Apocalypse: Building And Hoarding My Way Through.
Chapter 95: Are You Telling Us To Feed Someone To It.

Chapter 95: Are You Telling Us To Feed Someone To It.

"Wh...wh...what do you mean by that?" Louise stammered, his voice quaking as he clutched his crossbow tighter.

Austin didn’t answer. In a flash, his form seemed to blur before disappearing completely, leaving Scarlett and her group alone in the suffocating darkness.

"Where did he go? How did he just vanish like that?" Louise asked, his voice trembling as panic began to set in.

Before anyone could respond, the ground beneath them seemed to shift violently, as though the entire cave was being dragged downward. The group was sent flying, their bodies slamming hard against the jagged rock walls. Just as suddenly as it began, the movement stopped, leaving them bruised and disoriented.

"What the hell was that?" Louise groaned, struggling to regain his footing.

Kato’s gaze hardened. "I think we’re trapped. He wasn’t joking when he said we couldn’t leave until we’ve defeated all the monsters."

His words barely left her lips when a pair of glowing eyes appeared in the darkness. A monstrous form emerged, unlike anything Scarlett and her group had ever encountered.

Its body seemed to be made of liquid, shimmering and translucent but this was no ordinary water. Anything that came into contact with it hardened instantly, severing flesh and bone with ease.

An experiment that was performed by Kato who threw a canned fish into it and watched as the creature separate it’s skin from bone.

"We’re dead!" Louise cried, his body already shaking terribly.

The creature began expanding, filling the cavern with its body. From it oozed a toxic substance that quickly saturated the air. Louise inhaled it before he could react, his body convulsing violently and soon, blood began pouring from his nose, mouth, and every other opening.

"Louise!" Scarlett cried out, her heart racing as she sprang into action. She summoned her water element, the healing energy surging toward him. Her focus was divided between neutralizing the poison already in his system and creating a barrier to prevent him from inhaling more.

"Damn it, we’re screwed!" Kato cursed, his voice tinged with frustration. He unleashed his dual elements, water and fire combining them into a ferocious attack against the liquid-like creature. "Austin must’ve set this thing here thinking we’d be wiped out before we could even make it halfway!"

Scarlett didn’t respond, her attention locked on both healing Louise and fighting the monster. Her water and fire elements burned brightly as she struck at the creature, but the toxic substance seemed endless.

Suddenly, more monsters appeared from the shadows, hulking figures with bodies made of molten rock and fire. They launched a fierce assault on Scarlett and Kato, their attacks relentless.

"You’re wrong, Kato," Scarlett said, her voice strained but determined. "It’s not just these two monsters. There are thousands more hidden deeper inside. I can hear them." Her sharp senses, picked up the faint sounds of scuttling and growling that Kato had missed.

"Thousands?" Kato’s voice faltered, his usual bravado shaken.

"Yes," Scarlett confirmed grimly. "And unless we take them all out, the cave’s entrance will never open. No matter how powerful we are, we can’t brute-force our way out."

Her thoughts turned inward. Monsters might bow to me when I’m in my monster state, but the moment I attack them, they’ll turn against me. They don’t expect their queen to fight them. Her jaw tightened. But how do I trigger my monster form? It only happens when I least expect it. I need it now. I need to wake up and destroy these bastards!

’My invisibility spell can work for now though but not forever.’ Scarlett thought to herself and soon summoned her invisibility spell after which she touched Kato and Louise making them dissapear from the monster sight but that didn’t stop the attack of the monsters who kept on attacking despite not seeing their opponents.

___________

Meanwhile, back in the forest, Ayra led Garvin, Maya, Larry, and Ethan into a battlefield of chaos. Towering monsters, their bodies made of glowing stone wreathed in fire, roared menacingly as they unleashed streams of flames in all directions.

Ayra perched high atop a tree, her sharp eyes observing the scene below. Her expression was one of amused detachment as she watched the others struggle.

Garvin and the others fought valiantly, but their weapons were useless against the fiery creatures. Only Ethan and Larry’s water elements provided any defense, extinguishing flames as quickly as they erupted.

"This test isn’t just about fighting," Ayra called down, her voice carrying an edge of mockery. "It’s about using your brains."

Ethan gritted his teeth as he sent another wave of water toward the monsters. "Smartness? How are we supposed to outsmart that?" he yelled, pointing toward the enormous creatures advancing on them.

Before Ayra could respond, an ear-splitting roar shook the forest. The survivors clamped their hands over their ears, the sound so powerful it left them momentarily stunned.

The ground began to tremble violently, trees uprooting as a massive creature emerged. Its body had no defined shape, resembling a swirling mass of dust and debris. Its gaping maw, lined with razor-sharp teeth, consumed everything in its path. Glowing red eyes, like molten lasers, cut through anything they touched.

"We’re really screwed!" Maya voiced out, her body trembling with fear.

"What do we do now?" Garvin shouted, clutching a rope Ayra had thrown to them, the only thing preventing them from being sucked into the monster’s vortex.

Ayra’s expression turned serious as she tightened her grip on the rope. "That creature won’t stop until it’s tasted flesh and blood. Its hunger is insatiable."

Ethan’s face twisted in terror. "What are you saying? Are you telling us to feed someone to it?"

Ayra smirked, but there was no humor in her expression. "Yes. Two sacrifices, to be exact. One to satisfy that monster’s hunger, and another to distract the stone-like creatures so the rest of you can escape."

Maya’s face turned red with rage. "This whole test is a setup! You’re just trying to kill us off!"

Ayra’s gaze hardened. "If you can’t make sacrifices, you’ll all die. You’re weak, even for people with powers. So pathetic!"

Before anyone could argue further, Ayra brought out a sharp edged sword . With a single sharp motion, she severed the rope holding Garvin and Maya, sending them plummeting toward the waiting jaws of the monsters.

"No!" Maya and Garvin screamed as the fiery creatures surged forward.