The morph’s 3D model appeared in the corner of my vision, covered in red blotches of his vulnerable areas. The biggest one of them was his stomach and his entire belly which wasn’t protected by his bumpy natural armor. I dealt him a furious blow which reached its target; then I stood up, shaking the convulsing gutted monster off me.
Around me, the place was sheer hell. The clouds of spray and seething water prevented me from making out Alice’s movements properly; all I could see was her silhouette flitting amid the attacking monsters. She seemed to be managing just fine, killing the webbed-footed bastards with her bare hands. Still in her human form, she ripped their jaws and broke their spines, dodging their attacks at a lightning speed.
Once again, her strength and agility made me wonder: if she was this good without any weapons, what would she be like if you equipped her properly? Gradually I began to realize that an advanced Incarnator was well worth a squad of professional soldiers, capable of surviving in situations where humans would die within the first minutes of engagement.
The dreadful fight ended just as abruptly as it had begun, leaving a dozen motionless bodies floating in the water.
Alice froze, looking warily around. Her hair was disheveled once again. She gasped, wet to the bone, her skin and clothes spotted with the monsters’ blood.
“Gone. All gone. Others far,” she said coarsely. “Azure. Take it.”
I touched the nearest body, its ripped belly gaping white in the dark. Only a hundred Azure, not much. Then again, this wasn’t an A-zone.
“We could take turns collecting Azure,” I suggested. “Half of it is yours.”
“No! No! We can’t!” she shouted, irritated. “Beast! Genes! Mutations! You weak! You slow! Not good! Take Azure! Quick!”
I didn’t object. That gave me another fifteen hundred Azure, bringing my counter up to 13834/16500. Very soon I’d have a second neurosphere which meant that I was getting close to my first Evolution allowing me to implant myself with Hydra’s genome. And then we’d see who was the weak and slow one here.
Alice seemed to be desperately looking for an exit. That wasn’t so easy, considering that it was already dark outside. The cargo terminal appeared utterly destroyed, its staircases and corridors blocked with collapsed debris, knobbly tree roots peeking out of its walls and ceiling.
Following Alice, I finally climbed up the ruins to a dry spot. This was an entry hall, and it was slightly lighter because of the star-shaped hole in the ceiling which let in the light of the Black Moon. Its giant disk veined with the web of pale-blue had risen directly overhead, blocking out half the sky.
Bathed in the Black Moon’s light, Alice struggled to force her gaze away from it.
“Go,” she growled, casting me a quick glance. “Quick! Hide. The Moon. The Beast.”
The next moment, she began to shapeshift.
Chapter 8
ALICE’S BLOODIED, dripping-wet jumpsuit split at the seams.
“Run! Ru… ghhh…. arrrgh!” she wheezed, her speech rapidly reducing to unintelligible grunting.
I’d seen her shapeshift before, but this was something totally different. The already familiar catlike creature continued to transform, choking on its own howling sobs.
Sharp black quills shot out of her spine, forming a giant crest. Her jaws began to lengthen until they resembled those of a crocodile. Sharp spikes covered her tail and limbs; a multitude of barbed bony growths erupted all over her entire body. The Allys’ silky off-white coat changed texture and color, replaced by a bluish-black hide that had the sheen of onyx and the glint of metal.
The monster snarled, baring two rows of dagger-sharp teeth. It rose to its feet and shook all over with a low reverberating growl. Then it turned and glared at me.
The narrow slits of its eyes glowed a bright blue very similar to that of Azure. Its glare exuded a feral fury and craving for a kill, palpable even at a distance.
What a sinister metamorphosis! I recoiled, my hand feeling for Fang. In her earlier animal guise, Alice had been admittedly charming and graceful, but this thing must have climbed right out of hell! Whatever had happened to the girl? What kind of monster did she transform into when touched by the rays of the Black Moon? Did she even realize what was happening?
“Incarnator, RUN!”
The monster went for me. It happened in an instant. I’d barely managed to detect its movement and even began to dodge it — but that was downright impossible. Its curved claws flashed before my eyes. Ripped out of my grasp, Fang clattered on the rocks nearby.
The incandescent ball of blinding pain exploded in my chest. The world span around me. I was flying through the air, falling. Then I was lying on the ground trying to scream or to catch a breath. But I couldn’t.
Your host is dead.
Integrity: 81%
“I’m initiating a new incarnation! Get up, quick!”
Activation No 15...
Repairing the damage to your host’s internal systems...
Success! Incarnation complete!
Current Azure count: 13334/16500
Alice had killed me. Still, I’d been lucky in that the monster’s murderous blow had sent me flying down to the foot of the collapsed staircase. That had given me the chance to reincarnate before the thing jumped after me.
“Flash of Light! Quick!”
I sent the Speck of Ra through the air toward the monster’s gnarling jaws which had appeared from the gap in the debris. Recently, I’d been spending Azure faster than I could replenish my stocks.
A popping sound. A flash of light. The hissing of fire!
