Meera stood frozen on the spot, mouth wide agape. The last invisible wraith she had killed was about level 100, and now she had to fight three of these things to get to the last room.
Damn it! Why can't things be easy for once?
"Meera, what's wrong?" Cinders asked, staring at her from the table.
"Shade just reported three high-level invisible wraiths waiting for me outside."
Cinders gasped while Onyx clopped his hooves outside, moving away to the mouth of the tunnel.
"What are you going to do?" Cinders asked.
"What can I do?" Meera readied her chakrams. "I have to meet them head-on. That researcher must be more awake than you thought, Cinders."
Cinders jumped off the table and ran out the door. Meera activated the Shroud of Shadows and walked out of the room. She saw herself becoming more solid when she walked by the torch's light burning on the wall. Not entirely so, but more translucent than totally transparent.
She ran through the tunnel, trying to match the rhythm of her racing heart. At the last moment, when she was about to hit the wall of wraiths, she used Shadow Step and landed in the middle of the cavern.
The invisible wraiths were on her almost instantly. She saw them vanish and reappear on all sides but her back. They used their Phantom Strikes to end her, but she jumped back out of range and threw a chakram in a spinning motion. It hit the one on her right and front. Notification bells went off in her head, making her realize she had already killed an invisible one before, which meant another level and a new skill were waiting for her.
Can't focus on that right now.
The third wraith lunged for, unleashing Phantom Strikes from both hands. She dodged them without much difficulty. A feeling of unease and fear was beginning to set in her, making her want to run away. It took her a moment to realize that it came from their combined Haunting Presences.
While the wraith was driving her back, the other two recovered and used their Shadow Steps to disappear and reappear on top of her. Meera clenched her fists around her Chakrams and tried to match them blow for blow, but it was getting increasingly hard, even with her Mirror Eagle's enhanced vision.
Meera used Shadow Step and teleported herself into the air to get some breathing room. She activated Druvis Power and fell on one of the wraiths, chakram-fist extended. The wraith teleported away only for Meera to leave a small crater in the ground, and cracks raced outward from the point of impact.
A sharp pain erupted in her back as she pulled out her chakram. She fell forward on a knee. A wraith had gotten a got hit on her back. She Stepped behind it and slashed away with her chakram. She got in two good hits before it vanished into smoke.
A green slash came from the smoke. She ducked the blow and rose with an uppercut, slashing the wraith vertically from groin to neck. It screamed and wailed as it fell back, and its brothers jumped in on her.
She deflected their blows with her chakrams but took some hits on her upper arms—the only portion not protected by the metal vambraces or the shoulder pads.
Blood slicked down her arm, and she used Vitalize to staunch the bleeding. The flight was not progressing in her favor. The wraiths did not tire, nor did they need to stop to take a breather, but Meera needed to. She used Shadow Step to jump to the second floor. It was a mess of a fight. Her armor was mostly in tatters. Her back and stomach were exposed, not to mention her arms. Only her chest was somewhat still protected.
Shade flew over to her. "I must say, you're not holding up too well."
"You think?" Meera said between breaths.
"I suggest you find a way to kill them and fast because here they come."
"Fu—" Meera never got to finish her slur as two wraiths teleported in front of her, and the third was creeping up behind her.
She went for the two in front. There was no reason to let them think she could also see behind her. She threw chakrams at them both. They both vanished before the chakrams connected. Meera groaned through gritted teeth. She recalled her chakram at the last moment as the wraiths reappeared.
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She didn't bother defending against their attacks and turned to face the one behind her. Before the two wraiths could finish their attacks, her chakrams hit them dead center. One shrieked as her chakram cut it in two and evaporated. The other teleported away, but even still, her chakram must've done a number on it.
The third wraith slashed at her with both hands. She jumped back and launched two chakrams into its torso. Only one hit, causing the creature to hiss. She recalled the chakrams and relaunched them, and it danced away.
The wraith that survived the dissection from her chakram returned to attack her back. She turned at the last minute to catch its attack on her chakram. The creature was strong enough that even with Druvis Power, they were at a stalemate.
Then it hissed and shrieked as if it was in pain. Meera didn't understand what happened, but she was not about to let this opportunity pass. She slashed its throat with her free hand two times, killing it.
