The dining hall was punctuated by the gentle sound of metal against metal, fabric being torn, and the creaking of a wooden bench.
Mark sat at one of the tables shoving food into his mouth, he was drained. They had worked all through the night to cull the surrounding numbers, breaking only to recover energy. They were on one such break now and Mark had taken a moment to eat something. He had bought out a tin of chicken noodle soup, which he had Sam heat up for him in her hands.
Jonathan was currently sliding a sharpening steel against his blades in an attempt to knock loose the crystal caking the weapons. They had found out through trial and error that once separated from a ‘living’ target the crystal remained active for about an hour before its form set. Luckily the blade was made by the system so it was not damaged by the gems, but Jonathan did not appreciate his blade becoming a bludgeoning weapon, evident by the dark muttering and protective hunch in his shoulders.
During their downtime, they all took turns moving the crystalized corpses to one corner and wrapping them in tarps. A proper burial would have to come later.
Chloe and Cara were still in [Meditation], and Mark had found Cara was more than capable of pulling her weight.
Her combat style was still teleport near the thing she wanted dead and blow its brains out. Not many things could take a point-blank shotgun shell to the head, but the difference was her speed. Her current chain of jumps was worlds apart from what they had seen when they had first met her. She flitted about the battlefield wielding her pump-action shotgun with deadly precision, only taking short breaks to reload and anchor herself.
Sam and Daphne came over, sitting down next to Mark. Daphne made a grabbing motion at him, and Mark relinquished the remainder of his five-star meal to her. Sam was watching them with the corners of her mouth upturned.
Through all of the chaos, Mark had avoided asking what magic Sam used to save their lives down in that hell hole. Now seemed like as good a time as any to bring it up.
“Sam, when we were in the Dungeon and you used that magic, what was it? There’s no arguing with its effectiveness, but I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m also a bit worried that if we’re heading into such a dangerous fight you’ll be tempted to use it again, so talk to me.”
The sounds of the sharpening steel slowed.
Sam’s grin smoothed over to a neutral mask.
“Well… you remember my three main magics? That was Cosmic, I needed something with a powerful sense of destruction and Cosmic magic fit the role, well sort of. I learned a little bit from channeling it, and its basis is rooted in cause and effect. In this case, I could manipulate the fundamental law of my surroundings if I gave up a commensurate gift… or ‘cause’. This time I was lucky and almost frying my brain was enough, but don’t worry I won't use that magic again unless there is no other way.”
She held his gaze without hesitation. Mark trusted her, yet a flicker of concern danced in the back of his mind.
Cara waking from [Meditation] got the room moving once more.
“I’m ready to go when everyone else is!”
Everyone nodded and they began to move towards the door once more. Jonathan and Dpahne took up the frontline with Chloe just behind them. While Sam, Cara, and Mark brought up the rear.
Jonathan's blades were cleaned of the gems and the moment the stone dropped from the opening he dashed out to clash against the new hoards that had amassed while they rested.
The space was strewn with fresh statues, each formed from shimmering, translucent material. The grey smog within was no less desperate to escape. They had tried shattering one of them from afar and found that when the crystal broke, it released a horrid wave of Corruption into its surroundings, so they avoided breaking them when possible.
Traveling down the main pathways they removed anything that got in their way. Mark sent a rod of steel through a Ghast before pulling the metal back. There was not as much variety here as they had experienced outside, but that didn’t mean it was any less deadly. Huminods and Ordinators made up the majority of the numbers, along with some Gahsts coming out to play during the night hours.
The alleyway they had arrived in was buttressed between a lecture hall and the library. By now the ancient brick buildings were covered in Corrupted blood. Which rapidly turned to that of crystal moss along the masonry. The waves of Corrupted flowed from both directions boxing them in, however, Jonathan had them remain where they were.
In any other situation, this would have been a deadly trap, however, when the goal was to kill as many as possible they could not ask for better results. Luring the Corrupted in with the promise of a tasty treat, only saw their numbers dropping in the hundreds.
Sam had recently begun to play around with the surrounding shadows. Light and Dark were two separate magics, but apparently, they could be combined into a scale, or a more powerful version. Yet another magic she needed if she wanted to get a better handle on her growing powers. She sent waves of condensed shadow at the Corrupted, and though rudimentary their position was never too dire to experiment. And like all the other magics she tried her hand at, her proficiency grew rapidly.
The real danger came if they ever stopped moving.
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Crystalized bodies packed onto one another, would merge into massive chunks of translucent rock. If they let it, the stuff would encase them until not a gap could be seen. Then they either needed to break their way out –which was not an option on account of the Corruption being released– or dig under it. This used Mana which could be used to kill one more Corrupted. So the gradual ambling tour through their old campus began.
Knowing the layout they spent hours following Sam or Jonathan's lead. Hours turned to days and they worked their way through the campus population. Two full days later they had their first real dangerous encounter, as well as their first glimpse of the beast they were hunting.
