Chapter 14
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Within seconds, the strange color faded until Arthur's eyes regained their light-brown hue. The boy in question was laying perfectly still, like a mummy in its crypt. His body felt extremely unfamiliar to him, to the extent that it was worse than when he'd been reborn as a baby, ten years ago. He felt light and thin, like an empty jar. He was struck with a premonition that, if he moved, something utterly unexpected would happen.
It took him a while to notice the spinning black shape in the corner of his vision. When he did, he focused on it until the tablet appeared in his view. The changes written on it shocked him to the bone! 'What happened while I was unconscious?' He wondered, feeling highly disturbed. 'My 'Physica' and 'Mystica' were completely replaced by 'Vermes'!'
Abruptly, he felt information flooding his mind. His increased 'Maleficia' had brought with it new understanding! 'I vastly underestimated the parasites!' He realized. They weren't like leeches at all, rather than that, they were more like larvae. 'Their purpose wasn't simply to feed off their host, but to replace them completely!'
Like a caterpillar longing to take to the skies, the Vermes desired a bridge to the physical world. It was nothing less than a metamorphosis, using their host as a living cocoon to create a material body! 'How insidious! It preserves the appearance of its sacrifice as a form of camouflage!' He realized. 'Fortunately, the tablet prevented my mind from being overtaken, but what could've provoked the outbreak?'
He simply had no clue. However, what worried him the most was whether or not the transformation was complete. As of now, his mind was still his. However, if the changes weren't over, then he was in big trouble, since he barely had any Potentia left!
Slowly and carefully, he lifted his right hand and held it up to his face. It looked like a human hand, but there was something extremely alien about it! 'Are the servants the same type of creature?' He wondered. Feeling dreadfully curious, he decided to look at his reflection in the bronze mirror.
However, the moment he pressed his hand against the bed to stand up, there was an enormous cracking noise, like a tree trunk bursting open! The frame collapsed underneath him and, on reflex, he leapt to his feet.
When he did, he experienced an unfathomable situation, like he was barely connected to the earth. He suddenly flew towards the wall like a cannonball, smashing through one of the bedposts and into the wardrobe.
It was like a bomb had gone off. The floor, which he'd touched with one foot, splintered and burst into chips and shards, exposing the cracked stone beneath the wooden paneling. Needless to say, the piece of furniture fared no better! The wardrobe, impacted by his shoulder, practically disintegrated into sawdust. He promptly collided with the wall behind it, cracking it like it was made out of chalk.
When the ruckus had settled, Arthur found himself sitting on his butt, wearing a flabbergasted expression.
Needless to say, he was clueless as to what'd just happened. Dazedly, he tried to pick up a shattered plank, but it crumbled in his hand like a dry leaf. Carefully, using the least amount of strength possible, he stood up. He felt like he'd suddenly been transported to the moon, with how much gravity's hold on him had weakened.
'This is simply ridiculous!' He exclaimed inwardly. It was obviously because his body had transformed into whatever he currently was. 'Still, the 'Vermes' only have a total value of [ 1.5 ]!' He felt certain that, even if his Physica had increased to that level, the effect wouldn't be so exaggerated. 'I guess the human body can't be compared to a supernatural organism.' He concluded.
Suddenly, there was movement in his peripheral vision. His eyes flicked towards it and he saw the door to his room drifting open. Before he could react, a single black, leather shoe stepped through the entrance. A familiar figure was revealed, one he desperately would have preferred to avoid.
"What on earth happened in here?" Mr. Fetcher asked, taking in the destroyed surroundings.
Arthur felt an intense, murderous impulse well within his chest. 'Why is this bastard here?' He thought angrily. He hadn't gotten the opportunity to acclimate to his metamorphosis yet! 'Fuck, the villain isn't supposed to show up right after I get my superpowers! I need more time!' He thought furiously.
To his surprise, the moment the manservant made eye-contact with him, the fellow froze, like he'd just seen a dead relative come back to life. In the blink of an eye, his face underwent rapid changes, to the extent that it was impossible to know what he was feeling.
It was disturbing to look at in a way that was difficult to explain. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, the skin he was wearing seemed unable to keep up with his chaotic emotions. His flesh was a puppet, yanked around too violently by its controller.
