DISCOVERY PART 5J

Day 448; 2034 (Evening)

Focus: 513

513: "Spooky."

513 quipped as he blasted a group of spiders with a crack of his whip.

As the battle progressed, he had gradually moved further and further away from the massive wall. And with night descending, the visibility on the battlefield could be said to be at its worst; the alluring glow of the fires raging in the background worked to impede his vision in the darkness of night.

Fortunately, none of that mattered since he used True Sense and his exceptionally trained hearing to locate enemies in the dark.

*CRACK*

The crack of the whip resounded once more, causing several spiders climbing nearby trees to lose their footing and fall towards the ground.

Twirling the whip in his hand in a circular motion, 513 carefully aimed at the falling spiders as if they were clay pigeons in a shooting range. He then flicked his wrist several times, causing the whip to strike several targeted locations in quick succession. The booming noise of each strike shook the trees and created a forceful wind that blew away the accumulating smoke in the air.

As soon as 513 initiated his attack, the hapless falling spiders had no chance of surviving.

Those directly hit by the thinly bladed popper of the whip were deeply lacerated. Some were even severed cleanly in half. However, that was not the most dangerous aspect of 513's attack.

With the sound of loud consecutive cracks -- akin machine gun fire -- the spiders shattered like brittle glass; the concussive forces from the sonic strikes hit their bodies, causing fractures to appear on their hard outer shells, propagating at extreme speeds. The result was like watching a group of False Arachne turn into shredded paper as they were dismantled and ripped apart on the spot.

As he watched bits and pieces of his enemy get blown away by the violent wind pressure that came after the eruption of noise, 513’s face turned solemn.

513: "I really shouldn't be enjoying this…"

He muttered aloud with a hint of disgust.

Tension was still felt in his heart, but he couldn't help but jest at his own contradictory nature.

Putting his distracting thoughts aside, he continued to fight. He weaved in and out of the enemy's range while adjusting his tactics to best suit the location of battle.

More corpses filled the land and the battle drew even further away from the wall.

Now that it was no longer necessary to spend much of his mental capacity calculating projectile trajectories, optimum efficiency, variable options, and risk assessment, his mind felt less burdened. He used this opportunity to meditate while fighting to recover from his growing fatigue.

Unless a new variant of the species showed up, his likelihood of surviving the ordeal was high. He just had to make adjustments to his strategy to not run out of stamina before the battle's end.

Eventually, the popper of the whip lost its effectiveness.

Although the whip was made from durable materials, the popper was expendable. This was done for various reasons. One being that the whip had been grossly untested. Another being a security measure to prevent theft -- a strange reason, but 513 did not underestimate the intelligence of those he fought.

With the whip falling to an unusable state, 513 created distance between him and the swarming masses by taking a quick dash backwards. Once out of harm's way, he wrapped the whip around his utility belt, then grabbed the spear-sword he had slung on his back. After registering the weapon in his hands, he prepared himself for another round of combat.

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Day 448; 2123 (Night)

Focus: Areikys, The False Queen

Inside an earthen dome deep within False Arachne controlled territory…

Areikys laid atop the compacted dirt floor surrounded by several piles of molted skins -- all of which were hers.

Since fighting 513, she had been in a constant cycle of regeneration and rest. She had not moved locations since entering seclusion within the massive mound.

Molting was the only way for her to regrow lost limbs and organs, but it also left her defenseless for a period of time. Thus, she had delayed her territorial conquest and thirst for revenge. Only when she had fully recovered from her injuries, did she plan to make an appearance.

The process was slow, but she had made substantial progress. Everything but her eyes had regrown back to their original strength and functionality.

As she wondered how many more times she would have to molt before she regained peak performance, a subordinate scurried to her side and relayed a message from the front lines.

With a series of screeches, cries, foot taps, and thorax contortions, the message was faithfully delivered.

The front lines had managed to re-establish a communications channel in the short amount of time they had engaged 513. Thus, they maintained close surveillance of the situation on the battlefront. It was only at this moment that the communications group informed Areikys of the current outlook of the ongoing battle.

After receiving the message, Areikys' mood remained indifferent.

Areikys: "Unfortunate. Relay the following orders to the commanders on the battlefield. All reserve forces remaining on standby shall retreat back to our stronghold. The main forces will continue their pursuit."

She understood that the plan to eliminate 513 -- now that he had grown in strength -- was a great risk. The chances of success overshadowed failure, but not by much. She only allowed the attack to move forward in order to indulge the other variants of her species, many of which had powerful evolutionary traits. She had even dispatched a special variant to lead the assault, but it unfortunately met its demise early on.

While she was the leader of her kin -- even going to great lengths to call herself their Queen -- she did not hold absolute power. Concessions were a necessity to hold back those she felt would undermine her authority. It was a move she had learned ages ago. She needed such politics to maintain the current status quo.

While in deep thought, Areikys’ wandering gaze landed on her subordinate, who still had not left the area. Narrowing what remained of her eight eyes, she waved a leg in a sweeping motion and formally dismissed the subordinate. Only after she returned to being completely alone did she fall back to thinking.

