Making my way towards the previous camp, I discovered a few streets with fires blazing despite their lack of apparent fuel. They may have some sort of fossil fuel continuing their destructive existences, something best left alone- I may be confident in my relatively new pyromaniac skills but it wasn’t worth the risk. Other than those obstacles and few collapsed buildings, the trip had been uneventful.

Only when I had finally cleared a copse of trees did I get an eyeful of what remained of the camp. Broken bodies laid everywhere as crow and various other scavenger feasted on the carnage. Enormous mounds of flesh that seemed to be only barely held together by bone stood out among the field hospital. They seemed as if, at some point, they could have moved in an odd and completely unnatural fashion. Now they were little more than fertiliser as black holes dotted their carcuses.

Various other specimens were scattered among the battlefield, also sporting the same jagged black holes. Some were very tall, had veritable swords for nails and extremely thin while others could only be assumed to be children as the things would barely be above the knee and sported multiple arms jutting out from multiple angles.

The stretchers and hastily made cots all housed various unmoving forms, all in various states of decay. Many were missing, showing that they weren’t as immobile as they claimed or perhaps even worse, what Mark predicted to happen had come to pass.

This was the extent of what Mark could scrutinize before those same scavengers descended upon him.

Upon closer inspection, they seemed to have those same parasites as the previous humans he had obliterated before meeting the Aether Elemental.

Without hesitation a bloody red aura surfaced completely covering himself and every available space 5 feet away from him.

A spark could seen briefly before Mark’s field of view became completely engulfed in white, as his unique fire ignited the flock of undead.

High above, a mutilated bird- unidentifiable due to the sheer quantity of different parts sloppily attached to it, watched the scene. Its head rotating at awkward angles that would normally end any other living creatures life, trying to catch every angle possible of the fight.

Meanwhile, Mark used the dead flocks decomposed bodies against them as their flesh contained high concentrations of flammable gases- all very susceptible to Mark’s unnaturally hot flames. Although these had been internalised through whatever was controlling them at this point, a little Pyrokinesis and Aerokinesis made them quite available.

Chains of explosions rattled the air as one flying corpse after another combusted under the onslaught of flame.

Contrary to an animal’s natural instincts, the swarm continued to assault Mark even after witnessing countless brethren be ended in the blink of an eye. The already heavy stench of death turned quite foul as rotten flesh turned into a medium rare disaster.

To those birds still hovering on the outskirts of the swarm, a simple manipulation of Hydrokinesis to turn the surrounding condensation into deadly icy projectiles proved to be rather fatal.

With split minds on max, as well as his new eye- which could look in other directions unlike a normal pair of human eyes, Mark could easily cope with dealing with weak enemies on mass.

This also meant that Mark wasn’t the only one being watched.

The ground under his feet rumbled before a platform launched Mark into the air. More specifically, he was launched directly towards the peculiar bird who seemed to be the only one not participating in the suicide pact.

He only sailed for a few moments before being able to pick out what exactly it was with his new eyes obscure ability.

The Puppeteer's Sentinel

Level 26

Health: 270/270

Upon realizing its position, an explosion immediately changed his uncontrollable flight into something simply uncontrollable.

The sound of the sound barrier breaking rattled the trees in the clearing as Mark visibly wilted under the pressure. Astoria, who had doing an admirable job of holding on for dear life finally lost her faint grip and was sent hurtling off into the trees below.

This only lasted for the brief few seconds it took for him to actually reach the creature, which had also turned to take off after realizing its position was compromised. Having its neck bent at an awkward 90 degree angle meant being able to watch Mark barrel into it at speeds that would normally kill from the sheer damage it could do to someone’s internals.

It barely had time to squawk out, “Wait a momen-” before the two were also sent hurtling into the underbrush below.

A few moments of grappling ensued before the ground broke their struggles.

A loud, resounding thump echoed through the clearing, which had quieted greatly in the aftermath of the sonic boom.

While Mark was momentarily stunned from having his organs abruptly shifted in various directions, the bird easily moved its broken body into its previous position….. Despite such low health its regenerative powers seemed to be formidable.

“Quite unnecessary if I do say so, and indeed I do!” The peculiar thing had a slight british accent, garbled by speaking through the beak of a bird, although understandable in the end.

“I was merely trying to feed my flock and you decide to impose upon our hunting grounds, absolutely preposterous!” The creatures head attempted to express its emotions through means other than its voice creating a horrifying visage as its facial structure was forced to change and fit its narrative. “Although I was perhaps a little to forward with my assault, beg my pardon, where are my manners! I am the third sentinel of my glorious master- Ophio Unilaterlis!”

Once again its facial structure reassembled itself in a terrifying attempt at looking proud.

“Our great leader has been searching for talented youths to add to his armies, and you my good sir, seem like a cut above compared to these other monkeys! I dare say, you may grant me the promotion second sentinel has been lording over me for so long!”

The thing could hardly stay on the same matter for more than a few seconds, much like its own face with its constantly moving structure. If one listened, there was a faint snapping sound from each of its facial transitions, hinting at what could be allowing such variety of expressions.

“I myself, had the privilege of being personally enhanced by the Great One! And look at me, truly a specimen worth admiring!”

The thing struck a pose pointing its doubled beak towards the sky, showing off its thin layer of scales over various seemingly vital areas and a pair of gills that were currently closed. It wings seemed broken in multiple spots, almost purposefully as the thing flapped lightly to hover, allowing its digitigrade talons to gleam in the light. The things seemed impossibly sharp and most definitely not something a bird would normally have, despite being know for sharp talons themselves.

Although Mark had recovered halfway through the things speech, even he couldn’t fully accept a bird talking to him…..

“What the fuck.”

That signaled the end of the free show as the thing frowned down at him, as if disproving of his language….

“Young man, you know it is a sign of a depleted vocabulary if one so easily resorts to such primitive language.”

The two stared at each other briefly before bursting out laughing….

From Mark came a cackle that would normally make mothers lock their doors and hold their children tight as if that would prevent them from being taken, and from the bird came a grinding screech that sounded akin to nails on a chalkboard, only it was repeated in several short spans of time.

Letting the absurdity of the situation pass, an arm bubbled out of the already mutated bird until it was offered to Mark. It was all muscle, no skin even attempted as it visibly pulsated….

“Would you like to meet my creator?”

Mark quickly grabbed the outstretched arm before hauling himself to his feet, barely moving the bird showing either it's insane weight or the strength of its wings as they continued their lazy flapping despite lifting Mark’s relatively heavy frame.

“Show me the way.”