Novel East
Chapter 52: Revenants' Madness
Priam threw his spear with all his might. The weapon had barely left his hand before it penetrated the Abomination's head. The room shook as the spear sank into the wall behind with the grace of a cannonball.
Lvl Up: [Throw] lvl 16
DEXT +1
Priam turned to the petrified priest. "I think we have some things to talk about..." His jaw still throbbed with pain, but he forced himself to articulate. The pain was nothing compared to that of some of his deaths.
Priam's words woke the terrified man, and he ran for the exit. Priam set off in pursuit. A few meters from his target, his instincts screamed out and the Baron leaped high. Priam instinctively clung to the ceiling and activated [Kinetic Control] to stay there.
Lvl Up: [Dodge] lvl 7
AGI +1
Lvl Up: [Climb] lvl 9
AGI +1
A tentacle of flesh had sprouted from the Abomination's body. Like a whip, the appendage had tried to sweep Priam away. Priam's eyes widened as the monstrosity continued to whip through the void, hoping to hit its target. This thing isn't dead!
The tentacle stood still for a moment and Priam analyzed it. Without its head, it can't... Suddenly, the appendage charged toward Priam. The young man used a kinetic charge to project himself against one of the room's pillars. From there, he leaped straight for the priest and grabbed his throat. Priam swung his prisoner towards the Abomination. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓽.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"If that creature attacks, you die. Tell it to back off," he ordered.
The priest struggled as the Abomination reconstituted itself. One of its arms swept across the floor. The bits of flesh, blood and bone that had spurted out when the head exploded were reabsorbed. Within seconds, the creature was complete again. Its capacity for regeneration was delirious.
Priam shook the priest as the Abomination turned towards them. His instincts told him it was going to attack.
"What the hell are you doing?! It's going to kill us!"
No, it will kill you.
The priest struggled harder, "It won't obey me! It's a creature of the Depth. It only ignores me because I've been blessed by the Grand Master. It won't protect me, so get off my back!"
Priam stepped back, pulling the priest with him. He had begun to summon his mist from the start of the fight and it eventually touched the tip of his spear still embedded in the wall. With a mental bend, he could call it back to him.
Priam leaned toward the priest's ear and said. "If you can't stop him, then point out his weakness. Otherwise, you're no use to me..."
Priam suspected he had to attack the Abomination's core - or cores. However, due to the creature's shifting body, he had no idea where it was. The Abomination was only Baron rank, but it was very complicated to kill and its physical attributes were enormous. For the moment, this thing didn't use any skills. Or maybe a body control skill?
Priam was still backing towards the tunnel when the Abomination screamed. A moment later, the Baron felt a kind of heat on his thigh. Priam pushed the priest away, thinking of an attack. Looking down, he saw that the Revenant had simply pissed himself in fear.
The two men looked at each other and Priam understood that the man was terrified. He really had no way of calming the creature.
"I... I'm not sure. They have an aether-packed core in the body. Certain skills can..." A slash from the Abomination cut him off - in two. Blood smeared Priam's clothing. Priam reacted immediately, leaping backward and hurling his spear to wound the monster. It shrieked and Priam took the opportunity to focus on Micro.
He needed more power in his throws if he was to overcome the behemoth and its regeneration. The supremacy synergized with his throwing skill to optimize the movement and power of the muscles in his entire body. The result could wipe out the monster with ease, and Priam wanted nothing less.
Part of his brain noted the creature's motions. To attack, the Abomination had propelled its body at a frightening speed. Priam hadn't seen it coming and realized that the creature could manipulate its body to move inhumanly. It didn't need to stretch any muscles that Priam could see, making it unpredictable. I'll have to be careful...
The Baron focused, thinking that the Revenants were playing with fire. This creature was far superior to Orthos or Nemea. Galapagos could have killed it by attacking from afar, but in this tunnel, the chimera was superior to the Viscount. Priam was now convinced that Anatole didn't know what he was doing - or that he was crazy.
As if to prove him right, the Abomination moved forward and its arms touched the two pieces of the priest's corpse. Instantly, the two pieces began to vibrate and then melt. A second later, they had merged with the chimera, which now seemed a little larger. The Revenants had created an unstoppable weapon. If they weren't killed quickly, these monsters could become veritable cataclysms...
