Apocalypse Tamer

Chapter 107: Man vs Bloom

They buried Shesha and Garud in a mass grave next to a thousand others.

There were simply too many corpses and not enough space for funerals. The entire region stank of murder, blood, and charred flesh. The fires raged over Shumen hours after the battle, torching whatever building had survived the orbital bombardment. Only the dungeon on the hill remained intact as the city’s tombstone.

When Basil asked Simeon how many had survived, the old man sighed in sorrow. “Too few.”

What did that mean? Thousands? Hundreds? How many people had perished tonight to satisfy a dragon’s cruelty? Basil had lost count of the corpses he had been forced to dump in holes hastily dug in the muddy ground.

Worse were those whose remains couldn’t be recovered.

Like his mother.

As Rosemarine helped cover the grave pit with earth, Basil glanced at Steve. The Steamobile worked hard as a road roller to push the dead into their final resting place, a ghastly deed it performed while in its new form. The transformation unlocked from the Gearsman changed the front half of the Steamobile into a mechanical torso with mighty steel arms and the Gehenna Cannon for a head; the wheels at the back of the vehicle supported the body like a centaur’s legs.

No matter Steve’s shape, a red spot on its metal shielding had yet to fade away.

“It’s her blood, isn’t it?” Basil guessed. “You tried to save her, but it wasn’t enough.”

The Steamobile let out a sorrowful cry in response. Basil gently patted its armor with his hand to reassure it.

“I’m not blaming you, Steve. No more than I would blame a lifeguard for failing to save a woman from drowning after she has been thrown in the water.” Basil glared at the moon. “The blame rests squarely on those who endangered her in the first place.”

Shellgirl and Bugsy had set up a Lair to connect the camp with the rest of their allies in Western Europe. As for Vasi, she had left for Outremonde to come back with reinforcements. This left only Plato and Rosemarine to help Basil mourn for the dead. His tropidrake planted seeds on the corpse-infested soil after helping cover it.

“This way the dead will be reborn as trees, Mister,” Rosemarine explained kindly. “This is why humans leave flowers on graves, right?”

Basil didn’t have the heart to correct her. He simply looked at the spot where Shesha and Garud now rested. At least they would have a tomb for others to mourn over. Basil would raise a stone for his mother, but without her remains, he would never find closure.

“This feels like when we buried René all over again,” Plato said sadly. “All we’re missing is the rain.”

“You think it would get easier eventually.” Basil closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. “It never does.”

No tears flowed out of Basil Bohen’s eyes. He was simply too exhausted for them. Once he would have sworn a blood oath over his mother’s death and condemned the Unity to destruction; but as he stared at the blood-soaked ground, he couldn’t even muster the anger to curse Blackcinders. He was simply too drained.

Basil Bohen felt empty inside.

With the city’s destruction, survivors and military forces had retreated to a camp set in the countryside. Though the Swords of Saint George controlled another dungeon nearby, Simeon wisely realized that it would make for an obvious target. The enemy could attack them from above at any time after all.

Every soldier was busy with something: tending to the wounded, repairing equipment, surveying the area to avoid an ambush… One would think most would have given up after today’s disaster, but in desperate situations, there was no time for surrender. When its survival was on the line, man surrendered to the reptilian brain. Sorrow, fear, anger… all of these mammalian emotions were pushed aside by the overwhelming urge to live another day.

Or perhaps all Shumen’s defenders had become numb to tragedy after too many of them. Basil wondered if he was in the same boat.

When Simeon landed next to the Bohens, Basil knew troubles were only starting. “Sir Bohen, I have received worrying news,” the paladin said. “The Unity is retreating from Bulgaria.”

Under normal circumstances, this news would have come as a relief. By now, Basil knew better than to get his hopes up. “What do you mean?”josei

“Our troops and allies across the country all contacted me with the same intel,” Simeon explained. “Unity troops are either teleporting away or crossing the border south. They’re leaving their installations and heavy machinery behind.”

So this wasn’t a planned retreat, but a panicked rout. Basil could only see one reason why Blackcinders would have her forces evacuate the country while abandoning hard-won resources.

