Vortex Origins
Chapter 86: The Third creature wave - 4

Chapter 86: The Third creature wave - 4

Ash raised a hand, signaling to the guards above.

The heavy gates creaked open.

He stepped inside the fortress walls, boots dragging dust behind him. Eir and Tim were already there, waiting in the flickering light of torch sconces.

Eir’s brow furrowed.

"That... thing out there. Was that Max’s doing?"

Ash gave a short nod, eyes drifting toward the southern sky where the ship still hovered like a silent god.

"Yeah. With that ship... the south’s already won."

He turned, gaze shifting north. Wind howled over the ramparts. The smoke from distant fires mixed with the red dusk.

Eir followed his line of sight. Then Ash turn to him.

"What about the north? Are they doing good like we are?"

Tim’s shoulders sagged.

"It’s bad. Worse than we thought. The creatures they kill up there... they come back. Undead. Harder to put down."

Ash clenched his jaw. His fingers curled tighter around the grip of his blade.

He took one step toward the northern gate.

"Then I’ll go."

Eir reached out slightly, unsure.

"You sure? I mean, I won’t lie. We need help. But those things out there—they’re Tier 4s and 5s. You’ve seen what they do."

Tim added, arms crossed.

"If I were you, I’d stay here. You’re strong, yeah, but don’t let that blade and Vessel tier fool you. Confidence can get you killed."

Ash didn’t flinch.

"Think I made it from Dunehaven to Ironhold on confidence alone?"

The two men exchanged glances, uncertain.

Ash started walking, quiet footsteps echoing down the stone path leading to the northern battlements. He didn’t look back.

"I’m stronger than I look."

The wind picked up. Behind him, the gate groaned shut again. Ahead, the howls of the north were getting louder.

————

The bots surged into the horde like metal reapers. Willows screamed as limbs were torn, their spindly bodies ripped apart with mechanical precision. A moose-like beast charged, only to be slammed down by two bots working in tandem, crushed beneath their synchronized strikes.

Overhead, Max fired again.

The one-eyed creature caught the beam with a raised arm. The blast flared, steam hissing off its thick flesh—but it kept moving, each step shaking the battlefield.

Max launched into the air as the beast’s fist slammed into the earth where he’d stood a second before. Dirt exploded. Cracks split the ground. The creature looked up.

Max hovered, blasters glowing in both hands. Energy beams rained down.

The creature didn’t flinch.

It stabbed its clawed fingers into the ground, ripped up a slab of earth the size of a house, and hurled it.

Max twisted, narrowly avoiding the missile as it shattered behind him like a meteor strike.

He steadied himself midair, scanning. The creature wasn’t coming for him anymore. Its head turned toward the wall—and then it ran.

"Shit."

Max raised both arms. A surge of blue energy crackled. A concentrated beam shot down, striking the beast in the back. It stumbled, skidding through dirt and blood.

It rose again, scorched but unfazed.

Max’s bots closed in, surrounding the giant. Firepower hammered the beast, forcing it to stumble. One bot lunged. The creature caught its head, crushing the steel skull between its palms. Another bot tried to intervene—only to be used as a bludgeon. Its pieces scattered across the battlefield.

Still, the rest pushed forward.

Max watched, calculating.

"Good... stall it. I just need time."

His eyes flicked upward, to the dark belly of the ship looming above.

"Durable, yeah... but not invincible."

He tapped his wrist, fingers moving fast across the glowing interface.

"Switch loadout. Diamond Pole... Ultimate Max Hook."

His gaze shifted again—to Kael.

Up ahead, Kael was spinning through the air, fire trailing his path. Moths swarmed him, hundreds of them with ash-colored wings and eyes like dying stars.

Kael dropped through them like a falling comet, hurling flame with every turn. One moth burst. Another crumpled under his heel. They clawed at him, wings flaring with strange light, but his aura blazed hotter.

Kael raised his arm and fired.

A wave of flame surged from his hand, burning a wide arc through the moths. Their wings melted midair, their bodies dropping like blackened leaves. Kael didn’t slow.

Kael turned back toward the Lantern Maw.

The creature stood still, belly-mouth stretched in a grotesque grin. The lamp in its hand burned with golden fire, casting dancing lights on its tree-like antlers.

Kael narrowed his eyes. Something in the way it smiled made his skin crawl.

