Chương 29: Final Ember

Adolin was running as fast as he could. Somehow, Clay was in front of him, running even faster. He wasn't sure if it was adrenaline or if he had used more than one agility skill. But he was outrunning him, even with Small Boost cast. Glancing over his shoulder, he sped up. Twenty-something big cats were chasing them. Their skin was metallic green. He still didn't know their name. Clay hadn't mentioned it. He was sure it wasn't important now. Running. That was important. Clay glanced over his shoulder and cursed.

Again.

"You sure this will work?" He felt like shrugging his shoulders, but he couldn't. Not while running at full speed, this body could handle. The plan was simple. Even genius, perhaps. But their execution was lacking. And the cats were much stronger and faster than they expected. They were close to the spot they were luring the cats to. Yeah. Luring.

"Almost there," Clay shouted. In front of them, a deep chasm split the earth in two. It was over twenty meters wide, and far deeper than he could measure. In some places, it was even wider.

"Please don't let me drop." The chasm was less than twenty meters away now. Clay kept glancing back at him, a pleading expression on his face.

"Get ready," Adolin said. Five meters. Two. One.

"Jump." Clay screamed and jumped. Adolin stopped and watched. He wasn't going to make it. That much was obvious. He even messed up the jump, ruining what they had discussed. He would be three meters short.

"Fuck!" Clay screamed. Ice Wall. That was the best solution he could come up with. He just needed to lengthen it a few meters so Clay could land on it. But he already used it, and the spell had already recognized it. That made him pause. Wrong time to think. But he wanted the level. Earth Wall, same as the Ice one, and he hadn't used it yet. The problem was that he said he was an Ice and Water mage, but he had already used almost every element except water. Well… no time. Clay was about to fall to his death.

Earth Wall, he cast, muttering something, and jumped. The earthen wall formed under Clay's feet, and he landed on it, rolling to lessen the impact. Adolin landed behind him, using a burst of Levitate to soften the landing. They kept running, getting to the other side of the chasm. Glancing behind him, the cats were already jumping after them. He had to wait for the perfect moment. When every single one of them was in the air. Three heartbeats were all it took. He released the spell, and it dissolved into mana.

The big cats fell straight into the abyss. They did let out a meow on the way down. Well, not exactly that. It was more of a roar. Was there a difference? He didn't think so. Behind them— A sharp crack. Tails pierced into the ground. One. Then another. Claws bit into the edge of the chasm. Then one climbed up. Well, he wasn't the strategist in his party. He acted more of a natural disaster. Aylinth dealt with all the planning. Well, Clay was going to have to do a lot of work.

It was the perfect time for him to get some more training in. Other than running for his life. It would be a decent pace of change. He glanced at him. He was already in his stance, his sword drawn. His hands slightly shook, but his face was serious, focused. He did remind him of Valor. Well, just in his style and courage. Valor was a lot more stern than Clay. But they did have similarities between them. His hands also shook when he was faced with a strong opponent.

But he always fought till the end; he never let his fear affect him. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Adolin stepped back behind him, ready to intervene if he had to. But other than that, he was going to watch a show. And then... get the reward chest. Clay tightened his grip on the sword. The creature charged toward him, its tail raised, ready to strike like a scorpion. His eyes closed for a moment. Then they opened.

His hands steadied, his mind focused on the enemy before him. The creature was already in the air, closing the distance. Its tail poised to strike. He moved. Ducking under the creature, he dodged the tail by a hair's breadth. His sword stabbed upward, cutting along the creature's stomach. He dodged to the right as another tail whooshed past his head. Five of them were already out of the chasm. One was already down. Dying. The creatures relied on their tails to strike, while distracting him with their charge.

Both were deadly if he got hit. Their fangs dripped with green poison. This was going to be a hard fight. He couldn't afford to get hit. The tail was probably poisonous as well. Shit. He saw Dareth at the edge of his vision. He was standing there, watching him, his hands behind his back. Could he rely on the mage? He did come through in the previous fights. Now he just looked like he was enjoying it. He started muttering something under his breath and pointed his hand.