“They’re going to bombard Bulgaria.” Basil glared at the moon falling beyond the horizon. Earth’s satellite had almost disappeared from the sky, but it would come back soon enough. “All of it.”

Simeon nodded darkly. “I guessed as much. Our allies’ counter-bombardment must have spooked them, so they’ll wipe out our nation as a warning to all others.”

Considering the moon needed to hover above the right face of Earth to target Bulgaria, then it meant the country had roughly twelve hours left before the next bombardment. A terribly short window of time.

Plato looked up at his best friend with a deep frown on his face. “What do we do, dog?”

“We have no choice.” Basil clenched his jaw in frustration. “As much as it hurts me to say it… Kalki will have to wait for now. Blinding the moon’s eye and killing Blackcinders takes priority.”

Basil could only hope Metal Olympus wouldn’t kill their friend in the meantime. He doubted murdering Kalki was Ashok’s intention—considering he captured the Avatar alive—but the false god’s motives remained obscure. He probably intended to use Kalki to further his own plans, whatever they were.

“We’ll come for you, Kalki,” Basil swore on his dead teammates’ graves. Shesha and Garud fought to the bitter end to protect their Tamer. Basil cut his fingertip open and shed blood on their grave to show his respect. “I, Basil Jean-François Bohen, son of Dragan and Aleksandra Bohen, promise you that much. I swear to Christ that we’ll save you, even if we must travel to the moon and back.“

“No oath of revenge this time?” Plato asked.

“I would rather swear to save the living than avenge the dead.” Basil glared at the horizon and the vanishing moon. “Though we’ll do both in due time.”

Afterward, the Bohens rejoined the camp to find it overcrowded. A Lair-linked portal allowed European reinforcements to arrive with the material needed to construct the Unity Neurotower. Its schematics were so complicated that it required dozens of crafters and twice as many workers to build, so Bugsy and Shellgirl helped human soldiers raise its steel foundations.

Among the reinforcements were familiar faces.

“Here comes the French,” Plato said. “Do you bring good news to open the New Year? Please tell me you do. We need some right now.”

“I’m afraid not, Plato.” Neria Elissalde had come in full battle armor. Benjamin Leroy followed her like her shadow, his black wings furling around him like a cloak. He looked more like a classy vampire than Eddie ever did. “Especially since the New Year Event is not yet done.”

Unfortunately, she was right. The slaughter would carry on until midnight.

Neria gave Basil a pained look. “Basil, I am sincerely sorry for your loss–”

“I don’t want to hear that, Neria,” Basil interrupted her. He knew she meant well, but he was in no mood to hear condolences. Not as long as Blackcinders breathed. “Not now.”

“I understand.” Neria wisely decided not to push the subject further. “Let me say this at least: the Unity won’t get away with this. We’ll fight at your side.”

“We?” Plato asked while squinting at Benjamin. “I thought this one was under litter arrest?”

“General Leblanc is giving him special privileges for good behavior,” Neria replied.

“And because you will require my expertise for this particular operation.” Benjamin shrugged. “Neria is my parole officer. She has orders to shoot me dead if I try to escape.”

“But you won’t,” Neria said with a gentle smile. “You are not that kind of man, Benjamin.”

Basil noticed that these two were now on a first-name basis. Good. They both needed a friend.

“Once our man-made Neurotower connects to the Unity network, I will launch two programs,” Benjamin explained. “The first will create a portal between this particular tower and the Unity’s lunar base. I will do my best to open it in a relatively safe place and keep it there so you can make your way back, but you’ll be on your own on the other side.”

“And the second program?” Basil asked.

“It will activate a unique, viral Awaken Soul spell of Walter Tye’s design and spread it through the Unity’s network.” Benjamin observed Basil sharply. “He said you had commissioned this weapon.”

“Sort of.” Basil was surprised Walter went through with the proposal in the end. Perhaps he cared in his own creepy undead way. “How does it work?”

“If it works… the spell should awaken the shackled soul of every Gearsmen it affects, granting them intelligence and self-awareness. The Unity’s network is heavily segmented, so I doubt it will expand beyond Earth, but it should infect all of their terminals on our world.”

