Chapter 43

I Only See the Worst in People

WOOSH! A beam of light comes from my eyes, as I feel my mind and body burn away an outer protective shell over the monster that was clearly visible to my eyes. Once the monster’s shell and the dazzling light show from my eyes are over, a monster in black and burnt flesh appears before everyone. At least I think it appears before everyone, as suddenly everyone is silent as I hear a collective gasp from everyone breathing in, all in unison.

“RAWWRRR!” The monster that is now attached to my hand screams out angrily.

“What the Fuck is that?” Someone from the audience calls out.

As for me I try to move my hand, only to find out I am now attached to the charcoal-colored monster. How did I get here? I often wonder that myself. I want to chalk it up to poor life choices. When I was a kid, maybe I should have studied that much harder. Granted one could say that studying hard got me here in the first place. It was after all my studying to become and Endarian citizen that theoretically led to this mess.

Also, one could argue that my overpowered Psionic nature has made everyday life seemingly impossible. In fact, it is almost sad that the most normal part of my day is spending time with my partner, a literal space elf with metallic butterfly wings that work in space. Don’t ask me how such a thing is possible, I just live in this reality, I didn’t make it.

Yet, despite all the oddities in my life; from millennium old trees using me as a fertility clinic, to reintroducing Endar Rising to the Endarians (different universe, had to be there), to winning the lottery before handing over my winning ticket to a random waitress (there was a whole thing where I subconsciously knew I had to get rid of the ticket, but couldn’t tell me that otherwise I would break the rules of the ticket transfer protocols), to piggy-backing a ride off of intergalactic and cross dimensional amoeba to a new universe entirely. Despite all of that, I dare say that this right here might be one of the oddest moments of my life. Definitely within the top ten.

The worst part is this is even odd compared to my previous lives. The worst part was this entirely random event could have been avoided entirely. It’s not like I asked for a crazy alien to randomly appear at my citizenship ceremony, nor did I ever want to touch the slimy appendage of the alien creature. I didn’t even want to shake the monster’s hand, but here we are now.

All this races through my head, in the brief seconds when my mind is trying to catch up to what just happened. Some say your life flashes before your eyes before you die. I had a mini version of this, but in this case it was only the top highlights, thus far, of this life. After seeing the highlights, I have to say this life has kind of been a letdown.

Swish.

The massively overpowered monster of burnt muscles tries to pull its hand back. The only problem, again I mentioned how the original hand was slimy and is now no longer slimy. Well, it appears that slime when dried out becomes an adhesive, at least that is the case with this slime as our hands are now firmly attached. I say hands, in that I don’t quite know what to call the dried lump of wiry tendrils, that have wrapped themselves around my hand as anything but a hand.

Blur.

The world spins wildly for a moment. I realize almost too late, that the monster I am attached to, is trying to wrestle its seared appendage away from me.

Crash! Boom!

I land with a pain filled thud, as I was literally whipped around like a yo-yo being used by an amateur. That’s right, I got snapped up into the air, crashed into the ground, then he just stared at me dumbfounded when I didn’t coil back up. I felt a lot of my bones break, which I quickly began casting Heal before my mind had a chance to register the offending complaints of pain.

My spell work apparently caused the amateur yo-yo enthusiast, and full time scourge of space to realize that it too apparently could cast spells. I was made fully aware of this, as I felt the air begin to be pulled in around me. My skin began to shiver as goose flesh appeared all around me. My hair began to stand on end, as I realized something exceedingly bad was about to come.

There, yep now, of all times my allegedly over-powered Precognition decided to finally show up. Now when even Captain Obvious was likely thinking to himself, this doesn’t look good. Now, of all times, I get the warning I should have gotten before this whole day began.

Beginning in my gut and turning outward, I feel an intense fear and dread coming from whatever spell this creature is about to unleash upon the Endiarian planet we are occupying.

Zip. Zip. Zip.

