Clandestine Undertakings (open!)

[Anonymous]

Looking back down the street again, she narrowed her eyes into thin slits. The dark magic she had sensed before was growing. Interestingly, its power was increasing rather slowly, which made it hard for her to pick up on its aura. Had she not already been paying attention to it, she would have never noticed it. She suspected this was meant to keep the townsfolk from noticing such powerful magic pooling into one source. Now there was no doubt in her mind that the necromancer was planning something sinister.

"Whatever he is casting, it is extremely powerful. I never felt anything like it before," she spoke softly. She would never be able to survive a spell of this caliber, especially without her staff. The monk would probably be able to withstand it, but Nikanoru was not hunting him.

She walked to the entrance of the alley, hoping that she could locate the source of the magic by getting closer to it. After concentrating for a few moments, she sighed in defeat, unable to even discern the direction. However, she could tell that it was not that far off. Either he was casting it somewhere close, or he was moving toward them. They had to move quickly.

Straightening her cloak, she turned back to Nikias. He raised some good points. Nikanoru would expect that they would try to confront him directly. Their best option was to try and outwit him, something easier said than done. "Good plan. My father taught me a basic invisibility spell a few months ago, but without my staff I won't be able to maintain it for long."

[Anonymous]

Although Nikias could not be said to have acute extrasensory perception, he thought he could sense--something. At the very least, it was a growing unease on his part, partly due to being out in the open like this. The weather was also starting to get to him, the rainwater having soaked into his clothes. His youthful endurance would not be able to keep this up. If he got nothing worse than a simple cold by the end of this, he'd be all too lucky.

The reports from the girl weren't much better. Of all the evil wizards he'd have to run into, it had to be the most powerful ones imaginable. His luck, as per usual. Though he still wondered why no one had noticed anything, yet? If not the deaths of her parents, then surely the presence of dark magic were enough to usher mages out of their homes in curiosity?

With a somewhat mournful expression, the former monk of the Yoreiq Isles looked down at the girl in silence. I don't know if I can save you, he thought quietly. I don't know if I'm strong enough. At this, he closed his single eye, doing his best to clear his thoughts of both doubt and hallucination. Whatever happens, he decided, It is fated. This girl's destiny is is in the hands of the gods, just like mine. I shall embrace that truth, and trust that the world is just, in its own way.

"Invisibility spell," the young man echoed quietly, his eye still closed. "Good enough. Let's hope he has no spells to counter-act it." Finally, he stood up, coming out from his trance and looking towards the alley across the street. "Let's move. Quickly. Try to stick to walls with low-hanging roofs, but not alleyways - easier to trap us in them. If he discovers us, go invisible and find a place to hide. I will deal with whatever weapon he plans on using."

[Anonymous]

After hesitating for a brief moment, she stepped out into the street and looked both ways. The streets were still abandoned, which was hardly surprising, considering that the storm was showing no signs of clearing up. Unfortunately, that made the task of traversing the town much more difficult. Not only would the weather impede their journey, there were no crowds for them to blend in with, either. Unless they moved quickly, Nikanoru would have no problem tracking them down.

She moved down the side of the building and stopped for a moment to look around, trying to see if she recognized anything. They were somewhere on the western side of town, but she had no idea where. Recognizing a building in the distance, she smiled to herself. It was the restaurant she and her friends used to hang around during the summer! She remembered that her parents usually passed it when they went to visit their friend.

"I think I know where we are," she told him, looking over her shoulder. "If I'm right, we can get to her house quickly from here. My father always took a shortcut near here whenever we went to visit her."

Moving closer to the wall of the shop, doing her best to stay under its awning. She took off again, looking back every now and then to make sure the monk was still with her. It wasn't like she expected him to get lost or abandon her. She had a feeling the necromancer might try to subdue him first, leaving her all alone. If his 'conditioning' involved terrifying her, that would be the best way to do it.

She continued sneaking through the streets for about another twenty minutes. At first she paid close attention to the faint aura of dark magic in the distance, but it began to dissipate the closer they got to their destination. Now she could not even pick up on it anymore. What that meant, she was not sure, but it had to be a good sign. Perhaps someone else picked up on the aura and stopped the necromancer before he could finish his incantation.

Stopping near a food stand, she took a moment to catch her breath. She glanced up at the sky, noticing that the rain was finally lightening up. Despite this, she doubted the villagers would come outside any time soon. It was pitch black out, and an early morning fog permeated the air. It was nearly impossible for her to see where she was going, but she could sense that they were close. In a few minutes she would be safe and the necromancer will have lost.

