Bang!
The sound of a gunshot fills the ears of many, but seemingly disturbs no one, as if though it's a common occurrence. A bird falls out of the sky, purple fluid oozing from its wounds. Just before the body hits the ground, a man wearing a gas mask and dressed in an odd black and white attire catches it, holding it up by its root covered leg.
"How the hell did this tiny thing manage to get passed the town barriers? It doesn't
seem like it has the force capable to-" The man gets cut off, the supposed to be dead bird letting out a sharp and loud shriek. The roots covering its legs begin to wrap all around its body like some sort of cocoon. The man quickly drops it before the roots have a chance to travel up his arm, a good call
seeing as how the wooden cocoon began to grow and expand. Once again, gunshots filled the air, but this time it gathers the attention of bystanders.
"Everyone stay back, this one's parasitic!" The man yells as he continues shooting the
enlarging wooden cocoon. The bullets drive deep into the wood, but it's no use as the roots repair themselves. After a few seconds, they come to a full stop, now the size of two adult males combined. The man puts his gun into his holster and cautiously approaches it, now unsheathing the sword from his back. The crowd of pedestrians disperse, retreating to the safety of their homes and nearby buildings.
His shoulders tensed as the wooden
cocoon began to move again, but this time it wasn't moving on its own. The claws of the bird could be seen emerging as it tore free from its wooden shell, a pungent purple gas seeping out along with it. The cloud of toxic gas shielded the bird from sight for a short period of time before it slowly dispersed into
the air. The bird had grown significantly in size, standing at a fear inducing 8 feet tall. Its body was made entirely of rotten wood, the ends of the claws dripping with a purple liquid. The once non-threatening beak had grown much larger, with uneven yet terrifyingly sharp rows of teeth.
The man remained calm, his posture
loudly speaking of his many battles. He held his sword out in front of him, his eyes meeting the bird's empty eye sockets. Deciding to make the first move, he lunged forward, redirecting his gaze at the bird's corpse wrapped in the creature's wooden torso.
"Wrath of the bombardier beetle." He said, his voice calm despite the situation he was in. The sword in his hands began to
rise in heat, creating a faint crackling sound.
The bombardier beetle, belonging to
the ground beetle family known as Carabidae, is a very unique insect capable of
spraying a hot, noxious chemical. It uses this chemical as a defense mechanism,
deterring its predators. The spray is produced from a catalyzed reaction between hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide, an aqueous solution of which is stored in the pygidial glands in the beetle's abdomen. It can get up to 100°C, and they can spray it around 20 times in one go.
As the sword flared, he raised it to his
side and swung as hard as he could, but the bird was smart enough to block its
corpse with its massive wooden wings. Even so, the sword went right through its wings like butter, making the bird let out a devilish shriek of pain. The part of the wings that were cut off had dropped to the ground, dissolving as they
continued to burn. Its wings weren't growing back, the acidic solution preventing recovery. The massive leaking claws began to strike wildly as the wooden bird began to flail in a desperate attempt to kill what it thought to
be its prey.
The man dressed in black and white was
soon forced in a position to do nothing but block, the bird's strikes coming in way too fast and recklessly. The sound of his sword meeting the deadly claws would send rings through one's ears, the wood being far denser and sharper than the rest of the bird's body as they were meant to be weapons. Still, he held
his ground, each parry making contact with practiced precision, not allowing a single attack through his defenses.
"A little to the right more, Teru." A young, tall man with a dark perplexion said as he guided another's shoulders.
"You better be accurate, don't wanna
hit our old man." The other said in slight annoyance as he willingly followed the first's guidance.
"No shit, dude. That's exactly why I'm
not letting you aim yourself." He shook his head as he looked over the latter's shoulders like a scope, his guidance coming to a stop. "Now don't move and wait till we're clear."
The man fighting the bird continued to
parry, not a single slip up made on his part. However, the same couldn't be said about the bird's sloppy movements. In this short period of time, the man had gotten used to its premature attacks and was ready to switch to offense. As the huge claw of the bird came down at him, he twisted his sword and used its side to make the claw slide down it. Not expecting this in its fit of rage, the bird was successfully caught off guard and was now wide open. Twisting his sword once more, he then struck the corpse in the wooden torso, but to his surprise it was the sword the broke.
