I Devour the Leftovers

Chapter 18: The Rust King's Messenger

The Ironclad celebrated their victory with a meager feast of roasted Mire Hound and stale bread. Kaelen sat apart, as always, methodically consuming the Rust Cores he had harvested. Each one tasted like oxidized iron and decay, but the Vyre larva in his chest drank it greedily.

[Consumption: Rust Core x12]

[Parasite Evolution: +3.0%]

[Trait Acquired: Corrosion Immunity]

Kaelen felt a hardening of his resolve. The Rustborn were weak, driven by a mindless urge to decay. But their master... the Rust King... he was something else.

The camp fell silent. A figure stood at the edge of the firelight. He wasn't a Rustborn. He was a man, dressed in robes of tattered silk, his skin a sickly, pallid white. He carried a staff topped with a rusted cog.

"Peace, Ironclad," the man said, his voice smooth and cultured. "I come as a messenger."

Mara stepped forward, her spear raised. "You're one of the Rust King's dogs. Speak, and then die."

The messenger smiled, revealing teeth that were brown and rotting. "Such hostility. I bring an offer from His Majesty, the Rust King."

He looked past Mara, his eyes locking onto Kaelen.

"The King has seen your work, Metal-Man," the messenger said. "He is... impressed. You do not decay. You evolve. You are an affront to the natural order of entropy."

Kaelen said nothing. He just stared, his face a mask of indifference.

"The King offers you a place at his side," the messenger continued. "Join him. Help him reduce this world to rust and dust. In return, he will grant you the secrets of True Decay. You will become eternal."

Mara spat on the ground. "We don't deal with monsters."

The messenger ignored her. He kept his gaze on Kaelen.

"Or," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper, "you can continue to side with these scavengers. And when the King's Great Cannon fires, you will all be turned to rust. Including you, Metal-Man. Can your flesh withstand the ultimate corruption?"

Kaelen stood up. His Living Metal Shell rippled, reflecting the firelight.

"You talk too much," Kaelen said.

He didn't wait for a response. He moved.

He crossed the distance in a blink. He grabbed the messenger by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

The messenger didn't struggle. He just smiled.

"The King will see you soon, Metal-Man," he gurgled. "He will see you..."

Kaelen squeezed. Crunch.

The messenger's neck snapped. Kaelen dropped the body to the ground.

He looked at Mara. "The Rust King is coming. Prepare."

Mara nodded, her face grim. "We will. But you... you're not one of us. Why fight for us?"

Kaelen looked at the dead messenger. "He wants to take my food. My power. He is a threat."

It was that simple. The Rust King was a rival. A resource to be eliminated.

The hunt was on.