The pickaxe in Min Yon Sul’s hands was slippery from sweat. What had made him think going at a fucking crackmaw armed with a pickaxe was a good idea? He was starting to have serious misgivings about his recent life choices.
That ungrateful woman had better be quick, he thought.
The crackmaw had stopped in the middle of the room, its head turning back and forth. The monster’s indecision was clear as its head turned from him to the young woman still standing at the entrance to the chamber.
Min Yon Sul let out a groan. He was about to do something he’d come to regret. Again.
He scooped up a loose rock from the ground and threw it at the crackmaw’s head. ”Hey! You ugly motherfucker! That’s right, I’m right here, come and get me!”
The horrid creature didn’t need to be asked twice.
With a clatter of legs it shot towards him. The skittering sound made the hair in his neck stand up and sent shivers running down his spine. It was the fuel for nightmares for every miner who’d spent any time in the Istor Mines.
The monster’s attention well and truly set on him, Min Yon Sul turned sprinted to the side of the room. Whether the monster followed him wasn’t in question. The sound of tens of feet clacking on the ground told him all he needed to know.
It didn’t take long to reach the wall. He turned barely in time to see the beast barrelling towards him, not ten paces away. The beast moved with speed not fitting something so massive. Only warning Min Yon Sul got was the the way the monster coiled its upper body back slightly. The it lunged for him.
He dove into a roll just in time. The mouth full of glistening daggers passed so close that he could smell the rotting flesh in the beast’s breath. The monster struck the wall in a crash, sending chips of stone flying through the air.
Min Yon Sul came out of the roll and back to his feet in one fluid motion. Behind him, the monster thrashed, chitinous carapace scraping against the floor. Min Yon Sul turned and saw its head was still stuck in the wall by the mandibles, right where his head had a heartbeat earlier.
He didn’t let the opportunity slip. Without thinking he gripped the pickaxe and with a roar struck the beast in the side of the head with all his might. The sharpened Adrantin head struck the monster on its temple at an angle, sending a shower of sparks in the air.
Cursing, Min Yon Sul pulled back and struck again, putting every fiber of his being into the strike. This time, the pickaxe hit square on the creature’s head. Relief flooded him as the strike connected. Not even a crackmaw would live with a forearm’s length of metal in its head.
He should’ve known things were going too well. Fate, as it seemed, was not done fucking with his life. A sharp crack filled the air and the shaft of the pickaxe snapped in two. The head of the pickaxe went flying, spinning through the air.
”Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” He screamed.
He flung the shaft at the monster and ran. Behind him, the crackmaw finally tore its head free from the stone. Min Yon Sul dashed towards the other side of the room, dodging the bodies lying on the floor. He desperately scanned the ground for anything to use as a weapon.
”Catch!” Rei Yang shouted.
Min Yon Sul spun in time to grab the long, white and gold object flying at him. With a shock he realised it was the sword, the young woman had been carrying.
”How much longer do you need?” He yelled back.
”Just a little more!”
He pulled the sword free from its scabbard as he ran. Even in the middle of all the chaos he couldn’t help but marvel at the weapon. It was without a doubt the most expensive thing he’d ever held.
The straight, double-edged blade shone brightly in the Qi lamp’s light. It was roughly the length of his arm. The hilt, while still unnecessarily gaudy in his opinion, sat in his grip comfortably. He’d never held a sword before, yet it was obvious the blade in his hand was without a doubt a master piece.
The skittering of chitinous feet on stone drew him from his admiration. Min Yon Sul turned back to the monster and planted his feet. The monster was rushing at him across the room, mandibles clacking. He braced the sword in front of him in a two handed grip, his heart hammering against his ribcage.
Suddenly Min Yon Sul felt something unexpected. Something pulled at his Core. It was a sensation he had felt once before. Without thinking he let the connection form. The sword in his hand drank greedily, glyphs bursting into life along the blade’s surface. The sword positively hummed in his hand.
