Chapter 80: Chimeras Attack The Village

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Chimeras Attack The Village

Arin followed the elven guard through the colony with Ayan not far behind. The guard had just arrived when he warned them that Zarl’s magical collar had activated when he tried to use magic. Eldran had immediately sent for Ayan to come and take a look. Like most things with Zarl, Arin expected nothing more than an argument with a prisoner. Then the scream rang out. Throughout the settlement. Then another. And then a sound Arin knew all too well.

BOOM!

The ground shook under his feet. Arin stopped dead in his tracks. Ayan’s eyes widened. "That wasn’t magic from Zarl." Another explosion rocked the village. The people screamed and rushed around in panic. An elf ran past them, a gash of blood running down one side of his face. "Monsters!" Arin’s eyes went wide. "Where?" "From the forest!" The elf pointed towards the western edge of the village before running off again.

A deep rumbling sounded from the trees. Then something large exited the woods. Arin’s eyes widened as he took in the creature before him. It wasn’t a single monster, but several forced together. Thick claws had grown from its arms, its back bore patches of hardened scales and several unnaturally shaped bones jutted from its hide. Another the same size was right behind it. And another. The elves screamed in terror. "Chimeras."

Ayan’s voice was cold as he looked upon the creatures. The first Chimera charged. Ayan stepped forward. In the blink of an eye, scales had erupted across his skin, his arms had reshaped into massive claws, and wings had grown from his back. In seconds, the human form of Ayan was gone. A deafening roar echoed throughout the village as the enormous dragon hovered over the rooftops and opened his jaws. A jet of fire shot forth, consuming the attacking Chimera in a ball of flames.

BOOOOOOM!

Arin shielded his vision from the fire as the creature was engulfed. For several seconds, the fire obscured his vision. And then... something moved. Out from the flames, the Chimera slowly walked. Chunks of charred flesh were falling from its body, but it was still standing. Arin’s eyes went wide. "Seriously?" Ayan stared at the beast with an unreadable expression. "Interesting." "That’s your reaction?" "It survived my flames." Ayan’s tone had changed to something more serious. "That’s not good."

Three more Chimeras burst from the trees. One landed atop a building, another shattered a wooden wall, and the last ran towards a group of elves. Arin turned. "Get down!" He sprinted forward and slashed his sword across the closest Chimera’s arm.

CLANG!

The force of the blow sent him flying backwards. Arin landed on his feet, staring at the creature in shock. "That arm is harder than metal." The Chimera swung again, forcing Arin to roll beneath it. The beast’s claws raked across a stone wall behind him before Arin activated his Dungeon Sense. His vision changed, perceiving the ground, the buildings, the ancient ruins buried beneath the settlement, and the creatures attacking it.

The Chimera’s body was revealed in an entirely different light. He could see its bones, mana pathways and the strange energy flowing through its veins. Then something else caught his attention. "Wait." Arin took a step back. There. A bundle of condensed energy hidden deep within the creature’s chest. "There’s a core." Arin’s eyes went wide as the Chimera lashed out again. He jumped back just in time. "Their power isn’t in their whole body. It’s all centered in that one spot." Saira suddenly appeared at his side.

"You found their weakness?" "I think so." She smiled. "Then let’s use it." Saira’s mana exploded outward in a wave of dark energy just before she lunged at the Chimera. The blast struck the creature’s chest. BOOM! The Chimera reeled back as Arin’s eyes lit up. "There!" Saira immediately understood what he meant and delivered another blow to the same spot. This time, the Chimera snarled and twisted its body into an unnatural, one of its arms transforming into a blade-like appendage. Saira barely dodged the swing. "That thing can regenerate its limbs!" Arin blocked another blow with a grunt. "Then don’t let it!"

"Very motivating!" Adnan jumped in from the side, slicing at the Chimera’s leg. The creature collapsed to a knee. Mira grabbed an injured elf and pulled him away from the fight. "Move! Get him to the healers!" The settlement was in chaos. Elves were dragging the wounded to safety while others fought desperately to defend their homes. The last three Chimeras ignored everything but the center of the village. Arin noticed this as well. "They’re not attacking at random." Ayan’s dragon-eyes studied the creatures. "I noticed." "They’re heading for something."

Before Ayan could say more, another Chimera emerged from the woods. It was larger than the others, its body covered in black plates and four of its arms extended from its shoulders. Arin took a step back. "Of course there’s a bigger one." Ayan unfurled his wings. "I’ll deal with it." He shot into the air, meeting the creature mid-flight. The impact sent shockwaves through the battlefield. BOOM! Ayan’s claws ripped through the Chimera’s shoulders. It retaliated by biting down on his arm. Ayan roared in pain and sent the creature crashing to the ground. It immediately got back up. Arin’s eyes narrowed. "They’re tougher than I expected." "They were designed that way."