Arthur found the butler's glowing eyes were locked with his. They were hungry and desperate, to the extent that it seemed he wouldn't be able to control himself. The youth retreated involuntarily until his back was touching the shattered wall.
"Oh dear, oh my…!" Mr. Fetcher said, prowling towards Arthur. He was like a sexual predator, having caught a glimpse of a prepubescent child.
Arthur was sure that, if he still had a human body, he'd have broken into a cold sweat. Instead, he felt his flesh becoming unsettled, like a pile of snakes being exposed to an open flame. Fetcher was giving off a threatening aura that perturbed his new, alien constitution.
Abruptly, the manservant's hand shot out, trying to grab Arthur by the arm. It happened so quickly that he couldn't react, but his new body was a different story. On instinct, he retaliated, crouching and striking in a single movement. His hand impacted the butler's wrist, emitting a sound like a hammer striking an anvil.
Predictably, the butler wasn't human!
Astonished, Fetcher held his hand in front of his face. There were cracks all over his 'skin' and a shadowy substance was leaking out of it. It was both vapor and fluid, like liquid nitrogen at room temperature.
He tenderly cradled his hand to his chest. Suddenly, his lips trembled and a single, black, oily tear rolled down his cheek!
"How can this be? It's barely been two days, yet it has progressed to this extent!" He whispered under his breath. However, contrary to what one might expect, his voice was rapturous, like Jesus had personally descended to take him to heaven. "Oh, my master, the time has come at last!" He started rambling like a madman, crying, shivering and laughing in a profoundly disturbing way.
At this point, Arthur was pressed so tightly against the wall that the leftover stones were audibly groaning, like they might collapse at any time. The butler was a ticking bomb, primed to explode at any moment. Arthur felt that the slightest movement might set the creature off.
Abruptly, Fetcher lifted his head, locking gazes with the youth across from him. His eyes were completely black. "You must come with me immediately!" He said distortedly, hissing like a viper.
"If you touch me again, you're dead!" Arthur said emphatically. He was ready to go all out, right here, right now!
For the first time, the look of pure pleasure was wiped off Fetcher's face."…why would it say that? Could it be…? Something isn't right!" He said to himself, sounding absolutely horrified by his own suspicions.
Suddenly, without warning, the manservant's shadow boiled and surged, like hot metal tossed into a pot of water. Strands of black ribbons shot towards Arthur, writhing across the floor and broken furniture!
Arthur was moving before he knew it. He burst through the rubble behind him like it was a pile of sand, flinging stone, mortar and wood in all directions. The debris shot out into the hallway like grapeshot fired out of a cannon, smacking into the walls and shattering the windows. All at once, the deathly manor was filled with a cacophony of noise.
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'IT IS TIME.' Nabu said suddenly.
It startled Kent where he was sitting at his table, reading a book about classic architecture. Dawn hadn't broken yet, but he was already awake. He couldn't rest easy, knowing they were in enemy territory.
The scholar's eyebrows rose, practically touching his hairline. 'We've only been here a-day-and-a-half!' He thought disbelievingly.
Surprisingly, the spirit provided him with an explanation, contradicting its usual dismissive attitude. 'THEY INVITED YOU INTO THEIR DEMESNE. IT GRANTED YOU CERTAIN PRIVILAGES. I TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THEM.' It said plainly.
Kent rubbed his forehead in confusion. 'I don't get it.' He though with frustration, but he quickly got over it. There was something else he was far more curious about.
'Never mind that, though. Have uncovered the source of that signal?' He asked inwardly, referring to the mystical phenomenon that'd attracted Nabu in the first place.
The entity was silent for a moment before replying. '…I HAVE.' It said cryptically.
A few long seconds passed while Kent waited for it to continue. When he'd finally run out of patience, he opened his mouth to probe Nabu further, but was suddenly interrupted.
'…THAT SIGNITURE IS MY OWN.' It said conflictedly, after a period of deliberation.
Kent wished he'd been drinking something, so he could've spit it out in surprise. 'What the hell are you talking about?' He asked disbelievingly.
However, he didn't get a reply. Instead, he promptly found himself being shoved into the back seat as the spirit took over his body.