The Abomination then stood still, turning its head as if to spot Priam. The mist had finally invaded the underground and the Abomination seemed lost, unable to see or sense the young man.
Priam teleported his spear in his hand and activated [Aether Perception] to observe the world in search of the core. The world changed. A new color, unknown to the rainbow, was superimposed on Priam's vision. The air seemed filled with both golden dust and a silvery fluid.
Lvl Up: [Aether Perception] lvl 4
META (PERC) +3
Priam looked down at his hands and saw new veins irrigating his body. Not veins, meridians. Turning his hands and clenching his fists, he smiled as he discovered a new facet of this universe. He lifted his head and watched the creature turn on itself, uncertain.
Priam watched his enemy for a few moments. His own meridians were golden green, and his new vision painted the chimera a dark purple.
Lvl Up: [Aether Perception] lvl 5
META (PERC) +3
Priam's new vision reflected a block of undulating darkness back to him, and the young man winced. His skill could not pierce the creature's flesh. There was only one way to find its weak point...
Priam thrust his spear with all his might into the creature's chest. It exploded, opening a half-meter-deep crater in the creature's body. Squinting, Priam noticed that the spear had shattered the creature's flesh, but that a bone cage had managed to stop the attack. Protection? It must be where the cores are. Priam used the mist to call up his spear and attack again. The chimera's flesh was already beginning to regenerate and he didn't want to give it time to cancel the attack.
A new throw cracked the protective cage and sent a few splinters of bone flying. The Abomination screamed and lunged at Priam. Despite the lack of visibility, it knew where the attack originated.
The young man stepped back quickly, but the chimera was gaining speed. The tunnel narrowed behind Priam. Far behind was the Revenants' antechamber, and ahead of him, a creature that must have weighed over three tons was hurtling towards him at the speed of a galloping horse.
Priam closed his eyes for a moment and took a step forward. He opened his eyes again and attacked. His spear buried itself in the creature's back - even if one could have argued that the Abomination didn't seem to have a back. He had straddled the mist and appeared behind the chimera.
Lvl Up: [Throw] lvl 17
DEXT +1
The attack seemed to destabilize the chimera and it stumbled. Its momentum carried it away and the tunnel shook again as the Abomination slid to the ground, leaving behind multiple pieces of flesh. Despite its speed, it didn't get very far: Priam had absorbed its kinetic energy.
Priam called up his spear again. Until he had been notified of the success of his quest, he had no intention of stopping his attacks. [Aether Perception] told him he had about ten more jumps possible. Priam attacked again. Once, twice, three times, without giving his opponent time to get up.
Recalling his spear a fourth time, he observed the creature. It was now moving slowly. Its regeneration had come at a cost, and was on its last legs. A ball of broken bones was now visible in the center of the abominable moving mass grave.
Priam threw his spear again. The sphere of bones finally shattered, revealing a purple core, larger than a Baron's one. The mass of flesh, blood and bone began to tremble as the core now seemed defenseless. Priam looked at it. Its aether density was exceptional. He was sure it wasn't a decoy.
Lvl Up: [Aether Perception] lvl 6
META (PERC) +3
Priam's spear appeared in his hand as he prepared to attack the core. By destroying it, he could surely destroy the creature for good. Suddenly, he stopped and thought. If a priest could create such a dangerous creature so easily, then the Cult could possesse dozens of them. Humanity's greatest warriors could undoubtedly destroy them, but the majority of humans would be slaughtered if these creatures were released into a dome. Moreover, some are of Viscount rank, and I may be the only one who can defeat them...
Priam suspended his gesture. The factions and super-factions adopted a policy of neutrality towards the Revenants, as they were a faction created by the System. To avoid incurring the wrath of the System, they preferred not to intervene. At least, that was Priam's theory. But if the warriors of these factions learned that the Revenants were mad enough to create this kind of Abomination, that could change. For all his power, Priam knew he couldn't save humanity alone.
"We've got to show them..." If Mercury and Maya realized the true threat of the Revenants, then humanity would soon be united against this plague. And those who would continue to stand aside... Those who would abandon humankind at the moment of its greatest crisis would be forever banished. The factions would have to make a choice.
