The spiked beast twitched beneath him like a stubborn mule that had suddenly grown steel quills. Its gray hide glistened with sweat and mud, while its jagged horns looked more like a torture device than anything that should be used as reins.
"Easy now, you walking porcupine," Luther muttered, patting its armored back. His grin widened as the beast bucked hard enough to shake an oak tree. "What’s the matter? Not used to soone with style riding you?"
The creature roared and tried to shake him off, but Luther clamped down with his legs, laughing like a madman in a tavern brawl. His crystal dangled against his chest, glowing faintly in rhythm with his heartbeat. He reached up and hooked it to his belt loop, patting it like a pocketed coin.
"Stay there, shiny. If I drop you, Mariana will kill before anything else does."
The beast snapped its jaws, twisted, then slamd itself into a tree. The impact rattled Luther’s bones, but he only laughed louder.
"Ha! Is that all? I once arm-wrestled a troll with a hangover stronger than you." He leaned forward, whispering like a conspirator. "Here’s a tip: stop wasting energy. I always win."
The beast didn’t seem convinced. It reared up on its hind legs, claws thrashing wildly, trying to crush the man clinging to its back. Luther just leaned casually, dodging blows by hairbreadth margins. His voice carried like he was having the ti of his life.
"Oh, you’ll make a fine steed. We’ll be unstoppable—you, , and maybe a saddle if you behave."
For a second, he imagined himself parading into the nearest village on the spiked beast. The horrified expressions, the screaming children, the fainting rchants—it was beautiful. He’d finally get the recognition he deserved.
But the daydream shattered when the beast suddenly froze. Its body stiffened, its nostrils flared, and an uneasy growl built in its throat.
"What now?" Luther muttered, scanning the trees.
The forest had gone quiet. Too quiet. Even the birds had abandoned the branches. The only sound was the sticky, wet slither echoing from the underbrush.
Then it ca crawling out.
A slug—if a slug had grown to the size of a carriage, sprouted dozens of half-ford limbs, and oozed black liquid that hissed when it touched the ground. Its skin pulsed as though sothing inside was trying to claw its way out. Veins of darkness crawled across its slimy body, and where its eyes should’ve been were two pits of glowing red.
Luther blinked. Then grinned. "...That’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. And I once looked at myself in a pond first thing in the morning."
The spiked beast snarled, stomping backward in panic. Luther held on tight, chuckling.
"What’s wrong, porcupine? Don’t tell you’re scared of so slug. It’s just... ew." He tilted his head, watching the black ooze drip and burn a smoking hole into the grass. "...Okay, ew with acid. That’s new."
The corrupted slug’s body lurched forward with a guttural hiss, and suddenly the air stank of rot and iron. The spiked beast bolted without warning, leaping through the trees as if the devil himself had crawled up behind it. Luther threw his head back and howled with laughter.
"YEEE-HAW! NOW THIS IS A RIDE!"
Branches snapped, trees cracked, and animals fled in terror as the beast tore through the forest, Luther clinging to its back like a deranged knight. The slug followed, its body splitting and stretching unnaturally, moving far too fast for its grotesque size.
Every ti it slamd into the earth, shockwaves rippled through the soil, making the forest groan like it was alive. The black ooze it left behind spread outward, eating the grass, the roots, even the bark of trees.
For once, Luther’s grin faltered. He leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "That... doesn’t look natural."
But the beast beneath him didn’t give him ti to think. It leapt over a fallen log, stumbled, and nearly pitched him into the dirt. Luther grunted, yanking on one of its horns like a rein.
"Steady! Don’t kill before I kill the sliball!"
The slug slamd into a tree just behind them, splitting the trunk in half. Splinters whizzed past Luther’s head, one grazing his cheek.
"Alright, alright, enough running!" Luther barked, yanking hard. The beast screeched but skidded to a halt in a clearing. Luther slid off, landing with a heavy thud.
He cracked his neck, eyes locking onto the slug as it oozed into the clearing. "You’re disgusting, you’re loud, and you’ve officially ruined my ride."
The slug hissed, its maw opening unnaturally wide, rows of jagged teeth forming from its sli.
"Oh, so we’re doing this." Luther rolled his shoulders, grinning again. "Fine. Let’s dance."
The slug lunged, its body slamming down like a collapsing tower. Luther dodged, grabbing a branch thicker than his arm and swinging it like a bat. It smacked against the monster with a splat, spraying black sli everywhere.
Luther grimaced. "Ugh, gross! Why is it always sli?"
The ooze burned through the branch in seconds, and the sll of rot choked the clearing.
For a fleeting mont, Luther’s gaze flicked to the crystal on his belt. It pulsed faintly, reacting to the creature’s corruption.
"...Huh. You know sothing I don’t, shiny?"
The slug’s body twitched again, and for a second he swore he heard whispers coming from inside it. His grin faded completely this ti.
"This isn’t just a monster."
The slug lunged again, but Luther didn’t dodge this ti. Instead, he grabbed his unwilling spiked beast by the horn and shoved it forward.
"Go get ’em, porcupine!"
The beast roared in outrage but collided with the slug, driving its quills deep into the slimy body. The slug screeched, black fluid spraying like rain. The air sizzled where it landed.
Luther charged in, fists swinging with reckless abandon. He pounded the corrupted flesh until it shuddered and writhed, then with a final roar, the slug collapsed into itself, lting into a pool of foul-slling tar that slowly seeped into the earth.
Silence.
The spiked beast collapsed on its stomach, panting heavily. Luther wiped sli from his face, saring it worse. Then he burst out laughing, patting the beast’s head.
"Good job, partner! Knew you had it in you. Don’t give that look—you and I are destined!"
The beast glared, too tired to argue.
Luther stretched, grabbed two boar corpses from earlier, and slung them over his shoulders. Then he took the beast by the horn and started dragging it along with him.
"Co on. Mariana’s waiting with supper, and I’m starving. You’ll fit right in—she loves big dumb animals."
The crystal pulsed again, brighter this ti. Luther paused, glancing at it. For the briefest second, he thought he saw a shadow curl behind the light, like a hand pressing against glass.
His grin wavered. "...Well, that’s not ominous at all."
The forest wind shifted, carrying the faint echo of whispers—distant, chilling, and growing louder.
Luther tilted his head, smirking despite the chill crawling down his spine. "Guess the fun’s just getting started."
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