The Devil"s Evolution Catalog Chapter 81: The Harpies" Nest {Draft}
These strange creatures had a relatively large body, their upright height was at least two meters tall and their feathers were dyed in a diverse range of colors. Upon extending their wings, the harpies" maximum wingspan was at least three to four meters wide. From a distance, it looked like prismatic cloud was approaching us.
They swooped down on us with terrifying hook-like claws and latched onto the two medusas before taking off once more. The pair kept their cool and allowed the harpies to carry them off without a fuss.
Soon, it was our turn as well. Habona allowed the harpy to carry us off without a fight.
I had never ridden an airplane before, so I didn"t know what it felt like. However, as of now, I"ve at least ridden a harpy and it felt...dizzying…
Their speed could only be described as lightning quick as they zipped past the corners without slowing down a bit. After a mere ten minutes, we reached the nest of the harpies and the sight that greeted was shocking to say the least.
Upon entering the Prison of the Dead, the first thing I attempted was to break apart the bony white walls of the maze. However, to my disappointment, it wasn"t possible no matter what I tried.
Later on, we encountered the Abaddon Rodents but they were unable to do so as well. If even a rat wasn"t able to dig a hole in these walls, I simply couldn"t picture anyone else being able to do so. This was the impression that stuck with me until today…
Right in front of me was a hollowed out section of what I originally thought to be impenetrable.
The maze walls were 20 meters of bones that stretched to the ceiling or at least it was at the other nests I"ve been to. At the 15 meter mark was a conspicuous lack of bones. Instead, that section all the way up to the ceiling had been hollowed and had even extended to the other side of wall. On that harpy-made platform was their nest.
They actually managed to destroy that st.u.r.dy wall...and even built a nest on it! I couldn"t even imagine the destructive power of the harpies that accomplished this feat!
Another point of interest was the thousand over skeletons currently scaling that broken wall. Their target seemed to be the harpy nest.
Hundreds of harpies flew out in response to the undead invasion. With a fell screech, they swooped in and picked up the undead. Their claws sunk in between their bony body. With a clench and pull of their claws, the skeletons shattered without any resistance, falling to the ground like a bunch of wooden toy blocks.
The scenery changed an instant later as our carrier harpy ignored the battlefield and flew right to the nest.
The harpies" treatment of captives were extremely rough; without any concern for our safety, they unceremoniously dumped us from a distance above the ground. Habona tumbled a couple of times before coming to a stop, all the while hugging me. The two medusas received the same treatment as well.
As I got to my feet, a cacophony of smells crashed into me like a sledgehammer. It was an amalgamation of scents that was not only difficult to describe but also reeked. Mixed into the air was a scent that smelled like feces, blood and flesh mixed in with the pungent smell of decay.
Just based on this foul stench alone, I could tell that hygiene wasn"t one of their priorities.
Shortly after dropping us off, the harpy landed near us along with nearly a hundred of her brethren, forming a tight circle around us. Looking closely, at their faces specifically, they were actually quite beautiful.
However, this beauty was instantly shattered as they opened their mouths and screeched at us...rows of disgusting, blackened teeth immediately burned my admiring eyes. There"s no way anyone would willing kiss this mug.
Being stared at by this bunch of monsters was truly disconcerting. However, what unsettled me even more was our audacious and perhaps suicidal infiltration of the enemy"s nest. I gently leaned in on Habona and whispered: "What"re we going to do now?"
"I"m trying to locate Harlow"s scent." She slowly edged towards the medusas while keeping me protected behind my back. "Just hide behind me once the battle starts, I won"t able to keep my eye on you then. You need to watch out for yourself."
What do you mean watch out for yourself? Are you saying it"s that dangerous?
Fearing the worst, I employed the only solution I could think of, hurrying my teammates. "...did you locate his scent yet?"
"The scents are too mixed up, I can"t tell them apart."
"Then what"s the plan now?" Manasha brought her sister along with her, forming a protective triangle around me.
In spite of our precarious situation, Majosha was surprisingly calm. She coldly glanced over the ring of screeching monsters around us and said: "While the harpies aren"t particularly smart, they know enough to separate their dining area from their mating area. Since we"re all females here, they"ve naturally brought us to the dining area."
"I knew that even without your explanation." Those piles of skulls aren"t just for show after all. Not to mention the strong smell of blood and decay. Also, "I"m a male. Don"t get my gender mixed up."
"Male?"
The two medusas were stunned after which they gave me an evaluating look. Manasha took it a step further by simply reaching out and grabbing my non-existent package.
After discovering the lack of a certain organ, she flashed me a roguish smile and said: "You actually dare to call yourself a male without a p.e.n.i.s? Besides if you are actually a male, the harpies wouldn"t have brought you here with us."
"..." Alright, I"m wrong...just don"t bring up the matter of that place again...
"Since we have no luck in this matter, we"ll just have to find him ourselves." Habona abruptly cut in, her patience nearly stretched to its limits while we were busy discussing my p.e.n.i.s or lack thereof.
Without even waiting for a response, she leaped into fray and lashed out viciously with her razor sharp claws. The scent of blood grew even stronger as her deadly claws tore apart a couple of unfortunate harpies, turning both of them into geysers of blood as they fell backwards limply.
"Ahh!!"
