The Last Dainv

Chapter 233

"The fuck is that?" Kyle said.

The creature wobbled, picking itself up like a baby deer just being born. Each time it pushed itself up, the blade sunk into the flesh creep on the floor, blood leaking from where it had stabbed. The black blades scraped against the stone below the flesh creep, creating sounds that grated against the ears. Black blood dripped down from the stumps where the blades had been jammed into its limbs.

Analyze.

[Holy Order Blade Runner (young)]

[Stage: Defiled]

[Description: An assassin of the Proctor's Holy Order Army. Once human, perverted into machine and flesh. To stop the pain, they pray to Mohrusy for a divine blessing.]

"Lily," Gale whispered. "Quiet sigil. Now."

Lily whispered to herself and traced patterns in the air. A blue sigil spread out through the hall, settling in the middle of where the group stood and the blade runner.

She nodded, drawing her deagle.

Line up and fire, Gale signed to everyone.

Kyle's hand moved the fastest, drawing his R0-Balista and pulling the trigger multiple times. Ollie aimed Prudence and fired multiple times as well, along with Lily.

The creature staggered from the first hit, then followed the rest of the bullets. Flesh shredded from the firing line. The blade runner fell down onto the floor. Its face and torso shredded into bits and pieces that splattered everywhere. A spear of ice flew through the air, killing and pinning the body down to the floor.

The bullets stopped as Gale gave the signal to stop. Breath of the Void felt the life seeping out of the blade runner. Its signature grew weaker and weaker until it faded out of existence.

Gale nodded to Lily and the silence sigil disappeared.

"Let's go," he said.

They moved through the transit hub's hall, weapons still drawn. Never know when one of these sacs would burst open.

Glancing back at Erin, she was tapping rapidly at her bracer. She said she had been directing the guardians to move to strategic points in different sectors. Maybe that's why Sanctuary sector wasn't crawling with abominations.

Stepping over the blade runner, they arrived at the door that led to the inner defense hall. Walking through the broken door, a massive vast chamber greeted the group. Flesh covered every surface. This one had no embryonic sacs. Instead, it had tongue like appendages that were pushing organic matter that looked like limbs and torsos into the pool below.

"Shit," Ollie whispered.

From left to right, the pool didn't have any end to it. It was a gorge of bright green liquid similar to the fountain they had just come across. Wisp of vapour stung at the ceiling above, making everyone wince as it stung their skin.

Erin stepped forward, her eyes narrowing at the obstacle. "Passage demands reaching the opposing threshold. No evident route presents itself."

"How deep is it?" Rachel asked, peering over the edge.

"Deep enough to dissolve your legs before you'd reach the bottom," Gale said, breath of the void peering down below not even reaching where the bottom was until he reeled it back in.

The distance to the other side was about 80 metres. Something he couldn't cross himself. Same as before, he'd probably take Rachel's piggyback.

"Lily," he said. "You're up first."

She nodded, taking a sprinter's stance towards the pool of acid. The first circular blue light shield appeared as the first step just above the pool in front of them. And then, off she went. The first shield disappeared as her foot lifted off it and another one materialized just as her other foot came down onto the next step. Just like this, she sprinted off to the other side, not missing a step of her shields.

When she reached the far side, Lily turned back to the group and gave a quick nod. Moving through to the doorway, she held up her deagle, scanning left and right before signalling to the team 'clear.'

"Erin," Gale said. "Can you make it across yourself?"

"My capabilities exceed such trivial obstacles," Erin said.

"Good," Gale turned to Rachel. "I'm counting on you for this one."

Rachel grinned. She turned, offering her back. "Hop on."

Gale climbed on, arms around her shoulders.

Rachel took three quick steps toward the edge of the pool. Flames erupted from her feet, propelling them upward. The sudden acceleration pushed Gale against her back as they soared over the acid, crossing the gorge. Vapour caused him to squint his eyes, but Rachel didn't seem bothered by it at all as she kept them stable.

To their right, Ollie floated with his telekinesis that gave him a faint blue outline, following them closely. Sweat dripped down from his temples, not totally sure if that was the acid or if something was wrong with Ollie. Erin looked like she was just walking normally on solid ground. Her expression remained unchanged, neither bored nor happy, just completely neutral.

