The Infinite Bk. 04 Ch. 10

"Ahoy! Is there anyone aboard?" Noah shouted. There was no response, so Noah called out again. The wind then shifted, sending the smell of blood wafting over. He and all the elves rested their hands on their swords and cautiously approached.

Once they reached the craft, one of the elves, Fourn, banged on the hull and then put his ear to the wood. "I don't hear any movement inside, sir."

"Saul," Aithorn said, raising his chin to another elf with dark hair.

Saul nodded and jumped up onto the deck of the ship like a mantis. "I see blood and scratch marks. Someone tried to put up a fight and lost."

Noah and the other elves came aboard and started looking around. The elves strained their ears to pick up the sound of anything below deck and only entered the darkness with the assurance they were alone. Noah led them, holding a ball of light to illuminate the ship's interior. It was a paladin spell, but like all magic, Noah could only mimic its visual effects.

There were signs of human habitation, but they lay buried under the wreckage caused by some unknown creature. Whatever it was, it had smashed open every crate and barrel that once held food. He could see the marks on the floor from its claws. There were other marks that interested him, something heavy enough to crack the wooden planks and leave scorch marks.

They searched the ship from top to bottom and then moved back up onto the deck. "This blood is at least a day old. I'd say a little under thirty men were on this boat when it arrived, but only four were killed on it," said Noah.

"Likely a party left behind to guard the ship. That was a very poor mistake," said Valia.

"The two of you are going to want to see this," said Aithorn, standing by the steering wheel.

Noah and Valia walked over, with Noah spotting more cracks in the deck with heavy footprints burned into the wood. They reached the steering wheel, where Aithorn examined a handprint on the nearby railing. It wasn't a print so much as a burn mark. The hand was huge, almost inhumanely so.

"Gradius," Noah muttered.

"No, that's impossible. How would he even know to come here?" Valia asked.

"Someone had to have told him Valon was here, maybe that we would be here as well."

"Are you suspecting someone in the royal court?" asked Aithorn.

"A succubus was able to get all the way into the queen's bedroom and attack her. There is no telling who else might have infiltrated Sylphtoria. We don't even know if it was an elf who did it."

"Hold on a second," said Valia, "you're assuming that whoever knows Valon is here learned it the same time we did, but if that were so, there is no way Gradius and his knights could have beaten us here."

"She's right. They would have needed a few days' head start to arrive here, meaning whoever told Gradius about this place knew it before we did."

"But then that begs the question," said Noah, "who knows that Valon is here, and why would they send Gradius? Perhaps someone in Colbrand used magic to figure out his location?"

"Regardless, if Gradius gets to Valon before we do, it'll be trouble," said Valia.

"Joining forces with his team would boost our chances of survival, and we can prevent him from killing Valon."

"Trust me, you don't know Gradius the way we do," said Aithorn. "He's a madman, a demon. He'll turn this entire island to ash to hunt you and Valon down, and he won't take you alive. Without a royal pardon from the king, he will never stop."

"I don't suppose you two would be up to killing him? If not, our only option is to find Valon before he does."

"Do you either of you have a means of finding him?"

"Valia," Noah said.

She held out her hand, and a large needle appeared over her palm, conjured from her knight ring. It was etched with runes, with the opposing ends wrapped with strands of silver hair. "My hair is on one end of the needle, and Valon's is on the other. If I pour my mana into this, the needle will point to us both, at least, according to Noah."

"The needle tracks your magical and biological signature, which is barely distinguishable between the two of you." Noah turned back to Aithorn. "I'm not sure of the range, so we're going to try it here, at the top of that mountain, the ruins of the old palace, and everywhere in between."

Valia laid the needle on her palm and channeled her mana into it. The end with her hair began to glow and stuck to her skin like she was magnetic, but no matter which direction she turned, the needle lay still on her palm, meaning it wasn't detecting Valon.

"If it doesn't work, I have other ideas," Noah added.

They returned to their own ship and unloaded all of their gear. Most of it was arrows, soon to be needed, for as soon as they set out into the jungle, they were attacked. The carnivorous megafauna had a giant head with snapping jaws like an alligator, but a disproportionately small body reminiscent of a rhino. It charged towards the group, somehow able to lift its humungous skull and run with its stubby legs.

