It was only then, just a few seconds after the angel’s words, that Mike finally heard it too. It was a noise that could be described as skittering in its pattern, but sounded like a hammer being repeatedly slammed into a metal wall. But while the cave tunnel did curve out of sight around 60 or 70 feet away from them, the echos of the fast movement were only getting louder and louder to indicate the source’s rapid approach. From the sound of it, whatever this thing would make the turn and might appear at any minute now.
At the same time, the golden shine from Raemiel’s hand grew out. From an omnidirectional light, it squished itself horizontally while extending vertically. It was only then that Mike realized that the screens from the System had been the only things initially to allow him to see and not be consumed by total darkness.
And then, when his Summon had appeared, he had been giving off a subtle aura of light this entire time. Just enough to make it easier to see without squinting, without being too obvious to force his eyes to noticeably need to readjust. But for what was happening now, this was different.
Mike actually had to raise his arm to shield his eyes; that’s how bright the golden light was. Part of that was because he was standing only a few feet behind the angel, but even so, it was intense in its radiance.
But it soon came to an end before Mike would have needed to shut his eyes even after covering them. In what had truthfully taken less than five seconds in all likelihood, the process had resulted in a spear of golden light. Something that was definitely true to both the namesake of its creator’s moniker and the name of the listed Skill that Mike had just read about.
From the way this particular spear was shaped, Mike guessed that it was a javelin. At least he believed so, from the way its form was that of effectively a long shaft that seemed to be a bit taller than its wielder in height, and just formed a point at the end rather than having a separate… end bit? Mike just then realized that he had no idea what the sharp metal part of spears and such was actually called, or if it even had a unique name. But in any case, its style particularly reminded him of the kind of javelins that were thrown for modern sports.
“Now watch, and see why even Greater Angels who wielded this weapon still respected my claim as Spear!” Raemiel exclaimed as he widened his stance and leaned the spear back.
It was as he did so that the thing finally made the turn. Mike felt his skin crawl as he saw what was effectively a smashing new record for the world’s largest beetle. Its wet and metallic shell glistened in the golden light as its massive form easily filled up the cave. If it were just a little bigger, its body would have been scraping against both the walls and ceiling of the tunnel. But even without reaching that point, it was still breaking off chunks of the stalactites hanging from the ceiling as it charged straight toward them.
As it charged in a straight line, Raemiel shifted forward and launched his spear. Its shining form shot through the area as it lit up the surrounding area it passed by. With a satisfying thunk, the javelin pierced straight into the front of its target. However… even as the weapon’s entire length tore through the monster’s armor, it did not stop charging or slow down by the slightest.
“What the Hell is that thing?!” Mike yelled out while already taking a few steps backward. And in what was not the best timing in the world for him to actually read the result, the System actually decided that the inquiry was worth an answer.
Summon’s Status:
Type: Wild
Species: Iron Crawler
Level: 1
Rank: 1
The Iron Crawler was still gunning at them at full speed. It would only be a few seconds before it reached and likely crushed both of them like a train going over someone who fell onto the track.
“Raemiel!” Mike pleaded as he turned to run. Even if fleeing in such a tight space with seemingly nowhere to go was a fruitless endeavor, it was better than just standing there and waiting to get killed.
Yet unlike his panicking Summoner, the angel remained the perfect example of calmness. After throwing his spear, he simply crossed his arms and stood there. With how relaxed his shoulders were, one would think that Raemiel was patiently waiting to catch the train rather than being the one about to be killed by it.
But then, approximately two seconds before an impact that would have resulted in golden metal and human flesh getting squished together, it happened. Within the cracks of its natural armor, golden light suddenly irradiated out like a disco ball. The monster convulsed as it became absolutely incandescent.
Mike paused mid-turn as the roaring beats of its skittering came to a stop at that exact instant. The only sound left was the grinding of its iron shell against stone as it crashed into the ground and its inertia became the only thing carrying forward.
Still just standing there with the patience of a saint, the golden warrior simply raised one leg as the monster skated toward them. Then, as if it was the most casual thing in the world, Raemiel simply pushed his foot into the massive body and killed off the rest of its momentum. As the dust that was carried with the charge then started to settle, it could be seen that the angel hadn’t even been pushed back by a single inch.
Mike just stared for a moment, eyes fully widened at the sight now before him. With just that single throw from a weapon so relatively small and thin when compared to its giant of a target, Raemiel had taken down their foe with ease. With only the very bottom of the javelin still sticking out, the angel grabbed it and began to pull the weapon free.
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The first five feet of its shaft was removed, then another five feet. Mike then watched with somehow even wider eyes as its length continued to be revealed as his Summon just kept steadily pulling more and more of it out from the fresh corpse. Like a magician pulling a seemingly endless amount of fabric from a hat, it almost became comical when it reached a length of what he guessed to be at least 20 feet and still wasn’t even done yet.
“From just the name alone, one might think that Golden Spear is a relatively simple power. But in reality, it is actually a rather versatile Skill that has already won me my fair share of battles. Even after the created spear leaves my reach, it is still under my influence,” Raemiel explained as he continued to pull out yet another five feet of the weapon.
