And in that moment, A rapidly blinking eye burst through a stone wall as everything around Arthur changed. Suddenly, rock fell to flesh as squealching growths sprouted from every surface, erupting in blankets of flesh that threatened to throw him off balance. Eye locking in on him, Arthur took a magically-enhanced step back from the creature. Practically throwing himself back against a nearby wall, a slick thump sounded out. As he peeled himself from the wall, a slick substance not unlike saliva ran off the back of his armor. This was probably not a good thing. He couldn't stay here for long, not when the creature was probably actually digesting him. He didn't want to lose any of his memories or any piece of him that made him who he was. It was disturbing, how Matthew had been describing the same thing when the parasite showed itself in the present. Blinking around rapidly, a second eye grew alongside a third as they all focused in on him. Running for his life, the skeleton disappeared around a corner and out of his view. That wasn't his problem right now, Arthur would deal with that later when his existence wasn't being actively threatened by an eldritch type of entity. Requipping his sword into his hand, Arthur dodged what looked to be a red laser beam shot from its pupil. He was glad he dodged out of the way, as it had managed to pierce itself with its own attack. The flesh wall behind him now held a circular puncture wound where the attack had landed. Blood spilled from its self-inflicted wound, and a terribly cry sounded out from all around him. It could definitely be injured, then, from what Arthur witnessed. Taking the initiative, Arthur casted his phalanx prayer around himself before readying his sword. Making a prayer to his god, Arthur hoped for the strength that would lend him the might to vanquish the evil from this wretched cave. Strengthening his grip on his sword, the mage stabbed at the creature's eye. A bust of yellow-red pus coated his shield, sizzling in a way that let Arthur know that any damage he'd do would be cast back at him. His shield still had a lot of durability left, and so he knew it wouldn't neccesarily be a game over if some of that stuff got on him. Left eye having suffered from a considerable wound, it gushed the frothy corrosion down its side of the flesh wall. Shrivelling away back into the safety of the flesh, a puffy yellow-grey scar was left in its place. Maybe he'd only have to kill the other two eyes? Arthur swallowed as the shifting focus of the eye's accelerated and froze solid as they made direct eye contact with him. They looked into him, saw him for who he had been, who he was, and who he would be. It knew his name and he knew it's name. Ark'bhan of Nests was the equivalent in the language Arthur spoke. He wouldn't dare form the name on his tongue, fearful of what unknown effect that would have on his body. It couldn't be good, and so he wouldn't do it. Now that they had been introduced, Arthur rolled out of the way of another red laser beam. Ark'bhan seemed perfectly content with injuring itself if it meant that it could chip away at Arthur's armor. The paladin wasn't agile enough to dodge the second attack, his shield taking another beam attack from the rapidly-blinking eye. His magic shielding sizzled away once more as he found himself rolling through a puddle of the corrosive goop. Recasting the spell, Arthur strengthened his personal shield and gathered a coating of golden sunlight around his fist. Charging up the attack, Arthur launched it at the right-most eye. Taking the full force of the attack, it burst like a boil with the corrosive fluid, once again coating and sizzling away at his shield. As if he was behind a pane of glass, the disgusting fluid somewhat impaired his vision, causing another beam of energy to smash into his shield. At least the damned thing had heaven's mark. This was a good sign though, as it proved the thing was capable of being gravely injured. With the force of the beam colliding with his shield, Arthur was forced to brace his knees as his feet dug into the fleshy floor beneath him. This wouldn't do, he didn't have enough room in this cramped corridor for a real fight. This wasn't good, he was fighting on its turf. Now that the cramped chamber had a decent covering of the corrosive bile, Arthur did his best to dodge the red laser attacks while standing on the flesh bumps elevated above the bile-like fluid. Ark'bhan howled in rage as its second eye shriveled away into the similar-looking yellow-gray scar. One eye left, Arthur thought, as he readied his sword to plunge into the middle eye. The sizzling of his magical bubble unsettled him, but he could always recast it. Arthur was reassured by the fact that he didn't feel the magical drain yet of using all these spells, meaning he could prolong his combat even further if he wanted. Pressing through the sheer force of another laser attack, Arthur roared in anger as he stabbed his broadsword right into the pupil of the centermost eye. Not enough to kill the part, the eye frantically glanced around while blinking in an attempt to dislodge the blade from itself. It wouldn't work though, as Arthur leaved it in there to plug the flow of corrosive pus. He didn't want to know how much the biggest one could hold, nor if his current amount of shields could take it.
