Depthless Hunger

Chapter 110: Formless True Forms

When the giant of a monster swung at him again, Kai dodged aside from its blow. The end of each limb was basically a bludgeon, so he doubted there was anything to damage within. Instead he struck at the narrower wrist, aiming a claw between the plates of armor.

He drew a little blood, but the plates stayed in place. Soon afterward the monster swung its limb to the side, churning up the soil with the enormous movement. Instead of simply dodging, Kai leapt over the attack and slammed into its chest with his full strength again.

Once more the giant staggered, but he wasn't getting through. Kai was still thinking about his best strategy when he landed, then realized that the monster was moving strangely. It wasn't just staggering, it was turning. Slow as its body was, the movement sent its tail whipping into him with deadly force.

Kai barely managed to catch the bladed tail before it cut him in half. The force still pushed him across the ground and he could feel a few of the spikes cutting into his side. He grimaced and did his best to bring the tail sweep to a halt. Even if he was stronger than ever before, this monster was the size of the city wall, he couldn't beat it with raw power. His hands were struggling just to maintain his grip on the tail.

Yet it was getting easier. As Kai skidded to a halt, still holding the bladed tail at bay, he realized that his hands had changed. He hadn't even noticed when his fingers had elongated. Instead of anything resembling human fingers, they shifted into cruel talons. Those claws had dug deeper underneath the plates of armor.

Acting on instinct, Kai used his full strength to tug at the segment he was gripping. A whole plate of armor tore loose, trailing blood. The monster let out a screech and its tail began thrashing wildly, forcing him to retreat.

Kai grinned as he stayed out of range, then leapt over the tail as it swung back toward him. His new E-rank Physique hadn't just granted him more muscle, it had granted him unity of form. Using his Rockspider's Claw technique had always felt awkward with his tiny human fingernails, but now his body shifted to match. Just like he'd realized in his spiritual vision, he had one body that was neither human nor monster.

When he came down on the giant monster's tail at the midpoint, he tore into it with greater purpose. His claws easily hooked underneath a plate of armor, but that was only the first step. Once it tore away, Kai thrust his other claw into the undefended flesh. This time the force that exploded from his hand felt like a perfect extension of himself and the blow severed the tail entirely.

The monster stumbled back, screeching as its severed stump lashed around the battlefield. Its tail twitched as well, but he could feel its life force fading. Kai sank his claws into it, then began trying to swing the severed tail. Though too heavy to move easily, even for him, he managed to spin in a circle with the tail swinging around him.

It struck the giant's leg with more force than he could deliver himself, driving it down to one knee. Kai pulled back and managed to spin again, this time lifting the tail high enough that the bladed end lashed across the giant's face. But when he tried for a third swing, the monster rose up to its full height and smashed one hand down on the tail. The blow splintered the armored plates and left it too damaged to use as a weapon.

As it loomed over him, Kai waited for the perfect moment. When it began swinging its arms again, he jumped directly up and his new strength took him to the monster's chest. There he dug his claws into its armor and he was surprised to feel his feet tearing through his boots, new talons gripping the plates. The plates on its chest were massive, but as he strained, he could feel one beginning to give way...

One of the house-sized fists slammed into him, flattening him between its surface and the armor. He cried out in pain and tried to push back as the monster ground him against its own body. Just when he managed to push up with his hands and knees, the second fist struck the first, flattening him with a hammer blow.

His arms hung limp as the fists pulled back for another blow. Kai didn't think that he could cut through them, even if he had the strength to turn around. Only his legs still worked, and they wouldn't for long if he kept taking blows like that. But, if he timed it right, there was a small chance.

Just before the next blow hit him, he released his grip. The monster struck its own chest and crashed onto its back. Kai landed and stumbled, still struggling to make his arms obey him properly. He'd knocked it down but definitely not taken it out. This was his chance, so he needed to do what he could.

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Before it could get up, Kai bounded onto its chest. Just as he'd hoped, the hammer blow had cracked several of the weakened plates. His arms had reverted to their human form, but he still managed to get a grip on one and pull. The most he could do was lift the enormous plate, revealing the bloody flesh over the monster's heart.

