Episode 18

1

A white void. The light on the other side of the door was blinding. Since Caim was a shining example of optimism, the first thing he thought was that he could charge at it to kill it while he was blinded. To kill them, which was ten times worse.

But after the light dimmed, or their eyes adjusted or both, in any case... they saw nothing special.

Caim was sure this was another floor. He assumed this was confirmed simply because this hallway was not identical to all the others so far. What he saw would be the new model to follow, anyway, he didn't care as long as it didn't lead them astray.

He didn't have a great sense of direction.

Perhaps it was the horns on his head, or maybe some other reason. But no.

"I thought something was going to jump on us," Yonah said. "I guess there's no need to be so pessimistic; sometimes optimism is worth it."

"What?" said Victoria. She used the word said because it didn't sound like a question, her tone was completely flat.

Well, it was actually kind of weird to say that.

"But what the hell is that?"

Caim looked down. A shackle had appeared around his neck. Suddenly. Without any warning. Without any reason.

"You shouldn't have tempted fate!"

And, the poor bastard, that is, him... He was pushed to the ground and dragged at an incredible speed.

He was swallowing dust and banging his head against the stones. Whoever was dragging him didn't care in the slightest. Whoever was dragging him... also appeared out of nowhere. A skeleton on a horse-drawn carriage as if from the fights held in coliseums.

Caim realized the shackle must have a chain, even if it was invisible.

There was too much distance between him and the carriage, but he was being dragged as if he were tied to that thing. Looking closely, the rider had his right hand closed, but not to hold the reins.

The chain of the shackle around his neck wasn't attached to the carriage but was over the hand of the skeleton.

Me, he thought. I'm in his hands.

He gritted his teeth. No. Impossible. He wouldn't let himself be defeated so easily. There were still plenty of things he could do. Caim grabbed the shackle with both hands, pulled and...

And it was useless, even though he had just significantly improved his Strength.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's not a matter of strength. If it's something spiritual, magical... Well, it's certainly not normal, damn it.

He couldn't see or hear his companions. They had disappeared from his sight very quickly, and the skeleton showed no signs of stopping or even slowing down soon. How could he? Even the horses were skeletons. They had more flesh on the bones than the rider, but it was green, putrid flesh, and that wasn't saying much anyway; they were like a few decorative pieces that did nothing to hide the true nature of the damn horses.

The skeleton turned its head. Just the head, his bony shoulders didn't move an inch. And he nailed it with empty sockets, but his gaze was as intense as if he still had his eyes. Well, he knew he could see, otherwise they would have crashed before he lost sight of his companions.

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"What the hell do you intend?" he spat, not without considerable effort, the shackle tightened more and more around his neck. "Drag me around until my head pops off? You think it's going to be that easy, monster?"

He was so furious that he practically spat each word.

But the skeleton completely ignored him. Turned its head back to its original position (damn, right, how hadn't they crashed while it looked at him? Did it have eyes in the back of its head or what?), and that was all.

2

As soon as Caim was flung, chained by the neck like a slave, Yonah shot out to save him. Of course. She gave it her all, but it still wasn't enough. Her extended hand only touched the air.

Yonah let it fall. As well as her heart. It felt as if her heart was dissolving in her stomach.

So fast. He had disappeared from her sight so quickly. He wasn't dead, he couldn't be dead, and they would save him. But... she hadn't been able to do anything to protect him.

"Fuck! Even you weren't fast enough," said Victoria. "What a speed."

"We'll catch up."

"Yes, I never... I never said otherwise. Just that, damn, what a welcome."

"Yes." They finally got moving, running. They weren't fast enough. They couldn't be. But, sooner or later, they would catch the carriage. They would catch that son of a bitch and start counting his bones. "I'm really sorry for him, but I prefer this a thousand times to the giant spider."

"You're also afraid of spiders?"

"Finally, you admit it, huh? But no. What scared me the most was that their webs burned. There may be worse ways to die, but right now I can't think of any."

"Oh. That's fair."

3

For some reason, Caim couldn't do anything with his physical strength alone, monstrous as it was. So he switched to plan B, the skill [Human Spider], shooting several spider webs. He was fucked and in a very bad position, but all he had to do was throw his neck back and open his mouth.

Simple in theory and practice.

Unfortunately, it did nothing for him.

The Skeleton Knight (to say something, he didn't seem like a simple soldier) unsheathed his sword quickly and cut the webs in the air before they had a chance to burn. He didn't even turn his head to help perform that feat.

It made sense. He hadn't crashed even while looking back.

To begin with, he had no eyes.

Maybe it's not that he could see despite the lack of eyes, but that he used a completely different way to perceive the world. So the position of his head didn't matter in the least.

In any case...

Okay, if that hadn't worked, he assumed he only had one option left.

His most recent and most powerful ability.

Just like the threats he faced became more dangerous as he progressed through the Tower, his rewards, the power he stole, would naturally do the same.

[At ten fathoms deep].

As soon as he activated it, he felt as if hundreds of knives had been driven through his entire body. Every cell in his body burned. The only worrying thing about the pain is that it was a signal that something was wrong.

The more intense the pain, the worse the problem. Extreme pain (or the lack of it) probably meant you were at death's doorstep.

But there was no way he could die from using his own skill!

So the pain had no power over him. It was just a passing sensation. And, he pushed. Caim pushed the tentacles out, from the walls, the pillars, the ceiling, the floor. He pushed relentlessly, more and more, without paying attention to the pain. It was just a slight breeze. It had no power to throw him to the ground. It had no power over anything.

The only possible power was the one he gave it, and he was not willing to give it anything. Not a pinch.

The tentacles attacked from all directions. The skeleton did not escape the attack. Of course not, dodging was impossible and it would need a bigger sword to handle all the tentacles before they touched him.

The horses were reduced to a pile of bones amidst screams like beasts from hell, the carriage was crushed like a toy. And the skeleton... Though not intact, jumped from the carriage and landed on the ground. Safe, for now. But not for long.

Caim directed the tentacles to rip off the shackle from his neck. It took a dozen of them pulling, but he succeeded.

He rose, coughing hard, as if trying to expel something stuck halfway down his throat, scratching the ground, supporting himself as best as he could. He didn't feel exactly on top of the world, but he had turned the tables. That was a fact.

And he would win. That was also a fact. Caim stood up, with darkness and writhing tentacles behind him. They were hungry, just like him. An insatiable hunger.

But that sack of bones was a good start.

"Let's dance!"

Episode 18: END