Chapter 72: Chapter 71: Faction, Meet The Carrion.

Klaire sent a message to both Kyubi and Faylorna immediately and they both portaled down to them in an instant.

“Don’t panic, it’s inversion. Carl, you have a lot on your mind, don’t you?” Kyubi asked him the question softly. “Sorry Carl, but this is a trait Margo possessed as well. The more stressed he was, the more his words and actions became the opposite of what he wanted.”

“Yes, it was only after he and Ishtar wound up together that it calmed down for him. So, why is it manifesting now? Do these creatures really have you so flustered that left is right and up is down?” Faylorna asked the question, though the way her eyes narrowed made it seem more rhetorical.

Klaire fidgeted a bit and led them and Carl away, leaving the others with instructions to complete the quarantine.

“Ah, so that’s it, Kyubi why don’t you excuse us? The children shouldn’t be left unattended.”

“Right, don’t worry too much you two, it will be quite manageable.” Kyubi left abruptly after that.

[ PRIVATE MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM KLAIRE : WHY IS EVERYONE ACTING LIKE NO ONE KNOWS SHE HAS A THING FOR CARL? ]

[ PRIVATE MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM FAYLORNA : SHE HAS A PRIVATE CONTRACT WITH LILLIM TO KEEP IT SECRET. WHY TELL HER ALL THAT IF YOU KNOW? RATHER CRUEL FOR YOU DEAR. ]

[ PRIVATE MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM KLAIRE : I DIDN’T KNOW. I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO START ACKNOWLEDGING IT SO SHE CAN HAVE SOME CLOSURE. IT’S GETTING PAINFUL TO WATCH FOR EVERYONE. ]

[ PRIVATE MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM FAYLORNA : NOT QUITE, I DON’T THINK CARL’S REALISED YET AND YOU SHOULD GET HIS CONDITION UNDERWRAPS FIRST. ]

“Anyway, so what do we do?”

“Simple, he needs to vent. I suggest send him to this bug planet, let him tucker himself out.”

“I think I’d quite enjoy ripping them limb from limb and watching their blood glisten in the moonlight, as crimson silver falls like rain.” Carl quickly held both his mouth and his stomach as his own words made him queasy.

“I think that was supposed to be “I’d rather not”?”

“Carl, you have to blow off some steam, just do what you would usually do.”

“Ugh, I know what he needs…”

[ PRIVATE MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM KLAIRE : GILLIAN, CARL NEEDS TO BLOW OFF STEAM TO STOP THE INVERSION, YOU’RE UP, DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO. ]

Gillian appeared a moment later, panting and smiling ear to ear…

“Carl, my man, we’re going back to basics.”

“YES! That sounds just splendid!”

“See! Better already, aren’t I the best, now come along my boy.” Gillian didn’t listen to the clearly inverted message. “Right, where’s Blanc, time for guys night and we have a lot to talk about.”

Carl hated the sound of that. Gillian was obnoxious and acted and spoke without thinking, but he was also an incredibly insightful person when he wanted to be.

Before any of them knew it they were on Lunelia…

“Lillim! Carl’s mum! We got this, Carl needs to blow off some steam for inversion! We’re gonna go pick a fight, no spoilers please!”

Lillim’s eyes widened at the news and she nodded before dragging Leanna away again.

“Now we’re alone boys, lets lay out our agenda. Blanc and Sophie, Carl’s aura making things awkward and lastly… My fiancé joining the faction.”

“No! Absolutely not. All the more miserable!”

“Cheers man, that’s real sweet.”

“I’m sorry Carl, but I kinda like this about you.”

“You girls aren’t maybe not dicks.”

“Dude, weak. Now, let’s go vent and clean off the cobwebs.”

The three boys, walked to the coordinates that Kon reported.

“I wanna see what their guts look like in the twilight glow.”

“That’s the spirit, now better pull your spear out.” As soon as he finished he jumped up and down. “Oh wait, Blanc, you brought Link right? You aren’t a fighter so I hope you did.”

“Actually… I didn’t, but I’ve been thinking I need to practice more since that woman showed up. Anyway, what’s this about your “fiancé joining the faction”?”

As Blanc finished, the ground started shaking violently and seconds later a tsunami of Carrion drones flooded them.

Gillian was already in lycan form, running forward on two legs while tearing The Carion apart with his front claws.

Having left HQ before properly looking over the recovered materials, this was their first time even seeing the creatures.

They were hexapedal, with each leg branching off from the thorax, armoured in three distinct exoskeleton segments, the last of which was bladed.

The thorax then led into an upright section, bearing four arms, the lower set ending in almost human hands, except only possessing four digits and the beetle like carapace sections that plate them.