Having made up his mind, Priam jumped and landed on the shattered bone sphere. He was careful not to touch the creature's vibrating flesh - he hadn't planned to merge with this kind of horror any time soon. The core was still connected to the remains of the Abomination by tiny threads of aether. Priam put his hand through one of them, but the thread didn't react. We'll have to solve the problem at the root.
Priam reached out to the levitating core and concentrated on Micro. He was ready if the core tried to play a trick on him. As he touched the core, it fell into the palm of his hand. Soon, threads of aether, invisible to the naked eye, began to invade his body. The core's aether was colliding with Priam's aether, and the reaction was violent. Priam's hand began to turn black and he almost dropped the core in pain.
Priam kept the core in his hand. One of his aims was to gain resistance to the influence of the Depths, to better survive against a higher-ranking Abomination. Unfortunately, the magic of the Depths seemed extremely belligerent. Priam watched as the corrupted threads pierced his skin and tried to spread through his meridians.
Lvl Up: [Aether Perception] lvl 7
META (PERC) +3
Apparently, the Depths are dangerous enough to quickly boost my skills. In the face of adversity, Priam's body and mind rebelled, making rapid progress in resisting. Rather than release the core, Priam used [Aether Manipulation].
The skill allowed him to manipulate his aether and Priam concentrated on countering the core's effect. His mind began to draw aether from his body and increase the energy density in his hand. Priam didn't know how to do anything else. Manipulating the aether was like using a tail that had been grafted onto him. It was supposed to be natural, but he needed time to adapt.
As the core struggled to corrupt Priam, the Abomination's biological remains stopped vibrating. The aether threads connecting the core were gradually destroyed. Priam theorized that they wouldn't function properly without an organic medium.
Triggered by an idea, Priam began to toss up the core in his hand. The aether threads linking the core to his body became more fragile with distance, and their influence diminished. All I have to do is put this core on the ground and it will be inactive from here.
Rather than follow this sensible plan, Priam decided to continue his experiments. If he couldn't resist a Baron core, then he wouldn't stand a chance against a Viscount core.
Over the next few minutes, Priam forced himself to manipulate his aether. Densifying it in his hand, he began to manipulate it gently. At first, just movements, like fluid currents, then in a more advanced fashion. Eventually, he succeeded in creating filaments of aether viscous enough to impede the progress of the Deep.
Lvl Up: [Aether Manipulation] lvl 2
META (PERC) +1
META (AFFI) +1
META (FOCUS) +1
The core's attacks were also becoming weaker. The threads that had invaded Priam's hand could no longer find a foothold, while Priam's aethereal threads repelled them like whips. Five minutes later, the core's dark aether retracted and the core lost its glow. Observing it with his new senses, Priam realized it was not destroyed but was simply hibernating. Passively, the ambient aether was attracted to the core and recharged its energy.
"Within a few hours, it'll be ready to create a chimera again by invading a human body," Priam murmured. He had a primal urge to destroy the core. His Title [Threat Killer] screamed at him to wreck the thing, but he resisted.
Priam tried to penetrate the core with his own aether but was unable to do so. For the moment, his manipulation was confined to the limits of his body. At least he opened his Systems notifications.
Quest completed: Abomination
Reward: Potential +50. Abomination Essence. Participation: 100%.
You have eliminated an Abomination without help.
Potential + 50. New skill: [Depths Resistance].
New title!
[Fighter of the Depths]
Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)
PHYSICAL:
Strength 140 (+10)
Constitution 197 (+2... error)
Agility 150 (+2)
Vitality 215 (+3)
Perception 279
MENTAL:
Vivacity 168
Dexterity 155 (+2)
Memory 39
Willpower 193 (+6)
Charisma 135
META:
Meta-affinity 119 (+1)
Meta-focus 86 (+1)
Meta-endurance 61
Meta-perception 23 (+13)
Meta-chance 114
Potential: 855 (+114)
Tier 0
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED.
[Tribulation]: Tribulations are coming.
Time: 23 hours 30 minutes 18 seconds.
Updated from 𝒇𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