_ _ _ _ _Rimuru POV_ _ _ _ _
"And you're sure that's Suu…?" I muttered, my mind going momentarily blank in shock as I stared at the sight before me.
[Answer. Yes, the creature you are currently looking at is indeed the entity known as "Suu." It would appear she has released her transformation skill and has entered her true form.]
Hearing Great Sage's answer, I could only hover there for a moment, letting the information sink in before breathing out slowly. "She… She is way bigger like this than I was expecting."
I had been looking out for the Orc Lord, searching for them from above, when it happened. I didn't even understand what was going on until Great Sage suddenly started blaring warnings in my head, saying that something was wrong with Suu, that she had been caught in some kind of illusion. I instantly began to panic, as you probably expected, but before I could even start looking for her, the whole ground began to tear itself apart.
The explosion of fire that poured from below followed shortly after, and it wasn't until the pillar formed that Great Sage managed to fully explain to me what the heck was going on. Watching the flames disappear to reveal the massive, curled-up form of Suu in her phoenix form was… well, let's just say it left me rather stunned for several long seconds.
(What exactly did she see that pissed her off to this extent?) I thought, although I had a thinking feeling that I knew the answer, I just really hoped I was wrong.
After a second of thought, watching her body slowly unfold, I finally asked, "So what do we do?"
[Suggestion. Open a telepathic link with the skill "Thought Communication" and attempt to calm her down.] Great Sage responded immediately. [Additionally, there is a 79% chance that, in her current state of mind, she will burn herself out within time, entering an unconscious state once her magical and physical energy supplies are depleted.]
"I'd rather not just leave things like this, however…" I muttered, my mind racing as I tried to decide what to do. "I honestly don't know if talking will even work."
"I don't even know if she'll be able to understand me…" As if to prove my words, a deafening screech boomed across the landscape a second later.
This was then followed by something I couldn't put into words. A thick, black darkness seemed to explode from Suu's body, spreading out like hundreds of ravenous tentacles. And from what I could see, those on the ground closest to her suddenly began to either collapse, violently tear at their own heads and faces, or simply attack those around them with a ferocity that genuinely startled me.
Unfortunately, before I could fully understand, or really process what the hell was going on, the writhing energy reached me, and well… it felt like I was falling as voices that weren't my own screamed in the back of my mind. Sadness, anger, hatred, resentment, jealousy, fear, disgust, guilt, and so on. I could feel every single negative emotion possible flooding my consciousness like a tsunami.
Honestly… it felt as if I was drowning in my own mind. If it weren't for Great Sage speaking up a moment later… I… I don't know when, or if, I would have snapped out of it. [Warning. A new variable has been detected. Immediate action is required.]
"What… what is this…?" I groaned, shaking my head to try and get rid of the feeling.
[Answer. The entity "Suu" appears to be broadcasting an emotional assault via her aura. It is seemingly designed to overwhelm and degrade mental defenses, leaving a target either dazed in the best of cases or potentially catatonic in the worst.]
"Well… shit…"
_ _ _ _ _3rd Person POV_ _ _ _ _
With the booming flap of wings, the colossal body of Suu began to move, her aura trailing behind her as she soared across the battlefield like a living black comet. Those below could only look up in horror as shimmering sparks fell from her body like rain, sparks that rapidly expanded into a blazing inferno once they made contact with either the ground or any unfortunate soul unable to get out of the way.
And it wasn't just fire and brimstone that followed in her wake; there was far more than just charred corpses. Crimson arcs of lightning bent and snapped through the air, twitching at near impossible angles as they struck target after target, their bodies turning to ash in an instant. The ground shook with a deep rumbling as jagged mountains of spikes exploded out of the dirt all around her, mountains painted red by the small rivers of blood and gore that formed from the hundreds of impaled orcs upon their surface.
The orcs, of course, did attempt to fight back, the ones that weren't screaming, anyway. After all, the effects of Suu's aura were actively overwhelming the effects of Starved; she was basically forcing them to feel every negative emotion imaginable, such as fear. It was made worse by the fact that nothing the orcs did had any meaningful effect on her, and any damage they did manage to inflict healed almost instantaneously.
Things only got worse for them when she began to rise, her wings taking her higher and higher as she ascended. As she rose, her body slowly spun and dissolved, spreading out across the night sky like ink across a canvas. And from that very dark veil came forth a gnashing void of hungry maws that pulled desperately at the world below, a world that could not resist the pull.
Within moments, massive chunks of the earth were tearing themselves free and being dragged upwards, along with all those that had been close by. Even Suu's own allies found themselves struggling to anchor themselves. It was unsurprising then, that hundreds, if not thousands, of orcs, living or not, were seen thrashing in the air as they were unfortunate enough to have failed to keep themselves from floating upwards. In fact, it wasn't just orcs; even the corpses of lizardmen or the goblins Gabiru had previously gathered were not spared. Those that had been overtaken and partially devoured by the horde were pulled up all the same no matter what side they were on.
What happened to everything? Well, every living creature, every scrap of material, all of it was eventually dragged into the blackness above. Once inside, their bodies were violently pulled and stretched apart before being crushed and compressed down into a singular point. For the corpses and land that had been pulled up, the process was quick and simple; however, for the living individuals, the process was agonizingly painful, even if it only lasted a few seconds.
And then, just as quickly as it began, the pull ended. Literal tons of material and bodies suddenly paused midair, then began to fall. Honestly, the massive amount of debris dropping from above might have killed more people than the literal black-hole-like vortex in the sky just did. But, of course, that was not the end of things.
Despite all the destruction she had already caused, Suu was not done. Her sorrow was still there; her wrath was still there. Both still consumed her mind, and neither had been satiated, not even close. With another screech of intent, the swirling darkness shifted, and from the maws something emerged. Like stars peeking through a storm, dozens upon dozens of glowing lights appeared. They were tiny orbs of pulsing, radiant energy, each one no bigger than a human head. Yet, despite their unassuming size, despite how oddly mesmerizing they were, their presence sent a chill down the spines of all those who could see them.
For a single fleeting moment, the entire world went still. The orbs fell, their presence seemingly distorting the path around them. The smart ones ran or tried to take cover, while, on the other hand, the dumb ones stood there, their minds only catching up when the orbs began to expand. In an instant, the entire battlefield was engulfed by a blinding white flash as all the sound in the world seemed to just die…