Chapter 31: Golem-Core Self Destruct
After eating to her full, she felt so full of energy Pip immediately fell asleep. With a start, she woke to find herself sleeping next to a small campfire, barely bigger than her.
"Peep! Peep!"(Where is this?), she called out wobbling up her legs, with difficulty after her recent meal. She did not recognize the place, but it felt like she knew the place. She felt unfettered, she unfurled her wings and with a light flap she was soaring through the sky, leaving the campfire and the blue world behind. She closed her eyes, feeling the sense of the wind blowing by her face.
"Peep!" she let out a long caw, her heart was full of wonder.
After a few minutes of soaring through the endless blue, she grew tired and circled back to the fire. There was an emptiness gnawing at her, the further she got away from the fire, intrigued she bobbled closer to the fire.
It was blazing hot, but Pip did not feel any fear from it, rather she felt a warm comfort from it, like a homecoming. She walks into the fire without any hesitation. As she comes in contact with the fire, she feels no burn. Instead, the heat of the fire felt cool against her skin.
Completely immersed into the flames, she bathes in the flames. The cold flame rushes through the pores of her body, opening them up.
"Peep!"(Ouch!), she let out a squeak, clutching her oversized gut.
Her body was overflowing with Mana she had ingested from eating all the herbs. The Mana stirred and rushed out of her body filling the surroundings with white steam.
"Peep! Peep!" (So good!), she cooed.
She eased down her shoulders and her neck slumped, her body turning into dough as she relaxed her muscles. Closing her eyes, she propped down on her buttocks, enjoying the fire bath, beak agape with pleasure.
The small fire slowly grew bigger as the colourless Mana quickly bath itself in the crimson glow, taking on the form of Fire elemental mana particles. As mana poured out of Pip, the fire spread covering greater parts of the world.
As the fire grew, there was a change in Pip's physique simultaneously. The yellow of her feathers became a darker shade; her tiny round body became longer and graceful.
Suddenly she stirred back upright, eyes wide open, reminded of something she could not forget, "Peep!"(Mom?), her heart skipped a beat.
She shuffled out of the fire looking around, searching for her mother, but could not find Rick anywhere. The last thing she remembered was the rugged face of her mom looking at her, picking her up in her arms, before she fell asleep.
She flew around the sky refusing to give up, white smoke flowing out of her, reminiscent of a show-plane. As time passed, the sky lost its colour.
"Peep!" confused she flew back down to the ground.
The blue slowly turned translucent in moments and Pip's eyes grew wide at the scene outside.
From beyond, she could see her mom, looking down from the sky, and then the world turned to pitch dark.
"Peep! Peep! Peep!"(Ma! Ma!) she called out flying up, without care for anything else. But no matter how high she flew, she could not reach the end, Rick's eyes withdrawing further away. No matter what she tried, she could not get out of the endless world, extending endlessly.
"Over my dead body," after what seemed like ages to heard, she heard her mother's voice, like a soft whisper of wind. Along with it, she could feel the pull in her mind, like an unyielding itch.
Pip knew what this was, it was blood connection she had formed with her mother when she had first come into the world. Without a second thought, she accepted the connection.
A thread of her consciousness immediately left her body, connecting with that of Rick. She could see everything happening outside, although her consciousness did not return to that world.
Her mother was facing off two people at the same time and all for the sake of saving her. She could feel Rick's despair at the face of the duos strength and his conviction to save her.
"Peep! Peep! Peep!" she tried called, but she could not reach out to him.
"We have one chance to break off the connection with the human," an authoritative voice suddenly resonated, forcing her consciousness to return back to her world.
Facing her was a face in the flames, but she knew what the face meant. Every connection that he ever made would give rise to an inner devil, limiting his strength. It was a trade she had to make between power and Rick.
"We have one chance, you know that human is not your mother. We are the supreme beings, you calling a human your mother is nothing but a disgrace to us," the face continued.
"Peep! Peep!"(He saved me. Even now he is protecting me with his life), he shook his head no.
"It should be the honour for him to sacrifice himself for us," the face snapped back.
