Chapter 67 - Trump Card

In the Chenmai Forest east of Noga, a long mournful wail echoed through the pitch black night. The rustling of leaves and snapping of tree trunks rumbled through the darkness as the footsteps of a giant shook the forest floor.

The huge deformed body of Officer Walt was translucent and filled with hundreds of star-like points of light, her silhouette towering above the tree line as she lumbered slowly towards the city with heavy, pained steps. Within the ‘space’ of her translucent body, a gaseous nebula of demonic energy pulsed with a dull light.

Her mind was broken, the remnant spirit within her was filled with corruption and the base instinct of hunger. Wild vines and flora grew rapidly with every step she took, leaving a trail of strange, living jungle through the path she carved from the woodcutter’s cabin towards the city.

Every few minutes the nebula inside her body would suddenly spasm and she would fall to her knees, emitting a distorted cry that caused any living creature that heard it to spasm uncontrollably and turn partially dark and translucent. In addition, a wave of energy would sweep across the land around her. This energy suffused into the living plants and animals and humans in the area, twisting their spirits and in some cases causing strange mutations to form on their bodies such as boils, warts and slick oily tufts of hair and fur.

The police had already left the scene, unable to approach due to the corruptive energy emitting from Officer Walt. Each time the energy pulsed, their bodies would feel stretched and twisted, and they would start showing signs of losing control themselves. Each time she bellowed, portions of their bodies would turn translucent and begin filling with stars. Since the scouts were only low level Exalted, they couldn’t withstand the intense spiritual pressure and were forced to retreat, only recovering after twenty minutes.

The corrupted Officer Walt strode slowly towards Noga, and after an hour of traveling in the darkness the orange lights of the city reached her eyes. From her perspective, it seemed like the sky had been turned upside-down, with a pocket of stars spreading out to her west.

She took a large stride forward, when suddenly an explosion sounded out from the edge of the city.

Boom! A cannon ball ripped through her left torso, tearing the star filled flesh. Several more explosions rang out, striking her in the arm and legs and staggering her backwards. The barrage of cannon balls had been augmented by Exalted powers, making them denser and more damaging. Several of the cannon balls had been filled with gunpowder, which exploded upon impact leaving gaping ragged holes in the giant monster.

Her massive body fell against the forest, crushing the trees beneath her as they cracked like thunder. The ripped flesh reformed and coalesced into a blob that stood back up. Rather than looking like a person standing up, it was more like a blob rising into the air and growing appendages to form the shape of a giant human.

In the fields just past the eastern limits of the city, blue-uniformed soldiers stood behind a row of gunpowder cannons. They were largely regular people, who trembled with fear upon seeing the massive shape looming in the trees. Only their captain’s stalwart aura kept the majority of them from abandoning their training and fleeing.

The monster in the trees looked at them, acknowledging the threat that had just fired at her. Her head ballooned up and a giant mouth ripped across her face as she let out a terrifying shriek. Her entire body lit up in a sickly green light as demonic and godlike energy blasted out from her towards the squad of soldiers.

It swept across the land causing the grass and trees to grow wildly and shatter. The crops in the fields grew thorns and bulbs that resembled the heads of babies. Deep gouges appeared in the earth, from which hundreds of black shelled beetles flew out of.

The Exalted captain held down his brimmed cap with his left hand and thrust his right hand out. A barrier expanded around the squad in an arc whose walls were filled with stars and the abyss of space. The blast front of corrupted energy met the barrier and did not pass through as the energy was disseminated into the starry abyss. It shielded the soldiers completely, but the barrier was not large enough to block the entire attack as it overflowed and flooded into the city.

Thick, gigantic vines covered in thorns ripped out of the cobblestone roads, twisting and coiling around whatever they could find. Strange red flowers that resembled bloody hearts blossomed and emitted an intoxicating scent. The Devileyes throughout the city reacted violently, spontaneously growing huge fronds that sprayed a cloud of spores, infecting everyone around them.

Seeing that the augmented cannons were not enough to take down the monster, the captain had no choice but to use his trump card. He held out his hand as a rift formed beside him. He reached inside and pulled out a long, twisted lance that vibrated constantly and emitted a low hum that caused the people around it to feel dizzy and lose their balance.

This was a grade 2 sealed relic named Vorpal Lance that the captain had been authorized to use under dire circumstances. It was two and a half metres long and was wrought with pure iron. It was so heavy that three normal men would have trouble lifting it together. Its spiraled tip was engraved with complicated runes.

Gripping the lance in his hand the captain focused his eyes on the center of the Corrupted One’s body. With a grunt of effort he took off towards the monster, his feet sinking into the ground, kicking up sod and dirt as he flew down the field. After fifty meters he lunged forward, letting the lance fly as he continued guiding the path of the weapon with his abilities. It let off a shrill, frantic whistle as it blasted through the air.

The gigantic Officer Walt saw the attack coming and lifted her hand up to stop it. The lance pierced straight through her hand and skewered her through the center of her torso. The thick geometric shaped runes engraved into the iron tip glowed brightly for a split second. In an instant, a sphere of nothingness expanded out of the lance and there was a crack of thunder. A massive hole ate up two thirds of the giant star-filled monster and then disappeared. The lance fell tip first out of the center of the sphere and stabbed into the ground as Officer Walt collapsed to the floor in pieces.

