Chapter 281: Wielder of Monsters (1/2)

-Daniel-

I peered at Torix out of the corner of my eye while keeping my concerns to myself. The lich seemed overeager for this experimentation with the crystals, though that made sense given his chosen profession. He turned himself into a lich after all, so this was just an everyday thing.

Reaching the elevator at the center of Mt. Verner, Torix took us down towards the old tunnel leading to Springfield. Our guild used it a long time ago to escape from Yawm's influence without him knowing where we were. Now it was left abandoned, or so I thought. As we got to the aged, dusty place, I found signs of new construction there.

Glancing at new metal doorways and added lights, I turned to Torix,

”So you built new rooms here, eh?”

Torix smiled, ”You're not the only one with access to credits. I simply use mine in other ways aside from dungeon cores.”

We paced up through the tunnel before reaching the thick, plated doorways. Torix raised a palm. A blot of his premier, dark mana bobbed over a scanner of sorts. It checked his mana signature, and the door's locks popped open. Stepping through a damp tunnel lit by some strange kind of fungus, I looked around.

Vines grew in this place, a flow of air present here. Aside from that, this place reeked of death and decay. Torix worked on his necromancy here by the looks of it, and he did so in secret. I understood why, but I still spoke out,

”I guess you're still someone who likes keeping a few secrets here or there.”

Torix interlocked his hands behind himself, ”Not necessarily secrets per se, but yes, I do enjoy a mystery at times. For this, however, I simply am applying a bit of my knowledge for our gain. I always assumed you'd rather not be bothered by this nastiness.”

The thick smell of rot and putrid flesh filled my nose as I frowned,

”Eh, true.”

Torix opened one of the doorways here, solid concrete walls keeping this place bunkered down. Within the cell, human skeletons hung from walls, each splayed out by chains. Oddly enough, it actually smelled better here than the other rooms, this place having dried out. They were still human skeletons, so I eyed the lich with suspicion. He raised a hand,

”I assure you, this was done post mortem. I'm not torturing humans here. I'm merely reviving corpses to use them after death, and with their permission when they were once living. In this situation, they've prevented us from risking ourselves, and so they've done a great service here.”

I raised my eyebrows but said no more. Torix stepped up to one of the skeletons while hovering the magenta-colored crystals towards the structure. As the gemstone made contact with the bone, its formation shifted instantly like the jaws of a shark. The crystals sunk into the bones using needles. Spreading like wildfire, the jewel thinned into a near translucent coating over the arm of its host.

If left a magenta hue, turning into sharpened apparatuses at the end of the skeleton's hand. We stared for a moment, but the crystal did no more than that. I put my hands on my hips,

”This stuff is definitely alive.”

Torix leaned forward, ”In all honesty, I doubt it.”

I raised an eyebrow, and the lich answered my unspoken question,

”It's strange, but this seems more like a crystallized contagion of sorts designed to react to organic matter. Now how this came about, I've no idea. Given the rapid metabolization of its body, it would appear eldritchian in nature.”

Torix shook his head, ”But that simply doesn't explain why it hasn't eaten the skeleton left here. If it were eldritch, it would've devoured it to strengthen itself...Hmm, where did you discover this?”

”Along the outskirts of Saphigia. It rested at the bottom of the trenches surrounding the city.”

”Well then, I'm honestly at a loss here.”

I raised a hand, ”Wait a minute, that's not all I found there. I discovered the largest rift I'd ever seen, and it leaked in water from a dead world in a dying universe. I think that these crystals might've come from somewhere on that world. The creatures were strange, after all. There's no telling what they would've evolved into just to survive.”

I gestured at the viral formations, ”This might be something adapted to a world with no food.”

Torix tilted his head, ”Ah, that's interesting. Very interesting. Were eldritch located there?”

”Not directly eldritch creatures, no, but they might as well have been. I wouldn't want them touching anyone here, that's for sure.”

”Ah, they operated like Endless Fleshes then?”

”Yeah. They just spread like a...well, virus...Huh.”

Torix shrugged, ”That could be what this is - a virus. Viral creatures can be crystalline such as this, and they require a host. They lie between life and death as well, making them difficult to discern. At least from a cursory glance.”

I put my hands on my hips, ”Well, this could be a kind of symbiotic, uhm, thing? I mean, that world was starving for millions of years. This crystal or virus might have evolved to combine with nearby creatures and give them an edge. By the time I found them though, these crystals might be all that was left from, I don't know, an evolutionary war?”

Torix leaned back, ”Huh, interesting hypothesis. I do suppose that symbiotic relations do occur.”

Torix paused, and we both dove into deep thought. This thing reminded me of the eldritch that Obolis controlled when we first met. Checking my status, I analyzed that eldritch virus and brought back up its status screen. Plaga Ustus showed up, and it could strengthen its users before causing them to combust. This might do something similar. I pointed at it, making my status visible to Torix,

”This sounds familiar?”

After reading the documentation, Torix nodded, ”Indeed, it does. Unlike the Empire's scientists, we lack the same equipment to study this disease. At least on hand. I'll get a team of biologists here and see if I can't uncover this thing's secrets. For now-”

Torix raised a hand, and his eyes flared while he granted life to the skeleton,

”Let us see if the crystal reacts to a living mind.”

The skeleton animated itself, peering up at us. Turning to the crystal, the body looked back at its shackles. The magenta gem expanded towards the handcuffs before touching the metal. As it did, it infected the metal, racing up the iron chains. Having expanded, the crystal regrouped with its central mass, covering more of the skeleton.

