Morphling

Amver couldn’t understand the scene before him.

A horde of beasts have suddenly appeared and routed the Nachtnamari forces.

Creatures of flesh and blood shouldn’t be able to fight the Nachtnamari head-on because of their corruptive nature. That is the reason why the most combative of the fae forces, the wildlings, couldn’t participate directly in the fight.

And yet, an army of beasts have managed to penetrate deep into the enemy line and crush them by a simple charge without so much as losing momentum and completely ignoring the vitality-sapping Red Mist.

And not just any beasts, but the mighty lords of the Noctus Lagoon that was from all the way out west. Why would they be all the way here?

The Nachtnamari were by no means weak, but their numerous Ravagers were but dolls of straw before the might of a single primatus.

Even the smallest of their kin, the Web-Weaving Macar, matched the Blood Hunters in agility, but because the specialized Nachtnamari were fewer in number, they easily fell to the numerous traps laid by the web-slinging primatus.

The largest of their forces, the Rot Hulks, could at least match the Four-Armed Kongs that rivaled them in size, but they were outnumbered three to one.

And most of all, the vast majority of the beast forces were Great Horned Apes. Standing between eight to ten meters high and covered in an armored carapace with bodies as thick as oak trees, seeing thousands of them mow into the enemy forces was a sight to behold.

Without the power of the Nachtnamari’s corrosion, the balance of power between the two forces was too one-sided. It was simply too terrible of a matchup.

Of course, it didn’t mean that there weren’t some casualties on the primatus’ side, but all within Noctalum knew it was a taboo to slay a primatus before their kin.

As the fight grew fiercer with more dead primatus cropping up, the ones to witness their slain kin started to act more aggressively.

Their eyes grew red as a feverish rage seemed to take over them.

With a synchronous roar, the world appeared to quake at their anger as the earth looked to be literally torn apart by their blows.

There was simply no room for the fae to intervene. As the primatus’ collective rage took over, the strength they displayed was akin to a living force of nature.

Though the Nachtnamari were guided through their connection and moved as a swarm, strategy and numbers simply became meaningless in the face of overwhelming power.

Hundreds of the vile creatures died by the minute and soon a path was paved for the scattered fae forces.

“Young flame, good to see you alive and well. Took us some time to get here, but some beasts have suddenly joined the fight giving us some breathing room. What’s the matter? You seem stunned?”

As though it were a casual greeting, Ogmai arrived and called on Amver along with his gathered forces.

Unlike Amver who possessed a means of levitation, Ogmai couldn’t see the entirety of the battlefield and what was happening so his reaction was tamer in comparison, but he could feel the earth tremble as though a terrible force was crashing against it.

“It’s a miracle, old stone. I’m witnessing a miracle.”

Amver couldn’t stop trembling in excitement. It was originally a fight to buy time before the other Fae Lords could complete the imprisoning vessel, but with the power of the primatus, a chance appeared for them to completely overturn the war.

He wanted to share his excitement with his fellow lord, until a sudden change occurred on the battlefield.

A bright red pillar of sinister light shone from the center and with it came an indescribable feeling of foreboding.

The primatus sensed it too as their fury was doused with an instinctive dread of something terrible that was coming.

Seeing the light in the distance, Amver and Ogmai immediately understood. Whatever was the source, it needed to be stopped.

– - –

An explosion rang out as something struck the Niskari Lord that sent it flying backwards.

In a series of flips, it regained its balance and stared at the source of the explosion.

The being it believed to be a Fathomless One had one of its arms converted into what looks like a pipe.

Using the recoil from the blast, it had managed to gain some distance and stared at the Niskari as well.

The attack had caught it off guard, but it had managed to avoid a direct hit from the blast at the very last minute.

The attack, however, did manage to chip one of its horns which was incredibly tough by the standards of this world, so it knew the weapon its foe possessed was powerful.

The changeling was surprised as well. It didn’t think the entity would be able to dodge its attack at point blank, but its body contorted in a way as if it possessed no bones. The changeling could do the same, but it didn’t think its opponent would be able to pull off something similar.

[I see you possess a few tricks. Let’s see how long those tricks will last.]

