[Melas] Chapter 106: Aftershock (Patreon)

“Bertrand will take care of them.”

Gennady made the statement. It was obvious what it implied; that Bertrand was going to use one of his experimental weapons or mana tech tools to deal with the Abominations.

I would have preferred this, honestly. Getting into an engagement with Abominations was not fun, even if they did not attack me. Especially when the more intelligent ones were around. I could still hear their chittering— like the sounds of a thousand birds chirping at once, mixed in with the grotesqueness of an insect. There were a lot of Abominations here.

Certainly, just from the sounds alone, I was pretty sure there were more here than the ones Gennady and I dealt with back in Laxis. I nodded at him and started forward.

“It’s good,” I said, steeling myself. “At least we won’t have to fight.”

“We just haveta find the source of all these Abominations, eh?” he snorted. “No biggie, right?”

I rolled my eyes, ignoring his sarcastic remark. The cavern shook once more. Whatever payload or device they were bringing down here was sure to collapse the entire mine. But it mattered not to me. They probably thought of the effects it would have to the city above.

Or was it even above right now? We had traveled quite far— perhaps they reinforced the ground, or we were far enough away from the city that it didn’t matter. Regardless, we pressed on. We brought ourselves further down the tunnel.

A Dwarf and a girl. This seemed almost silly to anyone who was watching this. Looking at you, Elara, I mentally said, glancing around. If things went awry, I knew she would save me. However, Gennady would die.

So, I glanced over at him as we turned a corner and the noises grew louder. “Stay back.”

“Oi, you’re not the one with the camera here, are ye?” He held up the clunky device. It was powered by mana crystals, of course. However, I had taken a brief look at it, and I thought the mechanisms were similar to old-timey cameras back on Earth.

I produced an open hand. “Then give it to me.”

He shook his head. “No can do. I ain’t gonna let you get yourself killed, Melas.”

“It’s Aria.” I tapped a finger on my mask.

“I’m going with you.” He fixed me with a serious look.

I chewed my lower lip. “Fine,” I sighed, spell circles forming around me. I began pre-casting. Explosive Orbs, Frost Javelins, and other projectiles. No Geomancy. I did not want to mess with the geography more than I already had. Perhaps to try and prevent a cave in. But not for offensive spells— it would erode the foundations of the tunnel even more.

The chitterings grew into what almost sounded like shrieks. I could see bits of blue sticking out of the walls, lighting up the tunnel like some kind of bioluminescent fungus or moss. There was a cry— an ear piercing sound. I narrowed my eyes as the end of the tunnel glowed brightly. As if there were some bright light source there.

Gennady followed a step behind me. I held out my hand, creating a translucent barrier, preparing myself for whatever Horror or Atrocity was there. We stepped out into a large cave chamber, and we saw—

Abominations. The blue bulbous creatures. Their yellow cores shone, glowing brightly, illuminating the room with their wicked light. They wore the corpses of dead men and women. Children and the elderly. It did not matter what species of animal, monster of sapient being offered itself to them.

Dwarves, Humans, some Elves and Goblins, Monsters, giant worms, dead rats. The Abominations took them all. They were alien to this world. There were so many of them. And there were so many Monsters fighting back.

My eyes grew wide as I took in the sight. Large, undulating, red centipedes crawled out of holes in the wall. The clicking of their feet much softer than the chittering of the Abominations. However, their speed far outmatched the blue creatures.

And they were not alone. I saw the ground break— the cavern shaking and bits of the ceiling crumble down— as large badger-like creatures dug their way out the ground. The dirt gave way, splashing up like they were emerging from water. And they swung at the Abominations with their vicious claws.

Other Monsters like large worms, oddly-shaped insects, and even bats charged the Abominations. It was a large scale battle. Almost a full blown war. I stared with Gennady, both of us breathless, unmoving before this sight.

Then my senses returned— the survival instinct kicked in. I snapped at Gennady. “Take the picture!”

He took a step forward, raising the camera— click. Our job was finished. Now all we had to do was leave. The Abominations were distracted, and they did not attack me either. We could escape—

And a large centipede fell behind us, wrestling with an Abomination in its mandibles. It snapped the Amalgam in half and cast its gaze upon us. I took a step back. And it snarled at us.

“Stupid Monster! Aren’t you supposed to be fighting the Abominations?” I sent a Frost Javelin its way. It slithered around the attack, climbing up the walls of the cave. Its feet dug into the stone— and the ceiling collapsed.

I stared at  the giant centipede as it fell along with the earth and rocks ahead of us, burying the passageway with a loud rumble. Then I cursed.

“You’ve got to be kidding—” My Frost Javelin pierced through its carapace, skewering it in an instant. Behind us, I heard the chitterings of the Abominations growing louder. The fight intensified. More Monsters joined in, as the entire chamber shook.

“Melas, can you clear the cave with your Geomancy?” Gennady asked in a hurried voice.

I faced him, eyes narrowed. My lips twitched. I hesitated. “I—”

Another tremor ran through the large room. Parts of the ceiling collapsed. Rubbles fell behind and in front of us. This entire cave system was going to fall.

But the Abominations— these underground Monsters— they were all going to be fine. They would survive; they were built for this. Not us.

“Grab my hand,” I said, extending an arm to Gennady.

The Dwarf blinked. “Wha—”

“Just do it!”

