Chapter 654 - Like A Poorly Oiled Machine
Chapter 654 – Like A Poorly Oiled Machine
Five minutes into their renewed trek Kat tensed. She could hear something right at the edge of her hearing range. It was unclear but it wasn't there before and set off some alarm bells in her head. Seeing Kat's action, the others slowly changed their stances to reflect the newfound wariness in the party. The next person to react at all was actually Lily, though she did remain sleeping. Kat could see Lily's ears twitching trying to catch the sound but it was not enough to wake her yet.
Minutes passed and Kat relaxed somewhat though the others stayed tense… except for 'Ted' who had returned to marching without a care in the world. This proved to be a mistake as the sound suddenly picked up, and Kat turned to face the wall where it was coming from just moments before the rock burst apart and a giant insect exploded out of the wall and headed straight towards 'Ted'.
The world slowed as Kat took everything in. The insect looked somewhat like a giant millipede, or was it centipede? Kat didn't know the difference. All she knew was that it had hundreds of legs sprouting from its segmented body. From what little she could see of it at the moment… though it didn't change much across the length she could see, each leg looked like small sharp blades and its head had clearly adapted to chew through rock. Its 'face' was more jaws and teeth than anything resembling a true face. It split into four separate jaws that seemed to work in pairs of two, followed by its half a dozen tongues that shifted rock and debris out of the way as it moved… and that same mouth was heading right for 'Ted'.
Kat wasn't overly worried though, as she looked around the party was reacting effectively even in this slowed time. Kress had his daggers out and ready, though he was only looking roughly at the sound and not at the creature or the path it was following. It was clear that while he knew something was wrong but hadn't properly heard where the creature was coming from at all. In contrast to this was Nixilei, she was making herself as small as possible without compromising her mobility. She didn't even try to look at the sound of the noise. Her gaze was fixed on Green and Gareth in front of her. 'Ted' wasn't reacting at all, but that had to be an act, Thyme was more then powerful enough to know.
Green and Gareth were the two making real moves. As soon as the rocks broke apart Green started moving, even before the monster showed itself. She could clearly identify where the sound was coming from and was waiting for a signal to move. Green was currently heading towards 'Ted' despite her eyes being locked on the wall. Kat wasn't entirely sure what her plan was, but she had drawn a small dagger while her bow remained on her back. Gareth on the other hand was clearly moving towards 'Ted'. He didn't know where the sound was coming from, same as Kress, but he was ready to cover 'Ted' in the event of an attack so simply headed straight toward him without thinking.
For her part, Kat didn't really know what to do. She had no proper practice with the team for situations like this. She was fast enough to catch up to Green, and maybe even strike the giant bug but wasn't certain she could take it out in one strike. *Dammit. Do I move up and help? I wish Lily wasn't asleep right now because I could just leave her on the ground or let her hang onto my shoulder or something… will Gareth or Green need more help? Where would I be useful?
Those teeth look deadly… but they are just at the front. The damned thing has knives for legs and hundreds of the things. Should I be focused on cutting them off maybe? No that's stupid I should just take the thing out straight away if I can. But… I can't use my fire. That would be a bit dangerous with the others around.*
Kat dug her feet into the ground and was about to launch herself into the fight but froze again before the action could be completed. *Wait… how can I be sure this is the only one? I can't hear that well through solid stone and I don't know if I should risk attacking if another comes in from behind. Dammit. I wish I knew what the standard response should be. I'm fast but not quite fast enough potentially…*
*If it's just one, I think going in is the right call… but with that up in the air… I think I have to stay here.* Kat let her feet settle back into the ground but didn't release the slowed time. She kept feeding demonic energy to her brain so that she could ensure nothing went horribly wrong. She just eased up on the degree of the slowdown a bit. No sense watching essentially no time to pass, she could slow it down further if necessary.
She watched everyone moving in slow motion. Gareth was surprisingly fast in his armour and was moving at a decent pace towards 'Ted'… it just likely wouldn't be quite fast enough to prevent the insect taking a bite out of their guide. Luckily, Green was on the move as well. She was aiming for the gap between the head and the rest of the body. It was just a thin line of exposed flesh, but to Green it was a clear beacon of weakness. She burst forward, wind swirling around her as she leapt feet first towards the thing.
Green's boots collided with the things head, knocking it off-course as she let herself be pushed into a crouch on its head while stabbing into its flesh. The insect instantly started writhing, using speed it didn't have before to shake its entire body in just a moment. Green went with the spasm letting it push her away as she flipped around and back onto her feet, never letting the thing leave her sight. Gareth had managed to impose himself between 'Ted' and the creature, eyes now fixed on it as well, waiting to intervene should it be necessary.
Kress had actually taken a few steps forward, not quite standing in front of Nixilei, more to the side if anything but clearly ready to step in the way of something should it come for her. Something Kat felt a little ashamed to be surprised by. Kress then glanced backwards at Kat slightly before they locked eyes and Kress jerked his head back towards Green. Kat let the world slow completely once again.
*Is that the signal to go attack? I mean it really looks like it is. I suppose it must be. With Kress guarding the back it should be fine right? He isn't really a tank though… I… hmm… I guess I'll go. Green's cut looked a bit shallow.*
With that course of action decided, Kat tucked Lily into the crook of one arm and dashed forward summoning just the one fan to her right hand. It took only a few moments to cross the entire distance, easily matching Green's speed. In this time Green did try to take another swipe at the creature but it was moving too erratically, slashing out with its legs and screeching with all its might.
When Kat did make it there, she spread out her fan and tried to slice into the armour. The sound of metal on metal screeched out as she cut into the thick plate of the insect. It cut through, but it was shallow, only superficial damage was done to the creature, even if it was a thick cut in the armour itself. Seeing this Kat ducked easily under a trio of legs before closing the fan and slamming it into the bug's side.
The thing moved with the blow, even as the armour on it cracked. That segment and a few neighbouring ones got flung forward even as the bug's head abandoned its strike on 'Ted' to turn to face Green and Kat now side by side. Green tried to find a way to dash in and slice at the gap once again, but the teeth and jaws moved to intercept her while the bladed feet kept her at bay. They had an incredible degree of movement, able to cover almost an entire circle around them with seeming ease.
Kat bit her lip. *Dammit if I wasn't carrying Lily I could take a few hits no trouble. I AM carrying her though and that limits my options. I'm certainly faster than the damned thing but that doesn't mean anything if it just has to wave its legs around a little to dice me up.*
Things were reaching an uneasy stalemate between the two parties.. So of course it was the perfect time for the ceiling to explode open revealing a second bug right above Nixilei.