat there, it made sense to watch out for something that wanted to turn them into a snack.

  I made my way to the tents, or as close as I could get to them. I was worried that they might have booby-trapped the area, so I just let one of my hand-sized spiders, which I’d made a few of, go in for me. A ratlike monster somehow noticed the spider. As it took a dive at it, the spider dodged in time, and the rat tumbled into the threshold of the camp. Then there was a bolt of green energy, and the rat turned into a pile of ash.

  A man stepped out of a nearby tent. He seemed to be grumbling as he did so. I saw him start to chant, and I took the chance to rush the spider forward to the spot the rat was killed at. The smoke from the body concealed the tiny spider, and it made it into the camp before the spell was complete. A rune appeared where the dead rat was. The man cracked his neck, then went back into his tent.

  I had the spider head for the nicest tent, as I figured that was where the boss would be. It crawled up the walls up to the roof. Once there it tore a small hole through. I held my breath, worried there might be another trap, but nothing happened. It crawled its way inside as I looked around through its eyes.

  There were three people in the tent. An old man, a woman, and another man who seemed to be in his late twenties. I would have thought the old man to be the leader, but he was sitting to the side with the younger man behind the massive desk in the tent. The woman seemed to be more of a slave than a collaborator, as she had a slave tattoo and was barely dressed.

  “Old Kuul, any news from the west? I’m tired of waiting,” the young man said as he swirled a glass of wine.

  “They still want more time to make the horde larger. It seems a lord-class monster is in the mountains, which is giving them trouble,” the old man said with a shrug. “What we should be . . . concerned about is that structure that formed overnight a few days ago. Every monster we’ve sent has failed to return, and we even lost the lord-class monster hell wolf that we sent.”

  “The tower does bother me. I feel like it’s a bad omen and am torn over whether we should send the horde there first. Better to cover our back than get stabbed by an unknown assailant,” the young man voiced.

  “I agree. Maybe it’s just an illusion to buy the valley time, but it’s better safe than sorry. Besides, even if they buy time, they most likely won’t flee. They have no idea we’re behind it.”

  “M-ma-aster—” The slave tried to speak, but the young man slapped her across the face.

  “This is no place for a slave to speak! I’m only enjoying the view before we use you, so don’t think you’re going to escape your fate,” the young man said with a twisted grin on his face.

  The woman cowered away from the man, then curled into a ball next to the tent wall. While I felt sorry for her, there was little we could do to help, and I was sure that another would just take her place shortly after. I could only shake my head. The man grinned in sick pleasure at the sight of the woman before he turned back to the old man.

  “You grabbed a good one this time. It’s too bad we can’t taste them.”

  “It is a pity, but you learn to live with it. The High One likes his virgins,” Kuul said with a sad smile.

  “Speaking of the High One, is it really necessary for us not to use regular mages? I mean, so many things would be easier for us in the long run . . .”

  “I’m not sure of the exact details, but I believe it has something to do with a war in Celestia.”

  “Celestia . . . I hope I gather enough power to ascend there one day.”

  “Just another reason why we are fighting this war. The bitch Lelune needs to be brought down a few pegs.”

  The young man was about to say something in reply when an orb on a nearby table pulsed with a green light. The pulsing accelerated until a wave of energy spread from the orb. Nothing seemed to be affected until I noticed that everything in the room started to glow with trace amounts of unholy mana. The wave reached the drone, then it seemed like the mana circuits I used started to go haywire. I frowned but decided it was better to be safe than sorry and armed the self-destruct. A moment later my vision from the drone cut off, and I saw a relatively good-size explosion from the center tent.

  The two men rushed out, coughing from the smoke, then glared at the surroundings. I was worried that they might have a larger version of the orb, so I beat a hasty retreat. I had gained some useful inform
ation, though. If those necromancers really sent the horde to the tower, that would save Father quite a bit of time. I sent the order for all my drones to return to the camp and worked my way back. I had to avoid quite a few monsters because the necromancers had raised the alarm in the horde. I wasn’t too worried about the others but felt it better to get back quickly just to be safe.

  An hour later I finally made it back. There were quite a few more of the monkey monsters than the group that had taken a nap under me earlier. The trees had been crowded with them, making my trip much more difficult than it had been on the way in. I tapped my foot in the password we had decided on last time we had erected the artificial cave, and Azra let me in.

  When everyone had gathered around me, I began, “Well, as Cadum said, there are several thousand. The good news is that the necromancers might be heading for the tower in the village. They want to remove the potential threat to their rear.” I paused for a moment as the sound of heavy footfalls vibrated through the walls. When they passed, I continued, “I have the information Father wanted, so we need to head back as quickly as possible. When we get farther from the horde, I will send it to him via the crystal.”

  “Is there nothing more we can do while we’re here?” Azra asked me.

  “Not without causing the horde to crush us with overwhelming numbers,” I replied with a shrug.

  “I just wish we could leave a nasty surprise,” she said.

  I considered the options open to us but couldn’t think of anything that would do any real damage and let us be able to escape without any trouble. I knew that risk might be necessary, but the lives of the group were more important. I was seated with my back against the wall when a smell drifted over to me. In the corner of the artificial cave was a pile of . . . something. I recognized the smell of sulfur. The scent seemed to trigger a memory that I had inherited from Father. I smiled and got to work.