Kalter reached out above him, placed her hand flat at the top of the door, and then pressed forward. Still crouched beneath her, he glanced up and watched as her muscles swelled, veins washing into view across her skin—the last of the unsevered metal creaked in pain, and then there was an awful snapping noise as the door fell forward into the airship. It hit the floor directly ahead of him and then started sliding down to the left; following the angle of the ship, the screech of metal on metal trailing sparks behind it. August glanced down at where the far corner of the door had impacted, the first spray of sparks illuminating some vague shape on the floor.
August pressed his hands to his knees, standing up and lifting the [Basic Light System] as he went. Blinding white light washed across the floor in front of him, passing over the very edge of that same shape and flooding the interior of the airship. The insane slant of it all gave him a distinct moment of visual vertigo as his mind tried to figure out that the floor beneath his feet was straight, but the floor of the enclosed hallway in front of him was going in the completely wrong direction. He stepped further into the doorway, angling the light in order to better see whatever the shape to his direct right was. The tall, slender, and scaly green thing standing there seemed to tilt its head as the light lingered on it. August stumbled backwards out of the doorway, the light spinning away from him as something hit him in the arm. The thing stepped over the threshold, and August started to fall backwards, one leg coming up off the ground as he lost his balance—
—August hit the wall of bamboo back first, a terrible pressure rolling from his back to his ribcage and stealing all of the breath from his lungs. If there had been any actual pain from the impact, it was lost beneath the searing agony that was attacking what felt like every single nerve ending across his body. The faceless, almost-human creature stepped out all the way into the light; inexplicably, a long, tanned leg was dangling from its clawed hand, the ankle crushed to pulp inside of its grip. The leg failed to withstand the creature’s strength, falling into separate pieces as it closed its fist—Boko staked it through the side of the head with his javelin, the long sliver of bone passing through the space just below where its left ear should have been, and out of the right side of his forehead.
August couldn’t breathe, his chest refusing to inflate, and when he tried to speak, there was nothing through which to produce the words, just a choking, muted gasp. The monster looked upwards, almost like a bizarre attempt to look at the bone sticking out of its face, before turning his head to the side to look at its attacker, apparently unaffected by the impalement. Boko stepped backwards once, then to the side, avoiding the creatures flashing arm and tearing the javelin out of its head in a mess of thick black liquid. Kalter smashed into it a second later, crushing it into the wall of the Anemoi Airship and crumpling the entire panel with an ear-splitting bang. All of her arms shifted, striking out, impacting, and returning in a furious blur of motion that would have been impossible to track if not for the deafening noise that followed in the wake of each terrible hit.
The monster stepped out of the wall, stumbling forward into the attacks that were tearing apart everything around them. Melon’s terrified form remained frozen in place up until the moment Boko had stepped past her, placing a hand on her belly and pushing backwards out of the way. Kalter ripped the bone knife off her belt, tearing the twine loop in the process before attempting to bury it in the creature’s face. The monster tilted all the way to the side, balanced on a single leg, its thick, scaly tail sweeping out as a counterbalance beside it. The tip of the knife smashed into the metal panelling of the airship, glanced upwards, and then tore itself free of her grip. It spun in a blurring white arc to land tip first in the ground between them and the approaching Boko. The monster, now practically horizontal, twisted, its leg crashing into Kalter’s raised block—there was another titanic bang as Kalter was smashed into the side of the airship shoulder first, folding most of the wall into the hallway beyond. The force of the hit, partially deflected by the odd angle of the attack, sent her bouncing off the wall and tumbling across the grass as she clawed at it, searching for purchase. Soil, grass, and metal fragments washed up into the air at her passing, all six of her arms burying themselves in the ground to finally regain control of her momentum.
August attempted to speak again, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a mess of saliva and blood. He raised his arm to cover his mouth, some deep internal reflex at work to hide it, and he found himself looking at a mess of bloody flesh. Everything from his left forearm upwards was simply missing. August stared at it without understanding, just a numb sort of horror rising up. He found himself lifting his head again as somebody called out something that didn’t make any sort of sense. Melon finally seemed to find the willpower to move under her own power, and within moments she was tearing across the grass towards him.
Boko ducked low and took hold of the bone knife as he passed, pulling it up out of the grass with a little spray of soil. The motion and his approach seemed to catch the monster’s attention because it pushed itself back up onto its feet by the heft of its tail and then blurred into motion. The ground ripped itself apart beneath the creature’s footfalls, soil, grass, and black blood scattering around it. It reached Boko with its right arm extended, claws out, reaching for his throat—Boko rose up on the outside of the attack with a sort of casualness that August couldn’t comprehend, and the tip of the bone knife was revealed, sticking perfectly upright through the crook of its elbow. The monster buried its leading foot down into the ground in an effort to stop its forward progress. Boko reached up, taking hold of the handle of the knife, and then twisted it upright in a single smooth motion—the entire arm just seemed to fall off, the muscles and tendons keeping it attached torn apart beneath the edge of the knife.