It was only when the wraith evaporated that Meera noticed the small form of a ghostly friend. Cinders had bit the wraith's foot, causing it to scream and lose focus.
"Thanks, Cin," Meera called as she ran to take on the final wraith.
"You're welcome," the rat squeaked.
"Now, get to the final tunnel, and I'll meet you there soon."
"Okay, but please hurry."
Meera didn't need to be told twice. One look at her Mana put the bound in her step. She was nearly out. Thanks to the Shroud of Shadows nearly drinking it dry. And if her Shroud fell, all the other wraiths would jump on her like a hungry dog on a juicy bone.
She was about to use Shadow Step but decided not to waste Mana. The wraith, however, had no qualms about wasting Mana and raced for her while jumping using Shadow Step. She waited for it, with chakrams at the ready.
The phantom disappeared one last time, only to reappear on her left side. But she was ready for it. Before its slash landed, she jumped aside and punched its back with her chakram and the strength that Druvis Power provided. It did not disappoint as the blow looked to have broken the wraith's back if it had a back.
Then, the wraith fell through the floor and sailed up through the floor, a moment later angrier than ever. It was literally frothing at the mouth. Meera gave it a cute smile and threw her chakram at it. She knew it would dodge it, and the wraith did and dodged to the right.
Right, where Meera knew it would go.
She shot a Mirror Shard Blast at the phantom. The attack went right through the wraith, but it flinched, nevertheless. She Stepped behind the wraith at that moment and hacked at the wraith's neck until it evaporated into nothing.
"Any more invisible wraiths remaining, Shade?" Meera called out.
"None that I see. Can you?"
Meera walked to the edge of the second floor. "No, finally. It's over."
She deactivated all her skills and huffed from the exertion. She had literally five points of Mana left. If the fight had gone on for longer, she would have been done for. As soon as her Shroud of Shadows fell and she returned to normal, the wraiths snapped their heads towards her.
Meera's eyes widened. "Oh, shit…"
She had to make a quick decision: to cloak herself again and race for the last tunnel, which just happened to be on the opposite side of the cavern on the first floor or use the last of her Mana to make one final leap using the Shadow Step skill.
She placed her bet on Shadow Step as she had a better chance of covering more distance with it. The wraiths dashed for her like demons possessed. She activated Druvis Power, jumped to the first floor, and ran as fast as possible. Her heartbeat thrummed at the pace of a galloping horse. Seeing the ravenous horde coming for her made her hands shake, but she didn't slow her speed. Just as she was about to hit the wraiths head-on, she vanished, leaving only smoke in her wake. She knew the spot she was going for. She envisioned it and prayed that her measly five Mana got her to cover the distance.
It didn't.
She reappeared in the middle of the shrieking and howling wraiths. There was a moment's pause as the wraiths realized what had happened. Then, as one, they descended on her. She fought back with chakrams in both hands, hacking and slashing with all her might. Wraiths evaporated, but more took their place.
Her Stamina dwindled with each swing, but the phantoms' number did not. She swung her chakrams around blindly. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. Her arms felt like they weighed a ton. She pushed through the vengeful ghosts towards the tunnel where her friends waited for her.
Animals couldn't show emotions, but Meera could swear they looked concerned.
"Come on, Meera," Onyx whispered.
She heard it flawlessly, thanks to the gem in her pocket, which was still somehow in her pocket. Meera slashed another wraith's head clean off, making it evaporate. Just when it looked like she could make it through the horde, she took her first slash on her shoulder. She saw it coming but was mid-swing and couldn't dodge or defend herself.
Meera cried out, and then the next one fell on her back. After that, she tried to distance them but couldn't. No matter how much she tried, some wraith slashed bits and pieces off her. Thanks to no Mana, she couldn't heal herself.
A wraith cut the back of her knees, and she fell on one knee. Another slashed at her ribs, and she cried out as she felt it pierce an organ.
Meera looked down at her bloody form with teary eyes. I'm sorry, Neel.
Something sharp pierced her back. She screamed as she fell face-first into the cold hard ground. She knew she was done for. She would die and become one of these wraiths for eternity. But the only thought on her mind, as her body went cold, was that Neel would never know what happened to her.
Her eyes closed as she heard a roar that shook the very walls of the cavern. She wondered if the head researcher, Edwyn Toller, had finally awoken and come to kill her himself.