Nightshift 29: Experimental Treatments Laboratory

[face_of_chaos]

[ Entering from here.]The room had a strong sterile scent on the air as he entered into it, and Yuber’s expression grimaced in distaste as his gaze roamed over the area. There were cabinets lining the wall that appeared to be filled with bottles, dozens of odd utensils and metal tables and benches filling the room. It was rather interesting to see,

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[screwthegods]

[ From here]

Homura moved carefully into the room, the dark making it far too difficult to see. But his other senses helped fill in the gaps, and it wasn't hard to make out the sounds of scuffling, the growls of enraged animals and the cries of human pain. The puppies had gotten into a bit of trouble it seemed, and the demi-god had come at the right time.

The light of the flashlights would guide him to where they were. But he moved slowly, never forgetting that things in this place came seemingly from no where, the shadows more than adequate to hide lethal dangers.

[damned_monsters]

Homura was wise to keep an eye out for danger, but moving slowly had been a bad idea. The spider had seen the two boys, but the cats had gotten to them first. Nasty cats, sneaky little furry beasts that ate her children in the daytime. Night was the only time she could get even with them, but night was also when she needed to hunt for food.

How lucky she was that a third emerged from the room she was too small to invade. The spider moved silently along the ceiling, watching as Homura crept toward the fight. She waited - she was good at waiting - until he was looking the other way and then she dropped from the ceiling like a hawk from the sky.

Her body was almost as big as he was, her legs stretching out, pincers reaching for his arms as a a leg sought to drag him to the ground as she hit the floor.

[sup, bb - Kaze]

[screwthegods]

There was so little time to react, to even start to turn as the creature's massive body hit the ground. Homura could barely see in the dark, but he could hear, and certainly feel the limbs that tried to grab for him. His arms were easy enough to jerk away; the war god knew that if his sword was taken, the fight would become infinitely harder. But the spider's sweeping leg had more success, striking hard at Homura's open torso before he had a chance to block.

The demi-god refused to go down so easily, however, and even as he stumbled, Homura grabbed the leg with his free arm, using it to keep himself up. He did his best to regain his footing, but relied more on the sure hold as he brought his sword down at the leg he held, meaning to cut as deeply into it as he could manage.

[damned_monsters]

The spider screeched when the blade cut into her leg, not sawing it in half, but fairly ruining it for later use. It was a good thing the arachnid had seven others. Plus, now she knew that Homura was armed and dangerous. The creature pushed forward suddenly, trying to ram her body into Homura's and bring him into range of her hungry mouth.

She was so starved for food up here where people rarely tread that she wanted to eat. Now.

[screwthegods]

Homura took the moment the creature screamed to set his feet firmly on the ground, and it was a good thing; suddenly the spider was rushing forward, it's bulk giving him no means for escape, no way to slide around. Then what mattered most was to protect himself, twisting his body to put the sword between himself and the monster. Homura was unable to extend the blade, leaving impaling the thing out of the question. But for now he could hold it between them, and drive the sharp edge of the sword against whatever surface it might drag him into.

And there was another option, one Homura hadn't wanted to use so soon. But there was little choice, and the warrior began to force energy into the metal, just as he had before. Homura had to keep his body away from the pincers, away from the things deadly mouth, just long enough to summon the fire that could end this battle.

[damned_monsters]

The metal heated up against the spider's face and she backed off with incredible speed despite her injured leg. In a moment she was gone, fleeing up into the safety of the walls. Fire. Fire was deadly. She'd seen her babies burned away by people during the day, fried by sunlight or by the cruel little children.

Horrible humans and their fire.

She crawled silently across the ceiling and dropped down behind Homura again, punching a pincer forward like a whip at his lower back.

[screwthegods]

So it seemed nothing liked light or heat tonight; the speed with which the spider retreated was astounding, though Homura didn't drop his guard. Monsters rarely gave up so easily, not when they'd been hardly hurt, and not when they were hungry

[damned_monsters]

She screamed, something halfway between human and an animal, and retreated. Now she was at a loss for two limbs, forcing her to shift her weight to the back. She was angry now, losing two of her most valuable limbs so early in this fight. At least he was bleeding now, slower now, more easily eaten.

Relying on her bulk, she rushed him again and attempted to bite his shoulder.

[screwthegods]

Bleeding, yes, the broken pincer still protruding from his back as Homura turned to face the screaming spider. And he could feel it, a dull numbness creeping into his limbs, a haze settling over his eyes. Would the end of night come soon, or some worse darkness?

It didn't matter. It couldn't matter, and Homura pushed the thoughts out of his mind. The spider was coming at him, gaping mouth opened wide, and Homura had to be ready.

The sword was again moved between them. Homura didn't have time or strength for much else, but he could do that. And one thing more, the thing the spider hated so much. Heat stored up in the sword exploded even as the spider's mouth tore at his shoulder, pain returned for pain, fire blasting out at the creature from the blade even as fresh blood ran from his new wound.

[damned_monsters]

Pain! Burning, horrible pain! The spider flailed as the flames hit her body, screaming and twisting every which way as it desperately tried to fight off the fire that was slowly starting to consume her. Horrid human thing! Horrid, despicable thing!

In her blind rage, she struck out with her remaining limbs, punching forward at Homura, trying to cause him as much pain as she was now in. She was going to die. There was no way to escape fire, not when the flame had hit her eyes, blinded her, left her defenseless. She screeched and rushed him again, wanting to bear her solid weight down on him, hoping to crush him when she fell.

If she was going to die burning, so would he.

[screwthegods]

There was the brief moment of satisfaction when Homura saw the flailing limbs, even felt their tips crush his ribs when he was his reactions were too slow, when he couldn't twist his body in time. He had won, or taken the first step, because the creature was dying, it's body aflame. Living was victory, and death was defeat.

Now to win completely.

Homura forced himself back, away from those limbs, and more importantly the bulk of her frame. It only gave him seconds, but it was enough, the rest of his defense disregarded as Homura threw himself out of the creature's way. The move was a last resort, probably the last Homura would have strength for, since it meant throwing himself to the ground, doing more damage than the spider itself had done. Hardly perfect, but the only chance to avoid being trapped in the fire he had started himself.

Now he could only wait, and hope the flame would act quickly enough.

[damned_monsters]

The spider hit the wall, wailing in rage that she'd missed her target and now didn't know where he was. She turned to the left and waved a burning leg in that direction, then backed up and did the same to the right. The power was leaving her limbs though, her body drooping as the fire seared her insides, cooked her, baked her flesh. She spun one last time and charged forward at where she thought Homura might have gone, and finally collapsed, the fire consuming her body and tainting the air with a smell akin to burnt plastic.

[screwthegods]

Homura lifted himself up as much as he could, watching the spider's frantic movements. He had to be ready, just in case, on the chance that it could somehow still sense him. But no, despite it's flailing, the war god was safe, the fire doing it's work and finishing the monster before it could do greater harm.

Now there was just the matter of his bleeding. And the puppies, of course.

But before Homura could work his way to his feet, the end of night sounded over the intercom. It was an unusual relief to fall into blackness, the demi-god aware enough of the workings of the place to know he'd be treated by morning.

He'd survived. A small victory.