Chapter 90: The Husk Leader

Finn swooped in immediately without giving the creature respite, targeting its neck joint again with a ruthless precision.

But this time, the creature was ready. Already angered, its arm came up in a blur, and it drove its fist towards Finn’s exposed chest with that same spatial distortion effect.

But the attack had been a feint from Finn.

At the last second, he twisted mid-flight, contorting his body in ways that would have been impossible without the Ferropteryx’s insane flexibility.

The punch passed harmlessly through the space he’d occupied a split-second before. And he dove low to the ground instead, taking the creature by surprise. His razor-sharp wings went for the knee joint he’d identified as another vulnerable point.

But the creature was faster. This time it also wasn’t holding anything back. It raised its legs to leap backward, and already, it seemed like it was going to evade cleanly.

But then three thunderous booms resounded out of nowhere, and a terrible force rocked the creature’s body back into place and even caused it to lurch further forward despite its full strength at play.

The sounds were like artillery fire in the confined space of the clearing. But unlike an artillery fire, there was no visible shockwave or dispersed energy. All the energy of the strikes, every ounce of momentum they carried in the build-up, was concentrated into the impact points.

It was Tron, pounding from the back and taking the creature by surprise.

Finn didn’t waste the chance. He ruthlessly followed through with his earlier move, using the edge of his wings to cut deep into the creature’s knee, severing the ligament but not quite hitting the joint itself because the creature had managed to shift its leg fractionally despite Tron’s devastating blows.

But it was enough.

The creature stumbled, trying to regain balance, trying to create space to trigger its reversion ability.

But they didn’t let it.

Tron was relentless, he pounded fist upon fist of concentrated detonations. It made for a phenomenal sight where it seemed like the sounds were coming from nowhere, because his fists lacked the displacement such a force should have required.

Finn swerved and circled high up, then dove again, using his wings to keep slashing at joints and weak points again and again.

Above them, Althea’s Owl unleashed its sonic attack every now and then. Though the sound seemed to affect Finn and Tron more than it did the creature.

The female elemental soul mass stood in the distance, releasing green flames in controlled projectiles, timing perfectly with the moments when Finn and Tron’s physical assault created openings — when the creature would parry a wing strike or painfully block one of Tron’s explosive punches, thinking it could create space for itself.

The barrage was relentless.

Finn, Tron, and Althea’s summons worked in coordination, giving the creature no time to breathe, no space to trigger its reversion ability.

The creature staggered under the assault, and for the first time, its movements became less precise and more defensive.

Then suddenly, it shrieked.

A high-pitched, warbling wail that echoed through the forest and made the distant greenery beyond the blighted radius seem to recoil, as if the plants themselves were trying to hide from what that sound represented.

“It called for something!” Tron snarled, immediately doubling his assault rate. His fists became a blur, pounding down with increased tempo.

The creature’s permanent uncanny smile began to slip. Like a mask made of wax melting under heat, the seams Finn had noticed earlier began to separate, and the thousands of tiny squirming insect-like creatures that formed the false face started to break apart.

The tiny creatures launched into the air in a swarm, each one no larger than a grain of rice but moving with purpose, trying to latch onto any of the three Ossuarists.

Finn, Tron, and the summons immediately pulled back, sensing the immense danger if the creatures made contact with them.

But Althea didn’t retreat.

With blood still trickling from her lips, and exhaustion visible in her stance, she raised her sword anyway. Her eyes went ancient again, and power gathered around her like a visible pressure.

“[Order Edict: Certain Trajectory],” she said again, this time with a strained voice.

The swarm froze immediately.

They hung in the air for a second. Then they began to fall.

And before they could hit the ground, Althea’s elemental soul mass sent a massive ball of green flame roaring through the clearing, bearing towards them.

The insects ignited instantly, burning with a smell that made Finn’s enhanced sense recoil in revulsion.

But Althea wasn’t done yet. She burst through the flames without hesitation, raising her sword. The Certain Trajectory spell was still active, since she hadn’t struck yet.

Her target was the creature.

Behind the flames, it was trying to stand from its staggered position, attempting to leave Althea’s range and use its reversion spell.

…But it never got the chance.

Althea’s blade came down in a vertical slash that cleaved the creature from head to groin, separating it into two equal halves.

The two halves fell away, hitting the dead ground with a wet sound.

Then suddenly, in a final death throe, a desperate click sound was heard. But not quite to the same resounding quality as the previous one.

It was as if the creature was trying to trigger the reversion. Trying to reset to a previous state where it was whole and threatening. But in its current state, it simply lacked the full consciousness to complete the full spell.

It failed… And the sounds stuttered to a stop.

The creature was dead.

Finn and Tron slowly came forward, standing over the body of the creature with Althea as she panted from exertion.

Finn had a frown on his face, as he could feel the Ferropteryx debts feeling unsatisfied that he wasn’t the one who killed the creature.

“Well,” Tron broke the silence, rolling his shoulders and dispelling his body enhancer embodiment with visible effort, “that was easy.”

His statement was mostly sarcastic, but as if in a jinx, he hadn’t even finished his statement yet when Finn and Althea, and then him, all raised their heads to the surrounding forest beyond the blighted clearing.

“Something’s coming,” Tron said quietly, manifesting his axes back again.

“Multiple somethings,” Althea added, glancing at her Owl that circled higher to get a better view.

Finn spread his wings and shot upward, gaining altitude fast. His enhanced vision swept across the tree line, picking out movement that the others couldn’t see yet.

And his blood ran cold.

“Up! Everyone up now!” he shouted, climbing even higher.

Tron and Althea didn’t question him. Tron’s Griffin materialized in an instant, sweeping him off the ground. Althea’s Owl dove to collect her.

They all rose toward the distant canopy, putting as much vertical distance between themselves and the blighted clearing as possible.

Suddenly, Finn made a sharp bank, and immediately, an ivory-colored spear whistled through the space where he had been hovering a second before.

The projectile moved like a bullet, fast enough that the wind displacement from its passage actually knocked Finn off-balance, sending him tumbling through the air before his wings caught him.

He turned toward the source, already knowing what he’d see.

Fuck.

At least a dozen of the same hollow humanoid creatures emerged from the surrounding trees, stepping into the blighted clearing and staring at their fallen comrade.

They all bore the same two concentric circles on their chests. With the exact same androgynous mask-face, locked in that same pleasant smile…

All but one of them.

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