It really was a giant enemy crab.
The creature was as big as a house, standing at least twenty feet tall and bigger around than most cottages Jadis had seen in Cold Brook. The beast had eight long, articulated legs like a spider, and two more huge pincers. The giant crab’s claws were massive, each one long enough to reach the ground despite being tucked up close to the monster’s face, covering its clicking mandibles. It was a deep purple color, with red and yellow stripes covering different parts of its shell to give it a wild look that attracted the eye. Of course, a giant crab would attract any reasonable person’s gaze, but the flamboyant coloring certainly enhanced its distracting appearance.
Aside from the creature’s size, it almost looked like a normal crustacean of some exotic variety that Jadis had simply never seen before. Almost. Where those looks differed were found on the top of the giant crab’s shell.
The massive arthropod had a flat, wide shell, not unlike some mud crabs Jadis had seen in her past life. Unlike those harmless little animals from Earth, this crab had large, glowing green orbs sticking up out of the top of its flat shell. Some of the balls of acid were around the size of pumpkins, while others were three or four times larger. Even as Syd watched, she could see that the smaller spheres were increasing in size, growing larger every second like the world’s worst pimples.
With an almost casual movement, the giant crab used its right pincer to reach around and pluck one of the acid orbs off its back. Then, with shocking speed, it flicked the green projectile towards the intersection where Jadis and the soldiers were located.
The crustacean’s accuracy wasn’t great. This ball didn’t hit anyone; instead striking the wall of a building where its powerfully corrosive payload ate away at the structure’s exterior. Jadis attributed that lack of accuracy not to a lack of skill on the part of the crab, but instead to how far away it still was. The huge beast was a fair distance from them, closer to the market square where the dock gates were than the intersection where Jadis and her companions were. That distance was temporary, though, as the ten-legged monster was slowly making its way down the road towards them.
Jadis scowled at the undoubtedly possessed crustacean. She had expected larger foes like Greater Demons, maybe even Demon Matriarchs, to make an appearance. However, from the look of the thing, she could tell that this wasn’t some deranged abomination that had come out of an angry, homicidal Demon’s weird imagination. This was a magic beast. That meant the crab would have its own powers, while the Demon possessing it would be manipulating those powers while having its own spells and skills to use. That hadn’t posed too much of an issue against the giant birds who had been attacking the airships earlier; Jadis suspected that had to do with the large numbers of those beasts. She would bet all three of her left boots that those possession Demons had been young and weak, not unlike Oats back at the headquarters. Possession Demons were relatively rare, from what others had told her and she had experienced. To have that many in one spot meant they couldn’t all be high CLR elites, but mostly neophytes who lacked the power of a Demon who had spent more time controlling unwilling hosts. She doubted the same would be the case for whatever Demon had managed to subsume such a massive creature as the giant crab.
With the situation on the battlefield rapidly changing, Jadis was already adjusting her plans to adapt and overcome. She figured she had a good idea for what she should do to combat the huge monster heading their way, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t take a second to ask an expert for their opinion. It was a good thing she had a couple nearby.
Scanning the crowded intersection, Syd spotted both of the people she was looking for. Tegwyn was out of the building, leading his team to the eastward road. Since he was easy to see, she was tempted to go talk to her friend first, but decided against it. Firstly, because he was doing his job of commanding his smaller unit and she didn’t want to disrupt him. And secondly, he was still in his big ass goat form, and that would make him awkward to carry. Instead of Tegwyn, Syd zeroed in on the other Dryad on the street.
Syd landed next to Meli with a thud that cracked the sodden cobblestones and caused several nearby soldiers to leap back with shouts of surprise. The Dryad, for her part, was more composed, and only scowled at the Nephilim’s sudden appearance.
“Hey. Come with me.”
“Why? Where are we—”
Syd didn’t wait for permission or bother to answer Meli’s question. Time was short and they couldn’t afford to waste it. With all her usual speed, she scooped the thin-limbed Dryad up in one arm and then leapt up onto the roof of the building where Kerr was.