What was everyone else doing currently? Simple, I don’t really know. I could tell a few people including the General had drawn their hand blasters and were opening fire upon the beast. The only problem was that this didn’t seem to do a thing as the monster had some type of protective shielding around it protecting it against such attacks.

As for me, I was somehow inside the protective bubble with the creature as we were still attached. My mind registered this, but that slight distraction was all the fearsome creature needed to manifest a Portal spell.

A surge of glowing green abyssal energy swelled up from the beast, and just before it launched the vortex open, I am acting on instinct locked the spell in place. This meant that I had to drop the healing effects I had been performing a moment ago on my body, and now had to focus solely on taking over the portal that this monster was trying to bring to the universe.

The beast looked up, to see that its spell had been stolen and sealed in place.

With that distraction, I went on the offensive. I needed to keep my full magical attention on keeping the portal shut, for I knew whatever was on the other end of that portal was not good. So magic was out, but fortunately for me magic was always my backup option anyways. I was just a Support Mage after all.

Realizing I only had two attack options available. I technically had three, but even now I could not feel the mind of this monster, meaning Mind Rend was out. That just left Telekinesis-X and Pyrokinesis-X, neither of which were particularly enticing options. Especially because I was still attached to the monster. But given that any throwing of the beast would likely mean I too would get thrown and slammed into the ground. I quickly dismissed that idea and went for the only remaining option.

WHOOSH!

I set us both on fire. Well really, I set the monster on fire while doing my best to control the flames and keep them off me. I breathed in deeply, as I set a raging inferno loose.

The glowing green sacs of glowing liquid the monster had for eyes ruptured and popped within a second. The charcoal wires that served as taught cords of muscles for the creature began to burn and tighten. Unfortunately, other than taking away some of the slimy nature of the skin, the monster’s extremities were very resistant to the flames. At least they were at first.

I should have expected such resistance, especially as this creature like all its others, was likely somehow able to travel freely in space without any real restrictions. I had hoped that this monster, which was apparently a more evolved and powerful version of the scourge, was somehow vulnerable to something.

Blur.

Wham!

The world spun around me for a second, as I saw everything twist about at incomprehensible speeds. Then I felt my body wrestle with a different section of the stage we were on. This time I managed to put up somewhat of a fight, as parts of the stage crackled and broke underneath my body’s inertia.

Whoom.

My mind blinked again. At least that is what I think happened. Just like battling the hive mind queen in outer space I lost focus for a second. The spell that I had previously locked down with fury was no longer in my mental grasps. The fire that I had been controlling so diligently and directing away from my shared arm with the monster was now traveling down the arm and coming dangerously close to me.

Still, I had no time to worry about the flames, as that was clearly the wrong choice. So, I went with option number two, Telekinesis-X. Realizing it would be very had to be thrown about without the monster having leverage. I decided to crush the monster and make its body crumple under the pressure and strain of my enhanced Telekinesis. Honestly, I still didn’t know how much power I could put into this attack. I didn’t know how much more powerful my Pyrokinesis-X was for that matter, but it did feel hotter. At least before I was thrown like a rag doll into the ground.

Focusing on the monster I lifted its legs off the ground and began compacting the entire creature into one oversized magic eight ball. The only problem with this magic eight ball, I already knew what its prediction would read, “Outlook Not So Good.”

Still, I crumpled and bent the wiry muscles into one compact form. Even without its glowing green eyes, it was still monstrous and scary. Likely made even scarier due to the fact it seemed to know where everything was, without need of its eyes. Or what I thought were its eyes. Clearly, they might have served an alternate function, but I was not aware of what they were if not the eyes.

Whoom.

Still being attached to the monster that was slowly being ground into a giant ball was tough. Especially as it tried to whip me around like a piece of tinsel at the end of a baton. There was one good thing about the monster being held off the ground by my Telekinesis-X, I no longer got slammed into the ground. Now the only problem was, my arm. My arm was still the only thing still attaching me to the monster. Said arm was likely the only reason I was able to directly interact with this creature, if what I was seeing about the attacks being directed at the overpowered shield around us were to be believed.

