Chapter 56:

Alice waited with bated breath as she watched Titus stab several more times into the door. She was waiting for him to leave so she could run deeper into the building and finish the mission. But he didn't react. He didn't even acknowledge that she had spoken.

"Titus," she called, a little bit louder this time. But he ignored her, continuing to fight. Again, she pushed with her good foot against the floor and leveraged herself against the window, using her hands to walk herself up so she was standing on one foot, leaning against the window, her bad leg held inches off the floor.

"Titus!" she practically yelled. But still, he didn't budge. She watched as he cut down two spore monsters in quick succession. This time, Titus did react, but instead of turning to look at her or saying anything, he reached into the air and tossed something. Alice barely managed to catch it with one hand, her other hand used to steady herself. It was a vial of red liquid.

"We don't have time," Alice said, holding the vial. "I already took a healing pill. I don't think more is going to help, not enough to make me walk."

"Drink," was Titus's only response as he stabbed into a monster that Tony had grasped by its leg. The Sporeling died almost instantly.

Alice gently rested her injured leg on the floor but still couldn't put more than a few pounds of weight on it. Nowhere near enough to even hobble. Not seeing any reason for the delay, she tossed back the vial, choking it down, and felt warmth run through her. At the same time, a bit of nausea told her that she had taken too much. Her mana had somewhat recovered from the recovery potion, and the healing pill was still actively healing her leg. The swelling was going down at a visible rate, but even when the swelling all went away, and she was able to run, it would still be nearly five or ten minutes, time they didn't have.

Alice raised her hand and pointed. Searing pain and blinding light flashed in her eyes. Still, she focused her mind, forcing out the sensation as she summoned another blast, throwing the enemy approaching back.

"Go!" she yelled, nearly screaming at Titus. "I will hold them! Go!"

Titus looked at the small amount of reprieve that the blast had given them. His spear vanished as he put it in his inventory. But instead of just turning and running, he dashed two steps towards her, his shoulder hitting her in the stomach as he deftly scooped her up into a fireman's carry, her body draped across his shoulder, and his arm wrapped around her one good leg, holding her in place as he ran.

Alice pointed and nearly blacked out. She fired two more bolts into the open door, and Titus rushed her deeper into the computer center. Two more Sporelings died, and the mass of ants swelled up. She didn't like the idea of leaving them, but even now, she saw the Fungus King coming close to the building. Just as she was about to turn the corner, a massive ant burst through the wall. She recognized it as the colony's Queen. It was bigger than she remembered, or perhaps just the perspective was different as it barreled into the Fungus King and the Sporelings, knocking two of the Sporelings aside effortlessly as they were swarmed by countless ants pouring through the widened tunnel the Queen had used to enter the fight.

The Fungus King turned to meet the threat, and the two titanic monsters clashed. Alice felt the air tremble as they smashed into each other. The ants' reinforcements had doubled, with an endless number of soldiers throwing themselves into the fray, doing little damage but quickly being replaced as they were killed. Alice watched as the air sizzled when the Queen sprayed acid at the Fungus King. A weird magical barrier popped up, blocking the worst of the spray as it ran down, not quite touching his fungal skin. A fist collided with the Queen's abdomen but bounced off, even as tendrils of fungus wrapped around her legs. She bit in deep, ripping off a large chunk, and then Alice couldn't see anymore. They were around the corner, and Titus was running up a flight of stairs, following the signs.

For all of Alice's weight, Titus didn't slow down at all. He was moving at speeds that would put an Olympic sprinter to shame while going upstairs carrying her. Even Tony was having trouble keeping up. His little legs were not exactly made for flights of stairs, but he came along dutifully, watching their back.

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Alice closed her eyes as the bouncing caused her head to hurt even more. The searing in her mana channels nearly left her debilitated, and every bounce sent a spike of pain up her leg, even though it was quickly healing. The potion added even more effect to the healing pill she'd taken earlier. She just focused on sending the small amount of mana she had flowing through the channels in a slow cycle, trying to soothe them. It burned, but more like pouring soapy water over a cut.

The stinging sensation of the mana moving through her injured mana channels. Were they carved in her spirit? Were they like a muscle or a blood vessel? Were they some sort of magical body that she was part of? She didn't have a good conceptual grasp, so maybe she was making things worse, but maybe not. The constant motion just felt right. Slowly, the nausea subsided. Not nearly all the way, but enough where she could think.

She opened her eyes as Titus set her down, and she looked out over a server room. The racks of computers spun and lights flashed. The room was too warm, in the high ninety degrees, and Alice was sweating from just sitting there. But everything was still running, so she hoped that was enough.

Alice stood, able to put a tiny bit more weight on her ankle. Not enough to walk quite yet, but enough to stand relatively stably. "You have the drive, Titus?"

He nodded, showing her the USB drive he pulled out of his inventory.

"Any port on that row?" she said, pointing. Just then, a noise came from the hallway, and something was climbing up the stairs they had just used.

"Go!" she said. This time, Titus listened and dashed off. Alice leaned against the door frame, slowly moving the mana around, ready to concentrate it on her hand and blast. She estimated she had maybe one, maybe two before she was out and risked injuring herself further if she tried more. But Alice had a better idea.

Drawing the wand of Curse of Sloth from her belt, which had miraculously survived unbroken, she focused. She wasn't trying to win right now; she just needed to buy time. If she could block the passage with a few slowed bodies, that would be better than blowing one or two up, assuming there was more than one coming for her. She concentrated, pouring the little mana she had into the wand, trying to fill up a charge. But it was too slow. The first Sporeling rounded the corner from the stairwell, and Alice didn't have a [Mana Bolt] or the wand ready. Perhaps she could load more mana into the wand rather than cast a bolt. The bolts were hurting her, but just firing off one was enough. Maybe she could overcharge it.

Alice continued to pour mana into her wand as the second Sporeling joined the first from the stairs. They shambled over at the pace of a slow jog, something that, with her improved stats, seemed sluggish but was far faster than she could manage. Alice grimaced as Tony stood in front of her, ready to take on all comers.

She hoped Titus had enough time. He should be done by now, but she hadn't heard him say anything. She forced more mana into the wand. A third Sporeling joined. It was good she had chosen to use the wand rather than cast a [Mana Bolt]. There was no way she could have managed three. She forced more mana into the wand. It started to shiver as she got ready to release a large blast, hopefully hitting an area rather than just an individual.

Alice pointed the wand, extending her arm, and then she closed her eyes as she focused on releasing the blast. Searing pain burned through her mana channels, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by the sharp feeling of multiple punctures in her hand. She opened her eyes, but her eyelids felt sluggish as she saw several splinters buried deep into her palm. The wand was gone, and the Sporelings were coming at her as if in slow motion. Alice managed a smile. It had worked. It had cost her her wand, but the Sporelings were slow. However, as she attempted to smile, she realized her mouth was taking forever to move. She moved her hand to her belt to draw her dagger as a last defense. The combat knife felt unfamiliar in her hand. It took her nearly ten seconds to lower her hand to her waist. Long before she reached the knife, she knew what had happened.

The wand had produced an area of effect, all right, but she was in it.

Just then, she heard Titus talking, his voice like a chipmunk's.

"It's in," he said in an incredibly fast, high-pitched voice. Alice realized the sound wasn't sped up; she was slowed down. But still, she sagged in relief. They were done. All they had to do now was keep the supercomputer up and running for a little bit longer.

Alice slumped against the door, slowly sliding down as her muscles decided she had done enough. She was out of everything: out of energy, out of mana, out of willpower and stamina. But they'd done it. The code was launched. And now, all she could do was pray.