Chapter 557

More and more creatures emerged from the circular mouth. As Mike watched them crawl out of the monstrous maw, he distinguished several types of creatures that looked quite different from one another. However, he quickly realized that while all of them looked terrifying, only two types were particularly large.

The first type looked like enormous spiders, their pitch-black bodies supported by numerous long, segmented legs. And the second resembled some kind of winged reptiles with leathery powerful wings and long forelimbs ending in deadly talons. Each of these two types of monsters towered over six feet tall, making them the largest mutants that crawled out of the fanged mouth.

Upon emerging from the monstrous maw, the winged reptiles immediately took to the air, beating their powerful wings and kicking up clouds of dust and debris. Their leathery wings produced deep, heavy thumps that echoed through the street as they climbed into the air. Meanwhile, the spider-like monstrosities scattered in every direction, scurrying across the asphalt on their numerous segmented legs. They moved with startling speed, their limbs clicking against the pavement as they spread out across the battlefield.

There were much smaller types of creatures emerging from the monstrous maw as well. Mike caught glimpses of them moving among the legs of the larger monsters, but he barely noticed them, his attention fixed on the much larger creatures. They were huge and terrifying-looking and therefore immediately arrested his attention.

When the first of those pitch-black monsters emerged from the fanged maw, Mike involuntarily recoiled backward. He instantly brought up his rifle, pointing it at the emerging monsters. His finger hovered near the trigger as he watched the nearest of the creatures, fully expecting them to turn toward him and come charging.

During his time as a survivor in the post-Collapse world, he had seen his fair share of all kinds of terrifying mutants and monsters. He had encountered creatures with twisted bodies, deadly abilities, and enough teeth and claws to tear a human being apart in seconds. And if he had learned one thing about this world, it was that terrifying-looking monsters existed there for one purpose only: to tear apart any human being unfortunate enough to pop up in their vision.

And the monsters that emerged from the fanged maw were definitely terrifying-looking. He had never seen anything like them before. He had encountered all kinds of scary monsters roaming this world, so he was well used to them and wasn’t easily scared by a new type of monster. However, there was something about these pitch-black monsters that deeply unnerved him.

Maybe it was the fact that they were completely pitch-black, their bodies seemingly absorbing what little light reached them. Or perhaps it was the way they carried themselves. There was something disturbingly unnatural about their movements. They seemed to move purposefully, as if they weren’t living beings but rather machines obeying some kind of programming code. Every movement appeared deliberate. They didn’t hesitate, stumble, or look around in confusion. They simply moved toward their targets with an almost mechanical determination.

They also seemed to express no emotions at all. Well, regular mutants and monsters likely didn’t possess emotions in the general sense of the word. At least, Mike had never imagined that most of them were capable of anything resembling human emotions. However, they could still express rage. They could also roar, bellow, and emit high-pitched, terrifying screeches. They could thrash around wildly and make wide, sweeping movements with their claws in a clear attempt to intimidate their prey before attacking. Even the dumbest monsters usually displayed some kind of reaction when confronted with an enemy.

But the pitch-black monsters did none of those things. They didn’t try to intimidate their opponents. They didn’t roar or snarl. They didn’t even make the slightest sound as they moved across the battlefield. Their claws struck the asphalt without producing so much as a click, and their movements remained eerily smooth and controlled. They were completely silent as they purposefully spread in every direction.

Mike watched one of them pass relatively close to him. The monster didn’t even glance in his direction. Its attention remained fixed on the crystallized mutants farther down the street, as if Mike and the survivors surrounding him simply didn’t exist. Mike realized it was that sense of purpose and their total silence that made them so terrifying. Watching as the pitch-black monsters summoned by the morphus spread in every direction, Mike just couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.

He had first assumed the morphus was fighting on his team’s side, trying to protect his people from being killed by the crystallized mutants. At the time, it had seemed like the most reasonable explanation. After all, the creature had appeared in the middle of the battle and immediately turned its attention toward the crystallized mutants. But he was now starting to have second thoughts about that.