Basically, it was up to me to stop this monster.

Oh yeah, and about that portal I had locked. Well, it was still locked, but the monster was in the process of building a new one. I would have stopped this one as well, but a damn pesky preservation part of my brain was having me Heal myself, versus save the whole universe. I know, I know, selfish me. But something about having your arm ripped from its socket, then broken and shattering into hundreds of pieces due to violently shaking and being used a pendulum to waggle your whole body. Well, that kind of pain, caused by such an act, causes even the best of us to lose perspective for a moment.

Focusing on closing the ball into a tighter sphere, I feel like I am at the point of no return. I can’t stop, because then the beast will get free. But I also can’t crush the creature because its external shell is just too thick. That’s when I reach down deep inside.

I feel the spark that is connected to me, the spark from Rayquel. Feeling that little spark pulse brightly inside me, I feel power. A tiny trickle of power, but power all the same. Latching onto that spark between us, I gather it up and add it to my already massive pool of overpowered psionics. Something that should be so simple for me, is still just beyond my grasp. Or at least it was.

The minute I add Rayquel’s spark to my own source of power, there is a compounding effect as our powers aren’t merely added. Rather our powers are multiplied together in triplicate.

CRUNCH!

Within seconds of using the joint spark between us, the space cockroach is crushed.

Squirt.

A satisfying squish is felt as the monster that had been getting ready to unleash more devastating attacks on me suddenly stopped. The tension in my arm relaxes slightly.

There is of course one problem with killing the main enemy that everyone was firing wildly at. Once the monster dies, and its massively overpowered shield falls, all the attacks that were being stopped suddenly find no resistance. That is until they find the fleshy human.

Murphy is a bitch. I think, as I remember one of his most accurate sayings. “Friendly fire is the most accurate fire.”

Zip. Zip. Zip.

I am pelted with energy round after energy round. Fortunately for me, I was already channeling Healing magic into my body before these attacks landed. Unfortunately, they still burned and punched holes through my flesh and organs with ruthless efficiency.

High overhead I saw a giant green wave of energy wink out of existence. While falling to the ground from all my excessive shots received, I see the hole that had been opened high in the atmosphere suddenly blink out of existence. Hundreds of monsters that were caught in the tunnel when it collapsed are now falling to the ground in chunks. Off in the distance I can hear the cries of hundreds of people still screaming in fear, as many who were gathered here today were just civilians. Some of whom were also receiving their citizenship awards. I just happened to be the main figurehead of these proceedings.

I cast Healing on myself one more time. I could already feel my mind slowly beginning to fade, from both fatigue and from blood loss.

My last act, before I passed out was to set the bug that I was still attached to on fire one last time. I did not want to have to fight this monster again. Truth be told I didn’t think I could survive a second encounter, especially not if it was prepared for me.

ZZZ!

A glowing vibro blade surged to life and sliced through the black arm that was still attached to me. I should have been frightened by how close the blade was to me, but at that moment all I could feel was the slight comfort of having my over extended right arm able to collapse in to my chest.

My vision was getting fuzzy, but I could still make out the form of the person who had cut me free. Her glowing silver wings were highlighted by the rising flames behind her. Either the fluids from inside the creature were particularly flammable, or the shielding the creature used protected its body from flames as well. Either way, the creature was going up like a marshmallow that had spent a moment too long in the inferno. Its exoskeleton shell was now melting and pooling into a flammable liquid.

Strong arms grabbed me, and began carrying me away from the flames I had created. Then for the second time I realized I was being princess carried to safety by my bonded partner. I almost said something about it, but I was so tired all I could do was see smile at her silhouette and say “thanks.”

With that the world went dark. The last thing I heard was the sound of small arms fire and people shrieking in panic. We were being invaded by monsters, and I needed to do something.

“You’ve done enough.” Rayquel said, almost as if she read my thoughts. “Sleep now, we will take care of the rest.”

With her reassurance, I let my mind drift off into nothingness.