With one final blow, a beam of light pierced the cavern's ceiling to strike the foul abomination with one last attack. And this time, the sword impaled in its membrane was not enough to plug up the pressurized acid ready to spew. And spew it did, as the waves of corrosive ooze sprayed like a hose across the expanse of the inner cavern. Arthur's shield fizzled out in seconds at the onslaught of acidic encroachment. There was nothing he could do but take some of the acid-head on as he made a jump for his sword that had been sent flying. The burning at his flesh reminded him of his fight with that snake woman. Arthur watched in horror as the substance burned and blistered his flesh. Desperate to get the substance off of him, Arthur waved his arm around, not daring to touch it with his hands. Casting magic over the wound, Arthur healed himself and momentarily used his healing to block out the pain so he could focus on casting another warding shield. Clearing his mind of all current thoughts, Arthur went into a trance as his hands finally gripped around his sword. Felling his god's blessing as he held it, Arthur was reinvigorated for the fight. "Die you fucking wretch! You're not leaving here alive. Die! Die! Die! Arthur shouted with each slash at the withering ocular appendage. But something wasn't right. Sweat drenched his hairline as beads of the exhaustive liquid poured down his face and dripped from his jawline. His body heaved and shifted with exhaustion and adrenaline. A loud and terrifying rumbling rang out into the cavern as Arthur felt something tearing and shifting. Soon after the last eye retreated into the wall, the floor melted away in a sick slithering noise. And Arthur was falling, falling down right into what looked like a pit of that acid. Growing his magical wings, Arthur flapped them frantically to keep himself afloat. Arthur gagged at the smell of this chamber. It was absolutely massive, red fleshy walls pulsing with an all-encompassing heartbeat. He could feel the thing's body pulsing around him and it made him gag. Gathering his mental composure, Arthur took a moment to deeply inhale the rotten air. It was sickening, but better than nothing. He needed to calm himself down to understand what was happening and what he needed to do next. "WHY WON'T YOU DIE? HOW MANY CUTS WILL IT FUCKING TAKE!" Acid bubbled and churned beneath him. He couldn't land or stop flapping his wings, that was for sure. All of what had once been the ground beneath him was now an expansive cavity that was almost organ-like. Through the steam rising towards the top, Arthur could see a large fleshy mass hanging from what looked like a string of sinew and connective tissue. Flying up towards it, Arthur noticed that his smite mark was still hovering above the fleshy mass. From his knowledge of combat and general senses, Arthur figured he had to attack whatever this mass actually was. With the might of a god empowering him, the paladin slashed at the heart's side. The same yellow liquid sprayed out from the mass like a pressure washer, creating a fountain of the acidic fluid. Arthur could feel the magical shield around him thrumming with intensity. He needed to finish this fight quickly, he didn't have limitless mana. Quickly flying up to dodge the first spray of fluid, Arthur's body shook with Ark'bhan's wail of pained fury. Now with height on the flesh mass, Arthur gripped his sword with both hands as he dived down towards the side of the creature's heart. Tearing a long vertical laceration in its organ, Arthur quickly weaved out of the way of a wave of acid matching the length of the cut that had caused it. Not nearly agile enough to dodge a torrent of that side, acid bubbled away at his protective shield. Ignoring it for now, Arthur watched as another column of light descended on the abomination to aid in smiting it from existence.
