So say that when one door closes, another one opens. But really, so doors are ant to be kept closed—sealed, shut, buried, and forgotten, or maybe bombed for good asure.
But then again, leave it to humans to find ways to spice up life, like unleashing a corrupted ancient.
Oblivious to the stirrings below them, Dominic rushed toward the cave to hopefully complete the mission before the other teams could get to it. But instead of the fighting he was expecting, Dominic was greeted with screams echoing through the cavern.
Then he saw it—a hulking monstrosity of chitinous limbs partly covered by black ooze.
Its massive legs were claw-like, sharp, and riddled with veins of dark corruption that continued through its grotesque form. The stench was a gagging mix of minerals and corruption that had Dominic flinching in fear.
"Everyone evacuate and stop using your abilities! There’s a corrupted beast in there!" He bellowed to the approaching examinees before running back to call for the officials. He could only pray that the people watching the livestream could see what just suddenly appeared.
But the ancient arachnid felt the energy being cut off and lashed out at the nearest evacuating creature.
A flash of movent—too quick to follow—and one of the students stumbled while a jagged web was thrown out to ensnare him. A scream echoed through the cavern, but two figures burst into the fray before the arachnid could claim its prize.
Luca and Xavier did not expect to witness such a scene when they arrived.
While Luca was alerted by D-29 to the sudden presence of a new wealth bank, he didn’t expect it to be like this. It was clear that he only fought small fries back then, as he could now see what the real thing could look like.
Although he really wanted to hide, a student was about to be eaten in front of them.
Luca generally reacted fast to threats, but this ti, it was clear that Xavier’s instincts were faster. While Luca prepared weapons from his space, Xavier was already bolting for his cha with Luca in tow, and all he could do was blink as he was hauled.
This wasn’t the school’s manual cha or the personalized one he used in class. But Luca didn’t have ti to scrutinize it because he found himself inside the next mont.
"Oof!" Luca slumped against Xavier’s chest as the cha imdiately lunged forward, intercepting the monster’s attempt at reaching the trembling student.
Xavier had to use Sid, his actual cha. There was no way manual or even regular chas would withstand fighting that kind of beast alone.
As soone who’s been up close and personal with the corrupted, he could tell that this one had enough intelligence and couldn’t be treated like your average corrupted beast. Even as he tried to lure it with energy, it tried to keep its original prey within reach.
The problem with using Sid was that it guzzled spiritual energy like it was no one’s business. A fully spiritual cha, a legend to many but a reality to the Empire’s leading family.
Luca was confused as to why the cha’s cockpit was almost bare save for the seat and the indicators. As soone who’s piloted both types of chas, this was new to him.
Then he felt the energy gushing out from Xavier as soone plastered against him.
"Xavier! You have to stop!" Luca panicked. Trust him to fail in other things, but he sure could tell that Xavier was practically self-destructing at the rate he was emptying himself! And Luca was right there with him!
If Xavier goes, he goes! Hello?!
Even D-29 could detect the energy surge and imdiately panicked with his Host.
"We don’t have a choice. That thing cannot get out of this place, or we’ll all be dood."
"Sorry, I had to take you in here because none of your chas would survive against that thing."
Xavier had to tank the beast while waiting for the other students to evacuate safely. Only then was he able to disengage, keeping a distance to be able to use his particle cannon.
*BAM!*
It was a relatively clean hit, but when the haze cleared, it barely scratched the chitinous body of the giant spider.
Luca could hear and feel Xavier’s thundering heartbeat, and it was clear to everyone that he was over-exerting himself.
anwhile, the ancient hissed at the disappearance of its prey and unleashed a torrent of ooze all over the place, effectively blanketing the ground to form its territory.
Xavier figured that the entire ground wasn’t safe for landing and tried to stay airborne for as long as possible.
But as he fought, his strength waned. Xavier’s movents grew sluggish. His breaths labored as the corruption seeped into his system again. The energy that had been blocking the spread of contamination in his body had just been used to keep on firing the particle cannon.
He had faced this darkness before and barely survived; now, it clawed at him from within, threatening to consu him entirely. Luca glanced at his partner, his body catching the faint tremor of Xavier’s body. He wouldn’t hold out much longer.
The arachnid screeched in fury as it was hit again by Xavier’s cannon, its legs lashing out with renewed vigor. Xavier gritted his teeth and summoned what little strength he had left to power his thrusters. If he was going to do sothing about this thing, he had to make sure to let Luca go.
"Listen to . I’m going to release energy to distract this thing. I need you to get ready to jump into your cha to leave. And if possible, call for help in case the streams didn’t alert anyone."
"What?! Why would you even do that?! You’re going to kill yourself like this!" Luca was not the type to get angry, but he worked too hard on this mountain giant, only for him to kill himself like this.
Xavier’s face was pale, and all he managed to respond with was a weak smile as he concentrated his remaining energy on the cha’s operations.
Sid had been blaring all the alerts that could possibly be blurted, but his master ignored them, turning off his warning systems and bypassing all the safety limits.
It wasn’t just Luca who was worried, but the Guardian cha, who was shut up against his will, was so close to disobeying his master when he saw the random passenger bonk his master in the head.
"!!!"
Sid’s operations stopped when his master fainted, and the poor cha fell to the ground, its limbs suddenly caught by the ooze-lined webbing of the ancient.
His controls and alarms had been overridden, and he had to watch as the person hijacked his controls right after incapacitating his master.
This was a highjacking! And Sid, who had never been treated so carelessly, had no choice but to move according to the attacker, afraid of risking his master.
But he was surprised to discover the sudden inflow of spiritual energy he’d never experienced before.
Luca, on the other hand, cursed under his breath. There was no other choice.
Luca had to take over with Xavier like this right now (thanks to him). He triggered a controlled cave-in with a series of random movents and whispered prayers. Massive chunks of rock tumbled from above, sealing off the tunnel and trapping them and the ancient within its dark domain.
But they weren’t safe yet. The arachnid’s webbing had begun to cocoon Xavier’s cha. Contrary to being attacked right away, it seed like the spider was planning to consu the cha the way it consud other creatures.
Luca figured that the spider was planning on draining them. He could already feel his energy being nibbled on as the ooze touched the cha he was currently ’borrowing.’ So, Luca had no choice but to haul the entire cha into his space.
He needed to buy ti and needed a decoy.
It was a sudden transfer, and Luca reappeared inside the cocoon in his manual cha, leaving a cut-up spiritual apple inside the cockpit before returning to his space.
Sid had no idea what was happening and was partially resigned to perishing with his master and this highjacker. But just when the cocoon fully wrapped around him, he realized there was more to the short guy than just highjacking.
Now it was kidnapping!!!
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