Chapter 27: Progress
Hugo, Nephis, Sunny, and Cassie sat in a circle. The trio's expressions shifted from curiosity to stark doubt especially Cassie who couldn't see the reason for the others reactions.
Before them lay three crudely fashioned stone necklaces, their surfaces etched with faintly glowing runes
Sunny raised an eyebrow, his expression stiff as if dreading an impending social obligation. "Uh... what exactly are these supposed to be?"
Hugo smiled, a touch of pride in his voice. "These are enchanted items I made for all of you. I thought they might help us on our journey tomorrow."
The trio's eyes widened in unison, eventually Cassie was the first to find her voice, her tone hesitant with awe.
"Y-you can create enchanted items??"
Hugo looked at the blind girl with a neutral expression before speaking
" Yess... Well not really?, the process is complicated. At it's essence it's plain runic sorcery, which I'm sure you've heard of during the academy. Anyway, One of my transformations allows me to inscribe the enchantments using a minor power source as it's catalyst " he said looking at the necklaces before adding "... and while these trinkets can't be compared to the charms the Spell bestows, they should still be useful in our current situation."
Cassie nodded slowly, accepting his explanation. Nephis and Sunny, however, were undoubtedly less grateful, their faces masks of cold calculation.
Then It was Nephis who broke the silence, her voice low and probing. "What do you want in exchange for these?"
Hugo's eyebrow twitched.
'Oh, come on! I try to do one nice thing and I'm met with suspicion?!'
A strange uncharacteristic anger flared within him casuing Hugo to let out a long exhale as he barely resisted the urge to hurl the necklaces into the dark sea.
Then, meeting Nephis's gaze squarely he said
"...I don't really want anything right now," his voice was steady yet a little agitated "Well, aside from surviving, of course. If you three are stronger, my own chances of survival increase. So It's simple, really."
Sunny's expression shifted minutely, his disbelief clearly lingering Which stung Hugo quite a bit especially since one of Hugo's main motives for making the charms had been to get on better terms with the shadowy sleeper.
Eventually, practicality won over paranoia. Nephis and sunny couldn't deny the potential advantage. So One by one, they took the necklaces and put them on. Cassie, in particular, seemed deeply confused when Hugo insisted one was for her.
" the two enchantments on these are [Empower] and [Senses]. They slightly increase your physical abilities and sharpness of your senses. It should be enough to make a difference in a tight spot" Hugo explained.
"That's not the point!" Cassie said, a hint of frustration and helplessness seeping into her voice. "This is wasted on me... Nephis or Sunny would have a better use for an extra charm..."
Hugo looked at her solemnly. "Well... I created them, right? So it's my decision who gets them and I decided that you're getting one. Call it a craftsman's pride, I guess."
The blind girl tilted her head slightly, baffled by his logic. "That doesn't even make any sense..." she murmured, her fingers tightening around the stone pendant.
"Ah, well, nothing really makes sense in a world filled with super-powered humans walking around and soul-devouring monsters" Hugo replied with a dry chuckle.
Strangely, Cassie chuckled too, a soft, wistful sound that was far from fearful. "...I guess that's true... Thank you, Hugo."
As he watched the trio don his creations, a strange feeling bloomed in Hugo's chest—a mix of pride and contentment. It was an alien emotion but different from the foreign influences of his Flaw; this one felt genuine, born from his own actions...
And that scared him more then anything.
Emotions like this were distractions. They could make him soft and most importantly they can cloud the single-minded hatred for Corruption that fueled his very existence.
He couldn't afford to forget the torment he had endured.
He had to keep going, even if it meant he would gain nothing else.
---
The next day arrived, heavy with harrowing anticipation. The cohort of Sleepers descended the headless statue using Cassie's rope, landing safely on the muddy ground. It was then that Sunny summoned his Echo. The carapace scavenger materialized in a shower of white sparks and then the sunny looked from it to Cassie with a sly grin on his face.
