Chapter 19 - Blood and Magic

The realization that the creature would be able to find him no matter where he went hit him like a bucket of cold water. He assumed the thing had a limited range but he had no way to know. He could run all the way back and out of the cave systems and still not know if the creature could follow.

No, he couldn’t outrun this thing, he needed to stand his ground and fight. He had no way of knowing how or when the monster would attack him next so he reviewed his options.

Since the demonic thing sprang out of the ground, he assumed that that was its preferred method of transportation.

He would thus climb one of the many giant fungal plants to gain altitude and presumably, some added safety. His mana blade wasn’t fast or controllable enough to be able to be of any use against that thing as even a rocket-boosted blade was unlikely to hit the elusive target. He was straining his eyes to be able to glimpse any sign of movement of any kind, both above and underground.

The mushroom he had decided to climb was like an actual building with many different spiral levels. It must have been hundreds of meters tall and was home to a family of termite insects that were feasting on the spirals. They were all rather small considering the size of other insectoid beings he had seen but a quarter-meter-long insects were still dangerous looking.

They were mostly without cores and didn’t seem to even realize Adam was there when he passed them by on his journey higher up the spire. From his higher vantage point, he noticed that not many creatures were out in the open but rather seemed to be living inside the mushrooms.

The main creatures he saw were insects and rodents and none would be considered very dangerous individually to Adam.

Nothing like the eldritch monstrosity he was presumably being hunted by.

He stopped climbing the spire when he got three-quarters of the way up and carefully looked down for any sign of the monster.

He sat there for many long minutes as he explored his attack options.

Since there was no grey in the middle of its body, he assumed that this thing had a red core. He had no idea what red cores were capable of so waiting for that monster to catch up was torture.

Every moment stretched into an eternity as he conjured a different kind of blade. He probably wouldn't be able to hit the monster with a spell, so he would simply let the creature hit him instead.

He had never tried to form a shield before, but having it stay close to him allowed the white shield to be much tougher than his usual mana blade. He grew the shield around his right arm and formed multiple short spikes on the shield.

Adam focused on making it tougher and denser than ever before. He continued to focus on his core as he formed the construct as he normally did. The construct didn’t require much mana to stay fully solid, unlike his usual mana blade.

He had never tried making a weapon out of pure mana after his advancements since using a blade to strike at a distance was a better solution at the time. Why would he want to get too close to a dangerous creature when he could simply snipe it from a safe distance?

His mana blade spell was limited to how much mana he used when conjuring since it would hover over him at a distance. He could technically refuel it with mana mid-air but that would be equivalent to tossing a bucket of water at a water bottle several meters away in hopes of refilling it.

This wasn’t the case for mana constructs that have direct contact with him like the shield he forged around his arm. He therefore didn’t need to use his mental energy to move the white construct and maintaining its integrity was very cost-effective in terms of mana efficiency.

Playing around with and optimizing his magic was a huge distraction from his current situation since he was secretly hoping he was wrong and he had indeed outrun the blood-red monster. His subconscious hopes were dashed however, when the ground below the spiral mushroom began to shake and move.

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He once again saw that disgusting creature as it emerged from the ground and immediately looked up at Adam. All of its many tentacles were pointed straight at him and the shield he had crafted from dense mana felt as frail as paper in the presence of the demon.

It once again simply stood and stared at Adam for a few long seconds without making a move. He knew that he couldn’t kill it with his usual techniques so he planned to use his high elevation on the mushroom to force it to climb up to him, where he could then use his shield and push the monster over the edge and to its death.

His plan wasn’t amazing but it was the only thing he could think of that might work. He didn’t know how tough the creature was but assumed it wouldn’t come out unscathed from a fall of this height.

When the creature finally began to move, it indeed headed for the base of the giant spiral fungus but stopped before getting on and climbing up. It looked back up at Adam who could still see it from his spot at the edge of the rounded spiraling platform.

To Adam's horror, it began excreting blood from its pours that would then flow down its arm and towards its long claws. It had six arms and moved them all in front of it as it bent its head forward forming an arrow shape.