"We should be close now," she whispered, looking back at Nikias again. She started walking again, but suddenly came to an abrupt stop, her eyes wide as dinner plates. The dark aura was back again, and now it was extremely close. It was much stronger than it was before, and she could sense a life force within it. Now she understood what he had been planning: he created some sort of creature to attack them.

An absolutely horrifying wail rang through the air, one that chilled her to the bone. She had never heard anything like it in her whole life. It was so bizarre that she was hard pressed to think of anything it resembled. It sounded otherworldly, but she could tell that it was dripping with hunger and bloodlust. Strangely, it seemed like the creature was in pain, as well. Wasting no time, she closed her eyes and threw up the invisibility spell, sinking back behind the food stand.

(OOC: Let's get ready to rummblleeee!!)

[Anonymous]

As Nikias followed the little girl beneath shelter from the pounding rain, the sense of waiting, anticipating the danger to come, began to tax on his concentration. He began to hear whispers, voices pressing him on, telling him that all was not well. He saw figures dancing in the rain again, the serenity of their pose almost making the monk want to laugh. How they teased him with their grace, while his life was in--No, he thought quickly, shaking his head with frustration. It wasn't real. It was just his mind playing tricks on him!

And then he heard a keening, unearthly cry, unlike anything else... enough to give him pause, as his mind conjured up aural echoes of more high-pitched cries to go with it. Another mental delusion? But the girl was gone, all of a sudden... turned invisible. Danger was near, and it would be unlike anything Nikias faced before.

His blood ran cold; his knuckles were white as he tightened his grip on the wooden staff, feeble protection against whatever danger lurked out there. And the girl... would she be snatched up, while he wasn't looking? Perhaps Nikanoru had already heard their plot. He didn't know. He just didn't know.

And so his flair for the dramatic came out within him. He marched out into the middle of town, raindrops beating down on his hair and clothes, sandals trudging on the muddy road. His single eye open wide, he took a deep breath, and gazed around with an intense expression. Come on, he goaded the horror that hunted him and the girl. I will not run. Come and challenge me.

(OOC: It's oooooon. :B)

[Anonymous]

Nikanoru silently watched the scene unfold from a nearby rooftop, his lips curved into an amused smile. Taking a few steps forward, he stopped near the ledge and looked down at the young monk. It had taken him a good deal of effort, but he finally found him. The child was nowhere to be found, but it was obvious that she was still in his company. He knew the monk was too intelligent to send the child off on her own, and he could still sense her presence. How amusing that the girl actually thought she could hide from him.

Looking to his right, he examined his chimera for a few moments. It was hardly the strongest of his creations, but that was to be expected, considering how little time there had been to construct it. Nevertheless, he was positive it would be able to get the job done. He had his doubts at first because of the limited resources that were available to him, but after taking care of that meddlesome young man that confronted him on the way to his house, he had enough material to completely redesign its body, which resulted in its power increasing exponentially.

"You may begin now," he called out to the demon in a soft voice. "Remember your mission."

Another demonic screech rang through the air, followed by the sound of feet hitting against the pavement. After a few moments its silhouette could be seen through the thick mist. It appeared to be an abnormally bulky creature and stood at about twelve feet. Interestingly, it seemed to have two heads and looked to be walking on two large arms. Raising one of its arms, it pointed right at Nikias, and its heads began whispering to one another.

Peeking out from behind the food cart, the girl widened her eyes in fear. The monster just stood there, pointing at the monk while mumbling to itself. It had a clear shot at him, but it refused to make a move. She frowned to herself, extremely unsettled by its inaction.

Suddenly, the creature began wailing again, but its agonized cries quickly transformed into something more disturbing. A freakish sound that could best be described as a group of demonic babies crying and screaming came out of its mouth, causing the girl to fall back on her rear in surprise. Lowering its arm, it stopped its screeching and ran toward the monk as fast as it could.

As it rushed toward him, its features finally became visible. It seemed to be a melange of three corpses: two were fused together at the top to make the body, while the torso and arms of the third served as its legs. Its flesh was bloody and hardened, and it smelled like it was festering. The two heads were badly mutilated and their mouths were stretched wide open, but it was still obvious that they belonged to a male and a female. Disturbingly, the faces wore expressions of horrible agony, hinting that the hosts were indeed sentient.

The girl stared at the monstrosity, her face as pale as a ghost. She understood everything now. Her mind raced back to a few hours before, and she realized he must have been planning this the entire time. That thug had tortured them before her eyes, but she thought he was just doing it because he was a sadistic monster. In reality, he was beginning the conditioning process.

Nikanoru wanted to abduct her, but he didn't plan on letting them go to waste. He did not want to use them so early, but Nikias' interference gave him no choice.