Behind them, Kyle pulled his dagger from his belt. Flicking his dagger across the pool, the blade embedded itself on the floor near Lily. A blue blink from where he was, and he instantly appeared at the other side, holding his dagger where it had been lodged.

Rachel's feet touched down on the opposite side, flames extinguishing as Gale slid off her back. Ollie and Erin followed, touching down on the other side of the pool.

"Thanks," Gale said.

She nodded, trying to hide her smile.

"Ollie, are you ok?" Gale asked.

"I'm fine. Just keep going," Ollie said.

Gale nodded, then moved to the doorway where Lily was. It was the entrance to the Core Chamber, and just as expected, it was filled with sacs, many more than when they were at the transit hub. Where the Core was supposed to be, a giant beating heart was connected to the embryonic sacs that filled the entire room. Each sac had two pipes of flesh at the top that led to the giant heart.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Analyze.

[Holy Hatchery]

[Stage: Awakened]

[Description: A woman of the Proctor who was modified by the flesh forges, made to serve as a living heart to feed her nutrients to the sacred wombs.]

Gale winced at the description. Before he exited this damned rift, he'd fucking kill this Proctor for making a mockery of life. These were living humans, sentient, that were perverted by this god-complex idiot.

"Gale, what's wrong?" Rachel asked.

"Nothing," Gale shook his head, then turned to Erin. "We're at the Core Chamber. Where to now?"

Erin pointed toward the giant pulsating heart. "Behind that grotesque organ lies a maintenance panel, concealed beneath layers of flesh. The panel connects to a service duct that will lead you to the civilian paths."

"Of course it's behind the fucking heart," Kyle muttered.

Gale studied the room. To get to the other side, they'd need to traverse this place while careful to not burst any of them.

Breath of the Void expanded once again, tendrils seeping through the cracks between the sacs. He looked for the shortest route within the maze and found that the path to the left would be the most direct route while avoiding killing their way through.

"Through to the left," Gale said, pointing to the space between the sacs. "Looks like the fewest connections to the heart."

They moved forward in formation, but before Lily could move through the sac, Gale tapped her on the shoulder. He whispered the directions to her as he saw them through the tendrils. "There'll be forks at each turn. Just follow this order: left, right, right, straight, left, straight, straight, left, and then lastly straight until you reach the giant heart. You got that?"

Lily nodded, "Memorized it. Just follow me close."

Gale followed her first, then Kyle, Ollie, Erin, and lastly Rachel keeping the rear in check.

The embryonic sacs hung just above them. Kyle had to crouch at some points of the first turn as one of the sacs hung too low. Each sac pulsed with its own irregular rhythm that didn't follow the giant heart in the middle. Seeing them this close, most of the bodies inside were distinctly male with cut off limbs and had blades jammed up their stumps. This must be producing more of those blade runners.

A soft sucking sound made them all freeze. One of the empty sacs to their right contracted and expanded. A vein above it bulged in a peristalsis that was pushing something into the empty sac. The body of a child pushed down into the sac, eyes and mouth open wide in a never ending scream. Its limbs were also stumps connected to blades, and its red blood seeped from the stumps, mixed with the green fluid inside the sac.

The sac continued expanding and contracting, sucking out the red blood. And soon, the child's eyes closed, as well as its mouth. A sort of tranquil expression covered its face.

"Fuck," Kyle muttered.

"Focus," Gale said.

They were approaching the last straight. Walking through the sacs, the heart grew bigger as they approached. It stood on the platform where the house sized core should be. From where they first entered, it didn't look that big. But that was wrong. The closer they were, the easier it was to tell the size. It was the size of a house.

Unlike a human heart, it had multiple chambers, at least 7 from what Gale had counted. Black metal rods pierced the organ to keep it steady. The flesh seemed to have melded with the metal itself.

Walking around the giant heart, they reached the place where Erin had said. Everyone looked left and right at where the panel should be, except Erin. The walls were completely covered in flesh. No one seemed to have a clue where the panel was.

Looking to Erin, Gale asked, "Where is it?"

Erin moved from where she stood. She moved to a larger, thicker part of the flesh creep that had a boxy outline and pointed to it. "Here. The panel lies beneath the flesh."

"We need to cut through," Gale said. He turned to Kyle. "You're up. Rachel and I will cover. Everyone else, stay on your toes."

Kyle nodded, drawing his dagger as he approached the flesh creep panel. "Stand back."

