Plan B was a horrible plan. I thought I would have more time to figure out a way for it to work, but really, Plan B was probably the worst back-up plan I could have come up with. It was based around the idea that the wall demon and whatever force that existed within the hallway were not in cahoots. Considering that everything that failed to run away from the wall was currently bone dust or very much dead, I had a very good chance that something might come out and be able to fight the wall.

Of course, it only seemed like a good idea at the time. The giant skeleton amalgamation was more than enough of an opponent for the wall demon. When the creature appeared, it lunged towards the largest target nearby, which was luckily the wall. Their two massive arms shot up and crashed into each other with enough force that the entire corridor shook.

The only problem was that I was in the middle of the two titans.

My shoulder collided against the wall as they fought, pressing my palms against the jagged stone to force myself to stay upright. Each time they struck each other, whether blocked or not, dust cascaded down from the ceiling and the floor shook harder than my horrible balance could handle. Pain spiked through my hands as the shaper bits of the wall dug into my skin.

“When is this going to- shit!” interrupting my grumble, I jumped out of the way as a massive black arm slammed into the wall. I felt the impact in my chest, and shards of rocks exploded out from the wall, cutting my already tattered shirt and dying it a deeper red.

Panicked, I looked around at the two giants fighting around me. The wall demon had dug one hand into the skeleton amalgamation’s massive rib cage, using it as leverage to slowly drag itself towards the creatures. I felt my bones tremble and skin curl at the sounds of it dragging itself against the stone floors and walls.

However, the skeleton amalgamation wasn’t letting the wall demon advance without trying its hardest. Its arms repeatedly slammed into the wall demon hard enough that I felt the impact more than my own heartbeat. Almost desperately, the skeleton amalgamation continued to beat the wall demon, creating cracks and fissures throughout its smooth body.

The following fight was honestly brutal despite there being no blood involved. Honestly, as dangerous as it was for them, I was just as vulnerable when not even being directly targeted.

I ducked underneath a wide swipe from the skeleton amalgamation as it pummeled into the wall demon. Its bony fingers dug into a large crack on the wall’s surface, forcing the crack wider and wider.

The wall demon didn’t give any indication that it hurt. Instead, the creature’s hold on the skeleton’s rib cage tightened, and the bones cracked and broke like snapping a branch off a tree. This caused the skeleton to fall forwards, ramming its skull against the demon’s surface.

Then, things started going downhill. For me, that is.

At this point, I was past the thrills of fear, but that didn’t mean I began moving like some kind of action hero. Charging towards the wall, I barely made it out of the way in time for the skeleton’s massive hands to come down and tear trenches into the solid stone floors. I broke out into a cold sweat as a finger the size of my leg bored into the ground right next to my face.

My hands were clammy as they held desperately onto Matsumura’s sword, hoping for some shred of mercy from the situation. Of course, this was instantly dashed when the skeletons fused to the larger creature’s backside began to free themselves. Their wildly grasping hands pushed against their prison, and they tore themselves free, falling to the ground in droves.

They immediately rushed towards whatever was closest to them. Some jumped onto the wall demon but they did little to nothing. At most the wall just swatted them aside, shattering them easily with its swipes. It did help the giant skeleton distract the demon, though.

Still, the problem came when the skeletons charged me as well. I instantly used my dwindling reserves of Life Energy. My back pressed against the wall as staying near it avoided most of the conflict between the two monstrosities nearby.

The skeletons charging me did not have that luxury. While I was able to crush any that came at me since there were no weapons to be wary about, that didn’t mean I could fight them all. However, I didn’t have to. Massive arms swept across the corridor. Whether they were from the wall demon or skeleton amalgamation it didn’t matter. Skeletons were crushed as the two creatures viciously attacked each other.

At one point, the giant skeleton was hit by a wild swipe by the wall demon, sending it careening into the wall opposite from me. It clawed at its surroundings in an effort to control itself, yet it only served to grind its smaller counterparts into the stone.

I noticed the trend happening before me. The skeleton amalgamation was going to lose. Sure, damage was growing on the wall demon, but they weren’t enough to put it down. Instead, the wall demon kept attacking, tearing off pieces of the giant skeleton until its rib cage was a jagged mess.

While breaking the skull of another charging skeleton, I considered whether it would be good for the wall demon to win. My breaths were troubled and my lungs were burning as I watched the skeleton fall to the floor to add to the pile that was slowly forming next to me. Despite the ache in my arms and legs, my attention was on the desperate fight between the giant skeleton and wall demon.

