Rel could feel the heat as Jargen approached --
A walking furnace.
Steam hissed off his body as the tar imprisoning them recoiled and melted.
Rel: "AGHH!"
His skin burned.
Jargen: "ENDURE, KID."
Rel gritted his teeth as Jargen stepped closer.
His body radiated heat, hotter than before -- hotter than should've been possible...
The monster flinched back.
Its form wavered, liquid shifting uncertainly.
Jargen nodded toward Dmitri's motionless body.
Jargen: "DMITRI. GET THE ANTIDOTE FROM HIM. GO!"
Rel moved.
Supporting Punjo, they stumbled forward.
Behind them --
Jargen's breathing grew heavier.
Blood dripped from his eyes, his nose, his ears.
His skin darkened -- his body screaming for mercy.
Yet mercy, much like his humanity, had already been left behind.
The monster slithered forward.
Whispers leaked from its form...
Monster: "Weak... Die...!"
Jargen took a step back -- toward the exit.
He glanced at Rel and Punjo one last time.
Jargen: "Find another way out... The cellar will no longer be an option."
Rel's stomach twisted.
Rel: "Jargen --!"
Jargen just smiled.
Jargen: "It was a pleasure to have crossed paths with you... and to fight beside you."
He stepped backward, drawing the monster away.
Jargen: "Don't ever let anyone take our home from us again...!"
And then -- he was gone.
Outside, in the corridor --
A distant rumbling.
Heavy.
Fast.
Growing.
Guard: "What is that noise?!"
The group of patrolling guards halted, hands on their weapons.
The walls trembled...
Something was coming.
Jargen (distant): "GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY!"
The bend exploded --
Jargen raced toward them, thunder in his footsteps.
But he wasn't alone.
Behind him --
A shifting, writhing mass of darkness flooded the corridor.
Guards: "T-that's -- Dmitri's experiment!"
Some turned tail, sprinting for their lives.
Others bolted for the upper floors, desperate for safety.
It didn't matter.
The monster was faster.
Tentacles lashed. Teeth tore.
YOU ARE READING
Tales of Undeath: The Von Virtus Chronicles
FantasyLong ago, in a world not dissimilar from our own, seven powerful mysterious weapons were forged. After centuries of dormancy, safely hidden from those who could abuse their power, one man's curiosity drove him to discover the resting place of one su...
