Energy Eater

184 – Guardian Eater

Seeing that this was an Eater that was tier two and saturated sent a chill down my spine. This was likely the strongest Eater I had ever seen, if we were not counting the one that I only saw in the distance coming out of the nest and possibly the one that gave me that strange vision, but that one was already dead.I didn't have time to think about what was actually happening. The monster was already on top of us, and if we didn't fight together, everybody was going to die. I saw Astrid starting to charge at the creature, but thankfully, I was closer to the monster than she was. I put my staff on the ground to block her path and yelled, "Focus on long range. We don't know what that one can do."

It wasn't an order but a suggestion that everybody seemed to keep. Rixnala was upset with me for taking the lead. Then again, she had tried to sabotage us previously. She didn't want to tell us the types of Eaters they had seen before. It took one of the seasoned hunters to tell us about all the variations and this was not on the list. Astrid gave me an annoyed look, clearly annoyed by my suggestion, but she still followed along. Instead of attacking the creature again, or continuing her charge to attack the creature, she swiped her hand axe on the side, creating an {Emerging Glacier} that crashed underneath the beast.

Yet, the damage seemed to be minimal. The initial shards of ice were blocked by the Eater's armored, shielded legs, and the ice that was able to go underneath it only destroyed some of the tentacles that existed there. This might be the exact reason why the Eater had chosen to wrap itself around those tentacles. Now it could protect its own body while making sure that its weapons were always ready in case anything should happen.

The monster shifted towards the Huskcarver, but a few boulders slammed against its face, or where we were assuming its face to be, before it started moving. The Rodenti with Rixnala were attacking with everything they had. Michael also fired a few arrows enveloped in the silk trap that Riley made. But instead of the silk being able to wrap around the creature and pin it to the ground, it only covered the beast in some of the strands before most of them were broken as the creature just moved without even seeming to care about this attempt at restraining it. But that was only the first appearance. I could see that the silk was now still on top of its body, stopping some of the tentacles from breaking free.hing. The Eater was playing with us, or at least it was preparing a bigger attack and using this opportunity to lure us to get close.

As soon as I noticed that, I activated {Mind of Possibility} in hopes of being able to respond to whatever was about to come. I saw myself using {Clash of Nature} directly into the creature's mouth, but to no avail. Then I hit it from underneath using a different combination of elements, but still the result was the same. The Eater was still able to withstand my attacks. From the left, from the right, from above, from underneath. {Clash of Nature}, {Formless Swipe}, using {Compression} to stuff something in its mouth and then make it bigger.

Nothing seemed to be working to quickly dispatch the beast. And to make matters worse, there wasn't a single version of events that revealed to me what the Eater was about to do, which made sense. After all, {Mind of Possibility} only allowed me to use all the information that was available to me. The Eater's plan wasn't such information.

I could tell that the skill was running out. But even after three dozen different possible variations, there was nothing. There wasn't a single version of events that would result in this Guardian Eater being quickly dispatched. I could feel the last remaining Energy being spent on one final attempt. In it, I jumped underneath the creature and touched the ice created by Astrid's {Emerging Glacier}, using {Clash of Nature} together with that element, mixing it with the water from {As I Flow So Does The Current}. The impact caused by the combination of attacks was much more powerful than I was expecting.

It seemed like the water itself was still following Astrid's command. The glacier expanded first and only then burst in a small explosion that seemed to pierce the middle of the creature's body. But more than that, the ice seemed to pin it to the ground, stopping the monster from escaping as everyone else began attacking the creature relentlessly.

I wasn't entirely sure if {Mind of Possibility} would be able to give me even one more attempt. So, without feeling like I had no other option, I just took it. Following the exact same pattern that I just watched happen, I rushed under the Guardian Eater, making sure not to be caught by any of its tendrils or its legs. A moment later, I triggered {Clash of Nature}, combining the water with the ice that had been created. The explosion seemed to be a shard of frozen water that emerged from the tip of the wave. And just as it happened with {Mind of Possibility}, the wave of ice impaled the Eater from below, stopping it from being able to move around properly.

But this did not mean that the Eater had run out of options. Instead, it used an ability that no one knew or expected it to have. The tentacles latched down onto the ice and shattered it while still making sure to maintain some of its shape. The various shards now being carried by the tentacles as if they were weapons. Maces, clubs, and even daggers in the possession of this Guardian Eater that continued to threaten us. But even if we were trying to escape, the creature had proven that it was too quick for us. It wouldn't be easy for anyone to flee from this beast.

Astrid slammed her axe on the creature, activating {Crawling Frost}, and I went for another {Clash of Nature}. This time using both earth and fire in hopes of making something similar to lava. It was a bit of a long shot since I had no idea if that was actually going to work, but once I found a rock that still had some particles from the spells being cast by the mages, I managed to create a molten rock that slammed against the monster. From the hole that was already in the monster's body, I launched the projectile of molten fire that was in my hand, hoping to burn it from the inside out.

But I wasn't the only one doing something. Countless weapons were stabbing the creature and attacking it from all directions. Yet the monster was barely using the ice to fight back. It seemed like it wasn't even trying to fend us off but just keep us busy. That's when I saw a glint in the corner of my eye. The blood that was dripping from its wounds was not the same milky white that Eater blood generally had. Instead, it was silvery, almost as if there was a shine to it. With a worried expression, I took another look only to realize that the entire area was covered in that white blood, and we were all standing directly on top of it.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, almost as if telling me something was about to happen, and I shouted as loud as I could, "Run!"

Most of the Rodenti didn't care about my warning. Only a couple of them started moving away, still unsure what was happening. Astrid was the only one who actually took to heart what I said. Instead of running away from the creature, she started grabbing a few other Rodenti that were nearby before bolting. I tried to follow along, but the Huskcarver was considerably faster than I was. Before I could get far enough away, light flooded my vision, and with a loud boom, the Eater turned its blood into a highly potent explosive, creating a blast that sent all of those attacking it flying into the distance.