"Peep!" (Stop!), Pip snapped, annoyed by the face.
"You will realize I am right afterwards. You can thank me then," the face declared.
"Peep?" (What do you mean?)
"The human will die in minutes, and then this discussion will become moot," the face smirked
Pip's realized what the face was getting at. She stared at the face, her eyes red with anger. The vision of Rick flashed through her mind, holding her for the first time, riding on his head, sleeping in his pocket, sneaking out. It was only a short while earlier that she had met him, but if he was willing to sacrifice himself for her, she was not willing to sit back watching him die.
"Pwaaa!" she screeched, spreading her wings. Her feathers turned to flames, only growing larger by the moment and fire from everywhere else absorbed into her. The flames around the Face waned before going out completely. She flew up without pause, soaring through the sky, leaving a trail of red in its wake. As she soared higher up, her vision blacked out.
Opening her eyes, she found herself back in the real world. She tried to pick herself up but fell back exhausted. The sudden burst had really taken a toll on her. She looked around and realised Rick was nowhere around, instead, she was in a big green box!
'Peep!'(Mommy, where are you?), she called out, worried she was late to arrive.
"It's going to be okay, don't come over." a moment later she heard back. Grunting she picked her up, she could not rest yet.
---
A moment of silence and thereafter another call more desperate than the last, 'Peep! Peep!'
'Hang in there, I will take just a moment,' Rick communicated back, his head hanging down.
The three of were a car's length away from one another. Eira walked away from Rick and stood next to Alex, gesturing him to take over.
Rick raised his head up to see Alex walking up toward him. With all the force he could muster he puffed his face and spit out as hard as he could, a small rock flew out.
It was the Earth Golem core. Right when the Eira's ice had started inching up his body trapping him, he had grabbed the core from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth, waiting for just this opportunity.
The core shot through the air, Rick could feel the pull of a consciousness thread forming; it was the moment right before the golem core would form its body by drawing onto Rick's Mana. But he did not have the strength to call forth the golem. So he decided to do what he could.
As soon as the connection with the golem-core formed, Rick intoned, "Immolate".
He did not need the Lemegeton to teach him this. It was something he knew he had the power to do at the back of his mind from the very first time he called the golem and the consciousness thread formed with it.
Rick's command was simple, he had instructed the golem-core to self-destruct.
As Rick articulated the word, the thread broke.
The golem core flew past Alex towards Eira. The duo immediately recognized what it was, after their last encounter. But the golem-core started to self-destruct before they could react anyway.
The signet mark on the golem flashed before the golem-core shook midair emitting a deep rumble.
And then came the explosion. it explosion was beyond what Rick could ever anticipate. The beast-core in itself was the source of every spirit beasts energy, besides that, most of the numerous runes on it served the sole purpose of gathering a greater amount of mana into the beast-core.
Boom, the core exploded.
Every moment slowed down thereon, forming vivid memories in him. He first heard the sound of the golem-core self-destructing, followed by a mighty gust of wind, sweeping everything with it. As it crashed past Rick, he could feel the distinctly unique Mana element, one he had never left before. Under the force of the blast, the icy prison holding him to his shoulders creaked, threatening to break at any moment and all he could do was keep his head low and his eyes shut. Right after, Rick felt something hit the ice, the dull blow of which he felt on his leg. Another broke the ice and hit him square on his chest.
Blow after blow came along with the gushing wind, leaving him breathless and in searing pain, pulsating around his numerous wounds, more piling on with each passing moment. Blood poured out from the numerous hits his body took, his hair stuck to the skin of his skull.
'Pip, find Samira, take care of each other,' Rick spoke telepathically, through the intensifying pain. His last words, with a smile on his lips and his consciousness waned.
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Chapter 32: Rescue and Retreat
"Aah!," Rick groaned, his head was pounding and his body ached everywhere. The gravel of the road pressing cold against his face was a sharp contrast to the piercing heat he felt all over his body.
He opened his eyes in slits, the brightness blinding him. He blinked, closed, and blinked again.
The scene before him slowly cleared, he could make out the crater, where the golem core had exploded and beyond it was all crystal eyes.
