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Yet another reason why he loved his boss, despite everything.

Why he would always remain loyal.

Even after all these years together, Morgunov still didn't seem to believe that fully, and Jercash didn't blame him. The man had seen more betrayals than perhaps anyone on the planet.

But that was fine. Jercash was long beyond the point of seeking Morgunov's approval or praise. It was only the folly of youth to want such things from a madman.

Jercash's mind settled again as the shimmering scene before him shifted another time. The tentacles rising out of the orange holes were quite numerous now--and thrashing with an obvious frenzy. An eagerness to slice something with their attached blades.

The Yigorosk was a nigh-mythical beast at this point in history. The ancient tales of heroes fighting them had become reductive and simplified. The reality, Jercash had learned, was that these creatures had all manner of different variations to them. Big ones, small ones, smart ones, dumb ones, hairy ones, sticky ones, pointy ones--and slice-y ones, apparently.

His collection was growing, and he could not have been more pleased.

As these new variants revealed their snaking forms fully, his smile only widened.

Wow.

These were less like tentacle monsters and more like true serpents. Still a bit squid-y, perhaps, but definitely quite different.

And they looked to be quite pissed off, too. Those bladed tentacles were rattling so much that it was a wonder they managed not to cut themselves.

Oh, hey, they were coming closer. Wanting to say hello, no doubt. How cute.

Just how dangerous were these suckers, anyway? Time to find out.

He could already sense the ardor coursing through them. Quite potent, too. Probably shouldn't test those blades against his flesh, even though the thought was extremely tempting.

Really, the first thing to test was intellect. He'd found one breed that was psychic, so there were probably more. Not to mention, the Weaver's current state was rather strong evidence of it, as well. She wasn't technically a Yigorosk, of course, but Jercash was also rather certain that her mutations were of a related nature.

In fact, perhaps he'd bring some of these bad boys to meet her next time. He didn't know if she would love or hate that, but either way, he was sure that it would entertain him.

In any case, he had just the tool for this job. He reached into the large bag on his hip and whipped out a baton.