My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 55: What Lurks Beneath...

As night fell sound returned to the jungle surrounding them. Making them aware that the Phileve had left the area. Raven waited for at least another hour before giving the order to drop the walls.

Grugda obliged, returning them down into soft earth beneath their feet. Kace was pleased just now as the Phileve he had eaten had given him an increase of +5 Agility. 'No new skills though...' he mentally sighed.

Suddenly he sensed that several eyes were watching him. However when he looked around he could not spot who was responsible. 'Did I do something wrong?' His brow creased as he wracked his brains, trying to come up with an answer.

He was forced to abandon his thoughts as the group began to move out. Luckily the men who had screamed out before had only been paralysed with minor injuries. Though they did have to leave behind one unfortunate soul whose tendons had been chewed through.

Leaving him to the mercy of the jungle as he quietly sobbed. Not willing to degrade himself by begging them to take him along.

Everyone's senses were on high alert. The most dangerous predators on the island were nocturnal by nature. Fraying everyone's nerves after their earlier welcoming party.

He had gathered some information from the crew and apparently the closer they would get to the centre the more often these creatures would appear. Kace witnessed a number of unusual inhabitants as they journeyed forever onwards.

There was a python like thing that had an angler fish lamp on its head. It appeared to be completely blind but harmless. Trees collapsed nearby as a giant variant of a salamander walked past paying them no mind.

'Damn, that thing could roast us all and we couldn't do a thing about it!' He swore, not taking his eyes from the giant lizard. He estimated it had to be at least 18 metres tall and that was with all six of its feet on the ground!

A man yelled suddenly, in his greed he had tried to pick a banana type fruit from a tree. It's skin was blue which was the only difference until it peeled back on its own. Revealing an insectoid face hidden within alongside a circular mouth lined with teeth.

'Is that even still considered a fruit!? Why's this place so fucked up?' He warily glanced around. Taking extra care of what he allowed himself to come into contact with.

The sound of crickets began to play music from all around them. Kace felt it was quite a soothing sound, extremely pleasant actually.

"Cover yer fucking ears!" Raven roared as he began to tie a piece of cloth around his head to mute the melody. Kace almost jumped out of his skin as he noticed what was happening. 

Quickly taking the cloth from his pack and following the captains lead. 'This island really does not give you a damn moment to relax!' The sound that was being played was carrying some kind of hypnosis effect. If Raven had not yelled when he did then Kace was aware he would be taking a nap right about now.

Hand signs ensued amongst the regular crew members. Clearly they had been in similar situations before. The group in front of Grugda and himself was led by a man who had a number of scars crossing over his face.

One of the men from that group broke away from the others. Approaching Raven and grabbing his attention. The man made fast movements with his hands, using the crews own unique version of sign language to convey something to their captain.

'Have they spotted something?' Kace wondered as the captains eyes went wide. Causing him to look around with concern.

However he could see nothing. At least nothing that he could imagine would have the need for such urgency. When he turned his attention back to the front the captains eyes were fixed on him!

He had the distinct feeling the captain was peering into his very soul. Making him squirm a little in the ensuing discomfort. 'Fuck! Is our cover blown?' He could not think of a single thing that he had done wrong. Second guessing every decision he had made.

He could not find an answer within his own mind. Even eating raw meat was not that unusual in this world. So they should not even be questioning the fact he ate the Phileve. They should have just brushed it off as a mildly curious event!

So what was it that had made him stand out! Paranoia began to seep into his mind. With his mind destabilised he accidentally let out a portion of his aura. Nearby crewmates felt their knees buckle under the weight of the thinly veiled killing intent.

Grugda placed a hand on his shoulder, startling him for a moment and releasing the crew from the pressure. The large Eljein just shook his head to signal to him that this was not the time or place for such things.

He knew Grugda was right. Without the captain and his crew they would never get off of this island. It was far better to feign ignorance for now of whatever he would be accused of later.

The captain needed them for something and they needed him. Either way it would be a bad move for either of them to act on the other party.

A rumbling interupted his thoughts. Coming from beneath the earth. The vibrations alarming everyone around them. Raven ripped the cloth from his ears and stared at the ground with a horrified expression.

Seeing the captain removing the cloth, his crew followed his lead. With their ears now free they could hear not just the earth sifting beneath their feet but warning growls as well.

"Run! A Tortark is surfacing!" Raven yelled as his beard shone with the sweat it was holding on to.

The crew was forced to abandon each other. Running in different directions. 'Fuck me! Why now!' Raven inwardly cursed his own damned luck. They had only ever come across one of these things twice before. Each time he had been forced to abandon his expedition.

He mistakenly thought they were only active near the mountain range. They had never encountered one this soon before. He witnessed Grugda and Kace running off in their own separate direction.

"Blast it! I can't let him get away!" His pale face regained a hint of colour as the red of rage filled filled his cheeks.

Grabbing one of his nearby crew he dragged him alongside as he gave chase. Signalling to three other groups to follow them. 'The rest will just have to settle with being our decoys!' Raven resolved himself to abandon his crew at a moment's notice.

As he drove through the dense undergrowth and thick foliage he began to struggle to keep sight of his new "friends". Behind him earth erupted from where they had been. When his crew was still whole.

Over the top of the trees a giant shell appeared. The pinnacle of it was at least one hundred foot from ground level. Death screams from the crew that had been left behind filled the night sky. As the giant lumbering creature stood on them, squishing them against the ground. 

Others were not so lucky. Tendrils reached out from the gaps in the creatures shell. Wrapping around their waists and holding them over the top of the creature. If Kace had been there to see it with his own eyes he would have said it was a giant tortoise. Except for the tendrils, eight legs and three heads. Not one of which possessing a mouth.

As the crew dangled helplessly in the air as more and more of the were captured they began to relieve their bowels. With a loud crack the shell split down the middle. Opening up like a clam. Revealing nothing but a pit of pitch black emptiness.

The crew wailed in despair, their faces contorted in abstract horror as they were suddenly dropped into it. Arms and legs flailing as they began their free fall. 

Soon the sounds of splashing could be heard as they struck a body of liquid within the belly of the beast. Some were fortunate enough to have their lives reaped by the impact. The rest not so much as a far worse fate awaited the survivors.

The liquid slowly began to dissolve their bodies. Slowly eating away at them causing unknown levels of excruciating pain. They had been dropped straight into its digestive juices. An extremely efficient method some might say for such a large creature to quickly gain the energy it needed.

Raven gave out a heavy sigh. There was nothing he could do for the lives lost today. 'I'm sorry.' He allowed himself a quiet moment to say farewell. 'I can't let anything happen to those two! I have to catch them before the true king of this island comes down from its throne!'

***

Important Author Note Please Read

Hey folks! I've had to edit this is to quite a few chapters so that as many people as possible see it. Please read to the end as it is important.

First off. I need to thank each and everyone of you for the massive show of support in the past few days. You guys are the heart and soul of why I do this.

Second. You deserve to be rewarded. You have shown so much support that I feel you deserve something more in return. Therefore I'm going to try to start releasing two chapters a day. They may be a tad shorter but you'll end up with more to read overall.

Third. Some goals! We're doing well in quite a few of the charts. So let's aim for more. See below for targets to meet and the rewards to go with.

1. Enough votes to make it into top 100 in power Ranking. Two extra chapters to be released next Monday.

2. Top 50. You get 3 extra chapters.

3. Top 25. You get 4 extra chapters.

4. Top 10. You get 5 extra chapters.

5. Top 3. It's a secret but will be worth it.