Mark had been crouching behind a dumpster as a drizzle fell around his shoulders, waiting for Cara to return.
She was taking her scouting role very seriously, as they were just reaching the middle of the campus where the base of the spire began. The bright light from the proximity to the tower sent their shadows stretching across the floors and walls.
They wanted to head straight in, but Jonathan had suggested they get eyes on things before they charged in, and Cara had insisted it be her. She went off almost thirty minutes ago and Sam was practically vibrating to chase after her. She began to speak in an anxious pitch when Cara flashed into existence next to them.
Sam looked up at the grey clouds and released a shaky breath.
“Well? What are we working with.”
Cara just came right out with it.
“First things first. We’re going to need some sunglasses or something because it's damn bright over there. The flamey ones Mr. Perry spoke about are the source of the light. I couldn’t see everything but ‘she’ is there, and she’s big. Plus there's a lot more Corrupted hanging about.”
The news was about what they expected, so, deciding they wouldn’t get a better opportunity they gathered and headed for the clearing near the base of the spire. The light was just becoming too much when Sam covered them in a cloak of shadow. Her newest magic came in handy sooner than they expected. Without it, the scene before them would have been like staring into the sun. Instead, the film of darkness allowed them to see the simply massive amount of Corrupted packed into the area, and not only that, they caught sight of the Guardian beside the golden flame.
Her skin glowed with an opalescent glimmer, issuing forth from the crystal that spanned her body. Similar to a carapace, an alabaster armor framed her vitals. The guardian did indeed stand on two legs and her posture spoke of an unnatural grace, but that’s where the similarities ended. A mane of hair protruded from her head, cascading down the creature's shoulders, reaching beyond her three pairs of arms and grazing the ground. Which was impressive, as she was easily twenty feet tall. Each of her palms was bare, facing towards the sky.
Mark knew why Perry had insisted on calling the thing a ‘her’, for its form was so otherworldy and alluring that it lent towards supernatural.
It was enchanting, yet viscerally disturbing.
Mark shook himself, as did the others. First things first. Cull the herd. The space between them and the Guardian was so choked by obstructions that it would be impossible to reach her before being overrun. So their only goal right now was to lower that number as much as possible.
Sam began funneling massive amounts of Mana into a large-scale spell, but this seemed to agitate the crowd. As they came ready, Sam released a duo of car-sized balls of blue fire into the Corrupteds midsts. Explosions shook the area and all at once their hiding spot was revealed.
The Guardian's response was swift. A screech sent the hoard their way and with a clench of her palm a spear of crystal came into being.
Mark's eyes dilated and he expanded the construct in an instant. The crystalline sphere plunged into his barrier and Mark felt an enormous amount of force behind it. Luckily he’d had his ‘absorb’ modifier going which mitigated a lot of the weight.
“Shit, ranged! Sam get rid of as many as you can. Mark shout when you are at your limit!”
Jonathan's plan adapted and he intended for them to kill as many Corrupted as they could in the window Mark provided. Mark hunkered down to do exactly that, However, even as more spears appeared in her hands, prompts from the system demanded Mark's attention.
Warning: You have entered the domain of the Crossbearer of Miasma(Guardian).
Warning: You have entered the vicinity of the Progenitor of Chaos(Guardian).
Current coupling progress 66.66%
Mark's eyes narrowed at the prompts and a string of curses slipped from his lips. Jonathan and Sam reacted similarly.
“Shit, scratch that! Retreat immediately!”
They tore away from the area at full speed, Mark glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of another figure emerging next to the Guardian, and all at once the burning golden light went out.
Mark blinked away the dizzying shapes behind his eyes and refocused on running. There was a crash from behind them and the sounds of something giving chase were obvious. They were all fast and disengaged from the hoards of Corrupted with ease, but when another figure landed smack dab in their path, Mark realized it had closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
In front of them hunched a decidedly humanoid form, marred by reptilian features. It's tail coiled in the air like that of a python. Its white skin, though leathery held that same opalescent shine as the crystals. The only difference was the flickering golden flame that ran through the minute channels along its porous skin.
Mark didn’t know how he could tell, but this was the origin of the desecrating feeling one got when they looked upon that golden light.
They had run into not just one, but two Guardians.
“Scatter! Meet up at our last rendezvous point!”
Jonathan charged directly at the creature after that and they all scattered. Using the time he made they all attempted to move into the surroundings.
Chloe and Cara got away first with Sam lobbing a wave of frost at the Guardian before taking off. Daphne bolted after Mark as he kept one final eye on Jonathan. Who, against his expectations did not try and hit the creature. Instead, he let Sam’s wave hit and dove through the tall creature's legs. Using a skill to put on a burst of speed.
The guardian for one did not expect its prey to act so decisively, shortly after it gave chase, but they were already disappearing into the maze of lecture halls, dorm rooms, and other facilities. The last thing Mark saw was the Guardian ripping up a building that had gotten in its way before he had to focus on the hordes of Corrupted now chasing them out into the maze-like campus.