Chapter 26: We are you

Chapter 26: We are you The still air of the dark forest turned colder, the twisted arms of the tree and gnarled roots more sinister. The ringing in Lucen’s head drowned the sound of rain hitting the ‌tree leaves. A spear appeared in his hand, its body silvery white and glittering in the dark. A horrible rage filled his golden eyes as he stared at Jon. Commander Jon sighed, rising to his feet, his vast form towering over Lucen. "You make things so hard. How did you pierce my veil?" The soldiers’ faces went from confusion to disbelief, they distanced themselves from the now stiff-faced soldiers Lucen had called out. Seven of them are here; three were missing. But they could very well just be normal humans who didn’t speak back at the fountain. Crunchers, the folk tale legends that could steal people’s skins and wear them like masks. Lucen suddenly understood why they took so much time to arrive; Jon had probably held them back for as long as possible. He sent one of his fellow monsters to hunt Lucen down after Tari told the soldier where he was. Was Tari dead? He felt bad for her, but he was in a worse situation. "Commander... Jon!" One of the lieutenants roared, "Is this a joke? Why are you all smiling?" The man suddenly stopped as Jon placed a soft hand on his neck. Lucen’s body tensed. "Let go of him now!" The lieutenant searched Jon’s eyes for something reminiscent of his old friend. Jon’s face twisted into a smile. But the smile kept curling upward until it no longer resembled anything a human could do. It was exaggerated and horrible; its mouth gaped, toothless and dark. His eyeballs rolled out of their sockets. They fell to the ground with a dull pop. The lieutenant’s face had long crumpled in horror, and he grabbed the monster’s hand to pry it free, but the soft grip now turned to cold steel. "Wait, no, Jon—" His neck cracked and tore apart under the grip, blood exploded from the decapitated body, covering the smiling beast in hot blood. The seven crunchers also attacked, their bodies twisting and skin sagging as they launched themselves at their former comrades. "You fucking demon, I asked you a question." Lucen cursed, "When did you kill Jon, and how can you speak?" "Hehehe, am I a demon?" Jon said. His body cracked and stretched, drawing the skin taut as the monster grew taller and its arms longer. A horrible ripping sound erupted from the skin as it approached him, face contorting into something terrifying. "I took the poor fool’s skin just this morning. Our plan didn’t have room for mistakes, you see, but I stuck close. He had a brother, disabled after taking a blow to the head. I wore his skin in the meantime." The Cruncher rushed forward, arm raised over its head. Lucen darted backwards as the long, skinny hand came down. The muddy earth exploded, sending debris across the forest. The beast’s harrowing laughter followed the calamitous blow. "The fool, he talked to his brother every day—ohhh, the Lightcloaks don’t care about us like the Metia did, or about his stupid son and dead wife. I was so happy when the day came." The monster jumped into the air and raised its two hands for an overhead smash. It’s too powerful. Lucen gritted his teeth and jumped behind a tree. The blow uprooted the entire tree, the air exploded, the ground rose, and the tree lurched as its roots were blown aside. Lucen covered his eyes as the mud poured over him, darting around using mana sense. The beast wasn’t done, chasing after Lucen and taunting him. "I pierced his heart before he knew what was happening. It’s always harder to take the body of a mage. I wish we had gotten Chester to come; they were old friends, and it would have been so funny. But you are also on our priority kill list. So I had to make sure to get you, but you never relax, do you—always so vigilant!" Jon punctuated his words with a shout as he swung for Lucen. Lucen ducked under the blow and rushed forward as the air screamed behind him from the mere swing. His spear shot up at the Cruncher’s neck, viciously piercing through, but Lucen knew immediately that it wouldn’t be enough. He let go of his spear, letting it disappear, and released a quick breath, escaping the beast’s backhand with a sudden jump. A tree shattered with a bang and sent splinters into the air. "You ask why I can speak?" The smiling creature mused as white bone-like liquid filled its wound—the skin, still torn, flapped in the wind. "I despise your humans’ frivolous ways of expressing yourselves. But I am a son of the Hungry Dark, of course, I can devour the ability to speak." Devour? The word stuck with him, and he asked his system for an answer. [It is simple, this ugly beast possesses the powers of those who channel the Hungry Dark, one of my creators.] His stomach felt like a writhing can of worms. Disgusting. He couldn’t put a finger on it, but the monster was so horribly disgusting. He had to kill it no matter what. "Don’t worry, Jon," he said, forlorn and quietly, "I’ll take back your skin." "Take it back!" The creature screeched, "And how will you do that? I’ve devoured not only Jon’s strength but also his brother’s and many other foolish humans. I have his memories too—hehehe—I’m the greatest of my kind, sent to finally break your foolish clan. I’m able to devour so much—amazing, I’m unbelievable—I’ll enjoy having your mana sense and speed." They both circled each other, the rain poured harder with each step, plopping over the muddy earth. "Are you working with Peter Cross?" he asked. The beast froze, rainwater pouring between its elongated, skinny limbs. The absurdly wide smile on its face fell. "How do you know that?" Its face tightened in rage, the skin ripped disgustingly, and its mouth and eyes widened into black, gaping pits. "You bastard, who told you that?! It doesn’t matter what you Lightcloaks know! Your downfall is here—and its name is Korgath!" In a single leap, Korgath shortened the distance between them. Lucen released the breath he was holding and zipped behind the monster as he brought down his fist in an apocalyptic blow. Lucen kept his eyes closed as he circled the beast, tracking it with mana sense. He gritted his teeth as he considered how to kill a Cruncher. "Peter Cross, he’s part of your foolish plan?" Lucen muttered, "Good, I can crush you both at once."