Chapter 210 – Floor 33: Part 3
“Combust”
The Word of Power ripped through Mathew’s throat like molten fire, searing and scaring his mouth and tongue.
The descending Void Wraiths, their bodies flitting between physical and ethereal, were caught unaware by the magic. The blast of heat and light was intense enough that the crew and passengers watching were forced to shield their eyes from the sudden flash.
The wave of scorching energy cascaded over the Void Wraiths, their eerie, otherworldly forms writhing and flickering as if caught in a storm of incandescent fury. The once-spectral entities were momentarily solidified as the shadows and darkness was pushed back. Their ghastly visages were twisted in almost human expressions of shock and agony.
Mathew, his throat raw and head swimming from using the Word of Power, staggered back from the force of the Celestial magic. The effort had drained him, but he forced himself to remain upright by gripping the wooden railing.
Through the haze of fire and light, squinted to see the results of ‘Combust.’ The Void Wraiths, now visible in their entirety, were tumbling through the air. Their forms disintegrated into motes of dark energy whenever they made contact with the flames.
The dark energy gradually dissolved into the void, consumed by the darkness that had birthed them.
The crew, who had braced themselves against the railing or ducked behind whatever cover they could find, began to emerge cautiously. The deck was littered by the remnants of the Wraiths chilling energy, hoarfrost still covered large sections.
Captain Elysia, a veteran of many voyages, approached Mathew and nodded her head.
“Good work, Apostle. Are you well?” Elysia asked, her expression showing a tinge of concern. She was careful not to allow the crew or passengers to notice her worries or draw attention to Mathew’s diminished state.
Mathew nodded weakly, his face pale and sweat-slicked.
“I…I need a moment.” He managed, his voice a harsh whisper. The Captain’s eyes softened slightly in understanding. She patted him on the shoulder before walking away. Her voice was immediately raised as she worked to restore order and get the crew working.
It was her way of keeping all eyes on her and away from Mathew as he recovered. Drawing a deep breath, he leaned heavily on the rail and looked out at the darkness.
In the distance, the dark horizon seemed to pulse with the promise of more dangers lurking just beyond the edge of the ship’s halo of light. The Void Wraiths may have been driven back or destroyed for the moment, but Mathew knew that there was no telling what horrors the darkness may birth.
Over the week, the Wraiths assailed them three more times. During their last encounter with them, Mathew hadn’t been enough to keep them away from the ship and Captain Elysia was forced to use the cannons.
Great gouts of flame spat out from the sides of the Resplendent Dawn, illuminating the deck in a fierce, flickering glow. The ship’s cannons, fueled by arcane energy from the Sun Shard and traditional firepower, belched fire as they unleashed a barrage at the remaining Void Wraiths that had avoided Mathew’s Word of Power.
The inferno carved through the void, dispersing the spectral entities in a series of dazzling, fiery explosions. The heat from the cannons was intense, creating a stark contrast to the cold, oppressive darkness of the Void.
The deck was bathed in the relentless, harsh light of the ship’s weaponry. Crew members worked feverishly at their stations, their faces set in grim determination as they kept the fire and magic flowing.
Mathew, still speaking the Words of Power to keep the Void Wraiths at bay in concert with the ship’s weapons, watched with a mix of awe and exhaustion. The power of the cannons was impressive, their destructive force a testament to the ship’s preparation for such a threat in the Void.
As the last of the Void Wraiths were driven away, the flames of the cannons slowly died down, leaving the Resplendent Dawn in a smoke-filled haze. The deck was scorched and battered, but the ship and its occupants had survived the latest onslaught.
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For the next two weeks they saw nothing from the occasional group of Void Serpents emerging from the darkness and creeping back again as they seemed to learn that the Resplendent Dawn was not somewhere they could easily feed.
Just when Mathew thought that perhaps they had gone through the worst of the Void, that they were out of danger and it would be smooth sailing, a new creature emerged from the darkness.
In stark contrast to the Void Serpents, who were small and harmless, the monster that approached the ship from the void was large and fearsome.
The creature was a nightmarish colossus, a grotesque amalgamation of shadow and flesh that defied the natural order. It glided forward with the sinuous grace of the Void Serpents but on a scale far beyond anything seen in the mortal realm.
It dwarfed the Resplendent Dawn, making the ship look tiny and delicate in comparison.
The monster’s massive, undulating body stretched endlessly into the void behind it. It was covered in a hide that seemed to ripple and writhe with a life of its own, shifting between an inky blackness and the pale, bloated flesh of a corpse.
