Chapter 141: Dark Story
The cold winds of Antarctica were especially more haunting during the night, as countless predators stalked the darkness of the continent.
One of the dreadful horrors of Antarctica, a powerful Corrupted Devil, was on the ground bleeding and crawling away as if trying to run from someone... Something.
Bloodied and utterly exhausted, the Nightmare Creature suddenly felt its madness recede for a moment and transform into something else... Fear.
In front of it loomed a massive, segmented body of black and gray, its red head resembling a nightmarish fusion of a Carnotaurus and a Tyrannosaurus Rex, with a single horn jutting from its forehead. The creature—belonging to the Tyrannopede species—had four powerful legs and six smaller arms, each ending in two clawed fingers.
Yet the predator was covered in an unnatural, pulsating mass of darkness, wrapped so tightly around its body that it resembled a second skin.
Before the Nightmare Creature could do anything, onyx tendrils erupted from the back of the monster, latching into the corrupted devil and bringing it towards the T-Rex mouth.
The maw the monster opened as the body of the devil was swallowed whole by the monster...
[You have slain a Corrupted Devil: Jade Prince]
Hugo heard the voice of the Spell, at the same time he sent a mental message to Zed, telling her to change forms once again.
Zed shrunk down in size, returning to her base wolfish form.
Hugo himself had finally assumed the form of [Klyntar], a symbiotic type imprint.
It was one of his eldest aliens, one that he had never used, mainly because he was deeply uncomfortable with parasitic beings.
But now, he couldn't afford to care about his own feelings. What mattered now was the mission, and nothing else.
And the [Klyntar] imprint just happened to be extremely helpful in his current situation.
He had bonded with Zed, who was already empowered by the [Polymorphic Crystal], increasing her powers even further.
Existing as a symbiote, he both controlled Zed and was also her partner, having an equal, yet bizarre symbiotic relationship with the alien wolf.
Being a symbiote... Was not that strange surprisingly enough. After all, Hugo had experienced being all types of creatures, he even became a god at one point.
'It seems I finally got accustomed to changing forms...'
Hugo thought as Zed rushed through the plains of Antarctica.
Either way, this symbiotic bond has proven to be extremely beneficial. As Hugo was not only as efficient as a Transcendent being right now, but he also still commanded his minions from afar using the [Crown of Falsehood].
Sometimes, he focused entirely on controlling the minions and allowed Zed to engage in battle on her own, allowing her to shift between a myriad of her predator aliens while retaining the boons of his augmentation.
Those deadly imprints of the Nemetrix were much more savage and brutal than the aliens of the Omnitrix, making the entirety of Antarctica a perfect hunting ground for her.
This strategy not only allowed him to conserve essence, but it also allowed him to be even more useful and efficient in battle.
So far, Zed and Hugo had managed to kill around seven Corrupted abominations ranging between the Beast and Devil classes, all of them were lone, yet powerful Nightmare Creatures.
When they fought against Nightmare Gates, Hugo would summon his shadow avatar to help, allowing it to spread its influence through the battle.
Having a Transcendent body... Or to be specific, being bonded with one was a peculiar thing.
It made Hugo wonder if he could possibly clear a pseudo-trial of a Transcendent imprint using his [Klyntar] form, bonded with Zed, while being aided by his Spirit Body, and his shadow avatar all at the same time.
He would need to become a Titan once again to do such a thing, but either way, it was not a bad plan...
More than that, he would likely receive a powerful augmentation if he bonded with his Spirit Body as it was of a higher class then zed.
He would have picked his shadow avatar to bond with instead of Zed, if not for the fact that he simply wasn't capable of that. Indeed, Hugo had tried to bond with the shadow avatar but the bond never worked. In fact, he felt that if he tried to do it one more time... He might just die.
It was only natural, after all, Shadows were not alive, so a symbiote—who is considered a living being—trying to bond with a shadow was not possible. The other way around went for Hugo, as his shadow could turn into a symbiote, however he cannot bond with him or anyone else.
Hours of hunting melted into days, with each one becoming more perilous for the duo.
***
[Day 1 of the bond]
Hugo and Zed had encountered a sinister Corrupted Devil that was on the cusp of evolution into a Great Devil or a Corrupted Tyrant.
The abomination had made its lair in the mountainsides and it was only sensed by them thanks to the foolishness of the creature, who did not conceal its presence.
The battle was ferocious, requiring Hugo and Zed to delve deep into their bond. However, the two came out on top, killing the abomination before it could evolve.
***
[Day 2 and 3 of the bond]
For the last two days, Hugo and Zed have been fighting against a nasty alliance of Fallen Tyrants, ruled by a sinister Fallen Terror. Their minions were vast and abominable, numbering in the thousands.
Those foul creatures claimed an entire region of central Antarctica, using only their numbers.
This was possible because three Category Two Gates had opened in the same area, and strangely the creatures that came out—resembling a fusion of humans and wolves—were allied together thanks to the influence of the Terror.
