A minute in, a circle of light emerged from ahead of us, about a hundred yards away. “What is that?” I stiffened my steps.
“The thing we sensed?” Freya asked.
I concentrated, but couldn’t find a presence close to the light. Whatever that weird thing was, it definitely wasn’t what I’d sensed before.
A rattle echoed now.
I blinked. “That doesn’t sound good.”
My footsteps however, hastened. I gripped my sword hilt and I stepped up towards the light. A fork lay in the tunnel, with the path on the left black, and the one of the right glowing with a hue of aqua blue.
“We’re taking the creepy way aren’t we,” Nyx said.
Yup. I stepped into the blue light.
Freya hesitated for a moment, but followed me in anyway. The rattling sound grew louder, and more intense. The different tones piled up before me, layering over each other like a sound that was echoed way too many times.
A screech thundered through the tunnel, and forms of white emerged before me. They rushed in from nearly a hundred yards away, but I could still tell what they were. I used my Analyze skill on them.
DING!
Race
Skeletal Warrior
Level
321
Pretty weak, I lifted Dawnbreaker out of its sheath.
“Didn’t expect to see these idiots down here,” Freya muttered, holding her longsword tight.
I waited a few seconds, letting the skeletons head further in, and then charged out. I blast through the tunnel, generating a tail wind behind me.
“Bladestorm!’ I yelled, surging into the enemy forces. My blade cut and slashed through the skeletons, smashing them into powder with just a simple strike. These things were far too weak to damage me, and far too weak to stand after a hit from my sword.
I spun around, slashing through about fifteen skeletons more around me and leaving them all as dust on the ground. I grinned. This is actually kind of fun.
“That…” Nyx’s tone changed.
That what?
“Nothing.”
I frowned, but didn’t question the spirit. I looked deeper into the tunnel. Where is this blue light coming from? I could see a bright source far off behind the skeletons, but I couldn’t get a good enough look at it, given the enemy was pushing forward with large numbers.
“More and more keep coming,” Freya said, striking through the warriors on her side and getting a few seconds of a breather.
“I know,” I said, slicing through the ones before me. “Is something generating these?”
“I’m not sure.” She hunched down, with her sword held at her side, ready to strike.
“I’m pushing forward.” I ran, slashing through the oncoming charge, and Bones rattled to the ground, as did metal weaponry. How many of these have I even killed so far?
“I’d say count, but they’re all dust on the ground,” Nyx chuckled.
I slashed through another ten of them, cutting them all down. These guys are pretty weak too. Compared to the opponents I usually get.
“That’s true,” the spirit said. “It’s been a while since you got enemies this weak.”
I could have taken them all out in one spell if I wanted to.
“But you won’t because you know doing that could make the tunnel collapse.”
Yes, yes, I’m aware, I rolled my eyes and slashed into another set of skeletal warriors.
The enemy numbers hadn’t ceased up at all, and that was concerning me now. “Okay these things are definitely being summoned,” I said.
“Maybe it has something to do with that blue light.” Freya thrust into a skeleton and impaled two others behind it as well.
“Seems likely the light has something to do with the skeletons,” I said. “Do you just want to avoid these guys then?”
“That’s fine with me.”
“Good. I hope you can keep up.”
“Eh?”
I hunched down, coiling up the muscles in my legs. I sprung out a second later, heading to my right. I surged onto the side walls with my speed, with the sheer power of my pace keeping my soles glued onto it. I ran along the walls, right past the skeleton army, and jumped, sliding to stop a little past their rear.
Freya did the same, joining me in a little less than a second.
The skeletons all turned around at once, and a collective rattle echoed through the chambers.
Okay that was definitely creepy.
Freya looked at me. “Do we run?”
I glanced back, looking at the light that now glowed brighter before us. “Yeah.” I charged away.
The elf kept up with me, and we ran side by side, right toward the aqua light. I used my Analyze skill on the hue. Just what is that thing?
DING!
Failure!
No object available.
Ugh. I pushed on.
The skeletons screeched as they chased after us, but their forms were lagging behind, for their speeds were no match for our own.
“Zoran.” Freya pointed at the roof.
Runes of blue, the same hue as the light, glowed against the muddy wall. “That can’t be good,” I muttered. The drawings ran all the way from where we were to the light source itself.
A few more seconds in the light source grew brighter. We were getting close. Heat pulsed through the air, turning the already dry atmosphere even dryer. Dusty wind flicked through my hair, and threw around the loose mud inside the tunnel.
A strong mental pressure sunk into my mind and I stiffened, sliding to a stop. “Zoran?” Freya stopped a few yards past me. “Are you okay?”
I breathed heavy, sending energy into my head, and pushing out whatever was causing the attack. “Yeah.” My voice was hoarse.
A wall stood before us—one of aqua-blue light. I peered into it, but saw only the shade, as if a wall of the shade had been constructed.