The slash wasn't enough, but it was getting there. It was hard to tell through his own timpanic heartbeat, but the tempo of the creature's pulsing was slowing somewhat. Steam curled around Arthur as he flew back over to the gash. Still spewing boiling acid, Arthur's shield allowed him to slash at the wound, creating a cross-section that buckled under the pressure of the putrifying substance. With a growing rumbling, the side of the heart he was attacking completely gave out, pumping out what amounted to a geyzer of the yellow bile. Burning completely through the side of the fleshy wall, the creature wailed in agony as its body digested itself. The sharp smell of blood filtered into Arthur's nose and conscious as he saw that his fingernails were bleeding from his grip on the sword. Gripping it even further, Arthur continued leading cuts along the same side of the heart. Recasting his spell, Arthur's breathing grew even more intensive as he felt an indication that he was nearing half of his remaining mana. This far away from the skeleton and his god's light, there was nothing to help him recover his magical essence. Flying through multiple beams of the fluid, Arthur caught his breath as his wings desperately flapped to keep himself afloat over the pit of stomach acid. While dodging the hearts various spraying attacks and stationary beams, another beam of light pounded down on the fleshy mass. This time, the damage was enough to puncture holes both in the top and bottom poles of the heart. From the top hole, a geyser of acid sprayed globs of it into the air as it rained down to fight against his magical warding. He needed to end this sooner rather than later. His sword wasn't doing enough, he needed more. Gathering golden magic around his blade, Arthur shot out multiple angle rays into the heart. Each piercing the flesh clean-through, more hazardous beams of acid interrupted his vision and flight paths. At this point it was like playing twister with a bunch of deadly beams. As a beam caught his wing, Arthur was sent spiraling down into the acid as the pain blossomed in his magical appendage. Knowing what awaited him if he didn't get control of himself before he landed, Arthur calmed himself and began consciously focused on flapping his wings to keep himself afloat. His breath steadies as steam curled around his exhausted form. Another purifying beam of light bore down on the abomination, piercing more holes from which acid spewed. Giving it his all, Arthur shot dozens of angel rays at the creature, each of which turning the throbbing mass into various intensifying stages of swish cheese. With one final strike of his sword, Arthur's personal shield broke as one final spray of acid caught Arthur right in the chest. Armor quickly dissolving, Arthur flailed wildly at the pain erupting across his chest. The creature had stopped beating, and in one final cry of torment, Ark'bhan died as the acid stopped pouring and the red flesh sizzled away. No longer under its masters protection, the structure of flesh digested itself as the pool of acid sizzled away. Arthur couldn't begin to describe the rate at which his heart pumped and his lungs sucked in breath. It was like there wasn't enough air in the world to supply his lungs with the oxygen they needed. Completely soaked in sweat, Arthur blinked the salty liquid out of his eyes. It stung a little, but that was to be expected. The adrenaline of the situation was what allowed him to ignore the sizzling pain across his chest.
As the monster retreated from around him, Arthur couldn't help but heave out his heaviest sigh of relief. It was over, he could rest. Now that the acid pit and flesh below had bubbled away into mere puddles, Arthur laid to rest on a smooth rock surface away from the nearest puddle. It still smelled absolutely rank, but he was used to it by now. It was the least of his concerns at the moment anyway. As the last of the fleshy canopy above withered away into nothingness, beams of sunlight were cast into the chasm. Arthur could hear birds cawing and singing out into the now-daylight. Had it really been an entire night of fighting? Arthur groaned as the pain of his injury began hitting him in waves. Reminding him of his current predicament, Arthur carefully took off his armor as to not spill any of the fluid that was caught between its plates. Laying the corroding armor to his side, Arthur dispelled his requips and took in his own injury. Blood poured from the spot of the acid attack. Blistering and reddened flesh greeted his worried eyes. His skin was puckered and angry on the sight of the burn, heavily disfigured from the acid's corrosive effect. Now feeling the injury in its full force, Arthur sobbed as he gathered the golden energy in his hands for one last spell. Dousing himself in the magic, the paladin healed himself and all of the injuries he had obtained from the fight. This took a lot of magic, as the damage had been extensive. Enough of his magic had been used so that it left him nearing unconsciousness. He definitely couldn't move from his position at the bottom of what was now clear to be a ravine. Before sleep caught up to his exhausted body, a small obsidian rock floated down into his hands. As it touched his palm, strong rays of sunlight guided him into deep and heavy sleep.