Before he had time to wonder what was happening the beast lunged at him once more. He met it with a downward chop that lacked any grace. It was a desperate effort born of pure will to live. To survive.
His wild swing missed the creature’s head and struck in the base of one of its mandibles. Contrary to his expectations there was no resistance whatsoever. The fine blade sliced through the chitinous mandible thicker than his thigh like a hot knife through butter.
The next instant his moment of triumph turned sour. While the one of the mandibles soared through the air, spilling dark goo all around, the other still remained attached to the creatures head. It speared him all the way through his right shoulder, pinning him to the wall. Blinding pain shot through his body.
The monster pulled back its head in a shrill scream. As the large fang still holding him up slid back, Min Yon Sul fell into a heap. The magnificent sword slid from his nerveless fingers, clattering on the ground next to him. Warm blood started pooling under him.
The beast thrashed around, whipping its head back and forth. At least it was clearly in immense pain as well. Min Yon Sul took small solace in that.
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His body was completely spent. And so was his Core. He felt like a worn down dish rag that had been wrung dry one too many times. The sword had sucked every last drop of Qi from his Core, leaving him unable to even lift a finger.
The crackmaw slowly stopped its flailing. It focused on him once more, pulling its upper body back.
I guess this is it.
With pure power of will he reached across his body with his left hand, grasped the sword and lifted it in front of him. The blade wobbled in his hand. He was barely able to even keep the tip of the sword in the air.
It was clear this was the end of the road for him. But if he was to die, he sure as hell would do it standing tall. Well, figuratively speaking.
The beast swayed above him, preparing to end his life, when Min Yon Sul was met with the most beautiful sight he’d seen in a long, long time. Despite the situation, he felt his lips stretch into a wild grin.
”Got you, fucker.” He said, coughing up blood.
The young woman soared through the air, landing on the crackmaw’s head in a crouch. She slammed an open palm on the top of its head with a scream. A spear of liquid fire carved clean through the beast’s head and continued to the ground below, searing a clean hole in the rocky floor.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, the monster collapsed. The woman jumped of the falling beast and landed next to him. She was breathing heavily and it was clear she had trouble staying on her feet.
”I have to admit, that was really fucking awesome.” Min Yon Sul said.
”Don’t talk, you’re bleeding like a stuck pig.” She replied.
”Oh, is that concern I hear in your voice, princess?”
”Hush, you asshole. You’d better not die and leave me alone in this god-forsaken place.”
Min Yon Sul chuckled, but it quickly turned into him coughing up more blood. His mind was growing foggy from the blood loss.
”Here, swallow this.” She said, and shoved something into his mouth.
Without waiting for a response, she shoved an open flask in his mouth. Half of the lukewarm water trickled down his chin but he managed to get enough in his mouth to swallow the pill.
Almost instantly warmth started radiating through his body. Then it grew hot. A moment later his entire body felt like it was searing from the inside.
”Bear with it! These pills aren’t meant for anyone below Silver!” She said.
Min Yon Sul’s body convulsed as too much energy surged through his body in a torrent. After what felt like an eternity, it started to calm down. The pain in his shoulder lessened and when he turned to look he saw something incredible. The flesh was knitting itself back together in front of his very eyes. He felt the bones crunching back in place in under his skin.
”What the..?”
”You can thank me later. We need to move.”
Not a moment later, skittering of chitin against rock carried from the tunnel ahead.
”Come on, get up. All the ruckus we made must’ve called more of those things.” The young woman said.
She pulled Min Yon Sul up and draped his left hand over her shoulder. The cacophony of hundreds upon hundreds of feet striking rock, mixed with chitinous bodies scraping against stone, grew louder.
”Oh fuck me, there must be dozens of them coming.” Min Yon Sul whispered.
”I hear them. What are we going to do?”
”Shit. We have to go back. There was a fork in the tunnel earlier. It might be a dead end but not like we have another choice. Unless you can repeat that neat trick about a dozen times.”
”No chance. Doing it once took everything I had. Let’s go!”
”The sword! Grab it!”
