Chapter 274: Followers In The Flames

Chapter 274: Followers In The Flames

As the-female-who-was-not-Needle stood at the edge of the black-water, I knew that there was only a couple of ways I could think of that would let us quickly get across - and, since I was deeply against the idea of having my disciple attempt to fling me across the deadly liquid in an attempt to get me to the other side, even those ways were whittled down to one.

And so, still feeling the [panic] of the Coreless inside, I began.

A brief display of [Illusion Spark] was enough to catch the-female-who-was-not-Needles attention, and she hurried to follow my directions, placing me onto the ground and tugging at the skin-mouths at her side. She quickly found the one she wanted, placing it to the side and thrusting her arm into its open maw.

While my disciple rooted around, searching for what I would need, I had already begun. With all of the speed that I could manage, I reached for the power of [Verdure Parasite]; it came quickly, practiced in its use as I had become. Instantly, I felt the potential of the plant-flesh around me, and of those inside me; I felt the seeds that filled the skin-mouth, far more alive than any of the other examples of plant-flesh within the cavern, even in their nascent state - a mix of bad-thing and plant-flesh, the offspring of the second Lesser Core that I had defeated. They retained their virulence, even through the newer generations, all but begging to be allowed to grow.

Within each seed were the beginnings of my spore-roots, just as eager to grow as the seed that it inhabited, ready to bend plant-flesh to my will.

And, inside, I could sense the spores that remained inside me, tucked away within the spore-sac created by [Spore-Puppeteer]; small in size, but many in number.

Each bit of plant-flesh fell under my abilitys domain. It was nowhere near the amount of plant-flesh that I had once commanded, that had allowed me enough power to near-instantly strike at a dangerous Ascended with fangs formed of plant-flesh, but I didnt need anything like that sort of speed.

For what I needed, I had enough.

My minds coils wrapped around each bit of plant-flesh, sinking into their very potential, the time that allowed them growth, and stole it away. At the same time, the coils of my body worked on their own task, the first aspect of [The Golems Fading Heart] coursing across my scales and running into the stone underneath me.

[Sodden Earth] pushed the stone aside like a liquid, the formerly-solid substance parting beneath my flesh. I dove in deeper, making certain the seed that the-female-who-was-not-Needle was searching for would have ample space to be planted; it would need to be stuck thoroughly into the ground to achieve what I needed of it.

Not-Needle and I finished our tasks in tandem, the female Coreless finding the seed hidden within thousands of others, ripping it free from the skin-mouth and placing it into the near-liquid pit of stone that I had created, heedless of the way that the muck coated her shining ore-flesh.

Then, with power bestowed by the Great Core, I forced it to grow.

The ground creaked, cracked, and shattered under the sudden weight, roots of plant-flesh shooting from the muck and finding purchase in the stone, latching on to steady the budding trees growth.

As not-Needle plucked me from the ground, the seedling continued to grow, erupting from the earth with a speed that - while it might not have matched what I had been capable of causing within the second of the Coreless many-nests, where the Nature Core had staked its claim - was far from slow. Only the focus that I had to turn towards the spore-roots inside of it, keeping the new plant-flesh from ever turning against the will of the Great Core, kept it from reaching the height of the-female-who-was-not-Needle in the first few moments of its life.

And then, with another twist of my will, I forced it to grow in a new direction, plant-flesh and spore-roots straining to send the budding tree sideways - across the black-water and towards the flaming tower-nest.

It smashed into the wall with a deafening crash, evoking screams from the few Coreless still alive inside.

The-female-who-was-not-Needle shouted something and, with a recklessness that I wasnt happy about participating in, rushed across the newly grown plant-flesh and towards the tower. The black-water sloshed underneath us, its surface disturbed by invading branches, eager to consume me.

And then we were across, beside the moving-wall that was the entrance to the tower-nest. My disciple flung herself against it, but - for once - a moving-wall held firm, refusing to be defeated by the merest touch. The screams from the inside increased in volume.

Rather than wait for not-Needle to finish solving the problem, I simply did what I had done the last time a moving-wall had proven unnaturally stubborn. I found a way to go around it. My fangs sunk into the wood surrounding it, and [Death - Wither] forced them to rot and soften under their enervating touch. My disciple quickly noticed what I was doing, using her own fangs to break apart the withered wood left in my wake.

Soon enough, the wall held a hole large enough for a Coreless to crawl through.And moments later, the smallest of the Coreless slithered free. Not-Needle pulled at her arms, helping her out, and then reached down for the next.

One after another, the Coreless emerged from the fiery depths of the tower-nest, their soot-covered forms contrasting with the glowing embers that danced in the air behind them. With each one rescued, a small glimmer of [hope] pierced through the [worry] and [despair] emanating from my disciples totem.

