Chapter 310: Poison
A violent shudder traveled through the centipede, beginning at its head and traveling the entire length of its body. It thrashed back and forth, slamming into the cliffs on either side. With every impact, water spewed from the chinks in its carapace, and the centipede movement dulled. With a final scream, the centipede stiffened and its flailing legs stilled. Then, its head exploded in a pressurized rush of fluid–conjured water, blood, and a grayish substance that looked like brain matter.
A deafening silence engulfed the canyon. For a breathless moment, all was still, the only sound was the thin whistle of wind through the chasms. The scent of wet earth and something like rotting seaweed filled the air. Then, a sickening squelch followed by the clatter of chitin, and the centipede’s corpse collapsed to the ground. Its death caused as much damage as any of its actions in life, splitting the earth wide open and destroying what little remained of the once beautiful rock formations.
I staggered in the aftershocks, leaning on my staff for support. Korra had vanished in the violent death throes, tossed from the creature’s head, and I cast my eyes about, looking for her. A flash of movement caught my eye, and I found Fable in his shrunken form crouching close to the ground, ragged breaths heaving through his blood-matted fur. The entire cliffside was devastated around him, the sun reflecting off streaks of scarlet blood and tufts of silver fur caught in the rock and stone. Still looking for Korra, I stumbled across the shattered ground toward him.
The wolf struggled to stand, but whimpered as a heavy spurt of blood erupted from a nasty gash on his foreleg. My heart stopped for a moment as I caught sight of white bone flashing amid the red torrent, an anxious tremor running down my tail.
"Regenerate!"
Not caring one bit for preserving my mana, I cast the fifth-circle life spell in the Nexus. A green magic circle opened up beneath Fable and tendrils of life magic rose about him, winding gently around his body. I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his fur, not caring one bit that his blood stained my clothes. He nuzzled my cheek tenderly, tail lifting to wag behind him, and his tongue flicked across my cheek, tasting my tears.
"Fable..." I whispered, pulling back to look into his golden eyes. They wavered with pain but were bright and lively. His wounds were severe, but Regenerate was a spell capable of regrowing limbs and healing all but mortal injuries. In a few minutes, he would be fine. Exhausted, but fine.
Still hugging my wolf, I turned my eyes to the massive, motionless corpse of the centipede. The clouds of dust and debris had begun to settle, revealing the true carnage wrought upon the monster. Korra’s finishing technique had invaded the soft insides of its body. The carapace had trapped it in like a shout in a cave, forcing the mana to echo endlessly within. The same ability that had made it all but invulnerable proved its death, amplifying a fifth-level magical technique into something capable of slaying a sixth-level monster.
The irony wasn’t lost on me, but I pushed it aside, looking for any sign of Korra. Through the Nexus, I could feel the faint pulse of her soul, but that was it. I had no soul bond with her, not like I did with Fable.