Chapter 301: Of course there’s a curse
“Huh?! Are they…nuts?!,” the hunter thought as she watched the scrawny looking person walk over and about to touch the Queen’s Remains.
None of the beasts were stupid, they all knew what this place was, the legacy it held and the power it could bring them…but it was also the one place that everyone and their grubs steered clear from.
“Need to stop them! Now!,” she mentally screamed as she notched an arrow from her quiver, not caring if it was lethal or not, and aiming for the scrawny person about to unleash a curse that had just resealed itself not too long ago!
“Aim for head or…no time!”
Over the years, headstrong beetles, vicious centipedes, mad mantises and ambitious spiders had all made attempts to breach the Queen’s Remains and claim her latent power…but all they ever do is kill themselves and unleash hell.
“Sorry!”
She loosed an arrow as fast as lightning at the person, promising that they’ll not eat this one’s body as a sign of respect…only to be absolutely shocked as the strange glowing one whipped out a strange goopy feeler and grabbed the arrow before it could pierce the squishy one’s head.
“W-what?!”
Absolutely shocked by the results, she was compelled to drop down and see how they managed to do such a feat, as well as warn them about the curse that is in place here.
“Too fast! Way too fast!”
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“Okay, looks like a kaijin, but definitely doesn’t feel like one! What in the windy valley f-!”
“BGKSHFBDJ!”
[Because I’m too fast for ya, sucka. Also, magic tongue!]
“Hold up…”
Immediately after an arrow had almost pierced his face, a giant insectile Frankenstein’s monster carrying a crazy looking bow just dropped from above and landed in front of him like it was a superhero flick. He was about to strike out based on instinctual aggression, a straight punch to the jaw is just a universal weak point on anything, but then he noticed that the being before him made a sound that was distinctly mammalian sounding.
Granted it sounded like someone trying to use human vocal chords to mimic insect calls, but it was distinctively mammalian.
Unexpected benefit of being raised by aether beast handlers, you start to notice the difference in sounds that mammals, birds and bugs make, especially when mimicry gets involved.
There was a long story involving a Melodic Scorpion and a goat, not the point right now.
Zhen Liu decided to step back after coming to the realization, in order to better asses the possible threat before him.
‘That looks like…armor?’
From his split second observations after realizing the possible true nature of this monster person, Zhen Liu made the quick deduction that the exterior wasn’t the actual body but a makeshift armor of lashed together insect shells.
While he couldn’t make out specific species, he could recognize that some bits were whole shells of smaller insects of the first tier mixed with solid plates from larger ones of the second to third tier.
‘Damn, that stuff could probably take a dagger to the chest and break the dagger first.’
Zhen Liu took on a fighting stance as he waited for his kaijin to come in and help out, while the hunter before them began to stand up from their crouched position and stand at least a head taller than him.
‘Huh. First time I’ve felt short in weeks…. hold up.’
He quickly threw a look behind himself to make sure the kaijin were moving in to attack, only to notice that none of them were making a move, except for Hurricroak who was taking a fighting stance.
Nepherage, Frosttusk and even the zakos were looking rather chilled about the whole thing, despite their boss almost getting his eyeball turned into a kebab.
‘Uh, guys? Do y’all not see the crazy bug hunter looking like they want to use my guts for garters? They’re standing right in front of me,’ he asked while maintaining the stance.
He had seen one too many movies where the moment a guy gets distracted, the dude in front of them just split their throats open with a punch or hidden claw.
[No milord,] Nepherage answered, [I don’t think she wants to attack you.]
‘Huh? Wait, she?’
“Fbsjshfbsksb!”
[Wait, what? What curse?]
“Wait, you understand her?”
As if hearing Nepherage’s statement and proving her point, the strange hunter immediately walked pass Zhen Liu and made her way over to Hurricroak, who was starting to get froggy, well, froggier.
[Look girlie, if you’re trying to intimidate us into backing off so you can claim this place for your own, tough noogies, we need those corpses for…things.]
“HFJSKIEF.”
[Yes, we’re aware of what it is. That’s why we want it in the first place.]
“Bdjsjshfhk! Sjskdbfjsn, sbsj!”
[Wait, there’s what in there? That’s…no way.]
“Bfjshdb!”
[Well…shit.]
‘Just to clarify, can any of you guys understand a single word they’re saying?’
[Nope.]
[Nuh…uh…]
Even the zakos shook their heads in response.
‘When did…never mind, not the time, not the time…,’ Zhen Liu muttered to himself as he walked over to Hurricroak and the hunter-type.
“Uhhh, Hurricroak?,” Zhen Liu finally interjected, “mind telling the rest of the class what our new… acquaintance here is saying? Also, how are you understanding them?”
[Reverse order: I can apparently speak bug because I’m part wasp, also, maestro…can you go over to the shell and try to make our new companion right now? Because this crazy puta is saying there’s something wrong with it.]
‘Of course there is…’
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=Uhh…why?=
=Ah. Well, night’s still young and we’re only at the part with the curse being introduced, romance stuff ain’t hint till part away through that anyways.=
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Date: Twenty-seventh day of the Sixth Month, Azure Kings Era – Year 56
I don’t know what our History department counterparts did, but they thoroughly fucked up and seemed to have dragged us into it!
For the past seven days or so, the History Division continued their little excursions into the deeper part of the jungles, only to come out looking more and more disappointed in every return trip…until today that is.
Everything was going normal, the Alchemist Division managed to figure out a new medicine that boosted the liver’s ability to detox and we had identified two new species of flowers that could serve as itch cream ointment.
But then in a grand flurry of motion and screaming, the history expedition returned with one of their members on a stretcher looking “wrong” and immediately dumped him in the medical tent.
Evidently…I think putting “wrong” is an understatement right now, so I will attempt to expand upon it, but pointing out three things I had witnessed in regards to this student’s behavior.
The student in question returned to the camp covered in boils looking ready to burst and strange sores that were all ring-shaped, head to toe with very few patches of uninfected skin.
The student’s sclera, the whites of his eyes, looked like they were a deep purple color and in the right light, looked as if it was segmenting itself like the compound eyes of some of the insects they had hunted days prior.
But the one thing that will haunt for years would have to have been…the screaming.
The whole time while the student was getting treated, he kept droning on and on with this weird demented sounding scream that was like a mix between a hiss and cricket chirping of all things.
Crickets can’t make sounds with their mouths, I know, but they can make a sound based on rubbing their legs together and as fucked up as it sounds, it was like half of the student’s vocal chords were replaced with cricket legs.
Big, nasty cricket legs that caused internal bleeding.
Fortunately for so, and the student, Professor Zelini had not been doing nothing these past few days and had prepared all sorts of concoctions for all sorts of issues.
While he couldn’t fix all of what was afflicting this student, but he did managed to treat the symptoms a bit and help the student get to a point where they could sleep in peace without hurting themselves… anymore at least.
…
I am tempted to end the entry here, it makes sense to in a writing sense, but… there’s one other thing I should mention.
When the History Division returned, their Professor didn’t immediately come to help deposit the student at the medical tent, that was work he relegated to his other students. Instead, he went immediately back to Frederick’s tent with what I swear was the biggest smile on his face.
If I had to hazard a guess, the History division found whatever they were looking for in the jungle…but I get the feeling it won’t be good for the rest of us.
