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Chapter 16 - No Running Away!

"Put me down," Elora muttered. Her teeth bit against her upper lips, tinting them red. "I understand the situation now."

He gently released his grasp before clutching his sword. He dragged along with one arm, the rasping of sword against ground ringing in her ears.

"Elora, cover me," Kai scowled with a soft tone that she'd never heard before. Yet, in contradiction, his eyes blazed with an animal's fury, twitching at the horrible sight. "Zeke, you better heal me up after this; I'm gonna let myself loose for a bit."

"You called me my name for once. What are you going to do?" she asked, even though she already knew it; he was going to fight them with raw strength alone, defying Zeke's words. There was no stopping him now.

As Kai closed in on his two prey, he deftly retrieved two spherical pills from his pockets and swallowed them dry.

"You're really going for that combination? I've heard about it before... veteran warriors using it as a last resort in dire situations."

Kai shot her a quick glance, hinting at grim valor in his grimace. "Shut up!"

Eira tilted her head, giving her a quizzical glance. "What do you mean? Last resort?"

"I recall reading somewhere about this potent combination. The first pill maintains an equilibrium of your mana usage, while the other dulls pain receptors and provides a minor strength boost." She couldn't stand still, her fingers fidgeting with her hair as worry gnawed at her. "However, there are some severe risks involved—a vulnerable immune system, thunderclap headaches, or even death in the case of an overdose. For your average person, even a single pill would be too much for their body to handle. They're banned in most countries as well."

She eyed back at Kai, whose body had already begun to change. His muscles grew more defined, veins bulging out from his skin. His steps accelerated, stamping the ground with ferocity.

"Kai, wait!"

He ignored Elora's warning as he raised his claymore and dashed straight into the fight. His body spun, launching a flurry of attacks like a tornado of death, slicing through the worm's hide and revealing its pulsating intestines. However, the worms' regeneration was also far faster than Kai had anticipated, and his attack proved useless as the cut flesh began closing up quickly.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue, jumping back to safety.

Elora pulled back on the string on her arm toward her eye, and she loaded the shaft onto it. Stray droplets of sweat ran down the length of her cheek from overexertion, smearing across her skin. Then she shifted her right leg forward into position for a solid footing before releasing, propelling the bolt straight at the wounded appendage. It let out with a bang, but no damage seemed visible through the billowing debris dusting up their noses. They were running low on options, and the enemy didn't seem any less in health than they initially were.

"Dammit! We have to retreat!" Elora screeched with urgency. "I know this is difficult for you to take in Kai, but we gotta hurry back before we all become worm food," she added with a faint frown. "Leave the worm and run!"

Kai spat to the side in disgust, eyes narrowed at the foul liquid trickling down his face. "I'm a warrior; I won't let myself leave an enemy behind. I'll rather die for my pride than run; you get me?" His hair had plastered onto his bloodied visage, giving him an alarming look, but it was unparalleled to his bloodlust. "I don't care how selfish I sound."

"I... understand you. Still," Elora yelled, crouching to a low stance while forming the proper sequence for an earth-type rune spell, "Fine. You will not face this creature alone." With a deep exhale, she channeled her mana from her heart, outstretching her palm forward. "Don't bite more than you can chew!" And with a clear of her voice, she called the name of her spell, "Erzejion!!"

Promptly, the temperature of the room fell and changed, the air growing stiff. Even their lungs could feel it; the sudden change caused them all to cross their arms, seeking whatever warmth they could muster amidst the biting cold. In a blink of an eye, massive stones sprouted like plantations and rained down toward the enemy. Some impacted first, bashing into the target at the same rate as a falling meteorite, while the others merely pelted into it, their small size virtually negligible. Yet, despite the might of her magic, none seemed to heavily affect it whatsoever. Her breaths came in short bursts from exertion, and mana energy continuously drained from her heart at a fearsome rate, leaving her drained as the smoke cleared.

The air began to still again once the rocks eventually faded to dust, showing little progress from Elora's grand spell; asides from several broken layers of its rubbery hide, it was barely injured. It swished its body up and down against the ceiling before the second worm crept up to surround Kai.

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"It's just skin deep." Elora cursed beneath her breath, shaking from overexertion of excess mana. She pulled out the blue potion from her belt, clenching her nose as she drank it up. "Ugh, gross! I'm just not built to be a mage; my body has too little mana."

The taste of metallic iron was more evident with the mana elixirs, but these particular ones made her tongue numb. Nevertheless, as long as the purpose was achieved, it didn't matter what taste it was. As mana rejuvenated through her veins, Elora's eyes widened, and her weariness seemed to evaporate, although her exhaustion remained, continuing to weigh on her shoulders. Another round would be detrimental.

