Chương 2: [BL] 2. New World [2]

The Lich that led the ritual appeared slightly different from the one Willow had slain. Considering the ritual table stretched nearly fifty meters below Willow, she might be just imagining things, but that firmness of bones was very clear against its robe, and the loud clack of its feet rang out against the drenching sound of the waterfall. A chilly wind rushed over her, sweeping her blonde-almost-golden hair up.

The icy splashes were not only freezing, but they also made her stumble sideways onto the uneven ledge that curved down into the land where the prison cells clustered. Her heart hammered. She let out a small yelp, forcing her body down, clutching the cold rock. Willow closed her eyes when the back of her sword hit the ground with a thud. Cold sweat gathered beneath her neck. She climbed upward onto the even ground so she could run back to the altar if needed.

Peeking out, she saw that the Liches thankfully did not notice her. She exhaled, feeling relieved. The Liches were chanting, their voices drowned out by the waterfall. The leading Lich raised a knife that gleamed bright green. Its shine grew brighter as the liches kept intoning, forming a square. The girl cried out, begging and begging. From the prisons, multiple humans were also shouting in incoherent shrieks. Five Liches were doing the ritual, and another five were guarding the other humans.

Willow chewed her lips, calculating. These humans must be Mera's friends. Inside her, there was something that did not belong to her. A feeling. Willow recognized anguish and the desire to help them. Yet, there was another that Willow knew as her own, and that was fear. Madness, this is madness. Willow's left hand went to her sword. She crouched on one knee and drew it. The sword came out shaky. Not trusting herself, Willow laid it on the ground, clutching her nervous hands. She breathed into it.

Wet golden hair twined around her fingers. Is this really me?

"What would you do?" she whispered. Maybe she should go back and take one of the doors. These people were just strangers. She could go to their village, maybe, and get some help. Yes, maybe she could just explain the situation. There was no need to— That sure is a lot of maybe, she scowled. The leading Lich shrieked like a snake' hiss. Willow's gaze barely snapped toward the green blade before it plunged into the girl's chest. She thrashed twice, then her body went limp. Time passed very slowly for Willow.

Her body froze. She watched as the other four Liches carved their own daggers down, and one of them harvested something from the girl's chest. A glowing jade stone. The Lich knelt, offering it to the Lich leader. The leader nodded, pleased. It spoke, and soon another sacrifice was hauled from the prison. This time, a young man tried to resist, but to no avail. One Lich's finger pointed, and the boy cried out as blood suddenly spurted from his thigh. What was that?

Was that what would have happened to Willow if she had not reacted first? As the boy was being forced down, Willow moved her finger, then her fist. She did not think. She started to crawl onto the ledge, crawling slowly, breathing harshly, not from hesitation but from pure primal fear. Also, she just had to do something. Tears brimmed in her eyes, yet she could not bear to hide or run. With the sword held awkwardly above her, she crept further down.

The young man's scream and the other prisoners' screams served as brilliant cover for her, added to the waterfall and the liches' chanting. I can go faster. Willow palmed the gritty cave wall and stood, walking forward into a trot. When she saw the green dagger glow with a green gleam again, she began to run. Stupid, stupid, what am I going to do? Swing sword?

Midway through the ledge, she spotted a dozen prison cages with only six still occupied—inside were humans banging their fists, shouting their friends' names. Patrolling them were five Liches. The two who had dragged the young man just came back. Willow sprinted when she found one cage positioned very close to the ledge, and not to mention that those boxes lying near it would be good cover. She raced against the two Liches.

Willow arrived first before they crossed the bridge, with the other three still far behind her. She dropped the small distance carefully into the rocky terrain and quickly crouched behind one of the boxes. She squinted her eyes, shut them, and took a calming breath. The Liches could glide, so she could not rely on hearing its footsteps. Willow peeked out just beside the box, through the cage's iron bars. Five of them were transfixed on the ritual. The humans were still screaming. Okay, maybe I can work with this.

The cages were lined up in two lines, separated by five meters. Willow looked around, chewing her cheek again when all five Liches were bunched together as they watched the cruel ritual. Should she just release Scythe on them? With their backs against her and all. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Rune: [Dark Wind 8/10] Willow bit her thumb.

"Is this enough?". No, there was no way that's enough. She might have to deal with another five Liches right after. If she somehow used one Scythe once every five, then that only left her three to deal with the rest!

"Why are you assuming you can one-shot them, anyway?" She said to herself. Taking a body, being teleported to a magical world, is not enough? Now somehow I have to rescue idiots from a monster? I never even held a gun! Let alone see one. And somehow I have to shoot wind at literal monsters? Willow crawled forward, passing over boxes. She dove behind a wooden cart and made her way close to another prison cage. This one had a young woman inside. Her eyes went wide.

Her short brown hair formed a ringlet around her neck. She wore the same guard outfit Willow did, but torn, showing three gashes where she still bled.

"Mera!" she hissed. The girl threw a look back, and to Willow again. She opened her hand, asking for something. Furrowing her brow, the girl glared. Willow immediately understood that it was a silent communication between two friends.

"Sword!"

"Oh, sword." Willow nodded. She pushed her sword into the cage.

