[You have slain the lesser fiend: Stone Terrors.]
[You have slain the lesser fiend: Stone Terrors.]
[You have slain the lesser fiend: Stone Terrors.]
[You have...]
†
The mysterious voice repeated the same phrase over and over. At times, the tone seemed to change into something curious, then almost disbelieving, but Song couldn't be sure.
He had no idea where it was coming from, or if it even had a source.
Perhaps it was the voice of the Black Mire itself. He had heard it once before, when he first awakened as an Esper. But… why did it sound like a weeping lady?
It was strange. For that matter, the entire tower was strange to begin with.
'Doesn't matter, I'll think about it. Right now, I have more pressing matters.'
Song shifted his attention back to the battlefield. The disposable makeshift grenades had packed far more punch than he'd originally expected. Smoke and fire still curled through the swamp, licking at the mud and the shattered remains of Crawling Terrors.
Swinging his head from side to side, Song wore a satisfied grin, clearly pleased with the aftermath of his handiwork.
From the looks of it, all the smaller Crawling Terrors had been annihilated.
…At least, the little ones had been dealt with.
Rumble! Rumble!
The giant boulder stirred. Veins of sickly green light pulsed across its massive frame as it heaved itself upright, cracking mud and debris with every movement.
However, it seemed to have taken a considerable amount of damage.
Chunks of jagged stone had broken off from its massive body, some littered across the swamp like oversized gravel, others still clinging precariously to the green-lit fissures. The makeshift grenades had gouged deep scars into its surface, carving thin channels that glowed brighter as a molten-like substance leaked from them like blood.
The impact of the log and his improvised explosives had slowed its movements, staggering the once-relentless juggernaut. Its fissures, which had once pulsed with a steady, ominous rhythm, now flickered sporadically, some dimming entirely. The ground around it was torn up, mud and water pooling into small craters where pieces of shattered rock had landed.
Despite its size, the boulder was no longer a seamless mass of stone. Gaping cracks ran across its body, giving the impression that it could crumble further if it took another hit. The Crawling Terror King's roar now came out as more of a groan, the sound lower, strained, and almost pained, echoing off the swamp like the creak of a dying tree.
Clearly, the creature had been weakened by his relentless barrage, yet the danger it posed hadn't diminished. Its movements were sluggish with its shell fractured and oozing foul liquid, but its presence still radiated a suffocating menace along with a murderous glint in its eyes.
He needed a decisive strike that would finish the monstrosity once and for all. Unfortunately, his bullets lacked the power to grant it mercy.
"...?"
An idea flashed through his mind, and Song's grin turned downright mischievous.
"Hey! Ugly bastard! How do you like my masterpiece?! I made it using your dead buddies!"
The creature froze, then glared at him with palpable fury.
Seeing that reaction, Song decided to push it further.
He spun around, bent down, and peered at the monster through the space between his legs, grinning like a madman.
"What's wrong? Are you angry?♪ Angry that I killed your friends?♪ What are you gonna do about it?♪ Aren't you going to do something? Come on, come on, show me, show me!♪"
To add insult to injury, he smacked his rear with both hands and wiggled it mockingly, taunting the creature like a street jester gone mad.
And as expected, his taunting worked, perhaps even more than he had anticipated.
RUMBLE!!!
The ground convulsed violently as the Crawling Terror King let out a deafening roar that shook the very air. Waves of fetid swamp water splashed outward as its massive limbs slammed down, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the mud.
Song straightened up and smirked.
"Heh, got your attention now, huh?"
The creature's molten veins flared, burning brighter and hotter than before. The dull green hue ignited into a furious crimson, and the surrounding air warped with heat. Whatever passed for its heart was pumping rage through its veins.
It charged.
The earth exploded beneath its bulk as it lunged forward like a living avalanche, each movement accompanied by the grinding sound of collapsing stone. Mud and debris shot into the air, trees splintered, and the shockwave nearly knocked Song off his feet.
"Woah, easy there, big guy!"
Song darted to the side just in time and rolled over slick mud as the monster's clawed arm tore through where he'd just been standing. The impact crushed the ground into a crater, spraying a mix of water and shattered stone.
The blast of foul wind made him cough, but a wild grin still split his face.
"Now that's more like it! Please keep that energy!"
He bolted between shattered roots and debris. The giant boulder-thing twisted to follow, bellowing in fury as chunks of its rocky hide fell. Its arms swung in huge, sweeping arcs, pulverizing everything in their path.
Of course, the young Esper proved far too fast for the enraged mass of stone.
Glancing over his shoulder mid-sprint, Song couldn't resist twisting the knife.
"What's wrong? Can't catch this lowly grasshopper? Haha! You're just a useless chunk of rock, aren't you?!"
His laughter echoed through the swamp, taunting and sharp, as the monster's furious roars shook the ground behind him.
Enraged, the monstrosity slammed its fists into the swampy ground, sending geysers of mud and water flying in all directions like a flood. The impact cracked trees and churned the mud beneath it like a violent tide, leaving deep craters and splintered debris in its wake.
But Song was already moving, weaving between the wreckage with uncanny speed. Every time the giant boulder swung an arm, he ducked, rolled, or leapt aside, taunting it all the while.
"You're going to have to try harder than that, ugly! Come on, show me what you've got!"
The Crawling King's reverberating roar echoed through the swamp like rolling thunder. Its molten veins flared brighter, casting a sickly crimson glow over the shattered terrain. The great fiend lunged forward, faster this time, smashing into the mud and sending chunks of rock splintering outward.
Song darted to the side, rolling through a puddle that sprayed up like a fountain. He landed nimbly on his feet and continued his tremendous sprint.
Eventually,
"…."
Nightingale came to a halt.
He had reached a narrow passage, the walls pressing in on either side, and at the end, a solid barrier left him with nowhere to run.
A few seconds later, the Crawling Terror King lumbered up behind him, huffing and grinding as it closed the distance. Only the creature's labored breathing and the faint dripping of molten liquid from its cracked body seemed to dominate the entirety of the swamp.
The beast wore a look of smug confidence. After all, the wretched human who had slaughtered all its kin was now cornered, with nowhere left to flee.
Cornered and unarmed, the human was completely at its mercy.
...Or it thought.
With a triumphant grin, Song turned to face the monstrosity.
"Hey! Rock head! Can't you see I'm cornered? Or are you just too scared to do anything, huh?"
He flipped it off.
That seemed to do the trick because the Crawling King let out a thunderous roar and curled into a massive rolling ball before launching itself forward like a boulder set loose from the highest cliff.
The ground quaked beneath its rolling mass, mud and shattered rock flying in every direction. Trees snapped like twigs, and the swamp churned violently under the force of its momentum. Sonny's eyes sparkled with barely contained excitement.
"Heh… here we go!"
Despite the impending doom, he showed no fear.
Instead of trying to move out of the way, Song planted his feet and extended his right hand toward the monstrosity, as if challenging it head-on. A strange, mysterious power began to radiate from his palm and warped the air around it.
With great determination, Nightingale declared:
"Get flattened!"