Just what the hell is this thing made of?! Seems like only blunt force will end its tantrum. In that case…
Even though the sword shattered, the force used was enough to push the bird back and stagger it. Jumping back, the man made some distance between him and the bird. "If you're gonna jump in, now is the time you little brats!" He yelled with a mixture of annoyance and authority.
The tiger beetle, also known as the
Cicindelidae, is a very specific beetle belonging to a family known for their
aggressiveness and their impressive speed. They run on their toes, and the only way they can use their speed safely is in a straight line, their own speed making them go blind in the action. The fastest of them all, The Rivacindela hudsoni, can reach up to 9 km/h, or around 125 times its own body length.
Boom! A loud, thunderous clap filled
the air as the sound barrier had been broken. The air surrounding the area had created a vortex strong enough to push even adult humans back. Within an instant, the bird bad been slammed into an empty nearby building. Dust was thrown up from the crumbling building, blocking the bird from view once again.
A small, sigh of relief was heard a few
meters from the man, and as he looked up, he could see the one responsible. "Teru, you dumbass! Who the hell said to go all out?! Look at the damage you've caused!" He shouted as he took off his gas mask, veins bulging out of his bald head.
Terumitsu just shrugged, his loose,
white top slightly sliding off his shoulder, revealing more of his tanned muscles. "You saw how it broke your sword. I didn't wanna take any chances. Either way, blame Shin. He's the one who aimed me."
The tall, dark-skinned man scoffed as
she finally arrived on the scene, glaring at Terumitsu through his glasses. "Nigga, if I didn't aim you, you woulda hit Old Man Takahara. You're the idiot who decided how fast you were goin."
Teru clicked his togue, raising his hand
to his ear. "You hear that? Cause All I can hear is a lil bitch."
"Both of you, shut up!" Takahara
yelled, smacking them both across their face. "Go check on the parasite, Shin. Ineed to have a word with Teru." He pointed over his shoulder to the bird as he glared at Terumitsu.
Holding his cheek, Shin gave Teru the
middle finger with his other hand as he walked over to the unmoving corpse of
the bird. Takahara turned back to Terumitsu, folding his arms. As he looked down at the young man, who was staring at the ground with a face full of regret and annoyance, he sighed before speaking.
"Look, Teru. I'm not going to scold you;
I don't blame you for coming to that conclusion. I was surprised when my sword
had shattered as well." He looked back a short distance away, his gaze landing
on the hilt of the sword which is now lying on the ground. "Even so, be more careful next time. That building has been abandoned for quite a while now, but that's not stopping the townsfolk from making you look like more of a monster than they already think you are."
Terumitsu stayed quite for a few
moments, his fists clenched tightly as he fought his urge to argue. Realizing that the old man had a solid point, he sighed, his muscles relaxing. "Sorry, I'll do better next time." His eyes never met Takahara's, but his tone made it obvious he truly meant his words.
After the dust had settled, Shindaku approached the wooden bird. It had been buried in debris, the crumbling old building falling on top of it after the crash. He picked up the bigger pieces of concrete and tossed them aside with relative ease. "Yeah, looks dead to me." Shin said as the body of the bird had been fully uncovered. He reached down to pull the real bird's carcass out from the much larger wooden body before pausing,
his eyes narrowing.
The dead bird had slight traces of purple
gas alluding from it, but that wasn't what made him stop. The gas looked as if it was breaking down from a solid form, which was most likely acting as a barrier. "It… wasn't a parasite…" he said slowly, a worried tone tainting his words as realization dawned on him. "H-hey, it wasn't a parasite!" he yelled,
gathering Takahara and Terumitsu's attention.
The two men gave each other a serious
look before rushing over to Shin's location, Teru being the faster of the two.
"What do you mean it's not a parasite?"
Teru asked, looking at the caved in corpse of the bird.
"It's a puppet." said Takahara, his
face full of suspicion and worry. "Look at it, Miasma doesn't solidify on it's own. This was a planned attack." He clenched his jaw, wondering just who the hell had the balls to pull something like this.
"I'll bag it up before all the traces
are gone so you can submit it for investigation." Shin said as he reached into
his pocket, pulling out black gloves. After putting them on, he also took out a
black bag, putting the bird inside of it. He stood up and gave the bag to Takahara, who then slipped it inside of his coat.
"You boys do what you can to clean up
this mess, I'll be back before dinner." Takahara turned away, walking down the
empty street without waiting for a response.