Zarl’s voice echoed from behind him. Arin turned to see the former Chimera experimenter standing a few meters away with Garul at his side. The magical collar around Zarl’s neck still glowed faintly as two elves kept their weapons trained on him. "Their bodies were altered using the same Chimera research I used." Zarl said. Saira looked at him with absolute disgust. "So this is your doing." Zarl remained impassive. "I conducted experiments on Chimeras. I won’t lie about that. But I had nothing to do with these creatures." Arin’s eyes flicked to the collar around his neck. Zarl followed his gaze.

"And even if I did, I’m hardly in a position to command an army." Arin turned back to the fight. "Then who is controlling them?" Zarl was silent for a long moment. His eyes tracked one of the Chimeras as it destroyed a block of buildings. "I don’t know." Arin stared at him, his expression hardening. Zarl’s gaze met his own. "And that worries me."

Ayan suddenly roared, sending a jet of fire across the battlefield. The largest Chimera vanished into the flames. Arin expected it to die, but the creature burst out the other side of the inferno. It was charred, but the burns were already healing. Ayan’s eyes narrowed. "It regenerated." "Not exactly." Arin focused his Dungeon Sense on the creature. Every time it took damage, the strange energy inside its chest was flowing out, repairing the wounds. Arin pointed out the source. "The core." Ayan turned to look at him. "The core controls the regeneration."

Arin nodded. "Destroy it and it should stop." Ayan opened his mouth to speak. A large blast of fire formed in his jaws. Arin grabbed his wrist. "Wait!" Ayan turned his head. "If you use that power here, you’re going to destroy the whole village." The dragon closed his mouth. "...Right." Arin allowed himself a small smile. "Glad we checked." Ayan glared at him. "This is not the time for jokes." "I’m aware." Arin charged forward, his blade flashing.

The Chimera lashed out with all four arms. Arin twisted aside, blocking two of the blows before rolling beneath the other two. He came up behind the creature, his eyes narrowing at the faint outline of the core. "Now!" Ayan let loose with a burst of raw physical energy from his claws. At the same time, Arin drove his blade into the exposed section of the Chimera’s chest. The core cracked, sending another agonized scream from the creature as it collapsed. Everyone around them fell silent. Arin withdrew his weapon. "One down."

A piercing scream echoed from the other side of the battlefield. Arin turned to see several more Chimeras pouring out of the forest. "Wait..." A second wave of the monstrous creatures flooded out from between the trees. Ten. Twenty. Then fifty. Ayan’s eyes widened. "How many did they create?"

Zarl turned his gaze to the woods. His expression was uncharacteristically grim. "I don’t know." Arin’s grip tightened. This wasn’t some wandering pack of monsters, this was an attack force. He turned to the tree line and sensed something else entirely. Arin’s eyes narrowed as he took in the figure waiting on the other side of the battle. Long black hair flowed down a slender back, a dark cloak billowed behind him and simple armor adorned his form. Calm golden eyes met Arin’s line of sight. Caelan. Arin’s jaw tightened. "Caelan."

Ayan turned his dragon-eyes towards the trees as Saira paused in her fighting for the briefest of moments. Even Zarl went silent. Caelan took a step forward, still watching the battle unfold before him. Screams of terror, blood, death, destruction and magic all filled the air. The young man raised one hand and a faint pulse of energy washed over the battlefield. Arin felt it instantly, his Dungeon Sense identifying the strange presence.

"He’s absorbing something." Arene’s voice echoed in his mind. "Yes." "What is he getting?" "I can’t identify it." Arin watched as Caelan absorbed more of the strange energy flowing from the battlefield. Every spell, every shout, every bit of power being released by the combatants was drawn towards the man. Caelan wasn’t helping either side.

He wasn’t aiding the Chimeras or the elves. He was just standing there, taking it all in. Arin’s stomach twisted. "He’s feeding on the chaos." Arene responded carefully. "I cannot specifically identify what he’s collecting." Caelan turned his gaze to meet Arin’s. The man smiled, his expression calm and content. As if everything that had transpired so far was precisely what he wanted to happen.

Arin took a step forward. "You!" Caelan said nothing as a Chimera lunged between them. Arin slashed the creature down and turned back to where Caelan had been standing. The man was still in the same spot, the strange energy flowing towards him. Finally, Caelan spoke. "Keep growing, Arin Rahman."

Arin’s eyes widened. Caelan turned away from him and the energy surrounding him dissipated into the night air. As he disappeared back into the woods, Arin felt a deep anger welling up inside him. He wanted to chase after the man, wanted to tear him apart with his bare hands. But another Chimera smashed into the ground nearby. The battle raged on around him, flames consuming buildings, injured elves crying out in pain and more Chimeras flooding out of the trees. Arin turned to survey the destruction.

Caelan hadn’t attacked them, he hadn’t even had to. He had simply stood there and taken what he wanted. Arin tightened his grip on his blade.