The ear-rending screech of the burning monster assaulted my eardrums. I held no illusions: the most the Flash could have done was contain the thing a little. I’d already used it twice in Alice’s presence, and both times she’d recovered with a remarkable ease.
“Grey! Over here! Quick!”
Following the markers set up by Miko, I dashed into the maze of dark crumbling rooms. Judging by the rustling of rocks and the hoarse growling behind my back, the thing must have already jumped down. We’d already taken this route when we’d tried to get to the surface, so I knew that these rooms held nothing of interest, just moldy walls and heaps of junk overgrown with gray moss.
“Over here! Quick!”
I slid into a large rectangular space filled with rows of rust-eaten seats. It must have been a departure lounge in its day. Its ceiling had caved in in places. I vaulted over obstacles in my way, casting desperate glances around. Miko’s markers indicated the way clearly.
Okay, what was that now?
A black crack zigzagged through one of the walls. I immediately knew what Miko was driving at: a human being could in theory squeeze through it — but the monster couldn’t. Miko must have made the area’s map when we’d been passing here earlier.
Inside, there was no other way out. The weak light of the Speck of Ra revealed a small room. Part of the ceiling had collapsed in a big sheet leaning across the room and making it triangular in shape. The floor was littered with large chunks of reinforced plastic.
Straining every sinew, I moved one of them toward the crack in the wall, turning the gaping hole into a narrow triangular firing slit.
Not a moment too soon. The monster arrived in hot pursuit almost straight away. Its black shadow flitted in the hole. Its curved claws screeched over the rock, leaving deep white scratch marks.
The shapeshifter emitted a bloodthirsty murderous growl. If Alice had preserved a speck of her own mind in it, it didn’t show at all.
The monster’s powerful blows sent dust and rubble showering down from the ceiling as it clawed at the rocks, trying to widen the gap. Its black paw squeezed inside, trying to catch its prey and pull it out of its hole.
Stepping back to the wall, I whipped out the Crusher and fired several rounds through the gab, not bothering to take aim. Unsurprisingly, I hadn’t missed. The monster wailed in fury. But even the largest caliber is no argument against a
demonic regeneration like this. Although the creature had retrieved its clawed paw, it showed no intention of leaving.
Then it half-hissed, half-growled in a low gasping voice. I thought I could make out the words: a spooky feeling when an animal tries to speak like a human.
“Kiiiiillll… Deaddddd…. Kiiiilllll…”
Kill. Dead. Was it trying to speak with me? Miko?
“It’s not your imagination, Incarnator. It is indeed trying to communicate with you, but its vocal organs aren’t suited for articulated speech.”
“Miko, what do I do?”
“Well, it’s not my nature to lecture anyone, but I did warn you. By my estimation, we have zero chances of defeating it in open combat. Just make sure you don’t let it in. It could result in this body’s integrity being compromised. We don’t want to lose it, do we?”
Angel shit! What else did I have? I was tempted to use another Flash but my common sense warned me against losing too much Azure.
Claw of Helheim!
I reached into my cryptor, pulling out the heavy black sword made by Rico, the old Enchanter. How did it go? — The necro toxins causing necro sores which take forever to regenerate… exactly what the doctor ordered!
Once the black monster squeezed its claws through the hole again trying to broaden it, I took a swing and hacked at its paw.
It hissed, then emitted a high-pitched squeak. Its claws promptly disappeared back into the hole, very nearly ripping the sword from my hand. I hurried to send the Speck of Ra into the hole, planning to activate a Flash, but I didn’t have to: judging by the noise outside, the hissing monster had already scrambled out of the room, scared of the blinding light of Ra. After a few minutes, it screamed again — but this time its muffled voice, filled with rage and agonizing pain, sounded from somewhere above. And again… from an even bigger distance… Had I… had I scared the thing off?
I froze, listening intently, readying myself to any nasty tricks on the monster’s part. But it looked like it had indeed left. The place was dead quiet.
I leaned a few more large chunks of reinforced plastic against the gap until you couldn’t notice it at all. I couldn’t stop thinking that I might have cornered myself, becoming easy prey for the rattuses chasing after me. Still, I had even less desire to come out just to become the crazy shapeshifter’s dinner.
So who had I just accepted into my combat group? Whatever had happened to Alice? We’d just started to communicate and work together… Was it the Beast that she’d kept going on about?
“Incarnator, she’s an Elunetropic polymorph exhibiting symptoms of potential presence of an Azuric symbiont within. Judging by her unmotivated aggression, she can’t control her behavior in this phase. Her class has been upgraded to Tiferet, but it doesn’t exclude other options.”
Once the adrenaline rush had subsided somewhat, I tried to give it a good think. So what did we have? Alice had joined my group because she wanted to get rid of her immortal body. She’d kept telling me about some mysterious beast inside her, and now I had a pretty good idea why. So it looked like at certain moments she just lost control, turning into a predatory monster. This transformation seemed to be spontaneous although somehow related to the phases of the Black Moon. Could it be the consequence of all the chaotically installed genomes?
