Cypher approached the exit to the cave with Syntinnial a few steps behind him. Before him stood a shimmering barrier that glowed with orange-colored light. Just beyond that, the ground bunched up a few meters as the Drudge Worm patrolled beneath the top layer of soil.
It moved slowly, and a few tendrils poked above the surface to watch the entrance to the cave. Every few moments it would move close and attempt to pass through the barrier. When the end of one of its tendrils would touch the shimmering orange wall, it would be reduced to ash and fall to the ground.
Given the numerous piles of ash scattered around the entrance to the cave, the creature had obviously spent a lot of time trying to breach the barrier. It let out a low grumble and moved away from the entrance before circling back around to patrol once again. Cypher turned and gave Syntinnial a frustrated glance. The old man simply shrugged his shoulders and stepped back into the cave a bit further.
“Feel free to pass right through the barrier there. It can’t get in but you can at least pass through just fine. Of course, once you’re out there, you won’t be able to get back in either. Sooo, I’d make sure you can handle this thing before heading out. Ah, and don’t think you can turn tail and run away from this by digging your way in either! This barrier of mine even extends underground! Ohohohoho!” Syntinnial let out a peal of laughter as if he was supremely proud of himself.
Cypher sighed. Obviously, the barrier extended underground. It would have to if it were meant to keep out a tunnel-burrowing Zightbeast. Cypher watched as the old man continued to laugh, proud of his achievement and Cypher couldn’t help but assume he was either a bit dumb or overly prideful of something so simple.
He sighed again and looked back toward the worm, lamenting the situation he now found himself in.
“Sorry, kid but you understand that I can’t have it getting back into the cave while I’m still here,” continued Syntinnial. “It’s pretty pissed off at me right now and given my current state I’m afraid I can’t do much to protect myself against it. It was all I could do to employ such a brilliant strategy against it, and on my first try too! Ohohoho!”
Cypher sighed a third time and looked on with a pitying expression as he watched the old man try and stealthily move in front of, and cover a burrow hole with his tattered cloak.
“Ah… I see, so he’s just an idiot then…” thought Cypher, and he waved the old man away. He would need to focus if he wanted to win against this thing. Drudge Worms were usually pretty weak according to the books in his library. They were cave-dwelling burrowing creatures who spent most of their time in seclusion. They fell under the earth element and were capable of manipulating dirt and stones with great ease.
However, they were about as intelligent as the rocks they moved. Their bodies were also quite hard and durable due to the constant movement through the ground. If it wasn’t, stones and other debris in the ground would shred them apart.
The Drudge worm’s body rose from the dirt ever so slightly as it waited to leap at the first thing to emerge from the cave mouth. Each round section of the creature was dull brown and featured several thick hairs jutting out at odd angles. Cypher held out his arm and moved it from side to side. The few tendrils above ground seemed to follow that movement and Cypher understood that it was watching him very carefully.
Upon closer inspection, Cypher could make out a small black eyeball. Given that it was a creature that lived underground, its eyesight shouldn’t have been that good. Still, it was able to track his motion fairly easily from the looks of things.
With his initial inspection over, Cypher turned his sights inward. His Orrium was still in bad shape, but as long as he didn’t use anything too spectacular it should be able to last against this thing. His body was sore and achy as well, but that was nothing he couldn’t overcome through sheer willpower.
His mind though was raring to go. All of his mental energy had been restored and he was ready to begin his battle against this creature. Cypher pulled out a pair of sabers from within his ring and rolled his aching neck to loosen up.
“Good luck!” said Syntinnial. But Cypher ignored him. All he wanted was for this to be over so he could get some rest and return home. He had to find his friends quickly and make sure they were alright.
Cypher dashed out of the cave and passed through the barrier. At the same time, the worm rose up out of the dirt and shot toward him. Its head slammed against the barrier just as Cypher jumped out of the way. The worm let out a rumbling roar and clacked its two pairs of sharp mandibles as parts of it began to turn to ash.
