The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 124

Chapter 124: Marcus and Clara Versus An Abomination
Clara had her eyes on the scope of her rifle as she aimed it at the primals standing from across them.

Marcus had also summoned both his golem and Rhino forged beasts by his side. The two sides stood at what seemed like a standstill but Clara and Marcus knew better.

The only reason the primals hadn’t attacked yet was because the ‘human’ leading them had ordered them not to.

The thing held the face of one of the soldiers that was deployed to rid the place of the remaining primals, even the uniform matched.

The only difference was their sickly yellow irises and black scleras. They also had visible black veins running across the pale skin alongside some cracks.

The appearance of the creature sent chills down the spines of both Marcus and Clara, chills that were only increased when the creature opened ‘its’ mouth to speak.

“More hosts” it started “father was right, you humans are just idiots.”

Its voice sounded human but at the same time not, it sounded like multiple people speaking at the same time.

Marcus carefully adjusted the gauntlet on his hand, making sure the creature didn’t spot him doing so.

Beside him, Clara resisted the urge to pull the trigger immediately. She steadied her breathing, keeping the crosshairs trained on the creature’s forehead.

“What the hell are you?” Marcus asked.

The creature tilted its head, as if amused by the question.

“A better question would be—what were we?” it said, its distorted voice dripping with mockery. “Not that it matters. Your kind will join us soon.”

Clara’s instincts screamed at her to shoot, but she hesitated. Something about this thing set off every alarm in her mind.

Something told her that she would die as soon as her finger touched the trigger.

The primals surrounding the creature wearing human skin ranged from Silver to Gold tier, yet they obeyed its command without hesitation.

This meant one of two things—either it had a way to control the primals, or it was vastly stronger than them.

Feeling the subtle yet oppressive aura it exuded, Clara was willing to bet on the latter.

“So if I were you, I’d willingly hand my body over” it said with a smirk “after all, you have no hope of surviving against me.”

“Besides, becoming a host to one of my brethren should be an honor for you” it continued “after all, your filthy human body will be used to fulfill father’s bidding.”

“Having our bodies controlled by some parasites?” Marcus scoffed. “Yeah, no thanks—I think I’ll pass.”

“Parasites?” The creature looked offended by the label but didn’t move to attack, not yet anyway “we’re much more than parasites. We are father’s finest creation, we are—”

Bang!

Clara couldn’t hold back any longer. Although her instincts warned her otherwise, she also knew that allowing the creature to make the first move was equally dangerous.

The shot was perfectly aimed for the creature’s forehead and it was a direct hit, causing the creature to ragdoll backwards.

Strangely, the primals surrounding it didn’t make a move to attack, even when Clara shot their leader.

But the reason for that was soon revealed. Tentacles came out of the shot creature’s body, raising the body from the ground like a puppet on strings.

The bullet hole on its forehead healed at a visible rate, smaller tendrils inside the wound stitched it back together.

This caused the eyes of the two to widened. The bullet went directly through its brain and was still able to rise back up.

“Alright” it said with an unnaturally wide grin “we’ll do this the hard way then.”

With a snap of its fingers, the primals around it rushed towards the two, while the creature stayed back, observing with a grin.

Clara was immediately teleported back by her ferret, creating a lot more space between her and the approaching primals.

With a swift motion, she reloaded her rifle and quickly aimed at one of the primals, pulling the trigger.

Bang!

The primal and two more behind it fell before they could even register the sound of the shot.

She took two more consecutive shots and with each shot, two or more primals dropped to the ground, dead.

Marcus was also locked in a battle with the primals alongside his forged beasts. A silver-tier primal lunged at him with unnatural speed, but his gauntleted fist met its face first, caving in its skull with a sickening crunch.

His rhino easily charged through the primals, taking down multiple at a time.

While the golem created a huge hole in the ground using [Earth control] causing multiple primals to fall into it.

It then proceeded to close the hole, crushing the primals trapped within. Within a few minutes, all the attacking primals had been taken care of with surprising ease.

But unlike what they expected,the creature stood still, a grin still plastered on its face.