The other two arms ended in scythe-like blades, similar to their legs, but these were more precise. As opposed to thick armoured legs that merely resembled a piercing edge, the arm-blades were precise and natural tools for harvesting.

“LEAVE NONE ALIVE! END THEIR SPECIES HERE AND NOW!”

“Yeah, yeah you big softie, we’ll leave some.” Gillian laughed, letting his guard down just long enough for an arm-blade to run along his back.

“Blanc, you go and get stuck in while I watch and laugh.”

“Seriously, can you just not go back to saying what you mean, this is awesome dude.”

“I’d very much enjoy that…. I’m glad you’re an orphan.” Carl grinned with the last bit as he managed to invert his thoughts to say what he wanted and then charged into The Carrion with his spear.

“Wow, that got dark. I’ll stay here and stream, Leanna needs to see what we do in order to advise and compare.” He pulled out his slate and began the video stream, sending a message to everyone that they can view in the workspace. “Faction, meet The Carrion.”

[ MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM LEANNA : IF YOU TREAT THIS LIKE A JOKE I WILL COME BACK THERE AND SHOW YOU ALL A REAL FIGHT, NOW SHUT UP AND RECORD WHAT I TELL YOU TO BLANC. ]

[ MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM BLANC : YES MADAM DIRECTOR, SORRY. ]

Thanks to his stats, they were practically moving at a relaxed pace to Carl’s superhuman senses and despite the speed he was moving at, he barely moved past a walk as he made his way through them.

Using the haft of his spear, he parried most of the attacks that made their way towards Gillian to make sure he was okay.

When he finally reached Gillian, the wolf had already healed and Gillian was busy trying to turn the shredded bodies of the Carrion drones into some kind of igloo.

“What are you doing?”

“HA! See, speaking normally already. Now keep killing I have an idea.”

Carl shrugged, letting Gillian continue as he kept providing materials for the repulsive structure.

“Seriously Gil, this is getting creepy, what the hell are you doing?”

“I’m making sure we don’t lose any of the Plant killer. It is dangerous, but could also be pretty helpful don’t you think?”

“I mean yeah, but…” He was about to ask how he wasn’t wasting any, then Gillian finally put a large bucket in the base of the structure, then when it was full of the ichor, he switched it out. “How do you even know that stuff is what you’re after?”

“Lydia, duh.”

As Carl and Gillian argued about whether or not the situation they were in was entirely necessary,, the ground started shaking violently.

“What the hell is that?” Gillian’s question remained unanswered however, at least until fate saw fit to enlighten them in a more direct way.”

The creature looked similar to the arachne race, which were human from the head to waist, then spider from the waist down. The key difference was the fact this creature was more akin to a centipede.

The human torso was just that, almost indistinguishable from a male human, flesh and all.

The centipedal body was about two metres wide and twenty long, the same bladed legs that the drones possessed, with each carapace segment possessing a dorsal blade.

Carl sighed, then charged at it, activating his neo spear thrust as he came within reach.

As the wyvern-slaying spear connected though, the tip broke, ricocheting back and lodging itself in Carl’s shoulder. “Argh! This thing’s exoskeleton is harder than wyvern scales.

[ SYSTEM WARNING : WYVERN-SLAYING WEAPON HAS SEVERED ONE OF THE DIVINITY CHANNELS RUNNING THROUGH YOUR BODY, DIVINITY WILL BE LOST UNTIL THE WOUND IS HEALED. ]

[ MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM LEANNA : RETREAT! WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING BLANC’S VIDEO STREAM, THIS ISN’T EVEN ONE OF THE SPECIMENS I’VE SEEN RECORD OF. ]

Carl jumped back and gave the order for retreat, thankful his ability to speak clearly had returned. He opened the portal to quarantine as he moved and Blanc and Gillian jumped through.

Carl was about to follow, then looked back.

[ MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM CARL : REQUESTING PERMISSION TO USE AURA. ]

There was a few messages from the others telling him to get back, then one granting his request.

[ MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM LILLIM : GRANTED, I’VE ACTIVATED MINE INCASE IT GOES THROUGH THE PORTAL. ]

Carl activated his aura, but the creature made to attack regardless, Carl sealed his aura and jumped through the portal which crackled shut behind him.

“Dude, did that thing break your spear?” Carl looked at the spear tip lodged in his shoulder and let his blood flow red and gold, mixed with the putrid green aura he had become caked in amidst the slaughter.

“Felt like I was trying to stab a dragon with kitchen foil.” Carl groaned as he pulled the spear tip out and quickly created a spell to heal divinity channels, which he didn’t even know existed.

Using the spell made felt like someone poured boiling oil into the wound and he screamed and nearly fell to the floor as he was caught completely unprepared for it.

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