Chapter 77: Chapter 77: The Great Core’s Champion

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Experience Gained! Reduced Due To Assistance Received.

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Experience Gained! Reduced Due To Assistance Received.

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Experience Gained! Reduced Due To Assistance Received.

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The thought-light washed over me as the few flesh-twisted bad-things that had pushed their way past [Chrono Fire] were quickly defeated, cut off from the rest. A few of the Coreless let out audible sighs of relief as we continued to retreat, losing some of the tension that tightened their shoulders and furrowed their brows.

I thought that was what happened, anyway. I still wasn’t entirely sure what expressions meant what, but I felt fairly confident this time.

Soon enough, we left the bodies far behind us, pushing through the tunnels with a speed that belied the Coreless’ exhaustion. They knew that the safety of the many-nest was nearby, and they were eager to reach it. Without the flesh-twisted bad-things directly nipping at their heels - or stabbing, really - the pace quickened.

I knew that we had arrived before I saw it. The knowledge made itself known on the tip of my flicking tongue, the unmistakable scent-taste of the many-nest mixing with something sharper.

Fear.

Even the Coreless around me - the ones covered in ore-flesh, the ones that were strong - gave off the scent-taste of terror to a recognizable degree, intermingled with the blood and sweat that coated their bodies.

And yet, that was nothing compared to the sheer panic that the weaker Coreless gave off. I had managed to ignore it earlier; the Shrieking Bats and flesh-twisted bad-things had pulled at my attention more than any scent-taste could, no matter how powerful.

Still, there was no ignoring it now. The cloying scent-taste of terror had only grown more powerful as we approached the safety of the many-nest, its bite accentuated with the acidic tang of urine and fear-sweat.

It was disgusting, but I was thankful for it.

Their fear meant that they would only be more grateful when they were saved.

As we turned a corner and caught sight of the many-nest at last, a clamorous shout rose from the gathered crowd of Coreless. They had gathered in a giant group at the black-water’s edge, a few of the many-nests’ defenders directing them onto the darkwood not-sinks in small groups. Safety was in sight - but it had not yet arrived, as a few remnants of the Shrieking Bats made clear.

The flying bad-things swooped down from somewhere far overhead, dropping from the darkness of the cavern’s heights with their terrible screams. A ripple flowed through the crowd as they reacted to the threat. Some raised hands to their ears, grimacing in pain. Others lifted makeshift claws and fangs, unaffected by the noise, having long since lost any sense of hearing. Even more simply stood there in a stupor, as if they had lost any fight.

I hissed in annoyance at those. They would be no help to the Great Core, not as they were.

Still, the Shrieking Bats - as dangerous as they might have been - never reached them. A wave of needle-fangs shot outwards from not-sink platforms on the black-water. The Coreless that stood upon them lowered their needle-fang spitters immediately afterwards. The Shrieking Bats dropped to the floor, lifeless and limp.

It was an impressive attack, and the crowded Coreless must have agreed. The scent-taste of fear dipped, dropping lower than it had been before the Shrieking Bats’ attack.

Fortunately, it would not be as effective against the flesh-twisted bad-things. Not with so many Coreless blocking the needle-fangs’ path, anyway. I would still be able to prove the Great Core’s might, and in front of so many Coreless. Afterwards, the Great Core’s Coreless would grow in number. The Aridae’s manipulations would easily be defeated, after that.

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As if called by my thoughts, the scraping sound of the flesh-twisted bad-things began to grow closer. My [Chrono Fire] had burned itself out, and the disgusting bad-things were finally free to follow us again.

The weak Coreless heard the sounds, too. They began to push and panic with renewed vigor, desperate to clamber onto the darkwood not-sinks that cut across the black-water. The overfull not-sinks wobbled unsteadily under the weight of so many Coreless, sending splashes of black-water up in tiny, flying droplets. The Coreless recoiled from the black-water drops, but they continued to fill the not-sinks enough that they struggled.

