Chapter 506 - An Old Acquaintance
Chapter 506 - An Old Acquaintance
The Skinwalker howled and screeched, it ignored Dave and sprinted to the edge of the circular platform they were in. It tried to lunge at the faded silhouette of Blaster who was on a different reality from where the Naandloushii was, but it failed miserably, the dimensional wall was like a rubber band, absorbing the full on assault of the Minotaur like it was nothing more than a feather striking at a brick wall. It didn't even bend fully to give the Skinwalker hope of actually breaking free.
Dave remained calm, he needed to survive for just two minutes. With the Skinwalker going out of his way, trying to find a way out instead of trying to kill Dave then leave, this just made it even more advantageous to Dave, and wasn't about to tell him how to get out.
Frustrated, the Naandloushii changed form into a bird, trying to fly high and above the separate death domain. But he found out the hard way that the space was domed, as he smashed head first into its ceiling.
The Skinwalker screeched, a sound so far from that of a bird that would make one's skin crawl. It peeved at Dave, then charged face first, as it was transforming into a gargoyle. Dave readied up Ajax, and waited for a few seconds before impact then opened Ajax's jaws. The jaws bit on the charging gargoyle, dealing relatively insignificant damage due to the infinite vitality of the Skinwalker. But the clutch was perfect, Ajax's jaws had bit on the creature's front claws, and with Dave's undead force, he brought down the creature smashing him into the ground. Ajax didn't let go, and Dave pinned the Skinwalker on the ground. He then drew Durandal, with one hand, made it twirl above him, grabbed it with an overhanded grip, then stabbed down with Durandal on the Nandlooshi's back. The sword dug into the beast, and went all the way to the hilt, finding purchase in the ground and pinning the creature like if the legendary god slaying sword was a giant nail.
The Skinwalker howled screeched, it was stuck, unable to move its hands, and the sword was so deep in its body that it couldn't get a proper holding to stand up.
It jerked and shook but to no apparent avail.
Then it began transforming, it's skin crawling and shuddering, Dave noticed that Durandal began shaking. Not because the sword was weak, but the ground where the weapon was embedded in was not capable of supporting the muscle growth and size expansion of the transforming Naandloushii.
Dave gave a mental command, and Ajax clutched its jaws tight, closing on the hands of the Skinwalker into its internal vestless expanse.
Then he unequipped it and left Durandal the only thing holding the Skinwalker down. It was much easier for the Skinwalker to release itself from captivity this way, but it still needed a few seconds to be free.
And in those two seconds Dave switched back to the sworn Stalwart Gauntlets. And went down on his knees, to face the squirming red eyed Naandloushii.
The creature for a moment locked eyes with Dave, and he saw that his earlier grin became even more sinister, and widened even further.
"Red eyes, say, wanna see real fear?" Dave mumbled, and his blue Undeath Eyes soon began changing, they turned a purplish hue, then a crimson red, and with them, his forehead grew horns the color of the abyss, his jaw became wider, his cuspids became longer, similar to a beast's fangs. His aura changed to that of blood red. Then from his back, two leather wings emerged, sprouting with the sound of tearing flesh as they grew.
Dave grabbed at the Skinwalker's face with his Sworn Stalwart's gauntlet that turned to demonic claws due to the change of his current appearance in [Demonic Ascension].
He grabbed tight as the creature squirmed, never able to fully take form due to the passive effect of his Demonic Ascension of burning mana. The enemy was helpess, bound, unable to move, unable to act or react, Death loomed over its head as the seconds passed and the scythe was getting closer.
It began wriggling, as its body became a mass of misshaped organs. A frog's leg emerged from its back, then form his hands, human teeth, its face became that of a mix of a malformed monkey with the beak of a hawk, its body unable to fully take form due to the disrupting effect of Dave's aura.
"Now, here Skinwalker. You're the first of the calamities that came to this world, and definitely you're the first to die. I don't care if you're a lesser calamity of fear, and there are more than you. But hear my words, this world is not yours, and it will never be. And if you truly want it, send it the big guns. Small fries like you aren't enough to even get my blood boiling."
Dave looked up, the time was up, he looked down at the creature that began screeching like a frightened kid seeing its worst nightmare come true," Now, you die."
The scythe dropped with the speed of a guillotine, quick, fast and merciful. The Skinwalker's head was lobbed off of its body. It spasmed, shuddered, but it was still moving.
Dave frowned, was it not dead? He didn't receive the notification of victory. And the severed space didn't collapse.
He stood up, annoyed that his speech was wasted on this thing that didn't die, and now began thinking of ways to kill this creature.
Yet before the Skinwalker could recreate a new head, something unexpected happened.
In front of Dave a person stood, thin, and wore dark robes, the curves on its body made it clear that it was a woman, and the hood she wore over her head made it hard for anyone to see what beyond that hood. And probably no one should ever. Because Dave know who was in front of him.
Dave stood up from his kneeling position, faced the woman and smiled, "Death, long time no see. How are you?"
"It keeps amazes me how you stare Death in the eyes and speak to it as if it was a close friend."
"Hah, you are a friend, thanks to you I wouldn't have become what I was. So what brings you here?"
"Duty, obligation, and to complete my mission. I come to claim the life of that calamity." Death said.
"I thought deities weren't allowed to interfere directly." Dave said.
"Indeed, but today this matter requires my immediate action, as you have called upon my power, and I am obliged to fulfill it. My scythe didn't kill this being, but I can. I shall claim its life for you. Because, we are not in your world, Draugr, we're in mine. And when you bring creatures to my world, I can do to them whatever I wish. And this one is to die. It has lost against you in the Grounds of Death battle."
"That makes things much easier, I was about to take it to a dip in the ocean with my kraken."
"That wouldn't have changed the fact that it cannot die by regular means. Let me show you what Death is truly capable of." Death replied and came close to the creature.
She removed a glove, Dave half expected to see a skeletal hand, but what met him was the gentle looking hand of a young maiden, even her nails were polished.
She grabbed at the Naandloushii's fallen face. She turned away from Dave and removed her hood.
Long black hair, smooth as silk was all that Dave could see, her hair extended all the way to her h.i.p.s.
She lifted the Naandloushii's head to meet hers, and in an instant, the head turned to stone. Along with it, came the rest of its body that was a few feet away from Death. It crashed, shattered and turned to gravel and tiny pebbles, as the head turned to dust.
***
Conquest Server Announcement!
Player Kis'Shtiengbrah has managed to slay one of the Calamities.
Lesser Calamity of Fear, The Skinwalker.
Player Kis'Shtiengbrah's unusual method of slaying a being that cannot be killed has earned him a new title!
Calamity's Bane!
Due to the early death of a Lesser Calamity of fear, the population of Conquest can now rationalize better, and act in more cooperative ways against the impeding doom that will plague Conquest soon. The death of the first Calamity of fear has brought hope to the populace.
***
"Oh, that's nice." Dave said then looked at the remains of the Naandloushii, there was a shiny item under her. Loot from the first calamity, it's bound to be good.