Melon reached him, the ground shaking as she fell to her knees directly beside him, hands reaching out to try and help him sit up—August choked out another attempt at a word, and she flinched violently.
“August,” Melon managed. “I don’t—what am I supposed to do?”
Even if he’d had an answer to a question that seemed beyond them both, he couldn’t even find the breath to speak. August turned to look at where she was now cradling his hand in between a pair of her own—he found nothing but red, his chest torn open in three massive trenches. Beyond that, past her arm was even more red, mixing into the grass where his leg should have been. The sight of it just made the pain grow worse as if acknowledging what had happened had removed some filter that had been keeping him safe from it all. A sick combination of self-preservation and an inability to look at himself any longer forced him to lift his head back up.
That small amount of time where he hadn’t been watching the violent struggle on the grass had brought great change. Boko had somehow managed to take the thing’s other arm off at the shoulder, and Kalter was tearing across the grass in an effort to rejoin the fight. The monster stepped forward, somehow not noticing that one of its feet had been staked to the ground by a javelin—the weapon was squashed beneath its now ruined foot and left behind on the grass as it continued its attempts to attack. Kalter snatched up the weapon on her way back into the fight, crashing into the monster spear first. The tip of it pierced straight through its back and then out of its chest as she lifted it up off the ground—it's tail smashed into her side, sending her rolling across the grass, but the momentary distraction was more than enough time for Boko to take it’s right leg off at the knee.
“—August,” Melon whispered, “August.”
Everything was starting to darken now, and though he tried to squeeze Melon’s hand, he couldn’t seem to remember how the muscles in his hand actually worked. There was a burst of muted satisfaction at seeing Kalter cut the things only remaining leg off, the action sending a streak of black blood across the exterior panelling of the airship. All of the shit he’d been put through these last twelve days, and he was just going to die like this, to some unknown thing that had been hiding in the dark, waiting for someone to open the fucking door. August couldn’t let things end like that; he had to know what it was—[Analysis].
Elard Mantos
A Child of Gaia who was born on the 34th Finger and the current acting commander of the Molionidai.
If August could have spoken, he would have told Kalter that she was fucking blind; he didn’t look a damn thing like them—
The book two revision is getting close to being finished; I have one chapter left to go over and then a few more edit passes to make sure everything fits properly.
The book one revision of Contention with the overhaul of the system is done, and it's sitting up on my Patreon in the 1$ tier; you can find it in the pinned master list post.
Contention: Revised Edition - Book One.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review; it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
Kalter reached out above him, placed her hand flat at the top of the door, and then pressed forward. Still crouched beneath her, he glanced up and watched as her muscles swelled, veins washing into view across her skin—the last of the unsevered metal creaked in pain, and then there was an awful snapping noise as the door fell forward into the airship. It hit the floor directly ahead of him and then started sliding down to the left; following the angle of the ship, the screech of metal on metal trailing sparks behind it. August glanced down at where the far corner of the door had impacted, the first spray of sparks illuminating some vague shape on the floor.
August pressed his hands to his knees, standing up and lifting the [Basic Light System] as he went. Blinding white light washed across the floor in front of him, passing over the very edge of that same shape and flooding the interior of the airship. The insane slant of it all gave him a distinct moment of visual vertigo as his mind tried to figure out that the floor beneath his feet was straight, but the floor of the enclosed hallway in front of him was going in the completely wrong direction. He stepped further into the doorway, angling the light in order to better see whatever the shape to his direct right was. The tall, slender, and scaly green thing standing there seemed to tilt its head as the light lingered on it. August stumbled backwards out of the doorway, the light spinning away from him as something hit him in the arm. The thing stepped over the threshold, and August started to fall backwards, one leg coming up off the ground as he lost his balance—
—August hit the wall of bamboo back first, a terrible pressure rolling from his back to his ribcage and stealing all of the breath from his lungs. If there had been any actual pain from the impact, it was lost beneath the searing agony that was attacking what felt like every single nerve ending across his body. The faceless, almost-human creature stepped out all the way into the light; inexplicably, a long, tanned leg was dangling from its clawed hand, the ankle crushed to pulp inside of its grip. The leg failed to withstand the creature’s strength, falling into separate pieces as it closed its fist—Boko staked it through the side of the head with his javelin, the long sliver of bone passing through the space just below where its left ear should have been, and out of the right side of his forehead.
August couldn’t breathe, his chest refusing to inflate, and when he tried to speak, there was nothing through which to produce the words, just a choking, muted gasp. The monster looked upwards, almost like a bizarre attempt to look at the bone sticking out of its face, before turning his head to the side to look at its attacker, apparently unaffected by the impalement. Boko stepped backwards once, then to the side, avoiding the creatures flashing arm and tearing the javelin out of its head in a mess of thick black liquid. Kalter smashed into it a second later, crushing it into the wall of the Anemoi Airship and crumpling the entire panel with an ear-splitting bang. All of her arms shifted, striking out, impacting, and returning in a furious blur of motion that would have been impossible to track if not for the deafening noise that followed in the wake of each terrible hit.
