B2 Chapter 27: Inhuman Puppet
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Most of the defensive focus lay in the massed assault coming over the walls. With only a small force under Timeaus’s command made up of Niko, Mera, Spurius, and Paulus to defend the rear. The idea was the constrained space between the wall and the main structure would force the enemy to fight on the defender’s terms, in a constrained area where they would not be able to make full use of their numbers. What none of the leaders predicted was a single individual, the man approached with an almost mechanical gait, unnaturally structured the way one might move a puppet.

A cloak covered the man’s body, obscuring him completely, while a wooden owl mask revealed a pair of dark purple eyes and nothing else. Sometimes the man’s limbs would move strangely, shooting out as if possessing a mind of its own. Everyone opposite the stranger were confused, a bit freaked out, and on edge. However, there was one amongst the group who was faring far worse, Niko was sweating profusely, the grip on his spear tightening to the point that cracks appeared along the shaft.

“Mera, go find Maatilani. We won’t be able to hold this thing.” Niko never allowed his eyes to stray from the stranger, the veins on his head pulsating while his eyes glowing with multi-colored light. He had been regularly practicing his aural skills, and only recently unlocked this new vision-based ability, one which caused immense mental strain and pain when used. Niko had been slowly adjusting to its uses, lengthening the time of use, and coming to slowly reason what the spectrum's of color shown indicated.

Currently what Niko witnessed was a mass of deep dark purple, waves of it emanating from the hooded stranger. A long thin strand of energy, like corded rope emerged from its back, smaller strands branching off and connecting to each limb. With each minuscule burst of energy, the receiving limb would in turn move.

“Shit!” Niko couldn’t help but curse as the immense strain of the mana vision forced him to cut off the connection. He staggered for a moment, using his spear as a crutch, to steady himself and stop from collapsing. The others turned their attention in those few seconds, and that was enough time for the stranger to close the distance, as if it had been waiting for all eyes to turn from it.

“Watch out!” Niko called out as he lifted his shield and activated his aural defenses, the muddy copper glow creating a thin layer around his shield. Fortunately, the enemy chose to focus its attacks on him, as if sensing the energy that could counter its own. Which also meant that it may have been aware of the early observation and had used that time to pinpoint the source of the threat.

Yet even though Niko had raised his defenses, his sloppy stance and weakened state forced him to take the full brunt of the strike, unable to deflect or redirect the flow of power away from himself. Thus, the force of the strike sent him soaring backwards, crashing through the wall and into the dining area. Niko was left reeling from the impact, his arm clutching his back as he struggled to stand, remains of a shattered wooden table beneath him. Luckily his aura had absorbed the entirety of the energy from the strike, the physical damage was not light, but had he been hit directly it was more than likely the blow would have ruptured his stomach. Having the wind knocked out of you, an aching back, and bruised ribs was far better than his organs spread out across the floor.

Timeaus and the others had leapt into action in the same instant that the assailant had struck Niko, yet their attacks were repulsed without any issue. Their spears and swords struck the man’s body, however instead of blood their blades were repulsed, as if they had struck the trunk of a hundred-year-old tree. Whereas the black egg employed by Mera proved completely ineffective, the particles having no effect on the man, instead forcing everyone else away for fear of becoming blinded.

Taking no notice, the enemy kept his focus upon Niko and rushed toward the downed youth. Anticipating the attack Niko had rolled to the side, barely avoiding the heavy fist as it smashed into the stone floor, raising a cloud of fine powder, and spreading fault lines from the point of impact. The force of displaced air from the attack pushed the prone Niko further away, a nervous sweat dripping down his skin after experiencing the figures full strength. In that single moment he and everyone else present understood the power behind that fist, a single attack likely capable of causing them to burst.

“All of you stay back and throw me an axe!” Niko yelled out towards the Timeaus and the others, not waiting for a reply and immediately moving to attack. The enemy was slowly rising from its kneeling position, before it had a chance to turn in his direction Niko grasped his spear, imbuing aural power into the head of the spear, concentrating the energy into the very tip. A blinding bronze light shone like a lighthouse, momentarily blinding the enemy who appeared to be strongly affected by the illumination.

Taking advantage of that moment Niko threw the spear with all his strength, the tip leading the way and slamming into the center of the enemy’s chest. What followed was an eruption of air, nearby chairs and tables thrown against the walls and shattering into hundreds of pieces. The temperature within the room escalated quickly, the aural energy far exceeding what Niko was normally capable of. His use of such an energy exhausted his reserves of prana, and even his stamina, leaving him weak and immobile, sweat dripping and quickly evaporating in the heat.