If someone had been looking at Kent, they would've been shocked to the core! It was like an expert method actor, changing character through body language alone. His laid-back attitude vanished completely and a smoldering intensity, intimidating to look at, took its place. Kent Nelson was gone, replaced by Dr. Fate.
The manifested entity's eyes were like two bronze rings inside a forge. Rapidly, their color shifted from a plain brown to something resembling molten metal. However, it didn't stop there. Like twin suns coming into existence, they flared a blinding, golden light.
Just as suddenly as the light had arrived, it disappeared. When the room became visible once more, it was empty. Its occupant had vanished into thin air!
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Arthur's eyes rolled around in their sockets, desperately trying to find an avenue of escape. The butler had gone berserk, dissolving into a mass of grasping shadows, like an enormous black hand. No matter what, he couldn't let himself be caught!
'I can't fight him in here!' He thought decisively. The atmosphere inside the manor was hostile, like thousands of needles hovering above his skin. There was danger everywhere, ready to smother him within an instant.
With a violent 'Bang!', Arthur smashed into the wall on the other side of the hallway. For a long moment, the structure held, doing its best to resist his abnormal constitution, but then it cracked and shattered like an eggshell.
'I'm out!' He though with relief, gazing down at the labyrinthine garden that stretched into the mist. However, before he could celebrate, something inconceivable happened! The shadows that were pursuing him leapt into the open air, defying all logic! 'Are you kidding me? Shadows don't work that way!' He exclaimed inwardly, feeling outraged and cheated.
Like a black bolt of lightning, the darkness struck, seizing him before pulling him back into the mansion. He struggled with all his strength, but it was useless! His feet had no purchase, so he was unable to exert force in the opposite direction.
Left with no other choice, he gathered his strength for a single, overwhelming blow. "Die!" He shouted, feeling both fear and anger with equal intensity. He poured all his energy into his palm before unleashing it towards the center of the black mass.
However, something happened that he hadn't intended at all! He'd planned to launch a physical strike at his enemy as soon as he was in range. Instead, an invisible, rippling force was emitted from his hand, tearing apart the walls and scattering the shadows. It only travelled a short distance before it destabilized, bursting open into a mass of unseeable tendrils that wreaked havoc on the surroundings.
Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough to incapacitate The Fetcher, a name only a few select enemies had learned, yet hadn't lived long enough to spread. The blackness bloomed open, exposing a pair of glowing, yellow eyes, like those of an octopus. The black ribbons that were torn quickly thickened, regrowing until they were stronger than they'd ever been!
The moment Arthur's gaze locked with those two sulfurous orbs, he felt an immense pressure on his mind, like lead weights were being piled on top of his brain. The tablet immediately reacted, expending his last Potentia to defend him against the mental attack. In an instant, the weight vanished into thin air and the monster reeled backwards, blinking frenziedly while black blood dripped down its bulbous head.
Still, such an insignificant defiance amounted to no more than a headache, and it quickly rallied before restarting its attack. This time, Arthur's mind was peeled open like an orange without offering the slightest resistance. The Fetcher had stuck a straw into his brain, sucking on it until it got the information it wanted.
Needless to say, the process was extremely unpleasant. Unable to help himself, Arthur screamed like a pig being slaughtered. Suddenly, just as quickly as it started, the process stopped and it spoke into his mind.
"It is incomplete!" The monster shouted, like a toddler who had their toys taken away. It started raving madly, but Arthur was unable to make out what it was saying. Its thoughts were so foreign that it was impossible to make sense of them.
However, before the monster was able to calm down and think of a solution to its 'problem', there was a sound that could only be described as ten-thousand lightning bolts striking at the same time, accompanied by a concentrated flash of light, like a massive laser going off. It was so overwhelming that the monster leapt backward on instinct, releasing Arthur like a prey animal vomiting out food to lighten its load.
The boy himself felt like a massive hammer had just hit him over the head. His mind immediately snapped back to the present situation. He wasn't able to take advantage of the brief respite, because The Fetcher quickly grabbed him again before shrinking them both down into a black dot that promptly vanished, like a squid squirting ink and making its escape.
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