Chapter 276

Chapter 276

Multiple attacks launching from a ridiculous number of angles. Can’t dodge. Can’t even see where they’re coming from.

Overwhelmed by the feedback from I grabbed the flight charm in my pocket and activated it, shooting straight up. A mess of red tentacles exploded out of the now-torn-open cavity of the Mantis’s torso, several barely missing regardless of flight.

Julian was less fortunate. In the tunnel I would have guessed his agility was on par with mine, but the boss’s initial onslaught was inescapable, and lacking a charm, he was still bound by the laws of physics. Four pulsing tentacles speared through his chest at an angle, pinning him in a kneeling position. He painfully clung to them for support, his face pale and drawn.

This was bad.

But it wasn’t the first time the system had dropped the floor out from underneath me, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. In a way, I expected it. It forced me to do what I’d always done. Improvise, take stock, and survive.

Barring an insane stroke of luck, Julien was infected. As good as dead if not worse, no matter what happened here.

I needed to end this quickly and efficiently to avoid exposure. Nothing else mattered.

I dismissed all of my summons including Talia and stayed mobile, zipping across the chamber in corkscrews and zig-zags, preparing for the taxing mental process of bringing all three summons back at once. I saved the flight charm for unexpected escapes most of the time, but its utility in combat couldn’t be overstated. A few tentacles gave chase, lashing out at air, but only barely. The misses were getting closer and closer to hitting their target, but the unexpected verticality presented an unusual avenue of attack. If I could just buy a second to grab an impact grenade and throw it—

Something sharp and hot pierced my calf, followed by the sensation of countless stinging barbs. I lost focus and plummeted to the ground, barely rolling with the impact. It’d only been a glancing blow, but...

The boon bought me breathing room. But not much. Even an indirect hit had blown through my armor and left a golf-ball sized crater in my leg. The wound bled and twinged as I dove away from another onslaught of tentacles and pulled the entire satchel of grenades from my inventory, prepared to throw the entire thing. Even if I aimed slightly behind the mantis, the fire would likely spread and kill Julian. But we were past that. He’d asked me to wait outside the boss room to finish him if the worst happened.

In a way, doing this honored that wish.

Before I could, Julien mouthed something inaudible.

went off, despite no visible sign of a skill.

The mantis stopped, tentacles freezing where they were. I swore quietly and held the satchel by my side, prepared to throw it as soon as the fight started again.

If you actually have something in your back pocket, now is the time.

Surprisingly, the mantis seemed just as frustrated. It peered down at Julien, its expression indecipherable. “There is no point in this. Whatever power you are using to prolong your life, we can sense its nature. It will crumble shortly. And when it does, the battle is won.” It shifted its tentacles, jarring the prince slightly for emphasis and opening the wounds wider. “Are you really so craven?”

“Maybe.” Julian coughed blood, raising a fist to the red that lingered on the edges of his mouth. It lowered to reveal a grim smile. “I don’t want to fight you. We’ve never met, never even had a conversation. The only reason to kill you is fear. Fear that you’ll kill me first. That you’ll hurt my friends and family if you escape. If you were mindless, or incapable of reason, I’d do it. But you’re intelligent enough to hold a conversation. So there’s still a chance we can come to an accord.”

Another flesh spear struck him through the gut. They seemed to have some sort of tensile strength, because without the support of the spears pinioning him to the ground, he likely would have fallen.

“This world does not favor mercy any more than the last. Those who cling to it will find their final moments wanting.”

Julian looked up at the creature and grinned through bloody teeth. “Then why haven’t you finished it?”

The mantis growled in frustration. “Because of this... inconvenience.”

“The power only holds if there’s something left unsaid. A desire I can grant, something that might tip the scales before drastic action is taken. Already put my cards on the table. Where are yours?”

Despite the insanity, a small part of me admired the way Julian was holding himself together. Dignity was a luxury most people lost the second they took a serious hit. He was covered in blood now, and still negotiating, still clinging to his ideals.

Naïve as they were.

Yet the creature didn’t deny it. The longer the stalemate went on, the more obvious it became that it wasn’t letting Julian live out of cruelty or puzzlement. The mantis looked up, his pinprick pupils staring towards the ceiling but not focused, as if they were searching beyond any physical constraint.

“We wish... to see the sky.”

“Is that all?” Julian forced a smile. “I was under the impression you were a hive mind. Can’t you look through the eyes of a human under your control in Region Six?”

Fine.

Not wanting to make an easier target, I bent low and tossed the phone screen up, watching in odd fascination as the mantis bent down and scrutinized the picture from inches away. “Such a grand view to be contained in something so small.”

Julian chuckled between heaving breaths. “If you come with us and we find common ground, I’ll make sure you get to see it for yourself.”

“Impossible. Flauros is a part of us.”

“Just because it’s always been like that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.” Julian argued. “We have scientists and researchers now who can do things they never could in the old world. When was the last time you worked with someone who wanted to help you, someone who had access to vast resources? It—”

Julian trailed off, coughing again, as the orange light faded. His eyes widened, reacting to something only he could see.

“We appreciate... the gift.” The Mantis said slowly, almost begrudgingly. “Unfortunately, it is not enough.”

“But...” Julian trembled and stared at the ground. I put a hand on his back to steady him, arm bumping the hilt of a sword-

I did a double-take. The hilt was covered in white and gold cross-hatching and the weapon’s aura buzzed at my mere proximity. He had his original blade still sheathed on the left side. More importantly, I was certain the second sword hadn’t been there before.

“Vague promises of a future that might be better are nothing in the face of a more achievable destination.” The mantis said.

“The merciless domination of the host planet.” I filled in flatly.

“Our way is the only way.” It agreed.

“Glad we fucking humored you.”

In a manner that would have almost been funny in a less dire comfort, the monster shifted uncomfortably. “This favor will not be forgotten. We will allow the prince to keep more of his personality than most once he has joined the collective.”

How generous.

All at once, Julian’s demeanor changed. The desperation and weakness drained out of him and he glared up at the creature with pure conviction. His hand stirred by the sword at his side, blood still dripping from between his fingers. “There seems to be a misunderstanding.”

“Oh?” The monster’s mandibles clicked. “Explain.”

“If it was just me in here, things might be different. I don’t have anyone depending on me. But he does.” Julian shifted his head towards me. “I dragged him into this and asked for his trust. He’s had multiple chances to walk away, and he hasn’t.” His eyes were blank, cold, as the dynamic in the room seemed to change. “So. For his sake. We are leaving this room. One way or another. Please let us. Please.”

The last word was more prayer than demand.

“And if we don’t—”

A tentacle lashed out with a deafening snap. The attack came immediately, without warning. If it was the first time seeing it I might have moved too slow.

But I’d been coiled like a spring since the beginning of the standoff.

moved in confluence with my martial skill, entirely on instinct. activated reflexively, amplifying my aim as I hacked through the tentacle, severing it in a gout of black, vile looking blood that covered Julian from chest to forehead.

He didn’t blink. Didn’t react.

I hurled an impact grenade at the creature’s face as time slowed down, watching out of the corner of my eye as Julian’s mouth pulled up in a sad smile. When he spoke, his voice amplified through the room, final and authoritative.

“Be at peace.”

He gripped the new sword, blood marring the white cross-hatching. I only saw it for a split-second. A blade made of a material so foreign and unknowable my mind couldn’t make sense of it.

There was a pop as my eardrums ruptured.

And everything went white.