Catpurr 34: Crabby vs Nekomancer

Catpurr 34: Crabby vs Nekomancer

“CRAP!” Adam barked as he backpedaled, dodging to avoid the massive claw as it slammed into the dirt.

He raised his daggers, the two weapons slicing the pink tentacles hellbent on catching him.

Inspect!

[Giant Morion Crab of Undine's Temple: A highly territorial decapod crustacean capable of growing up to seven feet tall. Spends most of its life cycle hibernating once pregnant, waking only to feed and combat prey that enters its lair. Once its young hatch, the crab will offer up its body as nourishment for its young, ensuring that they possess the necessary strength to survive the waters.]

[Strengths: Durable exoskeleton shell, ???, ???, ???]

[Weaknesses: ???,???]

Great! Not very useful! Adam griped, ducking as the crab’s large claw slapped against the slick cavern walls, missing the boy by inches. Fortunately, with the crab’s body tilted sideways, it had a hard time catching Adam. Unfortunately he didn’t have much in the way of hurting the monster as his daggers clanged uselessly against the monster’s chitenous skin.

The monster turned, tossing its oversized appendage back at Adam who raised his cape, the black material reacting to the oncoming blow and hardening just in time to send Adam crashing backwards through the cave.

“ARGHH!” Adam let out in frustration, his eyes narrowing as adrenaline pumped through his veins, the only thing keeping his weary body from going limp from exhaustion.

Letting out a breath, Adam ran and put distance between himself and his foe, moving as far away as he could to the outcrop of land.

Taking a moment to observe the creature Adam surmised two things.

One, this was a completely unfair boss encounter.

Two, the thing was too massive!

The creature snapped its chitinous pincers, its eye stalks suddenly glowing causing all of the hairs on Adam’s skin to stand on end.

AN ATTACK!

Adam immediately dove left, avoiding a red hot blast of mana that destroyed the spot he’d just been.

LASER EYES?! IT HAS LASER EYES?! Adam screamed internally as the crab suddenly began unleashing a volley of mana bolts at him from each eye.

SCREW THIS! Adam yelled to himself, turning and immediately attempting to dive back into the water. With its size vs the width of the caves, there was no way it could follow him.

[-20 HP!]

“GAH!” Adam cried, spinning midair from a mana bolt striking him before he splashed into the water.

Don’t pass out! Don’t pass out! Adam recited, clutching his side in agony as the bloodied water around him exploded from the crab’s relentless mana bolts. Skittles! Come!

Suddenly something tugged at his cape, pulling him away from the attacks as Adam hastily stuck a breathing crystal in his mouth.

***

“Gaaaaugh!” Adam let out, spitting out the blue crystal as Skittles helped to drag him back to dry land.

He plopped on the ground, breathing heavily as he bled profusely from his side. Each second that passed, another HP gone from his pool, bringing him down to thirty remaining.

Doing a quick scan, Adam surveyed the cave, looking for any signs of threats. When he found none, he rolled on his back, letting out a pained groan.

Pain tolerance. Would be so nice right now…

Adam reached for the right side of his waist, and grabbed a vial, quickly uncorking it and shakily emptying the contents of the red potion in his mouth.

“Aaaaaaaaah.” Adam groaned, his skin sizzling and releasing steam as the tinture quickly went to work regenerating his body. He huffed, taking in a cold deep breath and sucking in air through his teeth.

“Breathe in… Breathe out.” Adam recited, his eyes fluttering as exhaustion overtook him and shut his eyes.

***

Adam was floating. Weightless, his body drifting in a void.

"Adam… Adam… ADAM!"

His eyes snapped open, responding to the velvet voice of a woman as she nudged him in his rib to wake him up.

"M-master?"

The woman with the golden eyepatch looked down at him, her brow raised as she folded her arms as an open blue sky acted as a backdrop to her pale stature.

"Yes. Why do you look so surprised? Get up, we're moving." Razalia said, adjusting her wide brim hat to shade her from the beating sun that casted her shadow across the forest floor.

"Five more minutes." Adam groaned, draping himself with a green blanket and turning over to cuddle a baby Schroedinger.

Suddenly the blanket was stripped away, pulled into the earth by a skeletal hand that magically appeared from the ground.

“Get up Adam or I’ll leave you here. Inquistorious are nearby, they have our scent.”

“RAZALIA!”

“Oh, she’s closer than I thought.”

“HERETIC!” A voice screamed, followed by a massive boom that shook the nearby forest. Adam flinched, closing his eyes at the unexpected attack, only to open them a moment later to see a green shield had sprung to life around him.

“Hello sister.” Razalia Des’heart said, smiling sadly as the paladin in gold armor hung in the air and repeatedly slammed her silver hammer into the barrier.

“TRAITOR! HERETIC! FILTHY BONE LOVER!” The blonde woman raged, making Adam tense up as unfathomable power poured into the head of her weapon and smack down. “DIE SCUM!!!”

“I missed you too sister.” Razalia smiled as her barrier flickered but held firm. Razalia looked down at her fingers, picking dirt out of them as various men and women dressed in robes appeared from the bushes, each, decorated by emblems of Voltrain stenciled on their shoulders.

Adam quickly jumped to his feet, clutching the meowing feline to his chest and readying a ball of green mana in his hands as he prepared for combat.

“I have no sister!” The paladin barked, backing away and glowing with irritating golden light as the inquisitors around her began to do the same.

Razalia sighed.

“Douglas. Gawain. Come out and play, but don’t rough up my baby sister too much. Do whatever you wish to the others.”

At the woman’s command, the tattoos of a knight and a skeleton on her arm came to life, slithering until they created inky shadows that deposited a black armored knight that billowed blue flames, and a hulking skeletal monstrosity that held an axe made of bone. The Bonemass and the Living Armor, two high ranking necromantic creatures bound to Adam’s master.

“Purge them!” The blonde paladin screamed, only for Razalia to turn to Adam with her palm outstretched, hand blazing with green fire.

“Wake up Adam.” The woman said, strolling toward him as her monsters decimated the inquisitors.

“What?” Adam asked, confused by his master’s actions.

‘WaKe uP.”

Suddenly Adam was lifted into the air, his body tingling with a burning sensation as the world around him began to distort.

Adam blinked, fear in his eyes as the woman he trusted the most lifted her hand filled with raging necromantic flames and blasted him, setting him alight with fire as Razalia laughed.

He screamed, his pet schroedinger letting out a wailful meow as it crumbled into dust in his hands. “WAKE UP! WKE UFP WaKE uP! WAKE UP!”

Adam woke, breaking from the nightmare with a scream as dozens to hundreds of tiny insects pinched at his skin.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Adam cried, rolling around on the rough ground to squash the bugs that were crawling all over him. GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF!

“WHY CAN’T I JUST CATCH A BREAK!” Adam screamed, rolling to his feet and yelling into the air as tiny bugs entered his mouth.