“What is this?” Freya asked.
“No clue.” I reached out, and touched its surface. A slight shock sparked into my fingers and I jerked my hand back. “Well, whatever it is, it doesn’t like us.”
The rattle of bones sounded behind me. I turned around and saw the skeletal army charging up to us, not more than fifty yards away now.
“Fight them?” Freya asked.
“We’ve got some time left,” I said. “I just need to check something.”
I touched the wall once again, and a spark resonated just like before. I kept my hand fixed to it, bearing through the pain. A mental pressure rose into my mind, the same one as I’d felt before.
You’re hiding something. I pushed my hand harder into the wall and concentrated, filling my mind with energy. I imagined a wave pushing out from within me, surging into the wall and messing it up.
A crack sounded from the structure, and its light dimmed. However, it still stood, radiating its aqua blue light.
More. I concentrated even harder. I imagined the wave surging out of me and breaking into the cracks, shattering them apart.
I pushed my hand harder into the wall, and an instant later the whole thing crumbled, breaking into specks of light and disappearing into the darkness.
“Zoran, the skeletons are here.” Freya had turned around, and had her sword held up high.
“Let’s go!” I gripped her hand and tugged her away.
We surged into the tunnel opening, with our footsteps tapping fast across the surface. My Night Vision skill became more useful, as the sights before me lightened up.
Was something blocking it before then? I blinked.
“Could have been that wall,” Nyx said.
The pathway sloped down, and we followed it, using the incline to speed ourselves up. The sounds of bones behind us faded away, and the skeletons rattling, and screeching disappeared as well. A few moments later, an opening emerged in the tunnel, and I could see a faint light of aqua blue inside it.
I shot through, faster than I had before.
And then I froze.
/>
A man in pitch-black armor stood there, with his eyes of navy blue glowing through his helmet. An unconscious lady lay in his arms, dressed in robes of misty green, with her limbs flailing from her side.
Of course. My chest tightened, and my fists clenched. “The Dark Lord.”
He just chuckled. “You’re too late, Diablo.”
And then he disappeared.
***
CHAPTER EIGHT
A swirling darkness surrounded me. A gentle breeze shook the air, and the warmth within it turned ice cold in an instant. The rattling of bones behind us stopped, and the sounds I had heard before were all replaced by silence.
You’re too late.
The words echoed into my mind. I processed the images I’d seen before me. The unconscious lady I’d seen radiated a strong sense of power. An Eternal?
A hand touched my wrist. Freya stood beside me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Well, this confirms it. The Dark Lord is back.”
A dull hum resonated through the chamber. Green light coursed out of the rubble in the corner. I knelt down to it, dusting the surface. A crystal lay underneath the pile, imbued with a rune of jade green.
I picked it up, and it reverberated in my palm, sending vibrations into my fingers. The Time Lord? I grit my teeth. My hand clenched, and the crystal shattered, spilling back to the floor as a million pieces.
Freya stepped back from me, and her eyes were wide.
I blinked and then I sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I didn’t think we’d have to deal with this so soon.”
“I…know.” She turned around. “Let’s head back up.”
I nodded and headed back through the tunnel. Freya used her ball of light to illuminate the way now. There weren’t any enemies we had to hide from anymore. Piles and piles of dust lay scattered on the ground — the last remains of the skeleton army.
“They self-destructed?” Nyx asked.
Seems like it. I looked around. The Dark Lord must have been controlling them then.
“That makes sense.”
The tunnel inclined up, and a few minutes later we were back on the surface. Acnologia stood at the entrance, and watched us as we rose from the ground.
“The presence I’d sensed vanished,” the Dragon said. “What happened in there?”
I sighed. It’s a long story.
“I may have mistaken what I saw,” Freya said. “But that was the Dark Lord carrying an Eternal out, right?”
I nodded. It was hard to be wrong about the presence of the unconscious woman. She was definitely an Eternal. And not a weak one either.
“The Dark Lord was here?” the Dragon asked.
Yeah. You didn’t you sense him?
He shook his head. “I lost sense of all the presences soon after you went inside.”
I frowned. Odd. I turned to Freya. “You didn’t sense anything else other than those two in there, right?”
“No,” she said. “Just the Eternal and the Dark Lord.”
“Good.”
“Are you thinking about the Time Lord?”
I nodded. “I’d expected him to be involved in this but I hadn’t thought we’d cross paths so soon.”
“What are we going to do then?”
DING!
You have received a message from: The Death Lord! Would you like to open it?
I tapped on ‘Yes’.
Diablo, I just visited the site of the presence. It was an underground cave beneath a small village. I explored inside but couldn’t find anybody in there.
I quickly typed back a response.
That’s fine. Freya and I found a lead. We were also inside a cavern underneath a village. The Eternal on our end, however, was whisked away by none other than the Dark Lord. Also, I found a marker that contains a jade rune, a sure sign of the Time Lord.
