The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 307: Cat and Mouse

Chapter 307: Cat and Mouse

A massive sixth-circle array materialized around our small party, a whirling mass of runes and mana. With the initiation of the spell, over half of my mana vanished, leaving me weak and breathless. Korra caught me as I staggered into her, catching my arm with a firm grip. She shouted something, but her voice was lost in the screech of the descending centipede.

The creature loomed over us, venom dripping from its maw, eyes burning with hatred. Its scythe-like blades flashed toward us, leaving blurred afterimages in their wake.

Unable to even catch my breath, I leaned on Korra and cast another spell, losing another quarter of my available mana.

"Blade Ward!"

The fifth-circle spell stacked on top of the still-revolving array, both finishing a split second before the centipede reached us. The Nexus resolved first, drawing a thick line between mine, Fable, and Korra’s souls. The Blade Ward followed on its heels, shimmering into existence around me before racing through the Nexus and appearing around the others.

Before the golden shield had even fully materialized, Fable lunged forward to meet the centipede. He was a small silver streak before a towering mass of rust-colored carapace and snapping jaws, the monster’s legs alone longer than was. Even so, the wolf showed no hesitation, flooding his body with mana and diving headlong into the descending attack.

I cried out and fought the urge to turn away, certain the monstrous centipede would crush right through him. It wasn’t that I lacked faith in my magic, but this creature was at the peak of sixth level. Something of this magnitude and size might even be able to contend with lower seventh-level monsters!

The two met in a clash of red and silver, the impact alone releasing a shockwave that rocked the canyon. The canyons warped and groaned, literally tearing themselves apart in a shower of house-sized boulders. Before I could make out the results of the two monster’s clash, Korra wrapped her arms around me and leaped into the air. We plowed right through the rain of stone, descending rock shattering the moment they met the Blade Ward. My scream was lost in the roar of the earth, and I clung to Korra tightly, my tail lashing in terror.

We landed softly atop one of the few surviving ridges in the area, but I didn’t release Korra, unable to trust myself to my trembling legs. The small hollow, road, and waterfall had vanished, buried in the devastation caused by the attack. I glanced around desperately, searching for any sign of Fable or the centipede, when a flash of silver caught my eye.

My wolf leaped from boulder to boulder, reduced to a mere streak to my eyes, rapidly making his way toward us. I let out a pent-up breath, practically collapsing against Korra as the tension left my body. Somehow, he was unharmed, the only evidence of their clash was a small crack snaking halfway around the translucent Blade Ward.

When Fable was just a few hundred yards away, he suddenly kicked off a large boulder, shattering it into pieces. As he soared upward, the mountainous pile of broken earth exploded like a volcano. The centipede’s head erupted from the cloud of dust and debris, jaws snapping shut where Fable had been a heartbeat before. Though its attack missed, the sheer momentum of its subterranean charge carried its titanic body high into the air. Segment after armored segment emerged from the earth, building an incomprehensibly large tower of carapace and spindly legs nearly a hundred feet tall.

Reaching the zenith of its charge, the centipede curled down toward us, its legs clacking furiously in the air. Korra’s eyes widened and she pulled me close to her, kicking off the ridge. We flew through the air and landed several hundred feet away, just in time to watch the centipede crash into the earth where we’d been standing. It crushed through the ridge and emerged out the other side, dragging its massive body behind it in a terrifying mass of coiling legs and body segments.

Finally letting go of Korra, I stared at the writhing coils of the centipede, watching them wind in and out of the earth like a snake in the water. My lungs heaved as I fought to catch my breath, an uncontrollable shudder running down my spine and tail. "How can we fight something like that?" I whispered hoarsely.

Korra sucked in a short breath and clenched her hands tightly, turning her knuckles white. "J-just like we planned."

I glanced at her, startled at the uncertain tremor in her voice. After a moment, I nodded, supposing it only natural. The sheer scale of this monster was at least as intimidating as the infernal dragon, and the way it tore through mountains and solid rock was simply frightening.