“Crap, it feels like being punched in the gut! Didn’t expect that… lucky the prana didn’t go out of control, otherwise I don’t really want to think about what would have happened.” Niko spoke through raspy breaths, drawing large gulps of air like a fish out of water. “Niko are you okay!” Mera could be heard in the distance, with Timeaus following close behind, hatchet in hand. The two assisted Niko to stand, Timeaus handing him the hatchet, and Mera offering her shoulder, while Spurius and Paulus took up defensive positions alongside Timeaus. All three had switched over to wielding either hatchets or larger axes as Niko had recommended.

“I’m pretty sure he’s dead. I don’t know what you did, but if the blast didn’t kill him, then the spear did.” Spurius was confident in victory, he even began to take a few steps forward toward the cloud of dust and steam. Yet before he had a chance to approach Timeaus held up his hand, keeping the young man back while focusing his glare upon the impact point.

His caution was rewarded as moments later the cloud dissipated and the enemies true form was revealed. Half the owl mask had shattered while the clothing had been almost completely vaporized in the attack. What was revealed was something inhuman, its body was composed bark like armor, with a pair of expansive appendages extending out from the shoulders, like the wings of a bird. These branches had multiple individual frond which extended from these branches which created the illusion of feathers and could be seen moving independently of the arms and legs. Its limbs were thick and muscled with a wooden structure mimicking a human one, with dense corded roots taking the place of muscles and bones.

The group watched in fascination and horror as the creature used his wings to brush away the remaining dust cloud, revealing the face below the shattered mask. That which was depicted was lifeless, without emotion or expression other than anguish, dozens of little tendrils digging up under the petrified flesh, engorging themselves on what must have been the man’s final moments. Slowly the wings folded inwards, enclosing the central body within like a cloak, the edge of each frond glittering in the light of the glow lamps, as if they were blades. Yet the inhuman beast did not come out completely unscathed, before the wings closed around it, the chest area was exposed for all to see.

Signs of carbon scoring were visibly noticeable in the areas encircling the massive wound caused by the empowered spears impact. The bark like armor in that area had been completely decimated, the petrified flesh below exposed to the outside air, while the area within the crater was still smoldering. A glimmering purple shard could be seen where the heart would have been, purple tendrils shying away from the embers, while vine like roots were visible attempting to repair the damaged sectors.

The speed and importance the creature placed upon this damaged region hinted at a weakness, first fire inhibited whatever form of healing it employed, and second what appeared to be a purple mana shard acted as the power source, the lifeblood of this inhuman creation. Having fought Menos who was similar in nature, the group of defenders understood the danger this creature presented, as well as an intuitive understanding of how they might combat it. Niko’s explosive aural strike had been a stroke of luck, no doubt weakening the enemy and presenting them with an opportunity to strike at its weakness.

Mera chose to act first, unwilling to give up the first move to the enemy she removed a small clay pot from her belt and tossed it directly toward the enemy. The pot never touched the creature, one of its wings lashing out, the fronds slicing the item clean down the middle. A cut so clean and precise would have left the rest questioning their chance of victory if it had not been for what was inside the pot. It’s body, specifically the thinner sections, roots, and petrified flesh began to shrivel and rot. The green tinged liquid left the affected sections smoldering, sizzling as they ate away at the natural elements, even causing one of the wings to fall apart at the joint.

“What the hell is that! You’ve been throwing things like that around!” Spurius shivered at the sight of the acidic liquid. The creature did not appear to notice the damage, even as its face began to melt from the dangerous cloying substance. “Don’t be an idiot, I don’t have enough of those to be throwing around. Without the Scholar’s lab back in Temrenos I only have two more pots of the stuff. So, make them count. Otherwise, we’re dead.” Mera was quick to bite back, the childish deviousness she often showed was gone, replaced with focused concentration and a stern demeanor, coupled with a hyper-awareness she had never shown previously.

The intense multi-pronged assault had strained the defenders to the extreme, so much so that they failed to detect another group slip in over the wall and head for the non-combatants while the intense fighting continued all around.

Gonna keep it simple, would love to know what you all think about the scene, leave a comment and let me know if there is anything you would like me to explain.

Again leave a review or rating if you enjoy the story. I will soon be releasing another story that I'm writing on the side, it has nothing to do with the Lineage world. I'm just letting you know to look forward to it, more information to come as I will probably be waiting until after the cover and machine art is done.

Later

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