After all, he knew next to nothing about the morphus. He didn’t know where it’d come from, what it wanted, or what its true goal was. For all he knew, everything it had done so far had been part of some larger plan he couldn’t even begin to understand. Sure, it seemed to be protecting his people, but to what end? What if it protected them only to keep them as food to feed its army of monsters?

The thought made Mike’s stomach tighten. He glanced at the pitch-black creatures again. More of them continued to emerge from the fanged maw, silently spreading across the battlefield and joining the fight. There seemed to be no end to them. The morphus had somehow summoned an entire army of these things, and Mike had no idea what else it might be capable of summoning. So yeah, its army of monsters really made it hard to believe the morphus was one of the good guys.

Mike kept his rifle at the ready, the buttstock pressed firmly against his shoulder and the barrel following the movements of the nearest monsters. His finger remained close to the trigger, just in case. Still, from what he could see, none of the pitch-black monsters came at him or any of his people. Instead, they went straight after the crystallized mutants, tearing into their ranks with their claws and teeth.

For a few moments, Mike simply watched, barely able to believe what he was seeing. Shamblers were the first victims of the pitch-black monsters. The hulking mutants had been advancing toward the survivors only moments earlier, but now the spider-like creatures threw themselves at them from several directions at once. Each of them was jumped by two or even three arachnids at once, forcing the shamblers to turn their attention away from the survivors and toward their new attackers.

One of the shamblers swung its massive arm, smashing one of the arachnids aside and sending its black body tumbling across the asphalt. Another shambler managed to grab one of the spider-like monsters with both hands and tear it apart with brute strength. The creature’s limbs thrashed wildly for a few seconds before going limp.

Shamblers were incredibly strong, but so were the pitch-black arachnids. The spider-like monsters were smaller and more agile, darting around the shamblers and attacking from multiple sides. Their numerous legs allowed them to move with frightening speed, while their fangs tore through the shamblers’ thick bodies. The shamblers fought back with savage strength, crushing and ripping apart anything they could get their hands on.

Some of those spider-like monsters inevitably fell in battle. But for every pitch-black monster that was killed, more emerged from the fanged maw. Mike watched another wave of them crawl out of the darkness, their black forms slipping between the monstrous teeth before scattering across the battlefield. There seemed to be no end to them. The fanged maw simply kept producing more and more creatures, as if some endless army waited on the other side.

Mike couldn’t help but wonder just how many more of those monsters the morphus had under its command in total.

The tide now shifted. The crystallized mutants no longer held the upper hand. What had looked like a one-sided slaughter only moments ago had suddenly turned into a chaotic battle, with the pitch-black monsters steadily pushing the mutants back.

While each of the shamblers managed to take down one or two of the arachnids, eventually each of the hulking mutants was brought down by the combined efforts of the arachnids and the winged reptiles constantly pouncing down from above. The shamblers swung their massive arms and tried to crush the spider-like creatures beneath their weight, but there were simply too many of them. Every time a shambler managed to knock one arachnid away, two or three more rushed in from different directions.

The winged reptiles were even more troublesome. They circled above the battlefield before suddenly folding their leathery wings and diving down at terrifying speed. Their talons tore into the shamblers from above, often striking at the same moment the arachnids attacked their legs and sides. The hulking mutants fought desperately, roaring and thrashing around, but their movements became slower with every passing second.

One by one, they fell. As for the weaker types of crystallized mutants, it was even easier for the pitch-black monsters to deal with them. The smaller mutants were quickly overwhelmed, torn apart by claws and fangs before they could put up any meaningful resistance. Some tried to flee, but the spider-like monsters pursued them without hesitation, while the winged reptiles swooped down on those that tried to escape.

As for the morphus itself, it didn’t stay still but took the most active role in the action, constantly moving around the battlefield and dealing with the mutants using a wide range of different combat abilities. Mike could barely keep track of it. One moment, the creature was fighting on one side of the street, and the next, it was already somewhere else, striking down another mutant with a completely different attack.

Whatever the morphus was, it was clearly an extremely dangerous combatant.

