The weighty sludge arm smashed down, enveloping the area in muck that ate away at the very ground around where it had landed. Nevin thankfully wasn't there - he had rolled to the side, and was staring in horror at the ground. It wasn't like acid melting away the earth - whatever this nightmare was it was literally pulling the ground into it, and he could see that the arm was swelling as it consumed the soil. Rocks and grass didn't seem to slow it down any, as they were embedded in the arm as it rose up back into the air, and he stared at it he could see them sinking inwards.
This was dangerous. It was growing with every step that he saw it take, as even its pillar like feet were eating the earth. If this thing got into the village, by the time it got there it would cause untold destruction. It was at its most vulnerable now, when it was only just getting going. Now it was small, even if not that small - it was still easily ten feet tall, and growing as it walked toward him.
Nevin flung the dagger into the one of the screaming faces that was turned towards him. The blade sunk into the sludge, and for a moment Nevin saw that the toxin upon the metal was affecting it - but then a fresh wave of red-purple goop surged out of a 'mouth' over the dagger, and the weapon vanished from sight. A new face appeared, and black ooze dribbled from its eyes as its mouth opened in a rictus of a scream.
Normal weapons wouldn't work on this thing, Nevin could tell. But how on earth could he fight it? It was learning even now as he dodged out of the way of its attacks - the sludge like arms were snaking out wide and wider, starting to form into scoops. Even when it missed those arms ripped up chunks of the earth, folding those pieces into itself, consuming more and more. At this rate it was only a matter of time before it caught him.
Cables of red unspoiled from his arm, bursting forth in a vibrant wave of crimson that shone with an inner light as Nevin faced off against the nightmarish construct. His eyes glimmered in the light from his tendrils, the red in them shining more brightly as his magic flared.
"By the Crimson, I will pass your souls on and let you rejoin the flow. May the next life treat you better."