The monster stepped out of the wall, stumbling forward into the attacks that were tearing apart everything around them. Melon’s terrified form remained frozen in place up until the moment Boko had stepped past her, placing a hand on her belly and pushing backwards out of the way. Kalter ripped the bone knife off her belt, tearing the twine loop in the process before attempting to bury it in the creature’s face. The monster tilted all the way to the side, balanced on a single leg, its thick, scaly tail sweeping out as a counterbalance beside it. The tip of the knife smashed into the metal panelling of the airship, glanced upwards, and then tore itself free of her grip. It spun in a blurring white arc to land tip first in the ground between them and the approaching Boko. The monster, now practically horizontal, twisted, its leg crashing into Kalter’s raised block—there was another titanic bang as Kalter was smashed into the side of the airship shoulder first, folding most of the wall into the hallway beyond. The force of the hit, partially deflected by the odd angle of the attack, sent her bouncing off the wall and tumbling across the grass as she clawed at it, searching for purchase. Soil, grass, and metal fragments washed up into the air at her passing, all six of her arms burying themselves in the ground to finally regain control of her momentum.
August attempted to speak again, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a mess of saliva and blood. He raised his arm to cover his mouth, some deep internal reflex at work to hide it, and he found himself looking at a mess of bloody flesh. Everything from his left forearm upwards was simply missing. August stared at it without understanding, just a numb sort of horror rising up. He found himself lifting his head again as somebody called out something that didn’t make any sort of sense. Melon finally seemed to find the willpower to move under her own power, and within moments she was tearing across the grass towards him.
Boko ducked low and took hold of the bone knife as he passed, pulling it up out of the grass with a little spray of soil. The motion and his approach seemed to catch the monster’s attention because it pushed itself back up onto its feet by the heft of its tail and then blurred into motion. The ground ripped itself apart beneath the creature’s footfalls, soil, grass, and black blood scattering around it. It reached Boko with its right arm extended, claws out, reaching for his throat—Boko rose up on the outside of the attack with a sort of casualness that August couldn’t comprehend, and the tip of the bone knife was revealed, sticking perfectly upright through the crook of its elbow. The monster buried its leading foot down into the ground in an effort to stop its forward progress. Boko reached up, taking hold of the handle of the knife, and then twisted it upright in a single smooth motion—the entire arm just seemed to fall off, the muscles and tendons keeping it attached torn apart beneath the edge of the knife.
Melon reached him, the ground shaking as she fell to her knees directly beside him, hands reaching out to try and help him sit up—August choked out another attempt at a word, and she flinched violently.
“August,” Melon managed. “I don’t—what am I supposed to do?”
Even if he’d had an answer to a question that seemed beyond them both, he couldn’t even find the breath to speak. August turned to look at where she was now cradling his hand in between a pair of her own—he found nothing but red, his chest torn open in three massive trenches. Beyond that, past her arm was even more red, mixing into the grass where his leg should have been. The sight of it just made the pain grow worse as if acknowledging what had happened had removed some filter that had been keeping him safe from it all. A sick combination of self-preservation and an inability to look at himself any longer forced him to lift his head back up.
That small amount of time where he hadn’t been watching the violent struggle on the grass had brought great change. Boko had somehow managed to take the thing’s other arm off at the shoulder, and Kalter was tearing across the grass in an effort to rejoin the fight. The monster stepped forward, somehow not noticing that one of its feet had been staked to the ground by a javelin—the weapon was squashed beneath its now ruined foot and left behind on the grass as it continued its attempts to attack. Kalter snatched up the weapon on her way back into the fight, crashing into the monster spear first. The tip of it pierced straight through its back and then out of its chest as she lifted it up off the ground—it's tail smashed into her side, sending her rolling across the grass, but the momentary distraction was more than enough time for Boko to take it’s right leg off at the knee.
“—August,” Melon whispered, “August.”
Everything was starting to darken now, and though he tried to squeeze Melon’s hand, he couldn’t seem to remember how the muscles in his hand actually worked. There was a burst of muted satisfaction at seeing Kalter cut the things only remaining leg off, the action sending a streak of black blood across the exterior panelling of the airship. All of the shit he’d been put through these last twelve days, and he was just going to die like this, to some unknown thing that had been hiding in the dark, waiting for someone to open the fucking door. August couldn’t let things end like that; he had to know what it was—[Analysis].
Elard Mantos
A Child of Gaia who was born on the 34th Finger and the current acting commander of the Molionidai.
If August could have spoken, he would have told Kalter that she was fucking blind; he didn’t look a damn thing like them—
The book two revision is getting close to being finished; I have one chapter left to go over and then a few more edit passes to make sure everything fits properly.
The book one revision of Contention with the overhaul of the system is done, and it's sitting up on my Patreon in the 1$ tier; you can find it in the pinned master list post.
Contention: Revised Edition - Book One.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review; it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
