Elydes

Chapter 305 - Fighting Against Time

Kai kicked the door behind him, shutting the only entrance to the chamber. Burnt flesh mixed with the stench of blood as the cultist was consumed by her own flames.

Two down, two to go.

“You— I’ll tear off your limbs before life leaves you!” The middle-aged man snarled, veins popping on his neck with a red tinge. Amidst the enraged swearing, a wave of Darkness surged toward Kea and fizzled against a curtain of water.

“I thought you were going to rip me apart?” Kai said. His spell was devoured by the inky blackness, but it bought his sister enough time to meld with the background. “Is this the best you can do?”

Darkness thickened around the cultist. His head snapped toward him. “You’ll get your turn. I’ll make sure you watch while I kill her.”

“And are you going to do that from across the chamber?” Kai mocked, looking at the distance where the man retreated. “Or are you scared to end up like your friends?”

Provocation was the best tool he had left. While they had cut down two cultists, he would have to face the remaining two without tricks.

Keep your eyes on me.

She crept near the edge of the chamber, among cabinets and desks filled with fraying tomes, bloodied tools and glass jars filled with fleshy contents. Five narrow cells completed the creepy decor—the openings too short for an adult man to stand. Two held occupants, the last auras Kai had perceived from outside.

You did your part well. Now’s my turn.

He gripped the hilt of the unfamiliar saber. Casting a volley of ice shards as a distraction, he dashed towards the cultist with the half-melted scalp—Kerril.

The thin man recovered more quickly from the death of his second companion. “What have you done?” His disbelieving grimace contorted into anger. “You’ve no idea who we are! Death’s too good for you.”

Uh… I was hoping you’d get more original with the insults, not less.

Three streams of inky water whipped at his neck. Kai swallowed a sarcastic reply and turned his charge into a sideways slide on the pale flooring. His back hit the engraved altar. Despite their losses, the cultists seemed reluctant to damage the runes.

Hold on a little longer, Niel.

Channeling mana into his muscles, Kai pushed against the altar and dove to the side. Tendrils of Darkness stretched like a skeletal hand over him, his body twisted to avoid the closing coils. A shapeless wisp brushed his forearm in midair. He jerked his hand away, but his skin already stung as if burned by acid.

Damn, it hurts.

“You’re not very good at aiming, are you?” Kai taunted through clenched teeth. It was like a swarm of insects gnawing on his arm. The pain barely lessened when Kahali’s Retribution turned his wound into a warm trickle of power.

“We’ll see if you keep laughing when your body melts,” the older cultist smiled grimly. “The chatty ones always scream the loudest.”

“Want to bet? You’re—” Kai bent backward to dodge a whip of water whistling above his nose. He nearly bit his tongue to interrupt his words.

That’s plain rude.

Throwing his left arm out, he flung an ice shard to disrupt Kerril and stabbed his saber in the groove of a rune with his right. The weapon gave him the leverage to pull himself in a side pivot, only to find wispy Darkness heading for his face.

There wasn’t space to evade. He condensed an ice sheet to slow the attack. Earth Magic increased the friction of his boots on the stone, helping him push his momentum in yet another direction.

Despite his ligaments protesting, he had to keep moving. The cultists would trap him against the tables on the outer wall if he hesitated.

“Run like a rat! I’ll still cut you into mincemeat.” Kerril spat.

Not wasting breath to repay the taunts, Kai concentrated on evading the inky streams. The murky water fizzled against anything it touched. He could have dealt with either cultist one-on-one—together, they were the problem. Distance helped him dodge their spells, but he also struggled to pierce their defenses.

Why couldn’t they be runesmiths with no combat skills? Or maybe they are…?

It was hard to judge mid-yellow professions. He had hoped cultists used to tinker with human flesh wouldn’t be proficient at fighting, but life was a series of disappointing discoveries.

The two men retreated to near opposite edges of the runic circle—fifteen meters apart—so he couldn’t attack one without exposing his back to the other.

“If you kneel and beg, I’ll consider keeping you alive.” The older cultist darkly chuckled. “Your pathetic existence could be part of something meaningful.”

“What… do you… mean?” Kai huffed between dodges. Death would be the preferable choice to what they did here.

C’mon, start monologuing about your evil plan.

The man didn’t elaborate on the details of his villainy. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Black tendrils cut Kai’s retreat while inky streams cracked the air in front of him. It wasn’t the most elegant pincer, but the cultists knew how to leverage their numbers.

I prefer incompetent villains. Kai cursed—forced into another awkward dodge.

All his acrobatic evasions didn’t get him closer to killing his enemies. Less than a minute since the fight started, his body already felt the strain of repeatedly flaring Body Augmentation. He aimed five icicles to disrupt his opponents' casting instead of using sweeping spells. It conserved mana in exchange for a larger burden on his Mind.

