3.3.20.1. Fruits of Envy - Part Three
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| The mutated spider knight Noac in his chamber. Hey..are there things from the future? |
Kyflynn retorts, ‘Well, we don’t care if you’re a Lord of Doppelgängers, Black Prince or even the tiniest worm from hell, we’ll crush you like a bug you are.’
‘Huh, you think you have seen it all, loudmouth? Think again!’ Saying so, the Black Prince is about to shape-shift. He takes his armor off, revealing his muscular, pale-blue body that elongates like a caterpillar’s and gets blackened. His lower body also transforms into an eight-legged spider, black with red stripes. Long spikes sprout from his new legs, and his upper torso is now covered with black-red spider crust that serves as armor.
The gargantuan tarantula-man moves quicker now with eight new limbs replacing his feet. His hands merge with the Carrion Lance, one for each tip.
Desmond, Tina and Flynn are already wounded and fatigued from the Black Prince’s attack. Never, in their wildest dreams they expect such surprise from this shapeshifter that is generally known to copycat one certain being only – never modifying, never combining.
Yet, there’s no time to be surprised. The trio spreads out into attacking positions, surrounding the gigantic arachnid as he finishes his transformation by the change of his human visage. His eyes turn large, round, faceted, clearly an insect’s. His nose shrinks into slits, and his mouth stretches much larger with monstrous fangs and a set of big mandibles. Two pairs of pronged antlers replace his hair.
Thus completes Nöac’s true form, both devilish and monstrous befitting the Dark Overlord’s ever-overshadowed, long-lived bastard son, born in the time of Fireheart, kept himself hidden and low-profile until now.
Kyflynn, as usual, is the first one to move, with a sneak attack he lands a Backstab on the monster’s spider abdomen, CHRAATSZ!! Making green ooze sprout from that wound.
Nöac turns to swat that little ‘mosquito’, and then comes the second wave of attack: the frontal swing of a great hammer to split his body with Landsplitter Quake.
CRRACKLEE, BATT!! The monster’s upper pair of spider legs on the back ‘catch’ the speeding hammer and stop it on its track simply by putting high-concentrated electric charge on each spider leg-tip, transferring high surge of electricity towards the berserker! ZZZZTTT!!!
Once again, Desmond endures another torture. All that suffering, however is just a tactic to buy time, because on the next moment comes Tina’s shout, ‘Vare Jokulhaups Nek’havr!’
Waves of ice come crashing down from the sky in a glorious Avalanche. FYRRSCHH!! On-and-on, covering that area with the freezing aura. Is Tina mad? She’s going to hurt her friend as well!
Well, she keeps on, adding pressure and damage on these two individuals. And surprisingly, Desmond’s face stays calm and he endures on, ans though he is all prepared for such action and believes fully in her partner’s precise analysis.
At last, Monster Nöac throws Desmond away, and the waves of Avalanche stop gradually. Yet, the nut doesn’t crack yet. The monster stands immobile in place as though is freezing to death, and the next moment, his four upper limbs stretch out! CRRACKKLL! CRRACKLL!! Electric currents are culminating into a Ball Lightning in front of him. The ball gets bigger and bigger, Nöac’s lanced hands spin and thrust the ball, and the ball bursts!
BLLAARRSHH!! Electric bolts spread out, leaving no room for the opponents to escape. Even Kyflynn, the quick one got hit and electrocuted by that wild current!
FZZT! ‘GYAAAHH!!’
The berserker and the sorceress are hit by a lesser portion of that blast. The berserker, still with electric current on his body moves forward, leaps high and swings his great hammer vertically with all his might!
BHLAAAMMM!! Desmond hits Spider Nöac’s abdominal back, making a Quake Epicenter that sends a wave of destruction throughout his body. CRAACCKLE-CRACK! The abdominal crust cracks at last, and green ooze bursts out from it.
‘SSKRRAAIIIEEE!!’ The monster raises his two hind legs and his spider back to knock back the one who cracked his back, and the berserker moves away just in time to avoid them.
Now the gargantuan moves here and there, thrusting with all his limbs desperately and randomly. And then, he stretches out all arms to full length, covering all directions and shoots cobwebs! The sticky traps envelop the three opponents like fishes in nets, and again, the electric webs electrocute the three Paladins in a continous jolt to the death! There’s no escape from this ultra-powerful Arachnid Carnage! Nöac clicks his mandibles excitedly in rapid succession, moving closer towards Kyflynn to finish him off!!
‘AAARGHHH!!!’ Never before the night elf is this helpless. He, who prevailed against his rival MacLair and was unofficially the ‘King of Speed’ in Aurelia is now going to succumb to the power surpassing speed: absolution.
The spider has trapped three flies on his web, and as he’s about to devour the quickest, most annoying fly, suddenly, BAMMM!! A great hammer hits him with a force so great, making him sway off target.
Still under pressure, Kyflynn turns his head to see his rescuer, who is none other than Desmond Edmundsen. The berserker shouts thunderously, ‘Fine! A monster like you will never understand that your web won’t hold my strong body and your lightning will get neutralized by the ground, its anti-element. Now reap your own folly: Omnipotent Catastrophe! HHEEAARGHHH!!’