"....Mother? ... Father?"  she whimpered in horror.

[Anonymous]

For a good long moment, Nikias was frozen, staring at the creature before him. He wasn't sure what he was expecting Nikanoru to do when he watched him go, but nothing could prepare him for the monstrosity greeting him now. Realization of the true nature of the corpse-horror struck him as the girl cried out for her mother and father, and immediately Nikias wished to call out to her, placate her somehow... both to tell her it was okay (which it wasn't, and he knew it), but to warn her to keep quiet. No doubt the necromancer would be focused on trying to find her, and if he knew where she was, he could come in and snatch her at any time. But did the teleportation spell he have extend to others? He hoped so; one less thing to worry about.

And the one-eyed monk had quite a bit to worry about, in the shape of the behemoth challenging him. It was like nothing he had ever seen before, not even anything that their temple's head mage had come up with. But then, Nikias had never seen him desecrate corpses before...

"What an idiot," a voice spoke from behind him. The ghostly form of an old man in long robes passed by the young monk's shoulder, tut-tutting at the horrid beast. "Look at that. You don't use hands for supporting bodies! Not good enough muscle control, especially for a creature that size." The old man, invisible to all but Nikias - was he a ghost, or just another hallucination? "And look at that," he continued, "The man's a sadist - traps mortal souls in those bodies just to torture them a bit more. Even more stupid. Why, if those souls were strong enough--"

"Enough, my friend," called out the voice of another spectral being, an even older man by the looks of it, with wizened features and a stately bearing about him. "You are distracting my former pupil. Shoddily-made being or no, he must have total concentration if he wishes to overcome it with his life."

The young man glanced to and fro at the spectral beings, a chilled feeling in his gut as the head mage and abbot of his temple had a conversation in front of him, weeks after their death. Finally, they turned to look at him, concern in their gaze. The abbot made a pretense of putting his near-transparent hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Nikias," he addressed him. "Remember your training. All bodies have weak points, even the dead. The beast is superior to you in strength, but it is not clear of thought - it thinks in three. Remember this, and do not despair. Strike true, my boy."

All of a sudden, Nikias' mind was clear. The bodies of his abbot and the head mage were gone, and he felt renewed in strength and focus. Bringing his staff up to bear, he twirled it in the air before him, easing into a battle stance, ready for the creature to charge. "I will end your pain soon," he called out, making a promise to the trapped souls. "Come to me."

[Anonymous]

Nikanoru moved closer to the edge of the building, watching with interest as his vile creation charged its opponent. Although this particular chimera was far from his best, he was satisfied with how it turned out, considering how pressed for time he had been during its construction. He had bestowed it with great strength, but he had made its body so hastily that its defense was far below average. Even worse, the three souls that were in its body had retained some sentience, which prevented it from being of one mind.

Nevertheless, he was confident that it would capture the girl. He had been racing against the clock while making it, so he knew it would have a few egregious flaws. Therefore, he decided to take an extra precaution to ensure its success. He had a feeling it might wake a few villagers from their slumber and draw attention to the confrontation, but that was a risk he was willing to take.

The creature stopped in front of the monk, taking a swing at him with its right hand. There was much force behind its attack, but the speed was so pitiful that even the most inexperienced fighter could block it. The right head snarled at him and extended its rubbery neck, snapping at him like a hungry dog. Its teeth were sharp enough to possibly draw blood, but that was certainly nothing to worry about.

Its left head turned its attention to the food cart nearby. There it saw the girl, who in her shock accidentally broke her invisibility spell. Recognizing her daughter, the mother head cried out in sorrow, worried that she might end up killing her own daughter. She had all ready seen her daughter watch as she and her husband were brutally murdered, and now she had to sit back helplessly as her own body attacked her. The grief was simply too much.

Unfortunately, her motherly love only made matters worse. The intricate rune drawn on its back fed on her agony and channeled it into pure energy. It spread throughout the left side of the monstrosity, causing it to mutate into something far more horrible. The entire left side of the creature burst open, spewing blood and puss all over the ground. Countless rotten brown tentacles shot out from the opening, along with a monstrously large claw composed of bones and dead skin.

The left stared at the girl with rabid ferocity, its maternal instincts long gone. Letting out a wail, its tentacles shot out at its former daughter and completely covered her. Several wrapped around her limbs and tied her down to prevent her from escaping. The girl could be heard screaming from beneath the mess of decayed flesh, but her cries quickly subsided.

While the right side of the monster remained constant in its appearance, the left continued with its mutations. Suddenly, a sickening figure shot out from the massive shoulder of the claw that spawned with the tentacles. It seemed to be a human figure, but it was impossible to tell because of the thick cocoon of  skin that covered it. The helpless body wailed in agony and tried to tear out of its skin, but to no avail. Another tentacle shot out of its mouth, causing it to cry out even louder.