The elves scattered and unleashed a storm of arrows from all sides, but it endured the wounds and aimed for Noah. He jumped behind a fallen tree, thick enough, he hoped, to serve as a valid barricade. The beast grabbed the trunk with its colossal jaws, lifted it into the air, and crushed it like a parchment scroll. While its head was raised, Noah slit its throat with a well-aimed strike. The beast bled out and collapsed, and the elves retrieved their arrows.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to flavor country," Noah muttered as he collected a piece of its hide.

"Let's get out of here before the blood attracts something," said Valia.

No sooner had the words been spoken than they heard a chorus if monstrous squeals. They saw their new opponents circling them, staying behind the trees. It was a pack of wild boars, each one the size of a horse, with tusks that could punch through steel armor. One broke away from the group, charging towards Noah and the elves. A stream of arrows was shot with deadly aim, but though they struck the boar between the eyes, they were all deflected by its tough skull.

Valia sprinted towards it and jumped into the air, narrowly dodging its swinging tusks. Flying overhead, she slashed the back of its neck, ending its life. As soon as she touched the ground, another boar was upon her. A spear, thrown by one of the elves, buried itself in the beast's ribs and threw it off balance. Wounded, it was easy prey for Valia. The remaining boars closed in, squealing in fury and forcing Noah and the elves up into the trees. Perched safely among the branches, they rained arrows down on the boars, wiping them out. Only when all was quiet did they descend.

"Everyone, work fast and let's get out of here."

As with the last beast, the elves collected their arrows, as it was evident that they'd need every last bolt. Likewise, Noah went around collecting samples, adding the species to his summoning collection. He initially could only copy organisms summoned by magic, but he had altered the formula to clone whatever creature he wished, as long as his mana was sufficient. The problem was that this method didn't copy clothing and items, so even if he could impersonate someone this way, it would only be convincing at the scene of an orgy.

As soon as they were ready, they set off into the jungle. Their trek was intense, exacerbated by the heat, humidity, and insects. They used plant-based repellents to ward off stings and bites, but could not fully drive off the creepy-crawlies. Flying scorpions would zip past their faces, centipedes larger than their belts would crawl over their feet, and mosquitos the size of hummingbirds would buzz in their ears.

Even worse were the incessant monster attacks. Outside this island, finding a summoning circle was a rare occurrence, but here, there was always one within view. Creatures, big and small, would materialize out of thin air at different speeds and jump into the food chain. It seemed like every ten minutes or so, something would lunge at them from the underbrush or the canopy, and the size of the group did little to sway their attackers. The jungle was overflowing with vicious predators, whether they had scales, hair, or feathers.

It was slow going, and the slightest mistake was fatal. This island made the dungeon crab from Clive look like a goblin den, but unlike before, Noah was leading a competent party. The elves could sense any monster coming their way, and the few foes that survived their deadly arrows were met with cold steel.

Despite the violence, Kisara Island was truly amazing. It was a tragic beauty, the once-mighty elvish civilization completely fallen to nature, but beautiful nonetheless. Vines hung over every wall, moss blanketed stone streets, and trees grew out of brick buildings and houses like potted plants.

There seemed to be no distinction between the raw jungle and the ruins. It was as if the whole stone island was carved into a city, then a blanket of vegetation laid atop it. Every boulder was a statue, every hill and mountain had a staircase, and even the tallest cliffs and deepest ravines were made of brick and carved stone. The jungle was quite healthy, a universe of vibrant green, and the animals were more than abundant.

They eventually entered a vast clearing, what had once been a massive forum for the people of Kisara Island. Great temples and pyramids rose from the earth, pasted with vegetation, and though shrubs and bushes had managed to colonize much of the ground, the area was free of trees, allowing the sun to shine down directly. Titanic herbivores roamed the open space, grazing with their young.

"I've never seen creatures like these," Valia gasped.