Saying so, Desmond swings his hammer to eight directions, and the power spreads to eighty-eight hits towards the eight hundred and eighty-eight different spots in the man-spider’s body, head, legs and limbs! CRACK-CRACK, CRACK! CRACK! With power greater than all his other moves.
Every blow he deals makes a crack on the man-spider’s crust, and adding new cracks on top of the old ones. Nöac tries to struggle, but he can’t seem to move his limbs to fight back. He is like stunned, like a helpless sitting duck being torn apart.
‘SHKRIIEEKK!!’ The monster screams in agony.
When Desmond moves in front of his face, suddenly the spider spits a jet of cobweb! It hits and sticks squarely on his chest, and the next moment, an electric current powerful enough to kill a legion of armored troops is surging into his body! ZZZT! ZZZT!!
The pain is beyond belief, but Desmond bears it and moves on to finish his eighty-eight hits! He delivers a big finish on Nöac’s head, BLAAMM!! And moves swiftly to a safe spot.
Nöac stands immobile for a second, and the next moment, the true power of Omnipotent Catastrophe comes exploding from the cracks! BLAM, BLAM, BLAAM!!
‘A monster like you will never understand that disrupting the nature’s balance and fighting against it is futile! Survival is for the fittest, the ones who walk alongside nature hand-in-hand. So, die with your stupidity, Son of Vordac!’
Desmond stands tall in triumph as he watches the misfit of nature crumble into pieces, with beastly shrieks wash down into his doom. And with that, electricity stops flowing into the cobwebs as the source is now dead. Free at last, Desmond comes towards his partners and free them from their nets.
Suddenly, from the splattered remains of the arachnid monster a mist shoots up and forms into a man’s figure. His visage is of Alaric’s, and so is the voice that comes after.
‘Thank you, brave Paladins,’ he says with a calm, peaceful smile. ‘You finally broke me free from being imprisoned in my own body, only watching that wretched Nöac abuse it to his own gains.’
Kyflynn stares at the ghostly apparition and speaks softly, ‘I’m just curious – how did you meet this Nöac, Sir Alaric? I mean, you should’ve known better than to sell your body to this abomination.’
‘I know…’ Alaric’s spirit lowers his head in shame. ‘I was so envious to my little brother, Eldric. I saved his life countless times, even lost my right eye, but he always got the promotion and always got ahead of me in every endeavor. In a mission to salvage the ruins near Norell Loch, I found a Spider Pendant, and Nöac’s spirit in there interacted with me since then.
He offered power, power beyond all limits - a chance to surpass my brother and more. I was so desperate so I made a covenant with him. Never did I expect that he betrayed that covenant, regardless of the curse that will befall him – as he is already cursed. How stupid of me, but it’s already too late…’
Alaric pauses a bit, and then continues, ‘Thank Vadis that I met you three, so I am free at last, ready to atone my sins to the Holy One, ready to be expelled to hell because of the horrors I did.’
Hearing that, Kyflynn raises his hand, ‘Wait. Correction: It was NÖAC who did the horrors, not you. Your only sin was envy, and it was forgiven once you realized your mistake. I don’t worship Vadis, but at least I understand a bit about his intentions and the way he handle things. So, let your heart at ease and go in peace.
Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone about your link with Nöac, so the people of Lore will always remember you as a hero, an equal to your brother Eldric.’
‘Well, thank you, Kyflynn,’ Alaric curls a warm smile. ‘May Vadis bless you three in your struggle in Kraal’thragon. For your information, you and your fellow Paladins must face two more guardians before you can reach the Dark Overlord’s heir, the one you’re seeking for. Farewell.’
With that, Alaric’s spirit levitates and dissolves, crossing over to the afterworld.
Kyflynn and Agustina don’t blink even once as they witness this supernatural event. And then their eyes turn to Desmond, He also has his eyes on the vanishing apparition, and then turns towards the white-haired woman, saying, ‘Are you all right, Tina?’
By which the latter only nods – which is enough for him.
Staggering, Kyflynn walks up to the berserker, pats his shoulders and says, ‘Well done, Desmond. I wouldn’t have had a solution more effective than yours back there. I owe my life to you, partner… my friend.
Well, now that we have eliminated the first guardian, let’s join other Paladins. There are still two more guardians to topple… UURGHH!!’ Suddenly, the night elf falls on his knees!
Desmond immediately rushes to his side, saying, ‘Slow down, Flynn. We have to take a rest for a while, here in the monster-free spot, and let the others do their share. We’ll catch up with them once you’re recovered.’
Agustina also states her mind by pouring a vial of healing potion into Kyflynn’s mouth, puts the empty container back into her bag and sits near her team mates, resting.
Seeing his partners’ actions, Kyflynn only snorts, leaning on a piece of spider crust and staring at the remains of Team Kyflynn’s latest conquest with a smile on his face.
One down, two to go.
Image Source: Monster Spider by DClayne
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