The new tentacle fell to the ground and lay limp for a few moments. Its tip began to bubble, then tore into two pieces, revealing a mouth with sharp fangs and a long black tongue that dangled above the ground. This tentacle turned its attention to Nikias, letting out a screech as it lunged at him.

Nikanoru continued to watch the confrontation from the safety of his rooftop. Knowing that the sentience of the parents would slow the creature down, he carved one of his trademark runes into its back to turn their love for their daughter against them. It fed on their sorrow and turned it into power, which mixed with the dark magic in the creature's body and caused it to mutate. How utterly ironic that they would be the ones to deliver their daughter into his hands!

The mother, once again her old self, mustered what little strength she had and tore away from the main body of the beast. She collapsed to the ground and moaned in pain. A thick mass of tentacles still tethered her to the monster, but she had managed to assume control over some of them, turning them into a makeshift body. She began crawling toward the tentacles that covered her daughter, tears running down what remained of her face.

"Sweetheart...." she called out weakly as she dragged herself across the ground. "Don't worry... M-Mommy is going to help you...."

[Anonymous]

((OOC: Lots of little details in this post. Please PM me if I miss anything or I get anything wrong! I'll be sure to edit.))

On the first attack, Nikias quickly ducked and rolled under it, his adrenaline kicking in and his staff coming to hand as the creature snapped its head towards him, the neck stretching out to bite at him - he met it with a quick thrust of his staff beneath its exposed chin with a blow strong enough to shatter teeth. So far, so good - at least until the arm came after him again. But then the girl's cry alerted him to her, and he knew that she had exposed herself, much to his distress.

He was about to drive his staff into the right 'elbow' of the creature's supporting leg-joint, when the left side of its body exploded. Instinctively, he dived away from the explosion, fearing it to be an attack, and then staring in horror at the tentacles and clawed hand that emerged from it. That was an attack he hadn't expected, but it had a far more insidious purpose, wrapping his charge in them. "No!" he shouted as he heard the screams die out, and got to his feet. He knew that she could not be dead - Nikanoru had indicated that she was much more useful to him alive - but he could not see any way of freeing her. He had nothing to cut the tentacles away with.

Things became more confusing as the second figure emerged from the shoulder of the claw, before it also grew a large tentacle from its mouth - one with sharp fangs and a long tongue, it seemed. The deadly mouth lunged at him with frightening speed, and the young monk had no time to dodge - but there was enough time to attack. Immediately, his sense of time slowed; the mouth flew through the air with a speed as if it were moving through treacle. With a grimace of concentration, Nikias stepped his right foot back, readying his staff, and thrust it forward and upward into the creature's mouth, praying that the flesh was corroded enough that he could use its forward momentum to impale it roughly and, if not kill the tentacled thing, then at least halt it from devouring his face. He had to move quickly - with every second he wasted defending himself, the girl was further in peril.

[Anonymous]

Its head shot back from the blow, several of its teeth falling out of its mouth. Normally it would have covered its mouth in shock, but because the one hand it controlled was supporting it, all it could do was swing its head about and scream in agony. Closing its eyes, it looked off to the side and moaned in pain, blood pouring from its mouth. It was safe to say that the monk would not have to worry about this part of the creature for a while.

Still charging at the monk at alarming speed, the fanged tentacle opened its mouth and prepared to maul his face. Before it could reach Nikias, it was stopped when he shoved his staff into its mouth. The flesh of the demonic tentacle was so deteriorated that it could not withstand such a powerful blow. The force of the attack broke its head into several pieces, which turned into black smoke before they could fall to the ground. It seemed the creature was not composed entirely of flesh.

Meanwhile, the mother continued crawling toward her daughter, who was still hidden beneath the pile of tentacles. Seeing a spark of fire beneath the mass of rotten skin, she smiled to herself. Her daughter was conscious and trying to free herself! She was certain that with their combined efforts she would be able to free her. Finally reaching the tentacles, she began tearing through them with her powerful claws while the little girl burnt them from the inside.

Nikanoru watched this from the roof, frowning in concern. With the father incapacitated and the third component focusing on Nikias, the girl would surely escape if her mother continued to interfere. He looked to the right side of the creature, the father of the child, and smiled when he noticed the rune was glowing behind its back. The tables were turning in his favor!

