Echoes of the Abyssal Blade: Path to Free Will-Chapter 42: First encounter with the Abomination

In the dark ruinous walls of a broken temple underground of the altar performed by the abomination itself, lay a ferocious entity with a humanoid physique, yet blue scales all over its body, sharp claws that can tear even metal apart.

Its body was majestic, ripped muscles hardened, yet it sat on the floor quietly as if it was meditating, suddenly there was a sound of sniffing, which made the entity raise its head slowly, its face radiant even in the darkness, with a blue metallic sheen, it had a large a vertical slit on its face.

Slowly yet gradually the vertical slit on its face opened its eyes were a mixture of green and blue in color, but deep as an abyss.

A grating voice could be heard all over the broken temple, "Those mice, why are they in such a hurry, I would have eventually devoured them all, but this saves my time, kekeke," laughed the entity maniacally.

It stopped suddenly as if sensing more, "Ooo, so human mice is also here, it’s the same one that came before, it has also brought some good nutrition, well now isn’t this the best, and here I was worried if I would be missing the required sacrifices for my advancement by a small margin, but now that is solved, let’s start with playing these mongrels," said the entity grinning.

And then with a grim face, it said, "Either way living in the front lines has made these idiots forget their status, looks like these cockroaches will need a life lesson about obeying their superiors."

In the shade of darkness, Jonan and his cohort were moving silently with measured steps, they were almost near the abomination’s lair when all of them stopped, Marla opened her mouth to say something, but her mouth was covered by Edric.

Elias also motioned her not to speak, Marla was confused, but Jonan who was beside them understood the reason for their caution.

Abominations are horrifying beings, whose abilities cannot be understood with common sense.

With very slow steps, they started to approach the ritual altar, where they were close enough to witness, a broken eye glyph drawn on a crude altar, they couldn’t understand it because it was a blessing of the beasts to make a contract with the spirits.

Nevertheless, they could all feel a sinister gaze directed at them, Jonan and his cohort members were not sure, but they understood that despite their caution, they had been noticed by that darned abomination.

Their hair stood on end, and fear crept into their hearts, unlike during the journey, where except for Jonan, everyone was relaxed, but Jonan could see even Edric, the most chill person among their cohort members had a grim expression, the same was with the others, Elias with a frown, and Marla was gritting her teeth.

Fortunately, the bestial tribes were making their move, and are ready to face the abomination head-on, without them needing to do so.

The air above the underground ruins of the broken temple was thick with the collective presence of the bestial tribes as they approached the place, where the abomination resided.

The ground trembled with each step they took, the earth was shaking in response to their movements as the cracked stones beneath them groaned in protest, these tribes were composed of some of the fiercest creatures of their tribe, from towering, muscled giants to swift and shadowy figures that moved with the grace of deadly predators.

Every tribe had one thing in common, each had felt the dark grip of the abomination’s terror and had come to end it.

At the front, the Dorn Tribe, mammoth-looking creatures, massive in size and strength, made their way through the shadows, their footsteps echoing like thunder, the warriors glowed faintly in the dim light of the moon, and their eyes were filled with fierce determination as a hint of fear, after all their opponent was not a mere being.

Behind them, the Nightfur Tribe moved like shadows, swift and silent, blending into the darkness with a mere flicker of movement, their eyes glinted, full of violence, waiting for the moment to strike.

The Thunderboar Tribe, with their crackling fur and lightning-infused tusks, moved with a ferocious roar that shook the very air, and finally, the Spectral Horns Tribe, the most intimidating of them all, while their physique was scrawny and they walked with lesser might than their allies, their weird soul related abilities made them a force to be respected.

There was no shouting between them, no language, just an unspoken mutual awareness that they were all present for the same reason, to survive, and to accept that the abomination died.

Even though they cut the air with imposing presences, there was a sense of tension creeping over them as they made their way up to the altar, the responsibility of what they were doing was a burden, a crushing weight upon them, a stone pressing down upon them, suffocation, and when the air became chilled, the earth itself appeared to throb with unnatural energy, as though what lay below was observing them, waiting for them.

When all of the beasts had come together, standing as one in front of the dark altar, the heavy silence that followed was interrupted by a low, unwholesome laugh, a thunderous, low laugh that caused the ground to shake in reply.

"Ahh, how cute," a voice spoke from the darkness, the tone heavy with evil glee. "You all believe you can face me now? You all were to be my ration, but you all still believe you can stay alive after confronting me."

A chill of terror coursed through the ranks of the gathered tribes, but they did not dare speak, they had all felt the presence before, but to hear it once more, to sense it gathering in the very bones of the earth, was a different matter entirely.

The terror emerged from the shadows, entering the pale moonlight that streamed through the broken roof of the temple.

Its titanic form was a disturbing combination of human and beast, something which broke all laws of nature, Its blue-scaled form radiated in dark light, blending with the shadows so that it appeared to have the effect nearly of drawing it towards it, as though the shadows were being drawn into its form.

There was something uncannily glowing on its face, something horribly beautiful, its eyes as if hammered out of a nightmare and shaped into flesh.

Its dreadlocks, matted and long, flowed down its scalp like twisted, blackened vines, adding to the monstrous appearance, the abomination’s smile was wide, revealing rows of saw-like, serrated teeth, razor-sharp.

The monstrosity’s voice shouted through the hush once more, its mirth ringing and raising a chill along the lines of the arrayed tribes.

"How dull, all of you really believe that you can defeat me, you little bugs?" it taunted, its tones dripping with hubris. "You should know by now that I am inherently superior to you, I was born to gorge on all of you," sneered grimly the abomination.

Kjorn, the leader of the Lorn Tribe, stepped forward, its massive form nearly twice the size of any other beast of its tribe, its eyes blazed with fury, and its voice rang out strong and defiant.

"You are a blight upon the earth, abomination! We will see you destroyed today!" it roared.

The Thunderboar Tribe’s chief, Dunik, a beast crackling with lightning energy, bared its tusk. "You may be powerful, but we are not afraid of you!" It shouted, its eyes sparking with electricity.

Hayfen, the mighty elder of the Spectral Horns Tribe, swung his thin wooden stick with a bell on it, in a slow arc, its voice deep like thunder.

"We are already suffering living in these battle-ridden lands, and your greed isn’t stopping, you are forcing us to a dead end."

In the darkness, Saera, Nightfur Tribe leader, spoke in a venomous voice. "You are not a god, beast, you are a parasite, living off the weak, but we will kill you."

The abomination’s laugh was deep and mocking, echoing off the destroyed walls. "Foolish beasts," it crooned, its eyes were eyes glowing brighter with malicious intent. "You think your strength matters, nothing matters, as long as I can advance to my next stage, and it will be your glory to become my sacrifice."

With a brutal flick of its wrist, the abomination swung its claws through the air, faster than any of the tribes could react, Kjorn, the massive Lorn leader could barely react when a wound was torn open by its side.

It was shocked at the Abomination’s strength, it was expected for its strength to be out of their league, but to easily tear apart its hide, with a single swipe was a feat in itself.

Dunik, the Thunderboar Tribe’s chief instantly sprinted and came beside Kjorn to support it, its eyes flashed with ferocity, and plummeted towards the Abomination, attacking using its full strength.

Saera, the leader of the Nightfur Tribe was also attacking by howling at the Abomination, except for the Spectral Horns Tribe’s elder who was just observing the battle between them, and calculating the best time to attack.