章 29: Overreaction
The work of removing the cores from the athonexs was quite tedious. Unlike humans, most beasts had the majority of their cores gathered in one place, like a power nucleus in their bodies.
The two cores of the athonexs were held in their back, right beneath their shell.
This meant that Rackshar had to pry open their shell from the leg areas. When he was in peak condition the task was slightly annoying but in his current condition. . .
It took an hour before Rackshar finished dismantling the first one. He was drenched in sweat and rainwater and was cursing all turtle like creatures in his mind.
To make matters even worse, the Elder Athonex had started a loud string groaning half an hour ago. Rackshar assumed it was attempting to call for its children but was too stupid to realize that they were all dead. It was probably hard for it to imagine its children losing, after all they had outnumbered him five to one, four if you don't count the one who had never cleared the edge, and each of them was stronger than Rackshar, at least physically.
To be fair, Rackshar wasn't in good condition after such an intense battle. If it wasn't for his lack of ability to feel pain and his core recharging in time, then Rackshar could have been the one being dismantled right now.
As Rackshar pulled out the two cores, one brown and one green, he decided that the top of the craig was a safe enough area for him to drain them. He had to be careful when he exposed his soul outside his body, or it would be quite easy for low level magic attacks to do real damage to him.
Fortunately, the top of the craig was as safe as could be. The Elder Athonexs presence scared away all the forest creatures, keeping them far away from the craig. At the same time the Elder Athonex had no way to ascend, so in a way, it was like it was acting as a bodyguard for Rackshar.
Chuckling at the thought he quickly put both cores to his forehead, letting a part of his black soul emerge. The two cores were shrouded in the dark mist and when the mist withdrew, they had lost their color, turning into dull gray stones.
Rackshar let out a relaxed sigh, feeling the devoured energy nourishing his damaged soul. He let the cores slip from his fingers as he relished the feeling. It was like pouring cold water onto a burn, even though he would need far more energy to be whole again, that little bit of salve still felt great.
"ROUGGGGGG!"
Rackshar was torn from his little moment by a particularly loud groan from the Elder Athonex, he lowered his head and he grit his teeth in frustration.
'Why won't this stupid beast get the picture.' Rackshar thought as he massaged his temples, another groan rising from below.
Rackshar lifted his head and glanced behind him, an evil grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. He began to make his way to the athonex corpse he had just finished dissecting.
'This'll shut him up.' Rackshar thought, grabbing the body by one of its legs and dragging it toward the edge.
Though the body was far lighter after half its shell was ripped off, Rackshar was still out of breath by the time he pulled it to the ledge.
He got behind the athonex's body without looking over the edge, to avoid drawing fire from the Elder Athonex. Placing his shoulder against the desecrated remains he gave one final shove, to send it plummeting, directly on top of the Elder Athonex.
Rackshar quickly scrambled to the edge to admire his handiwork, imagining that the Elder Athonex would be too preoccupied to pay him any attention.
He made it just in time to watch as gravity impaled the tiny athonex on the trees growing out of the Elder Athonex's shell.
Silence reigned supreme as the Elder Athonex froze in place. Its eyes were wide with shock and disbelief at what it had just seen. A long neck stretched out of its shell to bring its unblinking eyes to confirm the nightmare it had only imagined.
Seeing the bloody mess on the front of its shell left by its mangled child, the Elder Athonex's eyes went red. It swung its head to glare at Rackshar, who was standing on the ledge smirking down at it.
Fury took hold on its heart, as the Elder Athonex realized it had sent its children to their death.
Roaring to the sky it blindly smashed itself into the craig.
Rackshar laughed at the scene and shouted down in derision. "Whoa! Calm down big feller! You don't need to worry; I'll make sure to return the rest of them back to you as well! That way you won't get lonely!"
Another anguished roar answered his taunt, as if the Elder Athonex could understand the intent of Rackshar's cruel words.
As if rammed itself into the craig again, some blood actually dripped out of its head from the impact.
Rackshar chuckled at its desperation. "Knock yourself out kid."
Walking away from the edge, Rackshar picked a new victim and began the strenuous labor of removing its cores. His work was often interrupted by termers running through the craig, paired with anguished cries.
While the previous groans of the Elder Athonex were annoying to Rackshar, the current cries were like music to his ears. He savored every heartbroken note like it was the most beautiful symphony. The added impacts, that sent vibrations echoing through his chest, were like a comforting massage on his heart. He went about his messy work with a happy smile on his face.
Rackshar had been sawing for 45 minutes and he was already almost done separating the shell from the current athonex. His speed of butchering had increased quite a bit due to his cheerful mood that helped him cope with his array of injuries.
His smile widened in anticipation for when he would give the Elder Athonex another present. Rackshar could almost picture its suffering already.
'Speaking of the turtle...' Rackshar thought, his smile turning into a pensive look.
He hadn't heard the Elder Athonex's cry for several minutes. Rackshar decided that he would take a break to check what it was up to once he finished his current butchering. He almost wondered if the brainless beast had knocked itself out in its insanity.
Ripping the shell off with a satisfying crunch, Rackshar quickly cut into the athonex's soft flesh and extracted its two cores nestled just beneath its spine.
He closed his eyes and placed the two cores on his forehead, but before he could use his soul to suck them dry, he felt a slight vibration beneath his feet.
His eyes flicked open and Rackshar frowned as the vibration started getting stronger. He put the two cores away and quickly walked to the edge just in time to see the Elder Athonex running full speed at the craig, determination written in its blood shot eyes.
Rackshar's eyes went wide as the Elder Athonex used its massive momentum to throw itself sideways smashing its shell into the craig.
"Damn!" Rackshar exclaimed, as the entire craig rocked back, throwing him off his feet. He rolled for several panicked seconds before he caught a slight outcropping and hung on by his fingertips. Looking down, he watched the remaining athonex corpses fall off the back of the craig and disappear beneath the trees.
Then the craig rocked forward again and, as it impacted with the ground, Rackshar was thrown forward. He rolled all the way till his head hung over the edge. He found himself looking straight down into the eyes of the Elder Athonex. Rackshar felt the pure hate burning brightly for that brief moment that their eyes locked.
The Elder Athonex was the first to break their staring contest and it calmly turned around and began to walk away from the craig.
"Damn it!" Rackshar said through clenched teeth as he watched the Elder Athonex getting distance for its next charge. A charge that Rackshar knew would end his safe haven.
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