NOVEL NEXT Chapter 146: When Cause Becomes Effect
Back to the moment Dunstan approached Hildred's position. On the opposite side, the Primordial beasts still groaned, their guttural bellows ripping the air like thunder, dripping with agony and rage. Their massive bodies twisted into grotesque contortions, writhing against the storm that rained mercilessly down upon them. The bone dust that coated the knives and blades had already begun seeping into their veins, diffusing into their systems like a slow poison, draining their strength and hollowing their power. Yet, something unexpected stirred amidst this collapse, the residue of the pills used by the Devouts still lingered in their bloodstreams, and instead of the bone dust weakening the collosal beasts, the bone dust warped, awakened and amplifying the venomous fragments of those pills.
When Hildred turned his back to retreat, the transformation erupted. The Primordial beasts, now fully lost to madness, unleashed chaotic destruction. From their massive horns burst torrents of power, air compressed into lances sharp as razors, light solidifying into spears that stretched like radiant javelins, and jagged shards of bone hurled like merciless pins, all raining toward the Astro forces.
Dunstan reacted first, a streak of motion, his dash weaving through the storm as he pulled stunned subordinates from death's jaw Lumina met the assault like a tempest given form, her arrows streaking against the projectiles, each shot a defiant star, her body leaping away from strikes that kissed too close. Rex, teeth clenched, thrust forward his right hand. A brown bracelet upon his wrist glowed like molten earth, his arm quivering as if struggling against invisible resistance, yet managing to bend the trajectory of several oncoming attacks as though dragging storms from their course.
But even with their combined might, countless subordinates could not escape, many left behind nothing more than torn limbs or fragments of armor, grim tokens of their existence. Above it all, salvation came from the unknown. An anonymous force, unseen yet undeniable, drained the killing edge from the attacks by multiplying the gravity around them, as though the surrounding air themselves pressed down to pin destruction to the earth.
Back to the current situation, Hildred's gaze remained fixed on the scene of the attack, his eyeballs trembling within their sockets as though struggling to contain the horror he was witnessing. Across him, the rest of the force stirred, some slowly dragging themselves upright, others leaning on comrades for support, while the crest-bearers stood frozen, their faces painted in a mixture of disbelief and dread.
Hildred's eyes, shaken and restless, shifted further into distance. The smoke thinned, parting reluctantly, and through its veil his vision locked onto the burning eyes of one Primordial beast. His own eyelids flew wide open, as if ripped apart by shock. Urgently, his neck swung left, then right, seeking confirmation from the other beasts. Each sighting struck him like a hammer, driving home the terrible reality.
Then, breaking through the suffocating silence, came a voice, low at first, then rising, pressing its way through the wall of smoke, dust, and tension. "Quickly regroup, and retreat on time!" Lumina's voice rang out.
Hildred's open palm trembled as it stretched forward, his weak, numb legs dragging him one step at a time. His lips parted, and his voice thundered through the thick fear clinging to the air. "You can't… stop. Don't even think of turning your back on them, much less running away!"
The regrouping Astro forces turned their heads toward him, startled by the command. "Astro… lo…rd." The words slipped unbidden from Lumina's lips, heavy with awe and disbelief, before she bit down hard, cursing her own tongue.
"My incompetence… it has forced the Astro Lord to return, she muttered in her heart, shame burning like fire in her chest. "No time to space out," Hildred's voice cut sharp, slicing through her thoughts.
"Hum… humm…" Lumina's eyes widened as her throat tightened, saliva dragging painfully down her throat. His words struck her like cold water, snapping her back to the present. She looked up, and there he was, approaching, each step slow but commanding.
"You should all stand firm. Don't take your eyes off them." Hildred's tone carried the weight of iron. Lumina was the first to obey, wrenching her gaze back to the towering beasts.
"All forces, take formation!" she called, her voice steadying with effort. Midway, Dunstan's voice joined hers, his tone reinforcing hers like steel supporting stone. "Yes!" The united shout of the Astro forces rose, sharp but trembling, echoing into the battlefield.
Together, they faced forward. Yet, beneath their rigid stances, their legs trembled uncontrollably, as though the earth itself might swallow them whole. Their eyes, locked on the slowly approaching Primordial beasts, quaked in their sockets, desperate to flee their skulls. Sweat soaked their faces, running like streams down the chiseled masks of warriors barely holding their ground.
