The Crescent Hour ✓

Chapter 26. The Spider's Ploy

Tamer knelt down on the ground. There were red splotches on the dried leaves. He kept up his pace, following the trail of blood. He had caught glimpses of Enki running ahead, shoulders hunched forward and claws whipping about him.

The twin moons shed enough light to let him see the forest without the need for a torch. He took out one of his scimitars when he saw the alchemist passing a tree. He controlled himself from firing a bolt of fire at him. The result could be disastrous with so much foliage around.

As he ran, he mulled over how Enki had freed himself and what he had could have used to carve an alchemical sigil on his wrist. Eryx had placed enough spells on him to keep him restrained. Did the distance between a caster and the spell weaken the strength of the magic? He didn’t know the answer. Tamer wasn’t a mage.

Enki paused to drop something on the grass before resuming speed. He assumed it would be spiders. Sure enough, the overgrown critters came after him. He crushed them with his foot. Enki stopped running and faced him.

The alchemist’s hand was dripping with blood, more symbols drawn on his skin. They transformed to pincers. Tamer heard the ripping of clothes and when he looked down at Enki’s feet, he noticed they had also become bent claws. He watched as the mutation continued.

Enki’s hairline pulled back, his face flattened. The two claws on his back remained unmoving. His eyes turned black like those of a Homunculus and his mouth mutated to mandibles.

“What did you do?” he asked.

“I used the last of my strength for this.” Enki waved his pincers over his form. “You like it?”

Tamer was repulsed by his transformation. He shifted to his fighting stance, staying on guard. When Enki attacked, he blocked the pincers with his swords.

 “My master overestimated you,” Enki said.

He made a swipe at the alchemist’s head but his scimitars were intercepted.

“That girl is your saviour?” he said. “Don’t make me laugh. Your precious Aurion stands no chance against us.”

Fuming, Tamer flicked a knife at him. Enki swatted it away with his claws.

“Aurion will never fall,” Tamer said.

Enki jumped up high, moving from one tree to the next. He used the shadows to hide himself. Tamer scanned the trees, searching for the man.  

“You’re weak,” said the alchemist, his deadpan voice resonating in the wind. “Perhaps it is too late.”

 “Too late for what?”

The man jeered at him.

Black webs flew to him, trapping him in a net. Tamer used his scimitar to cut it but the threads were thick and sticky. Just as he managed to slip free, Enki pounced on him. He fell on the ground, his scimitar tumbling from his grasp. Enki trapped his left hand with his claws and his right hand with his transfigured foot.

“Pathetic,” Enki spat.

His mouth enlarged, exposing sharp yellow canines that dribbled with saliva. Tamer flinched as putrid breath blew to his face.

“Now, die.”

As Enki dipped his head to maul his face, Tamer freed his right hand and punched him on the nose. Enki hissed at him. He hit him again on the forehead, using brutal strength to stop the spider mutant from impaling him. When Enki inched back and released his other hand, dizzy from the hits, Tamer head-butted him.

“Get off me,” he said, pushing Enki away.

Tamer seized his sword as he stood up, hacked at his opponent without hesitation. The blade slid against fabric and flesh, scraping muscles and bones in its deadly swing. Enki’s cries spilled through the forest air.