It took all his arms' strength to hold it open against the sinew and raw mana, but Kai realized he still had his jaws. When he reached for Isulfr's Bite, he felt his body respond in a new way. He didn't think that his jaw was distorting, but when his tongue slipped against his teeth they felt sharp. As the giant started to rise, Kai took the largest bite he could.

He heard the sound of jaws closing, then he tumbled backward.

A hole larger than his entire body had been torn from the giant's body. The teeth marks were still visible, tearing deep into its flesh but also shearing through some of the armored plates. For a moment he was elated, then he landed on his back and all the wind was knocked from him.

As he lay there, trying to recover, he realized just how much his teeth ached. They had reverted to human form and they ached like they were going to fall out of their sockets. He might have been able to push himself enough to bite something as tough as the giant, but he almost hadn't been up to the challenge. Now he felt sickeningly full and he was sure he wouldn't be able to bite anything again. Probably no monstrous claws either, given how much his arms still hurt.

Still, he had won. He was lying in the wasteland and bleeding a lot more than he had realized, but he'd taken down the main threat. If his neck would stop being so stiff, he could turn his head to look at Monskon City.

That was when he heard the screech.

Kai stared in horror as the monster slowly rose. The gaping wound in its chest should have taken out its heart, but it kept moving with a terrifying life force. He realized again just how far this Frontier monster was above anything he'd faced before. It seemed fixated on him now, even though it could barely drag itself forward.

Before he could do more than struggle to his arms and knees, the giant loomed over him. It didn't seem able to attack anymore and he realized that it had something much simpler in mind: if it dropped its full weight on him, he would probably be crushed. Yet the armored body blotted out so much of the sky, Kai didn't think he could run in time.

His only hope was the wound on its chest. When the giant finally pushed itself up, then threw its body downward, he stumbled into the correct position.

The armored plates thundered past his head, just missing him, but the monster's flesh slamming into him was bad enough. It nearly knocked him unconscious and then he was surrounded, suffocating on gore and twisted organs.

His body refused to change anymore, even when he tried to focus on just one finger. He knew that he couldn't bite anymore and his arms ached when he tried to summon claws. Yet the monster wasn't dead, rising just enough to slam down again. He had only seconds before it continued battering him.

There was nothing left but his determination not to give up. With his bare hands and the final flickers of mana and qi in his body, Kai clawed his way upward. He didn't think he could go on, but he refused to die inside a monster's guts. Not after coming so far. Now that he had embraced the hunger deep inside him as his own, he knew that it wanted everything. His hunger could never be satisfied if he died here.

Finally he tore his way out of the armor on the other side. The monster had at last gone still, its armor turning brittle as its life force faded. Kai had wanted to crawl his way to a better position, but as soon as he pulled himself out of the gory hole, he just lay there, at his very limit.

It was lucky that his head had fallen facing the city, because he didn't think he could turn it. Blinking hurt. He watched the damaged part of the wall, hoping to see allies coming toward him. Instead, he had to wait a long time before survivors even began to emerge. Oh, right... they had all retreated behind the second wall. If hunters were exploring this far, they must have finished off the remaining monsters within.

While he recovered, he tried to calculate how many people in the city were left alive. No doubt a significant portion of the hunters had died, given how terribly the first wall had been broken. More civilians would have died in the retreat. But if the majority of them had gotten behind the second wall, then the worst had been avoided. Of course, there would be painful absences, but at least there were survivors left to mourn.

Was that good enough? It was all he had.

Eventually Kai managed to push himself up to a more dignified sitting position. Aquagorgon's Health within him felt sluggish and he wasn't healing properly. He'd definitely found his true limits beyond which willpower became irrelevant. Kai felt like he could sleep for a month.

How long had it been? He was beginning to feel surprised that no one had come out for him. Even if they still viewed him as a monster, someone should have gone to check if he was alive. Inafay for certain, or Juray if it was safe for civilians to emerge. That was assuming that they had both made it through.

Finally he felt a surge of mana as someone leapt from the city wall in his direction. His vision was blurry, but they seemed to be moving quickly. Kai smiled until he made out the long white beard.

"Impossible." Hannagan Lantrian stood over him with a look of pure disgust. "I don't know what fell power helped you survive this far, monster, but your luck has run out."