"They're called dinosaurs," said Noah. "They were extinct in all of my previous lives, living millions of years before mankind, at least until we learned to make them ourselves. Diplodocus, ankylosaurs, and triceratops, oh my. Hey, see that? That one is a stegosaurus. I had a son a long time ago who was obsessed with dinosaurs, and the stegosaurus was his favorite. He became a paleontologist, someone who spends their life searching for fossils of extinct animals."

The elves all glanced at Noah. They had all received "the talk" about what he was, but even for these immortals, it was hard to believe that someone who looked so young could be so old. They then watched him take out a strange black rectangle, hold it out in front of him, tap it a few times, and then put it away. Aithorn had seen the device when Noah first explained his origins to the queen. Since leaving Colbrand, he had been taking pictures on his journey with Valia to show Alexis, Sophia, and everyone at the Knight's Sheath. Elisandra would surely enjoy seeing the island.

"Should we try to cross it?" one elf asked.

"Those animals will likely get violent if we come too close to their young," another said.

"It's a long way around," added a third.

"If they turn aggressive, we only need to ward them off, not fight them off," said Noah. "Let's just move casually, give them a wide berth, and try not to make it seem like we're sneaking around."

They set off into the forum, keeping their heads on a swivel to observe the reactions of the lumbering behemoths. A triceratops might groan if they came too close, or a hadrosaurus would huff and stomp the ground, but nothing attacked them. They seemed to understand that Noah and the elves were just passing through and meant no harm, and it gave the group a chance to observe these gentle giants.

"You know, I've always had a fondness for places like this," said Noah to Valia as they walked.

"Jungles?"

"Ruins. Look down; we're walking on a cobblestone road. At some time in the past, a man knelt here and set this smooth rock in place, working and twisting it just right, and then did the same with this rock here, and a million others. Picture him hunched over on this very spot with sweat dripping off his nose, then arguing with someone about how straight the road looks.

These stones bore witness to festivals and holidays, sunny mornings and stormy afternoons, great blessings and tragedies, and untold life stories. Then the society collapsed, and this road, having been present throughout the history of Kisara Island, was reduced to a cluster of simple stones. It is only a road again because that is how we see it. Someday, this island might be reclaimed, and people might walk this road carefree again, letting these stones once more bear witness to history.

Or maybe we are the last people who will ever walk this way, and what was once a road will just be a place for dirt and water to gather, and these stones will continue to be bled of meaning as they are buried by time. And maybe, when this world is barren and lifeless, these ruins and stones will be all that remains to show that sentient life called this planet home.

When I see places and things abandoned, I imagine the effort someone put into making them and look at what the effort led to. The impression of meaning remains on this island, like a handprint, but the hand has turned to dust and the meaning is long gone, never to return. It's a bittersweet nihilism."

As they reached the center of the forum, something changed. All the animals were raising their heads and becoming agitated. "Keep your weapons away, they'll read our intentions," Aithorn whispered.

"I don't think we're what's making them nervous," said Valia, with her hand hovering over the hilt of her sword.

A chorus of roars echoed across the forum, causing the grazers to panic and start charging in random directions. They ran for the edges of the clearing, but that was where the predators were coming from. They had huge bipedal bodies, wrapped in feathers, and shook the ground with each step. Their long tails offset the weight of their colossal jaws. Though most similar to the Tyrannosaurus Rex, these beasts were almost twice the size of their Earth counterparts.

Almost a dozen of them came out of the woodwork from all sides, clamping down on whatever prey entered their reach. They didn't bother devouring their kills, but simply left them behind to retrieve later. Right now, they focused on gathering a big enough bounty, and their eyes were fixed on the tasty-looking elves. Younglings filled the gaps between the adults, eager to prove their hunting skills.

"Noah, I'm starting to get really nervous here," said Valia. For her to say that, given her strength, was a bad sign. The group was surrounded, unable to flee.

"We can't fight them all," said Aithorn, his bow drawn with an arrow wrapped in lightning.

"Agreed. We'll create an opening and then make a run for it."

The younglings took off in a sprint, charging ahead of their parents with ferocious speed and no sense of hesitancy. The elves released their arrows, but though they managed to draw the creatures' blood, the wounds were not deep enough to stop them. Their feathers were rugged and sleek, like armored scales. Only Aithorn's arrows were able to take them down in one shot. Supercharged with lightning, they exploded and ripped the carnivores' bodies right open, but couldn't stop the omnidirectional wave.

