Chapter 386: Impending Doom
The moonlit riverbank trembled, an eerie silence descending upon the battlefield. Northern's azure eyes widened as he witnessed the grotesque transformation unfold before
him.
The Devastator's massive body, once a writhing mass of tentacles and pulsating flesh, began to contort and reshape itself.
Bones cracked and shifted beneath the creature's skin, producing sickening pops and grinding sounds that echoed through the night.
Its form elongated, stretching and twisting like putty in the hands of an unseen sculptor.
The tentacles retracted, melding into the main body as new appendages burst forth.
Four legs, each as thick as ancient tree trunks, erupted from the creature's sides. They were covered in overlapping plates of chitin, gleaming with a metallic sheen in the pale moonlight. Razor-sharp claws, easily the length of a man's arm, gouged deep furrows into the sand as they took form.
The Devastator's head morphed, its features elongating into a reptilian snout filled with rows of serrated teeth.
A crown of bony spikes sprouted from its skull, forming a natural armor that extended down its spine.
Eyes, once bloodshot and unfocused, now glowed with an otherworldly intelligence and unquenchable hatred.
As the transformation neared completion, the creature's hide rippled and hardened.
What was once soft, gelatinous flesh now became an impenetrable carapace, adorned with jagged protrusions and barbs.
The black ichor that had oozed from its wounds moments ago crystallized, forming a second layer of organic armor.
Northern gripped Grengar tighter, his knuckles white beneath his gauntlets.
The twin-bladed staff hummed with an anticipatory energy, as if sensing the impending battle.
Mr. Fluffy whimpered softly behind him, the beast's instincts screaming danger.
The metamorphosis reached its climax with a deafening roar that shook the very air around them.
The creature that now stood before Northern was a nightmarish fusion of the Devastator and the Kirithon, a prominent viciousness born of battle and vengeance.
Its massive head swiveled towards Northern, nostrils flaring as it caught his scent.
Recognition flashed in its eyes, followed by a tsunami of rage.
The creature's muscles bunched and coiled, preparing to launch itself at its long-awaited prey.
Northern didn't wait for the monster to make the first move.
He dashed forward, Grengar a blur of motion as he aimed for the creature's front leg. The blade connected with a resounding clang, sparks flying, but barely scratched the surface of the armored limb.
Without missing a beat, Northern summoned his clone.
The doppelganger materialized in a swirl of dark energy, immediately engaging the monster's attention.
It darted to the creature's flank, its blade ringing against the armored hide.
The distraction gave Northern a moment to catch his breath and reassess his strategy.
The least Northern worried about was getting killed by this thing, death did not even cross his mind.
He just needed to put this monster away and put it away very fast at that.
The monster let out another ear-splitting roar, this time accompanied by a burst of noxious gas from its maw.
The greenish cloud billowed towards Northern, who instinctively held his breath and leaped backward. Where the gas touched the ground, the sand sizzled and smoked.
Northern's clone wasn't so lucky.
Caught in the toxic cloud, its form wavered and dissipated, unable to maintain cohesion in the corrosive atmosphere.
Seizing the opportunity, the creature charged.
Its massive form moved with a speed that belied its size, closing the distance between them in heartbeats.
Northern's eyes darted around, searching for an escape route, but he knew he couldn't outrun this monstrosity.
Instead, he stood his ground, Grengar held at the ready.
As the beast bore down on him, Northern channeled his essence into the twin-bladed staff.
The weapon thrummed with power, dark flames licking along its length.
At the last possible moment, Northern sidestepped and swung Grengar in a wide arc.
The flaming blade connected with the creature's eye, one of the few spots not covered by its armored hide.
The monster bellowed in pain, rearing back on its hind legs.
Northern pressed his advantage, leaping onto the creature's back. He clung to the bony protrusions, scrambling for purchase as the beast bucked and twisted beneath him.
With one hand gripping a spike, he brought Grengar down again and again, searching for gaps
in the armor.
The monster's hide sparked and smoked where the void-infused blade struck, but Northern couldn't seem to penetrate its defenses.