I can’t let them strategize with a cool head.

Perhaps he could outlast the cultists’ mana reserves, or perhaps he’d mistime a dodge and weigh one head lighter.

The longer he waited, the higher the chance a new variable would appear. While he had to kill the cultists to survive, they just needed to buy time until another one noticed the commotion and raised the alarm.

Kea could also try something stupid if things go on much longer.

The Camouflage from her profession was good when her opponents weren’t aware of it. Knowing what to look for, Kai easily followed the cloudy flicker of her aura. The plan was for her to run if things went bad, but he didn’t want to test her commitment.

It'd be easier if I had my sword.

The saber made for a mediocre replacement. Just using Swordsmanship was a struggle, and from the first exchange, the scavenged weapon clearly couldn’t parry many spells head-on.

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What else can I use?

The middle of the chamber was empty of anything but the altar and runic circle. There were no plants to grow with Nature Magic, and the runic circle stopped him from shaping the stone beneath it.

“Stop running and face me!” Kerril summoned a fourth inky stream to strike him. “You’ve nowhere to go!”

It’s not like you’re coming at me either…

Kai cast a sphere of water to disperse the impact of the flail. A faint whisper tickled his mind—he stilled his dodge and ducked to the ground as a pitch-black bolt flew above.

That was quicker than the others.

“Slippery bastard,” the middle-aged cultist glared, narrowing his beady eyes. “You won’t get lucky again.”

“Try me.” Kai hid his concerns behind a cold smile for Kea’s sake.

The cultists were becoming more methodical and coordinated, though neither seemed willing to endanger themselves up close.

The maniacs on the Intrepid would have already charged me. Guess I am Lucky…

He dove through a cloud of Darkness, donned in a layer of ice. Landing in a roll, he hurled five frozen blades to intercept the inky streams.

I can’t let this drag on.

The cumbersome saber disappeared into his ring. He dashed to his right, curving a winding path toward the thinner man. With the cultists on the same line of sight, he could avoid getting flanked and hinder their attacks. They could reposition to keep him in the center, but from what he observed, most people couldn’t cast complex magic on the move. The duo had stood still for most of the battle—likely not an exception.

“Finally accepted your death?” Kerril licked his lips eagerly. “Come here, I promise to make it almost painless.”

“Remember there is another rat hiding.” The older cultist rumbled. “It’ll already be a pain to continue our research with just us two.”

“Stop nagging me, Drowson.” Kerril scoffed. “I’ve got an eye on her if she comes close.”

The man didn’t retreat. Kai had little time to rejoice when the whips doubled their speed, their frenzied flailing creating gusts across the chamber.

“Thought you could really win?” Kerril regarded him with a disdainful sneer. “You never stood a chance against me.”

You know that there are two of you…

Kai didn’t argue the man’s delusions and continued his dash, using spells to block the attacks he couldn’t avoid. Two steps forward and one back, he inched closer to the cultist. With each narrow dodge, the whispers grew louder, as if piercing through a haze.

Hallowed Intuition was waking from its slumber.

Hmm, courting death is always rewarding.

He wove around the streams of inky water, anticipating strikes and ignoring faints. The closer he got, the less space he had to evade, making every instant of forewarning invaluable.

I never told Caeli my skill was near the peak of Yellow. I got underestimated again…

During a normal fight, he’d have to sift through a sea of entangled murmurs, but whatever was suppressing Hallowed Intuition let only the most pressing threats rise through, helping him in a way.

“You— That’s not— How—” Kerril’s smirk turned into a grimace. Beads of sweat ran down his melted scalp as he intently focused on pushing him back.

“You’re… dying… first,” Kai said. Despite pushing his body to the limits, he made sure to plaster a mocking grin on his face as he drew closer.

A cloud of Darkness on his right was swatted by the streams of inky water before it could reach him.

“What are you doing?” Drowson barked. “Get out of the way. You’re helping him.”

“I’m… trying…”

“You idiot! Can’t even handle a rat.” Snorting loudly, the dark-eyed man moved out of the runic circle to flank him on the right.

Try again.

Kai bent below a flailing stream and dove above another to keep Kerril between them. Even with Hallowed Intuition, it was an audacious maneuver, but he couldn’t afford to hesitate. As he inched closer to his target, the fake smirk on his lips turned into a real smile.

Spirits, I might be mad, but I missed this.

There was a beautiful simplicity to fighting at the very limit of his abilities. Worries and fears melt into the background, his entire being honed in on how to best his opponents. Only the present moment mattered—him and his opponents, dancing a thin line between life and death.

Kai wove among deadly spells in a struggle for survival.