DING!
Are you certain it was a jade rune? I found a similar one in the chamber I visited as well. If the Dark Lord and Time Lord are working together again, it could mean all sorts of trouble for everyone else.
I replied back.
I know. Try to see if you can find anything else. I’m going to scope the area on my end as well. Make sure you bring that rune back with you. I broke the one I found, so that’s the only thing we have left if we want to Analyze it.
DING!
Sounds good.
I closed the message interface.
“The Death Lord?” Freya asked.
I nodded. “He found an empty chamber too.”
“The Eternal in it must have been taken away before he got there.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Plus, he found a crystal with a jade green rune as well.”
Her eyes widened. “So this is a serial thing?”
“Looks like it. Although, I still don’t get what the rune is supposed to be there for.”
“It definitely has to have some significance.”
I froze.
“What?” Freya asked.
I put my finger on my lips. Acnologia, you sense that, right?
“Yes.”
How far off? I asked.
“The first line of rubble. Twenty yards away.”
How the heck did they get this close without us noticing?
“We were distracted with the situation.”
I sighed, and casually twisted myself, looking at the elf, but keeping my gaze behind her. They’re behind those broken houses.
Freya turned uneasy now as well, and turned around. Her hand went to her back, and she gripped her sword hilt, but didn’t pull out her blade. My hands casually drop to the side as well, hovering over both my sword handles.
Acnologia, give me a distraction.
“At your service.”
The Dragon reared up, and let a roar fly skyward. I shot forward, sliding Dawnbreaker and Dearthsoul out of their sheaths. Knights of dark armor scrambled out of the rubble, but I was ready for them.
I used my Analyze skill on first line of men. Level 400s. This shouldn’t be too hard.
Freya followed right behind me as we thudded into their ranks. My swords cut through metal and bone, splitting bodies and limbs as I rushed through the enemy ranks. The elf thrust through multiple men as well, her nimble movements weaving her blade through their attacks and right into their flesh.
About a hundred of them. I noticed, as I took down a tenth with a flurry of strikes.
“It’s very little compared to how many you usually face,” Nyx said.
Yeah. This is just a small group.
I leapt into the air, landing in the middle of their ranks. “Bladestorm!” I yelled. Two swords went flying through the enemy, piercing heart and bone like nothing. Twenty seconds later, just ten Knights were left remaining. Freya and I simply shot up to them, and slashed through their trembling forms before they even had the chance to yell out.
DING!
Congratulations! You have defeated:
Dark Knight Squadron (Lv. 430)!
They didn’t have a single chance, did they? Reward: Spear of the Dark Knight (x10)! Reward: Sword of the Dark Knight (x10). Reward: 450000 XP. Reward: 1600000 Sol.
DING!
Congratulations! You have advanced a special move.
Bladestorm Level 35!
Mana Cost
1500
Casting Time
N/A
Cooldown Time
5 minutes
Range
50 yards
Effect 1
Attacks 150 times a second with 130% of the weapon’s max attack damage.
Effect 2
Increases critical hit chance by +20%
Effect 3
Agility increased by +10% after ten One Hit K.O.s
Effect 4
Evasiveness increased by +10%
I closed the screens, and glanced down at the dead bodies around me. A flicker of red smoke passed before my eyes.
“Down!” I pushed Freya away.
The
bodies exploded, and I fell back, sliding across the ground. My muscles froze up, locking themselves into position.
DING!
Warning!
You have been afflicted by: Paralysis! All movements will be hindered. Forcing limbs to move will cause pain and a reduction of health.
Damn it.
I pushed from the floor, sitting myself up. A shooting pain struck my arms, and my elbows shook for a moment before I stabilized my hold.
“Zoran!” Freya ran to me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Paralysis.”
“I’ve got a potion for that.” She slid open her Ga’em menu.
Nyx, how come we don’t have a potion for this?
“Why are you making it sound like it’s my fault?” the spirit asked. “This is your inventory isn’t it?”
“Here.” Freya lifted a crystal vial of sunflower-yellow. “Oh, sorry.” She pulled it back a moment and uncorked it first. She leaned forward, tilting the contents into my mouth. A bitter taste slid down my throat, and a spark of electricity shot within my limbs.
“You should heal in a bit,” she said. “The potion has a delayed heal effect.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
“It’s sneaky how that happened,” she muttered. “Dark Knights are not supposed to explode like that.”
“It confirmed my theory though,” I said.
“Eh?”
“Those men obviously had some kind of spell or something else cast on them. I’m not sure how exactly the paralysis thing works, but it definitely isn’t something they can do on a normal basis.”
“Agreed. But what theory did you have?”
“That these men didn’t just happen to find us here. They were sent here.”
The Eternal: Hellbringer - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 5) Page 7