"Good..." he muttered. He turned to her with a smile. "I think we can task it with carrying Cassie. Outside of battle, it will help us the most."
The blind girl's mouth fell open. "Carry me? Like… like a mount?"
He chuckled and slapped the scavenger on its carapace. "This bad boy can fit a petite girl like you with no problem. Trust me! I've clambered on a few of these things. It's actually quite spacious on top, especially when they're not trying to kill you."
Cassie hesitated. "Well… okay. If you think it's for the best."
Hugo and Nephis watched the interaction, their faces blank but then A bizarre thought crossed Hugo's mind.
'Maybe turning into a carapace scavenger wouldn't be that bad... Wait, no! Focus, damn it!'
---
With Cassie riding comfortably atop the scavenger, their speed through the labyrinth increased dramatically, especially with the fact that Dealing with the wild carapace scavengers became almost like routine for the trio.
Their battle tactic was simple and effective: Hugo would transform—either into the nimble, searing Pyronite to melt through carapace or the brutish Vilgax form to crush and overwhelm them—and launch a devastating assault, aided by Sunny's Echo. After Hugo had thinned the herd, Nephis and Sunny would descend splitting the remaining abominations. They even had their own mini-tactic, where Changing Star would serve as a distraction allowing Sunny to slip from the shadows and deliver the finishing blows to the abominations.
The enchanted necklaces proved their worth here, granting them that crucial extra bit of speed, strength and sensory awareness to react a split-second faster.
Hugo too found himself was busy with minor tasks such ensuring the [Polymorphic Crystal] was always saturated with soul essence for a quick [Envy] activation and practicing with his Pyronite form finding its potent heat manipulation incredibly useful for controlling the battlefield even if Vilgax's raw power was unmatched for single targets.
That said, They were not invincible, of course. From time to time, they had to take lengthy detours to avoid creatures that radiated a palpable overwhelming danger. But still, their morale was steady and focused.
For the first time, Hugo felt that his companions were strangely... calm. Not happy but operating with a focused efficiency that was a far cry from the grim despair of the previous days.
It was a fragile comfort.
Of course, even that didn't last.
At some point, Cassie asked them to stop. Which made the The trio look at her with deep frowns etched their faces. They all understood the implications.
"What is it?" Nephis asked.
The blind girl let go of the reins. "Do you hear anything?"
They looked at each other, then shook their heads. "No. Why?"
Cassie scowled. "Help me get off this thing."
After they helped her down, she stood motionless for a while, listening intently. Her scowl deepened. Then, she cautiously knelt and pressed her ear to the ground.
"What do you hear?" Sunny asked, his voice tense.
Cassie licked her lips. "It's murmuring."
Hugo's eyes widened. His enhanced senses, sharpened by [Anatomica] and [Conqueror's Wrath] chamr picked up what the others could not—a low, growing rumble that was not thunder.
"We need to move. Now!" Hugo shouted his expression grim.
As Nephis turned to him, Sunny grabbed Cassie and helped her stand. His face was paler than usual with panic flashing in his eyes, it seemed sunny had understood what was going to happen.
"Help me get her back on the scavenger!"
The silver-haired girl raised her head, and her expression darkened as she too sensed the shift in the air. Without a word, she helped hoist Cassie back onto the Echo.
Cassie, disoriented, grabbed the reins. "Neph? What is going on?"
Changing Star glanced at her, her voice heavy. "A storm is coming."
Meanwhile, Sunny sent his shadow scrambling up a tall coral pillar to scout ahead. The cliffs they were aiming for were still a considerable distance away and the giant statue was now far behind them so Turning back woukd be suicide.
He turned to Nephis. "We're about three or four kilometers from the cliffs. Do… do you think we can make it?"
She scowled. "If we take the most direct route. Maybe."
Sunny hesitated. "What about the monsters?"
"... Let's kill all of them" Hugo interjected, making sunny pale.
'That's it? That's the plan?' Sunny thought, frantically trying to devise a trick, any trick, to save them.