Again, the changeling could hear something ringing in its head. It didn’t understand what the sounds meant, but it believed the source was the creature before it. It believed it was a type of psionic attack that was meant to befuddle the mind, but it felt like it wasn’t really effective.

[□□□□□□□ □□□□. □ □□□□ □□□□□ □□□□□□□□□ □□□□ □□□□□□□.]

By simply manipulating a part of its brain, the sounds were now faint and became simple buzzing noises.

The red creature must have realized what it had done as it appeared more visibly upset, but the changeling didn’t really care.

Now that it could focus back on the fight, it processed the data it had gleamed off from what it had witnessed and analyzed.

First, it determined that the red entity utilized a different kind of energy. It was another energy it couldn’t recognize but found that it ate away at the native energy of this world; the same energy that it was still trying to comprehend and exploit.

Or rather this different energy was being converted into a power that erodes vitality and the native energies. It worked in the same manner as how the native energy is being converted by some creatures into their elemental powers.

This power manifested in the form of a virus.

It was a unique virus that targeted and mainly infected all that made contact with this native energy, including the atmosphere.

It displayed properties that allowed it to infect even non-biological matter as long as it was in contact with said energy.

This was a very peculiar virus since logically a virus could only infect the cells of living organisms, yet as per the changeling’s analysis, this power was indeed in the form of a virus.

However, because it behaved in the same manner as a virus, the changeling was no stranger to its workings and thus was able to create a virophage that in turn infected this power.

This had effectively sealed this ability, but it didn’t mean the energy couldn’t be utilized in other ways.

Having similar properties to this world’s mysterious energy, there was no doubt the red entity could alter the manifestation of its unique energy to some new form.

Next, the changeling could determine that the physical attributes of the current red entity are extremely high. It didn’t seem to possess any morphic abilities like the previous black entity, but it understood it could manipulate its body to a certain degree.

In terms of strength, although there wasn’t a lot of data, it could see that its power at the very least rivaled that of the black Tyrant on some level, but not to an overpowering degree as shown with its inability to twist the black Tyrant’s arm.

Its speed and reaction, however, were on another level.

The changeling could barely see it when it moved to attack the black Tyrant, and it needed to enhance its perceptive capabilities if it didn’t want to lose sight of it.

Not to mention its high intelligence and cunning, the red entity’s attributes simply placed it above everything it has fought so far.

If the changeling had the means to utilize its own mysterious energy, then perhaps it might have allowed it to face the red monstrosity evenly, but at the current state, it is merely speculation.

With all the information it has analyzed, the changeling came to the conclusion… that it cannot win.

At least, not if it fought alone.

In other words, it needed the aid of its current available forces, but seeing how this red entity’s presence alone is causing a disturbance to the regular primatus, it could only receive aid from the Tyrants.

It looked to the red, white, and black Tyrants. They in turn nodded towards the changeling and glared towards the red monstrosity.

The changeling then looked towards the twin wolves with whom it had left its little green companion with.

Shaking in its place, the changeling could see that the little green one could barely resist the pressure emitted by the red entity. But resist it, it did, and it gave a look that it wouldn’t run despite the fear it was showing.

The twins appeared ready to fight as well. They both stood their ground and rather than fear, it could sense only ferocity in their demeanor directed at their enemy.

It seemed that they possessed the disposition of Tyrants as well.

Understanding that this was a fight where they must risk their lives in order to live, the changeling accepted their wills and would use them to the utmost of its ability.

[Are you done acknowledging your own weakness?]

Once more, it could hear the strange sounds in its head and while it still couldn’t understand it, this time it could somewhat sense the mockery in its tone. This was the arrogance shown by a creature that was used to its place at the top.

Regardless of what it was, however, the changeling’s response would be the same.

As long as its chances weren't zero, it would manipulate the fight until it would win.

Transforming and matching the red entity’s size, the changeling had once more donned its form for combat.

Emitting pressure no less than the red monstrosity, its eyes glowed a fiery blue as the two faced each other.

This time, the two would truly clash. And while the red monstrosity was leagues above the changeling in terms of manipulating the energies they both possessed, the changeling was not alone.

They must win, or they all would die.

***