Glowing much brighter than before, the rune sent a surge of dark energy through the right side of the creature. Instead of overloading and popping like the left side, it began to merge with the fleshy mass to its left while its own body grew exponentially. The body that had sprouted from the claw on the left side retreated into it, and the claw proceeded to drive itself into the ground, acting as a support for the mutating creature. The two sides of the creature merged into one tall and lank body that was bent toward the middle, its upper half leaning toward the left.

Unaware that her husband was mutating, the mother ripped through the tentacles that concealed her daughter. Tossing them aside with a mighty claw, she smiled when she saw her daughter lying on the ground below her. The girl looked extremely exhausted and was covered in slime, but she seemed to be completely unharmed. She sighed in relief, unaware that the tentacles were retracting toward the main body.

"Sweetheart!" she nudged her daughter with her other claw. "It's mom! You need to go with that man and get out of here as quickly as possible. I can only...."

The mother was unable to continue her speech, as her body quickly began to fall apart. She soon lost her ability to speak, and her consciousness was once again absorbed into the monster. What remained of her makeshift form was pulled into the demon along with the other tentacles. They all merged with the bottom half of the creature, turning into what could best be described as numerous slimy legs, allowing the sickening demon to regain its mobility.

Opening her eyes, the girl looked around and frowned when she realized her mother was gone. The tentacles were missing, as well, which meant she could escape. She tried to pull herself up, but it seemed she lacked the strength to stand. "Agh..!" she grunted in pain, falling to her knees.

Hearing a strange noise, she raised her eyes from the ground and stared in terror at what she saw. The demon stood above her, having mutated into a completely different form. Its left claw had turned into what looked like a fleshy walking stick, and its body was a large, thin mass of decayed flesh. The head of her mother was missing, and the head of her father had stretched out considerably. The mouth had been forced open and was stretched out more than one would believe possible. The eyes were missing, and several stringy pieces of hair stuck out from its slimy scalp. Most noticeably, it had grown a right claw that was much larger than the left. It seemed to resemble the claw of a crab, and its tip was made out of sharp bone.

Letting out a loud screech, the creature lunged at the girl and impaled her with its massive claw. It lifted her off the ground, blood dripping down its arm. She screamed in agony, still alive but in unimaginable pain. The claw had gone right through her, its tip sticking out of her back.

It had obtained the girl, but it still needed to deal with that meddlesome monk before it could deliver her to Nikanoru. Its chest began to boil with dark energy, and a head suddenly shot out through the flesh, sending more gunk flying to the ground. It was the head of the man that had attacked Nikias with the tentacle earlier. Glaring at him from behind his fleshy mask, the man channeled what power the rune still had from its last activation and sent in into the tentacles below. Each grew in size and sprouted a head like the first one, each with sharp fangs and a long tongue.

The tentacles all turned their attention to Nikias and charged him together, each with its mouth wide open. Meanwhile, the demon slowly made its way toward Nikanoru to deliver the wounded girl.

((OOC: Since there's a lot going on here, here's a quick summary of what's happening:

* The father took complete control of the body and mutated again. Now it looks nothing like it originally did and is much larger - and much more dangerous - than before.

* The mother is now out of the picture

* The third man that attacked Nikias earlier sent the tentacles on the bottom of the demon after him.

* The girl is seriously wounded and dangling from the monster's right claw.

If anything else is still confusing, feel free to ask.))

[Anonymous]

((OOC: Please forgive the slight godmode of the creature on my end! Tell me if anything's out of line. Also, you have permission to kill Nikias if his last attack has no effect.))

It was good that the tentacle did not linger in the material realm when Nikias had stabbed it through, though his arms shook from the creature's impact when it charged through his staff. It also confirmed to him one thing: The creature was powered by some kind of magic. Either Nikanoru was enchanting it from afar, or he'd done something to it for it to emit some kind of transformation on its own. He recalled how it had mutated in the first place, when the mother (no, the mother's corpse) had seen her child - was there a connection?

And now there was a body, the mother's body again, clawing out her child - to get at her? Briefly alarmed, Nikias made a move to step forward, but saw that no, there was no bloodlust in her movements - she was trying to free the child! At this, he decided that there were greater forces at work than he could know. Did the souls trapped in the beast have some measure of free will?

Before he could muse further on this, he detected a... a glowing? From where he was standing, the monk could see that there was some strange illumination behind the corpse-horror, but there was no time to digest this knowledge as the right side of the creature was encapsulated by this light, and mutated even further. He stepped back, holding his staff as his mind raced for options. How could he stop this transformation? Something was going on behind it: either a spell cast on its back, or something totally different. Whatever it was, he had to get behind it.