A long moan rang out as the translucent flesh rapidly shriveled and shrunk, unable to maintain its form any longer now that over half of its mass had been shunted into unknown locations in the abyss.

After reaching out with his spirituality and confirming that the monster was dead, the captain placed his palm on his chest with his fingers together and knelt to the floor, speaking a soft prayer. In a blink of an eye, the soldiers and cannons all disappeared from their spot without a trace.

~

After squeezing through the half open window, Char Char found herself in a darkened dressing room. The dim light from the lanterns on the street stretched her shadow across the room.

She passed by a row of mirrors set along the wall, heading towards the light of the slightly ajar door at the far end of the room. She could hear the muffled sounds of talking coming from further in the theatre.

She held the metal rod in her hand loosely at her side as she walked out of the room, finding herself in the back stage of the theatre. Large black curtains hung down from high above, hiding the view from the audience. Sitting on the stage was a group of about thirty people consisting of actors, theatre workers and audience members.

Her footsteps caught the attention of a few of the people sitting near the back of the stage. They rose up, startled, their eyes scanning her. Char Char knew she was not a pretty sight at the moment. She was covered in blood and dirt. She had numerous scrapes, although nothing serious. Her left arm was bound in bandages and she was wielding a weapon.

In contrast, most of the people in the theatre looked like they hadn’t been directly affected by the events outside. They’d likely barricaded themselves inside close to the beginning of the chaos.

“Who are you? How’d you get in?” One of the men asked, stepping forward cautiously. He was wielding a long staff that he brandished towards her. “Don’t come closer.”

“My name is Char Char Zhao.” She said, staying at a distance, “I came in through an open window in the room over there. I’m looking for a girl called Ellie.”

“Do you know what’s happening out there?” A woman asked anxiously, “Are those... things... still around?”

“Yes, but the street is still mostly clear for now.” Char Char said. “There’s a safe house on Dunbar street about eight blocks away. The police have set up a perimeter around the banquet hall.”

“Do you know when they’re coming to help us?” Another person asked.

Char Char shook her head, “No, but they might come along soon enough. They’re encouraging everyone to go to the banquet hall or to stay put and lock the doors.”

The first man said, relaxing a bit as he saw that Char Char was not hostile, “It’s quite safe here. The doors are heavy and there aren’t many windows on the first floor. We’ve blocked them off with furniture for now.”

Char Char smiled, “That’s good.”

“Can you tell us more about what’s happening? Why people are going rabid, why do they have things growing out of them?”

A crowd was forming around Char Char as she explained the events of the evening to the best of her knowledge. The first man who had approached her was the stage manager named Sigmund. He was skilled at handling the crowd and kept them orderly as they asked for details of what was happening outside. He also directed a few men to double check the windows on the second level and secure them.

Halfway through the questions everyone in the room experienced an intense feeling of nausea and weakness as a wave of negative energy seemed to flood through the room. Even Char Char stopped talking as she rose a hand to her mouth, resisting the urge to vomit.

The air seemed to grow denser as the building around them creaked and groaned. A few of the people around the stage collapsed to their knees or the floor as they were overcome with an intense feeling of illness.

“Do you know what that is?” A woman asked Char Char, “It’s been happening all throughout the night, and it’s getting worse and worse.”

Char Char shook her head, “No... But the vines and Devileyes feed off of it. The most dangerous time is right after one of those ripples.”

“Do you think it’s safe here?” A man asked.

Char Char frowned, “If you can keep everything out I think it’s okay... But as soon as I find Ellie I’m going back to the banquet hall. Anyone who wants to join me is welcome.”

“Out there? Where those... Devileyes are?” The anxious woman asked.

“Yes,” Char Char said, “I made a promise to her sister... And I think it’s the safest place there is right now.”

After a few more questions Char Char repeated her goal of finding the girl’s sister Ellie. Sigmund spoke out, “There are a few groups in the theatre, people are mostly spread out. If you want, I can help you find her.”

The bang of the main doors at the other end of the theatre rang out as a group of people came in from the lobby. At their head was an older man with gray hair and a cane.

As they entered and made their way down the center aisle Sigmund walked towards the front of the stage to greet them and see what they needed. The crowd entered in a calm manner but their expressions were filled with worry. At least two hundred people filed into the theatre filling up the central aisle.

“Has something happened?” Sigmund called out.

The older man leading the group didn’t pay any attention to Sigmund as he scanned the crowd on the stage. As Char Char watched them from the back of the stage she saw a number of eyes focus on her as several voices rang out,

“That’s her!”

“She really is here...!”

“I can’t believe it...”

Looks of wonder, confusion and even fear passed through the crowd as a murmur began rising through the theatre. The group on the stage looked at each other in confusion.

The elder leading the group finally caught sight of Char Char and a look of shock spread across his face as placed his palm against his chest. “Lord Noga have mercy on me!”

“What’s going on?” Sigmund called out loudly again.

The old man leaned against his cane, trembling as he pointed a finger directly at Char Char.

“We have received a vision from above.” He said, “And a message.”

“Anyone who stays in the theatre tonight will most certainly die... But Char Char Zhao has come to save us!”