'Everything feels so heavy,' he mumbled, his eyes becoming blurry again. Just then, a familiar face appeared in his sight, looking right at him. But Rick was horrified when he realized she was on fire!
"What are you doing here Pip? Run, run," he mumbled, as his consciousness slipped and it was all dark again.
---
Aaah! A piercing scream rang out, stirring the serene night sky.
"Haaph! " Rick drew in a sharp breath and opened his eyes wide, waking up from his slumber.
The world before him was a blur. He blinked again, adjusting his eyes. His face to the ground, he peered up to see the sky dark now.
"Alex get up!", a voice echoed in his ears.
Rick pushed himself to his side, to see Eira holding onto an unmoving Alex,
"What happened here?" he wondered aloud, his eyes wandering around. The entire street was a mess.
"Pip, is that you?", Rick looked down to notice a bird standing guard near him. But the bird was no longer the little ball sized yellow bird, it was the size of an eagle and wings the colour of autumn.
"I will kill you and that bird of your," Eira spoke, seething with anger, "Relying on a beast for strength? I detest you!"
'What's going on?' Rick wondered.
"Peep! Peep!" Pip turned and smiled.
They are scared. You are too strong for them , Rick heard
"They are in awe of my powers?" Rick was more confused than before with her answer.
"I will stick your head on an icicle and devour the beast of your right before your eyes. You will pay wi-" Eira started.
"Pwaaaa" Pip screeched suddenly, cutting him off. Rick's heart skipped a beat hearing her ferocious call. He was shocked by the sudden change in the innocent bird's disposition.
But Eira's reaction was even more exaggerated. He picked up Alex by his shoulder and dashed away without looking back for a second time.
Seeing, the duo disappear from his view, Rick finally relaxed. He put his head back down on the road and spoke, "Pip, are you fine?"
"Peep! Peep!" she called back, puffing her chest.
"We need to leave this place. People in the Library may come looking," Rick reflected, "After all we did create quite a ruckus."
He pushed himself up to his waist.
"Aah!" he cried out as a piercing pain shot through his leg when tried to stand back up. His legs collapsed and he crashed down.
"Peep peep!"
"Pip, can you get my bag," Rick asked.
He slowly crawled his way to the closest back alley and rested himself on the outside wall of the building.
Pip was already there, holding the strap of his bag in his beak.
"Thank you," he let out a smile at her. He was not just thanking her for the bag. He did not know how, but he had a feeling that Pip had definitely saved his life today.
He opened his bag to take out the bottle of water. He took a long sip, quenching his parched throat and then tipped the bottle towards Pip, offering her a sip
Pip shook her head no.
"Oh ya, you don't need all this," he nods his head recalling her previous words.
He winced as he poured the remaining water on his head, cleaning the numerous cuts and bruises there.
Crunch, he crushed the empty bottle and tossed it away.
'Do I try to get home or head back to the library,' he contemplated, looking at the star-studded night sky But he quickly dismissed both the options. His home was still quite a distance away and if he ran into anyone else on the way back, he would not be able to even lift his finger in defence.
'I can't even go back to the library looking like this. The Kings will become suspicious about my strength otherwise,' he reasoned.
Auoo, a deep howl resounded at the distance, bringing Rick back from his thoughts. He could not even wait until sunrise waiting there.
He glanced at the window to the building before him, and thought, "Should I try in there?"
"Peep!" she nods her head in agreement.
"Okay, let's do that," he replied. He limped his way up the steps of the apartment front door. The lights were all out, but Rick knew better than to believe a dark house to be really empty.
He held the [Noise Scroll] in his hand as he slowly turned the knob to the door.
The knob turned, the door was open, Rick let out a breath of relief, 'Maybe there really isn't anyone here.'
Pip immediately trotted in without pausing for a second. Rick slowly followed in, limping his way in, and closed the door behind him.
Ding
[You have entered the King-Cockroach Lair
Dungeon Level: 2]
"Damn it," Rick cursed his godforsaken luck. "Let's get out of here Pip."
"Peep peep?" she did not want to leave.
