Danger lurked around every corner. Danger that Aydan might have bypassed on his own, but that was not possible with the siblings present. So he had to continue on, looking for something while he walked with confidence.

Was any of this Melanthina’s fault? No. She simply fled a creature she could not defeat, picked a wrong route. Perhaps she could have been more aware of her surroundings, but that would be a failure of her youth and of her training. And up until that point, tunnels without creatures had not been a danger.

Ursel… certainly, Aydan was not pleased that she had insisted on chasing after her sister. Tirto should have been the level-headed one there as well, but could he really expect them to remain rational?

Certainly not, when this was his fault. He should have maintained a closer position to the triplets instead of assuming they could handle everything thrown at them. They were the most important of those present, and Aydan was responsible for them. And if a tactical mistake in a single battle was not Aydan’s fault… then them being where they were now was. He shouldn’t have declared he would search on his own. With everyone they had present, they could have marked the branching tunnels while keeping contact with each other. If Melanthina had remained stationary- which might not have been a choice- they could have found her soon enough, or at least determined she had moved on.

By running off on his own, Aydan had indicated to Ursel and Tirto that such behavior was acceptable. It didn’t matter that he was stronger- what mattered is that he hadn’t insisted on remaining together.

Now, the two thought they were on Melanthina’s trail, bound to catch up at any point. And perhaps they would, if she yet lived. Aydan didn’t like to consider one of the reasons they might not have found her.

Based on Aydan’s understanding, after stumbling into the darkness layer by an unexpected route and now having gone far from their entrance, it would be easier to find their way to more familiar areas. Based on the sorts of creatures they were encountering, Aydan thought they were getting close.

Unfortunately, there would still be quite some distance to go even after they got back on a known route. Aydan wasn’t sure he would last that long. The children- a young man and woman, now- wouldn’t get far without him unless they got to cleared routes. Of course, even those places wouldn’t necessarily be safe.

With no hesitation, Aydan picked the middle tunnel of a set of three. Confidence was important here. The danger felt less than others, and even if he was wrong he would have to deal with that.

Ursel’s face was still one of pain, her spiritual energy fluctuating. Even in that state, however, she was still a beginning Soul Expansion Phase cultivator. Tirto next to her was at the peak of Foundation Phase, still a significant step weaker. It was clear to Aydan they understood their lack of strength, after their near death.

The residents of these tunnels had locked onto their group’s position. Aydan didn’t think they seemed particularly quick, but running away would at best force them to face one of the other tunnels with a greater sense of danger. In the worst case, they would end up sandwiched between two groups of monsters, and it didn’t matter if said groups would kill each other afterwards if they killed the three cultivators first.

“Enemies incoming. Stuck to the walls and ceilings. Get ready,” Aydan warned. His voice sounded strange to him, the pervasive silence having suffused into everything, both for the sake of stealth and lack of any will to chat.

It was as if the darkness itself were coming for them, forms indistinct not because light didn’t touch the approaching threats but because they simply were that way. In fact, the light reflected off of some portions of the creatures, a brilliant sheen on a dark sludge with the only features being irregular half-dissolved bones poking out.

Aydan rushed ahead to meet the enemies first. His sword held to the side, he sliced one on the walls clean in half, then he bounded upwards and sliced through one on the ceiling. It was surprisingly easy to dismantle them. Too easy. Even as he was landing, Aydan shifted to reverse his direction. The one on the ceiling dropped down as two- now separate masses, but still completely functional.

Darkness wreathed Aydan’s blade as he chopped towards one of the pieces, rending and tearing the spiritual energy inside it. The disruption of spiritual energy at least caused the quavering mass to dissolve. Now all he had to deal with was the second half, and the rest approaching. Hopefully without letting too many past to Ursel and Tirto, but even if he tried to completely block them the two siblings would try to join the fight.

The first one from the wall found that the siblings weren’t that easy to eat. Ursel smacked one, splattering it into a dozen pieces that began to slowly crawl back towards each other. So it seemed there was some limit to what they could manage- or perhaps the spiritual energy inhabiting them had some sense it couldn’t attack anyone without enough mass to reach and move quickly.

Tirto must have paid close enough attention to Aydan, because his spear stabbed deep into the other half of the first one, freezing its middle with his water element. He then lifted the frozen portion on his spear, smacking it into the wall. The still liquid outer part of the black goop came along, but when it broke apart in the middle all it could do was cling to the spear with part of it, attempting to crawl towards Tirto’s hands.

Another unfortunate property the ooze seemed to have was quickly evident. The polished wood of Tirto’s spear had worn away in some parts, presumably dissolved by the creature’s acid. Of the three of them, Tirto’s weapon was the least enchanted. The Brandle Clan had access to high quality weapons, of course, but a more powerful weapon wasn’t always better in the hands of a lower ranking cultivator. Ursel’s club showed a few pockmarks, but it was much sturdier to begin with.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Aydan wasn’t concerned about his own weapon, but he was concerned about his body. Against some enemies he could afford to let his armor take hits instead of spiritual energy, but for these that wouldn’t be possible.