One would expect it to show a hint of panic, seeing how quickly its primals were taken care of but no,instead, it had a wide grin on its face.

“You two really are the perfect hosts,” it said, its grin making its tone even more terrifying “so, I offer you this once again.”

It extended a pale, cracked hand filled with visible black veins, toward them.

“Become our host and gain immortality,” it continued, its sickly yellow eyes locking onto theirs. “Or resist—and experience a pain so excruciating, you’ll beg for death.”

“We’ll pass,” Marcus answered. “I’d very much like to remain in control of my own body.”

“You humans really are stupid, aren’t you?” it answered. “I am offering you ultimate power, yet you choose your frail, insignificant existence over true strength.”

The grin on its face didn’t disappear, but its tone grew darker.

“Very well,” it said “then I’ll simply rip your minds apart and take your bodies by force.”

As soon as it finished its words, it disappeared. One moment it was standing across them, and the next, it was directly in front of Marcus.

Its hand was covered in black liquid-like substance—similar to the one that made up its tendrils— in the shape of a claw.

It swiped the claw at Marcus’ chest. The attack came in so fast, that Marcus only had enough time to cross his arms in hopes to stop the attack.

The creatures claws connected with his crossed arms, sending shockwaves outwards. Marcus was surprised at how much strength the creature held as the attack caused him to slide backwards.

Marcus’ golem retaliated with a punch towards the creature but before its fist could connect, the thing disappeared again, this time aiming for Clara.

Luckily, her ferret reacted fast enough and teleported her away, causing the creature’s claws to hit nothing.

Bang!

Clara took the shot as soon as she appeared. The bullet found its mark, piercing through the creature’s head once more.

But just like before, tendrils erupted from the wound, stitching the damage almost instantly. The creature didn’t even flinch.

It turned its head toward Clara, its grin stretching impossibly wide.

“Persistent, aren’t you?” it mused “But I wonder… how long you two can keep dodging?”

Without warning, it vanished again.

Clara barely had time to react before her instincts screamed at her.

Her ferret’s teleportation activated a fraction of a second too late—she felt the cold, slimy sensation of the creature’s tendrils brush against her shoulder before she was pulled into another location.

A deep gash had been left on her shoulder, the black liquid coating the wound like an infection. Pain shot through her body like fire.

“Shit,” Clara hissed, clutching the injury.

“Clara!” Marcus called, but he didn’t have time to check on her. The creature reappeared in front of him, claws slashing downward.

Marcus gritted his teeth and met the strike head-on. His gauntlet-clad fists collided with the creature’s attack, sending out another shockwave.

He could feel the unnatural weight behind its blows—despite its lean frame, it had the strength of a monster….well, it was a monster.

“You’re getting on my nerves,” Marcus growled.

His golem slammed both fists into the ground, triggering [Earth Control]. The ground beneath the creature transformed into fists.

The massive stone fists lunged forward, aiming to crush the creature in their grasp. But before they could make contact, the figure vanished in an instant.

With a loud crash, the earth fists slammed into each other, sending a shockwave of dust and debris into the air.

Before Marcus could react, he felt a sudden shift behind him. The creature had reappeared behind him and its claws swinging towards his head.

‘Damn it’ Marcus thought. He didn’t have enough time to move out of the attack’s path, nor were his two forged beasts fast enough to reach the creature.

So he was sure the attack would cleanly cleave off his head, until,

Bang!

Clara’s rifle rang out again. The bullet ripped through its knee caps, causing the creature to stumble and miss Marcus’ head.

Although the claws didn’t pass through Marcus’ neck, they went directly through his his back and out of his chest.

“MARCUS!” Clara screamed, seeing what just happened.

Marcus slowly looked down at the blackened claws protruding out from his chest.

A sharp, burning sensation spread through his body, unlike any pain he had ever felt before.

Marcus coughed was followed by a mouthful of blood which dripped down his lips.

“I told you I’d make it a lot more painful than it needs to be” the creature, whose knee had already healed, whispered in his ear.

But its voice came out muffled to Marcus as he felt himself quickly slipping into unconscious.

Clara’s horrified face was the last thing he saw before everything went completely dark.