Heavy Metal [ A Monster Evolution LitRPG ]

Chapter 82 – Battle In The Sewers.

“Give me yer coin?”

“Huh?”

“The coin? You do have it right?”

“Oh… yeah…”

‘Rusty are you okay?’

‘I’m fine but this human… he is fighting me, I think I’ve used the possession skill for too long.’

Rusty was momentarily disoriented as he fumbled through the thug’s clothes, searching for the thieves' guild coin. The token served as his key to open the secret passage, their equivalent of an adventurer's card. Despite the mana potions, his abilities were starting to falter. It was possible the man he had knocked out was waking up, and Rusty's skill was struggling to keep him subdued. He needed to register himself and leave quickly.

He slapped it down onto the counter with a bit more force than intended. The burly man on the other side raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he inspected the coin. After a brief moment, he gave it back along with an almost identical one that looked old and used. 

“Alright, give this to them.”

The man didn’t explain much but this coin looked slightly different than the one he was using now. Luckily, Alexander had enough knowledge about the thieves guild to enlighten him without having to ask questions that he should know.

‘That must be a temporary token, I bet these entrances won’t open if you try to use it after the trial period is over. They will probably give you a permanent one when you bring in the loot. It’s an interesting way of getting new people in and they get one gold coin for each new member, not something most lesser criminals can afford.’

Everything started making sense but Rusty felt the strain of maintaining control over the body, as his possession skill wavered dangerously. His connection to the thug was weakening, and he could feel the man’s consciousness pushing back. Time was running out, and Rusty knew he had to act quickly before things spiraled out of control. If he was exposed in the den of thieves, his plan to save his friend would be over.

With the temporary coin now in his possession, Rusty didn’t waste a moment. He nodded weakly at the burly man behind the counter and turned to leave, doing his best to suppress the disorienting sensations that plagued him. Each step felt heavier, his vision flickering as the thug's mind struggled to resurface.

‘Stay focused, Rusty, You’re almost done. First, we need to get out of here, you’ll be able to get back to your real body outside.’

Alexander urged Rusty to flee the black market. With the temporary thief token, he would be able to instantly return disguised as Albert. Rusty staggered out of the bar-like area, the temporary token clutched tightly in his hand. His control over the thug’s body was slipping, each step becoming more of a struggle as the man’s mind fought to break free. The stench of the sewers and the oppressive atmosphere of the thieves’ guild did little to help his focus, but he pushed forward toward the exit. 

After stumbling through the black market and bumping into a few people, Rusty broke into a run. Some thieves shouted at him in anger, but luckily, none gave chase. He retraced his steps back to the entrance he'd come through. There, he grasped a hand lever to activate the mechanism as there was no need to use the coin token or a slot that would fit it on this side.

‘He's getting louder…’

The man's voice began echoing in Rusty's mind as his consciousness started to return. Rusty could feel the man's arms resisting his control, moving up to clutch his helmet in an attempt to remove it. If the man's head was freed, he'd quickly regain full awareness, so Rusty focused on running. The passage opened just enough for him to squeeze through, and he darted forward.

“Argh... g-get off...”

The person he was possessing shouted, his hands clawing at the helmet, though not yet able to tear it off. Rusty still had control of the man's legs, propelling him through the foul-smelling sewers. Rats squeaked and scurried away as he passed. He didn’t know where he was going, but he needed to put some distance between himself and the thieves' guild entrance before his possession skill wore off. Once the man was fully conscious, Rusty planned to take care of him and dispose of the body. But as he rounded a corner, something unexpected blocked his path.

“Woah… hold on there, friend. This is a private party.”

“Did someone rat us out?”

“Could be, but even if you want to join, you’ll have to wait in line!”

Two people stood in his way, both looking like members of the guild. Rusty's possession skill was failing fast, and he could feel the man’s consciousness clawing its way back to the surface. The thug gritted his teeth and, with a powerful motion, managed to rip off his helmet, throwing it as far as he could. Rusty, who was reduced to the helmet itself, flew through the air and collided against a nearby wall, eventually splashing into the foul-smelling sewer water a few meters away from the two thieves blocking the path.