No easy task, however. He could see that the creature was sporting many more legs... no way for him to unbalance it. If it kept this up, surely it would overpower him! His first priority was the girl, however, and now that she was free, they had a chance to escape. He ran towards her, holding out his hand for her to stand... and then saw in horror the claw impale her, hold her in the air in what would no doubt become a fatal position if it had ruptured any internal organs. If he could defeat the monster, there'd still be time to save her if he got her to some form of healing magic... but then the creature sprouted even more tentacles than before, and he was occupied with defending himself once more.

His reflexes, as before, were a vital asset. With lightning-fast speed, he beat off as many as the tentacles as he could with his staff, but he was not able to make any deadly lunges, and there were too many at once to defend. He grunted as one mouth sunk in his right shoulder, another at his ribcage, another on his thigh, and one narrowly missing his head as he dodged away, taking a bit of his hair with it. Extremely painful, and the mouths weren't letting go! He wanted to black out, but he knew his life would end if he did. Instead, he used that pain and channeled it into rage. Struggling to be free of the mouths, he ran towards the creature and executed a diving forward-roll on the wet ground, using the momentum to free himself.

The fluidity of the roll was marred by both the wet ground and the hold of the tentacles, but with a sickening rip the monk managed to free his flesh at the shoulder and leg. A swift, devastating downward chop was hopefully enough to dissuade the head at his ribcage from holding on, and he reached for his staff on the ground to swing at the remaining heads to keep them at bay, before charging at the monster again. He leaped and grabbed onto the arm holding up the girl, and knowing he was in danger from the other claw if he lingered, vaulted over it and rolled on the ground again, before standing up and turning to face the creature's back.

He realized it was only a matter of time before the tentacle heads caught up with him, and so he took in the visual information as fast as he could. A dark glowing rune pulsated on its back, which was likely where it was getting its power. He was hardly a student in the arcane, but he thought that if he could disrupt it somehow, perhaps the magic source would be eliminated... or at least dissipate its power somehow. A gross assumption, he knew, but it was a chance he needed to take.

But he'd already dropped his staff... quickly, he looked around for something to attack the rune with. There was a rock at his feet, but he decided it was too small to penetrate its flesh at this distance. Suddenly, he realized that to his left was a bale of hay with a rusty-looking pitchfork stuck inside of it. An unwieldy weapon, he decided, but an effective spear in a pinch. Not much time to use it, however... already, the creature was turning around, and the heads hung in the air hungrily, ready to strike.

The young man made his choice. A few steps brought him in range of the pitchfork, and he grabbed it, charging the monster with a guttural roar, sprinting as fast as he could with the farming tool crooked underneath his left arm. There was no time to swing at the heads, and though he dodged some of their attacks he could feel their mouths tearing at his clothing and skin, though the speed of his movement meant that they could not hold onto him this time. The claw on the creature's left arm swung towards him, but he easily ducked and rolled underneath its slow lunge, and he was once more behind the undead horror.

The battle-ravaged monk knew that he only had a bit of time before the tentacle heads managed get around the creature's arm and torso, and so he summoned the remaining vestiges of his strength. There wasn't much left; by now, Nikias was a wreck. His torn scalp bled over his bad eye, the clothes on his back were torn, muddy and sticky with his own blood, and he could feel his body ravaged by bite wounds, which would undoubtedly leave scars if he survived this encounter. His remaining hope - that by disrupting the rune, he could terminate the creature's power and save the girl - was all that carried him now.

And so he drew back his arms, ready to lunge. His vision was red, there was a dull roar in his ears that blocked out all hearing, and somewhere in him he knew he was screaming at the top of his lungs. With a monk's concentration, he drew on what little untapped strength lay inside of him and plunged the pitchfork into the corpse-beast's rune-scrawled back, before pulling it out slightly and thrusting it upwards, attempting to rip off as much of its skin as he could.

And at this, he lost his balance. He fell backwards and hit the ground, barely remembering to slap his hand against the muddy road to dull the impact as he did. Silently, he willed himself to remain conscious. If he blacked out now, he'd be dead, and he needed to stay awake... needed to stay alive... for her, for the girl... for her...

[Anonymous]

((OOC: Sorry about the long wait, and don't worry about it. And kill Nikias? No way! This is getting too good for him to kick the bucket on us.))

Slowly slithering toward its master, the monstrous abomination paid no attention to the monk that was defending himself from its tentacles. While it was fully aware of his presence, it considered completing its directive more important than killing him. Besides, it trusted that its hungry appendages would be more than enough to take care of him. If he was lucky enough to survive their assault, it would deal with him personally after it delivered the child.

Meanwhile, its tentacles continued to bite at his flesh. Most of them managed to reach him and latched themselves onto various parts of his body, digging their fangs into his skin and lapping up the blood. One tried to go for his head, but only managed to grab a tuft of hair. Unsatisfied with its catch, it spit out the hair and looked to his body, trying to find an appropriate place to snap at. Unfortunately, it seemed there was no room for it to break through.