The ceiling opened up, sending large boulders falling down as a giant ant queen emerged, coming down on the Abominations. I held my barrier up like an umbrella. It shielded me from the rain of earth that would have surely crushed me otherwise. Gennady grabbed hold of me. He clung to my arm as a spell circle formed on my staff.

I aimed at the ground below us, and it shot up. A pillar of earth rose up, going against the falling dirt and debris; it felt like the entire world was collapsing around us. I watched as the giant queen ant ripped apart multiple Horrors— the bloated Abominations exploding into their acidic mess. It sizzled into the skin of the giant queen ant, but it did not melt through its armor.

Rocks the size of trees came falling at me. I knew my barrier would not withstand the impact. I pointed at it and sent Explosive Orbs up, blowing them apart before they could reach me. I covered my mask as we approached the tall ceiling.

“Gennady!” I called out to him, beginning to focus my magic on digging a hole through the earth.

He noticed what I was doing and nodded. “Got it!” He pulled out my Cluster Bombs from his bag and began flinging it up. The explosions sent out plumes of smoke, nearly blotting out my vision. But I could sense the magic.

I could feel the earth without seeing it. And the stone gave way. It molded out like it was made of clay, forming the shape I wanted it to. A loud screech drew my attention back down for a moment.

My eyes darted in the direction of the giant queen ant. I watched it fall, its green blood spewing out of its chest. And a shining figure landed on top of it. An Atrocity.

The intelligent Abomination that was almost like a person. Its bulbous sac was more like a skin that covered its body, the yellow core scintillating with a brilliant radiance. Its red eyes flickered over to me for a brief moment— looking at me with a keen sense of understanding.

Then it bounded over at the next Monster. It tore through them just as I tore through the earth. I focused my attention back up into digging. Gennady breathed.

“That Regina Formica was an A Rank threat…” Shaking his head, he turned back to me. “How did that Atroccity kill it so easily…?”

“I don’t know,” I said as the sounds of fighting grew muffled. The ground below us continued to rise as I bore our way up. “However, I hope that whatever Bertrand plans on using to clear out this place works.”

“For once, I’m glad that mad Scientist is on our side,” the Dwarf agreed.

It took a while, but we eventually ascended all the way up to the surface. I was panting, exhausted, but not completely worn out from the affair. Not like after the first time I had fought the Abominations with Gennady in Laxis. It was a sign that I was growing stronger— I did not think I would be able to perform this feat if I was the me back then.

We emerged amongst some tall, dark trees. Were these pine trees? They were something similar, at least. I lay on the grass for a moment, just sighing deeply. I could feel some mild tremors— very minor. It was definitely not something that would be felt by those in Jahar’taw.

“Where are we, anyway?” I asked Gennady.

The Dwarf was sweating. His hands were shaking as he picked himself off the ground. “I… it seems we’re to the south of the inner city.”

“Then let’s get going.” I shook my head and started forward. “Let’s just get this over and done with.”

“That’s a good idea, lass,” he said. “I wanna lie down for a while after this.”

We reached Jahar’taw not long after. The sun began to set, but it was not very high up in the sky when we left the mines. We were covered in dirt and grime, so we looked like we were miners coming back from work.

That just meant we blended in casually with all the others in the evening crowd. When we got to the Hunters Guild, Gennady submitted all the evidence we had. They told us they would process it and send it to the House of Or’taq. And then?

Bertrand would deal with it.

I was curious about what that alleged ‘mad Scientist’ would do to deal with the Abominations. So, after I rested up and a few days passed, I made a visit to the MTRDT. I gave the excuse that I was going to give him a report on the Dimensional Storage Box, anyways.

The older Human man was overseeing some kind of project— I could see Golems moving in and out of a room, carrying heavy boxes full of materials. I heard clinking— light seeped out of the corners of the box, revealing the mana crystals inside.

I raised a brow as I approached Bertrand. “What’s all this for?”

“Ah, Melas, I appreciate what you and Gennady have done. It makes my job far easier.” He turned away from the Golems, letting them do their job. “This is what we’re using for the Mana Bomb.”

“Mana Bomb?” I frowned. “You mean that super weapon you’re working on?”

“Working on?” The aged man shook his head. “No. It is complete. This?” He gestured at the glass window— at the bomb they were constructing. “It’s a scaled down version of it. It will be what we’ll use to deal with the Abomination problem.”

“Isn’t it a bit close to use such a powerful weapon?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “Wouldn’t it reach the city?”

“Not at all.” Clasping his hands behind his back, he hobbled away from towards the window. His eyes were fixed on the bomb as if it were his own child. “Other than some smoke and debris visible in the distance— and maybe a mild tremor. There will be no issue whatsoever.”

I stared at Bertrand’s back. The black suit was so loose on his frame. He looked so frail, his shoulders hunched on one side. And yet, for a brief moment, I saw what Gennady saw in him.

When the payload was delivered to the site of the Abominations a week later, I felt a tremor run through the earth. Despite the fact the outer city was even further away from where the Abominations were, I felt my bed shaking as I was lying and trying to sleep.

They carried out the operation at night. So as few people would be disturbed by it as possible. And yet, I could feel the aftershocks of such a powerful weapon.

A super weapon.

It was something from Earth. Something which, if I were in another world and I were another person, would be brought by me. I did not— I tried to keep my knowledge to myself. And yet—

And yet…

The world progressed regardless of my influence. Because it did not revolve around me. It never did.