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Chapter 12 - Horde

Kyrios sprinted forward with startling speed that would've seemed impossible to him even a day ago. The world around him was a blur as he traversed the chamber, although each step landed undesirably on the uneven terrain. He barely felt the impact of the ground beneath his feet. In his panicked state, he had only one thought on his mind. Run. Run. Run.

It was like a mantra, repeating itself endlessly, fueling his panicked escape. He was stuck in a rut of inescapable despair. There was no turning back, no turning forward, and no hope for salvation. He could only run away.

It seemed like the only thing that he could do at the moment, but he knew his time was limited. It was only a matter of time before the monsters caught up with him, and when that happened, he knew he would be done for. His best bet was to escape from their clutches as fast as he could.

"C'mon! Go away!" He cursed through clenched teeth, his heart pounding with each and every moment.

The insect horde continued to chase, their bloodthirsty cries reverberating throughout the chamber. They were incomparable to any living creature he had ever encountered. Well, he had yet to encounter many. Each of their movements was coordinated and precise, making them difficult to outmaneuver.

Spiders. It was the closest thing he could compare them to, but that did little to calm him. They were agile and nimble, with their long and segmented legs propelling them forward with great speed. Their bodies were covered in a glossy carapace that gave them an appearance akin to that of insects, though their looks hinted more at arachnids.

Eventually, he made his way back to the earlier parts, where he encountered the Scythera, but the horde's pursuit remained relentless. It didn't take long for him to realize he wouldn't be able to outrun them, especially if they were intelligent enough to strategize and create a plan of attack.

He glanced backward, feeling their deadly fangs on his neck. Their screeches filled the air, drowning out all other noise except for their thundering march. "Get the hell off me!" He cursed, bolting forward. His muscles strained against his weight as he accelerated, but it wasn't enough. They were too close to escape, even with the improved control he gained over time.

With no other choice, Kyrios twisted his body, using the momentum of the turn to fling his two temporary blades at the monsters chasing him. The blades tore through the air, each of them finding their mark in the pursuers' necks. Two of them fell dead upon impact, their heads rolling away from their bodies.

"Not enough! Keep going!" He roared, sprinting around the crystal cave.

He wasn't able to discern where he was heading; all Kyrios knew was that he couldn't stop, or else he'd be torn apart. His feet kicked up a cloud of dust as he struggled to maintain his pace. His lungs felt as though they had caught fire, and the taste of blood lingered in his mouth. Each step seemed to bring more agony, but he kept pushing onward, refusing to give in. He wasn't sure how much longer he could run, but he knew that he had to jolt through the exhaustion; the horde behind him wouldn't give up so easily.

"Daaaaaamn it," Kyrios groaned, feeling the grip of fatigue in his legs. It was a struggle just to move them forward. His body ached, limbs trembled, and vision fuzzy. Still, he wouldn't give up until the reaper took him.

"Do I fight back?" he murmured, gripping his blades tighter.

The horde behind him was gaining ground, each of them pushing forward in a frantic dash. They began crawling on each other, using their bodies to move forward with an unsettling tenacity. Everywhere he looked except on, they seemed to be present. With their eyes fixated upon him, they propelled themselves forward using their long, segmented limbs as if their lives depended on it.

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Several of the creatures had already grabbed onto him, using their limbs to restrain him and causing him to drop his weapons to lighten up.

"Damn it," Kyrios cursed, short on breath.

He thrashed wildly, trying to shake them off, but it wasn't enough. They clung to him like a parasite, unwilling to let him go. He felt their sharp fangs pierce his flesh, and a wave of agony surged through him. His body writhed as his strength began to drain, the insects draining his vitality with their sharp teeth.

Then, like a final stroke of luck, Kyrios' body reacted on its own as he shot his elbow backward at the insect clinging to his back. In that split second, a crescent-shaped blade sprang forth from his forearm, reaching all the way back behind his elbow. It pierced the arachnid through its head with lethal precision. Its corpse fell limp, and its limbs twitched as the others still attached to him screeched in pain.

- [ Notice ] -

< You've defeated a Horde Arachnid>

< You've gained 22 EXP>

"These are...?" he mumbled, suddenly feeling more energized. "How the hell? Shit, not now!"

Another insect lunged from the other side, its teeth reaching out for his face. He twisted his body to the side, narrowly avoiding its sharp jaw, and countered by sinking his fingers into its flesh and yanking it away from him.

"Move! Move!" he cursed, feeling another pair of fangs sink into his right foot.

In desperation, Kyrios yanked one of the creatures clinging to him off and used his free hand to smash the others. He felt his blades extend from his hands as he clawed at the remaining monsters, using their bodies as weapons to defend himself. He was barely able to see past his attackers as they continued to pounce at him, their hunger overcoming them as they began to feed on his flesh. Their fangs sank into his skin, eliciting sharp cries of pain from him until his movements became increasingly desperate. Their sheer number of adversaries overwhelmed him, and even with his actual blades working, it was nothing before their onslaught.

But just when it seemed that all hope was lost, a sudden rumble shook the ground beneath him. A deep crack appeared in the earth, splitting the ground apart like the first crack on an eggshell. The ground beneath him shifted as if it was being dragged upward as he began to hurtle further down into the somber abyss.

But as his eyes caught something crawling along the sides, he knew his days weren't over just yet. Strands of ethereal moss, thicker and more vibrant than ever before, ascended from below, strangling the entire horde in a swift and silent embrace. The strands clung to the insects, suspending their bodies in midair, refusing to let them pass.

As he descended further, he realized it was never moss at all. The tendrils were alive, belonging to a sentient being with an otherworldly presence. They moved with a bizarre grace, their luminescent bodies swirling and undulating around without set patterns. Kyrios reached out to it, feeling a strange connection as if it had been waiting for him.

Continuing to plummet, the tendrils wrapped around his body, soothing away the pain and numbness. Their touch was warm, like a blanket against the cold, enveloping him like a protective embrace. Eventually, he landed gently on a solid surface enclosed in a surreal circular chamber. The walls weren't exactly made of stone; they moved like waves in the sea with spiral-like extensions that stuck out occasionally.

Kyrios knelt down, taking in deep breaths of the cavern's air as he struggled to regain his bearings from the wounds and unknown pressure.

A path, although narrower, stretched across the chamber in a spiral-like manner, functioning as a sky bridge that led to an iris-purple crystal as big as a cottage. Crescent-shaped and almost liquid-like networks formed from ceiling to floor. Cloudy rays flared from ethereal sources, presenting this place with an otherworldly tone. The thought of slipping off the bridge sent his pumping heart into overload. It was as if this space had a life of its own and would engulf him when he fell within its grasp.

Standing before the unbelievable crystal, Kyrios placed his hand on the surface, marveling at its glossy texture. He wondered what value this jewel would sell at an auction. You'd be set for life; that's a fact.

But, a split second after touching the crystal, a petrifying aura emerged from behind, paralyzing every muscle he had. Helpless on the ground, he got a complete picture of the sinister creature—no boundless entity that had appeared out of its camouflage.

A monster so colossal it scarcely existed within his entire field of view floated right before him. Its shape was an amalgamation of uncanny dinosaurs, grotesquely distorted into a nightmarish visage. The creature's immense body was composed of spikey spiral flesh, resembling the twisted coils of volcanic rock with an unsettling heat of danger. Pulsating magenta spots trimmed its colossal frame. Through its most striking feature was its jaw, which stretched wide with a multitude of razor-sharp teeth. Within the cavernous maw, a purple light, like a vortex, nestled within its depths.

"Welcome, little one," sounded a transcendental, deep yet feminine voice. "Are you well?"