The Fallen Terror was insidious and eerily intelligent, using the three Tyrants under its control as conduits of its will.
Tyrants were not supposed to bow down to any creature, no matter their rank or class. They were monarchs by nature, so it was either death or conquest for them...
However, it seemed that this particular Fallen Terror had spawned the three Fallen Tyrants as extensions of himself and cultivated them to that rank and class, allowing them to command their own legion. In simple terms, the Tyrants were simply an extension of that dreadful Terror, being different bodies of the terror.
Either way, Hugo had ended up using the [Crown of Falsehood] to bring the legion of Stone Saints to this battle, creating a masterful battle formation.
At the same time, his shadow created a vast army of Water Hazards, harnessing the water of Antarctica.
The two legions, which were around five hundred in size when combined, battled against the army of werewolves, clashing often with the abominations and using their Abilities of darkness and water.
Due to the fact that werewolves outnumbered them, and possessed the boons of both three Tyrants and a Terror, the legion Hugo and his shadow commanded could not win, even if they possessed better abilities.
So, they had to change their approach.
Hugo had quickly came up with a plan, using grey matter and brainstorm.
He then assumed the form of [marble saint] briefly, using his authority as a terror. His shadow—who had also dropped down to the class of terror—did the same thing as him and wielded his terror authority, which was of course that of his minions.
The two authrioties were connected, almost identical to each other, and the combined assault of their powers weakened the Fallen Terror controlling the Tyrants, and the Tyrants themselves, by extension.
How exactly did he do that? He simply surrounded the entire area with minions, who were conduits for his influence, and spread them around.
Shortly after this, his shadow assumed the form of Diamondhead and created a gigantic crystal dome around the entire region, before commanding his Water Hazard minions to drown the entire area using their water.
Thanks to this devious strategy, the abominations ended up drowning to death, but the more powerful ones ended up surviving, naturally.
Hugo, seeing this, quickly transformed into Ampfibian and touched the water with a single tendril, allowing electricity to spread through it.
That day, his head nearly exploded from the notifications he received from the Spell.
***
[Day 4 of the bond]
Hugo and Zed—who had reassumed their symbiotic bond—chased down the remnants of the Jade Queen's army, making sure to destroy all the beetles who had escaped the battle.
Those beetles were problematic and downright annoying to deal with. Because while the queen herself was dead, many of her armies had ended up escaping the first evacuation army.
In fact, most of those beetles were creatures called [Jade Princes] that were all Devils of various ranks. Now, Hugo did not think those abominations were especially powerful, as problematic did not mean powerful.
However, he had deduced a theory that made them his top priority on the hunting list.
Why were they named Jade Princes? And why were they all of the Devil class, regardless of their ranks?
Hugo's answer to these questions was simple: it was because they were the direct spawns of the Jade Queen, her children who had inherited a part of their mother's authority.
If this theory was true, then those Princes could likely have an easier time becoming Tyrants and spreading their power through Antarctica.
A Devil ability that helps a creature become a Tyrant was unheard of among Nightmare Creatures, but it was not out of the realm of possibility as creatures could develop all sorts of bizarre abilities. Hugo knew that more than most.
What this all meant was that there could be numerous Tyrants of different ranks appearing within the Antarctic Center soon enough...
Something like that could lead to them losing even more ground in this hellish continent...
And so, hugo had made the decision to be especially ferocious in his search for those disgraced heirs.
***
As days slowly drifted by in this routine of slaying abominations and controlling his minions, Hugo's attention had shifted towards another part of his mind, one he had been dismissive of lately.
His Spirit Body, Lugan.
Lugan's situation was less dire than the main body's, however it was by no means luxurious or better.
Lugan was constantly boarding ships alongside the scions of the House of Night, transporting and guarding millions of refugees from Antarctica to other siege capitals.
The horrors they encountered on their way... Were terrifying to say the least.
Thanks to his semi-scouting ability, [Phaseform], the ships were able to avoid the more harrowing abominations such as the Corrupted of high classes or the Great ones of low classes.
The perilous journey was not what broke his heart, though. Instead it was the struggle of the people.
Each and every one of them were mundane, powerless, and barely struggling to stay alive. Some had lost their children to this crisis, some lost their parents, their friends, their lovers...
Some lost everything.
It was such a disheartening thing to see. Those people had their homes, properties, and their entire lives destroyed in the span of a month.
Some were being infected by the Nightmare Spell as well, but for common folk, that was not a promise of salvation, instead it was a promise of doom.
His colleagues in the House of Night had to put down multiple Aspirants who failed their First Nightmare and transformed into terrifying abominations. Lugan himself had refused to kill such Aspirants, as he did not have the heart to do so.
Looking at the sea with a tired expression, Lugan suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind.
He turned around to see who it was, as he did, a warm smile appeared on his face.
It was his fellow member of the House of Night, and also his dear friend, Asterion.