The creature’s scales were not uniform in colour or shape, but rather a horrendous patchwork of gnarled, overlapping plates that pulsed and quivered as it moved. Where the scales were torn or missing, the flesh beneath was a sickly, translucent membrane that revealed dark, writhing tendrils of mana beneath.
The creature had dozens of eyes on its head, placed at irregular intervals and pointed in odd directions, and two slits in front to breathe. Its mouth would open periodically to flick out a black tongue to taste the air. When it did so, Mathew could see rows of needle-like teeth that dripped with a viscous fluid. The creature’s tongue was forked and barbed.
For the first time, Mathew saw Captain Elysia at a loss. She stared out at the creature with her eyes wide in terror. All movement had ceased on the deck as the scale of the monster became apparent.
How could they fight a creature that could swallow their ship whole?
“Captain!” Mathew hissed, his voice carrying a sense of urgency that cut through her terror. He saw those grey eyes harden as the fear was quickly replaced by determination.
“Ready everything we have!” The Captain ordered, her voice booming out across the silent deck. The crew acted as if they were awakening from a terror-induced slumber. Their movements were sluggish, their reactions muted. But, as they started to stir, the momentum amongst them began to build.
In moments, the deck was abuzz with activity. Cannons were ready, ammunition was loaded, and every shred of energy from the Sun Shard was prepared. The passengers and many of the crew readied their weapons as well.
Arrows were fitted with incendiary tips, rifles were loaded with explosive rounds. The humans of the Resplendent Dawn scrambled, their fear pushed aside by the raw adrenaline of the impending battle.
“We need to hold! Refuge is on the horizon!” Elysia shouted as she moved swiftly amongst them, her gaze never leaving the monstrous beast that loomed in the distance.
“Fire on my mark!” She roared, her voice cutting through the chaos.
Mathew’s eyes were locked onto the creature, analyzing its every movement. The slits on its head flared open as it drew in the air, and its barbed tongue flicked out, tasting the air for prey. Its attention was locked onto the ship; its many eyes all slowly swivelled to stare at them.
The monster was so near to them that Mathew could smell its fetid breath wash over him.
“Fire!” Elysia’s voice bellowed.
The cannons roared, and a storm of fire and steel shot toward the creature. The projectiles struck with thunderous force, and for a moment, it seemed the monster might be driven back. The noise was deafening, and Mathew could see nothing from the fire and explosions.
But as the smoke and flames cleared, the creature remained unharmed; its massive form had barely flinched and showed no sign of damage. Its scales glowed red and orange from the heat, but it was unaffected by it.
Undeterred by their failure, the Captain ordered the cannons to be readjusted.
“Aim for the eyes!” She shouted, pointing at the many orbs lining the creature’s head. If there was a soft point for them to strike, it would be there.
A deafening roar of cannon fire rang out for a second time, this time joined by the bellow of the monster as it was hit in the eyes and head. Irritated, it flinched slightly and reared up, exposing the soft and tender flesh of its mouth to Mathew’s sight.
Gathering his mana and focusing all of his attention to a single point, he shouted.
“Combust!”
He had never given so much of himself to the Celestial Magic before. The Word of Power unleashed a cataclysmic surge of energy, a searing, blinding inferno that roared from the point of impact. The explosion was monstrous, erupting violently as it struck the monster’s gaping maw.
The beast’s eyes widened in horror as the firestorm engulfed its head. The force of the blast ripped through its scales and flesh with unrelenting ferocity. Its approach to the ship was abruptly cut off and it plummeted into the void below.
But Mathew didn’t come out of the exchange unharmed.
The backlash of his own magic hit him with equal fury. He was thrown violently backward, his body battered by the shockwave. His vision blurred, and he gasped for breath. The strain of the Celestial Magic leaving his throat left him maimed and disoriented.
The deck beneath his feet seemed to heave and rush up to meet him as he fell to the ground, far away from where he had been standing. Pain seared through him like a thousand hot needles, and his limbs felt as though they were made out of lead.
The magical energy he had summoned left him drained nearly to the point of collapse, and his body shook uncontrollably. The sheer magnitude of his own spell left him on the brink of unconsciousness, every breath a struggle as his strength waned rapidly.
Mathew lay on the deck with his vision darkening and the sound around him muffled and distant. His last conscious thought was the recognition of a familiar noise.
‘Ding.’