Logan, Marcus, and Amalia continued to speak with the villagers of Noma while they awaited the return of the elementals. There wasn’t much else to gain from conversation, aside from alleviating concerns amongst the populace. It was also nice reconnecting with Jrizan after all this time, a major contributor to Logan’s early-day success.

  “Master”, Spark called as the five elementals returned.

  Logan stood up from his chair and walked out of the hut, “Any troubles?”

  “The two passages split up a few times in both directions, it seems the monster has left the underground on several occasions. We have agreed that it seems the monster came from the south.”

  “It’s so sporadic, man!” Celsius exclaimed.

  “The tunnels are surrounded in stone at times, soft mud in others. That dark soil persists in the breaches”, Umbra added.

  Logan rubbed his chin as he thought, “So it destabilises the ground as it exits. Any connection with the other breaches?”

  “Perfect spots to surprise wildlife”, Servoir informed.

  “It is hunting, then. If it didn’t go after the people it probably prefers animals”, Logan calculated.

  Marcus walked to Logan’s side and spoke, “It’d be the normal cycle of life, if not for it being a monster. Madamra’s plans are disgusting as usual.”

  “Spark, stay here in case the monster returns”, Logan instructed.

  “As commanded.”

  “The rest of us will head south to track the worm”, Logan continued as he looked at Marcus and Amalia.

  Explaining the situation to Jrizan, the trio warped away from Noma. The distance between Dimensional Jaunts wasn’t as large as normal, since they had to check holes in the ground and tunnels to make sure they hadn’t missed a redirection. Every stop had the trio circle the ruptures and check for any signs of wildlife.

  It seemed each breach was near places where animals gathered. Natural springs, vegetative areas, and what seemed like old nests and twig homes. The monster was certainly a new formation, these holes were hard to miss and the effect on the food supplies would have been noticed quite some time ago.

  Eventually, the party reached a breach in the ground that was seemingly one of the oldest. The darker soil had been covered in moss and trampled by other creatures. Like a criminal returning to the scene of the crime, the ground started to shake as the worm burst from the previous hole.

  Logan, Marcus, and Amalia all jumped away from the exit, the worm breaking apart the ground as it seemingly had grown since it last came out through it.

  Without seeing its entirety, the worm had to have been over a hundred feet long, its width close to fifteen feet, larger than most houses. Its maw snapped apart, revealing nodules across its opening like gums holding around a dozen huge teeth that looked like broken ends of bone. A disgustingly pink tongue wiggled at the middle of its mouth, housing three other darker teeth.

  The worm’s skin was disgustingly wrinkly and droopy like it was continuing to grow and stretch itself. A mix of brown and green, the skin houses several greeny-grey pustules with red skin around them, like it was infected. As its body rubbed against the ground as it dug into the air it seemed as if it were moving through a car wash’s brush, a thick green liquid slopping to the ground.

  “Identify”, Logan commanded in his head.

  “Plague Worm”, a window replied.

  “Thanks, so helpful.”

  As the worm reached a good fifty feet from the hole it bent down to peer at the party, it lacked eyes so it looked more like it was aiming its mouth at them. Stretching wider, the worm let out a loud hiss that shook the trees, saliva shooting across the green area.

  Wrenching forward, the worm lunged at Logan first, the Spellthief using Air Blast from his palm to skyrocket away from the attack. With his opposite hand, Logan let loose a Devastation Flame at the hide of the monster. The dark embers roiled around the monster but seemingly did little to darken its skin.

  With a flick of its rear, the worm attempted to hit Logan with its tail, but he merely blasted away from it again. As he landed in a quick slide across the floor, the worm erupted from the ground again at Logan.

  With two arms aimed forward, he chanted, “Barrier”, forming two blue hexagon barriers in front of him. The monster collided with the protections, a wave of force cutting apart the nearby foliage as matter met magic.

  The worm’s body started to fold in on itself as its momentum was halted, the first barrier shattering as it fell into the second.

  Marcus let out a loud grunt as he came from above the worm, landing a solid downward jab into the beast’s hide. However, it was like kneading dough. Thick and morphic around his fist, Marcus landed fist after fist into the skin as it merely rippled around.

  Rolling over the ground, the worm moved away from Logan’s Barrier and flung Marcus off of its body. With renewed velocity, the worm jumped away again, Marcus kicking and punching at the long monster as it passed him.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Going for a different member this time, the plague worm landed a massive face slam into Amalia’s shield, this was met by her body glowing blue with a vibrating shield, the steel of her blade shone brightly as she used her Last Bastion skill, returning most of the damage back to her attacker combined with her own damage.

  The sword cut through the gums of one of the monster’s teeth, causing it to sever and fly off from the monster. It let out a pained hiss as dark green blood sprayed out from the new wound.

  Logan let loose more elemental magics against the worm, aided by martial blows from Marcus. The worm seemingly had enough of some of the attacks as it breathed in deeply. Its body pulsated slightly as it let out an even louder screech, cracking the trunks of trees and causing them all to tumble.

  The trio’s bodies all started to shake in tune with the screech, Logan cursed aloud, “It’s fucking Chatter! Watch your spells and skills”, he informed his party. He had dealt with this kind of effect in the past but was hopeful he was over it.