"Alright. At least it's cold now," Eira chirped. She seemed unperturbed, taking the opportunity to crack her knuckles. "This is my opportunity to shine!" With a slight hop, she nimbly dashed forward with cat-like stealth and agility as she bent down to gather dust from the cracked floor. "My best element: icy fire! Locked in place, make haste as I burn, freeze, and thaw; feel the wrath of a master!" With her feet dug into the ground, she brought the dust together. Swinging with force, she hurled it all together with an inscribed freezing fire. The light-ashen, frozen mixture came barreling straight at the worm, aiming directly at the injured sections Elora had just struck.

With an explosion akin to a lightning storm, a deafening rumble reverberated throughout the area as ice particles flooded their vision. "C'mon!" With another strike, a torrential gale descended on the creatures, causing them to rear back. Through it, Eira nocked an arrow before firing a sharpshooting blast at its side.

For a moment, silence fell.

Then Elora perked her ears as an unexpected groan rang from within the frozen clouds. As the haze of smoke and mist dissipated, Elora caught sight of a horrific scene. One of the two worms struggled to remain upright, dangling to its left, while the other grew three legs and a hefty wound where you'd expect the fourth limb. No blood spewed out, for its blood seemed to freeze on its diced surface, leaking frost rather than icicles. And once Eira looked up, her cheeks paled in stark whiteness before freezing as stiff as stone. "Holy mother... What the hell is that?" she mouthed. "Why is there another one?"

Upon the ceiling, another worm clung, crawling down from the ceiling on its side while using only one of its mandibles. Flaps of its pale tawny body dangled from its snout, bleeding streams of crimson blood. Just its mouth hung open as it growled with malice, swaying left and right from the chilled fire. The tips of its snout had transformed into sharpened spears that pierced against the ceiling and allowed itself to descend freely from above.

"It has gotten too smart for its own good," Elora said. "You remember what Zeke told us abou—never mind. I doubt we can survive even if we heed his orders." The cold mist continued to flood the space. "Whatever, we just need to avoid direct hits from them. It's our only shot. Stay sharp! Do whatever it takes to stay safe and help our allies live."

One last sigh rolled out of her chest, and she felt ready. "Are you coming?" she shouted, prompting the party's members to move along. Eira held her bow at the ready and aimed, intending to support Zeke, whose distance was closer to the battlefield, and Kai, who seemed hellbent on ending the war. She fired as she took off to deliver the coup de grâce, and an arrow hurtled out from its tip, spinning so fast that the glint of metal caught even Kai's sight. A faint cloud trail remained on the arrow before fading away; it appeared harmless, so Elora deemed it useless. That was until a hissing noise grew ever louder until a ball of fire burst in an enormous arc like an acorn, igniting on impact.

"Yeaahh! Eat that!"

Flames scorched from behind, giving life to the gloomy passageway where bright walls now flickered like an azure torch. Fire and embers lit the entire ceiling, shining brightly and pushing back the darkness. An audible growl rose among the two worms, who shrunk their body in fear, reacting in kind. A thick, yellow substance streamed from their wounds and flowed down from their orifices. Upon making contact with the ground, a tiny circle sizzled and melted through the layers of earth and rock, causing a steamy cloud to billow up.

"Wasn't its blood red? No, wait. That's acid!" Eira blurted.

"Get away from it!" Zeke's voice shouted from within the chaos, who stood right under a wave of blood gushing overhead from a worm's sliced vein. "Don't inhale it—it's toxic!"

The worm made its presence worse, unleashing a mighty roar so terrifying that Zeke toppled, sending his robes fanning like an explosion of feathers. A stench so dense, they had to clamp both his hands to their mouths lest their heads explode from within. Like an earthquake, heaving the world from its core, two blaring squeaks resounded through the atmosphere, so close together as if it was one harmonious chord. An unknown feeling gripped their heart. Dread?

And before they could act upon their flight, a large explosion ensued from beyond the range of visibility, shadowing them from sight with its immensity, jolting everyone to a violent end. A lance of pitch-black lightning launched with a blast into a spherical orb of blazing flames. Then, an instant later, came the deafening clap of thunder and the rampage of swords.

With a jerk, Eira collapsed against the cool, jagged wall. She skidded against it as debris battered against her, cutting at her exposed skin and staining her mango-orange hair. Her vision remained dark as the cloud blinded her vision. Every nerve screamed in protest from an unknown pain, although thankfully, the ringing in her ears soon fizzled away.

Through the fog came a hoarse scream from Ashen. "Ahh, ha-argh!" He shrieked through the air, carrying Kai over his head. A thin, sinuous line of black mist snaked across his torso, its eerie presence standing out against the pale skin.

"Ashen!" Elora cried, mustering up her dregs of energy. "What's going on?! What's the black line on your stomach?"

"It's just my ability. Don't think about it." He turned his head slightly backward, locking his amber eyes onto their figures. "It appears I have become too lenient on my guard." The words ran through him, giving new impetus to the current conflict. "The thing is still alive. Kai is unconscious, so we'll make a run for it."

The group nodded in agreement, seeing him struggle as he cradled the enormous Kai. In unison, they rose from the ground, ready to escape.

However, they were a single second too late.