After some time, she moved her body over to a separate chamber located inside the mound. Compared to the last room, this chamber was several times bigger and contained a large, blood red crystal at its center.

Areikys slowly approached the crystal before stopping just shy of touching it. She longingly stared at the crystal for some time, not moving from the location she had stopped.

As her gaze remained affixed to the crystal, Areikys jittered and shook inconsistently, alluding to an emotional struggle occuring within the depths of her mind. Sadness; regret; elation; rage; worry -- she cycled through feelings like she was discarding trash.

When she finally had the courage to form a coherent thought, an unknown amount of time had passed.

[Sister, we both wanted power, but did I choose the wrong path?]

Memories of the past flashed in her mind; memories of a time where she and her sister shared a common master; joyful memories that lacked the stain of blood and death.

It was only after suffering defeat from a man that was more bestial than civilized, did she start to regret her decision to leave her sister; and her betrayal against her master.

As she mulled over her chaotic thoughts, the fierce light in her gaze slowly dimmed. She stared at the red crystal for a bit longer, feeling lost and alone.

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Day 448; 2354 (Night)

Focus: 513

513 violently kicked the body of a spider after blocking its attack with a large combat knife held in his right hand. He then swung the falx sword wielded with his left, upwards with a rising slash, completing a diagonal cut that severed the spider in half.

Without stopping his fluid movements, 513 immediately flung the combat knife towards another enemy rushing towards him from behind a tree. After the knife struck its target, he dashed forward, side-stepped diagonally to the spider's flank, then thrust his knee into its large body, stopping its forward movement. He then stabbed at its torso with the curved sword, pinning its large body to the ground.

With a finishing move, 513 crudely dragged the sword across the spider's body, causing its figure to fork in two. He then skillfully dashed backwards to avoid the spray of murky blood.

513: “Haaah…haaah… is…is that it?”

513 tirelessly gasped for air as he questioned his surroundings.

After struggling for several hours, he had finally killed off the last of the False Arachnes pursuing him.

His figure was surrounded by an endless field of spider corpses. Amongst the bodies were broken, chipped, and dulled weapons he had used in the fight. This included his crystal core spear-sword and severing shield, both of which had been broken and discarded after a prolonged period of intense battle.

Out in the distance, several of the spider corpses had pyramidal shaped puncture wounds peppering their bodies. They were injuries sustained after being skewered by the spear-sword’s butt stock, which acted as a secondary spear point after the main blade was rendered useless.

Taking a shallow breath, he fell into thought. [It's probably a good thing I didn't use my high quality weapons...I mean, if I really needed to, I could have. Blood bone weapons can't absorb spider blood anyway, so it would have been a waste...]

[...hmmm, the spear and shield combo is definitely my forte, but sword and dagger is a close second.] He continued to muse while yanking away the combat knife from the dead spider’s limp torso.

Up until the end, 513 had dealt with the remaining spiders with the falx sword and combat dagger, utilizing grappling, hooking, and slashing techniques. It was a fighting style suitable for extremely close quarters.

By putting his practiced techniques and hypothetical combat scenarios into action, he attained a wealth of practical knowledge. This knowledge helped him formulate a method for quickly destroying enemy weak points, like joints and sections of the body that generated power.

Aside from the thrill, there was another reason why 513 decided to engage the enemy in close quarters. It was to act as a deterrent for those hiding in the back, waiting for a chance to spray decaying mist at his location; from observation, he learned that the spiders would not use their mist attack if they were out of range or if their comrades were fighting too close to their intended target -- namely himself.

In fact, 513 had been hit by the decaying mist several times throughout the night. As a result, his durable hooded cloak was in shambles and his composite leather armor was missing pieces here and there. He had even cut away exposed skin that had been doused by the mist to prevent the spread of decay to the rest of his body. If not for that, he would have suffered less injuries.

[At least I didn’t run into any more variants.] He thought to himself, comforting his ego while ignoring the pain.

His body ached and stung from all the self inflicted injuries on his body, but compared to his past experiences, it was tolerable.

Struggling to keep himself upright, 513 wobbled over to the nearest tree and leaned against its trunk. He pulsed True Sense a few times to make sure no other enemies were left, then let his body lazily slide down the tree until his rump hit the mossy ground.

Only after the battle did he feel the utter coldness of the night; it felt bitter and unmoving.

For a while, he silently observed specks of ash float and dance in the air while the suffocating smoke slowly escaped through the thickets of the tree canopy.

As he distracted himself, the unholy stench of battle lingered around like a loitering vagrant, capriciously wafting in and out of his senses.

He looked up to the sky blocked by the entanglement of tree branches and leaves, and let out a lofty sigh.

513: “Fhuuuh...I don’t know why I expected a different outcome…”

He muttered in disappointment.

[It’s not like I’m looking for God when I look up to the sky. Perhaps I’m seeking comfort in the vast unknown...]

Even he wasn’t sure why he looked to the stars when feeling lonesome.

He stared into the darkness for a bit longer, before eventually closing his eyes to rest. His mind jumped between unrelated topics as he gradually drifted into sleep.

He did not know the dangers that lurked around the next corner, but for now, he felt safe.

---Chapter End