The creature rolled, threatening to crush Northern beneath its massive bulk.
He kicked off at the last second, narrowly avoiding being flattened. As he tumbled through the air, the monster's tail lashed out once more.
This time, Northern couldn't fully dodge, besides, he didn't need to.
In the last minute, it occurred to him that he was shielded by the void force protecting him
anyway.
The lashed out tail reached in front of him and bounced right back off, giving Northern the space he needed to dive right in.
However, the monster darted across and loomed over him, its remaining eye gleaming with malevolent triumph. It opened its maw, preparing to deliver the crushing blow.
Northern could see down its throat, a dark abyss lined with razor-sharp teeth.
In that moment of desperation, Northern thought of a wild and unrefined idea.
His body crackled with dark aura, the air around him growing heavy with the weight of concentrated Void.
With a primal yell, Northern thrust Grengar upward, directly into the creature's open mouth.
The twin-bladed staff, supercharged with Void essence, pierced through the soft tissue of the monster's palate and into its brain.
The beast's eyes widened in shock, its massive body going rigid.
For a heartbeat, time seemed to stand still. Then, with an earth-shattering scream, the
creature began to convulse.
Void essence consumed it from within and poured from its mouth and eyes.
Northern wrenched Grengar free and scrambled away as the monster thrashed in its death
throes.
Its armored hide began to crack and splinter, unable to contain the destructive force within. With a final, desperate roar, the abomination exploded in a shower of gore and fractured
armor plates.
The shockwave knocked Northern off his feet, sending him tumbling across the blood-soaked
sand.
When he finally came to a stop, he lay there for a long moment, his chest heaving as he fought
to catch his breath.
The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the gentle lapping of the river
against the shore.
Then the notification came,
[Congratulations, you have slain an Apex Maelstrom]
[You have gained 20 talent fragments]
[Congratulations, you have slain a Disastrous Destroyer]
[You have gained 6 talent fragments]
Northern stood up and sighed.
'That was comparatively easy to the last time'
Half of the Kirithon's power had been lost from their last fight and not only did Northern have
a much better and effective weapon, he had grown tons stronger since then.
And now that his old enemy had been taken out of the way, he wanted to focus on getting to
Hao as soon as possible.
He went back to meet Mr. Fluffy, that was when he saw a pillar of fire afar, but from his vantage point, it was like a radiating little light.
Which caused him to instantly zoom in with Chaos Eyes. That was how he was able to see it wasn't just a light but a powerful source of heat.
The moment Northern tried to get a closer look, he was also alerted of a great danger in that
direction.
And not only did danger sense react to something, his senses were hyperactively picking up that something was wrong.
This caused Northern to pick up his pace, flying on Mr. Fluffy in a minor swing of his body.
The beast growled heavily, his eyes radiating with a soft blue light of determination that seemed to mirror the urgency in Northern's eyes.
In a burst, it lunged forward, battering its four feet against the ground and once he got to the
edge of the river, Mr. Fluffy made a powerful leap.
His body scaled into the sky, furs gently being caressed by the cold hands of the wind.
Northern didn't think they were going to make it.
But before he could recount anything, the beast landed on the cliff above the river.
His eyes widened and he looked, 'how?'
Mr. Fluffy, however, did not care to relish the look of surprise on Northern's face and just
dashed forward.
A couple of minutes after Northern had left, the space above the water began to ripple. Causing a causative effect to the surface of the water itself.
The surface began to turn, slowly and soon became an enormous whirlpool, that left the entire atmosphere of that place with the smell of impending destruction.
The space above the center of the whirlpool suddenly broke.
A clawed hand, protruding out of the slight break.
Following that was the appearance of a small boy just at the edge of the river, he did not care
about the whirlpool. The air around him was viciously being pulled into the water,
everywhere looked like there was about to be a mighty storm.
The boy stood there, looking at the cracking space as it was being forced open, a small smile
playing on his lips.
"Finally, my lord, I am a step away from bringing you back."
He turned to the direction Northern had gone through.
"Now, all that is left, is for this war to take its course and give way to bloodshed and madness
shall eventually reign."