45

Sinking ever Deeper

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Steps rang out in a small alley. There was only a single path of escape left, however, this path undoubtedly went south. Deeper into the encirclement. And they all knew, the moment they followed Alduin, all of them had foregone any hope of escaping from this place any time soon.

Four people and a wolf now ran in the opposite direction of the safe zone. Ise and Hati, followed by Veleda and Leon, and lastly Alduin.

However, they had only taken several steps before another crackling thunder ruptured the air. A collision was heard, followed by a wall of this alley exploding into fragments.

The only constant in this ruthless place was the corpse of the woman, covered with a blood-covered cloth, laying in the middle of a puddle.

“Keep going!” Alduin yelled, but he almost choked by the blood rising up his throat.

His arm was cramping up. Another spear had been launched at them from the entrance of this alley. Shock still painted his face as he witnessed the speed of their reaction. ‘Even with the mist,’ Alduin thought, ‘It already noticed us!’

He had hoped to save time, but their window of escape was growing smaller by the minute. His steps swiftly changed back to running after he had deflected the weapon.

“You won’t escape!” The hissing voice shouted. Laughter. Joy. Mockery. The high-lizardman was ecstatic by the direction they were heading. The shrieking of all their pursuers reached the skies.

But they didn't have a choice. They kept running forward, moving further from their intended destination.

“Hati!” Ise had become their vanguard. Unlike other attributes that could be felt from far away, hers seemed to vanish even in plain sight. And in these dark alleys, the coat of darkness that covered her came in full use.

The small pup jolted forward. Hati knew what he needed to do. No, there was no longer any choice for him if he wanted to survive. Their goals had completely aligned, and for the first time, the glint of a hunter formed in his eyes.

Hati decided on their direction. From an alley to a main street to another alley. The repetition of this process pushed them onto a winding path to places they hadn’t scouted.

Lizardmen were everywhere. They had started moving at the first sign of fire. But, while formed a window of opportunity, any gap that Hati could smell was starting to close. The patrols were closing in on them. The net surrounding them tightened like a swirling whirlpool, and they were stuck inside.

UGH, A grunt rang out, someone fell to his knees.

“Alduin!” Veleda was the first to notice. Her voice rang out to Leon in front of her with panic, “Help!”

They had been running for several minutes, faster than any lizardman, but whatever they were doing wasn’t enough. Two giant beacons of energy were heading closer to them. Guiding them deeper into their encirclement.

Leon, who had dropped everything besides his sword and shield, turned around with a terrified expression. But his eyes widened even more as he saw Alduin sitting on his knees.

“What’s going on?!” Leon arrived next to him. Even Ise had noticed something was wrong now.

“He-“ Veleda wanted to explain but Alduin grunted again.

Blood poured from Alduin’s mouth as an electric current was released from his hand. His body was heating up and his heart seemed to go into overdrive.

‘I- I can’t-‘ His hands were cramping. His arm was numb. The current was escaping his body faster than he could control. But it was his throat that almost made him pass out.

Another mouthful of blood was expelled as Alduin felt the strength that reinforced his body leave him. ‘I can’t breathe.’

Hysteric breaths were taken but the air didn't reach his lungs. He tried to stare up, but the moment he made eye contact with Veleda, even more blood erupted from his mouth.

“What’s going on?” She held him in panic, but a current of lighting tased her hand the moment she touched him. “What do I do?!” Tears formed in her eyes, they had no time to waste but they couldn’t move forward.

“Ise-“ Her voice abruptly stopped as she saw a shadow descend on Adluin’s back.

Alduin, who felt his vision shaking, shook from the impact and slumped forward.

“Leon!” Ise, who knew what was going on, acted on impulse. “Throw away your shield, carry him!”

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The currents flowing over Alduin’s body were being suppressed by a quivering shadow. But with every breath that passed, Ise’s expression grew paler.

Barks rang out from the side, Hati warned them. They had no time left.

“Fuck,” Ise cursed as her feet left Alduin behind.

“Midgard - Devouring Shadow!”

Her figure was devoured by shadows. The coat of darkness erased both her presence as well as her magic signature.

Before the large lizardman even approached them, a fountain of blood erupted. It didn’t even have time to yell out.

“ISE!”

But that wasn’t the only problem they were facing. The slender Ise stumbled on the ground after landing. The shadow that surrounded her vanished with a final burst.

Her face was pale, but the moment she saw Leon carrying Alduin on his back she started running again.

“Three times,” She muttered under her breath. She couldn’t use it anymore. Not even in the worst-case scenario.

“Ise?” Veleda, who ran beside Ise, looked with shock at her face. “What’s going on?” She had noticed Ise slowing down, the situation started to overwhelm them.

“I’m good.” While her situation was dire, her magic usage was far lower than Alduin’s. “Let’s keep going.”

Veleda stared to the side, only Leon and her had escaped unscathed. But neither of them had an attribute that could overwhelm a regular lizardman.

