Momentarily petrified on his spot. Calvin's mind went numb, same with his physical state. Watching a seven feet awakened horror take its form before him was nothing but appalling.
The darkness seemed deeper. Stillness prevailed and silence competed. Calvin's alright pale skin became sickly and dry. The loudest concept in the entire vicinity being Calvin's impulsive heartbeat.
With the ring around his neck dimming rapidly, he couldn't keep his infinite source of flames alive anymore.
{ Belial : A maggot compared to Serina }
True. Calvin had witness ten percent of the Vanisher's strength and survived. Yet the forming arachnid, few meters away from him wasn't half of that ten percent.
Maybe there was a chance, a shot at survival.
Yet he was to weak to rise. Still, a awakened human going up against an awakened horror was nothing but suicidal. The creature whose torso and head weren't complete seemed to have senced Calvin's presence.
Having the lower half of arachnid origin and the torso of a human, where the head was supposed to be. Calvin now understood why the dormant horrors he fought had humanlike faces.
He was then left to stare at the hulking figure approach him. Every step felt taunting. Black tar flowed upwards creating a contrast of a pale ghoulish skin.
Sensing eminent death, Calvin's adrenaline kicked in. However his flame ring was almost gone. It was originally fueled by his concentration, without it, his technique had seized function.
' Think Calvin, Thing, I can't die, I won't die ' Calvin gasped falling to his butt and dragging himself backwards with all the strength he could muster.
Moments passed and the creature's head was the only remaining factor to complete. Moments, didn't give him the chance to think.
With his muscles growing numb, a low vibration hummed directly in his ears. Upon turning, a force akin to him being slammed by a train sent him flying sideways.
[ You stand in the presence of five higher arachnid horrors ]
[ Rankings : Awakened tier 0, Awakened tier 5, Awakened tier 9, Arisen tier 0, Gothic tier 7 ]
[ All Diabolic Traits are now active ]
[ Mission Activated : Survival ]
[ Description : Survive this encounter with everything you have at your disposal or…, get extinguished ]
[ Reward : New Ability, Instant level up, dual weapon upgrades ]
With the ether being ripped apart by the surreal systematic prompt. Calvin could only see a few words, his mind distracted by pain alone.
Most of his bones were either, pulverized, snapped, dislocated or fractured.
However almost instaneously, his body seemed to beat, like a heart, but instead of a single organ his entire being pumped.
Every injury was gone. Although it looked like immortality, his Abysmal Regeneration was still of awakened rank.
All his traits were the same rank as he, except Devil's Whisper which had no rank and granted him infinite access to forbidden knowledge.
Coughing blackish blood he remained lying supine, the flaming ring on his neck, finally dead. He still sensed the souls of four horrors around him, not with sight, by hearing.
He also sensed three of such beings approaching his still body.
{ Lilith : You met your end now, vile mortal }
{ Asmodeus : Hell has fallen to a braindead vessel }
' I've given you room to speak, why shall you not torment me. ' Calvin slowly rose to his feet and staggered for a bit before standing upright.
Strings of light fabricated a pistol and sword in both his hands. His distorted face straightening out, his vibrating legs calmed. Now with his soul sense, he felt the domineering presence of five distinct horrors.
Nevertheless, due to his diabolic traits, he rose to a sitting position. His weapons flew to his hands as he dropped them when he was initially hit.
As it turned out, the horror he saw forming before him was the weakest of the five and the only one to attack him. The rest were insidiously watching him.
He wasn't able to depict the features of the four higher horrors. Moreover the one before him had; A spider like lower half, from the part the spiders head was supposed to exist extended a human torso.
A human like upper half with snow white skin, akin to the skin of one infected by leprosy. It had scythe like carapace arms capable of cleaving through armoured vehicles with ease.
' You want me to go all out, don't you, feel the breath of hell. '
Clearing his mind of all fear, adrenaline lost control and his enhancer trait was fully active. Taking a battle stance, he exploded with motion. As long as the others didn't join in, he might survive.
With his left, his blade sliced through air pressure and the eternal darkness. Bang!!! Calvin's body shuddered on impact. He flew meters back, but the horror wouldn't let him recover.
Flipping his silver long sword, he held it as a dagger and held it before him. Another shuddered tore through his nerves, bringing him to the ground faster.
The momentum alone sent him skidding across the chasm. He plunged his blade into the ground to stop his momentum, firing several devastating shots at the horror. He lunged forward.
Then chaos followed.
Sparks flew hazardously as the two oppositions clashed. At nigh sonic speed, the glitter of fiery motes were seen across the section of the chasm.
The stench of hardened magma and untouched minerals filled the ether. Accompanied by the the daunting noises of metal clashing hardened bone.
Being kept on the losing end of the stick, Calvin was left with a singular strategy, avoiding attacks and blocking some if possible.
Moreover this wouldn't be the case soon. With undying stamina and a ceaseless growth in strength.
If Calvin had the a bit of luck in dodging an attack that would end him instantly, he might just have chance at survival.
He also had to prepare an escape plan, or pray for a divine intervention. Else death was lurking around the corner, it literally was. Flashing periodically at the sidelines was something Calvin chose not to pay attention to.
Time taken to observe, a soulless being at the sidelines, was seen as an opening. His arms raised high, the tip of the carapace arm already touched his sides.
No way to defend, no time to evade.
He was lunged meters away, his blood painting the earth crimson. Tumbling violently, Calvin crashed on a huge rock and dropped to his face. ' Activate Manipulator. '
Blood seeped from his cleaved side, his ribs threatened release his viscera. Calvin coughed violently, a metallic taste assaulting his buds. " It would take more than that to bring me down. " He scoffed, his husky voice cutting through the darkness.
Moments passed, the arachnid horror stood eerily at the point it attack him. Unmoving, just staring. Calvin sat with his back against the rock he crashed into.
Quickly, a black semi solid material escaped his pores and repaired the gap in his side. The process was far slowly than the rest but, it was sealing up his fading life.
Suddenly the horror swept towards him. A smile spread across his pale face, he clapped his hand and change occured. The terrain shifted. The abrasive flooring instantly became uneven and surreally wavey like the ocean.
This slowly the horror's speed to the extent it had to run around the constantly rising and falling earth waves. However it was still closing the distance at a considerate speed, then was upon Calvin.
When he was found in the creature's reach, it lashed out it's scythe carapace arms. Slabs of brick fell from stone walls defending Calvin.
{ Satanel : Bastard, you hide your capabilities at your own peril }
Every attack lashes on Calvin was blocked by an earth wall, the broken bricks however fell on him. Nevertheless none touched him, for they became suspended above his head.
Time passed, the horror, now left in awe by the resilience of the human before him, ceased his attacks. Calvin's eyes aglow of silver was fully concentrated on the threads of existence around him.
He smiled when the horror raised its abominable arms in an attempt to sever him in halves. Carrying the attack, the horror's arms were held mid air by chains of darkness.
" This trump card would always grant me victory. " Calvin said, the rocks above him reshaped into a galore of spikes and shot in to the horror.
Time stopped with the following prompts glitching into his vision.
[ You Have Slain An Awakened Horror ]
…
One was gone, the others would end him.