“Hey, I think I know this one… What are you doing here? Thought you had business to take care of?” 

One of the thieves asked, recognizing the man Rusty had been possessing. He moved closer for a better look. The man slumped against the wall, gripping his head, clearly in pain. To the two onlookers, however, he seemed like someone under the influence of drugs, something they found amusing. They burst out laughing, pointing fingers at him, oblivious to the scene unfolding behind them.

Rusty, now free from the thug’s control, quickly activated one of his loadouts. The helmet, which had tumbled into the sewer water, began to rise. Metal formed around it, starting with the torso, which rapidly expanded to fill the narrow corridor. A massive suit of living armor materialized, much bulkier than the standard varieties typically encountered in dungeons.

“Y-you i-idiots… t-turn around…” 

The thug stammered, clutching his head, and tried pointing to the monstrosity taking form behind them. 

“Hah, are you drunk? You never could handle your liquor.”

One thief laughed at the man, oblivious to the warning. It wasn’t until they heard the metallic crunch of shifting armor that they finally turned their heads. But by then, it was already too late. Before them stood a towering behemoth of metal, over two meters tall and impressively wide. One of its enormous fists was already in motion, barreling toward the first thief.

The massive metal fist connected with a sickening crunch, sending the first thief crashing into the sewer wall. He slumped to the ground, bloody and unconscious before he even hit the floor. His companion barely had time to register the monstrous suit of armor looming over them. Rusty had now fully transformed into one of his metallic forms, choosing the largest for this occasion. Spikes jutted from his knuckles, now drenched in the first thief’s blood.

The remaining thief stumbled backward, his eyes wide with terror. He fumbled for his dagger, but in his drunken state, he was unprepared for the horror before him. Rusty’s larger form closed the distance in an instant, his longer strides giving him the advantage. His fist collided with the thief’s torso, sending him flying into his unconscious companion. The spikes pierced through flesh, leaving the man in critical condition almost instantly.

“N-no, stay back, y-you monster!” 

Rusty’s towering form scraped against the tunnel’s ceiling as he approached. The man he had just possessed cowered against the wall, helpless as the metal giant loomed ever closer. He was an evil person, his memories were filled with taking things that didn’t belong to him, wanton murder, and other crimes that made him undeserving of mercy. Alexander who usually pleaded to him to forgive the adventurers, did not even call out to him. This man was not someone that deserved to live longer and he would take Rusty’s secret to the grave. 

“N…no…” 

The thug stammered, his eyes wide with fear. He tried to back away, but the narrow space of the tunnel left him nowhere to escape. Rusty’s massive metal hand reached out, grabbing the man by his throat and lifting him effortlessly into the air. The thug’s eyes bulged as Rusty tightened his grip, cutting off the man’s air supply. The thief struggled, clawing at Rusty’s unyielding metal fingers, but his efforts were futile.

‘Rusty there might be more of them here, make it quick.’

Alexander’s voice echoed in Rusty’s mind as he exerted the maximum amount of force he could. With a final squeeze, Rusty snapped the man’s neck, his body going limp in his grasp. Rusty let the corpse fall unceremoniously into the sewer water with a splash. He Turned his attention to the two thieves he had disabled earlier, Rusty noted they were still alive - but not for long. He brought his metal foot down onto their heads, finishing the job just as he heard footsteps approaching from deeper in the corridor.

‘I knew it, these two were just lookouts for the people inside… we have two options, either we run now and come back later or we take care of them, now.’

Rusty already knew how people operated - if he left even one of them alive, they would likely report his presence in the city. He couldn’t let that happen. If he was forced to flee, his plan to save Gleam would fail. One of the reasons he chose this larger form was to serve as a distraction. Even if he was discovered, he could always shift back to the Albert form and probably remain undetected.

From within the sewer corridor, where the two thieves had been standing guard, two more men emerged. Before they could even register what had happened to their comrades, Rusty charged forward. This was his slowest form, but in the cramped sewers, speed didn’t matter. His massive body blocked the only exit. For some reason, these men had cornered themselves in a dead end.