In the best case scenario, the Unity’s forces on Earth would find themself with a civil war on their hands. This would cripple their operations on the planet. In the worst case scenario…

“Can we guarantee the awakened Gearsmen will shoot at the enemy rather than us?” Simeon voiced Basil’s own fears.

“No,” Benjamin replied bluntly. “That’s the thing with free will. The awakened Gearsmen will do whatever they want. Each individual is as likely to stay loyal as to rebel.”

Simeon crossed her arms. “It’s not the best of plans,” he said. “But the confusion it sows in the Unity’s ranks might secure our victory.”

“I’m willing to take the risk,” Basil said. When confronted with the possibility of Blackcinders using the lunar cannon to reduce his homeland to ashes, even the worst plan looked viable. “Does General Leblanc agree with me?”

Neria nodded sharply. “We don’t have enough ICBMs left for another strike on the moon. Either we win this round or we lose the war.”

“The Unity’s dungeons produce a field with a very simple effect,” Benjamin warned Basil. “Level penalties do not apply within its range. All their forces on the moon will fight back at full power, and Blackcinders herself will likely exceed the Level Barrier’s limit.”

Basil shrugged. He was used to being the underdog.

“When can you open the portal, Mr. Leroy?” Simeon asked Benjamin. “We only have half a day before we enter the cannon’s line of fire.”

“Hours,” the programmer replied. “Before the moon rises again at least.”

“So we’ll only have a short window of time to sabotage the weapon.” Simeon nodded sharply. “Very well. We go all in.”

“What about the class information I required?” Basil asked.

Neria forwarded Basil data through the Logs. “We managed to map out the Alchemist, Runesmith, and Technomancer classes, since some of our soldiers filled out each of them. Walter Tye also shared details on the Chronomancer class, but Warrior Saint is unknown to him.”

Basil checked her information and grunted in disappointment. With only five levels to assign, empowering Runesmith now would strengthen his Runestorm and Magic-Eater Perks. Both were good, but not quite appropriate for what awaited his Party. Leveling up Technomancer would increase his Runic spellcasting slightly and help build golems, which required more time than they had. Alchemist’s Perks would only enhance his crafting abilities further.

The Chronomancer class though…

“Save Scum?” Basil coughed when he read it. “Rewinding death? Is this a joke?”

“I was as surprised as you, but apparently it’s indeed the Chronomancer capstone,” Neria replied. “In exchange for sacrificing a huge amount of SP, you can undo a fatal blow.”

“I still do not understand how you managed to unlock this class,” Benjamin said. “The affinities are correct, but you would need to have messed with time on a large-scale to earn it.”

“He cheated,” Plato mused, trying to lighten the mood. “That’s what he does, that scummy Mario Kart item spammer.”

“You’re just jealous of my turtle swagger,” Basil replied.

Seriously, the Chronomancer’s high-level Perks were simply busted. Leaping into the future to avoid attacks, permanent buffs, predicting dangerous attacks, reloading oneself to a previous state upon death, time acceleration… If this was a game, any designer would have banned this class on the first day. Its abilities synergized spectacularly with any build.

Really, Chronomancer’s only weakness was its lackluster early Perks. The first five levels opened access to Tier I Chronomancy spells, allowed a magician to cast two spells at once, and provided a nice paralysis effect powerful enemies were probably all immune to anyway. Terrifying Perks to possess… in the hands of a full Spellcaster. For someone like Basil, who focused on old-school close-combat, these early levels were wasted. He would definitively invest in the class, but only once he could afford to.

This only left one class available.

“I hope this Warrior Saint class is worth the hype,” Basil said as he assigned his five levels.

As it turned out…

It was.

Power surged through Basil’s body like a jolt of electricity. Between Warrior Saint’s high growths and Vainqueur’s boost, all his stats had increased today. The Perks were simply excellent. And with his new levels being assigned… a certain someone could finally evolve.

“Rosemarine.” Basil gently caressed his tropidrake’s head. “I still remember when you were a small and delightful Killaplant. Besides Plato and Bugsy, you’ve been with us the longest. I’m amazed how much you have grown since we first met.”

“It is because you feed me so well and shower me with your love, Mister,” Rosemarine replied gently, her tail wagging behind her mighty body. “If not for you, I would have wilted away. I am thankful.”