He had never felt this free since leaving the Hidden Sanctuary, unburdened by anything but the burning of his muscles and mana rushing through his veins.

“Get away from me!” Kerril scrambled back. The inky water coiling around him lost its deadly grace and flailed wildly. Less than two meters separating them—barely half a step for him, though the hardest to cross.

“Get a grip.” The older cultist moved toward his companion to better aim his spells. “Don’t get fooled. The boy’s hanging by a thread. We just need to hit him once.”

I knew you were the sharper one…

His icicles shattered against the frenzied streams of water. Kai grunted to avoid a whip, breath heavy and eyes fixed on the thin man. He dodged left around Kerril to hinder Drowson.

Despite holding the upper hand on the surface, his body neared its physical limit. Enhancing his attributes with Body Augmentation extorted a heavy burden, and the imprisonment had already strained him. If he got hit, he wouldn’t get up.

Almost there. Just a step closer.

“You’re done.” Kai gritted his teeth. He sacrificed most of his remaining Water mana to conjure a fist-sized hail of ice, intent on bulldozing through Kerril’s defenses. “You’re coming down with me.”

“Wait. Stop!” The older cultist finally lost his composure. Rushing toward his companion, he cast a heavy curtain of Darkness to defend Kerril.

Kai used their defensive stance to watch his opponents standing side by side—two meters apart. His left leg bent on the stone floor, groaning to absorb his sideways momentum.

Now.

The ice shards shot forward, whizzing past the cocoon of Water and Darkness mostly unscathed to go at Drowson. Kai sprang in the wake of his spell, moving right for the first time.

“Wha—” Drowson’s eyes widened, hurrying to call the Darkness back to defend himself while an oily black layer formed over his clothes.

Then the hail hit, crashing with the fury of a storm. Darkness devoured the ice to protect his master, but its shapeless form couldn’t block three dozen blocks of ice.

The older cultist flew back like a rag doll, his body crashing against a cabinet in a clamor of broken glass and cracked wood.

Kai dashed after him, armed with a saber and a thin smile. If he had gone for Kerril, his spell would have at most caused injuries. To finish him off, he would have had to engage in close quarters and scrape his reserves of every speck of mana. Even in the best-case scenario, wounds would have been inevitable against the acid water, and he would still have to deal with Drowson alive and well.

The older cultist was clearly the more level-headed and quick thinker. Kai couldn’t predict what he would do if left for last. Be it cursed magic or sending for help, cornered beasts were always the most dangerous. He had to be eliminated first without a chance to react if possible. Luckily, Drowson fell for his act and exposed himself to help his companion. Whether it was arrogance, stupidity or compassion, the result was all that mattered.

Three down, one to go.

Kai kicked the debris off the broken cabinet to look at the man beneath. Blood poured from deep gashes in his shoulder and gut, his face was smashed in, and one arm bent at an unnatural angle with fragments of white bone protruding.

Despite all that, Drowson somehow still breathed.

Good defense.

The cultist gave a wheezing cough, blood flowing from his mouth to speak. Kai plunged a dagger in his heart, snuffing the light and pain from the unfocused gaze. This was probably more merciful than the man deserved, but time was tight.

Kai left the dagger and dashed toward the surviving cultist.

“That was your best attack? It barely tickled,” Kerril chuckled. Peeking from the coils of his inky cocoon, his smugness froze into pallor. “What…”

What a fool.

Even covered in Darkness and Water, the man should have been able to see what happened with Mana Sense. Kai used the shock to cross the distance and offer his condolences in the form of a throwing dagger.

Proving not totally worthless, Kerril raised the inky streams to stop the blade. The flowing shield swept away the knife, though it exposed his back to Kea’s flying dagger. Too late to react, the cultist's screams made the inky water ripple.

Kai sent a disapproving look where his sister was retreating.

You promised to hide till it was over.

He would have been mad if not for the perfect timing and execution.

We’ll talk later. Time to close this.

Barely any blue motes remained in his veins, and his body was running on fumes. Kai took out the saber and channeled Shadow to turn the blade invisible, charging before his foe recovered.

By accident or skill, an inky stream swatted the saber. Kerril ran toward the door instead of counterattacking. “You’ll pay a thousandfold—”

He took one step and stumbled with another cry, his foot pierced by a stone spike from the floor.

Kai consumed the last of his Water mana to cast an ice spear while more spikes cracked the ground from below. A skilled mage would have noticed the Earth mana pooling beneath their feet and disrupted the channeling, but Perception clearly wasn’t the man’s strong suit.

The inky water fizzled on the floor as the coils unraveled, tinged with red.

You should have stayed on the runic circle.

Kai stabbed down with the saber. Strengthened by Earth, the blade cut through the weak defenses and pierced the cultist’s chest. “I told you I would kill you.”