“What the hell is that?” 

One of them yelled while fumbling for a weapon. They seemed disoriented. Neither wore much armor, and one of them was still in the process of fastening his belt. This gave Rusty the perfect opportunity to close in, driving his spiked fist into the first man. The other managed to land a shallow strike on Rusty’s side, but his armor didn’t yield to the steel blade. Ignoring the weak attacks, Rusty continued to pummel the first thief until he lay dead, then turned his attention to the second one.

The second thief, barely prepared for battle, dropped his blade and began to backpedal. He had no idea what this was about and how a monster wandered into the underground sewers. However, he was not just going to give up. While he didn’t have a weapon, he had something strapped to his belt, a vial of orange liquid that reminded Rusty of something he saw in the dungeon. 

“Eat this you fucking shit!”

He shouted, confident his tactic would work, but he hadn’t anticipated what happened next. The concoction hurtled toward Rusty, but just before it made contact, he snatched it out of the air with both massive hands. A muted explosion echoed through the tunnel, muffled by his iron palms. Though his hands were left mangled and missing a few fingers, within seconds, to the thief’s shock, they began to regenerate.

"W-what...?" 

With his explosive potion failing, the thief had no time to react before Rusty descended on him, his spiked fists tearing into the thief's body, puncturing him with relentless fury. The man’s dead buddy slumped backward against the wall as he drew his last breath. Signs of Rusty’s spiky fists were all over the place but he didn’t care much as this was not yet over. With the help of his life detection skill he could tell that there were two more people further in, thus he continued forward. 

It wasn’t that far and the sewer water started to dry up as he came to a strange looking chamber. It was different than the many sewer corridors under the city and looked like a temporary dwelling with even a doorway that was opened. He could tell that the last two people were inside and once he forced his way through, he recognised one of them.

“The hell?”

First, he spotted a man - much larger than the thieves he had encountered earlier. His bald head was marked with strange tattoos, but Rusty’s attention wasn’t on him. It was on the figure lying on a makeshift bed nearby: Odelette, the adventurer with the thief class whom he had met during the adventurers' test.

‘I see… so that’s what they were up to here.’ 

Alexander’s solemn voice echoed in his head as he quickly pieced together what had been happening. His guide was furious, but it seemed luck was on Odelette’s side today. They had arrived just in time - before anything terrible had happened. The small woman was unconscious, either drunk or drugged by the thieves who had clearly intended to take advantage of her. While she was partially naked, the cloth covering her nether region was still intact, indicating that nothing had taken place yet. 

The sight stirred memories in Rusty, reminding him of his first kill. That time one of the adventurers found herself in a similar situation. He did not understand the dynamics between people then, But he did now. He understood much more about the vile nature of what was unfolding before him and even his guide urged him to enact violence on the person before him.

The towering armored figure that was Rusty stepped further into the chamber, his eyes locked on the tattooed man who seemed to be caught off guard. The man’s gaze darted between Rusty and the unconscious form of Odelette. His surprise was short-lived as he darted forward. His level was above the others and Rusty’s life detection skill informed him that this man wouldn’t be that easy to beat. 

“I don’t know what you are... but I don’t like uninvited guests!”

Rusty charged forward, but the man didn’t back down. His skin was pale, but just before they collided, his fists became engulfed in a strange dark sheen. It looked as though they had turned to dark metal. When they finally clashed with Rusty’s iron fists, a sharp clang echoed through the chamber. The spikes on Rusty’s knuckles couldn’t pierce the strange armor-like effect and instead, they bent to the side.

Berton’s darkened fists connected with Rusty's metal frame, sending shockwaves through the chamber. The impact was far stronger than Rusty anticipated, and for the first time in this form, he felt the sting of real resistance. The force reverberated through his body, causing cracks to form along his spiked knuckles. Despite the damage, Rusty pressed forward, unwilling to back down. This man, Berton, was unlike the thieves he had encountered earlier…