Whatever appeared next was going to be either a match for an unwounded wall demon or too much for the wall demon no matter what. It would solve one problem, but send me straight into a situation like what got me into this mess. That meant that there needed to be something to tip the scales.

I sighed. “Plan B is dumb and I am dumber…”

The horde of skeletons that constantly popped off of the giant one’s backside were not lessened in the slightest. There was only a fairly empty space where the two giant’s attacks had constantly prevented the skeletons from entering. No matter how wounded or weakened the two might’ve been, that place was a death sentence to almost any who entered.

And it was my best shot at tipping the scales.

Fueled by Life Energy, I shot forwards through the crowd of skeletons surrounding me. They bony fingers grabbed at me, and several of them latched onto my shoulders and legs. However, they were just bones. They barely weighed me down when the warmth of Life Energy was flowing through me. Instead, they served as shields as other skeletons could only swing their arms against the skeletons hanging off of me.

Then, I was out of the crowd of skeletons. A couple of them were scattered around my feet slowly getting back up from the floor. Yet, the reason why this place was mostly devoid of skeletons became apparent.

A pitch black arm, so large I thought it was a waist-high wall, was streaking towards me faster than a speeding bus. My thighs pinched as I jumped up and barely missed getting pulped by the arm. The recovering skeletons were not so lucky. They were shattered immediately; their bones flying everywhere. Their sacrifice didn’t even slow the arm as it turned upwards and out of view for a second.

I felt my ears burn as a loud boom echoed above me. The attack had landed on the skeleton amalgamtion’s skull with enough force to push it into the ceiling. Cursing, I hit the ground awkwardly, rolling as best as I could while large rocks started to rain down from overhead.

My heart was beating loud enough that it almost drowned out the noise around me. This fight was insane, and I wasn’t even being directly targeted by these attacks! However, now wasn’t the time to complain. I had already decided on my plan of action, and worse case scenario, I wouldn’t need to care about everything else.

The instant I felt my feet on the ground, I began rushing towards the wall demon. It was still focused entirely on the skeleton, and I didn’t blame it. I was most certainly not a threat to it. That didn’t mean I couldn’t change anything.

It’s large eyes were basically mirrors, allowing me to see the giant skeleton behind me while I focused on attacking the wall. I clenched my teeth as I dropped to the floor, feeling my hair clipped by a large arm flying above me. White bones caught the corner of my eye as the giant skeleton’s fingers dug into the wall demon once again.

Of course, our tentative teamwork might need some help…

In a hurry, I jumped up to my feet, racing to the wall once again. Its large, three fingered hands were wrapped around the arm that was trying to dig into its surface. They were squeezing it hard enough that cracks were beginning to form on the bones, but that didn’t stop the giant skeleton from using its other arm to batter the wall demon.

Dust continued to fall from overhead, and I was forced to squint to not get blinded by dirt falling into my eyes. Jerking Matsumura’s sword out if it’s sheathe, I stayed away from the giant skeleton’s attacks while I locked onto the wall demon’s large eyes.

In one quick motion, I ducked under the demon’s arms, aiming the tip of Matsumura’s sword at the eye as I rose up. My legs pushed against the floor, and I felt as if time slowed down when the tip met the large eye. It finally saw me.

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The sword met resistance immediately. I grunted, nearly losing my grip as the blade jolted while inside the eye. The weapon was sharp, but I had no idea if there was something as stupid as eye resistance in this world. Slowly, I forced it deeper, digging my heels into the floor. Life Energy pooled into my arms and legs as I tried to guide the sword further into the creature.

An ear-splitting crack rang out right next to me. I didn’t even need to turn to realize that the giant skeleton’s arm had been snapped in half. And I had no doubt that the wall’s attention was now on me.

I yelled, half in panic and the other in desperation. Matsumura’s sword finally slipped through whatever resistance was there. Tumbling forwards, the sword went all the way to the hilt before I felt a snap through my arms.

My body felt backwards, and I hurriedly patted my arms to make sure they weren’t broken. I only realized that it was Matsumura’s sword that snapped when I stared at the bladeless hilt in my hand.

Not even given a chance to apologize, I was forced to dodge out of the way as the wall demon’s attention turned to me. A large hand smashed into the floor were I once stood. Its fingers digging into the ground, telling me that no, it was not weakened in the slightest. In fact, my attack might have made things worse.

I scrambled backwards. That last attack had taken quite a bit of Life Energy from me, and I doubted I had enough to last me much longer. This needed to end fast.

