Morphling

Jortus and Loen weren’t really sure what was happening.

As soon as they arrived at the camp, they were receiving mixed reports from their forces across the field.

“A huge number of primatus have swept up the Niskari from the west!”

“How are our teams on that front?”

“No full report from them yet! They’re waiting for the horde to pass!”

“The fae that have been routed are pushing back. We need teams to support them, fast!”

“Don’t engage the primatus! I repeat, don’t engage the primatus!”

Seeing the chaos within the camp, Loen pulled one of his men.

“I need a report on the situation.”

Seeing it was his superior, the man gave a nod before answering, “Chief, we detected a force coming from the west and sent a team to investigate. When they returned, we were informed it was a horde of primatus so we went with the standard procedure to lure them away from the Niskari, but they completely ignored all our attempts to lead them.”

Loen gave a nod in acknowledgement as he turned to Jortus before looking back at the man, “Continue.”

“Yes, Chief. When they ignored our attempts to lead them away, we prepared for the worst when they would be drained and converted into more Niskari, but –“

“They weren’t corroded, or rather they weren’t affected by the Red Mist emitted by the Niskari,” said Jortus.

Looking at the old mage with wide eyes, the man stammered, “Y-yes, that’s right. For some reason the beasts didn’t slow down and continued their assault with no signs of losing momentum. In fact, for each of their slain, they fought much fiercer and the dead weren’t being converted. They also seem to be ignoring everything else that isn’t Niskari.”

After hearing the report, Loen and the old mage nodded to each other. What they’ve discovered wasn’t wrong. Somehow, the primatus are immune to the corrosion of the Niskari. Not only that, they are focused on fighting only the Niskari.

Jortus then turned to ask the man, “Have you located the two Fae Lords?”

The man nodded once again, “We’ve spotted the stone lord a little to the northeast, while the fire lord got sent further east of the battlefield. They were sent deep within enemy territory, but the timely assault of the primatus have lessened their pressure. Right now, they should be meeting up with the other fae.”

The old mage let out a sigh of relief. If the lords are fine then the fae forces won’t crumble.

“Inform the others, we will push towards the fae with the help of the primatus. Let them be the spearhead and support them where you can.”

He then turned towards Loen, “I’d like to get in contact with that little creature. My gut is telling me it can help us. If I’m right, it should be our old friend.”

Loen made a face that showed he wasn’t sure what to say. The old mage has his moments, but this was on the level of questionable sanity.

“Jortus, I trust you as a friend and a teacher, but this…”

It was simply put, crazy. Even if the primatus are focused on the Niskari now, who knows what would happen after. Especially now that they have been confirmed to be led by not only three Tyrants, but also by a lone mysterious creature.

It was unrealistically optimistic to think of it as friendly despite their current situation. They know nothing of it, and the sense of familiarity the old mage is referring to could be something more sinister. What if the creature is from the Outrealm and has unknown ways of manipulation? In a way, it would explain how the primatus had gained immunity.

No matter how great the old mage's reputation, there’s simply too much at risk for them to rely on the old mage’s “gut feeling.”

Also, the “old friend” he’s referring to simply disappeared leaving behind a puddle of liquid slime residue. Despite the numerous tests done on it within the last month or so, nothing noteworthy came of it. It was simply confirmed to be the remains of a dead forest slime.

And yet, Loen himself was there when the creature fought; when that puddle of “slime” was once the creature’s arm. It simply had that amazing of an ability in mimicry if it could even be called that.

What’s more, the old mage described the little creature as having a bony plate on its face, almost like a skull mask.

A feature its more loathed nemesis at the time possessed.

This was why Loen was more wary than the old mage. He simply couldn’t trust the creature after it consumed something that assimilated other lifeforms while at the same time shared some of its features.

But Jortus insisted on his claims.

“I know what you’re thinking. It may seem like I’m doing something extremely reckless, but I can tell, that little fellow could be our last hope. Trust me, Loen, my plans never failed us!”

“Your plan almost got you eaten earlier.”

“One time! It won’t fail us again!”

Loen rubbed his palm over his face in exasperation. He was truly against the old mage’s idea, but he knew he couldn’t go against him when he was in this state.

Once he got an idea that he believes would work, he’d go through with it no matter how reckless it was. In fact, as per his experience, it was better to go along with the mage than to let him be to his own devices in order to reduce damages as much as possible.

With reluctance, he finally said, “Alright.”

“But! If I determine it’s too dangerous, I’m pulling back and taking you out of there, “he said with a voice that left no room for compromise.

Jortus immediately accepted. He acknowledged that it was reckless, but he wasn’t crazy. It’s just that he knew he wasn’t wrong when he read the beast’s mana signature.

