Chapter 289 (1/2)
Chapter 289
Chapter 289: Fahouls both behind and below us, we stared due chasm that Kalon had made, collectively unable to understand why it was in front of us
“We—ere running in a circle the entire ti
“That’s ihoul with his spear “We were running in—a straight line I’m—sure of it!” I could hear the strain in his voice; he was starting to grow tired
“Ezra’s right There’s no curve in the bridge” Kalon spun his weapon and swept the heads off two ghouls that were trying to reach th so far
The idea of a straight path looping in circles seemed impossible, yet was completely plausible if one took into account the edicts of aether I couldn’t help but wonder if the Relictoht us to this zone because of me
I looked down to see that Riah had lost consciousness in my arms Perhaps it was for the better; Ada had coated her wounds with a thick paste that had stopped the bleeding, but her strained expression said it did nothing for her pain
“What do we”—Haedrig unleashed a flurry of slashes at a trio of ghouls that had ed to reach the path—“do now?”
‘Still think they’re in control?’ Regis chimed in snidely
Fine Coe wolven for their attention away frohouls around us
Kalon instinctively tried attacking Regis, and while I was curious ould happen if he struck my companion, I intervened
“Stop! It’sKalon’s spear before turning to Regis “Go scout ahead and see if you can spot anything”
‘Roger,’across the chasht before a realization dawned on me
Since when have you been able to communicate telepathically when you’re not inside is’s voice instronger, or the a us to Or we roaned Can you not say it in such a gross tone?
Turning my attention back to the battle, I realized that Ezra, Ada, and Kalon were looking atwas the only one who didn’t seeis’s sudden appearance, he hid it extreroup’s attention was forced back onto the growing horde of ghouls surrounding us We abandoned our line for into a close knot around Riah and Ada and inching closer to the chas at houl’s sternu back down into the abyss “I want to ”
We held our position, restricting our ainst the night that I was surrounded by people I felt responsible to protect, and that I couldn’t even reveal th as I did so, there was little else I could do
‘Good news! Well, I guess it’s bad news, but I see you all ahead of ht to me
I cursed under my breath
So that confirht? I took down about a dozen or so of these bastards already’
No I don’t think we’re going to get out of here by just killing o around and carefully scan the walls
I could feel a wave of curiosity coross faces?’
Yeah Soout of the ordinary
‘Out of the ordinary fro to race away froroan pulled my attention behind me
“Ezra!” Kalon roared His for the ghoul that had wedged its claws through a slit below Ezra’s pauldron
With Ezra unable to freely move his left arm due to his injury, he becahoul was able to slip past his weak side, forcing me to throw myself into its path to save Riah The creature’s putrid claws carved a series of deep gashes into runt escaped frohoul’s throat It spit out a mouthful of blood and collapsed before Ezra could turn to drive his spear into its back
The boy’s face was pale and ith sweat, but after that he redoubled his efforts, refusing to let another ghoul through
Have you found anything? I asked Regis
‘Just a lot more hideous faces There aren’t any patterns I can see either’
Keep looking, I sent, pulling a ghoul off of Ezra and shoving it to the ground so he could finish it
“What are we still doing here? We have to get one
“And go where?” I asked “I’ve already confir us in circles I sent my summon to check for any anomalies on the walls”
“Can you share senses with your su it to fall back down into the dark
“Kind of?” I hesitated “It has a linoringout where she could, standing over Riah at the center of our circle To conserve htning at the ghouls clie help in keeping them at bay I could tell she was at the end of her power, however “Focus on replenishi+ng your mana reserves”
“But there’s tooaway the beads of sweat rolling down her face “I-I should be helping…”
I sat her doith a slight push and gave her the closest thing to a smile I could muster “I’ll keep you safe”
After a mo her eyes
“Haedrig Do you have an extra sword?” I asked, turning toward the green-haired ascender
Without a word, Haedrig withdrew a thin shortsword fro the handle and pulling the sword out of its sheath, I was suddenly overco what a weapon could do, but after fighting so long with Dawn’s Ballad in my hand, I realized howa sword
I let out a sharp breath as I imbued aether into the sword; a fine crack appeared in the blade, leaking a subtle purple light that only I could see, and I kneouldn’t hold up long Still, though the sas simple and obviously just a spare weapon, it was perfectly balanced with a good weight on my hand
It would do
The world aroundme becahoul, who didn’t knohat happened until it slue
The next series of slashes killed any and every ghoul within my reach The sword in my hand travelled in a flurry of narrow arcs that shi+ the reflection of Kalon’s fire-clad spear
My eyes constantly scanned our surroundings, ed to slip by I hoped to see so to slow, but it seehouls became even more desperate the more of them we killed
Kalon and Ezra’s side had it the worst, since the chashouls to clihouls fro’s movements, on the other hand, hadn’t slowed down at all, even as pools of both sweat and blood had formed beneath his feet
I was confident that we could hold on for a while longer, but it would all be less unless we found a way out of here
A blinding flash lit up the hall, followed by a torrent of voltaic streaed to cli around to adis contacted ain
‘Uh… Arthur?’ he said, his confusion clear in my mind ‘You should come see this’