"Korra, you don’t have to–"

"Have to what?" She met my eyes, frowning softly. "Fight it? Of course I’m fighting this thing!"

I nearly choked in shock. She was shaking alright, but the glimmer in her eye definitely wasn’t fear. Excitement? Adrenaline? What was wrong with her? Couldn’t she see how terrifying this monster was?

Water flowed from her fists, coiling around her forearms like dragons. I shook my head in disbelief as she shot me a wink.

"Stay here and out of the way. I won’t be able to protect you," she called, flashing me a feral grin.

Before I could protest, she vanished and the earth beneath us cracked, broken by the force of her departure. I flinched back, forgetting for a second the Blade Ward protected me from the shockwave. Recovering, my eyes raked the sky, searching for her, but she moved so quickly I only found her as she met up with Fable near the monster’s head.

The centipede’s jaws snapped toward Fable, intent on catching the elusive wolf, but Korra intercepted it. Streaking across the sky like a blue meteor, she crashed into one of its thirty-foot-long mandibles. A shockwave swept out of the collision, and the centipede’s bulbous head snapped to one side. Fable dove beneath a flurry of slashing legs and sunk his claws into a chink in the carapace. At first, it was futile–no matter how strong he was, he was simply too small to inflict any significant damage. But then he howled, and his body exploded with stars, rapidly swelling until he reached his full size. His claws, still embedded in the chink, stabbed deep into the creature’s body. With a growl, he raked back, tearing thick chunks of sinewy flesh free.

Screeching in pain, the centipede spun about. Fable tried to leap back, claws trailing great gouts of blood, but his increased size lacked the mobility to properly evade. He dodged the first wave of sharp legs, but even as they missed, they plunged into the ground, creating an ever-growing chiton cage. Fable was backed against the sheer face of a towering cliff, trapped by the writhing coils of the enormous insect.

"Korra!" I cried, throwing a desperate glance at her. "His Blade Ward won’t be able to withstand any more direct hits!"

She nodded and chased after the centipede’s head. She caught it just in time and, leaping into the air, launched a flurry of blows at its eyes. The monster screeched in pain and whirled on her, slapping out at her with a waving leg. Unable to properly maneuver in the air, Korra was sent flying into a monolith just a few dozen feet away from me. The Blade Ward manifested briefly when the leg made contact, absorbing most of the attack, and again as she slammed into the rocky tower. The collision sent thick cracks spiderwebbing through the stone, a thick cloud of dust arising to obscure my vision.

Though I could feel the Blade Ward resist the impact, I ran toward her, calling her name. Korra staggered out of the dust shaking her fist, staring up at the monstrous centipede with disgust.

"What the hell is that thing made of? Even when I hit its eyes, I felt like I was punching rocks!"

I stumbled to a stop next to her and quickly checked her for injuries. Fortunately, aside from being a little irritated, she was unharmed. Breathing a sigh of relief, I remembered Fable and quickly scanned the canyon.

Korra’s attack had distracted the centipede long enough to allow Fable to break free of the encirclement. The two now fought ferociously, claw against leg, releasing small shockwaves with every clash. Having learned his lesson, Fable carefully navigated the canyon to prevent from being trapped again, but his caution also prevented him from landing any substantial attacks. His claws skated harmlessly against the centipede’s armor, and in turn, any stabbing legs he failed to dodge were deflected by the Blade Ward, locking them in an awkward stalemate.

I watched them silently as Korra caught her breath, my tail flicking back and forth. My heart leaped every time the centipede bore down on Fable, but he always remained a step ahead. I could feel his drive and excitement through the bond, and shook my head helplessly. He really was just like Korra. Maybe I should have blamed him more for the cliff incident after all.

Korra stepped up beside me. "Damn this thing. It certainly won’t go down easy." She let out a long sigh and folded her arms beneath her breasts. "What do you think? Come up with anything yet?"