Draimon: Fracture: Erasend- Book 1: Deascension

Chapter 16: Outbreak

Hidden between a vast mountain range was the city of Enoite, a sub-city of Enosis; the central hub for Enorians, the smartest of all the Human sub-species. All were working on weapons to destroy Dragons, humanity's greatest threat to their survival. The city was filled with intricate houses, tightly packed together, with each one a marvel of architecture. 

The homes were wooden, every one a unique mix of shapes and angles, many maximizing workspace with the little space each home took up. In one of these homes was a man and his Dragon prisoner.

The room was well lit, sunlight shone through the windows, and a fire was in the corner of the room. In the centre of the room was an earthen skinned Dragon, its height roughly that of the man, though it had a slightly longer neck and a long tail along with claws and teeth. Straps bound the Dragon to a table, a pale crystal attached to a metal arm hoisted above the Dragon. The man, his features strong with purple hair and eyes, sat at his desk observing the Dragon and recording his work in a book.

Log entry 139 ten minutes into test, during the first five minutes, the Dragon fought the restraints, nearly broke them and nearly used its power at several points. My device, a Dragon core drained of its energy, has already shown its use as, despite its best efforts, it could not escape. Five later, it ceased its attempts and instead focused on slow breathing.Note: The breathing may have something to do with it restoring its energy. Consider development to devices to restrict breathing.He stopped for a moment and stared at the earth Dragon bound to his table; he saw its chest rise and fall. He stood up and retrieved a sheet of metal from a corner in his home and placed it over the Dragon's chest.

"Get, your. Revolting hands of me," it snarled, though unsteady breaths.

"What are you going to do about it," he said, taunting it, going back to his desk where controls were. "Pity when your energy is blocked, you can't do anything," confident in his invention, he disabled the crystal by cutting off the power he was running through it. Only for a moment enough for the Dragon to tear itself free and rumble the earth beneath his feet. With the pull of a wooden lever, the crystal reactivated, feezing the Dragon in place. The man laughed in satisfaction, walking up and punching the Dragon to the ground.

"You're the perfect test subject, now back on the table with you." He grabbed hold of the choking Dragon, thrust it to the table, and redid its bindings; the Dragon was unable to fight back. The man wrote his findings in his book, then took out his sawed harvesting blade and moved the control panel near the Dragon.

"Let's see if what I think will be true," in one stroke of his blade, he de-armed the Dragon then disabled the crystal, his eyes widening as a new limb burst from the stump. He let it finish, then reactivated the crystal throwing the severed arm in a container. As the man removed the limb, the Dragon roared in pain and snarled as its instincts forced it to regenerate. The man continued to harvest its limbs, the Dragon's roars growing weaker as he did.

"You are a disgusting kind. Far greedier than precious Dragons," it said through its grunts of pain."Well, we need to be since we are natural."

"There is nothing natural about you," It snarled, the man continuing to harvest its limbs and flesh. After a while, the Dragon could not regenerate as its energy was depleted, the Dragon's brown earthen skin now lighter.

"Aawww, all out are ya," he thrust his fists together "you know whole cores are quite rare, shouldn't be a problem if I take it when you're alive.

"No, please do not," its eyes wide, "the legend."

"Every day, we live in constant fear of being wiped out in an instant by your strongest, but if we develop a weapon that pulls on the core, we can relish the day they come." The man left the Dragon's side to retrieve another one of his creations: it was a giant metal cannon, to large for him to carry. "If it works, this weapon will guarantee our survival and expansion. Through the power of science, it will grab hold of the core within any Dragon it hits. You shall be its first test subject."

"If you do this, both Dragon and human will die," the Dragon pleaded for its immortal life."The greatest innovation and progress is built on only the greatest of risks." With that, the man pulled the trigger to the cannon, the energy inside it swilling for several seconds until leaping out of the chamber and grabbing hold of the Dragon's body.

The Dragon screamed in agony as its chest rose up, as the mound opened its core: a small crystal easily grasped by the man's hand and a light brown. The beam encompassed the crystal fighting against the strands that held the Dragon within its body.