“Let’s move!” I yelled out ier spearuard—”
“Ezra!” Kalon snarled, cutting his brother off “Carry Riah”
Following Kalon’s order without hesitation, Ezra put away his spear and picked up our unconscious teahouls while Kalon reuard
What did you find? I asked Regis
‘So than the deformed stone faces,’ he answered cryptically
“Did your su asked froh I’ the way, Kalon defending the rear, and Haedrig darting fro down any e, we ran as fast as Ezra couldRiah, so it wasn’t as fast as I would have liked, but within is’s shadowy forhoulish corpses littered the path around hies everyhouls atte the distant faces around us
Pointing with his aze to one statue in particular Froh the gloo shadows, but when I realized what it was, I froze solid, forgetting for afor our lives
Razor sharp claws raked acrossbone Flipping the short sword inh its chest I turned and kicked it, pushi+ng aether intointo three others, all of which tuasped, his eyes wide as he stared at the gaping wound on h the pain, telling myself it would heal quickly, and turned instead back to the statue
My own face looked back at me from the wall
The statue had been carved as if in the midst of a fierce battle cry: the ue visibly carved as if in ressive; the eyes were alive with fury, glaring out at the rest of the zone as if this giant Arthur was about to smash the place to dust
That had to be it Why wouldat the battered sword in h it, I tossed it out into the ee It tumbled down into the dark and disappeared
“Hey!” Haedrig grunted frohouls that were clinging relentlessly to the edge of the path
“I was hoping for soetically
‘You think that’s the exit?’ Regis asked houl
I think it ht be, yeah I think we’re here because of me, because the Relicto to test me somehow That’s why this zone has been so hard for the others I need to use aether somehoe can escape, I’m sure of it I just need to think…
‘Well think fast, or there will be a few less of us to leave once you do figure it out’
Ezra grunted as one of the fallen serpent-ghouls, which was rabbed at his heel and tripped him Riah fell next to him and jolted aith a screa its slithering torso across the ground with its long arms
From his back, Ezra spun his spear around and tried to drive it into the ghoul’s neck, but he didn’t have the angle orclarapped around the shaft and ripped the spear from his hand
Riah tried to scra so slaainst the stone path Her entire body went rigid as she screath had left her
Kalon was nearly overwhel had his back turned to the pair, and though he must have heard the screa toward Riah
Ada was backpedaling away fro froer had the strength to generate spells strong enough to kill
Regis whihouls fell atop hi at his neck, ears, and belly
They’re all going to die, I realized with grih to be here, and even with God Step I can’t—
It was like a jolt of electricity went through h thin air with Burst Step, but God Step would take—
‘What the hell do you have these powers for if you’re not going to use therowled in my head, his voice thick with frustration and pain
Choosing not to look behind ainst hope that I wasn’t about to leave Haedrig, Riah, and the Granbehl siblings to a grueso I pushed away the pain wracking my body fro of those injuries I bottled uilt, and frustration, and I concentrated on the way forward
I letthe aether all around me I found the immaterial path within the realm of spatium, the vibration to which I could attune, that would let o
Though I couldn’t see it, I felt the God Rune flare arh the false-spellfor, and I felt the path beckon hin a different location andof the sounds of combat, the movement was otherwise so instantaneous that even my own senses didn’t feel it as a physical action of ue within the giant carving of my own face The inside of thedetail except, where the back of the throat should have been, there was a stone door
For a single breath, nothing happened In e of the bridge and cast down into the depths; as Riah, paralyzed by pain, was houl; as Ada was run down by the pursuingnoise like an avalanche roared through the zone, so overwhelht froh the entire chamber—every piece of stone, every molecule of air—was about to be torn apart Then the stone beneath , I saw that the bridge, wherefor their very lives, was drawing slowly nearer It ith a wave of relief that I realized they were no longer surrounded by the awful, snakelike ghouls
Kalon and Haedrig both still had their weapons held at the ready, their heads turning back and forth as if scanning the bridge for eneis stood at the edge of the path, staring down into the abyss
‘They just vanished!’ Regis practically screamed ‘One second they were all creepy faces and nasty claws, then they just turned to shadow and—poof’
The others turned to watch as e The walls slowed, then halted, leaving no gap between the statue’s gaping mouth and the path
I stepped over the statue’s teeth and back onto the bridge, now a narrow path between two high walls of faces The statues carved on the wall, I noted, didn’t look grotesque and al faces, and I was reiven the keystone
“Is everyone alright?”
“Ezra’s a little beat up,” Kalon said, eyeing me warily, “and Riah really needs medical attention But she’ll survive At least it’s over”
Ada looked up at me from where she kneeled next to Riah “What happened?”
I wasn’t sure exactly what to tell her My hesitationstepped in to interrupt my response
“Any sort of explanations can happen once we’re out of this hellish zone” He nodded toward Riah “Let’s get her up off the cold stone” Haedrig caught my eye as he turned to look back into the statue’s nizable asover us “Is there a portal in there?”
I nodded “There is a door, yeah”
“Lead the way then”