After finishing the next shackle, the skeleton fell from its restraints. Two sharpened, magenta spines covered its arms, making the otherwise frail and useless minion appear quite dangerous. I whistled at it before grinning,

”Now that...that's pretty nifty. It looks like it eats metal.”

Torix's eyes flared red, ”Indeed.”

The skeleton ran towards me before reaching a hand backward. Using the sharpened, glass-like spines at the ends of its arms, it smashed its arm against my chest. As it made contact, it snapped into several pieces. The broken shards hissed and shook on the ground before the bright, violet hue left their crystalline forms. The leftovers looked like long shards of broken glass now.

I lifted a broken piece with gravity, the skeleton drove back by the rebounding force of its blow. Using the now clear shards, I flicked a finger at the minion, using a gravitational well to lob the crystal at the thing. It blocked the sharpened piece with skill, and the broken piece snapped against the still charged crystal on its arm. I turned to Torix,

”So this stuff is harder and stronger when it's still...alive, I guess.”

”I would suppose so. It also seems that once shattered off the main body, it dies. Of course, we'll verify, but if that is so, this is quite a useful property to have. We could convert Hybrids into glass using this.”

I crossed my arms, my mind racing with possibilities, ”Some parts of them, that's for sure. I think it would be useful against the silver's territories.”

Torix nodded, ”Good point. Good point.”

The skeleton charged forward once more, undeterred by its ineffectual attack. It swung its crystal-coated arm once more, but I grabbed the limb and redirecting the force of its swing. Using that force, I palmed its ribs. The living bones evaporated into a fine powder at my touch. The bit of skeleton left was held in my hand.

Holding the crystal, it attempted to eat my skin. That didn't pan out, so it retreated. Regrouping into a glowing gemstone, it shifted into a central mass indistinguishable from the other crystals. Once collected together, it smacked onto the concrete ground, leaving a bit of crushed dust under its impact.

I leaned back, ”Alright, I think I have a few ideas with this.”

Torix rubbed his hands together, ”As do I.”

I picked up the gemstone, and it shivered on contact with me. I pointed at Torix, ”I need to know if this stuff reacts to my disconnected fabric the same way as it does me. Do you mind touching it?”

Torix nodded, ”I, in fact, do. This would be a rather anticlimactic end for this body you crafted.”

”Eh, alright.” I opened my dimensional storage and pulled out a bit of my dimensional fabric. After condensing it, I generated a different block of iron in front of me. Testing if it ate all metal on contact, I tossed the gemstone onto the metal. In an anticlimax, the magenta mass clanked off the iron without any reaction. I raised my eyebrows before using the skeleton arm in my hand to prod the gemstone.

It jolted back onto the organic matter, crystalline needles centering themselves in the bone. By now, the aged arm was cracked beyond all reasoning, but the living gem held it together. After reacclimatizing to the limb, I dropped it back into the metal. This time it engulfed the steel in seconds, eating the metal with hunger. The same hunger that the old creatures of that dying world had.

The crystal used the extra mass it gained to its advantage. It molded into a walking platform for the hand. Lifeless and cold, it protected the limb as I flicked stones at its host. Walking back up, I took the hardened piece of my dimensional fabric and tossed it at the gemstone. On contact, the jewel shivered in fear. It abandoned the arm, reverting back into its previous, gemstone form.

To be fair, it was bigger than last time. I turned to Torix, ”Mind touching it now?”

Torix tilted his head, ”It does seem rather safer now, doesn't it? Even just a piece of your skin sent it reeling. I suppose I will. Do save me if it decides I'm not quite as intimidating as the real thing.”

I smirked, ”Of course, of course.”

Torix deadpanned, ”Very funny.”

The lich paced over before picking up the gemstone. It shivered at his touch as it had mine, and it showed no signs of trying to eat him. Torix sighed before bringing the crystal close to his eyes and inspecting it closely,

”It carries a few unique characteristics. Let's see what it does with something actually alive.”

I followed Torix as we walked out of this chamber. Passing into the glowing fungus hallway once more, Torix showed me the way to the next room. As he opened the doorway, a birdcage of sorts showed itself. The opening proved more than large enough for many of our native avian species. The lights in the concrete room offered plenty of luminescence to inspect each animal, even midflight. The variety of hanging branches built for the birds kept them comfortable and let them live like normal.

Torix admired the creatures, his hands behind himself,

”Aren't they simply stunning?”

I raised an eyebrow, ”I wonder if old people always watch birds? Maybe I'll end up watching them too one day.”

Torix's fire eyes narrowed at me, ”Old, am I? Perhaps I've merely a more refined appreciation for nature.”

I nudged him with an elbow, ”Have you gotten the urge to sit on rocking chairs lately? Maybe put plastic over your furniture.”

Torix scoffed, ”Plastic would prevent dust from getting on the furniture, and that would save me time cleaning...If I presumed it was worth doing so.”

I laughed when I picked his line of logic apart. The whole point of furniture was to look good and be comfortable. Covering it with a thin film of plastic ruined both its aesthetics and any warmth they offered. It made houses feel more like hospitals, and that kind of defeated the purpose, in my opinion.

Torix eyed me closely before waving off my laugh, ”Regardless, one of these creatures should prove an exemplary specimen.” Torix lifted a hand and a finger, a red robin perching itself on his outstretched limb. Torix eyed the beauty, giving it a pet along the top of its feathered head. Torix sighed,

”Ah, I hope you're ready for a bit of pain, little one. I'm sorry.”

Torix pulled out his other hand, and I placed the crystal on it. I winced as Torix put the bird in contact with the gemstone. It flooded around the bird, forming a cocoon of sorts. Instead of piercing every bone, the gem inspected the creature with tiny needle prods. As it found the spine, it impaled the beast.