The Krakaren boss was now in the stands, smashed amongst the unmoving horribles avatars, health in the red as two tentacles waved. It appeared she only had two tentacles left, the rest ripped off by Taranis and scattered across the arena.
Taranis, outraged, was now bent over the tiny bubbling pile of plasma that was Penelope the pig.
Penny wasn’t dead, but she would be if she didn’t heal within the next ninety seconds.
Khepri the god also stood off to the side, looking about, confused as fuck.
Scolopendra, the largest thing in the arena by far, remained on the ground, wrapped around the shattered tree, chittering, also confused and angry, glowing, spinning up another attack.
And all around, multiple vehicles and mounts zoomed through the arena, mowing down monsters left and right. It was like a goddamned demolition derby. They’d allowed us to have our tenth-floor vehicles, which were all upgraded to the max, and we were using them to the best of our ability. Imani and Elle’s APV, driven by Bodi, cut through a group of trolls. Withpoor Sweety dead, Jurgen and Prepotente had moved to the RV with Makana. Prepotente and Jurgen stood back-to-back on the roof of the RV, screaming, shooting lightning, and throwing potions at the mobs while Bianca circled overhead.
Jamal jumped through the arena, flamethrower roaring, landing upon monsters and snapping them in half. His Tundra, which he’d been driving, sat in a heaping, smoking wreck where it had crashed into the wall. Samantha was with Jamal, sitting directly on his head, also screaming a war cry.
Lucia and Florin were back on their tuk-tuk, Florin driving with one hand as his shotgun roared in the other. Lucia was in her beautiful form, shooting lightning bolts at the monsters left and right.
The monsters themselves didn’t have a chance. Despite there being literally thousands of them, they ran, they fell, and they died. Tipid was behind the wheel of the former One Fine Pig truck. The flowers had all fallen off, revealing the wrap featuring the two Tigrans kissing the butt of Penelope. Racing next to him was Rosetta on the back of Onikuma the bear. The bear jumped, landing upon a scattering group of razor-backed monkey mobs. Old Shuck was also in the fray, biting and snarling.
Right next to where we’d teleported, Mongo and Rend were tearing through some spiked turtle monster. Rend was sitting on the upside-down beast’s head as Mongo viciously pulled its leg out from the shell.
Blood and hundreds of horribles masks littered the ground.
I took all this in all at once.
Emberus burst from the center of the kaiju bug, rising and rising, changing from the human form to the massive, half-faced monstrosity that could melt worlds, turning, spinning, screaming, fire flowing down the sides of his head as he wailed, “Carl, Carl, Carl!”
He was still vulnerable, but only for a few more seconds.
System Message: Scolopendra is preparing attack number three of nine. Time until the next attack: 30 seconds.
I would be invulnerable, but everyone else was not.
“Oh shit!”
Taranis, seeing his little brother rising in the arena and knowing Emberus was the one who had fired the attack at his beloved pig, raised his hand.
Emberus paused, a moment of lucidity coming over the insane deity.
“Brother, no,” he said.
Taranis twisted his wrist.
I grasped Donut, and I held her tight in my arms.
Zap.
With one second left on his vulnerability, Emberus, god of sun and ash, exploded.
It was like I’d been hit by a car. All of us were knocked off our feet.
All the vehicles and mounts and surviving mobs blew back, flying to the edges of the arena. I took damage, but because of my temporary invulnerability, I wasn’t hurt. Donut cried out in pain.
A deity has fallen. The heavens tremble with rage.
Above, Krakaren was in the stands, still alive. Scolopendra was still alive despite the massive hole in the center of the creature. The centipede had a health bar now, but it was still in the green.
Imani: Check in! Everybody, check in! Elle! Elle!
Carl: Everyone, get back into the RV!