  Logan began taking dagger after dagger from his coat, throwing them at the monster as they all found purchase within its skin. Marcus continued to harass it, but in a slower manner, while Amalia had to change out her shield for another as the monster bashed it again.

  As many daggers now found themselves within the worm, Logan threw both hands out and began to use Telekinesis, however, this plan was interrupted as the worm teleported themselves high up in the sky, leaving all the daggers to fall to the ground.

  Like a teen, the worm’s pustules all began to bubble and burst, an abyssal liquid seeping out and falling to the ground below.

  Logan’s eyes went wide at the sight, a disconcerting intuition forcing his next movements. With lightning-fast Dimensional Jaunts, Logan grappled Marcus’s waist with his arm and teleported to do the same against Amalia, before he teleported again to move all three far from the vicinity.

  As the liquid from the worm hit the ground below, it started to eat away like it was acid. The area was flush with dark green fumes as the whole battlefield melted in an instant.

  The trio appeared within a different part of the forest, close enough to see the area they had previously been at or at least its skyline. Before any could spy their foe in the sky it had vanished from view, replaced with the disgusting haze left in its wake.

  “You two alright?” Logan asked with worry.

  Marcus nodded, “Thanks for the save. No clue what that attack was gonna do.”

  “I’m fine too. Didn’t think my shield could handle that?”

  “Good. I had a pit in my stomach. I couldn’t scan the monster, but those bubbles on its skin reminded me of Pogo. I didn’t want to chance it not being weak or avoidable.”

  “It’s good to be cautious with these things. The monster isn’t in sight. Are we going back or do you think it is coming after us?” Marcus asked.

  “Let’s go back.”

  Returning to the scene of the conflict, the floor had turned a darker shade than before. If this was a lush forest before it was now a wasteland. The trees had dissolved to nothing and the grass had been eaten away. A strange decaying marsh had now taken over the area. The trio of adventurers covered their noses as the area smelled foul.

  “From seeing how that thing came out the hole, and all of this… stuff, I think this is how it ‘vacates’ its bowels,” Marcus theorized.

  “I was right at least that the area was some form of byproduct then if that’s the case”, Logan replied as he looked around.

  “So where did it go? What was the point in attacking us?” Amalia asked.

  “Maybe attacking us wasn’t its main intention. It shed that outer layer as it left the ground, it probably just needed to come out somewhere and we were here.”

  “Poor luck for us then”, Marcus said.

  “From one point of view. We now know a bit more about it, and that it is growing larger. We need to take it down quickly before it becomes unmanageable.”

  “Think it’ll get stronger the bigger it becomes?”

  Logan shook his head slowly, “Hard to say, but it’s a good guess. From the size of the tunnels underground it looks like it continued south”, he said as he looked into the hole.

  “Let’s check the nearest settlement. Acety, by what the map says.”

  “I was going to suggest the same. If Noma was hit due to its farms I am worried about nearby villages”, Logan accepted.

  The three gathered up shortly and teleported away again.

  Apparating on the edge of the closest village, the trio startled a few nearby guards who fumbled with the weapons at their hilts.

  “Halt! Who goes there—Wait, hunters?” one of the guards shouted before seeing the armbands on Logan and Marcus. “Wonderful days! Did our ooran reach the capital?”

  The party approached the guard, Logan replying, “In regards to what?”

  “Our bounty. We’ve had several kidnappings in recent days and we sent an ooran to set up a hunt request. Is that not why you’re here?”

  Logan shook his head, “Sorry, but no. We’re on the trail of a huge worm that’s been wreaking havoc in nearby settlements.”

  The guard stomped his foot, “Below, our kids have been gone for over a week now.”

  Logan sighed, “Do you have the details?”

  The other guard jogged a bit closer, “None about a worm, but I can give you the basics. Around eight days ago the kids of Acety went out of the village to play a game, probably hide and seek in the trees and bushes. They do it often and with a guardian so it’s normally fine, however, this time none came back. The only sign of something awry was a small hole in the ground.”

  Logan raised an eyebrow, “Eight days to grow to that size?” he said under his breath, “How many were taken?”

  “Thirteen, fourteen including the guardian. There are the Sammy twins, Erika…”, the guard continued to list off some kids until he ended with, “Oh, and the Eren’s son, Lucas.”

  Marcus then perked up and took a few steps toward the guard, “Did you say Eren?”

  “Yes, sir. Lucas Eren. Do you know his parents? Say, you’re not his uncle or something are you? The family resemblance is uncanny.”

  Marcus shook his head, “No, sorry. I just knew someone of that family tree.”

  Logan then stepped forward, “We’ll look into things for you. Do you have a guardhouse or tavern?”

  “We have a tavern with a few rooms for travellers.”

  “Alright. We’ll ask around for more info, and possibly take a rest here before moving on.”

  “Thank you. A thousand above blessings on you.”

  The guards then took a few steps back and slouched a bit more as the tension left their shoulders. Logan led the party into the village proper, though it lacked any form of walls the guards acted like a form of entrance.

  Logan looked back at Marcus with worry in his eyes, he then asked, “You want to talk to them?”

  “What? My parents?”

  --- *** ---