Noah, Valia, and half the elves drew their swords to engage while the rest continued firing their arrows. Their blades carved through flesh, muscle, and bone, drawing dying shrieks from the beasts. They formed a perimeter around the archers, with countless arrows flying over their shoulders. Any creatures wounded by the arrows were finished off with swords, and vice versa. They also used different kinds of magic, from various elements to druidism. Their skill and teamwork were fending the beasts off, but the attackers were taller than the defenders, and displayed frightening speed, agility, and razor-sharp instincts for their age.

It didn't take long before one elf was brought down, screaming in agony with a powerful pair of jaws clamping down on his shoulder and several talons digging into his gut. A furious roar escaped Aithorn as he skewered the youngling with his spear, but it was too late to save the man's life. Another elf had his arm bitten, and the beast refused to let go. Noah lopped its head off, but its jaws remained clamped like a vicious ant, and the man was pulled into the center of the group so the healers could tend to him.

Now, the adults were closing in. Valia faced one, trying to ignore the size of its teeth, and activated her Zodiac magic, boosting her strength, durability, and cutting power. It lowered its head as it charged, jaws opened wide to swallow her up. Valia ducked to the side, narrowly avoided death, and slashed the side of the monster's neck. Her aim was true, severing a vital artery, but death was not instant.

Roaring in pain and anger, the giant lizard spun around and slammed her with its tail. Had she not activated her magic, the blow would have been fatal. Instead, she was knocked through the air like a golf ball, flying in a high arch before crashing into the side of a temple with enough force to open up a crater.

"Damn it," Noah hissed. "Aithorn, try to hold them off! I'm going after Valia!"

He didn't bother waiting for a response and took off in her direction. The younglings followed him, seeing him as the fool that strayed from the herd. While Noah ran, he activated both of his spells and separated from his clone. The younglings went after the illusion over and over again, unable to understand why their claws were cutting through air instead of flesh. They needn't wonder long, as Noah's invisible sword would sever head from neck with ease.

He reached the temple, a towering ziggurat, and began the climb up to Valia's position. She had landed fairly high up and was unconscious, with blood running down her face, but her heartbeat was steady. Noah fed her a healing potion, and she woke up with a cough.

"So even a steel body can get bruised, huh?"

"In this place, everything does," she groaned.

They looked back at the fight, just in time to see an adult T-rex snap up one of the elves. It crushed him with its jaws, then as it lifted its head to swallow, Aithorn shot the monster in the throat with a lightning arrow, shredding its flesh in a crackling explosion and ending its life. The elves abandoned their position and retreated toward the temple to rejoin Noah and Valia.

As he ran, Aithorn aimed at another adult, but at the exact moment he released, one of the younglings tackled him. The lightning arrow grazed the side of the adult's face, carving a gory wound through its flesh, but bouncing off its skull and leaving it enraged. Aithorn was knocked to the ground, forcing his bow into the petulant youngling's mouth to keep it from biting him, only for its life to be ended by a beheading from Noah. Noah helped Aithorn to his feet and he and the elves faced the approaching enemies.

"You guys are really going to hate me for this, but it seems like our only way out," said Noah, conjuring two scrolls and unrolling them on the ground. "Lake Creation!" He channeled his mana into the first scroll, and a torrential wellspring surged out, covering the ground in illusory water. The elves and monsters looked down in confusion, wondering what this substance was that lapped at their feet without any physical sensation. "Everyone, hold your breath and be ready to run when I tell you! Molecular Construction!"

Noah activated the second scroll, causing the water to vaporize into illusory hydrogen and oxygen, invisible and untouchable. The illusory hydrogen then bonded with the real nitrogen in the air, creating a quasi-substance that was simultaneously tangible and phantasmal. The most horrific odor filled the air, causing everyone and everything to react in pain and disgust. Though the pseudo gas could not actually harm anyone who breathed it in, it could still deceive smell receptors, the same way that Noah's flashbangs could attack enemies' sense of hearing and sight.