The Dragon never stopped screaming in sheer agony and dread, its screams only growing as one after another its strands snapped, in between its roared at the man, it doomed his kind to extinction. When the last strand was severed, the body ceased its struggles and screams slumping down upon the table. The beam pulled the core into the barrel of the cannon, the man smiled.

"I'll call that a success," he said, "just need ta scale it up and decrease the charge time," he said with excitement.

"All of your disgusting kind will now die because of you. Take me and run. We can not let them grow in numbers,"

"Why should I believe you? You just want out of here, so you can escape."

"I am telling the truth," was its only response. Its body on the table shook violently. From where the weapon tore its core, the earthen flesh turned a near-white pale and around the wound, teeth formed. Its head snapped up, its eyes blank, with one movement, it was free, and one later, it had devoured the Dragon's core.

"What the **** is that," the man screamed, running and sounding the alarm. The Core-torn charged the man, and as it ran, two arms and legs, including the Dragon's head, tail, and body mass emerged around it.

The new limbs grew at random the head formed on its shoulder, one of the arms formed at the lower arm, while another leg formed on the upper part of the arm. The Core-torn charged the man using every limb it could to push it along the ground, each limb unhindered by biological laws; they worked without tire, snapping back and forth as it ran.

In one moment, the Core-torn was upon the man and devouring him whole, no chewing only biting into more of his flesh and swallowing. The Core-torn heard the cries of a Wyvern outside, finished the man and barreled through the door, shattering it. With the man's limbs added to its own, it rushed towards the Wyvern, ignoring the humans restraining it with clawed staffs. It threw itself at the Wyvern tearing its belly apart, scraps of its flesh littering the ground. The Devourer searched up and down its body, the core moving to continue its existence for as long as it could.

The Dragon freed its body, as the Humans fled in fear of the Monster and the Dragon, the Wyvern flew while trying to throw it off. The air began to swirl around its body, but it was too late. The Wyvern tumbled to the ground, its airen flesh turning pale, and as it rose, the conversion stretched its body, and a side facing maw replaced its underbelly. The Wyvern Core-torn rose and stomped towards the Dragons that the Humans had captured. It broke its wings using them to push its body forward.

A woman slowly opened the door.

"Argon, are you all right?" She asked, creeping inside the silent house. The Enorian went further in finding the cannon connected to a wheeled rig.

"Is anyone there? Please come closer," the voice, Argon's she followed it terrified at what she saw. The man lived, but his flesh, bones, skin, and eyes were stolen. Leaving him a pale blob of what remained. She vomited when she saw him, his form like that of a nightmare that would drive her to insanity.

"Please help me," the mass spoke, slithering towards her, she stumbling down to the floor."Why do you sound like Argon."

The mass was deaf and blind. It only slid further, following vibrations, "I'm so hungry, help me please," the Enorian's instincts pushed her to capture this thing, to research it, find out how it still lived. She fetched a long metal pole and poked at the mass, then lifted it. As she did, the mass slid down and touched her fingers. Panicked, she went to force it off with her free hand, but her hand would not move.

The mass had began absorbed her hands and moved up her arms. She screamed as her flesh joined the blob. As the Devourer absorbed more of her body, it became heavier, her weak knees buckled. The slime touched her clothes, pulling them into itself, absorbing her chest after."SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE!" she screamed as the blob covered her body.

 None came. In her slowest, most agonizing minutes, her body became enveloped by the growing mass of flesh. Argon settled on his original form, and from him, that which he no longer needed left.

The man saw his new ravaged body, his sunken skin, and torn muscles. His body ached, but that pain did not compare to the endless hunger that filled his mind. He had stolen her throat. If she could speak, they would follow her voice. He stared at his cannon, that which caused all of this if they used it, this would happen again, and his kind would be in danger.

No. If they used it, he would have less flesh to devour.

The Cannibal fought his new hunger to piece his palm and scrawl: NEVER USE, in his now pale blood, on the ground in front of the cannon.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Enorians were known for their intelligence more than their fighting skills, so in each Enorian settlement were Mechorians, those well versed in the art of ranged combat. They were posted around the city's borders to defend against outside threats. On one of these posting were two Mechoions, with their light armour and yellow hair and eyes.