The harpies sprung into action immediately. With a enraged screech, they dove at her in unison. However, Habona was simply too agile for them. With a casual sidestep, she avoided their talons and counterattacked at the same time. Flesh and blood splattered all over the floor as her claws easily tore through the feathers and hide of the unfortunate harpy.
GIven her four-star strength, these harpies were clearly not a match for her claws. Even a light rake at their weak points was enough to kill these harpies in an instant.
Due to the height at which the nest was built, there was only five meters of airs.p.a.ce to maneuver in and so the vaunted flight abilities of the harpies were powerless before the land bound werewolf"s lightning speed and strength.
There were about two to three hundred of these harpies. However, they were mostly one to two-stars. A small proportion were three-stars but this didn"t matter as Habona"s claws swept through them just the same.
Habona"s sudden attack on the harpies had triggered a chain reaction among the harpies. Without even giving me time to react, countless harpies leaped at me. Within them was one three-star who had a significantly larger body than her kin. As her blue-feathered wings flapped, it induced a violent gust of wind that nearly knocked me off my feet.
Making use of this opportunity, she approached me, jaws wide open, ready to bite into me. By the time I reacted to her attack, I could already smell the horrid stench of her breath which nearly caused me to faint. I knew that it was too late to run now.
I immediately summoned up my shadow guardian. I knew that it was powerless against a three-star but even so I had to try no matter how futile it seemed.
As expected, the shadow didn"t slow her down one bit. As it tried to coil around the harpy, she bit through it easily and continued charging at me. All it took was just one more step and she would be able to rip apart my exposed neck.
Just as I was about to meet my makers, a earthy-yellow snake tail flicked across my eyes like a bolt of lightning and whipped the harpy away…
"Get behind us quick." As she said that, the snake hairs on Majosha"s head didn"t let up on the offensive and continued spitting at the pouncing harpies. With every successful spit, the acrid of smell of burning flesh filled the air amidst a backdrop of tortured screeches.
Manasha slithered forward in what looked like a charge and whipped out, cutting into throat of the wailing harpy with a sharpness that didn"t lose to Habona"s claws…
Their immense strength came as a pleasant surprise to me. Not only was Manasha strong, Majosha was as well. A simple flick of her tail was able to send a three-star flying away.
However, this wasn"t the end of that three-star. After a couple of tumbles, she immediately got to her feet and stared daggers at the offending medusa before charging at her once more. If looks could kill, Majosha would"ve been dead several times over.
While her target was Majosha, I ended up getting caught in the crossfire between the two. As her fervent gaze swept over me, I was frightened stiff by it, temporarily forgetting to run away.
Seeing my precarious situation, her snake tail immediately coiled around my waist and pulled me to safety behind her back. As for herself, with a shake of her serpentine waist, she slithered off to clash with the harpy head on!
As snake clashed with bird, the final victor was unsurprisingly the snake. Her unstoppable charge instantly sent her opponent flying. However, she didn"t stop there and instead pushed forward, her aim, to finish off her knocked down opponent.
Her muscles contracted before snapping forth in a burst of speed at the end, coiling her tail around the harpy just as she landed on the floor. With a vicious gouge of her razor sharp teeth, she tore into the harpy"s neck.
"AHHH!!" The harpy desperately tried to struggle free but Majosha"s serpentine binding held strong, preventing her from even moving an inch. A few seconds later, the harpy fell silent. Whether it was the asphyxiation or the blood loss that killed her, it didn"t matter as the harpy was without a doubt, dead.
She actually did it! A three-star harpy was dead just like that, and in such a cruel manner too...so that"s why Harlow got captured so easily despite being a three-star. He simply couldn"t beat her…
With the teamworks of these two medusas who I a.s.sumed were at least four-stars, no amount of enemies would matter. a.s.suming there weren"t any four-stars within the group.
After losing over a hundred of their kinsman, these idiots finally realized that they were no match for the three female monsters in front of them and began to take off.
"Is everyone alright?"
A blood drenched Habona walked over, coldness radiating off her body with each step she took. The medusas were in similar situation as well; they were drenched in the foul blood of the harpies.
"We"re fine...at least the three of us aren"t hurt." I gave her an evaluating look. "What about you? Are you hurt?" I simply couldn"t tell whether the blood was hers or not.
"I"m alright as well." She gave her claws a lick before spitting a second later.
"We"ve managed to defeat them for now but this is their nest after all. I"m sure they"ll be back with greater numbers next time. We need to find Harlow, quick."
"But we don"t know where they bring their male prey to…" While we were talking, Majosha took the opportunity to survey the area. She slithered a circle around the area, trying to find some clues. Unfortunately, her efforts didn"t pay off.
"Don"t worry, while you guys were fighting just now, I spotted a harpy carry off one of their prey towards that direction."
While I wasn"t of much help in the battle, I still maintained an alert stance. Upon returning to the nest with her prey, I immediately spotted the laden harpy and started tracking her path with my eyes.
Given that these harpies were smart enough to separate their mating area from their eating area, by the process of elimination, that must mean that the area she was headed to was the mating area.
"Which direction?" The three females replied in unison, clearly anxious to hear about this new clue.
"Don"t be so hasty, I"ll lead the way. Follow me."
Footnotes:
ED: Cat here, I"m sorta back, currently working on building a new WordPress based website since wix is giving us and everyone else cancer. So I can only speed proofread at the moment. Chapters will remain as drafts for a few weeks more until I am done then I will go back and clean them all up.
Credits:
Special thanks to Steve Granger!!