Let's GO! I smell blood in the air!
Yeah, yeah... Let's just go already, I've got a couple more incendiaries. Good thing you told me about that, I suppose.
Of course, Sydney's quite clever, after all.
Are you- Are you talking in third person!?
She's not. In case you didn't notice, she kind of switched personalities.
I am going to fucking die here.
Language!
The chase down these winding hallways wasn't difficult. The creature was bleeding, although not nearly enough for the injuries it sustained. Something that loses two limbs should be dropping a lot more than the small spatters of blood you find along the way. Alexia finds the occasional straggler mushroom zombie, but they are cut down without her even slowing down. Your katana broke after the second one that was found, though, letting Alexia move on to the quality blade you bought. The blade shattered in such a way that the zombie was left with a solid hunk of blade in the chest. It was satisfying, even if there were only scarce seconds to appreciate the sight before another corner was turned. Eventually, you see the monster up ahead in another room, much smaller than the last one.
Finally.
Alexia takes Sucy's potion, not trusting her to throw it this time. In fact, this little bottle of pain isn't even GOING to be thrown. You're going to douse the fucker in this, watch him burn, squirm die and fester! Alexia giggles like a hyena as she rushes in, far ahead of the others that struggle to keep up. Of course, she's not stupid enough to just rush into the whirlwind of blades and laughter. The damned creature laughed its own laugh as it looked upon its predator. It was a horrible laugh, human and yet not so. Like the very sound sought to strangle anyone who came to hear it. Alexia's ears rang at the sound, not from the noise but the content. It was a horrible creature, it's terribleness only increasing now that it had no victims with which to distract itself with. It knows you bear the mark. It rushes forward, it's arms clumsily swinging... and pointing forward with its misshapen head, one side still screaming and the other laughing.
The explosion of sound from the revolver reverbs through the hallway and the small room, and the bullet stops the beast in its tracks. It falls quiet for a time, as the crying head vomits a little golden ichor. Disgusting. With a quick, uncaring toss, Alexia throws the albino spiderlings on the creature. They try to sting the beast, but ultimately can't pierce the skin. Useless to the end! The creature soon rears itself again, and with three quick movements the albinos are cut apart. Alexia's plan worked, the creature struck itself in it's growing rage! It HATES the both of you.
Delightful.
Your companions arrive just as Alexia runs to the side of the creature, and it rushes at her with an uncanny speed! Without a shield, all Alexia can do is parry a few errand strikes, but she takes heavy hits from the other arms. Her armor and general tenacity help blunt a few blows, but an attitude does not stop injuries! A sudden familiar blast of a double-barreled shotgun ends the creature's assault, though, and it starts screaming in pain again. In that momentary bit of distraction, Alexia rakes a massive wound in the creature with her mechanical claw. The ribs of the creature turn visible, and Sucy's potion is jammed inside. But...
The monster does a combined strike with all its blades, sending Alexia flying before she can break the bottle! The creature screams again, and marces towards her, intent on finishing her off. It rears back five arms, poised to stab her and be done with it!
An arrow sprouts from the creature's skull, and you see Hal lying down on the ground. He used his feet to pull the bow back as far as physically possible for that shot! As the creature stumbles forward, its lanky imbalanced body leaning forward, Alexia smashes against the open wound with the flat of the blade!
The bottle bursts, and fire envelops the creature.
That makes it stop laughing, at long last.
As fire burns away at the creature's skin, the flames rapidly turn green as the arms begin to shrivel up and go limp. Now, the small arms fire finally takes effect, the blisters of the creature bursting and creating more and more weak spots. Hal and the captain unleash their full arsenal, the captain even unleashing a fully automatic submachine gun! He roars as an onslaught of bullets begins to consume the creature. It falls to the ground, the legs not suitable to carry the charred wreck.
This would be a major victory, if it wasn't for the fact that you're currently dying. The bleeding catches up to you, and your breathing begins to grow laboured and irregular. You're choking...
Suddenly, you feel something fly off your back and land in front of you.
Dying, so soon? You've hardly learned ANYTHING from me! the book calls through your mind. Both you and Alexia hear it, this time.
What...
Much too soon, much too soon... Fortunately, there is a way around this. Two options, the first is taking the lost soul in that creature and fusing it to your body. It can survive a few more centuries of imprisonment after the agony of being bound to the eldritch, I assure you.
It sounds so... confident. Infuriatingly arrogant might be a better word for it, but...
But if you have moral trouble with binding him to you, you can try taking a bite of that creature's flesh. The mutation will be unpredictable, but you will be stronger for it. Enough to stabilize you, at least, and you will grow MUCH more powerful if you keep this up. You could become a devourer of GODS with this first step...
I await to see what you choose, o masters of mine!
Bind the soul.
You will imprison a CONSCIOUS mind to your body, forcing it to suffer for as long as you live, which can be very long indeed. There is no moral way to explain this away. But the benefits will reveal themselves to perhaps be worth it.
Devour the flesh
You will gain in power, but is it power you would really, truly want? It's a gamble...
...
Trust that your friends can save you? You won't be getting out of this without serious,permanent repercussions, though.
Stats will be shown after your decision.
Author
Topic: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure (Ended) (Read 185827 times)