"Ever wondered why we're here, Randall?" Tana asked; she wore the same light armour as her partner, other than her's as modified for her larger chest.

"We've been over this so many damn times, every single day for fifty years," Randall replied."And every day, I need reminding," she sighed.

"We are here to protect the Enorians, who can't protect themselves, and they then develop weapons to use against the Dragons. Solid relationship I think."

"Yeah, but in all those years no Dragon has come, none have come cus I dono we in a canyon in the middle of nowhere," Tana said.

"And this canyon is why none have ever attacked us." They then heard the screams. They were at focus in an instant, their guns raised, pointing to the city where the noise came from.

"Eh, what was that none have attacked us, then why are there screams as if something is in here."

"I said none have attacked us from the outside, who knows what it could be if it's inside Enoite. We need the others." The two ran around the city walls, to the five other outposts where two Mechoians were situated. Once they were all gathered, they rushed into the city they were duty-bound to protect.

It was then they heard the sources of the screams. They saw the pale-skinned amalgamations of limbs devour their captured Dragons, each one was horrific, their stolen Dragon limbs randomly placed around their bodies. One Enorian, her eyes crazed and arms shaking, fired at one with an anti-Dragon rifle.

The blasts of energy ineffective, and when the Core-torn finished its meal, it killed the woman in a single stomp with one of its many limbs. When it raised the limb, there was no trace of her left. Their forms were pure chaos, limbs coming of other limbs, eyes scattered throughout. Half of the party kneeled to the ground, closed their eyes, and rocked themselves, their minds ravaged by what they saw.

"Cleary more firepower is needed," one of the party wielding an anti-Dragon cannon, said pushing his fear down. He fired upon the nearest Monster. No effect, the bolts of pale energy fading upon contact.

"At least they're not attacking. Heck, I don't think they even realize we here," another said."Those things look like they exist to eat when the Dragons here have run out they will want to eat us surely," Randall said.

"I've an idea. Dragons are elemental, so we use anti-Dragon weaponry. Their weakness may be elemental then?"

"What you gonna spray water on them?"

"Exactly," she replied, "this thing can punch through metal. I heard earth Dragons are weak to water," she blasted a thick jet of water from her cannon, as it stuck the pale flesh, it entered and turned the flesh itself to water flesh.

"Keep going," Tana said, her voice full of hope, her eyes focused on the Monster. The stream kept boring into the Monster; its flesh turned to water and then flowed off.

"Yes, o do it more," Tana gasped. The steam ran dry.

"Water shards ran out," Mia, the one who fired the hydro-gusher, said.

"How about fire," Garan said, "see how the sun is burning them."

"They're pyro-sprayers in storage for collection soon," one said.

"Well, let's get them and burn these things before they come," Randall said. The others agreed, and they ran deeper into Enorite past the distracted Core-torn.

"Hurry, there's no telling when they will want to eat us," she saw a Core- torn devour the last Dragon in the city, it to raising from the dead. She froze. She saw the Core-torn violently sniff the air, its many eyes scattered throughout the body stared at her. She had never seen anything so disgusting and terrifying in its chaos. She stumbled to the ground screaming, the Monster rushing towards her without turning.

"Get the **** away from me!" she screamed, firing her anti-Dragon rifle, the Monster unaffected as its limbs snapped and pulled its body towards her.

"Diana, come on!" her partner cried.

"No, you come, Dandal. We'll die if we wait."

"NO!" He screamed as Diana died in one bite of the Core-torn's many maws. It then rushed towards them.

They ran, the ones behind being the first to die, until another tore through the house in front, killing the ones in front. The survivors, Randall and Tana, ran to the right into the storage house and bolted the door behind them, Tana throwing a pyro-steamer to her partner.

The Monsters slammed their limbs upon the facility. An arm broke through the ceiling, and Tana set it ablaze, the fire spreading up the arm and to the body setting the wood roof alight. The two blasted through the side of the building with another one of the weapons. They left just before it collapsed and spread its fire to the other Core-torn.