Mike noticed something else, too. Unlike his team, the pitch-black monsters and the morphus itself didn’t have any ability that prevented the clusters of aether crystals from targeting them. So every now and then, one or another of the aether crystal clusters launched a bolt of aether energy either at the morphus or one of its monsters.

And those attacks were devastating. When a monster took a hit, it sustained an enormous amount of damage. More often than not, one hit was more than enough to deal with a pitch-black monster. A bolt of aether energy would slam into one of the creatures with a deafening crack, tearing through its body and leaving behind a smoking, mangled corpse.

Those aether crystals were extremely dangerous, that was for damn sure.

However, the morphus itself had been hit only once, and its armored body had hardly taken any damage, which surprised Mike a great deal. The bolt had struck the creature, but the morphus was still standing. There was barely even a visible mark on its armor. Whatever material its armor was made of was extremely durable.

Most of the time, though, the morphus managed to avoid taking any damage whatsoever. It dodged the bolts of aether energy with impressive agility and speed, often moving only a fraction of a second before the attack struck. Its movements were so fast and agile that Mike sometimes had trouble following them with his eyes. The creature seemed to know exactly when and where the next bolt would come from. And somehow, it always managed to be somewhere else when it arrived.

None of his people were in any kind of immediate danger now. All of the shamblers had been taken care of by that point, and only the weaker types of crystallized mutants remained. The sounds of heavy fighting had died down considerably, replaced by the occasional crack of an energy bolt and the shrieks of the remaining mutants being torn apart.

Sure enough, his people had noticed the pitch-black monsters fighting the crystallized mutants. From the reactions of his people, Mike could tell that they were just as confused as he was. Some of them seemed to think that, for all their terrifying appearance, the pitch-black monsters were no enemies to them. Some of the others, however, were much more skeptical. They constantly tracked the movements of the pitch-black monsters with the barrels of their weapons, their fingers hovering over the triggers, ready to open fire at the slightest sign of aggression.

The most desperate were openly aggressive, firing at the pitch-black monsters. Streams of energy bolts streaked through the air, illuminating the area with blue flashes of flying projectiles before drilling into the bodies of the monsters. Some of the shots struck the arachnids in their limbs or bodies, sending fragments of black flesh flying. Others missed entirely, flashing past the monsters and striking the asphalt or nearby buildings instead.

Mike wanted to yell at his people to stop firing, but he bit his tongue. After all, what could he tell them? That the pitch-black monsters were on their side? But did he actually know that for sure?

He watched one of the creatures tear apart another crystallized mutant. It had shown no interest whatsoever in the survivors standing nearby. Yet that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Perhaps the creatures were simply dealing with the mutants first because the survivors weren’t their immediate priority. What if, after dealing with what remained of the crystallized mutants, the pitch-black monsters came after his people?

The thought made Mike tighten his grip around his rifle. He had no idea what he should do or what kind of order he should give his people, so he just remained passive. He couldn’t exactly order them to stop shooting at creatures that might turn around and slaughter them a minute later. At the same time, continuing to fire at the monsters might provoke them into attacking.

But he did notice, though, that while some of the shots fired by his people did damage the pitch-black monsters, they didn’t try to retaliate in any way. The creatures simply ignored the attacks and continued fighting the crystallized mutants, as if the energy bolts striking their bodies were nothing more than an insignificant annoyance.

Finally, the battle was over.

As soon as the last of the crystallized monsters was dealt with, the pitch-black monsters began to return to the fanged maw and disappear into it. One after another, they crossed the ruined street and slipped between the rows of jagged teeth, vanishing into the darkness beyond. The winged reptiles descended from the sky and joined the others, while the spider-like monsters scurried across the asphalt.

Some of his people kept firing at the retreating monsters, blue bolts of energy streaking through the air after the fleeing creatures. This time, Mike did yell at them to cease firing, and his voice echoed through the street. The monsters were leaving, and therefore were no threat to them. There was no reason to provoke them now.

His people obeyed, trusting his judgment, and the weapons fell silent. A few seconds later, the last of the pitch-black monsters vanished into the fanged maw, and it closed shut. The rows of teeth disappeared from sight as the opening contracted, turning into nothing more than a bulging patch of pitch-black mass clinging to the asphalt.