"That look like Mage wear. Let's do this then," she said perhaps a bit too eager. The other girl let out a shaky smile. She drew a deep breath, then banged the sword against her iron cage. Huh?

"Hey, don't—" Three Liches turned, and two of them glided to their positions.

"They hate loud sounds," the girl explained.

"I'm not sure why they do this ritual by that waterfall."

"What are you doing?" Willow hissed as she ducked under the wagon.

"What? You get it right? The power—" she banged the sword again and even threw it out into the Liches' path.

"These bastards are weak to spells, so get them." She winked. Willow stayed silent, her eyes widening at the approaching liches. Two of them. Was it possible? None of them carried any crystal orb; was that good news? But what if they shot whatever spell that was? The one that injured the young man. Could Willow dodge that? Could she even see it coming? She hated how her body went into lockdown again.

"Mera! What are you doing? Normund will be killed! Do you hear me!" she snapped loudly. Willow met her eyes. For a second, they stayed silent. A realization entered the other girl's eyes. Her hand slipped down the iron cage. The Liches did not bother coming all the way. They pointed their bony fingers toward the girl, three meters away.

"Annette!" one boy cried out. Willow exploded into motion. She lunged forward, clawing at the rough cave floor and surging onward, springing up, and in one motion, she built Scythe on both of her hands. Focusing the dark wind with two fingers each, she sensed the hungry spell swirling around them. She sliced the air in a downstroke. Two precise dark blades hissed in a loud whisper. The Liches' robes tore apart, their bodies swaying back as two gashes carved into their chests. That, however, was not enough.

The Liches' pale faces found Willow. Those ghastly blue eyes recognized her. Their fingers moved toward her.

"Dodge!" a voice screamed. Willow had seen the spell before, so she was prepared. She threw herself into a sideways roll. A gale-force blast tore apart the wagon behind her, sounding off a loud crack. Stand, stand. Willow winced when her head slammed into the cave floor, but she forced herself up. The world was still wobbly around her, and she forced Scythe into both of her hands again, releasing them in an instant. One wind blade shredded a lich's arm, cutting it off—but the other missed and went streaking upward.

The next gale-force slammed against Willow's stomach. It hit her with the force of a bloody, humongous rock, sending her flying back. Her back slammed against the first iron cage. Pain bloomed across her body. Her limbs grew heavy. A metallic taste touched her mouth. Willow opened her eyes to see the Lich gliding toward her. She coughed. Raising her hand, she gathered her dark runes into another Scythe, this time only on her right hand. She brought her hand down in a sweeping motion.

The dark blade of wind launched onward in a restless sweep, surging fast and shearing straight into the Lich's chest again. Its hand still aimed at Willow. Willow clenched her eyes shut, but nothing came. [You recover one Dark Wind Rune] The Lich crumpled, blood still spurting around its dead body. [You grow stronger] [Wind Mage—Level 2] Enhancer: [Devour] [2 Constitution, 3 Arcanic, 3 Sense] [Devour]—Absorb a wind attack coming from a foe into a Dark Wind Rune if its Arcanic is below the Wind Mage.

Plus an extra 5 Arcanic if Wind Mage focuses on absorbing. The other Lich glided over its dead brethren, not showing any sign of emotion, only the deadly duty to kill. With its stump still bleeding, the Lich raised a shaky hand; Willow mirrored it with both of hers, opening her palms. It shot another gale at her. The wind stopped before her palm and hung there, slowly dispersing into a thin, graceful gust that she absorbed. It turned into a source of power inside her.

[You recover one Dark Wind Rune] Willow wasted no more time; she sliced downward with her right hand, and a gash of dark wind cut through the Lich's other arm in one scything burst. The lich collapsed backward, not dead yet. But Willow left it be; it would be dead soon. She would not waste another one of her runes. When her rune ticked up by one, she knew she had made the right decision. [You recover one Dark Wind Rune] Her body fought against her survival instinct.

As Willow wobbled forward, she stumbled and caught herself against an iron cage. Gritting her teeth, she kept moving. She saw another three Liches notice the sound and glide toward her. She swore under her breath and limped toward Annete's cage. The Liches were still far, and besides, they were not fast. Added to that, the other five were still performing the ritual. She could use this time and get—"You're not her," Annete's voice came shaky as Willow leaned against her cell.

"Where's the lock?" she asked, looking around.

"Wait. Who are you? What happened to Mera?"

"Any chance these bastards left a key?" Willow mumbled as she found a bolted lock. She could maybe cut it with her spell, but how many times would it take? Willow decided to risk it. She cast another Scythe when a hand shot out to grasp her wrist.

"You answer me! What happened to—" Willow clasped Annete's mouth with her left palm, shushing her.

"You know what happened," Willow said simply. Annete's tear slid onto Willow's hand. When she gave a shaky nod, Willow released her. She stepped back, and Willow sent a Scythe to cut off the bolt in one slash. Willow let out a relieved sigh when the bolt gave way on her first attempt.

"Fast, come on." She opened the gate, and Annete stumbled out—still able to move despite her wound. [Guard—Level 5]"We will talk later," Annete said. The girl moved and crouched, picking up something from the remnants of a destroyed cartwheel. A blue flower, glowing with a dim light.

"Eat that, then free the others. I will get the Liches' attention. Oh, and I'm borrowing your sword."