Running towards the giant skeleton, I fumbled around with my pockets before pulling out Minamoto’s get-out-of-shit stick. I had neglected to use it because I thought I could handle the situation, but recent experiences are telling me otherwise. Originally, it should have been my last resort. Now, it’s looking like my only resort.

The giant skeleton didn’t notice as I ran under its broken rib cage. I figured it was too preoccupied with the wall rushing towards it to care anyways. Valiantly, it met the wall demon’s charge, and I cheered it on in my head. It really is heartwarming when you have teammates who risk their lives to save you.

However, the giant skeleton’s noble sacrifice aside, the smaller skeletons were really grating on my nerves. They rushed me with single-minded violence. I had neither the time nor the energy to care for them, so I did what I’ve always done. Run away.

Channeling just a bit of Life Energy into my legs, I jumped up and grabbed a more solid part of the giant skeleton. Placing the magic stick in my mouth, I swung my legs up and into the remnants of the ribs, finding a place to perch myself without falling down. Holding on tight as the giant skeleton’s body rocked back and forth violently, I slowly pulled myself up and over the top of the skeleton, clutching desperately to its spine.

Was this dumb? Yes. Were there better options? Probably. Did I have the time to think of other things? Hell no.

I wobbled as I tried to stand, and it took me three tries to understand that there was no hope of standing on top of this creature. It was moving too much. Either from getting hit by the angry wall or trying to attack said angry wall. In any case, I settled on crawling over the giant skeleton’s spine, carefully navigating myself closer to its neck.

Suddenly, the skeleton’s back smashed into the ceiling. I felt my stomach clench as I gasped in pain. My grip slipped for a second before I blindly tightened my hands around whatever I could hold, snagging an extruding piece of bone that stuck out from the skeleton’s spine. Blinking tears out of my eyes, I glared at the wall demon. It was still looking at me, and I could tell that it was trying to attack me while it ignored the skeleton.

Gritting my teeth, I ducked into the skeleton’s rib cage right before its body crashed into the ceiling again. Why can’t things be easy?! Why is a wall suddenly trying to kill me?

I was filled with indignation as I shifted in and out of the giant skeleton’s rib cage till I arrived at its neck. My feet lodged themselves into the exposed shoulder blades of the skeleton, keeping my upper body upright as I held on with all my strength. It sort of reminded my of those bucking bull machines you see at rodeos or really good parties. Except, there was a high chance of death if I fell off.

My gaze trailed down as I saw smaller, shambling skeletons below as a cloud of debris was slowly forming from the dust trailing down from the ceiling. A chill snaked down my spine as I watched a small ground of skeletons start climbing up the giant skeleton’s rib cage. Their empty eye sockets locked on me.

I felt my heart pound as I turned away from them. It would probably take them a while to scale the back of the giant skeleton, but they would eventually get to me. Not that it made the situation much worse. I was already running on a clock. This was just another one.

“Minamoto, my friend, this better work or I am going to… well, I don’t think haunting you would cause you problems.” I whispered to myself, pulling the stick close to my chest and remembering how to use Shikigami. A rather difficult endeavor when on the back of a creature shaking hard enough to shake the tunnel itself.

My Life Energy flowed through my body, but this time, I concentrated it around my hands. It felt like I was pushing against a flimsy, almost paper thin, barrier. Then, with a snap, I felt channels beginning to form between my hands and the branch I was holding.

Shikigami studies was something I had been given a crash course of in the brief two weeks I spent training with Minamoto. I had to learn what they were and how to use them since my translating Shikigami required my own Life Energy to use. Of course, him being an Exorcist also had quite a bit to do with it. As Exorcist’s main weapons were Shikigami, his knowledge on them was quite extensive.

According to Minamoto, Shikigami were one of the pinnacles of human research here. Old Exorcists had trouble figuring out why the Life Energy of different people was incompatible with each other, and like Minamoto explained before: each person’s Life Energy has a certain shape to it and this shape corresponds to their specific channels. Of course, putting this logic to use, old Exorcists gave a simple conclusion that affected the future of Shikigami. That was to simply make artificial channels for the user’s Life Energy to flow through.

Of course, these channels had to be larger than the channels normally were in order to accommodate different Life Energy flowing through them, which actively prevented larger, more complex spells and magics from being implemented without needing a massive base material to put that many channels into. Still, while certain things couldn’t be commercialized, the fact that anyone could use Shikigami was something that forever shifted the power of the Toshiki kingdom. If I had to put it in modern terms, I would say that the founding of Shikigami was like people back in my home world figuring out how to make gunpowder and then immediately using it for bombs.