There was no mistake, that little creature was definitely the great beast that fought the Chimeric Fallen Bloom.

He doesn’t know if it’s truly a malevolent being, but what he did know was that this creature is definitely related to the Outrealm. It was twice now that the creature was found facing off Outworld entities. Twice, and yet he couldn’t believe it was simple coincidence.

Also, the biggest factor that made him sure of his convictions that it was the creature he believed it to be was the presence of two wolves within the battlefield.

They appeared much older and each had a different color, but how likely was it that there was another creature that emitted a similar mana wavelength to that beast it knew while accompanied by two wolves?

If it was the Bloom that had triumphed that day, there was no doubt it wouldn’t be accompanied by the wolves it had saved.

And more importantly, it wouldn’t have saved the children.

It could have simply expelled its prisoners then made an escape while everyone was distracted with saving the remaining kids. Or, if it was foolish, it could have simply consumed them on the spot to restore itself to some degree.

But the creature chose neither. In fact, despite its degrading condition, it risked itself to restore the waning condition of both Misesha and one of the little wolf pups.

He couldn’t understand why the creature would be willing to sacrifice itself for the sake of others, but whatever the reason, he doesn’t believe the creature possesses any malice.

Now it leads an army of primatus, one of the most fearsome beasts that resides within Noctalum. For whatever reason, it came to take on the forces of the Niskari.

What’s more, it somehow granted the primatus immunity from their enemies’ greatest weapon. They could never have dreamed for such miraculous reinforcements.

This was why Jortus was more than willing to give the little creature the benefit of the doubt. To guarantee the destruction of the Niskari Lord, there was no better way than to make contact with the little beast.

He was about to plan the best route to take when a great pillar of red light suddenly shone from the center of the battlefield.

The light seemed to wash the horizon with the color of blood, giving it a sickeningly sinister glow.

Jortus was shocked.

He recognized what that bright red pillar signified and it wasn’t anything good.

Bolragmal, had finally awakened.

– - –

It was too soon.

It needed more time.

But it wanted to live, or it would die.

These were the Niskari Lord’s thoughts before forcefully consuming all the energies that were stored within the Aberration.

The “eye” on the Aberration’s head cracked as a bright red light erupted from within it.

As it forcefully converted the stored power, the Aberration began to visibly shrivel up into a husk.

Angered from being forced to waste most of the energies it had collected, the malice and bloodthirst it emitted was so dense, some of the primatus began to suffocate from the immense pressure.

The light was formed from a violent whirling storm of red mist. Within the center, a silhouette could be seen.

As suddenly as the light and storm appeared, it just vanished. In its place at the center, a desiccated corpse of a giant could be seen, while floating above it was something humanoid hugging its legs in a fetal position.

Soon, the entity unfurled itself and revealed a simple skinny form. It was much smaller than the Aberration and appeared like a skinless humanoid, but possessed reptilian features such as its tail and claws.

Its head was featureless, possessing only an elongated maw like that of a lizard’s filled with sharp teeth protruding from the side.

On its head were crystal-like horns in the shape of a ram’s with color as though it were dried blood.

It seemed to “stare” at those before it even though it didn’t visibly possess an eye.

Zamorg could feel the pressure it emitted, but wasn’t intimidated. With a snort, it was ready to face it again, only… the creature suddenly disappeared.

Sensing danger behind it, it swung its arm towards its back with a backhand, but when it struck it felt like it had punched a solid mountain.

Turning to see the creature blocking its swing, it sneered at the Tyrant as it grabbed onto its wrist and threw it onto the ground.

Dazed, the Tyrant tried to lift its head, but it was stepped on by the creature to bury its face into the dirt.

It had a mocking expression as though it enjoyed tormenting the beast, and just as it was about to snap its arm, it suddenly felt a presence behind it.

It turned to see the little skull-faced creature standing there.

With the ends of its mouth raising up to form a sinister smile, it opened its mouth to reveal pulsating black tendrils that appeared like gnarled roots squirming within as they formed knot-like pustules with eye-like growths.

[Lone wanderer from beyond the veil. Do not think I do not know. You are masterless and hold no power here.]

It then turned towards the other primatus that was surrounding them.

[If you think the likes of these pitiful beasts is enough to stop me, then you have made a grave mistake. Let me show you why!]

 In that moment it tried to twist the black Tyrant’s arm and break it, but… it simply wouldn’t budge.

[What?]

It turned to look at the massive arm and found that it hardened to the point it could be mistaken for metal.

It was surprised since it couldn’t break it, but for only a second. However, it was enough time for the changeling to act.

Alarm bells rang in its head as it turned towards the changeling.

Before it, just inches from its face was a single black hole that seemed to be the end of something long pointing towards it.

The last thing it heard before it suddenly blanked out was a bang.

***