“This is getting out of hand,” Leo mumbled as yet another tremor rocked the tiny cave.
It was the fifth day now since they had arrived on Sazim, and just like he had feared, their luck was running out. Ever since the Void Storm stopped yesterday, the fighting outside was getting closer and closer to their position. The recent global announcement with another warning about more Narzak squadrons also didn’t help.
Even if the faction war hadn’t officially started yet, the population of Sazim sure didn’t have it easy. What baffled Leo was why anyone would bother attacking this place if Ger was the supposed weakened one. What was the purpose of invading some weak planet belonging to a sub-faction? It just didn’t make any sense, in his opinion.
He shook his head. “Get ready, Nyx. We might be moving out soon.”
The feline nodded. They both knew they didn’t have much of a choice. If the fighters found them here, things could go south really fast.
“Call Naz’Tor first,” she suggested. “His people might be close for all we know.”
“Good idea.” He fished out his transmitter and opened his contact list. Yet, before he could make the call, an explosion shook the entire cave. Rocks started falling from the ceiling as cracks spread across the walls.
“Shit! Nyx, to me!”
The feline burst into smoke and enveloped his body just as another tremor traveled through the area. Leo quickly threw Shadow’s Veil in its cloak form over his body and activated the enhanced Stealth Shroud. They had to get out now. It was that or getting buried alive.
He sprinted toward the exit, dodging the rocks coming for his head. Sunlight flickered in his vision, and he used Blink to speed up.
It was a mistake.
Just as he appeared in the cave’s exit, a literal ice meteor fell on his position. Leo shielded as best as he could and even jumped out of the way, but the object still nicked him, bringing him down with it.
The cracking of bones and scales filled his ears, accompanied by a scream of pain that didn’t belong to him. The world became a shaking blur, and he closed his eyes, fighting to remain conscious. He must have hit like a dozen trees or rocks after being sent flying.
Nyx, you there? He groaned, clumsily reaching for the link they shared. It remained active, but just barely.
‘For now,’ the feline hissed, her voice faint. ‘I tried to shield you, but…’
You did more than enough. Stay attached to me and rest. I will handle the rest, he said, even if he didn’t believe those words himself. He could barely feel his body, much less move it.
At least his Essence still listened to him and reactivated Stealth Shroud without any issues. He still had no idea what hit him, but going by the groaning quite close to him, it definitely wasn’t a meteor like he had thought.
All right, slowly.
Bit by bit, Leo opened his eyes, forcing the blurriness to go away. At first, his vision became filled with shades of blue and white, but after a few blinks, those colors settled. Oh…
From what little he could see, he was lying at the side of a wide crater—a crater that had, until moments ago, housed his cave. The ground was torn and shattered everywhere he looked, with bits of ice and snow scattered all around. Of course, that wasn’t everything.
At the center of the destruction lay the source—a colossal ice giant with its body half-buried in the debris. Its flawless, pale blue skin shimmered under the sunlight even as copious amounts of blue liquid poured out of its multiple wounds.
So you’re the one who hit me. How did I even survive this? Leo grimaced, firing off an Identify, only for the skill to fail. Of course…
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
“Damn, you guardians are one tanky motherfuckers,” an amused, unknown voice filled the area. “I thought for sure that technique would kill you.”
Leo turned as quickly as his battered body would allow, facing the speaker—and the cause of his current predicament. The creature didn’t disappoint.
It looked quite similar to Malcolm’s Apex Abyss Walker evolution, only with the demonic traits cranked up to the maximum. They even shared the singular wing, although this creature still somehow used it to hover in the air. Defying gravity seemed like a child’s play to higher-ranked survivors.
Stay still, don’t move. Leo repeated in his mind as the demon descended a bit closer to the fallen ice giant. It tried to swat the smaller creature away, but its movement was too slow, too clumsy.
“Ah, ah, ah!” the demon tutted, flying out of reach. “Looks like you still have some life left in you. Let’s change that!”
A fiery spear of pure blue fire materialized in the creature’s hand. It grew and grew until it became thrice as long as its wielder. The ice giant groaned, raising its hand, a shield of ice forming at its tip.
It was all for naught.
The burning spear descended on the half-dead creature, burning right through its shield and then arm. It continued onward and sunk right into the guardian’s chest before exploding in a fiery inferno.
Leo had to turn away as the heat washed over him, scorching his already damaged scales. The ice and snow in the area also evaporated within a blink, leaving only rocks and some unfrozen Vetilim exposed.
“I should have started with that.” He heard the demon click its tongue. “Oh well, still got three more to kill.”
Once the smoke inside the crater settled, the killer was nowhere to be seen. As for the ice giant? Almost nothing remained of it. Leo only spotted a piece of its leg peeking out of the debris. Yet, even that barely resembled the magnificent creature that almost killed him with its impact.
At least the demon didn’t care to check if there was anybody nearby. He sighed, dropping his head back on the warm ground. Thank God, the Void, or whoever is listening.
Of course, his survival didn’t mean he escaped the danger yet. He was still lying in the middle of nowhere, with his body broken and burned, protected only by the Stealth Shroud that could fail at any second now. All in all, his situation could have been much better.
We should have left that cave a long time ago, he commented and reached into his soul for another Bellatoure. With his arms unresponsive, a tendril of shadows caught the vial and uncorked it.
Bottoms up!
Leo gulped down the mixture in one go and waited for the effect to take place. They did, but just like Naz’Tor warned, the healing didn’t speed up as much as in the past. Then again, that could also be because of the range of his injuries. The ice giant pretty much turned his insides into mush.
And so we wait…
----------------------------------------
It took quite some time before Leo could move again—and by move, he meant crawl. As soon as his body didn’t feel like dying from a bit of effort, he relocated away from the crater. He probably left some tracks once he reached the snow again, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. Remaining close to that place was far too dangerous.
And so, for close to two hours, he lay hidden between trees, waiting for his body to put itself back together. Nyx remained asleep in the meantime, her smoke form still curled around him.
They are still fighting, Leo noted, wincing as another tremor rippled through the earth. He also heard some explosions, but at least those were far away. He doubted he could survive another giant falling on his face.
Got to move. But where? He considered calling Naz’Tor, but that meant canceling at least a part of Stealth Shroud. He refused to do that until he found another place to hide. Maybe the nest close by?
Many would call him insane for even thinking about getting close to a nest in his state. However, according to the merchant, it was supposed to be a massive cavern system filled with all kinds of different ice-type Voidlings. That didn’t sound too welcoming, but maybe—just maybe—he could slip in unnoticed and hide in plain sight.
I need to move anyway. He stood up on shaky legs. I will check it out and decide from there. Maybe I can find another cave on the way…
With the decision made, Leo trudged through the frozen forest, keeping to the shadows and avoiding any open areas. The sounds of battle continued to echo all around him, sometimes drawing closer, sometimes fading into the distance. He tuned it all out, focusing fully on the way ahead.
Unfortunately, the universe had other ideas.
Out of nowhere, something slammed into his back, sending him flying into the nearest tree. He smashed straight through it and two more before his momentum stopped, and he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Fucking again?!