“Holy shit, it’s fucking Ghemorah!” Jackal shouted as we all peered over the edge.
We had followed the old roads to a massive bridge of stone that seemed infused with magic. As Erieia and her crew drove us onto it, we felt the vehicle surge forward rapidly as though accelerated by some unknown force. Nearly half way through, to our left, a massive frozen lake peppered with glowing specks started to thud. In that moment, I had shifted my vision into the infra red spectrum, wondering what was making the sound.
It was then that I saw two small red dots moving quickly along the icy surface, and an absolutely massive shape twisting and turning, serpent-like, beneath the frozen crust. It wasn’t long thereafter that the beast burst through to show itself, and it appeared Jackal recognized it from the legends he knew.
“Guys,” I began, “I think Sophia is being chased by that thing. Pretty sure that’s her on the ice!” I shifted my vision back and pointed out toward her.
“Erieai, get us to the opposite shore!” Oswald shouted. I could sense the desperation in his voice. I doubt any of us would have anticipated seeing such a monstrosity.
“What do you think I’m trying to do!? We’re almost there damn it, there’s nothing I can do to go any faster!” Erieai returned with even more anxiety in her voice.
“The seal must have weakened after all this time,” Inta began quietly, everyone turning to her in confusion. The woman didn’t speak much so I was just as confused as the rest appeared to be by her knowing what the hell was going on. “Those small specks in the water are talismans,” she continued. “They’ve probably weakened over time since it’s been nearly two millennia. They are leftover from when Mahana used her magic to seal the demons of old, but I suspect it’s reawakening due to the surging mana flux happening in Se’lutia.”
“I didn’t think Ghemora the Devourer would reawaken in my lifetime. Hell, I was never sure it was even real, from how my mother told the story,” Pell said, his hand grabbing the handle of his blade so hard that the whites of his knuckles were showing.
The moments that passed between then and when we got to shore, despite being little more than a minute, felt like a lifetime to everyone aboard the MGP. We were all helpless. And worse, we had to watch Sophia running from what appeared to be a godlike entity chasing her across what felt like an endless pool of ice that stretched miles across.
When we finally got to the other shore, the MGP was turned sharply, bumping and skidding along the rocky and frozen ground to aim toward the creature. I jumped out, getting ready to run out toward Sophia before Maybel’s hand fell upon my shoulder. “Don’t be a fool. You’ll be dead before you know it. This is a demon god of old, not something you even stand a chance against.”
“But we have to do something!” I shouted, turning toward him with concern all across my face.
“We are. Erieai and her crew will try to delay it long enough for Sophia to reach shore. Despite its strength, it’s a creature of the water. If we can get her on land, then we can save her. For now, just be available in case anyone needs something.”
I clenched my jaw in frustration, stepping back and turning toward the MGP, watching the crew inside scurry to load and aim the massive barrel of the gun toward the creature. Across the water the serpent continued to jump in and out of the water, crashing through ice that seemed unimaginably thick with the ease of a swimmer breaking through the surface of unfrozen water as he swam.
“What are you waiting for?” I yelled at Erieai, seeing that the movements had stopped and yet they hadn’t fired.
“It’s still out of range!” she replied hastily. “It’s almost . . . close enough . . .” Seconds ticked by, we watched, the wind howled and blew past us, and as the beast came up again: “FIRE!” the eluvian shouted. The MGP rocked back as the explosion shot forth a projectile of massive size. Our eyes followed it as it flew through the air, praying to whatever thaynes we believed in that we wouldn’t miss. We couldn’t afford to miss.
Thankfully, we didn’t. As the projectile struck Ghemorah in the front, a small explosion on its chest rocked the creature back. It let out an overwhelming howl of rage, causing us all to cover our ears as the shriek rolled over the endless ice and blasted us. “Jesus, that thing is pissed,” Jackal laughed.
“We’re not done yet!” Erieai answered, and her crew was already working on reloading and preparing another shot. “We can’t let it catch her!”
As the smoke and dust cleared, looking out, I noticed that the shot hadn’t even left a mark on the creature, and as it dropped back into the water and came out again, it was as though nothing had happened. The explosion had done nothing more than make it angrier, though it did slow it briefly.
’Good thing Maybel held me back, or I’d be dead,’ I thought to myself. I could sense that Judicis agreed.
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