Chương 36: Black Swarm

Revel wiped her mouth, trying to clear away the sand that filled it. Her hand was already dark and lined with small cuts. It was the third time Edrin had saved her life, and the third time she ended up spitting sand. She wasn't sure if they would make it. The worm had proven itself to be a formidable foe. The ground shook after every exchange between Edrin and the worm. It was a battle she had no business participating in. A battle between titans, and he had stopped holding back a while ago.

She glanced at him and felt a surge of fear. His killing intent surged across the desert, her hair standing on end as an instinctive fear overwhelmed her heart. It felt like death was coming for her, and there was nothing she could do about it. Movement was impossible. He had been suppressing it the whole time, but now, weakened and tired, he couldn't. He had been fighting for more than an hour without pause, and the worm had not slowed down.

It took her a few moments, but she managed to lift her head and watch the fight. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, and the first time she had experienced such killing intent. But she had to watch, for the small chance that an opportunity for her to act would come, and help. Anything. The worm lunged toward where he stood, hitting the spot a moment later. Edrin was already gone. He appeared on top of the worm. She barely managed to keep track of his movements.

Countless sword strikes later, the worm was covered in deep cuts—each as deep as the blade allowed. The worm snapped, and he was sent flying. The cuts healed moments later. It was the fifth time she had seen the same scene repeat, with no progress made in weakening or slowing the worm. His plan wasn't going to work, she thought. He intended to deal as much damage to the creature as he could, until its healing stopped working or it died. Maybe it would have worked if the worm had been slower than him, or weaker.

But it was neither. It seemed they matched each other in speed and strength. How was that possible? It was only the third room. Such things shouldn't have happened this early within the dungeon. Her head bowed again as all her senses screamed of danger. A bright blue light cut through the desert as Edrin swung his sword. Revel could see herself on the ground. The sand had become a mirror. She forced her head up just enough to see the battle at the edge of her vision. A beam of sword intent left his blade.

It was sharp. It was certain death. That was what her instincts screamed. She looked anyway. The worm shifted just enough to the side. The strike didn't cut it in half. A small part of its flesh remained, and it healed once again. They would die here. If they didn't find the exit soon, they were going to die. She had tried to help in the beginning, but it was impossible. It took her longer to choose a spell than it took them to exchange dozens of moves. Using one blindly would risk hitting or distracting him.

Trying to help him in such a high-level fight could just as easily get him killed. So she gave up on helping. The best thing she could do for him was stay out of his way. The sand shifted next to her. She stood and ran. It took all of her willpower to do it within the field of killing intent, but she managed. Edrin wasn't the only one facing formidable enemies. A swarm of worms was chasing her as well. She glanced behind her. They were only a few meters away. It looked like they were swimming through the sand.

Hundreds of them. Her weakness. She wasn't good at spells that targeted groups of enemies, only individual ones. There were also multiple burrows all around her, sounding just like when the big worm had surfaced. But she had learned to ignore them. They were nothing but illusions meant to confuse. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The swarm was growing closer by the moment. She had to do something before they reached her.

Her shoes were already filled with sand, and running through it slowed her down. She needed to use more strength and move faster so her feet wouldn't get buried. Illusions. Why were they experiencing them? Or were they hallucinations? The enemies in the room were too strong to rely on illusions, and the beasts didn't act like creatures capable of mental attacks. She needed to test the theories forming in her mind.

She chanted, "Lord of what lies beneath, keeper of hidden paths, hear me and grant me the strength to sever my enemies." She turned and lifted her staff.

"Shadow Slash." From within her shadow, a sharp arc flew toward the swarm. It cut through five of the worms before losing its power and fading. She didn't move and just watched the severed worms. Half their bodies were missing, but they continued swimming through the sand toward her. She counted. One. Two. Three. It took them three seconds to regenerate, and they were whole again, as if nothing had happened. It was impossible, she told herself. She turned and ran again, not looking back.

How was she supposed to test her theory? She wasn't certain. A rumble came from the ground in front of her. She stiffened, then forced herself forward.

"Damn it," she cursed. The illusion almost stopped her in her tracks. Its effect was getting stronger, and she could feel it. She wasn't strong enough to test her theory on the swarm, and Edrin couldn't do it with the big worm. If he helped her, even for a few seconds, with enough power to destroy the swarm multiple times, she could get the answer she was looking for. Or they would die. But that was more likely to happen if they didn't find a better way. They were already losing the battle of endurance.

The chances of her theory being proven right increased the more she thought about it. The biggest reason for that was the killing intent suffocating her, while the swarm remained unaffected. No living being could shrug off intent—not one as thick as Edrin's. An illusion wouldn't be affected, even one that looked and acted real.

"Edrin," she shouted. He was running along the worm again, and now he was using a skill enhanced with mana. She couldn't see what the effect did, but he got thrown again. The worm was back to normal in no time. Whatever he was doing was still not working.

"Edrin," she shouted again. He turned toward her for a moment. She gestured for him to come, then nodded. He slashed three times, sending arcs of sword intent. She grimaced at that, but pushed through it again.

"What?" He was already standing next to her, and the killing intent was overwhelming.

"Attack them with all you've got for a few moments. Don't stop," she said through clenched teeth. He slashed, then slashed again. Instead of the thin arcs of sword intent, the ones he used now were thicker, and they… she wasn't certain what they did. The swarm was gone. Moments later, it reappeared, still moving toward them. It was a meter closer when it returned. The swarm was destroyed, but it still moved. Edrin slashed at the big worm again, stopping its advance, before continuing his attack on the swarm.

She would die if she were wrong. The thought came to her, but she ignored it and kept watching. Even when the swarm was gone, it continued moving toward them, only to reappear once the three seconds had passed.

"Stop," she said.

"Let it happen."

"Are you sure?" She smiled and stood, waiting for the big worm to reach her. It seemed he had come to the same conclusion.

"Yes," she said. He sheathed his sword and stood next to her.

"Well, the good thing is, we won't know if we were wrong," he chuckled. She wouldn't have found that funny at any other time. Except now. They waited for death to come, or for her to be proven right. She tried to laugh, but couldn't. The killing intent still pressed down on her.

"Sorry," he said, blushing, as the killing intent faded. Before she could say anything, the worm crashed into them. Everything turned black.