Chapter 69 - Attacked

Logan roared as he struck the first great lizard-beast charging towards him. Tumor had morphed the most of the Armor into a hefty zweihander, with which Logan cleaved at the first beast.

The blade cut true, slicing half a foot into the beast’s neck, but it got lodged on the shoulder.

By the time Tumor had morphed and receded the blade, the other crocodile creature snapped at Logan. Logan dodged. Where had been Logan’s head was his torso. The jagged teeth managed not to penetrate the Armor, but the pressure was crushing. The monster shook its head like a dog with a toy.

[Reinforcing Armor at the points of highest pressure. We should wait until the beast lets go.]

“SCREW THAT!” Logan shouted. “FIRE A MISSILE”

Logan did his best to control his arms. With the left he grabbed the monster’s snout and the right one he shoved inside.

In an instinctive panic Logan roared. “FIRE IT!”

Tumor was already half a second ahead, having computed and predicted when Logan would finish his movements. Logan’s arm and shoulders kicked back and a loud BOOM was muffled by the monster’s intestines.

[Skill Level Up!]

[Power Armor Fighter level 5]

The monster screeched and tossed Logan aside. The Black Missile was already coming back after leaving a gaping hole in the Monster’s black and blue mottled back. It collapsed on the ground.

By that time the beast with the cleaved neck was already on him. It stumbled at its prey with fierce determination despite the injury. Logan coughed up and spat out blood. His vision was swimming. He must have broken a rib. The pain was intense. Tumor was saying something inside his head. It sounded urgent.

Logan managed to dodge most of the stumbling monster’s trampling attack by instinct and by Tumor taking over as much as it could. It still managed to push its massive weight on Logan’s leg.

It was a testament to the Armor and Tumor’s speed that the injury was minor. Logan broke out of his haze and prompted tumor to make a spear.

Logan charged and snarled. He pushed the spear through the monster’s neck and lodged it on a tree at a high angle. The creature snarled and swiped at Logan with its claw. Logan raised his arm and a shield formed to absorb the attack. Before the monster could strike again Logan fire another Black Missile bursting the back of its head open.

It was just in time before the titanic monster vomited the disgusting, thick black ooze on the ground again. This time it went all out. The towering monster almost visibly crumbled and shrank inward as if afflicted with old age. It went completely gray and its wild eyes all slowed down and dimmed.

Levemoth, who had been majestically floating in the sky during this time, overseeing the destruction it had orchestrated, now flew down. It almost came down to the treeline. Even with the black sludge forming into another set of lizards, Logan paid no heed. He was frozen in terror.

The Great Thief came directly upon him and the giant crocodile monster it had spawned. It rumbled and sighed, making the whole jungle tremble. The great thundercloud around it was dark and endless. The outlines of a snakelike body could be seen passing in and out of the storm. With its massive size it blotted out the sun and an unnatural darkness fell upon Logan and the forest around him.

The beasts from the black ooze were now fully formed and they charged at Logan in a crazed frenzy. On some theoretical level Logan understood that he had to move. He had to act. But he couldn’t he was stunned by terror and awe.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Tumor screamed at him urgently to move, but Logan’s arms fell limp on his sides.

An eerie lamenting voice like a whale call deep underwater sounded. It was so chilling and so alien that it almost brought Logan’s mind from a stunned stupor to the edge of madness.

There was a quality to the voice so strange, so harrowing, so malevolent, that it would certainly make a person mad if they listened long enough. The sound continued.

It was a long whistling and ululating sound which seemed to fill the whole universe. It was a language. And as with every language on this strange world, Logan could understand it.

You are distracted Blaa’hmat. Find the Greedy One. He is the mission. We need him for the ritual.

The shirveled crocodile-monster looked up at the sky and bowed. It let out a hoarse screech which stopped the four smaller monster charging at Logan. They turned and went back to their progenitor, which ate them, regaining its vitality.

The Levemoth started to ascend, taking its distorting, maddening presence with it. Logan started to regain his mind. It was sluggish, but he remembered himself and thoughts began to flow once again.

But then the Great Thief stopped. It seemed to notice Logan, who had dropped to his knees, all of his energy spent and mind muddled. The oppressive presence grew tighter and Logan’s mind slipped from him once again. The eerie whalecall was low and subtle now, almost a seductive, gentle whisper.

Insect. You understand me do you not? Oh… You were touched by the Gods. Yes, I sense it… They think you could stop me, perhaps. But I have a God of my own. The Nameless One. Through his malice now I am awakened. You cannot stop me. Submit to me. Despair and submit to me…

Logan’s mind was further slipping. Something was tugging at it. Pushing away his own thoughts and emotions. Yes, he should get his people together and make a plan to build. They should use Numa. It is only natural. They need it to survive. They should gather as much Numa as possible. Numa was the answer to Logan’s problems. He didn’t realize why he hadn’t seen it before.

[Logan…?]

Logan shook his head. Wait what? He was already using Numa. The Natural Numa, not the stuff corrupted by Levemoth.

What the hell? Tumor?

Then the Great Thief whispered again. This time the tune was demanding, urgent, violent.

He was being haunted by greed… Terrible gnawing avarice which would not relent. It was like an itch Logan couldn’t scratch. Greed for NUmA! TO USE IT CONSUMEIT Eat! IT! ConSumE! GivE IT aLL to HIM! Give NUMA to MASTER! SUBMIT!

[DANGEROUS! Logan I am sorry. I have to shut you down.]

Logan blacked out.