We just returned from our last raid; we were going to inform Commander Jagger about our discovery. I couldn't wait to go and fight that thing; this was going to be so much fun. A beast that might actually put up a fight against me.
"Let's go, Veer." Helen told me. "It will be me and you telling the commander, everyone else go and rest up." They all nodded their heads, and turned away from us, Callias shot me a smile, and I nodded my head. "Nice job today, you were the one who healed Jasmine right, while you were fighting."
I took my mask off and placed it in my mana ring. "I did." I shot her a smile. "I wanted her to be okay in case we needed to make a quick exit from the fighting." That wasn't the entire truth, but it was reasonable.
"Smart thinking." She said as we walked into the commander's tent. "Commander Jagger, we have news on our dungeon run." Commander Jagger and two other leaders turned to us. "Tell him what you sensed, Veer."
"Helen, Veer, let's hear it." Commander Jagger said with a smile.
"We believe we found the mutant." I told them. "The power it was emitting was tremendous, greater than any other beast I sensed." Their eyes lit up, and then a smile crept over his face.
"I knew your team was going to be the ones to find it." Commander Jagger chuckled. "You all can rest up, I'll start preparing all the other teams, and send a message to the higher ups." He pulled out a scroll of paper. "Are you positive, Veer, I know I can trust you."
I nodded my head. "It definitely was a mutant." If that thing wasn't a mutant, then the mutant inside this dungeon was going to be even more terrifying. However, a mutant doesn't have to be here, it could just be a regular powerful mana beast. The Alacryan I killed did say there was one here though.
"Okay, go rest up, we are going to need your team's power." Commander Jagger ordered. "Was there any other beast there, like protecting it?"
"Yes, over a hundred, closer to two hundred." I said honestly, I didn't count them one by one, so I couldn't know for sure. There were a lot of them. I just wanted to go now and fight this thing. "We should be fine with the adventurers here."
"We only have forty eight people, we've been losing a lot, let's hope we don't lose a lot in this battle." Commander Jagger looked down, like he was thinking of something. "Go, now, I'll send word of your findings immediately."
"Yes sir." Helen bowed, and the two of us walked out. "You should really bow to him, Veer, he is our leader."
"I know, I try only to bow to people I respect." I told her honestly. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but it's just how I think." I bow to Elder Virion, King and Queen Eralith, and Lance Varay and Aya.
---
A day passed, and everyone was ready to go, I helped heal Jasmine as much as I could, she said she was back to normal, so I took her word for it. "Let's go everyone." Commander Jagger ordered. "Remember, Augmenters in the front, form a line, and don't let anything pass you. We will kill this mutant today."
"Yeeeaaahhh!" The soldiers around me started to cheer. How many of them were going to die? No one from my team will, I know that I won't allow it.
"Move out!" He shouted and everyone ran into the teleportation gate.
"We got this." Callias nudged me as we entered the portal, and my eyes flashed with color. Everyone was now running through the tunnels, towards the cavern where I sensed a whole lot of mana beasts. "Don't get scared now." I activated "Blood Oath" and lit my body and sword up with blue flames.
"Shut up." I shook my head at him, he couldn't see my face because of my mask, but I had an annoyed look. I could see the cavern now, and spells being launched at the beast. There were definitely Esenes and Frepirs.
I got inside and the beasts were already on us, I made my way up to the augmenter line, and killed an Esene with my sword going through its chest.
"Stay in formation!" Commander Jagger shouted somewhere near me, out of my side vision I saw a Frepir leap onto a soldier and dig its teeth into his chest. There were two Esenes running at me, so I quickly ripped their blood out, and turned to the man with the Frepir on him. Luckily, someone else killed it already, but the man was dead.
Jeez, how do you die that quick? I thought internally. I then conjured water scythes above me and shot them at the horde as I killed a Frepir with an ice sword going through its chest. I didn't know the person to my right, they were using wind magic though, Callias was to my left, killing an Esene.
I placed my flaming sword into the skull of an Esene close to me, then felt a Frepir running towards us, and ripped its blood out. I pulled my sword out of the skull and spun and killed another.
"Oh shit, look at that!" Callias pointed and behind the horde was a giant silver door, I could sense the mutant behind it. We had to kill all of these before getting to it. I grew ice swords out of the ground and impaled multiple Esene.
"Let's kill these beasts, then make our way to the door." Commander Jagger ordered.
I cut down any beast that came my way or ripped their blood out if I had to. A smile crept over my face as I kept on killing, I plunged my sword into the chest of an Esene, then spun and cut the head off another, then brought an ice sword into another's knee, and when it fell over, I placed my sword into its head.