Gale positioned himself at where they came from, peering through the straight between the sacs. If he saw anything, Erebus would materialize immediately. Rachel stood beside him, scanning other directions. Her gauntlet glowed orange, heat emanating from it, ready for anything that would come.

Kyle went to work and sliced at the flesh creep like butchering a pig. His dagger hit the metal, creating a muffled scraping sound. Satisfied with the sound, he cut down from where he met the metal and sliced through the flesh.

The flesh parted reluctantly, separating in thick, rubbery strands that clung to the blade. Kyle disregarded the resistance and continued to carve, creating a rough square about three feet across. Each cut let out more black red blood onto the floor of flesh as it released the scent of ammonia.

The heart's rhythm changed, accelerating as Kyle continued cutting. The embryonic sacs throughout the room began pulsing faster in response, their contents shifting more actively.

Gale's Breath of the Void scanned the entire room. The increased beating wasn't just in front of them. All the sacs in the room probably felt the pain of something being cut.

"Hurry," he said.

Kyle worked faster, finally slicing up the final line that made the rough square. He pulled out the flesh wall and beneath was a square grated metal duct.

"Got it," Kyle said. Not caring about the noise, he pulled it out from its screws and hinges with ease.

"This leads to the service ducts," Erin said. "We will take it straight and then drop down at the first vent opening into the civilian paths. From there, we shall take the first path to Unity Sector."

Rachel moved forward first, crouching and peering into the dark square opening. "I'll take point from here."

Gale nodded.

Rachel slipped into the duct without hesitation, lighting up her hand before her like a glowstick. Lily followed next, then Kyle, Ollie, and then Erin. Gale took up the rear position.

The duct was cramped, barely wide enough for their shoulders. Unlike the flesh-infested chamber behind them, the service duct remained clean and dry, just like what Erin said that the flesh creep had no thermoregulation.

They moved in silence, the only sounds were their breathing and the muffled as much as possible scrape of boot against metal. After about fifty metres of crawling, Rachel stopped. She held up her fist, the universal signal for halt. The team stopped in place.

Rachel pointed downward, then held up three fingers. Found the vent opening to the civilian path. Three enemies below. More flesh pounds. Looks like they're still not aware of our presence.

Everyone looked back to Gale's position. He was barely visible through the bodies, but still he tried signing. Ollie, can you hold them then we kill them quietly?

Ollie smiled with a pained expression. He shook his head before signing back, Dust withdrawal. Could barely hold myself up earlier. I'll take more dust when we're fighting.

Bad timing. Should've known when he was sweating earlier through the acid gorge. Gale then signed to Rachel and Lily. New plan. Lily, quiet sigil again. Rachel drop first, take left. Lily, take right. I'll phase through where I am and take middle.

Both women nodded. Lily's fingers began tracing patterns in the air as Rachel positioned herself over the vent.

Gale signed to Ollie: Can you still coordinate?

Ollie nodded and made an OK sign.

Below them, three flesh pounds patrolled the path. One of them moved away walking to the left. For 5 minutes, it didn't come back. It walked back into place where it stood by the vent, and sniffing sounds could be heard from it. The other two began to sniff as well but then grew bored after not finding anything.

Just before the one on the right was about to move, Ollie raised his hand.

Two. One.

Go.

Rachel and Lily kicked the vent cover out together. Silence sigil muted everything. The flesh pounds didn't even respond. Both women dropped.

Gale didn't wait either. He phased through the duct and jumped down to the middle flesh warrior. After exiting the wall, Erebus materialized in his hand.

One swing. The black blade sliced through the flesh warrior's metal bucket head like it wasn't even there. Black blood sprayed like a fountain from the top half of its head.

To his left, Rachel had exploded her fist on top of the flesh pound's head. The flesh pound's bucket head crumpled inwards.

To his right, Lily held up her two deagles, firing them both at the same time at the flesh pound. Brain matter, bone, metal, and flesh splattered across the wall.

All three flesh pounds toppled onto the floor simultaneously.

Gale looked up at the vent opening where Ollie, Kyle, and Erin watched. He nodded, signalling the all-clear. Kyle dropped down first, followed by Erin who dropped softly like a leaf. Ollie came last, dropping jerkily as he tried to control his descent with telekinesis.

"You okay?" Gale asked.

Ollie wiped more sweat from his face. "I'll manage. Can't waste dust when we're not in a skirmish or worse."