Desperate for a taste of his flesh, it lunged at one of the other tentacles and tried to snap it in half so it could get to Nikias. The two fought for a few moments before the first broke the second into two pieces, causing blood and dark energy to spew from where it was severed. Smelling the blood, a large number of the tentacles turned away from Nikias and started to fight with each other, seeing their fellow tentacles as an easier meal than the troublesome monk.

The tentacles that had actually managed to bite onto him released him when he struck them. Instead of going after him again, they noticed their brethren fighting over the remains of the many destroyed tentacles and decided to join in the fray. They lunged at the other tentacles and fought over the rotten flesh, giving Nikias safe passage to the monster itself. There was still plenty of meat for them to fight over, so it was safe to assume that Nikias would not have to worry about them for a while.

When the monk grabbed onto its gigantic claw, the demon turned its attention to him and let out a deep growl. It spewed poisonous bile at him from its gaping mouth, but barely missed. The bile landed on the ground and burnt right through the pavement, revealing a patch of charred soil. It considered attacking him for a moment, but decided that delivering the girl was still more important. The tentacles were out of the picture, but it doubted he would be able to do any harm to it. One swipe from its massive claw and he would be nothing more than a nasty stain on the street.

Nikanoru continued to watch the battle from a nearby rooftop. He was pleased with how it was turning out, even if he was not wild about the girl being impaled. But she was still alive, and that was all that mattered. It would be a great loss for him if she passed away, but even so, he would still consider this visit a success if the demon murdered Nikias. He needed to be punished for costing him so much time and energy. The price for his meddling would be death beyond death.

He was broken from his reflection when he noticed that Nikias was charging the demon with a pitchfork in hand, aiming for the rune that was providing his abomination with its power. "I would reconsider damaging that rune if I were you," he advised the injured monk with a knowing smile.

But it was too late! As the pitchfork tore into its skin, the monster let out a roar of pure agony and swung its massive claw about. The rune, damaged but still functional, drew on its immense pain and channeled an unbelievable amount of dark energy into its deformed body. Letting out another loud screech, the creature began to mutate once again, but this time its transformation began far more quickly than before. Its limbs began to expand as a result of the energy that was being channeled into them, and its body grew exponentially.

Its tentacles retracted into the lower part of its body, which began to boil once they vanished into its flesh. Leaning forward, the creature wrapped its claw around its bent body and growled deeply. The girl was still attached to the tip of its claw, apparently still unconscious. Still expanding at an alarming rate, it sprouted many more tentacles and several more claws. Its head split suddenly split down the middle, the wound it left spreading into a gaping hole with hundreds upon hundreds of sharp fangs. It's mutation was complete: once a lithe figure with a giant claw and a stretched head, it was now a mass of tentacles and arms with a gigantic mouth.

The girl survived the transformation, still dangling from what remained of the claw. She slowly forced open her eyes, coughing slightly. "U-Ugh..."

Now completely mindless, the hulking abomination slowly crept toward Nikias, intending to devour him. Before it could reach him, its body began to react to its rapid mutations. As it continued to grow, many of its limbs started to burst open, unable to contain the dark magic being channeled into them. One by one its tentacles exploded with dark energy, sending a black mist into the air and setting its main body on fire. The rest of its body started bursting as well, adding to the black mist and spewing blood and pus all over the street.

Unable to withstand the damage any longer, the creature exploded into a mass of fire and dark mist. The child could be heard screaming in agony from within the flames, but her voice was quickly silenced. When the cloud of dark mist lifted, all that was left of the monstrosity was a dark black stain on the ground and the charred corpse of the father, along with two tentacles and several pieces of burnt flesh. It seemed that the horrible chimera was finally defeated.

But the girl was nowhere to be found.

By damaging the dark rune that provided it with power, Nikias managed to turn the demon's own energy against it, leading to its demise. Unfortunately, its fiery demise also sealed the fate of the helpless magician girl.

Nikanoru frowned in disappointment when he saw that the child had been destroyed in the blast. He might have lost his sacrifice, but at least he managed to obtain some valuable field data for his future chimeras. Assuming his ethereal form once again, he darted into the sky and landed a few feet away from the injured Nikias like a bolt of lightning.

"Such a shame, isn't it? She would have been an excellent sacrifice," he sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Oh, well... No use crying over spilled milk. I suppose I'll just have to try again in a few months."

Meanwhile, the corpse of the father started to boil....

