Ch. 22 - The Giant Brain

Robb closed his eyes, trying to pinpoint the source of the strange sensation, but the sound vanished in an instant.

"Strange..."

He murmured uneasily and sat up with a start.

At that very moment, the noise from next door surged violently.

It was no longer a sound any human could produce, more like the agonized howl of some beast, interwoven with an eerie metallic grinding.

"It seems my worst fear has actually come true..."

Robb whispered, a powerful sense of dread welling up.

He rolled off the bed in one swift, silent motion. The hunting drills his father had occasionally forced him and his brothers through back in the kingdom were finally proving useful.

The sounds next door grew more frantic, punctuated by the heavy thuds of something slamming against the walls.

Something was thrashing, crashing, and shrieking inside that cramped room.

Robb hesitated briefly, rapidly assessing the situation.

As Dagon's immediate neighbor, he was the most vulnerable.

Arnor had specifically warned him about the horrors of mutants in the Black Mist Order.

In the early stages of mutation, most victims retained basic rationality. But as time passed, reason would be consumed, until they became mindless killing machines.

Worse still, once sanity was completely lost, a mutant's power would skyrocket at terrifying speed. Through the total release of physical limiters and frenzied consumption of nutrients, they could reach levels rivaling a High Apprentice in a frighteningly short time.

Two months remained until the evaluation. He couldn't afford to take risks here.

"Dagon's already mutating. By the time the enforcement squad finds out, it'll be too late..." Robb thought rapidly. "I need to leave. Now."

He dressed, tucked the wooden sword at his waist, and stuffed his valuables inside his clothes.

"Survival first. I'll deal with the rest at daybreak," Robb muttered.

He'd barely finished packing when the noises next door suddenly ceased, replaced by a silence far more terrifying.

The silence lasted only seconds before giving way to the crack-crack-crack of fracturing bone and the wet, viscous sounds of shifting flesh.

Robb's heart hammered. He crept to his door, eased it open a crack, and peered outside.

The corridor was empty. Most Initiates had either gone to sleep or were in their rooms training behind closed doors, utterly unaware of the danger lurking among them.

He had to get clear, then notify the enforcement squad once he reached safety.

Robb drew a deep breath, silently pulled the door open, and prepared to slip away.

The instant he stepped through the doorway, the wall exploded. A twisted figure burst through like a cannonball, hurtling into the corridor.

Brick, timber, and dust sprayed everywhere, accompanied by an inhuman howl.

Robb's reflexes kicked in, he stumbled back two steps, narrowly avoiding being bowled over by the charging monstrosity.

"Damn it!"

Was that... Dagon?

His eyes went wide. He could barely believe what he was seeing.

What stood before Robb was no longer the pudgy researcher. It was a deformed abomination.

Dagon's body was contorting in agony, his clothes torn apart to reveal constantly writhing muscle tissue beneath.

But the most horrifying part was his head. The entire skull had been forced open from within, and a massive, pulsating, semi-translucent brain had emerged.

The surface of the grotesque brain was covered in squirming blood vessels. Certain regions even emitted a faint blue glow, as though electrical currents were coursing through them.

"Robb..." The creature had recognized him. In a voice layered with two overlapping tones, it forced out a few labored words. "Run... away..."

But that spark of humanity vanished in an instant. Dagon's eyes rapidly went hollow, his pupils dilating into pools of pitch black.

"Ngh... RAAAGH!"

His words dissolved into a bestial roar. The glow on the exposed brain's surface flared brighter.

Robb felt an invisible shockwave slam into him. For a split second, it was as if a sledgehammer had struck him square in the chest.

Only the body enhancement from his Knight Squire class allowed him to withstand the blow. Even so, his organs felt as though they'd been kneaded by an invisible fist, the pain was excruciating.

Had this been his old self, the force would have caused massive internal hemorrhaging.

The mutated brain-creature no longer responded to its name. It unleashed a series of piercing shrieks, each sonic attack more powerful than the last.

The corridor's wooden railings began to crack. Several nearby doors shuddered on their hinges.

Robb understood, the situation was beyond salvaging.

Dagon had been completely corrupted by the drug, transformed into a dangerous mutant.

In the Black Mist Order, there was only one protocol for this kind of threat, eliminate it.

Watching the creature's muscled, rampaging form and the relentless penetrating sonic blasts, Robb was quite sure that turning his back to flee would not end well for him.

His gaze turned cold and focused. All mercy and hesitation were crushed down to the deepest recesses of his heart.

Only one thought remained, survive.

The mutated Dagon seemed to sense the threat. With a furious roar, it charged.

Its speed was shocking. Muscle-corded legs stamped against the ground and it crossed the distance between them almost instantaneously.

Robb didn't lash out in panic. Following the principles of Sun God Swordcraft, breath and movement in perfect sync, he sidestepped at the last possible moment.

Simultaneously, his right hand drove the sword in a precise slash at Dagon's legs.

[Perfect dodge-counterattack! Basic Swordcraft EXP +2]

The blade connected with a dull thud.

Dagon staggered from the pain but quickly regained its footing and turned to attack again, noticeably slower this time.

Instead of charging directly, the creature opened its mouth and emitted a specialized sonic blast.

The air warped with energy, forming rings of semi-transparent sound waves hurtling toward Robb.

Robb tried to dodge, but the sonic rings were blindingly fast, nearly impossible to fully evade.

He twisted aside to avoid the first wave, but the second ring struck his shoulder dead-on.

"Aghh!"

Searing pain shot through him. His right arm went temporarily numb.

This wasn't mere physical impact, it was an attack that fused spirit power with sound waves. The very prototype of the sonic magic Dagon had been researching.

Robb struggled to create distance, but Dagon suddenly threw back its head and loosed a piercing shriek. Rings of even more powerful sound waves radiated from its mutated brain in an omnidirectional assault.

Blood trickled from the corner of Robb's mouth. He knew he had to end this quickly, or the sonic blasts would literally shake him to death.

Seeing the creature charge up for another devastating attack, inspiration struck. He cast the one zero-circle spell in his arsenal.

"Slime Splash!"

With a surge of spirit power, a glob of viscous liquid shot from his fingertips, striking Dagon squarely on the feet.

The liquid hardened rapidly, bonding the brain-creature's feet to the floor.

[Precise hit! Slime Splash EXP +2]

The mutated Dagon bellowed in rage, straining against the bonds, but the adhesive held firm.

Unable to move, it could only stand in place and continue launching sonic attacks.

The slime's binding effect was weakening fast. Within seconds, Dagon had already wrenched one leg free.

If it broke loose completely, Robb was dead.

Seizing the brief window, Robb dodged sonic rings while hunting for an opening.

Soon he noticed that after each sonic attack, the creature paused, the mutated brain needed a moment to recover.

"Now!"

Catching the gap after an attack, he darted behind Dagon.

At this range, Robb could clearly see the blood vessels pulsing across the grotesque brain.

No more hesitation. He raised his sword, and thrust with everything he had at the exposed weak point.

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