..
.
Cassian faced the waves, as instructed, killing everything in his path. And so it was: during the first few hours, there was nothing to test him.
But the waves seemed never-ending, and his body began to tire. Even he, whose endurance and limits were unknown to him, began to feel them after many hours of relentlessly killing the beasts.
Even so, there were no wounds on his body, and only his clothes were a little worn and torn in some places due to his carelessness. It was a shame since he had just gotten them, but he would ask for a few more pairs later.
He really felt that he had tested his body and discovered many things along the way.
The same was true of his art: he felt that he had improved in its use, and there were even aspects that did not align, which he corrected; his body did so naturally, and he learned from it.
Even though he knew it was dangerous, he put into practice the idea of eating the flesh of fallen beasts in the midst of battle.
It really wasn't his thing to eat raw meat, but he felt a momentary and small relief, but as Nahara said, it wasn't a big deal, and he couldn't keep consuming it because she had warned him.
Somehow, everything had finally stopped: there weren't so many beasts anymore, and after a while, he felt he had room to maneuver; they weren't coming at him continuously anymore.
At least there were no beasts in his vicinity, only corpses.
"Ha... ahhh... haaaah... huaaaah~... I think they've decreased a little... hufff, I'm tired."
They had explained to him that a relief system was in place. At that moment, Cassian hadn't intended to use it, but it turned out he really needed to.
He looked around and realized that he had gone too far ahead. It seemed that, little by little, during the intensity of the battles, he was moving further and further to the front.
He looked again and, in fact, the beasts were still coming, just not to his immediate vicinity: they were heading towards the village, not in large numbers.
Cassian was sure that this was about to end, and something like that could be handled by the people of the village.
Well, walking back is no problem... a little rest will suffice.
He thought that even though he had gone too far ahead, it wasn't a big deal. Now that he was free, he could go back, rest, and then help somewhere else. But just then he heard it:
"Yiyiyiyi."
"Kukukuku!"
It was the disgusting and annoying laughter of two creatures. They were unlike anything he had ever seen before, but he knew what they were: two aberrations, the same as the three before, but always different in their deformities.
Really, if it weren't for the sapling and the annoying laugh , they wouldn't be related at all.
Cassian stood his ground. In front of him were two new aberrations: the first had an elongated torso like a reptile, skin covered with irregular plates, multiple eyes scattered across its head, and limbs ending in sharp tentacles that could curl up.
The second looked like a tall humanoid, but its legs were strangely articulated backward, almost like insect legs, and its arms ended in lumps that looked like maces of thorns.
"Yiyiyiyi."
"Kukukuku!"
Both moved sinisterly and quickly in his direction, emitting their characteristic annoying laughter.
Fwooosh!
And immediately, the first one launched one of its tentacles straight at Cassian's chest, so fast that it sounded like it was cutting through the air.
He dodged it with the slightest movement, feeling the wind cut through his clothes.
The second tentacle curled in the air, trying to catch him. Cassian jumped and dodged again.
He already knew how to deal with them and was paying attention to where the seedling was. The first one had it in a tentacle that was the longest and, from its position, looked like a tail, since it wasn't using it for support.
Meanwhile, the other abomination had it on the back of its abdomen. Now that he had located them, he thought about what to do, since he didn't have anything sharp or pointed.
Cassian had been relying on his fists, as he felt they were more efficient and easier to use than a weapon he had no experience with.
Furthermore, his art did not specify any particular weapon for use, so he wondered if his hands were enough to reach the core.
At that moment, the second aberration ran toward him at great speed; its articulated legs allowed it to make long jumps and spinning attacks.
Bomm!
Cassian stepped back, dodging the mace-like hands that hit the ground with force, raising dust and splinters.
He analyzed the creature's posture: each jump left a window of vulnerability.
Taking advantage of that, he placed his hand in a spear-like position and struck from a side angle, to see if he had a chance to reach its core.
"Yiyiyiyiyi"
The aberration laughed as usual, but it seemed to be mocking Cassian's fruitless attack.
He hadn't hit anything, so he quickly withdrew his hand and stepped back.
Fwooosh! Fwooshh!!
The first monster attacked him again, launching a series of tentacles. Cassian moved fluidly, rolling, jumping, and spinning to avoid them.
He was a little exhausted, so he did his best not to waste any movements.
Every action was measured. But at that moment, the second one jumped on him with explosive momentum, which was bad because he barely had room to dodge the tentacles.
He found himself in a situation where he had to decide quickly, thinking about what was the most reasonable option.
He turned and planted himself firmly, facing the aberration that jumped in his direction with its dangerous mallet-like limbs.
Art of the Inner Void: Finder's Keepers.
Bang!
He used his art at the exact moment the second aberration jumped on him. He blocked its attack with his bracers and absorbed the impact, and in the next instant he quickly redirected it.
