Apocalypse: The Ice King Returned

Chapter 54: The Otyugh King

Although he didn’t know what this monster looked like, Luther knew that Eric suffered the worst fate imaginable. The corpse didn’t kill him first. It played with him first. It kept him alive.

Soon, Eric's entire body was tucked inside the small hole in the water tank. All except for his head. The zombie didn’t stop there. His head was stuck on the outside and could not get in. After a few more tugs, the Otyugh became impatient. It grasped his shoulder with one hand and pulled at his neck with the other.

Eric seemed to know what was going to happen next. With his last breath, he wriggled and tried to make a sound, but he couldn’t.

He managed to free one of his hands and slip it out of the water tank. His hand was mangled and bruised, almost unrecognizable as human. Almost every one of the bones in his hand was exposed. The skin was sliced apart and curled at the edges. Pieces of flesh hung from his palm and swayed in the air as he trembled.

The disfigured hand grasped at the tattered clothes of the corpse, pulling and tugging, but he was too weak.

The zombie took a hold of Eric's chin, and the other hand pulled his neck away.

No ... no ... no.

The sound of Eric’s breathy pleas didn't last long, and the corpse pulled his head against the hole.

Eric's neck stretched, and the flesh began to split. He could no longer speak. Only the sound of hiccups echoed in his throat, and then blood bubbles spilling out of his mouth, as the flesh on his neck curled and pulled as if from seams. Finally, Luther heard what sounded like a cork being pulled by a corkscrew.

Eric’s bloody head was ripped off.

The red liquid spattered from his headless neck. The corpse threw his head on the ground.

Luther looked at the head in the red water on the rooftop. He saw the way his blood dyed his hair, and his eyes glared at Luther.

This wasn’t the worst death Luther had seen. He quickly lost interest, no feeling of remorse or sympathy in his heart.

Eric’s death was nothing more than atonement for his actions.

If there was a hell, he was surely in it now.

Now all that was heard was the sound of raindrops hitting the cement roof.

The rain had slowed and the waterdrops had become smaller. It was just light drizzle. The dark clouds above also became thinner, letting a glimmer of light shine through.

Was the fight over?

Luther looked back at the rope that was strung up between the two buildings. Elena had arrived safely across.

There was no sound in the water tank, and the Otyugh that killed Eric had disappeared.

Besides the fact that there were bodies of lizards and people, and blood was staining the cement of the rooftop, there was no indication of the battle that had just taken place.

"Alright, come on out! I know you’re hiding, you son of bitch."

Luther spoke casually, but deep down, he was feeling anxious and ready to leave this rooftop.

Just as Luther spoke, the monster in the water tank stirred.

There was a violent bang that echoed from the tank. A dent was made from the inside and the hole on the tank tore open more.

The creature punched out one hole, then two ... Finally, the entire water tank had been torn apart, and the monster inside it roared.

Luther saw the big water tank explode and shards of metal flew up into the air. The monster stepped out.

It looked like an Otyugh, with a lizard-like body. But this was the Otyugh King. But grown to mature much more than the younger lizards. In fact, it was over a thousand feet tall.

Its body was like rotting mud, emitting a foul smell. When it moved, the rotting flesh of its body hung down. With its roar, the cancer-like growths on its body broke apart, and many corpses climbed down from where they were hidden.

As if the monster were holding strings, these corpses moved like puppets attached to its limbs.

Luther saw a familiar figure, it was headless Eric. But it was only an empty body, controlled by the Otyugh King.

This monster had a dozen hands, and seven or eight heads.

As large and disgusting this creature was, it didn’t threaten Luther.

The Otyugh King spread open its arms, yelled at Luther, and a big whiff of its rancid odor hit him like a gust of wind.

Luther quickly covered his mouth and nose with sleeves and took a few steps back. He was thinking about whether to stay and fight or climb the rope and run away. If he ran, the Otyugh might cut the rope, and he would only fall to the ground far below. Then there would have been no point in fighting this whole time anyway.

Although Luther could use his powers as protection, he didn't know if they would be enough. Luther wasn’t ready to take that risk.

Luther still decided to try and fight it first. If it was too strong, he would retreat to the rope.

The monster found that Luther wasn’t afraid of its roar. It roared again and ran towards Luther.

It was even larger than two elephants combined.

Luther was beginning to worry if the rooftop would be able to support its weight and if it’s wise for him to run away.

He knew it would be a pity for him to have come this far to only die on the ground below as this Otyugh King continued to survive.

The entire rooftop shook as it ran. The remains of the water tank clattered together from the vibrations.

He couldn’t fight it head on. Not yet. So Luther moved quickly. In order not to let it cut the rope, Luther deliberately lead it away from the rope and back to where the stairwell met the rooftop.

As large as it was, it wasn’t a slow creature. It almost caught up to him by the time Luther got to the door. It slashed one of its limbs out at Luther.

Luther dodged it and covered his nose.

It slapped its arm against the little hut where the stairs came from with a heavy bang, and the hut collapsed. The metal door tore from its hinges and flew away from them.

No wonder you’re the king.

Luther narrowed his eyes and stared at it. The hut was made of rebar and cement. It’s incredible that this creature would be able to break it apart with one blow. If he hadn’t dodged it, he would have become little more than what that lizard did to Eric.

Thanks to the collapse of the hut, Luther had lost an escape route.