There were too many of the weak, fleeing Coreless. There were too few not-sinks. Some - most - were forced to wait, stewing in their exhaustion and terror. They turned towards the sounds of the flesh-twisted bad-things with wide, unblinking eyes. They watched, hoping for salvation.

I hissed, eager to give it to them.

The first of the bad-things turned the corner at last, and a quick flick of my tongue caught the spike of fear that followed. As more and more of them turned the corner, their terror only grew. Somewhere behind me, an infant cried. Somewhere else, a juvenile. Elsewhere, an adult. Newborn or elder, they were tasted of terror.

I wasn’t surprised. From what I had seen, few of them could fight; not like my Coreless could, anyway. Not like the warrior Coreless that stood at our side, covered in their skins of ore-flesh. And even if the stronger Coreless and the defenders of the many-nest tried to defend them, it was possible that one of the bad-things would reach them - and if they did, the crowd of Coreless would be torn apart.

Even the Coreless covered in ore-flesh could be killed by these bad-things, as I had already seen. The weaker Coreless wouldn’t stand a chance. There was something different about them, something that made them weaker than my Coreless, though I wasn’t sure what it was. Either way, as the Great Core’s champion, I would save them. I was sure that the Great Core would be able to make use of them all, even if I couldn’t understand how.

As the flesh-twisted bad-things grew closer and more numerous, their legs scraping the stone as they shambled along, I slithered down from my perch at last. The-female-that-was-not-Needle made a loud noise of surprise at my sudden movement, moving to follow before reaching down in an attempt to pick me back up from the ground. I twisted away from her grasp, the motion accelerated by the fast-spot provided by the ore-flesh that covered the top of my length, and flashed a quick illusion of myself fighting alone against a few shadowy figures, with the Coreless watching from a distance.

I didn’t bother to make the illusion accurate or complex, instead just trying to get my point across with a few crude shapes. She furrowed her brows for some reason.

“Are you sure? Is this another future-sight thing...” she shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice trailing off at the end. I flinched at the loud noise, my head bobbing reflexively, and hissed back softly to demonstrate a more acceptable noise level. She shouted again, so I decided to just ignore it as a lost cause. I noticed her turning to make some gestures at the other Coreless; they gestured back and, a moment later, the group backed up further and made a defensive wall in front of the weaker Coreless.

I gathered myself, clamping down on my tail for a moment in thought while the bad-things continued to advance. My flesh itched slightly, a few minor injuries knitting themselves back together. The cavern was large, with a wide open expanse between ourselves and the bend of the tunnel where the creatures had emerged. There was a small amount of time left before I had to move.

As the Great Core’s champion, I couldn’t afford to shame my creator. I didn’t need to just win. I didn’t need to just protect all of the Coreless that remained. I needed to make it seem easy - even if it wasn’t. I couldn’t afford to fight in the way that I normally did, willing to accept injuries or relying on my Coreless to deal the killing blows for me.

I had to fight completely alone. I knew that it would be hard. I didn’t have the claws and fangs of ore-flesh that my Coreless did, able to easily cut through hard-flesh. I didn’t have the natural weapons that the flesh-twisted bad-things, the arms of sharp bone that had been able to pierce through friend and foe alike with little difficulty.

I did have a few things, though. I had the blessings that the Great Core had given me. [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail], the ability to heal myself from injury. [Minor Mana Core] and the uses of mana that it provided: [Mana Venom] and [Mana Fire], though my store of mana had already almost run completely dry. My venom, both death and slow, along with my [Poisonous Blood]. [Clinging Grasp]. [Sound Shaping].

I had [Illusion Spark]. [Chrono Fire]. [Traveler].

Finally - and most importantly - I had [The Endless Cycle], the greatest of the Great Core’s blessings. The utter and complete surety that, eventually, I would win. And yet, this time, I didn’t think I’d need it - not even when outnumbered by these bad-things that were so much larger than myself.

Because for once, I found that I might have actually had a plan.

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