But, even as a seventh Coreless was rescued from the flames, there was no time for celebration. No time for us to catch our breath. Not that I had any need to breathe at the moment, under the effects of [Transient Reanimation], but the Coreless certainly did.

There a Coreless that I recognized as the one bearing my [Little Guardians Totem] rasped, struggling for breath. Theres probably more in there, he finished. I only checked the first three floors.

The-female-who-was-not-Needle felt another spike of [worry] at his words, plucking me from the ground and placing me on her shoulder yet again. Afterwards, she dug through the remaining skin-mouth at her side, pulling out a handful of [Little Guardians Totem]s and pressing them into his arms.

For a moment, I wondered what they were doing in there - and then I remembered my early days, hiding within wall-cracks and terrified of the bad-things that would have threatened me, and I understood. Theyd been hiding from the blasphemers, tucking themselves within the only version of wall-cracks that they could manage, only to be stuck within when the tower-nest began to crumble around them.

Unable to do much to help on my own, I instead focused on a small section of the life essence that I had gathered, twisting it into shape and separating it into its two halves - vigor and vitality. While I planned to save the latter for the Coreless, who might end up needing it, I felt free to use the former to help speed things along.

With a careful bite, I sank my fangs into not-Needles neck, and let [Life - Vigor] flow.

My disciple suddenly sped up even further, and pieces of flaming darkwood that had once been a struggle became easier; within a few moments, she had managed to uncover the other Coreless hiding place enough to pry it open, revealing the ones hiding inside.

There were three - two little ones and a very old female. The old one looked as if she was about to drop, though she did a good job of hiding it from the tiny Coreless, fretting over them and wiping their tears even as her body sagged further and further.

Despite my desire to help the small ones, I moved towards her first. She gasped as I came close, throwing herself backwards. I hissed at her, continuing to slither closer. As much as I admired that she wanted me to focus on the little ones first, who would have much longer lives with which to offer their praise to the Great Core, I wasnt satisfied with only saving two.

All would survive to offer their devotion. The Great Core demanded no less from its Champion.

Sn - sn - snake! she shouted, nearly hitting her head in her haste to back away. But, eventually, there wasnt anywhere for her to back away to. I sank my fangs into her flesh and, this time, I let leak droplets of vitality. The golden liquid burned as it pulled free, doing a slight bit of damage when I released it from the sheath of pure mana that surrounded it, but [Mana Blood] meant that I had plenty to spare; and the moment that I felt I was running low, I could twist upon myself and bite my own tail, activating [The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail] and [Mana Restoration] in turn.

I quickly did the same for the smaller two Coreless. They cried when my fangs poked into their flesh; their poor little hearts probably couldnt handle the sheer joy of knowing what was to come now that they were being healed - a blissful life in servitude to the Great Core.

What better life could there be?

With the three Coreless healed, my disciple began to usher them back down to safety. It was a slower process than going up had been, and we were forced to stop more than once when the Coreless devolved into a fit of coughing. A few more bites fixed the problem each time, and we eventually made it all the way back down to the bottom.

The-female-who-was-not-Needle pointed down at the hole in the wall. Theres your exit, she rasped, lungs still full of smoke. She followed after the trio as they crawled their way out, coughing all the while, though I could feel her [relief] as we entered the range of the [Little Guardians Focus]es that I had created, causing her [Little Guardians Totem] to begin healing the damage to her body.

As the three Coreless pulled themselves to their feet, my disciple reached into the bag at her side and pulled three more [Little Guardians Totem]s. Here, she said, these will keep you healthy.

The old Coreless looked at the darkwood carvings, dangling from not-Needles hand on tiny threads, staring at them for a moment. And then at me. And then at the [Little Guardians Totem]s again. And then at me again.

She shrugged, snatching the offered carvings.

Long as the thing dont come to life and bite me again, I suppose.

Just as her hand touched the wood of the [Little Guardians Totem]s, I felt a connection form, filled with utter [shock] and [disbelief].

Take the children and head across the tree, not-Needle said, pointing off to the other side of the shore, where the previous Coreless waited. I could see the glow of ore-flesh approaching from the darkness, signifying that some of the other disciples were finally drawing close. Therell be a few more people coming, she said, letting out another cough. Theyre friends of mine, and theyll be wanting to know what happened here.

Youre not coming? the Coreless said with [surprise], handing off the other two[Little Guardians Totem]s to the smaller Coreless without turning away from my disciple. I ignored the bursts of [surprise] and [joy] from the little ones as they clutched at their new carvings, focusing instead on what I knew was behind us.

Just like my disciple was.

No, she said. We need to head back in, make sure theres no one else in there that needs our help.

Staring at the flaming tower-nest, I knew one thing. If there were any Coreless alive in there, they were enemies of the Coreless blasphemers. And an enemy of a blasphemer could only be a future faithful.

I hissed.

It was time to recruit a few more followers of the Great Core.