Currently, I was using a Shikigami made by someone who definitely knew what they were doing. My Life Energy flowed through the premade channels. They were doing something, activating some spell that was only made by twisting and turning the Life Energy in a specific way. I tried to follow the threads of warmth, but there were too many to keep track of and little flourishes of energy were too much to memorize. All I knew was that I could activate the spell.

Without hesitation, I pointed it towards the wall demon while making sure to catch the skeleton amalgamation’s head in the same motion. The last bits of Life Energy flowed through the channels, and just when I thought it wouldn’t work, I felt the spell finally activate. Knowledge on how to use it and what it did flowed through my head.

A tired grin broke out on my face. “Minamoto, you beautiful bastard.”

From the small, inconspicuous branch came a veritable torrent of brambles. Sharp twigs and thorny vines exploded out from the branch as if it was holding back an entire forest. They curved around me and began swarming every other being within the tunnel, following my commands as my Life Energy flowed through the spell.

I felt… awed by the sensation of using this spell. Like I had the entire strength of a forest that simply adhered to my call. It was breathtaking as it was enlightening. This was the correct way to use Life Energy. Using Life Energy like I had been doing was like using a nuclear power plant in order to power a jackhammer. It was as inefficient as it was stupid.

However, focusing on that was something I pushed to the back of my mind. I could tell that the spell was rapidly unraveling itself. It was another inherent flaw to Shikigami. While it was possible to make artificial channels for the Life Energy of everyone, that didn’t mean the Life Energy was fully compatible with the created channels. They may be larger, but that only meant there was a bit more time until the spell was destroyed by the user’s Life Energy ripping through the carefully created channels.

Based on how complex the channels were, I estimated that I had only five minutes left of this spell before it would permanently be destroyed. It had to be enough time.

Immediately, I forced the vines and brambles to begin clearing up the smaller skeletons. They snaked through the hollow sections of the giant skeleton, snapping smaller sections of bone as they forced themselves through. In an instant, the once unstoppable giant skeleton had been nailed to the floor by hundreds of thousands of vines and creeps that dug through its body and into the walls and floors around it. The wall demon was next as it was met with a tide of thorns as they spiraled around its arms in a way that put blenders to shame.

For the first time, I heard the wall demon’s cry of pain. I had honestly thought it wasn’t able to speak, but the deep bellow that shook the walls testified that we just hadn’t done that much to it. Now, that was certainly changing.

Controlling the wave of vegetation, I made them grow into the cracks on the wall demon’s surface. Its arms, still undergoing the blender treatment, tore out most of the creeping vines, but failed to take out all of them. With the spell still in action, it was like time moved in fast forward. Saplings grew into its surface, rooting themselves deeper and deeper into the creature as its roars began turning into death throes.

Black blood began flooding out onto the floor. The wall demon’s struggles began dying down, too. Its arms lost their previous inexhaustible strength, its originally pristine surface was constantly being ripped open by plant life growing between the cracks. It was literally being torn apart from the inside out.

I stared down as the dwindling smaller skeletons were being crushed without a hint of resistance. The only thought in my head was the fact that I remembered Minamoto saying he wasn’t built for attacking.

“Well…” I paused to see the foliage start constricting around the giant skeleton. I could feel the bones cracking as the vines strengthened. Some snapped, but the majority were still there as the giant skeleton’s spine shattered. I caught myself with the help of some vines as the rest of its body followed suit. “Yeah, I am not defending you on that claim, my friend.”

Then, the green began to wither away. I felt the spell unfolding in my head, and soon, I lost the connection to my Life Energy. My feet gave out on me as I tumbled to the floor, catching myself with my hands and knees. I knew this feeling. Minamoto made especially sure of it when we began training that out of everything I learned, knowing Life Energy exhaustion was perhaps the most important.

It was life a vice had been tightened around my heart. My lungs felt hard and unresponsive as all I could do was gasp. Whatever thoughts were going on in my head were suddenly irrelevant. Life Energy was the energy that let us move, breathe and whatever you do normally. Sure, its stored in the soul, it can regenerate, and we can use more to make ourselves stronger. However, using it all up forces the body to shut down in order for more Life Energy to regenerate. Enough that our physical body can get back up again without issue.

With the last of my thoughts, I looked around to see that there was nothing near me other than the corpses of the monsters I had slain with Minamoto’s help. I was definitely getting him this world’s equivalent of a fruit basket to show him my appreciation.