"This building is a dungeon, we cannot afford to fight," Rick explained,
"Peep peep peep".
But we can't stay outside, Rick heard Pip's reply, You take rest right here, I will stand right here right here and if I see someone come, we will just go out.
Rick thought for a second. He would have never considered having Pip stand guard if she had not suggested it. He looked around the place, it was empty, he pulled himself next to the door and said, "Maybe it's my damaged brain, but I think that's a good idea."
Pip's face brightened up, hearing him compliment.
"Let me check this King-Cockroach out," he took out the Lemegeton from his backpack to glean any information on the potential enemy.
"Okay, so they mutated from the cockroaches, already figured that," he recited the information to Pip, "Here, they are generally four inches big and move in swarms of thirty or more, led by the King, who is bigger than the rest."
"They are big and slow, and if not removed immediately can suck your blood dry," he closed the Lemegeton, reading off the bits he thought to be important, "So let's be careful, we will leave the moment you see something,"
Pip turned her back to him and tucked her legs and sat down for her guard duty. On the other hand, Rick immediately dozed off, exhausted.
---
Rick woke up to the feel of sunlight on his face. As he yawned and opened his eyes, realized where he was and immediately sat up straight.
Everything was just like the night before with Pip still, sitting before him, in guard.
Ding
A notification rang, surprising Rick all of a sudden.
"What happened this early in the morning now?" Rick chided as he checked the notification.
[Congratulations!]
[You have cleared the King-Cockroach Lair]
"What?" Rick was flabbergasted. He had slept throughout the night, so he was sure he had not cleared the dungeon.
"Pip, were you here all night yesterday?" Rick asked.
"Peep! Peep!" she looked back at him and nod her head furiously.
"Are you sure?" he asked with suspicion, "Because I just got a notification that the dungeon has been cleared."
Pip didn't immediately reply.
"Peep Peep. Peep Peep Peep!"
I did not think you will find out, I was hungry. Please don't be mad) she lied.
She did not want Rick to treat her like an almighty being. She still wanted him to care for just like before.
"Haha! If you are not hurt I have no problem," Rick answered with a smile.
'Of course, a bird would want to eat insects,' he reasoned, 'And she is a spirit beast after all.'
But the fact remained that unknowingly he had cleared another dungeon. He checked his stats again,
[RICK HANIQUE
[Strength: 14.1
Stamina: 12.2
Concentration: 20.2
Perception: 9
Vitality: 1.9
Agility: 14
Mana: 18]
"The stats did increase," Rick was shocked looking at the drastic increase in stats, but then wondered, "Maybe it is because of the fight."
Only his [Vitality] stat had dropped. Otherwise, all his stats had increased drastically, with her [Mana] stat increasing by seven points.
"Pip, did they drop anything valuable?" Rick asked, excited.
Pip peeked a glance at Rick and then immediately looked away. Rick understood what that look meant, "You ate them all, didn't you!"
Rick did not bother with Pip anymore and immediately pushed himself up and walked out the door. He had already made up his mind to head back to the Library rather than back home, as the Library was much closer.
Suddenly a something landed on his hair, Peep a call rang.
She has changed back to her tiny form and decided to ride on his hair instead of walk or fly,
"Were you on fire last night?" Rick suddenly recalled. He was not sure if it was something he hallucinated or that really happened.
I am always on fire. I am the best, Pip replied.
Rick chucked hearing her answer, not bothering to ask anything else.
---
The chair squeaked as he sat down behind the desk. He always hated the monotone white of these rooms, even when they were makeshift ones.
"How are they Doctor?" her soft voice, like the icy storm rang through the silent halls.
He hated being called the Doctor, never getting his medical license. But she was not one he wanted to discuss this with.
"Mr Alex will survive, but both of them are severely injured. With Mr Eira's low [Vitality] and Alex's injuries, they will probably not gain consciousness today," the Doctor replied, scratching his unshaved face replied,
"Let me know when they wake up, the Library settlement will be in chaos if they find out our people ended by like this. Keep all this under wraps," with a nod she walked out, her white robe fluttering away behind her.
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CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Cold_Sun
Cold_Sun
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