I shuddered. In this state, Alice could easily kill everyone she held dear. Could it have been the reason for banishing her, forcing her to live in the wild, away from human dwellings? In which case, why hadn’t she warned me before joining the group? Was she afraid I might get cold feet and reconsider? Most likely.
So what now? I opened the group tab. Apparently, I could delete her from the group — but the process would take twenty-four hours. Should I delete her or should I give her another chance? She’d killed me, dammit! Had I been a regular human, our brief acquaintance would have ended in her stomach.
I gingerly felt my body, looking for any damages in the failing light of the Speck of Ra circling around me. Her claws had ripped the collar of my Fox suit to shreds, leaving long ragged slits down its front. The suit really needed changing: riddled with bullet holes from my numerous deaths, it now let in water like a sieve and didn’t zip up properly. The helmet clasps didn’t work; and as for the helmet itself, dented and covered in a fine net of cracks since Fort Angelo, it didn’t function properly anymore. What a shame. Annoyed, I stuffed it back in the cryptor.
What else did I have there? Not counting food supplies and various useful miscellany, I had the implants with Gnarl’s RFID tags, the capsule with Rico’s message for the City, fifty-three spare slugs for the Crusher, an urgent-aid kit, a thermal blanket and the sealed plastic bag of snuff that I’d confiscated from Tara’s friends. Plus some empty Azure capacitors in various sizes. Nothing I could really use.
So what was I supposed to do? Staying here wasn’t a good idea, and getting out while Alice was on the prowl nearby, even less so.
“I would suggest you recuperate a little, then leave, Incarnator. Ideally, you need to get some sleep. You’ll need every bit of your body reserves you can get.”
I decided to follow Miko’s advice. I cleaned myself up a little, disassembled and cleaned my weapons, and scoffed a can of pasta. Then I wrapped the thermal blanket around me and tried to get comfortable on the hard rocks in the corner.
Before falling asleep, I opened my interface and checked my stats.
STATUS: Incarnator
Project Stellar
Name: Grey
Rank: Recruit (commendations: 2)
Combat group: Amnesia
Total Azure count: 12134/16500
Source: Energy Type Ra
Special Abilities : Speck of Light (1), Reinforcements with Light (1), Flash of Light (3)
Physical modifications: Source Upgrade (5); Bone Structure Upgrade (1), Muscle Tissue Upgrade (2), Metabolic Upgrade (2), Nervous System Upgrade (2)
Genetic Modifications: Binocular Vision (Ptar Genome), Impermeability (Bottom Crab Genome)
Available Neurospheres : 1
Available Genomes : Hydra Genome, Rattus Genome
Active Missions:
Update the Reference Book (mission progress: 7/10)
The Egg of the Roc (bonus time left: 101 hrs 19 min)
Rat King
The Monolith Garrison
Dead or Alive
Available Missions:
Cleansing: Mission completed (mission progress: 1355/1000)
Harvest (mission progress: 0/10)
Elimination: Mission completed (mission progress: 1/1)
Hunt (mission progress: 1/10)
Judge (mission progress: 1/10)
I had one more available neurosphere. Should I use it, and if so, what should I invest it in? Implanting Hydra’s class-Gold genome required five neurospheres: two for the obligatory hypophysis upgrade (2) and three more to create a neuronucleus. And the first evolution required a whopping eight of them! That way it might take me ages to achieve my goal… So should I upgrade my body instead, maybe, boosting my strength and stamina which I so desperately needed right now? Survival was my top priority at the moment. Everything else took second place.
“I would advise against short-term solutions, Incarnator. They’re not the most optimal normally. I would suggest you keep a spare neurosphere on you at all times as a tactical reserve. You never know when you might come across a particularly suitable genome — or when you require an urgent modification in an emergency. Go to sleep now, my boy. Every day brings its own bread.”
With a smile, she started crooning a lullaby. How cute was that? Smiling for no particular reason, I drifted off.
* * *
Alice reappeared at dawn several hours later. Miko had awoken me the moment she’d heard the rustling of her light footsteps, so I was prepared.
“Grey. You in there?” the familiar husky voice asked.
Her glinting emerald eyes peeked in through the gap in the wall. She squeezed inside, toppling my
barricade with remarkable ease. Completely ignoring both the muzzle of the Crusher pointed right at her forehead and the Speck of Ra flitting around, she flung Fang at my feet. The blue steel clinked dolefully against the rocks.
The weregirl’s grim face was streaked with caked blood, her body enshrouded in sheets of her disheveled, matted hair.
“Shoot. If you want,” she said, avoiding my gaze. “Shoot! It was Beast. Not Alice. He killed. I didn’t.”
She took a step forward — then dropped to her knees with the Crusher’s muzzle all but pressing against her forehead.
“Shoot,” she said in a low voice, lowering her head. “Blood for death.”
What an unorthodox apology! Was she suggesting I shoot her in the head to repay her for my last night’s death? As if it could help or undo the damage done. Still, Alice seemed to have regained control of herself… and she seemed to be suffering an enormous guilt for what she’d done.
The Enchanter (Project Stellar Book 2): LitRPG Series Page 11