In his mana sight, he saw a bright red color coating all its hands and claws as the creature began to move. The first two hands pushed forward and then pulled back in a motion similar to swimming. Then the second set of hands moved forward to take the place of the first set and repeated the motion.

In no time at all, the six arms of the red monster were moving in a rapid piercing drill pattern as it plunged into the base of the mushroom. It disappeared the next second but Adam could hear digging noises climbing up the base of the spiralling mushroom.

“So much for the plan…”

His fear was now at an all-time high similar to when he was running for his life from the giant centipede. Currently, however, he had nowhere to run. He had stranded himself up there in the assumption that the creature wouldn’t be able to easily get to him.

He had fucked up big time and the noise of digging was getting closer and closer. His shield was now basically useless and he had sacrificed about half of his mana to conjure it. He was in a real fight for his life so he would need to use everything he had.

Less than five seconds after the creature began its assent through the base of the spiral mushroom, it emerged from the solid stem as if it were paper. The platform they now both stood on was about the length of a bus but the creature had the advantage since its back was towards the tall trunk of the mushroom that extended high up and connected the spiraling stairs of fungal platforms.

The red demon pulled open a hole in the stem with its six long arms and Adam could see green liquid covering the creature's claws. It contained practically no mana, unlike the red blood of the creature so it must have belonged to the colony of large insects that lived in the trunk of the mushroom.

It was a real monster, capable of plowing through an entire colony of creatures without even noticing them or needing to adjust course. It cocked its head at Adam as it slowly opened its large jaw to reveal all its sharp and pointy teeth.

Adam raised his shield and simultaneously conjured two long mana blades on either side of his shoulder. He had never used up so much mana on so many different constructs simultaneously but what would be the point of having mana in reserve if he died here.

The blades weren’t very dense so they wouldn’t last long. He didn’t attack yet, taking as much time as the creature would allow him to prepare his spells even further.

After a few seconds of silent staring, the demon made its move. It moved towards him with insane speed as its body slithered in a waving pattern. Adam’s terrified mind considered simply jumping over the edge to escape and hope he survived the fall.

He shook off the idea the moment it popped into his mind.

He wasn’t going to die today, he wouldn’t allow it. Not now, not ever, he simply had too much to discover and so much to explore. His mind was filled with determination and his heart with rage for this hideous creature for thinking it could end him and take away the only thing that made him feel truly alive.

Adam banished all the fear out of his mind as he raised his shield and fired the dual blades towards the approaching demon. Everything happened so fast that he couldn't even think. He pushed out every last drop of magic he could find in his core. He wasn't even looking at the demon who was a few meters away but focused inwards as time slowed to a crawl.

Everything in his core was being ripped out all at once creating a shockwave around Adam. His core was pushed to the edge of what it could endure as his magic pathways lit up with power.

The creature wasn't deterred by Adams actions as it continued towards him in slow motion. He knew that the dumping of his entire magic reservoir wouldn't work and his blades had both been avoided by the monster, he knew his shield wouldn't work against such an agile foe.

He was still releasing shockwaves of mana around him when he saw something different about his core. His mind was in a weird place right now as he saw time slow to a crawl and despite knowing there was nothing left he could do, he wasn't scared.

Adam peered at his core and saw something different inside it. It had been there the whole time but he had never noticed it. A silver flake flickering around his core, only just about visible with the current near death state his mind was in.

The demon's claw was now only a hand's length from his face. Adam latched onto that flickering spark with everything he had left as his mana was almost completely depleted but he still managed to grab hold of the silver ember and pushed and pulled it out as his final attempt to survive.

The silver ember grew and multiplied as he focused on it until it was expelled out from his body along with the last of his mana in a large burst that shook the surroundings one last time.

His mind was still numb to any feeling when the creature jumped back from his attack. He simply stared blankly as the red demon’s tentacles stopped locking onto him and flailed about as if in agony.

He watched with distant eyes as the silent world turned white and he collapsed forward onto the ground.

’I'm dead.’

Was his last emotionless thought before unconsciousness claimed him.