Even Lumina, bow in hand, could not hide the quiver in her fingers. Her eyes betrayed her, darting to the side, and there she found Dunstan staring silently at her. "Stop glaring at me like that," she whispered, almost defensive. "I don't know why the Astro Lord instructed this either."
Their gazes snapped forward once more, meeting the advancing beasts. Their eyes were dull, yet brimming with malice; their rage hung heavy, almost tangible, spilling into the air like venom. The Astro forces waited, hearts pounding, for whatever plan the Astro Lord held in stored.
As Hildred closed the gap towards the rear of the Astro forces, the soldiers instinctively parted before him like waves retreating from a prowling leviathan. Their tremulous breaths thickened the air, heavy with the sour tang of fear, and the heat of their sweat seemed to choke his lungs as his steps carried him through the trembling corridor they had formed.
Reaching the frontline, where the Astro leaders and their assistants stood, he stopped, an immovable shadow before the storm. His gaze slid left, to where Dunstan and Rex braced themselves, then right, where Lumina and Beorn stood rigid. Finally, his eyes fixed forward, at the abyss waiting to devour them.
"Why stop us from retreating?" Lumina's voice cracked the silence, her curiosity sharpened by dread.
"Because," Hildred replied, his calm voice carrying the weight of thunder disguised as still air, "the Primordial beasts before us are no longer the same creatures they were mere minutes ago. They are stronger now. More dangerous, beyond reason."
"Then that is all the more reason to retreat, right?" Dunstan countered, urgency trembling in his tone.
But Hildred only closed his eyes and shook his head slowly, like a man mourning the truth he was forced to speak. "No. The beasts that once looked upon us with disdain now thrash in blind madness, their sanity torn away. They are ready to rip apart anything in their path. If we turn our backs now, we will not know how, or when, the end will claim us."
His words struck the Astro forces like a hammer against glass, their eyes widening in a mixture of shock and disbelief.
"Wha...What do you mean?" Lumina pressed, her voice trembling, as though the answer itself would unravel her resolve.
"We mistook the pills those demons consumed," Hildred said, his tone cutting clear as steel, "believing them to be Thanacrites, the same weapon we use. Remember when Dunstan first brought word that the Primordial beasts were descending upon us? We assumed it was fear driving them."
He paused, his gaze piercing both Lumina and Dunstan, who nodded stiffly, recalling the moment. "Yes, we did," they admitted in unison.
"Then listen," Hildred continued, his voice tightening like a noose. "We missed one possibility, what if they weren't fleeing at all, what if they were charging toward us?"
Confusion flickered in every eye like a storm's uncertain lightning. "Impossible!" Dunstan burst out.
"I agree," Lumina added sharply. "They couldn't have come here deliberately. They didn't even know of our existence."
"I thought the same," Hildred admitted, "until Dunstan's report of his subordinate who turned to metal statues. Do you remember what happened to the last of those demon Devouts, the one who sneaked the pill down his throat? He burst into dust, didn't he?"
Raising his right index finger to the bridge of his nose, he waited. Several subordinates nodded grimly.
"Yes," one from the Aqua Astro Force confirmed. "In that moment, he wasn't himself. He went insane."
"He even shouted something like, 'Why did you abandon me?' before he turned to dust," another from the Gravity Astro Force added.
"Exactly." Hildred's voice cut the air cleanly. "The pill drives them mad, but I assumed they not enough to choose a target. Their deaths wove illusions, blending with the pill's effects, and that illusion… marked us."
For the first time, Beorn's deep voice rumbled, low and heavy as shifting earth: "So in short, we were the intended prey from the very beginning."
"You've got it," Hildred said with a grim nod.
"And the map, the images, already etched into their minds by the dust they inhaled," Lumina added, her tone darkening as clarity struck her. "But what does that matter now?" she demanded, frustration dripping from her words. "The beasts are no longer under the pill's sway. We used Thanacrites against them, so what?"
Hildred turned his gaze upon her, his eyes glinting with the cold certainty of a judge passing sentence. "Because the bone dust effects as reversed rather than weaken them, it triggered the remnants of the pill still festering in their bodies." His words fell like a guillotine.
"So," Beorn muttered, his voice heavy with iron, "we've drawn misfortune with our own hands."
A heavy silence pressed upon them as their eyes turned forward, each leader staring at the approaching monstrosities. The beasts howled, their bodies writhing with pain, their steps shaking the earth, and yet with every roar, the Astro forces felt their courage splinter further. Still, somewhere in their marrow, a fragile thread of resolve struggled to spark into flame.