Leaving the messy flesh behind him, Yujin walked out of the now ruined entertainment district.
'Is the trace spell not working?'
He was heading in the same direction as before, making him feel that he might have made a mistake in the spell.
'No, it should be working normally'
Shaking the thoughts away, he reached at the forked path he entered from.
"It's leading me...left now?"
He didn't think much of it, so he continued walking down the path.
As he was doing that, a mouse-man walked by his side, slightly more behind Yujin.
"There is a powerful illusion spell ahead"
Yujin squinted at the words.
"Just break through?"
The mouse-man shook his head.
"That is impossible, it seems an 8th circle mage created that, presumably the one they call 'boss'"
Yujin fell into deep thought.
'If that kind of spell is up, how did Gaia pass through?'
Without destroying the entire spell too.
Boots that clacked on smooth rock ceased their chatter as Yujin stared at the debris blocking his way.
"Powerful, there is also an alarm spell set in case someone forcibly tries to dismantle it"
Destroying the walls was also an option, but too much mana, time and firepower would be used on something they could do more efficiently.
"That crevice..."
A tight crevice appeared to his right.
The trace spell allowed him to see footprints of Gaia getting in that tight crevice.
Looking back, he spoke to his comrade
"We're going in—"
Shing!
His words were interrupted by the sound of steel unsheathing.
"...!?"
Cold metal grazed his cheek.
Grab!
A hand grasped the attacking hand.
"What is this all about?"
Warm blood trickled from Yujin's grazed cheek.
"Walker"
Walker, the mouse-man coldly stared at the platoon commander.
"Huuap—!"
Walker broke free from Yujin's grasp, whipping the hand that fed him away.
However, he did not inflate the distance between him and Yujin, he kept a close distance.
'His spells are quite troublesome to handle if far away'
Yujin specialised in ranged offense.
Having fought with him on the battlefield, he knew this well.
"So"
Yujin's face shadowed and a certain light flickered across his eyes.
"Can I take this as you being a damned rat?"
The insides of Walker started to flare with aura encapsulating them in embers.
"Think what you like commander"
Flashing his sword-staff to Yujin, he enhanced the properties of the metal using both mana and aura.
"However, letting you go is something I will not allow"
"Why?"
"You don't need to know"
The sword stuff riled behind his back.
"Because someone dead. Doesn't need to know, does he?"
Thump!
Boots left the floor and hooved their way like the cavalry they were, reaching the enemy in matters of moments.
His sword staff chained with his hips and blew through the wind as it cut through like a saw.
Ching—!
The metal blade lacerated through flesh. But not the platoon commander's.
[3-star dark magic
| Humming Flesh | ]
A wall of pure flesh and organs squirmed and hummed a haunting melody.
Screaming pleas of forgiveness.
"Just like the ones you cut here on the walls of sinners"
Yujin tucked his fist, readying a strike.
"You will meet the same fate"
His clenched fist opened and revealed a palm.
Bang!
The palm struck the chin of Walker cleanly, the strike threw him multiple paces back. However this was not enough to disable his movements.
"Yeah right!"
Walker screamed out a rebuke, he could taste the iron in his mouth, but didn't let up.
"Hup!"
Retracting the staff back, he probed another path.
Crash!
When that path was blocked and cleanly defended, he controlled the distance and forced Yujin to protect himself by not letting up his attacks.
He slashed diagonally.
Vertically.
Horizontally.
And finally thrusting his polearm.
Each attack was blocked, but held profound meaning.
In that they limited and culled more and more of Yujin's options each time he was forced to defend himself.
Sensing that defending forever would lead to imminent loss, Yujin retreated back. His back inches away from the debris blocking his path.
"As if I'd let you!"
Walker followed suit.
But his momentum was short-lived.
Grab
'Huh?'
Something at the moment of attempting a strike, tugged the heel of his foot.
He looked below.
"!!!"
The floor had sunk and protruding hands desperately clung like gum to a shoe.
Swinging the sword staff, it gashed through the tissue tangling itself with him.
Tak!
The pommel of his staff hit the edge of the stone his feet once stood upon.
Below him, a horde of contracting flesh tried to claw at him.
Above him.
A figure silently inscribed a spell.
[5-circle spell, dark magic]
| Bulging Eye Bullet |
The air turned cold, swirling silently and hollowly towards the magic Yujin casted.
A dark, pebble sized substance appeared and sloshed at the end of his staff.
It fell. Like a droplet of water.
Drip
It kissed the ground, but instead of disappearing, it stayed stationary in the air.
As if it were a frozen droplet of water.
Rattle
It then rattled, quivering until—!
Woosssshhh—!
It blasted off in the direction of Walker.
Walker tore a piece of parchment he took from his bosom, it burned a gold hue as it turned to ash.
The bullet, once a small pebble, had become as wide and long as a rat.
But it did not stop.
It kept bulging, growing bigger and bigger.
And once it came in contact with physical matter.
Tear!
The eyelids of the bulging mass of dark opened wide. Revealing a crimson eye that looked at Walker.
The whites of the eye turned blood-red and—
Booooom—!
It exploded, the entire hallway was submerged in pure, dragging silent darkness. No one knew what was killed, what was destroyed and if it was over.
The sound of the explosion carried and echoed to all who were even remotely close.
Beeep!
Through that stretching, silent darkness. A beep came, along with the darkness receding away.
"Ah"
Yujin stared at what he had done.
"Maybe I should have gone with a weaker spell...."
The ceiling quivered, chunks of stone fell and broke into the smooth brick.
Behind Yujin, the debris blocking his way disappeared, likely because there was no need to maintain the spell and have it become a supporting pillar for the intruder.
Finally, not being able to hold itself from falling, the ceiling fell down and threatened to bury Yujin.
Crash—!
One by one, stones crashed and thrashed onto the ground.
A thin curtain of darkness embraced Yujin as he calmly walked through the hallway that was now open.
Boulders, dirt blocked his way and even the crevice was plugged shut.
Looking back and feeling regret that he couldn't check whether Walker died or not.
Yujin was buried alive under the rubble.