WC: 2579 TWC: 2579
With one final blow, a beam of light pierced the cavern's ceiling to strike the foul abomination with one last attack. And this time, the sword impaled in its membrane was not enough to plug up the pressurized acid ready to spew. And spew it did, as the waves of corrosive ooze sprayed like a hose across the expanse of the inner cavern. Arthur's shield fizzled out in seconds at the onslaught of acidic encroachment. There was nothing he could do but take some of the acid-head on as he made a jump for his sword that had been sent flying. The burning at his flesh reminded him of his fight with that snake woman. Arthur watched in horror as the substance burned and blistered his flesh. Desperate to get the substance off of him, Arthur waved his arm around, not daring to touch it with his hands. Casting magic over the wound, Arthur healed himself and momentarily used his healing to block out the pain so he could focus on casting another warding shield. Clearing his mind of all current thoughts, Arthur went into a trance as his hands finally gripped around his sword. Felling his god's blessing as he held it, Arthur was reinvigorated for the fight. "Die you fucking wretch! You're not leaving here alive. Die! Die! Die! Arthur shouted with each slash at the withering ocular appendage. But something wasn't right. Sweat drenched his hairline as beads of the exhaustive liquid poured down his face and dripped from his jawline. His body heaved and shifted with exhaustion and adrenaline. A loud and terrifying rumbling rang out into the cavern as Arthur felt something tearing and shifting. Soon after the last eye retreated into the wall, the floor melted away in a sick slithering noise. And Arthur was falling, falling down right into what looked like a pit of that acid. Growing his magical wings, Arthur flapped them frantically to keep himself afloat. Arthur gagged at the smell of this chamber. It was absolutely massive, red fleshy walls pulsing with an all-encompassing heartbeat. He could feel the thing's body pulsing around him and it made him gag. Gathering his mental composure, Arthur took a moment to deeply inhale the rotten air. It was sickening, but better than nothing. He needed to calm himself down to understand what was happening and what he needed to do next. "WHY WON'T YOU DIE? HOW MANY CUTS WILL IT FUCKING TAKE!" Acid bubbled and churned beneath him. He couldn't land or stop flapping his wings, that was for sure. All of what had once been the ground beneath him was now an expansive cavity that was almost organ-like. Through the steam rising towards the top, Arthur could see a large fleshy mass hanging from what looked like a string of sinew and connective tissue. Flying up towards it, Arthur noticed that his smite mark was still hovering above the fleshy mass. From his knowledge of combat and general senses, Arthur figured he had to attack whatever this mass actually was. With the might of a god empowering him, the paladin slashed at the heart's side. The same yellow liquid sprayed out from the mass like a pressure washer, creating a fountain of the acidic fluid. Arthur could feel the magical shield around him thrumming with intensity. He needed to finish this fight quickly, he didn't have limitless mana. Quickly flying up to dodge the first spray of fluid, Arthur's body shook with Ark'bhan's wail of pained fury. Now with height on the flesh mass, Arthur gripped his sword with both hands as he dived down towards the side of the creature's heart. Tearing a long vertical laceration in its organ, Arthur quickly weaved out of the way of a wave of acid matching the length of the cut that had caused it. Not nearly agile enough to dodge a torrent of that side, acid bubbled away at his protective shield. Ignoring it for now, Arthur watched as another column of light descended on the abomination to aid in smiting it from existence.