More and more masses converged on the group, Aydan slashing them apart and dancing around them. Though tracking more formless shapes was troublesome, it also limited how far they could extend. He also needed less spiritual energy at once to permanently collapse a smaller section.

Taking the majority of the burden of the combat on himself, Aydan wasn’t able to perfectly maneuver the battle. Perhaps if he had been fresh, but he was anything but. His spiritual energy was strained, unable to recover fully without proper rest. He also had injuries from the leeches, lingering bites that could have become festering wounds. Medicinal pills helped, but it would take longer to recover blood- and there were only so many pills a human body could process in a short time. If the area were not suffused with the darkness element, Aydan would have lost all momentum days before.

First to be grasped was his ankle, a small offcut that Aydan had lost track of wrapping around his lower leg and melting through his spiritual energy. A burst of energy tore it apart, but his trousers and skin bore the scars of the attack. As Aydan chopped apart the oozes, some of them exploded into tiny pieces that retained their acidity for a few moments. One such globule struck his cheek, a small part of it burning through his energy defenses.

Aydan couldn’t spend time watching the siblings, but they seemed to be getting overwhelmed. He increased the pace of his battle, though it left him open to more wounds and burned through his remaining spiritual energy faster.

After cutting down the last of them, he didn’t hesitate to rush towards Tirto. Aydan had let more than a few slip by, and this one came as Tirto was dealing with another. Aydan arrived as it began wrapping around him from behind. He slashed out with his sword, precisely slicing off most of it- but some still clung to Tirto. Aydan stepped in, grabbing the mass with his hand and tearing it away. The end result was that Tirto was only marginally injured. Aydan hid his hand behind him.

“Are you two alright?” Aydan asked. There were certainly some new wounds. Ursel’s armor was going to completely fall apart soon enough, and her bodily durability wouldn’t be sufficient on its own.

“As much as I can be,” Ursel sighed, leaning on her stone club.

“I am fine,” Tirto confirmed. “Again, as much as one would expect after a battle. How about you?”

“No serious injuries,” Aydan shook his head. “We need to keep moving.”

As Aydan turned, Tirto’s face didn’t seem completely convinced. But there was nothing Aydan could do but keep pushing forward. He had no confidence in stumbling across Melanthina, but he could at least get these two somewhere safer.

-----

The only good thing that could be said about where Melanthina found herself was that there was nothing trying to kill them. The clashing light and darkness likely had no awareness at all. And… if she were asked she would have to admit that her coordination with Nik was keeping them mostly safe.

In the sort of way that a vein of ore was mostly safe from miners who had to go get new picks. Eventually the surrounding rock would be broken through and they would be carved apart, but for the moment they stood strong.

Energy flowed around the two of them, hinging on their clasped hands. Melanthina could feel the heat of Nik’s hand. He was sweating, and definitely only him. The whole situation was uncomfortable, but she couldn’t exactly complain about that when they were fighting to survive.

And then… things began to slow down, and Melanthina found herself with less and less darkness to divert. Until eventually they stumbled out into an ungodly amount of light. Though Melanthina found her eyes were shielded by Nik’s efforts.

“I can’t believe we made it out,” Melanthina said. “Now we’re in light element chambers, of course, so things are still pretty bad…” she sighed. “For me. I always forget how bad this is. Sorry you had to go through it.”

“It’s not as if you are the source of all darkness,” Nik replied. “But I am glad to be somewhere more comfortable for me. And hopefully we can find our way out and back to our people.”

“Yeah,” Melanthina nodded. This was tolerable, with Nik deflecting most of the light. Her own training was useful, but she was still a darkness element cultivator. She could only manage so much.

“Soo,” Nik said. “Are you going to…?”

“Am I going to what?” Melanthina asked, following his gaze. There she saw his hand with loose fingers, and her own grip tight. She loosened her grasp, but neither immediately pulled away. “Oh, sorry.”

“That’s alright. I suppose this is more… efficient?”

Melanthina was having trouble coming up with more things to say. “Yeah. Should we… go?”

The intensity of actual light varied more than the presence of light element. Crystals produced visible light, making Melanthina squint constantly. She could never fully adjust to the current level of light.

She was focused on the various forms of light around, so she was first to notice a floating orb of light. She couldn’t tell exactly what it might do, but it came towards them with purpose- and in this place, there was nothing that could be considered friendly.

Melanthina didn’t have a fancy darkness crystal to focus a beam through- if that would even do anything- but she could still manage a facsimile of the sorts of attacks the Combining Luster Sect preferred. She’d learned it to fight against Nik, of course, and used it to counter his attacks. Here, she targeted the ball of light, using her training to keep the elements from detonating until her attack had pierced into its core. Then it tore apart.

“I guess we’re swapping roles, then,” Nik said. “You focus on the incorporeal enemies. I’ll deal with the threats that are easier for me.”

“Agreed,” Melanthina said. “But I’ll warn you, if you also want me to cook it’s not going to be good.”