"Well would ya look at that," Tana said, "fire does work, really dam well," she held her weapon up a smile on her face, "finally some ******* action," she ran at the monsters streams of flame erupting from her barrel and engulfing one of them. Great boulders of stone flew into the city, crushing one of the Core-torn beneath it. Three earth Dragons of varied species then burst from the ground.

"And earth Dragons, o is as if reality was saving itself for me," a Core-torn charged one of the Dragons, it tore the Dragon apart, devouring its core and converted it in moments. The earth Dragons then fled fearing for their immortal lives, the Core-torn rushing after them.

"Hey, get back here!" Tana screamed.

"There's nothing you can do. I'm glad they left, You'd have died if they stayed."

"Yeah, but now they're going to eat more Dragons, and I don't think we can make weapons or armour out of those things."

"let's just try and see what caused this, obviously an Enorian's mad experiments, but which one," Randall said. In the distance stood a figure in the settlement now filled with screams."Others are alive, there's one there," the figure dashed at the couple, and as it got closed, they saw it wasn't human. From its lower arm, were several more arms, the same with its legs."What the..." Randall was cut off as the human Monster ran its main arm into his chest and tore him apart with its other arms.

"Burn!" she screamed, firing her weapon at the Human, the blast dispersed by an orange field. It leapt high into the air crushing her chest as it landed. Argon stepped off her chest and pulled her flesh into his mouth with the tongues he stole from the Enorians as they cowered in their homes. His hunger was satisfied for a short while, and he grew to enjoy the taste of human flesh. He knew more would come to gather the weapons. So he waited for them to come; he had to ensure humans got his weapon.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days later, a party of Aeroians ran into the city bags on their backs to store the weapons. When they entered the city, they heard the screams and saw the wreckage.

"What happened?" one of them asked.

"How the **** would I know? Let's just get the weapons and leave," one said."

"Finally, thought damn flesh ******* would never ******* come," Argon said, coming out from behind one of the homes he destroyed himself to save him from boredom. He charged the same as a Core-torn and crashed one's throat within his hands and scattering his body with his other arms.

"Kill it," the leader ordered; one fired a barrage of anti-Dragon bullets, and Argon sidestepped the blasts, becoming a blur with might empowering his desecrated muscles. He tore the man and those who attacked him apart.

He killed them until only the curious one was left, his silver hair trailing as he ran from the Canibal. Argon kept pace with the boy, running up right alongside him, the boy ran faster, and Argon only met his pace.

"Don't worry, I won't eat flesh," he said, keeping his voice as much his own as he could, "I want to give something that will help flesh," the boy stopped.

"You just killed my entire party. Why should I listen to anything you say!" he yelled.

"It was the hunger. Couldn't ******* stop myself. Come flesh under constant fear of flesh that can kill flesh easily."

"The Primordials?" the boy asked, puzzled as it what the Monster was referring to.

"Yes."

The boy followed Argon into the city, who picked up one of the men and started eating him with mouths on his chest. He covered his ears when he heard the moans of pain and hunger.

"What are those noises?" He asked.

"Those I ate before don't need more ******* organs or more brains, so I. Discard them when I'm done with the body." He was horrified at how honest the Monster was. The two entered what used to be Argon's home, him stopping as if memories flowing back into his stitched mind. He walked up to and patted the cannon. The words he wrote on the floor remained, reminding him of what he must do.

"This caused what happened here, but it will help flesh."

"What does it do?" he asked.

"This tornifaction ray will slowly rip the core from any flesh it hits, and the device above will nullify elemental energy within an area. Take these to another flesh city, and food will be able to upscale them," the boy took time to reply.

"Why are you helping us?" Was his only question; he didn't want to know anymore. Argon smiled.

"It's simple if flesh lives, then there's more flesh, now run. I don't know how long I can keep myself from eating." The boy took the items and ran with his powerful legs.Argon devoured those he killed, their faces frozen in fear. He ate all their flesh, discarding their organs and brains just like the rest.

He was still so hungry.