Chương 76: 1-75 Struggle for life

"Fuck!" Josef yelled reflexively, bringing up both hands and blasting the terrifying creature, the devourer, right in the head with another Water Jet, almost flinging himself backwards off his bunny because of the knockback. Even Dusty seemingly took an involuntary step back, though whether that was from the resulting force or the disgust he felt at the creature before them wasn't certain. Considering the intensity and clarity of the emotion rushing through their link, he would have put his money on the latter.

As the cloud of vapor around the monster receded, he could see that his reflexive attack did little to harm the creature, merely turning its head away. Which now snapped back to glare at him, causing a loud crack to echo through the room. For a single second, it felt as if the very room around him was holding its breath, and even the worms beneath them had paused their assault. Then, another unholy screech erupted out of the creature, heedless of the massive acorn-like seed still stuck in its mouth.

As if the sound didn't originate from its throat but deeper within, it broke out unimpeded. Only to get interrupted by a large swath of water that encompassed its head, tugging violently.

"Just shut up already!" Josef was getting sick of all that screaming. Even with his healing magic, he feared he might just develop a tinnitus if he had to go through any more of that torturous sound. Especially from up this close. He doubted that the creature was truly restrained by the watery grasp of his spell, but the sheer audacity of the move made up for the difference. Then, without warning, he shifted his target, concentrating his magic on the acorn in its mouth, pulling at it with all his might.

Simultaneously, he formed two appendages from the sphere, which promptly slammed into the face of the devourer. This once, he wasn't using the extra limbs to hold on to something, but was instead using them to push the creature away. The result was meager, though he could see the object wiggle slightly between those yellowed teeth. He needed only a little more, that he was sure of. Adding his draining streams of mana into the mix, he struggled against the monster's strength.

Until finally, there was an audible popping noise. Only it didn't come from the acorn being freed. Instead, the devourer had finally grown angry enough at his attempts to pull his hands out of the ceiling, and bring down a massive claw to swipe at Josef. Its fingers were sporting sharp tips, made from the same dark coating as the parasites below, and the palms were almost as large as a grown man's, which created a stark contrast to the almost emaciated looking arms they were attached to.

Though those thin limbs were more than enough to swing at a ridiculous speed. The only reason he was able to avoid getting sliced into ribbons was Dusty's timely reaction to duck under the attack, even as more of the parasites tried to burrow into his belly. At least the attack was so surprising, he didn't even have the time to drop his spell.

"Don't you want to get out?" he cursed through clenched teeth. Wasn't this stupid seed fighting just moments ago? Why was it giving up now?

"Fucking do something!" It was impossible to tell whether it was his complaints, or if it simply thought this timing more opportune than any other. Finally, two vibrant green vines erupted from the acorn and lashed violently at the mouth holding on to them. Then, as one they started banging on at the largest tooth clamping down on them, pushing at it with visible effort.

Taking the cue, Josef redirected his own watery appendages at the same spot, wrapping around it with renewed force as more mana began to flood his body from the incoming stream. Once again, Dusty moved them as the other claw came down, receiving a massive gash in his side for the effort. He knew his familiar should have been able to dodge it completely, but a sudden jump like that would have definitely interrupted his spell, or even thrown him off.

That bunny had taken a hit for him, and he was going to make sure it was worth it. With a final push on the tooth, screaming out as loud as he could, something finally gave, as the giant seed was violently ripped out of the creature's jaws. Along with it came half of a broken tooth, both of which almost flew off into the sea of worms below before he managed to grasp them with his water, lifting them back. That tooth might be gross as heck, but there was no way a material from a boss like this was useless.

It wasn't as if he had to look at it after tucking it into his hoard. There was also that slight emotional damage that came from stashing part of someone's body right in front of them. He also tried to put the seed in there for further safekeeping, but his skill didn't react to his request. Apparently, it was alive enough not to be eligible for storage. The little thing must have taken offense at his attempt, as its two vines promptly had it walk out of his hand and to the other end of their bunny transport.

"Suit yourself." He shrugged, turning back to the boss barely in time to witness its next move. Under a shower of dust, debris, and droplets of questionable origin, it shook violently before wholly dropping out of the ceiling. Then, the entire chamber appeared to move, as every single parasite rushed towards the boss, covering it within moments, never allowing them to get a proper glimpse of its whole body. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The worms were so tightly packed around it, they almost looked like a big, fleshy cocoon.

"I don't like the look of that. Let's interrupt its transformation." Josef called, unwilling to sit around like a classic trope. Sending several water bullets at the writhing structure, he dislodged some of the worms from the greater whole, but it barely made a dent in their total numbers. It didn't even take a single second for the form to correct itself fully, as if his attack had never landed.