“And I am proud you could bloom into such a beautiful creature.” Basil would never stop finding his little flower dazzling, no matter what form she took. “Now… Now is the time you’ve been waiting for so long. Your final metamorphosis. You can now fulfill all your dreams.”

To his surprise, Rosemarine thought it over before answering. “Mister, can I change my mind?”

“About what?”

“Before I grew big and strong, I said I would eat everyone and then sow the world with my seed.” Rosemarine glanced at the columns of smoke coming from Shumen. “But it would make you sad. It would make all my friends sad.”

Basil sighed. “It would, Rosemarine.”

“I don’t want to make you sad, Mister. I want to make you happy. So I have changed my mind.” Rosemarine nuzzled Basil with her colossal head. “I will feed everyone I like and eat those who hurt them.”

“And the rest?” Plato asked.

“Either people are my friends or they aren’t,” Rosemarine replied ominously. “There is no middle ground.”

If Basil noticed Neria and Benjamin exchanging a glance, he didn’t show it.

“But I will be kind to strangers and try to turn them into my friends,” Rosemarine added wisely. “That way, they will be nice to me and spoil me on Christmas.”

“That’s the holiday spirit, my girl.” Basil kissed her on a petal. “Show them your might and kindness.”

Rosemarine glowed as she underwent her final metamorphosis.

She became so bright that Basil had to step back and cover his eyes with his hand. Everyone moved away from Rosemarine too. Grass and colorful flowers—from roses to weed and poppies—grew at the tropidrake’s feet. They swiftly expanded in the blink of an eye to cover all ground around the camp and beyond.

Great wings of woven rose petals unfurled behind Rosemarine’s back and carried her above the ground. Her hind legs and tail—her entire lower half—transformed into thousands of woven, thorny vines. Her two hands transformed into twin flowers that each bloomed to reveal the barrels of wooden miniguns. Her head reshaped itself into that of a mighty dragon, with trees for horns and bright petals for a mane. Rainbowy scales shaped like leaves covered every inch of her mighty torso, from which a large bounty of golden apples grew.

She was…

Magnificent.

“I can shoot, Mister!” Rosemarine roared as she pointed her petal cannons at the sky, firing blasts of pollen at the clouds. Multiple soldiers around the camp ducked to the ground in fear and surprise. “I have wings and I have guns!”

Had there ever been a lovelier sight than a one-year child trying a new firearm?

Name

Rosemarine Eglantine de la Barthe (Hesperides Dragon)

Type

Plant/Dragon (Plant/Divine in Nymph Mode)

Faction

Homeowner Revenge Association (The Bohens)

Experience

6,654,266/6,830,000

Immune

Resist

Weak

Fire, Wood, All Ailments, Instadeath.

Physical, Mind, Life, Water, Earth, Light, Mythic.

Plantslayer, Dragonslayer (changes to Godslayer in Nymph Mode), Corrosion, Metal, Frost.

Level

Health Points

Special Points

68

6180

1805

Strength

Agility

Vitality

Skill

107

(A+20%)

62

(B+20%)

77

(A+20%)

63

(B+20%)

Magic

Intelligence

Charisma

Luck

80

(A+20%)

30

(C+20%)

61

(B+20%)

77

(A+20%)

Physical

Mind

Soul

Corrosion

Metal

Wood

Life

Support

Ailment

Strong

Strong

-

Weak

Weak

Strong

Strong

Strong

Strong

Fire

Water

Earth

Wind

Frost

Lightning

Light

Darkness

Mythic

Strong

Strong

Strong

-

Weak

-

Strong

-

Strong

Passive Perks

Active Perks

Divine Vessel

Gaia’s Fury

Vineyard Queen

Hera’s Grace

Ladon

Hesperides Seed

Cosmic Flower

Eden Guns

God-Field: Garden of the Hesperides

Divine Harvest

Nymph Mode

Bacchanal Mists

Turbo: Wood

Wine Tribute

Plant Crown

Firepetal Storm

“The time has come, Mister!” Rosemarine roared. Her voice, as terrible as melodious, echoed all across her garden. “We will eat the moon, and then we’ll shoot the baby stars!”

The Bohens were going cosmic.