CHAPTER 555: VERY RELIABLE

Mason didn’t know what the fuck was happening. First, he felt the mountain come alive, which made him think it was erupting and had him in a God damn panic. His immediate and only thought was to unsummon Streak (which he did), then rush back to Demi and Becky at inhuman speed, grab them both, and Wyrdwalk out before everything exploded.

But the eruption didn’t happen. The mountain’s ‘voice’ arrived, and somehow Demi’s magic scent expanded so far Mason realized she was doing…something. So it was a false alarm.

Knowing for sure now he was willing to abandon all his players to save his women didn’t make him feel great. But he also knew there was no way he could save them all. If it had come down to it, and he hadn’t had time to find the girls, he knew he would have taken any two people he could. Probably.

He was still chasing the giant worm-demon, blasting bits and pieces off its massive legs as a few hundred of its ‘baby’ demons came rushing out in every direction. A good chunk of them got caught in his Grasp, shrieking as they got pulled down, crushed or frozen.

Despite everything, it still made him smile.

Apex Predator flashed as a ball of acid hit him in the back. Apparently baby demons could shoot. So that was great. He turned and loosed a Crippling Strike into a pack, no idea who’d shot him. Then he spun back and kept picking at those legs.

It was moving faster now, no question, lumbering straight at his players. But the swarm of demons was outpacing it. The creatures raced ahead, a nightmarish cacophony of shrieks and howls as they raced towards the towers.

Why the hell weren’t his people falling back? They were too smart to stand toe to toe with the giant worm, which was faster now but still not fast. He kept expecting them to run. To flare up with powers before withdrawing towards the goblin town.

Then he saw Becky’s wall. New spear-walls formed to replace the broken ones. The double-sized, monstrous form of Annie became visible holding a flaming axe. Lightning started crashing.

They were holding their ground and blowing a ton of mana. There had to be a problem. Was someone down? More than one person? Mason tried not to let his mind race out of control.

They could handle the horde. Or so he hoped. But he had to get that big bastard distracted and he had to do it right now.

He activated Essence of the Stag, and summoned his Claws.

Everything went dark except his target, and the huge demon turned. The slits of its eyes opened enough for its black pupils to stare right at Mason. He didn’t see hatred, or fear, or anything else. Just the reptilian recognition of a problem to solve.

Stone scraped and crushed as the thing’s claws slammed down in his direction. If they actually hit him, he’d get to spend the next hour regenerating himself back from broken mush. And that was the best case scenario.

He dropped the ‘weight’ meter of his boots, and jumped.

The lizard’s massive head came at him at surprising speed. It made no sense until he realized it reacted to his jump by lunging right at him. He readied himself for the mouth to open, for giant jaws to try and clamp down. He was going to have to be fast, and perfect, and…

The mouth did not open. Demon-zilla was apparently very happy just to ram its thousand pound, hammer-snouted, scale-wrapped head into Mason’s body. He realized too late he could have dropped his boots and fallen back down first.

Instead he just cringed and closed one eye (and probably his sphincter), before getting face-smashed. The air punched out of his lungs. His ribcage flexed but didn’t break. He dropped his swords and just held on, very happy when the thing didn’t slam him into the ground.

Instead it pulled back up just as quick, his stomach flipping like the world’s worst fair ride as he locked his grip on a scale and went up fifty feet in a blink.

Demon-zilla didn’t seem pleased to find him latched on. It threw its head side to side, trying to get him off the bulge of its snout. He activated Shapeshift, limbs stretching and popping as his Claws emerged from fingertips to dig into scale.

He also bit the bastard. Mostly out of spite. But also because he wanted to piss it off, to get it to think the only way to get him off was to open that big, vulnerable…

The demon’s jaw flexed, and opened. Mason was ready. As the line of its mouth cracked, he kicked his legs in and threw himself inside before it could shut. The moment he touched tongue he slid his boot weight down two thirds.

Its breath was horrendous. Like even worse than you’d imagine an apocalypse demon-lizard’s mouth to smell. The thing thrashed, then chomped, then tongued.

Mason hurled himself against its gum just out of tongue-grasp and turned sideways, digging in and avoiding getting crushed as much as possible. Arm by arm he clawed his way towards the nice, soft palette he could see above.

You’re not the first worm I’ve hacked apart from the inside

, he thought, turning his face against spilling blood and goo. He held back the snort as he spit.

The son of a bitch didn’t even have acidic blood. RoboGod was getting soft.

**

Becky put away her shield and dropped back from the gap in the boys’ spear wall, yelling at John to hold it alone. The big man nodded, crackling with power that easily filled the whole space.

Seamus was still fighting for his life up there, though it looked like Demi had surrounded him in spores, and Alex’s shields flashed like the damn fourth of July. These flyers just wouldn’t stop.

They needed to hurry things up. Mason couldn’t keep that giant demon distracted much longer, and even without it they were hard pressed.

She ran to the little goblin and her big old bomb.

“OK, girl,” she said. “Are you sure this is gonna work? Like really sure?”

Lodie nodded like she had no doubt at all. It would have to do. Becky took a breath and tried to figure out how to move the weird scooter thing without spilling the big bomb. Lodie showed her how the stick worked, which seemed a lot like the pallet jack she’d used a few times on the farm.

“What are you doing?” Phuong came running up beside them wiping beaded sweat off his forehead.

“What’s it look like? Fixin’ to blow up the damn monster.” She saw his face and rolled her eyes. “We both know I’m the only one who’s got a snowball’s chance in hell of survivin’ if it goes off early.”

“Won’t go off early,” said Lodie, shaking her very confident head. “On a timer.”

“And if you don’t survive, Mason will kill me,” Phuong said, ignoring her. “So I might as well just take it myself.”

Becky threw up her hands. “When I didn’t follow your order, you said don’t use Mason like I’m special. So which is it? Am I special or not?”

“You are,” Phuong said quietly.

It was a weird time for a heart-warming moment. There were demons everywhere and a bunch of boys shouting profanity as they ripped them apart. But Becky gave the old man a smile. He’d been like a grandfather to her since the tutorial, and she loved him, like she knew he loved her.

“I’ll be alright. A dracolich couldn’t bring me down. I ain’t afraid of some puffed up goblin grenade.”

“No need to be,” muttered the goblin. “On a timer. Very reliable. Also bomb, not grenade. Though I guess maybe now sorta like a big grenade.”

Phuong continued to ignore her, but nodded at Becky and took a breath. He looked towards the other players holding off the huge wave of demons on the flanks of Becky’s wall.

“You have enough mana left?”

“Don’t need it for myself. I’m good.”

“I’ll come with you to clear the way.” He finally looked at Lodie. “You said the timer is ten seconds? Is that enough? And she just pushes the big black button?”

The goblin’s face transformed, and she nodded with great enthusiasm.

“Yes, big button. Good. And then much running, very fast. Pretty human has long legs. No problem.”

“Yeah.” Becky looked at the huge demon and blew out a breath. “No problem.” She turned to the bomb somehow hovering on the tiny little scooter and shook her head. “Make hay while the sun shines. That’s what my Daddy always said. Ready, old timer?”

Phuong nodded, purple blade humming to life as he stepped out around the protected ground near the towers. Becky knew he’d pick the best path for them. All she had to do was keep moving, keep the damn bomb from falling over, and click that button when it was in position under the giant demon’s belly. She put her hands against the bomb, and pushed.

She didn’t know where Mason was exactly, except trying to keep them all alive. She was hoping, maybe this time, she’d be the one saving him.

----------------------------------------