“Hey, Big Stuff, are we going to do something about that giant-ass crab?”
“Working on it,” Syd answered Kerr’s question before setting Meli down and pointing out the huge, lumbering beast. “See that? What is it, what does it do, and does it have any weaknesses?”
Meli grimaced, her nose wrinkling as her orange eyes focused on the magic beast. It was still far away, but the distance wasn’t so great that the crab was hard to see from their vantage point. It was also obvious that the possessed monster was steadily making its way south, towards them.
“I don’t like it when you pick me up like that.”
The response wasn’t what Jadis had expected, but seeing as Meli actually took the time to complain, she responded accordingly rather than ignoring the statement.
“Alright, sorry,” Syd acknowledged the rebuke. “Trying to move fast, here. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”
“I understand,” Meli nodded once. “I do like the way being held by you feels, but please don’t pick me up again without asking, first.”
Syd glanced towards Kerr, her wide-eyed expression hidden by her helmet. Kerr was giving her a look back, her own expression uncovered since she wasn’t wearing her helmet at the moment. They both shrugged at each other as Syd put her confusion aside. The motivations behind Meli’s comment would have to be talked about later.
“That’s a karkinos. An especially big one, too.”
“Karkinos?” Syd asked skeptically. “Doesn’t that just mean ‘crab’ in Gree—in another language?”
“Basically,” Meli frowned up at her. “It’s a specific type of crab, though. That type. That is a karkinos.”
“Okay, fair enough,” Syd dismissed the strange overlap between Earth and Oros. “What do I need to know about it.”
“Stay away from it.”
“That’s not an option, clearly.”
“The—ah, what is the imperial word—the spheres of corrosion on its back are highly damaging. It can throw them at distant prey, but mostly it uses them to deter predators from trying to eat it. The karkinos can shake many off at once, surrounding itself in the corrosion, causing great harm to all except itself.”
“What the fuck is trying to eat something that big?” Syd had to ask.
“Dragons and sea serpents.”
“Ah.”
Well, that did make sense. Having met Vetregin, the giant ice dragon, she had a hard time picturing the colossal creature being satisfied with sheep or cows. A full-grown ox was barely a mouthful for a creature of that size. There had to be beasts out there that grew big enough to serve as a food source for Dragons, if dragons were going to be so stupidly huge.
“The true danger are its claws,” Meli continued as she pointed at the distant crab. “It strikes with unimaginable speed and force. If you are going to fight it, keep away from its front and do not let it strike you with its claws.”
“Alright,” Syd nodded. “That’s good to know. Anything else I should be aware of?”
“It is naturally immune to most poisons and its flesh tastes excellent and has many health benefits when properly boiled.”
“Thanks,” Syd told the Dryad, though the last tidbit was confusing. Jadis didn’t think she’d be focusing on eating the monster anytime soon. “Need a ride down?”
“I do not,” Meli shook her head, then stepped away. “I will go help with the north line.”
With a speed that Jadis could appreciate, the skinny Dryad took a running start before leaping across the gap between the building they were standing on and the roof of the building to the north of them where Maeve had been before. The sight of that roof reminded Jadis that she still didn’t know where Maeve had gone to, so before she leapt into action, she asked Kerr.
“Have you seen Maeve?”
“Yeah,” Kerr answered after releasing another arrow from her bow. “She’s over there, with those mercenaries." She indicated the group of therions on the roof to the east without looking at them. “Need something from her?”
“No, just checking,” Syd frowned.
She actually had a lot she wanted to talk to the Fetch about, but the demonic invasion was a somewhat greater priority than discussing Maeve’s earlier behavior.
“What about Severina? Have you seen her?”
“Yup,” Kerr pointed up at the night sky that was still being illuminated by whatever spell the Seraphim Aelius had cast. “I’ve seen her pass overhead a couple of times. I think she’s running interference on any stymphalia that are trying to dive bomb us.”