“As you can plainly see, one such example is that the weapon can continue to extend. And as for that flash of light you saw? That was some of the extra energy stored within exploded to let it move as if thrown from inside this creature’s body. Of course, if I had chosen to do so, I could have also had the entire spear detonate and create a blast made from every ounce of power within it. But that was not necessary this time, for my additional ability to sense what is near my spear allowed me to find this and produce a cleaner kill.”
With that closing remark, the last of the javelin was finally pulled out and completely freed from the body. With its tip was an object that was definitively even bigger than some of the largest breeds of dogs. It was dark and quite gross with how slimy it was. And Raemial yanked the fleshy thing off the spear tip, and equally dark and viscous fluid poured out of it.
“Is that…?” Mike began to ask. His expression then crunched up with disgust, however, as the smell just then decided to hit him. It would have been enough for his nose. But of course, it hit his mouth while it was still open from starting to talk.
“Indeed, and behold! I present to you this heart to mark the celebration of what shall be remembered as the first of our slain foes! Tell me, Mike! Are you not impressed by what shall certainly be a fond memory to look upon during even your darkest days?! Of the glory that I have brought you today?!” Raemiel proudly exclaimed while victoriously raising the heart up.
“Yep… for sure, God-” Mike gagged as the truly awful odor only got worse after the angel shook the organ by moving it. “Can you please just- just throw that thing away now? The smell’s about to make me sick.”
“Hmm?” the angel questingly looked at the heart for a moment, before suddenly jolting. “Oh! My most sincere apologies!” Raemiel then immediately threw the heart with such force that even despite its size, it still zoomed across the cave until it hit the wall with a wet splat.
“That was an error on my part alone, Mike. This is just a mere excuse, but I failed to consider how its odor may impact you. While I am aware of the senses of smell and taste and how they are meant to function, I personally lack such things myself. Again I apologize for not having the foresight to sooner realize that your kind could smell. For future reference so that I do not make this mistake again, may I ask if you can taste as well?”
Still feeling the tightness in his throat, Mike needed a minute before he could respond. Something that the angel graciously waited for in silence, as he forced himself to slowly inhale a deep breath, and then exhale it through his nose. Repeating these slow and deliberate breaths a few more times, he finally felt the constricted muscles loosen back up. He’d been that close to throwing up, and luckily had just managed to avoid doing so.
Perhaps it could be considered a hidden blessing that the pigeon had forced him to skip breakfast. That it had forced him to do something other than cook a quick meal that might have just left his stomach. Maybe its arrival in that respect could even be considered…
Wait a moment, what was he thinking? How could he ever think that such an evil creature would bring any sort of blessing, even by accident? Just the thought of it was ridiculous to the point where one could be justified in questioning his sanity for considering such a thing for even a moment.
It must have been due to some chemical he inhaled from the monster’s heart. Yes, that had to be it. Just a temporary delusion that will hopefully be fully expelled in tandem with his breathing.
Mike then cleared his throat. “Yeah, we can taste too. But don’t worry about it too much. If you didn’t know, then you didn’t know. There wasn’t much else that you could have done about it, anyway. So, let’s just move on to more important things. You said earlier that Essence can be gained from killing other Summons, right? I’m looking at a screen right now that says this one’s Type was Wild, even though yours didn’t list a Type. Can you tell me anything about that?”
“Of course!” the angel replied as he immediately perked back up. “As the System said, it added independent Summons as an additional challenge. Even without your saying, I was able to instinctively sense that this was the case. Hence my lack of hesitation in slaying it, for I already knew that there would be no Summoner who would die with it. But yes, Wild Summons, as they’re called, should be equally valid for Essence gathering. My own Status should have been updated from the moment of its death.”
“Huh, good to know.” Mike then pulled back up the screen in question to see the change for himself.
Stats:
Level: 1
Essence: 10/100
From how it’s listed, I can already assume that reaching 100 means Level 2 for him. Not sure what his Level will need to be for it to increase his Rank too. And from what Raemiel already said, he wouldn’t know that either. Guess we’ll just get there when we get there, he thought to himself.
“Now then, may I make a suggestion?” Raemiel inquired. To which Mike quickly gestured for him to go on.
“While these tunnels are fairly spacious, they will ultimately restrict my movements by making use of my wings unreliable. While this was not an issue with the Wild Summon just now, it may prove troublesome should we encounter a foe that requires greater agility to deal with. For the time being, I believe it would be best if we attempt to find our way out of these tunnels and go up toward the surface.”
Mike didn’t even need to think about it before nodding in agreement. “Sounds like a plan to me. At least if things get dicey up there, you should be able to easily carry me and then fly us to safety. I have no idea where to go up from here, but this tunnel at least seems to go only in two directions for now. So I say we just try starting with where the Summon came from, and then go from there.”
And so it was. Raemiel took point, mainly to be able to defend Mike from any more threats that came from their front. But also to first deal with the giant obstacle in front of them. A that was currently blocking the direction they wanted to go with its massive body.
While steadily walking forward, the angel began hacking straight through the corpse with his golden spear. Meanwhile, his Summoner just followed closely behind while holding his breath and tightly pinching his nose closed.