Two Frepirs ran at me, and I brought up an ice wall, blocking them. I shattered the wall, then ripped their blood out from them. Chunks of their body were sent everywhere, and it was amazing.
"Ahhh." Someone screamed, but I focused on the Esene in front of me, I raised my hand, and an ice sword grew in it. I swung and killed it, I brought the ice sword down on one next to it, then had them both erupt. The blood drenching me from head to toe.
"Hehe." I slight giggle left my mouth, as I swung my two blades, killing any beast in front of me. I wanted to get to the beast inside of the door as fast as possible. I threw my ice sword at a Frepir running at me at a high speed, and it went right into its mouth. "Hehe."
I sidestepped a sword falling on me, and gripped the Esene's throat, then made it fall to its knees before me. Any other beast running at me within a ten foot radius erupted, their blood drenching the floor.
The Esene looked scared looking up at me, and my cold brown eyes. The sand on its face dropped onto my wrist, but I didn't acknowledge it. "Veer!" I turned away from the beast, at the person who called my name. It was Callias, giving me a concerned look. I looked back at the beast before me, and then slid my sword down its throat.
I turned to the beast approaching me, withdrew my sword, and kicked the Esene over. "Veer, are you okay?" Samantha asked from behind me.
"That's not normal for you." Victoria added on.
"Hehe." I giggled quietly again as I cut down another beast. "I'm fine, why?" I conjured ice swords in the ground, and aimed them at any target that moved, then launched them. "I'm just killing my enemies."
"Killing like that isn't normal." Victoria shot an earth spear over my head. "Control yourself."
I felt movement in my stomach, a feeling, a sense of purpose, then a dark presence started to emit from my core into my mind. I closed my eyes for a second, and in the darkness was the giant Serpent smiling down with its sharp teeth and its navy scales.
I opened my eyes, and the smile under my mask stayed put. "I'm fine." I snapped at them. The Serpent was a part of me, this was okay, I want his power. I waved my left hand, killing two Esene running at me, by having their blood erupt out of them.
I started to accept more and more of the Serpent's Will, I was starting to lose control. Was it because I sensed another S Class Mana Beast or was it something else. It didn't matter, I swung my sword, sending a large ice blade out of my sword at multiple Esene.
A sword came down on me, I blocked it with my own, and sent flames onto the Esene, then ripped the blood out of a Frepir launching itself at me. There were about twenty beasts left, and our force was so large, none were coming at me, so I decided to end it. I felt for the blood in each one, and made them all pop, like a balloon. "Hehe." I giggled as blood shot up into the air.
Everyone started to gather themselves after taking the horde down, however, the Twin Horns and my team came to me. "Veer, are you okay?" Callias placed a hand on my shoulder. "I sword I heard laughter coming from you."
Before anyone else could speak, Commander Jagger spoke. "Let's regroup, and head for the door." He pointed at the giant silver door. "That's where the mutant is, we lost a decent number of troops, I'm only counting thirty seven of us left, I believe that's enough though." I was here, I could kill this thing myself.
"Veer." Helen snapped me out of though, I turned to her. "I'm pulling you."
"No way." I told her. "Just because I killed a mana beast in a way you didn't like, you are going to need a better reason to pull me." I glared at her, my eyes showing that I was serious. "Trust me, Helen, I am fine."
Everyone stared at me still. "Okay." Helen said, and every gave me a look as they dispersed.
Samantha and Callias stayed back. "Veer, is there something wrong." Samantha asked. "You can talk to us about anything, we are here for you."
"Yeah, we are." Callias nudged me. "I would never pull you though, I know what you can do, and I rather fight with you, not against you." At least he knew his place.
"I promise, nothing is wrong." I turned away from them and closed my eyes.
The twenty foot Serpent was smiling down at me, each tooth was sharp as a blade, its navy blue scales covered every inch of it. The eyes though, they were cold, emotionless, telling me to run, but I didn't want to, I wanted to be more like this beast. I didn't know why I felt like going down this path, but I wanted to.
The Serpent's head started to lower, and got closer to my face, and I reached my hand out. The Serpent's nose touched my hand, and a sense of power was sent throughout my body. What was this feeling? I ran my hand over the beast's head in my mind, this was so weird.
"Veer, let's go." Callias called out, and my eyes snapped opened. Everyone was starting to walk to the giant door against the wall.
I felt the adrenaline in me grow, as we got closer, this was going to be fun. This beast could actually be a threat to me, which made this even better. I could feel movement below us, but I dismissed the feeling, as I focused on the mutant before us.
What was this thing going to be like?