The slash wasn't enough, but it was getting there. It was hard to tell through his own timpanic heartbeat, but the tempo of the creature's pulsing was slowing somewhat. Steam curled around Arthur as he flew back over to the gash. Still spewing boiling acid, Arthur's shield allowed him to slash at the wound, creating a cross-section that buckled under the pressure of the putrifying substance. With a growing rumbling, the side of the heart he was attacking completely gave out, pumping out what amounted to a geyzer of the yellow bile. Burning completely through the side of the fleshy wall, the creature wailed in agony as its body digested itself. The sharp smell of blood filtered into Arthur's nose and conscious as he saw that his fingernails were bleeding from his grip on the sword. Gripping it even further, Arthur continued leading cuts along the same side of the heart. Recasting his spell, Arthur's breathing grew even more intensive as he felt an indication that he was nearing half of his remaining mana. This far away from the skeleton and his god's light, there was nothing to help him recover his magical essence. Flying through multiple beams of the fluid, Arthur caught his breath as his wings desperately flapped to keep himself afloat over the pit of stomach acid. While dodging the hearts various spraying attacks and stationary beams, another beam of light pounded down on the fleshy mass. This time, the damage was enough to puncture holes both in the top and bottom poles of the heart. From the top hole, a geyser of acid sprayed globs of it into the air as it rained down to fight against his magical warding. He needed to end this sooner rather than later. His sword wasn't doing enough, he needed more. Gathering golden magic around his blade, Arthur shot out multiple angle rays into the heart. Each piercing the flesh clean-through, more hazardous beams of acid interrupted his vision and flight paths. At this point it was like playing twister with a bunch of deadly beams. As a beam caught his wing, Arthur was sent spiraling down into the acid as the pain blossomed in his magical appendage. Knowing what awaited him if he didn't get control of himself before he landed, Arthur calmed himself and began consciously focused on flapping his wings to keep himself afloat. His breath steadies as steam curled around his exhausted form. Another purifying beam of light bore down on the abomination, piercing more holes from which acid spewed. Giving it his all, Arthur shot dozens of angel rays at the creature, each of which turning the throbbing mass into various intensifying stages of swish cheese. With one final strike of his sword, Arthur's personal shield broke as one final spray of acid caught Arthur right in the chest. Armor quickly dissolving, Arthur flailed wildly at the pain erupting across his chest. The creature had stopped beating, and in one final cry of torment, Ark'bhan died as the acid stopped pouring and the red flesh sizzled away. No longer under its masters protection, the structure of flesh digested itself as the pool of acid sizzled away. Arthur couldn't begin to describe the rate at which his heart pumped and his lungs sucked in breath. It was like there wasn't enough air in the world to supply his lungs with the oxygen they needed. Completely soaked in sweat, Arthur blinked the salty liquid out of his eyes. It stung a little, but that was to be expected. The adrenaline of the situation was what allowed him to ignore the sizzling pain across his chest.
As the monster retreated from around him, Arthur couldn't help but heave out his heaviest sigh of relief. It was over, he could rest. Now that the acid pit and flesh below had bubbled away into mere puddles, Arthur laid to rest on a smooth rock surface away from the nearest puddle. It still smelled absolutely rank, but he was used to it by now. It was the least of his concerns at the moment anyway. As the last of the fleshy canopy above withered away into nothingness, beams of sunlight were cast into the chasm. Arthur could hear birds cawing and singing out into the now-daylight. Had it really been an entire night of fighting? Arthur groaned as the pain of his injury began hitting him in waves. Reminding him of his current predicament, Arthur carefully took off his armor as to not spill any of the fluid that was caught between its plates. Laying the corroding armor to his side, Arthur dispelled his requips and took in his own injury. Blood poured from the spot of the acid attack. Blistering and reddened flesh greeted his worried eyes. His skin was puckered and angry on the sight of the burn, heavily disfigured from the acid's corrosive effect. Now feeling the injury in its full force, Arthur sobbed as he gathered the golden energy in his hands for one last spell. Dousing himself in the magic, the paladin healed himself and all of the injuries he had obtained from the fight. This took a lot of magic, as the damage had been extensive. Enough of his magic had been used so that it left him nearing unconsciousness. He definitely couldn't move from his position at the bottom of what was now clear to be a ravine. Before sleep caught up to his exhausted body, a small obsidian rock floated down into his hands. As it touched his palm, strong rays of sunlight guided him into deep and heavy sleep.
FIN
WC: 2579 TWC: 2579