Until it reached his other arm and channeling his art, plus all the strength he could muster.
BOOM!!
He launched a devastating blow that destroyed the entire upper part of the aberration.
From the abdomen up, he shattered it, and in fact, it was just before reaching the seedling part, which exposed its core for a moment.
Cassian saw the green glow and, quickly after the blow, changed the direction of his hand, directing it toward the core before the aberration could regenerate, grabbing it and squeezing it hard, destroying it.
He had gotten rid of one, but there was something to keep in mind about his art: although he could absorb and return impacts, he could only do so in one place at a time.
So, even though he activated it, it only worked on the second aberration's attack.
Fwosssh!
On the other hand, he only stopped paying attention to the tentacles for a moment. He knew it: he had made that decision, thinking that since they were tentacles, even if they hit him, they wouldn't hurt him. But...
Swooosshh!
"Ugh!"
He was wrong. At that moment, he received a blow like a whip to his side. His skin, which was always almost impenetrable, was pierced.
It wasn't a big wound, but the important thing was that it was a wound.
"hhuhff"
Cassian took a deep breath. Immediately, he began to feel a tingling sensation. He didn't know if it was the aftermath of the painful blow or the poison from the aberrations, but that didn't matter now.
Being alone now made it easier, and he focused precisely on the tentacles. Looking for the right opportunity, he found the right moment and grabbed one.
He held on to it even though it was a little slippery; he squeezed hard and pulled the aberration toward him. For a moment, the creature lost contact with the ground.
Bang!
And Cassian received it with a strong downward blow, causing it to crash into the ground.
He took a small jump and positioned himself on top of it, stepping on it. The tentacles seemed to move on their own and attacked him, including the one with the seedling. That was his target.
He dodged the rest and held on tightly to the tentacle with the plant.
It was on his side, so it would be difficult, but he had learned something a moment ago.
He grabbed it and pulled it up, while keeping the rest of the aberration under his feet.
Skkrrt!
With a single tug, he tore the tentacle with the seedling from the aberration's body.
"Kukuku."
The aberration began to dry up immediately, but the body was about to regrow from the tentacle he was holding. Cassian didn't allow that.
He twisted it quickly, searching for the opposite side of the sapling and, again forming his hands like a spear, plunged them into the gelatinous skin of the tentacle.
Once more, he felt he was coming up short, unable to reach the core.
Still, with tenacity, as the body continued regenerating, he withdrew his arm and, concentrating all his strength, drove it back in, sinking deeper until he touched something solid.
Then he broke it.
"Kkukukuuu!"
The second aberration stopped regenerating and dried up completely, leaving only the little tree.
"Huaaahh~…"
Cassian breathed heavily. Sweat was on his forehead, and a scratch on his side hurt—it was the worst state he had ever been in.
Why had these things appeared?
But more important was the question: where had these aberrations come from? Eshaan had said that they were not beings that appreciated easily and more importantly according to Eshaan, they were hostile to all living things besides themselves, including beasts, so it was impossible for them to be in the tide.
Yet they had appeared here.
Well, no answer would come even if he thought about it. He rather looked at his wound: the aberration's scratch had stopped bleeding, but it was blackened, with dark veins spreading—it didn't look good.
It burned slightly, and Cassian felt a heaviness. But he wondered if it was like the previous poison. Honestly, he didn't feel immediate danger; he believed he could endure it.
Still, just in case, he thought he should reach Ellys to get treated.
With that thought, and a greater desire to rest than before, he headed back to the town.
..
.
He had gotten so far ahead that it took him a moment to arrive.
But when he returned, the sight wasn't what he expected: the warriors were not fiercely fighting outside the walls.
No. In fact, there was almost no movement, just some beasts entering through various holes in the walls.
Most importantly: there were many bodies scattered.Not just beasts, but residents too. Too many, everywhere.
"This is…"
The vision surprised Cassian. For a moment he froze, unable to comprehend what had happened and what he saw.
For some reason, he began feeling a strange cold in his chest, even as his heart raced. It was a bad feeling that grew stronger the more he saw.
Although he wasn't good at remembering people, he recognized some. They were the ones who had come to thank him, offering wine and company during the banquet.
Even the man who had sought him out when Cassian was called by the leader—he had never asked his name.
The feeling intensified, giving him a heaviness and oppression he couldn't explain.
He had seen bodies before. When his world was invaded by beasts, he had seen piles, even a family being devoured.
And at that moment, he had not felt much more, and he only thought that the situation was wrong, and more than thinking about the dead, he only thought that he had to prevent Nora from ending up like that, no more and no less.
He did not understand why this unknown feeling invaded him when he saw this pile of corpses, when he felt the smell of iron and burning in the air.
Why?
Why was this different? Cassian didn't understand. At most, he had exchanged a few words with them, but perhaps that was the answer.
Why…?
But Cassian truly did not understand.
Bang! Clank!