“If you get a chance, try to get her attention,” Syd asked Kerr. “I need her help to coordinate some shit. Noll, too, if you see him. I thought he was going to be helping us with the Demons but I haven’t seen him since he split off.”
“He has been,” Kerr pointed to the northeast, gesturing at the mass of buildings that made up the expanse of city between them and a direct line to where the colossal Demon wyrm had breached the walls. “I’ve seen him running around. I think he’s killing off any of the Demons that are running around the side roads to help keep them funneled on the main paths.”
“Did you trade eyes with Thea or something?” Syd joked with a grin. “Because you are just seeing everything right now, aren’t you.”
“I’m not an archer for nothing, you know,” Kerr winked before taking aim with another arrow. “Now let me work, sexy tits, I’ve got shit to kill.”
Syd did just that, leaving the archer to her business as she hopped off the roof to the street below. Just like her foul-mouthed therion lover, Jadis had shit to kill as well, and the approaching acid crustacean was at the top of that particular list. But if she was going to accomplish that herculean feat, she was going to need some help.
While Syd rushed inside the southwestern building, Jay pulled back from her position in front of the line of soldiers pushing back against the invading Demons on the east road. Leaping over their line so as not to disrupt their formation, she darted close to the left side of the road to reach Thea. Her lover was still in the fore of the wall, blocking any incoming damage from reaching the soldiers behind her, but as helpful as she was being where she was, Jadis needed her lover elsewhere.
Reaching over a few of the soldiers, Jay grabbed hold of Thea from above and behind and lifted her up over the others, eliciting a yelp from the shy woman. Another soldier immediately moved forward to fill the gap that was left by Thea’s absence, so at least there was no harm done by pulling her off the front line. Not that she’d be off the front for long. Thea was doing a great job pushing the soldiers forward to attack the Demons. It was just that Jadis needed her pushing north, not east.
“Help me push north!” Syd told the brunette. “We’re going to stop that crab from getting any closer!”
“What crab?” Thea shouted over the noise of the battlefield.
“Don’t worry, you’ll see it!”
Thea was an experienced soldier, so she didn’t question her orders. Instead, she rushed off to the road leading north, pushing past other soldiers to make her way to the front of the shield wall once again. While she did so, Jay sought out Tegwyn, who was easy enough to find thanks to his unique form. He was near the middle of the shield wall, not yet at the fore, but looking like he was about to charge through. The rest of his team, excluding Cora, was with him, and they were all still looking strong. Not unruffled, though. Jay noted that Terrance had a fresh splatter of red blood across his right side that hadn’t been there before, and Villum’s helmet had a nasty dent in it indicating that the piece of steel had likely saved the elf’s life in recent minutes.
“Teg,” Jay said as she came up next to the Dryad. “Keep the soldiers on this side pushing east. You don’t need to be fast, but don’t let up the pressure and don’t let any Demons get by to circle around our backs.”
“Have no fear, my friend,” Tegwyn replied as he stomped his heavy hoof into the cobblestones. “None of these perversions of nature will pass.”
“Good. Keep it up,” she said as she slapped Tegwyn on his broad back.
With no more time to spare, Jay hefted her huge hammer in hand and headed for the north line where her Dys self was waiting. She had kept the Demons from taking advantage of the acid splash that had wounded so many, giving the soldiers time to fill the gaps. As Jay leapt over the heads of the men and women of the imperial army, she saw that Thea was already at the front and center. Jadis mentally nodded at that sight, as it was part of her plan to take the city back from the Demons.
Landing next to Dys, Jay immediately started running forward as her other self did the same. As one unit, they charged the Demons who were crawling over the piles of muck and bodies, crushing mire hounds underfoot while ignoring the larger Demons that would slow her down if she took the time to kill them. While her Syd self was arranging other things, these two parts of her needed to get to the karkinos before it got much further from the edge of the dock market square if her idea was going to work.
Killing the Demon-possessed crab was only part of the plan. Where it died was just as important.
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