Nephis turned, her gaze sharp. "What are you waiting for? Run!"
---
They darted forward just as the first heavy drops of rain began to fall. The wind howled through the coral blades, whipping mud and debris into the air. The sunlight dimmed as storm clouds blotted out the sky, casting a cold, premature twilight over the labyrinth.
Sunny led, his shadow scouting the most direct path. Nephis and Hugo was a step behind and lastly, the scavenger carrying Cassie stomped through the mud in the rear. Abandoning all caution, they moved with desperate speed. The inhabitants of the labyrinth were just as panicked; scavengers burrowed into coral or hid in mounds, their aggression replaced by primal fear.
But the storm was faster. The rain became a pelting, blinding downpour. The winds strengthened, threatening to knock them off their feet. A blinding bolt of lightning tore through the darkness, followed instantly by a thunderclap that shook the very ground. Sunny lost his footing, tumbling into the mud. An arm—hugo's —grabbed his shoulder and hauled him upright.
"Hurry !" Nephis shouted looking at Hugo and sunny who were now a bit further then where she was. her voice barely audible over the storm's roar.
By the time Sunny and Hugo were running, The dark sea was already descending on the lands once more rising with terrifying speed— drowning the sleepers.
In a sudden flash of lightning, they saw it: the dark mass of the cliffs. Almost simultaneously, a terrible, ground-shaking rumble echoed from the depths of the labyrinth behind them. Turning back, they saw a colossal, black wall of water rushing through the crimson forest, shattering coral and tossing a hapless scavenger against a wall like a toy, its unbreakable carapace exploding on impact.
"hey guys do you trust me?!" Hugo shouted
"now really not the time for this shit! Hugo!" sunny shouted back.
Hugo activated his Omnitrix, transforming into the towering form of vilagax.
Without any further delay, he grabbed sunny, nephis and Cassie making them stick to his gigantic shoulders.
Sunny surprised by trh sudden action quickly dismissed his echo before muttering a silent curse.
Hugo exhaled before crouching a little, saturating his entire body with soul essence before leaping upward with terrifying speed scaling the massive cliff.
A moment later, the wall of black water smashed into the cliff base. The entire rock face shuddered violently. Boulders dislodged from above, tumbling past them into the churning foam as Hugo latched into the walls with the trio on his back, climbing as fast as he possibly can.
Not finding anything to grab, Hugo simply punched handholds into the rock, making chuns of debris fall as they continued their Ascent.
The water chased them but it was no match for the Chimera Sui Generis's desperate strength and then, Finally, Hugo's massive form crested the cliff edge, and he rolled, depositing his three drenched and gasping companions onto solid ground before collapsing beside them with a ground-shaking thud.
Sunny lay on the ground, struggling to breathe, his body screaming in protest. To his right, Nephis was in a similar state herself while Cassie sat a few feet away, shivering but safe compared to the rest.
He wanted to laugh, but had no strength for it. They had survived And this time, they had survived because of the monster in their midst.
---
Sometimes later, a low peeping sound was heard by the trio as Hugo detransformed back to his human form in a flash of red light.
" fantastic..." he sighed feeling a bit blind without his enhanced senses.
Then, sunny moaned and get up hurriedly startling Hugo a little.
" don't tell me..."
"im note sure yet... Just wait here I'll go check..."
With that sunny dissapered leaving the two girls with the shapeshifter.
Thankfully the shadow did not leave them for long, returning around ten minutes later.
"It's me." A voice from the shadow spoke making Hugo and nephis tense before realizing it was sunny.
"What is the situation?" Changing star said, careful to keep her voice low.
Sunny slowly exhaled before speaking:
"There are eight scavengers around us. But they're all dead. The killer is one of those big monsters we saw, the thing with the crimson pattern on its carapace and scythes instead of pincers. It's hiding from the storm beneath a stone ridge not far from here."
A bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating everything around.
Nephis eyes seemed to glow slightly during this sequence making Hugo wonder if she really was the protagonist of this world.