[Anonymous]

Not even Nikias' warped psyche could summon up something as horrifying as the beast that intended to end his life. As he watched from the ground, the singed pitchfork an arm's reach away from him, he saw the creature mutate even further, the damaged rune seeming to accelerate it even more. At that, he closed his single eye, knowing that his body was spent... there was no more he could do. All he dreaded now was whatever the necromancer would have in store for his soul, and he prayed that his masters would be with him to guide him into the spirit world quickly.

At the last moment, however, he remembered the girl. He looked once more, his vision bleary, trying to make her out. Was she dead now? He thought he could see her moving, hear her struggled breaths... and then the flash of dark magic prompted him to close his eye again, the explosion making his ears ring, singing his hair and blackening his face from the soot of the burning creature, as well as adding to his blood-splattered clothing with even more carnage coming from the creature's detonated carcass.

The girl was gone. Perhaps to a better place, as fate ordained, but Nikias found himself, for the first time since his leaving the temple, the pangs of guilt and despair, a conscience re-emerging in him. And as Nikanoru tut-tutted a few feet away from him, he found one last reserve of strength. Grabbing the pitchfork, still bent and burned from the monster's flesh, he thrust its prongs towards Nikanoru's left leg, his single eye glowing with rage and desperation.

[Anonymous]

((OOC: This thing just won't die, will it? XD))

What was supposed to be a simple kidnapping had turned into a complete fiasco. He planned on getting the girl out of town ten minutes after his hired thug murdered her parents, but thanks to the righteous indignation of a certain monk, all of his hard work was for naught. The child was dead, and there was not even a body for him to use in his future experiments. Not only that, he had been forced to use her parents to make the monster, so he did not even have their corpses to take home. Aside from some interesting data he acquired during the battle, this evening was a total waste.

Taking a few steps forward, he looked at the black stain that was once his creation. There were a few scraps of blackened flesh left, along with what appeared to be the corpse of the father, but other than that its body had been completely obliterated in the explosion. He had suspected it would eventually kill itself from drawing upon too much energy; its body was not built to handle such great energy. If more bodies had been used in its construction, it would be a different story, but he had little materials to work with at the time.

What surprised him was that Nikias actually managed to find out its weakness. He had to admit he gave the foolish monk far too little credit. When he first saw him charging it with the pitchfork, he thought he wound end up getting killed in the explosion, but he actually managed to survive it. He was impressed, even if he had wanted to see him go up in flames with the girl.

"Not many would have been able to stand their ground against one of my chimeras, my good monk. Your efforts were truly commendable, even if you failed to save the little girl. Better for her to be burnt to a crisp than to endure excruciatingly painful tortures at - "

Before he could finish with his sarcastic praise, he noticed that Nikias was charging him with the burnt pitchfork. He quickly took on his ethereal form, but not before the young man drove his weapon into his left leg. Reforming a few yards away from him, he winced and looked down at his leg. A little bit of blood had seeped through his robe, but it was nothing too serious. Nevertheless, he would probably have to stay off it for a few days now.

"Remember! No violence!" Nikanoru admonished him with a sultry laugh. "I'm a scholar and a pacifist, after all! Ha, ha, ha...."

As the wicked necromancer taunted him, the corpse of the father started to merge with the scraps of flesh that surrounded it. What little remained of the rune began to glow on one of the pieces of charred skin that it drew in. While there was not much energy left in it, there was apparently enough to mutate it once again, as it began to surround the mutilated man with dark power as soon as it activated. A thick black mist fell over his body as it started to transform once again.

Noticing the mist in the corner of his eye, Nikanoru turned back to the remains of the creature. He quirked an eyebrow in curiosity, having not expected the creature to survive. "Interesting...."

When the smoke cleared, the creature could be seen hovering above the ground. It mostly consisted of the torso of the father, but also had a few extra appendages: its legs had been replaced with a thick gray tentacle with a poisonous green tip, and a second - and longer - tentacle had grown from the back of its head, resembling a fleshy ponytail. As it went further down its back, it started to curl around the first tentacle.

While its previous incarnations resembled horribly mutated abominations, its latest form looked somewhat alien. Its skin was a light shade of silver gray, and its head tentacle was decorated with several golden rings. Its face was finely sculpted and strangely attractive, even though it lacked a mouth and nose. Although its eyeballs had been destroyed during the explosion, their sockets glowed with dark red magical energy, providing it with artificial sight.

"A..Agh..." the creature grunted, using its dark magic to vocalize its thoughts. "..Ahh... I live... ?"

Nikanoru tilted his head to the side. "It can speak now? Hmm... It seems the other two souls have departed, allowing this one to assume complete control. I wonder how much of its intelligence it managed to retain...?"