"NOW TOMMY!!!"
Machos gave the signal.
Tommy had been waiting in position, with one finger digging in his nose for comfort. The moment the order was given, he SLAMMED his hands against the ground.
Tommy had been practicing his 'Unravel' skill.
While living creatures were delicate and needed a certain level of know-how, non-living things were different.
'UNRAVEL'
Cracks formed underneath his palms that spread towards the 'X' the Eldritch had landed on.
Immediately, the earth gave way, and the Eldritch fell into the deep hole beneath.
Tommy would have also fallen in, but Machos grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back.
This place was supposed to be the Bunker. And right now it was filled with as much ectoplasm as possible from the warehouse at the edge of town.
This was Soren's idea.
Of course, this alone would not be enough to kill it. But there was more to the plan.
The creature tried to climb out of the hole.
"Pencil Your Turn!" Soren screamed. But nobody responded. He looked around, but Pencil was nowhere to be found.
Soren had mapped roles for each person. Pencil somehow had more physical enhancement than most of them. The plan was for Pencil to knock the creature back if at all it tried to climb out or Tommy was unable to fully open up the ground.
But Pencil was not here.
The creature's tentacles were already reaching out, and so was its huge body. If something was not done, it would escape the trap.
One head popped up, and another. The third was close...
In all the deaths that Soren had experienced, he had never come this far. The thought that he might have to do this all over again because one person chickened out was just infuriating.
No! He would not let that happen.
The Soul Mecha stood.
Soren had calculated the force each punch could deliver. A punch won't do it. The one good arm of the Soul Mecha was already done for. He had to give it his all.
A hit just like the one that dislocated the creature's jaw.
Fortunately, this Soul Mecha could still withstand one anti-artillery-level attack before it crumbled.
Soren made up his mind. His gaze was fierce as he stared into the many individual eyes of the creature that reflected his image. "You have hunted me day after day, and I have died a thousand times for this... Once is enough for you."
Dum
The Soul Mecha kicked against the ground. Dum Dum Dum. Each step was one of conviction, purpose, and determination.
He slammed into the Eldritch.
BOOM!
The impact released a shock wave that pushed everyone back.
The Soul Mecha flew backwards, most of it crumbling as it fell.
The Eldritch fell in the green pool below. As it did, Vass approached the edge. A fine anticipating smile on his face. "The Turd-face has done enough. Now, it's my turn. BURN!!!"
WHOOOSSSSHHHH... He released his flames, engulfing the creature.
BOOOOOOOM.
The pit exploded.
The fire was fierce, and everyone had to back off. Everyone, except Soren, who just pulled himself from the crumbling Soul Mecha.
Soren smiled.
After studying the Eldritch through his many deaths, he had asked himself one question.
Why do Eldritch not hunt in the daytime?
The Sun, its heat.
Fire was the weakness. Considering the fact that their blood and waste was ectoplasm, which was very flammable, it made a lot of sense.
And so he came up with this plan.
The bunker, emptied of people that could not participate, was used as this cauldron. Ectoplasmic waste from the abandoned warehouse was used as fuel and soup—all that was left was to let the Eldritch meat fall into its prepared grave.
Soren walked towards the edge of the flames.
As a result of Vass's flame ability, he was resistant to fire. He looked below. The creature thrashed around, but its skin, eyes, and those eerie tentacles were turning to mushy paste.
No matter how it struggled, this was going to be its fate.
Soren turned around to the people waiting with expectant eyes. His lips slowly bloomed into a smile—his hands raised to the sky in victory.
"YES!!!"
"We did it! We killed it!"
"HURRAHHH!!!"
Fathers hugged their sons, and daughters their mothers. Everyone rejoiced. To have actually managed to pull this off was no small feat.
Machos rushed over to Soren, embracing him. "Atta boy. I knew you were meant for great things, but this, this was awesome." He grabbed his head and placed a deep kiss on his son's cheek.
He gave the proud smile of a father.
However, his smile suddenly froze. He pushed Soren out of the way, turning in the process.
—SCCCHHHHCH
A long tentacle pierced his chest.
Soren's smile froze.
A tentacle. It was still alive?
"Machos...!" Soren rushed to catch him before the old man fell to the ground.
Machos coughed out blood again and again. "So... Soren... cough cough..." His blood bathed Soren's face as the boy tried to exert pressure on the wound.
It was not the first time he was seeing machos bleed. But this time around, holding him in his hands, something shook in Soren.
And then it emerged.
From the fiery pits below, it rose—slowly.
First a blackened, clawed arm, digging into the earth to pull the rest of its body out of the flames.
Had the flames been effective?
Yes, they had been. But Eldritch usually had very insane adaptive abilities.
And this one had the right mix and was against the solution they had prepared for it.
Right now, those veins, like thick giant threads, had joined together to form a full protective layer around the body of the Creature.
Some parts were burnt. Two heads had even burnt off, one hanging from its neck like a paste of spoilt lasagna from a pot. But it was still alive.
Most of its eyes had melted away like butter left too long under the sun, but those that were still intact danced around the place, and then all focus fell on Soren, reflecting in them the boy holding his dying father.
The moment was tense, and every person who had celebrated paused, all frozen in fear.
Vass, Tommy, the mayor, and the remaining citizens of the town were shocked to their bones.
This thing... this was Death.
— And then a voice, sharp and relieving. "Not bad for a mere F-rank. Let us take it from here."
Like a blur, a figure appeared before the Eldritch.
[Author's Note: Please add the Book to your Library.]