She tilted her head and whispered, as though talking to herself.
"An awakened monster."
Sunny licked his lips.
"Yeah. So, what should we do?"
"sunny shouldn't. That be obvious by now?"
The Paragon of purity spoke up.
"no..." although he couldn't see his face, Hugo could tell sunny had a horrified expression in his face.
"we kill it" changing star said wiping all doubt and hope from sunny mind
"but it's an awakened monster!" he said, making sure to keep his shouting muffled.
"we don't really have much of a choice, it's either we kills it or we die here. "
Hugo sprawled on the ground, ready to sleep before he heard changing star voice continue:
"We can't leave the cliffs before morning, and neither can the monster. However, once the sun rises, it will easily see us and attack. Then, our only advantage — the element of surprise — will be gone. If we have to fight it anyway, it's better to be the ones initiating the fight."
He instantly paled just as much as sunny.
"wait you mean we have to fight it now?" he groaned, already knowing the answer.
He was feeling extremely tired from being the main tank of the cohort so he had hoped there would be a time to rest...
'cursd this godforsaken land!'
–––
It took a bit of convincing but sunny had finally relented after nephis explained her reasonings.
Hugo had understood something about changing star during this small conversation...
'she's insane!' he thought, being guided towards the awakened beast by sunny.
She had used the term "just" when referring to an awakened beast and went to on to explain why they could kill it without even flinching which Hugo did find a bit cool although he'd never admit that.
Contimplating his realization, Hugo came across another fact, he too was insane to an extent... As he wasn't even worried about fighting the awakened monster, but mor precisely, he was annoyed by the lack of sleep.
'well that's... An interesting information...'
He thought before turning to sunny and nephis.
"alright so... Do I light him up or go with the usual?"
Nephis shook her head a little "it's better that you go with brute force. Using that fire transformation would be a hindrance in this environment, not to mention it would draw some of the abominations here..."
Sunny, although still unsure about this entire ordeal nodded. "also, make sure to leave a good distant between us before you transform, you know because the flash would reveal our location"
'this son of...'
Hugo sighed "i really hate this place "
Grumbling, he summoned [black-pearl trident] enjoying it's muffling effect as he crept near the slumbering awakened monster.
Finally once there was a few steps between him and the monster, Hugo slammed his Omnitrix causing a blue flash of light.
The monster instantly awoke, hurrying to consume the source of the light.
But it's giant scythes were stopped by a massive tentacled arm.
Before the monster could make it's next move, Hugo drove his trident towards the abomination, driving it deeper every moment.
But the centurion was not going to sit ideally and let itself be killed, it moved around Hugo towering frame, easily escaping the clutches of his spear and brining it's massive scythes on Hugo's leg.
Through his enhanced senses, the Paragon of purity kicked the the scythe away before thrusting his trident to the ground burying the abomination limb to the ground.
Before it could scream, Hugo let go of his trident, making sure it held the centurion other scythe long enough and then saturated his body with essence before delivering a barrage of harrowing blows to the abomination.
Left.
Right.
Up.
Down.
Blood stained Hugo green skin as he beat the abomination to death but then the creature somehow managed to spin it's scythe entirely grabbing Hugo arm moment before it could crush it's chest.
However, a certain treacherous shadow jumped from the shadows at that exact moment, wielding a beautiful azure sword and then cutting off it's scythe.
From the ground, a radiant star moved towards the nightmare creature's legs, cutting them like they were made of mundune paper and cashing the abomination to lose it's centre of balance, essentially tripping without anything to support it.
Seeing the opportunity, Hugo extended his giant arm, grabbing the creature torso and holding it firmly
SNAP
Under his physical might, the awakened monster body slowly started to fall a part but that did not matter due to a certain treacherous shadow lurking on Hugo's back.
Sunny leaped towards the abomination, his azure blade extended in a thrust as it cleanly cut the creature head off.
Hugo could not hear it but sunny had just received a memory. A very fashionable one at that.