"Frost," he heard him say. He glanced at where he was pointing, keeping it at the edge of his vision. He couldn't afford to lose sight of the creatures. The edge of the chasm froze. A moment later, a claw came up. Trying to climb out. But it slid off the edge. The beast fell back down. The beasts in front of him charged. He couldn't watch any longer. It was time to end it fast, or he would be too tired to win. He fell into his rhythmic breathing. The one his family's technique required. He focused on his core.

His mana flowed through his channels, strengthening his body, then into his sword. He moved his hand along the edge of the blade, his mana igniting a flame along it. The Flaming Blade technique of his family. He still hadn't mastered it. That's why he had to ignite the mana flowing through the sword manually. But it would be enough against these beasts. His mana flowed to his legs, then he charged. The beasts were lone hunters. And now they had to act as a pack. That made it harder for them—and easier for him.

He swung his sword, and an arc of flame flew toward them. That stopped their charge as they tried to get out of the way. But he was already upon them. Just as one escaped the arc, his sword flew, slicing through its side. The wound was left burning. The beast screeched, then roared. He didn't let it recover and swung again. The beast moved out of the way, but the edge of the blade still bit into its skin. The others recovered. Two were close together on his right, so he sent another arc of flame toward them.

He needed them distracted while he dealt with one—maybe two—at a time. The one he hurt escaped him and rolled, trying to extinguish the flames. The other two charged toward him, their tails aimed at his chest and heart. With a quick burst of mana to his legs, he sidestepped, bringing his blade down on the tails. Both were sliced clean off. It was his chance to get rid of one of them, so he charged the wounded one. A moment later, he was upon it and brought his blade down on its head.

It was in the middle of a roll when the blade cut its head clean. One down. Four to go. The beasts didn't charge. They moved toward him in an arc. Cautious. The smell of cooked meat came from behind him, where the body still burned. He could take them. But not without getting hit. He thought of using the flaming arc again. But the beasts kept enough distance from each other that it would be futile. He went through his skills. There were a few that could help.

Burst Step would let him get close and kill one before the rest could react. Escaping after that would be harder. On his left was the beast without a tail. Next to it, one unharmed. That was his target. He could remove the one with a tail and only worry about the right side. So he did it. Burst Step. He moved faster than his body should allow. He appeared between the beasts, his sword already coming down. It cut through the creature's head without any resistance.

He didn't waste time and turned right, toward the nearest threat. A tail was already coming straight for him. He jumped to the side and felt a hot pain in his hip. He had been hit. Rolling, he got back to his feet. He gnashed his teeth as the pain flared. A deep gash marked his hip, bleeding, green poison clinging to the wound. He didn't like it. He had to end this before the poison slowed him. He moved back, trying to find a better opening. It wasn't working.

The wound was slowing him, and the pain grew with every step. The creatures moved toward him faster than before. They had felt his weakness and were trying to take advantage of it. He glanced at Dareth. He was the same as before.

"Do something," he screamed, the pain affecting his voice. It came out before he could stop it. The creatures got closer, and he settled into his stance again. But it wasn't perfect. The wound affected his leg placement. It was too loose. He wasn't sure if he should leave the stance. He scratched that thought. There was nowhere to go, and he wasn't trained in another stance. The beasts were gaining ground. He flicked two arcs toward them, but they dodged and kept moving. He felt his flame flicker.

His breathing was uneven. It was interrupting his mana flow. He tried to steady it, but failed. His breathing was too quick. Fuck. Final Ember. Was it time to use it? He wasn't certain. His technique was about to collapse. He couldn't keep it up without proper breathing. There were other skills that could help, but he couldn't take them all down. Dareth was either busy keeping the beasts from climbing out of the chasm—or he was just watching him struggle. Bastard. It wasn't the time to rely on others.

His vision blurred, darkening at the edges. The poison was taking him down faster than he expected. Final Ember. That was his only option. It would leave him defenseless afterward. But if he didn't use it, he would probably die. He focused on his core and flooded all his mana into his sword. He felt it surge through his chest, then through the channels into his hands. He screamed in pain. The overflow was worse than the wound on his hip.

"Final Ember," he growled through the pain. His sword glowed. The flame shifted—almost white, with a faint trace of orange. The dark cave turned bright as he swung his sword toward the creatures. A huge arc of white, scorching flame flew toward them. Everything went black.