“Where do we go?” Leon had dropped his shield. The sword on his waist was the last of his possessions. But this allowed him to carry Alduin on his back.

“Follow Hati,” Ise said. They had placed all their hopes on this little wolf.

A small bark erupted, from the hair that stood up on its neck, even he seemed to notice the seriousness of this situation.

“Hati.” Veleda felt her powerlessness overwhelm her, “Please,” she said with a pleading voice.

The fierce glint in his eyes only sharpened. For the first time, the wolf would show his usefulness. A small bark replied. He knew where to go. There was only a single direction that could save them.

Alduin saw what was happening. The current that dominated his body had been overwhelmed by Ise’s devouring shadow. Strength was gradually returning, and leaning his head on Leon’s shoulder, he noticed Hati’s plan. ‘He’s heading for the eye of the storm.’

The gunshots still rang out in full. Explosions echoed out as well. But the thing they were paying the most attention to was the presence of several attributes.

Alduin tapped Leon’s shoulder and asked, “Are you fine? I can-“

“I’m good!” Leon followed Veleda and Ise closely. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this a month ago, but right now, this much is nothing.” Leon sternly said.

“I can run now,” Alduin replied.

“Don’t. Save your strength,” Leon said, “This is all I can do, so please... Rely on me.” His voice sounded heavy. Guilt was mixed with anger. Anger at his uselessness.

Alduin felt the grip around his legs increase. His vision was no longer shaking, but he was still recovering. He replied, “Thanks, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

Even if it was only for a short while, Alduin relied on his friend. The path they had chosen needed them at their full strength.

‘They are still preoccupied with the distractions,’ Alduin thought as he looked in the distance. He could count 17 smoke signals rising in the sky. ‘15 groups have succeeded.’

But his heart was heavy, even they had failed to escape this encirclement. ‘How many of them survived?’ he couldn’t help but question. There were several groups with preparation on par with theirs, but still, he didn’t feel much hope.

‘Although,’ Alduin thought back to Hati growling at one group. ‘They might have managed to escape as well.’ There was no chance that they could escape as they are now.

“Leon,” Alduin said, his mind was made up. “We’ll need to get stronger soon.” His heavy voice conveyed his intention, there was only one way for them to survive.

Leon didn’t reply, but his grip tightened and his feet moved faster. If there was anyone in this group that knew this, then it was him.

Another street was passed. The nature of a net was that it wasn’t hard to get inside, but it was difficult to leave. And as the encirclement kept tightening, their group had no choice but to head deeper inside.

Hati suddenly growled before shooting to the side.

“Follow, quickly!” Ise ran back as well, her hand pulling Veleda along as she entered a convenience store.

Before they entered, however, they took one last look at the sky. The smoke signal they created was now behind them. This was the furthest they had ever gone inside.

Silence descended.

“Hati,” Veleda whispered, “Are they close?”

Two large eyes stared back at her, but Hati remained silent.

Veleda looked down, the little pup that was on the verge of dying when they found it, was now trying its hardest to save them. She couldn’t help but smile as she pulled it into her embrace. She said with a smile, “Thank you.”

“Are you fine now?” Leon put Alduin down.

“Yeah.” Alduin laughed bitterly, his strength was starting to come back. “You should clean your shirt though.”

“Ha, you should clean your mouth, your blood is already starting to dry,” Leon replied with a smirk.

But no matter how they tried, the tension couldn’t be relieved.

“What should we do now?” Ise asked, she had just scouted the store they were in.

“How many did you find?” Alduin asked back.

Ise frowned. Only now did she realize she had been answering a lot of questions lately. She felt it was strange to be on the receiving side. “What is even going on anymore?” she muttered, but she answered Alduin’s question, “I didn’t find any.”

“Not even in the warehouse?”

“No, every corpse has been dragged outside,” she replied with a cold expression.

Leon asked back, “Why? Is that why we haven’t seen any on our way here?”

“That seems to be the case,” Alduin said, “This is not a good sign.”

Silence descended once more.

Not a single corpse could be found, but the ground and pavement was marked with trails of dried-up blood. Trails that led deeper inside their lair. Not a single corpse was left behind to soak in a puddle.

“We’ve entered their colony.” Alduin stared to the front of the store. ‘There’s no going back now,’ he thought, ‘but this might work in our favour.’

The sun was slowly setting. Their escape had gone wrong. But now, they would turn this into an assault instead.

“Eat up and get some rest. We can’t stay too long in a single place.” They found a place to hide. They managed to escape this pursuit, even if only for a moment. But more importantly, they found rations and they could recover their strength.

The gunshots and explosions could still be heard. The fighting was still raging, but this also meant that the military was holding their ground.

Alduin looked back to his group, a last thought that would guide their coming decisions formed in his mind, ‘We need to be faster than them.’

Those beacons of magic could still be felt clearly.