But the morphus remained.

The mutant stood among the bodies of the killed crystallized mutants and shards of shattered crystals littering the asphalt. The morphus was surrounded by his people. While none of them was firing, they all kept their weapons trained on him. But the morphus didn’t seem concerned by it in the slightest. It simply stood there among the remains of the mutants, completely motionless, as if being surrounded by a group of armed survivors was nothing to worry about.

Almost a full minute passed without anything happening at all. No more crystallized mutants showed up. Now that the chaos of the battle that had just taken place there was over, the street seemed eerily quiet. The only sounds were the faint crackle of aether energy, the occasional settling of debris, and the heavy breathing of some of his people.

Clearly, all of the mutants that had been within earshot of the battle taking place here had already come and fallen in this street. No more mutants were nearby, and therefore none were coming. For the moment, at least, it seemed the immediate threat was over.

Mike kept his eyes on the morphus. The strange mutant still hadn’t moved. It simply stood there amid the dead bodies of the crystallized mutants, surrounded by Mike’s people with weapons trained on it.

Then the morphus raised one hand. Mike tensed immediately. Something materialized in the creature’s hand out of thin air, some kind of small device. Mike couldn’t make out what it was from his position, but its appearance was sudden enough to make several of his people instinctively tighten their grip on their weapons.

“Easy,” he quickly called out. “Everybody remain calm.”

A few of the weapons were lowered by a fraction, but most remained trained on the morphus.

Mike returned his attention to the creature and watched closely as the morphus brought the device toward its face. A moment later, it pressed the business end of the device against its mandible.

Mike frowned. What the hell was it doing? Was it trying to communicate? Was the device some kind of weapon? Or was it something else entirely?

However, whatever the morphus was trying to do, Mike never learned, because everything suddenly went to shit.

One of the clusters of aether crystals clinging to the side of a nearby building suddenly flared with light. A split second later, it launched a bolt of energy at the morphus.

Sure enough, the pitch-black mutant immediately darted aside, barely avoiding the attack. The movement was so fast that Mike almost failed to follow it with his eyes. The bolt of aether energy tore through the space where the morphus had been standing and struck the ground behind it, carving out a sizeable, smoking crater in the asphalt. Chunks of pavement were blasted into the air, and a wave of heat swept across the street.

His people were already tense, and the mutant’s sudden movement made one of them squeeze the trigger. A blue-white energy bolt shot from the weapon and streaked straight toward the morphus.

Mike barely had time to realize what was happening.

The morphus managed to dodge, twisting its body aside with that same speed and agility, but it wasn’t able to completely avoid taking damage. The energy bolt clipped the hand holding the strange device.

The device was hit directly. It completely disintegrated in the heat of the energy shot, vanishing in a brief flash of light before it could make use of it and before Mike could learn what the small device was even for.

For a moment, Mike simply stared. It wasn’t just the device that was destroyed. The mutant’s hand that had been holding the device a second before had disintegrated too.

The morphus went completely still, staring down at the stump of its arm where its hand had been a moment before. A faint wisp of smoke curled upward from the damaged area of its melted limb before slowly dissipating into the air.

Everything went very quiet for a moment. The survivors even seemed to instinctively hold their breath.

Everybody just stared at the morphus, their expressions ranging from surprise to outright terror. Mike could see the realization slowly spreading among his people. Whatever the morphus had been about to do, they had just prevented it. And judging by the way the creature stood there without moving, Mike had a very bad feeling about what would happen next.

The morphus slowly raised its head. Its gaze moved across the survivors before finally settling on the man who had fired the shot.

For several seconds, it simply stared at him.

The survivor holding the weapon seemed to realize what he had done. His posture stiffened, and Mike could almost see the moment when the man understood that he had just made a terrible mistake.

The morphus just glared at him for a moment. A split second later, the morphus charged at the man.

The transition was terrifying. One moment, the morphus stood completely still, and in the next, it was sprinting at full speed toward the survivor.

The distance between them disappeared with terrifying speed.

Mike instinctively knew they had just made a terrible mistake. They were all in deep trouble now.