“Apramor saved me,” she replied, nodding subtly at Vir.
So she’s not going to ask. Well, not like we have the luxury of discussion right now, anyway.
He’d hidden the true power of Dance from them until now. But was that secret worth Tia’s life?
No badrakking way.
“Tia, your arm!” Haymi cried, dropping to her knees and bringing out her B Grade Mend Bone orb.
“No big deal.”
“No big deal!” Vason asked in irritation. “First you fight a monster too powerful for us, and now you ignore your own mortal wounds? Come on!”
Tia rolled her eyes. “Haymi, do what you can, but I’m not expecting a miracle,” Tia said, grimacing as Haymi’s orb went to work. The mejai always kept her Life orbs precharged in case of a medical emergency like this. In fact, Haymi tended to keep nearly all her orbs precharged for emergencies.
“What now?” Vason shouted as he fended off a hunter. Vir was right beside him, lashing out at hunters who strayed too close as he kept watch on the Matron.
So far, the beast had been content to watch its minions harry the injured party. Did she think they were doomed? Or was she simply cautious, gauging them for weaknesses?
“She’s intelligent. Highly intelligent,” Vir commented. “She’s using tactics like humans would.”
“And my magic is completely ineffective. With Tia out of commission—”
“I can still fight,” Tia said, scrambling to her feet. It was obvious to everyone just how much pain she was in, even with Haymi’s Numb Pain orb.
“No, you can’t. Stop pushing yourself. We should flee,” Vason said, bashing another hunter. “Whatever lull we’ve earned won’t last long. That Matron is eyeing us like prey.”
Vir shook his head. “We have no chance of outrunning her. You saw how fast she moved. If it was me, alone, I might manage something. But with you…”
“Take Tia and flee. You can… move through the ground, can’t you?” Haymi said.
“And leave you behind? You’d be as good as dead. No, we need a better plan. We need to—watch out, venom!”
Vason moved into position, taking the hunter’s venom with his tower shield.
“Aroo!” Neel cried. The bandy possessed no means of harming these creatures, so Vir had Neel run around. The hunters’ limited intelligence made this plan possible, but against the Matron? Vir didn’t want his friend anywhere near her.
“Neel, back! Protect the others!”
“Awooo!” Neel barked, returning to Haymi and Tia.
Vir was on the enemy even before Vason had recovered. Jumping onto its back, Vir drove his Prana Blade katar into its carapace, beginning the process of gouging into its armor. For the hunters, he needed only Prana Blade and Empower. He’d opted to slot Haymi’s Enhance Speed orb to get more strikes in, rather than Enhance Sharpness. It’d proved to be the right decision.
Though he’d done this dozens of times, it was still a slow, cumbersome process, even with his speed. He’d tried swapping out for Vason’s talwar in the past, but to no avail. Prana Blade’s limit was about the length of his katar’s blade. Without it, he had no hope of dealing damage to the hardened chitins.
Another blast of acidic venom flew through the air, but this time, it was aimed for Vir.
He’d been expecting as much, and Leaped out of the way, deftly landing on another hunter’s back. He landed katar-first, gouging a deep wound in its armor before using his momentum to flip off its back and onto another. Acid sailed in an arc, but so long as it was all directed on him…
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spied the Matron, charging at Vason, Tia, and Haymi.
Badrak’s Balls!
She’d waited for the moment Vir took action before acting, showing just how cautious she was of Vir. How long her caution would last, Vir couldn’t say. All he could do was give her even more reasons to fear him.
Vir hurled a chakram, which bounced harmlessly off the Matron’s carapace, before Leaping directly onto her back. Like her spawn, she possessed no defenses that guarded her back, and so Vir laid into her.
Augmented by Haymi’s Enhance Speed orb, Vir sliced faster and more viciously than ever before.
Innumerable marks appeared on the Matron’s carapace, but his strikes did little to chip it away. As befitting a creature of her Balar Rank, her armor was even sturdier than her hunters.
The Matron, finally noticing the entity on her back, roared.
Immediately, half the hunters present fired their venom. Green acid arced into the air, all aimed for Vir. He knew better than to press his luck.
Vir was gone the moment the Matron screamed for help, already on top of another hunter’s carapace. One which he’d already gouged before.
“Apramor! What’s taking so long?” Vason cried, tanking another burst of venom. “The Matron’s got that acid too,” he said in desperation. “And she’s got a lot more of it than the others. I dunno how long my shield will last.”
Vir glanced at Vason to see his shield corroding before their very eyes.
That acid can eat through steel? Vir gulped. The Matron’s attention was still solidly on Vason and the rest of the crew.
Luckily, he had a way to change that. After having bounded from hunter to hunter, gouging away at their armor, he’d finally exposed them all.
Vir landed atop a hunter’s back and thrust his katar into the hole he’d created. This time, the blade dug deep enough, and with a shudder, it collapsed.
Having used this tactic so many times before, Vir didn’t even wait to check his results. From one hunter to another, he bounded. One by one, the hunters collapsed.
In his wake, he left a trail of death and destruction. And in doing so, earned himself the attention of their Matron.
The massive beast screeched in anger.
Or so he thought. That screech wasn’t born of frustration or hatred. It was a declaration of victory. When Vir’s feet touched the ground, pain assaulted him. His boots melted off. The acid continued to melt his flesh, leaving him reeling.
Badrak’s Balls… the ground!
The continuous sprays of venom Vir had dodged weren’t aimed at him. They were aimed at the ground, turning it into a festering pool of acid that crippled all who walked through it.
“Apramor! Look out!”
Distracted by the pain, Vir failed to notice the Matron open her venom gland and spray a deluge of acid—right at him.
Vir ducked and turned but could not dodge in time.
He took the full brunt of acid to his back. His armor held—for now—but the rest of his body was not so lucky. The acid ate into the back of his head, his biceps, and most of his legs, consuming his clothing as if they weren’t there.
“APRAMOR!” someone cried, but it was difficult to say who. Vir’s world had become one of all-consuming pain. He no longer knew which way was up or down, or even if he was standing or had fallen.
Had he fallen into the vat of acid that covered the ground? Was he being attacked?
Ah. This isn’t good, he dazedly realized as his vision grew dark.
But it was not the gods he prayed to as his consciousness ebbed. It wasn’t Janak, or Adinat, or even Vera.
Ekanai? Shardul? If you’re there, I could really use some help right now…
30PARAI THE ANCIENT
Vir awoke to a forest, but not the one he’d just left. A thin haze hovered just off the ground, giving the forest an ethereal, serene feeling.