Rei Yang bent down and grabbed the sword by the hilt. ”Where’s the scabbard?”
”No idea. It’s somewhere there among the bodies.”
”Damn! No time to look for it. Move!”
They started half sprinting, half limping back to the tunnel they came from. Min Yon Sul grabbed the Qi lamp lying at the entrance and they hobbled into the tunnel. The ominous sounds from behind them grew more distant as they moved.
It didn’t take long to reach the fork they’d spotted earlier. Not wasting any time, they started down the new path. The pain in Min Yon Sul’s shoulder had faded into a dull ache. It was still hard to believe he was alive. The crackmaw had almost torn his entire arm off.
The woman next to him was gulping air, staggering every now and then. She had saved his life, no doubt about it. And it had been in quite awe inspiring way, he had to admit. She stumbled again.
”Here. Give me the sword.” He said and grabbed the sword from the young woman’s limp hand. He then shifted around so that the woman’s arm rested on his neck and he was the one supporting her. Quietly they shuffled on.
”It’s Rei Yang.” She murmured.
”What?”
”Rei Yang. My name is Rei Yang.”
”Pleasure to make your acquaintance, princess.”
”Asshole.”
”No, it’s Min Yon Sul.”
There was a weak elbow to his side. He feigned a grunt.
”Thanks for saving my ass back there.” He said.
”You’d better pay me back for that pill, peasant.”
”Now that’s more like it.”
She huffed quietly in response. After a moment of silence Rei Yang shifted her head. ”What do you think that is?”
”What?”
”That rumbling sound. It’s been growing louder for a while now.”
He hadn’t noticed it before, but now that she’d mentioned it, he heard it as well. A low, constant hum. As they moved, it grew louder and louder.
”I have no clue.”
After a while the sound was so loud that it covered the sounds of their footsteps. Moment later they arrived at the end of the tunnel. The path ended in a vertical drop into darkness. Below them, was the source of the constant rumbling.
”I think that’s water. There’s an underground river there.” Rei Yang said.
”I’ve never seen a river. How much water does there need to be for it to make a sound like that?”
”A lot. Wait, you’ve never seen a river before?”
Min Yon Sul tugged at the collar still on his neck. ”This place is all I’ve ever known. Ever since I was a child.”
”That’s... That’s horrible.” She said.
”Yeah.”
She stayed quiet for a bit. ”Do you think we lost the crackmaws?”
The answer to her question was a clacking sound piercing through the roar of the river. They both froze in place.
”You just had to say it out loud.” Min Yon Sul whispered.
”Oh please, they were going to be here regardless. What do we do?” She whispered back, her breath quickening.
Min Yon Sul scanned their surroundings. There was no way out of this place. Then he glanced behind himself.
”Oh, no. No, no, no. We have no idea where it leads. We’ll drown for sure.” Rei Yang whispered frantically.
At the same time first of the crackmaws rounded the last bend in the tunnel. It was gigantic, easily twice the size of the one they’d killed earlier. It was at least thirty paces long.
Behind the first crackmaw, more and more of the beasts slithered into the light. Some of them crawling along the roof, others on the walls of the cave. Soon the entire tunnel was a dark, writhing mass of black chitin, legs and mandibles. Involuntary shivers ran through Min Yon Sul’s entire body. Next to him, Rei Yang stood frozen in shock.
He shook her by her shoulder. ”Hey, snap out of it! We’ve got to move!”
She came back to her senses with a jerk. She turned to him, her eyes wide with fear. She noticed the sword still in his hand. ”Give me the sword!”
”You can’t be thinking of fighting them!”
”No, you idiot, I’ll put it into my spatial ring!”
”Alright, here!”
The sword disappeared from her hand in an instant. The crackmaws had spotted them and were rushing for them in a mass of clacking mandibles. They glanced at each other. The writhing mass of nightmares was only ten paces away now.
”Remember, hold your breath!” Rei Yang yelled, grabbing his arm.
As the first crackmaw lunged for them, they jumped.