Unwilling to give up so quickly, he continued his barrage, all while draining whatever he could from that massive collective, causing an increasing pile of drained, crumbly remains to rain down on the ground. Dusty aided him best he could, getting close, biting away large chunks, and even slamming his massive paws into the orb. Their combined attacks weren't without results, as the thing did shrink somewhat, but it wasn't enough to interrupt the process going on within.

They learned as much when the cocoon finally split open, revealing its transformed occupant. Retreating to a safer distance, they saw the wall of interwoven worms practically melt around the creature, though they didn't separate from it. The opposite happened, as these organisms had seemingly merged into the monster. One third attached to the bottom of its torso, forming a writhing skirt, which soon braided itself into several thick tentacles.

The remainder of them receded onto its back, flowing outwards into two distinct planes, forming two wing-like structures. It looked like a butterfly and an octopus had a baby made of worms. Nightmare Devourer: Envoy of Hunger - Level 49 Did it just level up and change its race in the middle of combat? It was a nightmare in more than one way, that much was sure.

With all of those worm-tentacles supporting it, the boss was also once again high enough to look down on them with its hollow eye sockets, though its face was now twisted into an angry sneer, flashing its teeth. Including that one small gap where they had broken off a piece. Was it bad to laugh at an angry monster of unfathomable danger? Apparently, because it rushed at them, fuming in silent anger, reaching out with its claws to snatch him up.

The fingers were even longer than before, and the nails were very much alive and wriggling like worms. He barely needed to start the thought before Dusty booked it, turning away from the boss and running away in a mad dash. At least the surrounding darkness had dispelled at some point during the transformation process. Maybe it was responsible for creating that magic, while it remained immobile in its original spot? There was no way in hell they would be bringing that thing down on their own, was there?

He had gone for that acorn following his usual tactic of targeting the weak spot for an instant kill, but it turned out the creature was more pissed than hurt by what he had done. If it wouldn't die without the seed, then why had it been holding on to it so fiercely? Was it just possessive of its toy? No, he refused to believe that things were that simple. There had to be a reason it wanted that seed, and also why it didn't hang out in this advanced form to begin with. Could it be about energy?

That entire boss's motive was hunger, and it was a parasite by nature, so it made sense if it had to devour mana at all times. Turning back to look at the creature chasing after them, he searched for signs to support his theory and found them quickly. With every ground-shaking step it took, massive tentacles shifting all over the place in hot pursuit, small flakes of black crumbled away from it. Considering the size and distance, those were likely the worms making up its appendages.

It was draining them to keep going, wasn't it? Couldn't they just run away until it starved? Then, as if picking up on his calculating thoughts, the creature's wings snapped open with the sound of thunder and began to beat frantically. By all laws of aviation known to Josef, the devourer should not have been able to take flight. However, magic was bullshit, and so the giant butterfly-octopus lifted off the ground, tentacles trailing behind as it gained on them with every flap of its wings.

Of course it could actually fly, because why else would it have grown those extra limbs? He wanted to curse at the ridiculousness of this sight, but he was far more preoccupied with not getting killed by the monster. Whatever plans he had to climb back out of this pit were shattered by this revelation. Though he had already hesitated with the idea, considering that he didn't want to accidentally offer his companions as a snack to this starving creature.

Extending its final rampage at the cost of his friends' lives was about the worst outcome possible. No, he would figure this one out on his own, no matter what. Wasn't he supposed to be some mythical Drake, a champion chosen by dragons? What was a little nightmare butterfly compared to that? He just had to run- He barely got out of the way, as the creature's jaws clamped shut right where he had been a moment before.

Clearly, it had been holding back, as its speed suddenly spiked with another mighty beat of its wings. Or maybe it was just growing that much more desperate to sate its hunger. Dusty himself took a tumble from the resulting crash, as the monster's remaining body smashed into him at full speed. He rolled away before coming to a sudden stop at a sheer wall of sickly grey meat stretching up into the sky. They had reached the edge of the massive pit, a spot just like the one they had first come down at.

At least there was no message notifying him of his familiar's demise, but that was the only silver lining to their situation. The creature was now positioned between the two of them, and there was no way he was escaping its hungry maw on foot. With its speed and size, he would probably not be able to dodge even a single attack. All he could do was ready his teleportation and hope he could finish it in time.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to stretch his targeting line all the way to the top, so at best he could reposition around the boss, hoping it was enough. Entering absolute focus in the face of his possible demise, Josef didn't even notice the wave of fury, indignation and relief coming right at him until it smacked straight into him from above. Instead of causing a catastrophic collision, however, it instead melted into him in a shower of blue light before promptly bursting back out of his chest.

Pretzel hissed loudly, with all the air her body could spare.

"Get away from my summoner!" Her tail smacked the ground furiously as she rose to her full height right in front of him. The devourer didn't even spare her a glance, as his eyes remained firmly locked on his chosen meal. Maybe if it had broken out of its tunnel vision, it would have been prepared for the flaming comet that rained down right after.