He raised a hand and hurled a fireball.

The Maw’s belly-mouth snapped open and devoured it.

Kael didn’t flinch.

"Yeah... I knew you’d do that."

The fireball didn’t fade.

The Maw’s stomach began to glow—too bright, too fast.

Kael smiled.

"That fireball wasn’t normal."

The Lantern Maw’s belly pulsed, growing round and bloated.

Then it burst.

Ash and flame scattered in the air as bits of golden flesh rained down. Kael didn’t move. A smirk pulled at the edge of his lips.

"That’s it? All that talk for this?"

But the smile faded.

From the blackened ground, golden sparks drifted upward—tiny wings fluttering like embers on the wind.

Kael narrowed his eyes.

The sparks gathered, twirling in strange, spiraling patterns. Not one... two. Two new Lantern Maws stood where the last had fallen. Their limbs were twisted, newborn, yet fully formed. Both raised their lanterns high, golden light rippling across their skin.

Kael clicked his tongue.

"So you multiply when you die..."

The stomach-mouths stretched open again, forming grins too wide for any normal creature. It was mockery—silent, gleeful.

Kael hurled another fireball.

But this time, the Maw jumped.

It dodged.

Kael’s eyes sharpened. The creature didn’t want to absorb the fire again.

Then he saw it—the lantern’s glow had dimmed.

A quiet laugh escaped him.

"That’s how it is..."

The twin Maws followed kael gase towards thier lanterns. Their mouths unhinged again. Each raised a hand and pointed the lanterns forward. From the golden light, two moths flew out—then another two. They landed in front of Kael.

The earth shook.

Out of the soft landing, figures emerged—taller than men, made of molten fire. Human-like, but hollow. Burning eyes stared at Kael.

He didn’t flinch.

Instead, he muttered under his breath, voice low, bored.

"If this were yesterday, I might’ve been excited..."

The fireborn walked toward him, step after step, heat curling the air around them.

Kael raised an arm.

The palm of his glove split open, revealing a circular mark glowing bright.

He waited.

They kept coming.

Then—

FWOOSH.

A torrent of fire erupted, not in bursts, but as a continuous blast—like a tidal wave made of flame. It swallowed the summons whole. They vanished in a storm of heat and smoke.

But Kael didn’t stop.

The fire curved, redirected midair, crashing into the two Lantern Maws.

From the edges of the inferno, more moths emerged—only this time, they weren’t golden.

They were red.

They fluttered and hissed, trailing sparks in the wind.

Four of them touched down.

Then four more Maws rose from the scorched earth.

Kael’s breath slowed.

His hand lowered.

"...You’ve got to be kidding me."

The Lantern Maw shrieked—deep, guttural.

Every moth in the air shifted course.

They surged toward Kael like sparks pulled into a flame, swarming from every side, wings sharp as blades, movements fast and erratic. In seconds, they encircled him, closing the space between like a living storm.

Kael didn’t move.

He let out a slow breath and placed one palm over his chest.

"Such a waste."

His arm extended outward.

Then—heat.

A sphere of fire burst from him, expanding like a living sun. The ground cracked beneath it, air shimmered, and everything caught in its radius—moths, ash, even lingering light—burned into nothing.

When the wave faded, silence followed.

No moths.

No Lantern Maws.

Only smoke rising.

Kael lowered his arm, jaw tight. But then—

A flutter.

He turned.

Moths—again. Red and ember-lit. Rising from the edges of the scorched field.

He cursed under his breath.

The air grew heavy as the moths twisted and stretched, reshaping midair. One by one, they formed new bodies. Limbs. Grinning mouths.

Eight now.

Eight Lantern Maws stood where none had been a moment before.

But something was off.

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

The lanterns on their arms—they weren’t glowing.

A low chuckle escaped him.

"Now I remember..."

He stepped forward, boots crushing charred soil beneath.

"You feed your lanterns over time. The longer you live, the brighter you burn. But if no one can kill you fast enough, you just keep multiplying... until there’s no one left."

The Maws didn’t answer. They shifted uneasily, their heads twitching, lanterns dim and empty.

Kael rolled his shoulders, the heat rising around him again.

"No fire. No moths. Just walking corpses."

He cracked his knuckles, flame dancing along his fists.

"And I’m in the mood to break things."