The spell of repelling woven into the barrier wasn’t very strong, and its effect to consume matter and turn it into ashes dissipated only a few seconds after making contact with the creature. Cypher had expected as much. Anzephanite was only viable as long as the Drudge Worm that secreted it was still alive. The substance was innately connected to the life force of the worm and served as an extra layer of defense while it burrowed through the earth.
If the creature were to die, the Anzephanite would become inert and change into an oily substance that was almost completely worthless. Cypher pegged old man Syntinnial as a bit of an idiot but it was clear that he at least knew that much. Still, given the nature of the situation, killing this worm was the only way forward, and using the barrier to help was out of the question.
Cypher ignored everything else and ran around to its backside. He slashed at its hide with one of his sabers and the weapon bounced off. Cypher took note of that and jumped up and over the body of the worm just as the head slammed down into the place he had just been.
‘Fast!’ thought Cypher as he let loose another slash. This time, he used his Zight Stanza to assist and was able to leave a lasting mark, still, the cut was only a shallow one. Cypher was testing the defenses of this creature and making sure his own centers of power would be able to hold together.
The worm vanished underground for a few moments but soon its head burst from beneath Cypher’s feet, and he was driven high into the sky. Cypher grunted and used his two sabers to block one set of the mandibles, while his feet pressed against the other set.
They were sharp, but a layer of Zight helped to keep his boots from being shredded against their razor’s edge. Cypher rode the beast high into the air and lopped off one of the mandibles with the saber in his left arm. He then drove the blade of his weapon into the side of the mouth of the beast while restraining the remaining mandible. He looked down into the maw and saw rows and rows of undulating serrated teeth.
It would obviously be over if he fell down in there, but he wasn’t about to let that happen. He raised his hand, recalling one of his sabers into his ring, and dropped a spell into the mouth of the Zightbeast.
“Duet, Verse 2, Ember Sphere!” the ball of fire dropped into the throat of the beast, and two explosions went off inside it. A shrill screech rang out but Cypher ignored it as a gout of smoke rose up around his body. Those blasts wouldn’t be enough to kill the thing, but they did cause lots of damage to its soft insides, and would also continue to burn for a few moments longer.
The Worm swung from side to side as it screeched in pain and Cypher jumped off the side, calling forth his second saber again. With 38% of his Zight, he infused his Zight Stanza and stabbed the blades into the neck of the writhing creature.
They sank deeply into its flesh and began to tear twin streaks down the side of its body. Cypher slid quickly, using gravity to pull him downwards, but he also cast another two spells to help as well.
“Solo, Verse 1, Landslide!” Cypher focused the effects of the spell to gather around his boots. They were quickly encased in a layer of heavy stone and as the worm swung from side to side, Cypher began to slide diagonally around its body with much greater speed. Given the difference in their ranks, Cypher had decided to use the worm’s own strength to increase his damage output while also conserving his own power.
In the same breath, he cast his second spell, “Solo, Verse 3, Razor Wind Lattice!” A wickedly sharp net of wind blades appeared in the sky above the worm and followed him down as he plummeted down to the ground. His sabers continued to tear through the flesh of the creature as it roared in agony.
In only another instant, his feet slammed into the ground shattering the stone they were encased in. His bones groaned and creaked under the pressure, but held firm as he funneled energy into them to act as a cushion. As he landed, his second spell finished tearing through the flesh of the beast as well.
He pulled his weapons loose and jumped back to a safe distance as the wind blades crashed down into the earth. Letting out a deep breath, he stared up at the beast which had stopped moving. After a moment, a chunk fell to the ground, followed by another, and then several more. It only took a few seconds before Cypher was surrounded by the moist pieces of what remained of the worm.
Its green blood soaked into the ground as a few of the larger pieces twitched, and Syntinnial stepped out of the cave clapping slowly. “Good! Good! Well done Cypher! I knew you could handle that creature easily enough, though that was a bit brutal if I do say so myself. You could have just cut off the head you know,” said Syntinnial.
Cypher shook his blades to remove the blood of the worm and looked at Syntinnial with an annoyed expression. “I didn’t see you out here killing the thing, now did I?”
