Chương 29: No Lord

"You alright?" Eric clutched his companion, fearing the impact had injured it. The raven opened its eyes and shifted its wings. With a pained shriek, Ash tried to spread its wings, but it couldn't move them. Whatever covered the ceiling, it wasn't easy to crack. Still, Ash had shown him the way forward. How did it figure it out? We'd stared at the sky, wondering about the reflection, but never thought to strike it. The church offered no clues either. What if I actually crack the sky? Let's try it.

Eric launched several Spectral Throws at the cracked glass ceiling. Every projectile ricocheted off the surface, leaving only shallow cracks. Only a tiny shard fell free. It just wasn't enough. I can try launching a full-powered spell and throw my actual weapon. On second thought, I will keep the dagger close because things might get messy if I somehow end up without it. In desperation, Eric extended his Phantom Hand upward. The spell failed to reach the ceiling even after pouring more Essence into it.

Frustration entered Eric's mind and soul. He couldn't figure out a way to continue forward. All these levels and skills weren't enough to get him out. He sat on the ground and looked over at Ash. The raven was alive and moving, but the impact had still injured it. Low screeches and soft clicks revealed that it was recovering. The scene made Eric's stomach churn. He turned his back to the raven to hide his feelings taking over. Why? Why me? I don't know what to do. This goddamn glass sky just won't crack.

My spells aren't powerful enough, and my only companion risked its life because I couldn't solve it myself. Anger and growing frustration boiled inside him. Ash would get better eventually, but being stuck here didn't help at all. Eric wondered where Kayle had gone and how she would explain the whole situation. Was she using him to complete her own mission? Again, more questions with no answers. I can't give up. More importantly, I won't. The only way is through…

"RAAAGH!" Just as Eric pushed himself to his feet, a heart-piercing roar echoed through the library. His knees grew weak, and his hands instinctively flew to his ears. Fear. That same primal fear from before. The demon?! It's here! How did it get out of the church? Another screech bounced between the library shelves. This time, Eric could make out some words.

"No… Lord… shall live! Where is the fool that believeth in him?" What does this mean? Is it after me? Scooping Ash into his hands, Eric ran away from the sound and teleported as far away as possible. He finally understood enough of the library's shifting layout. Its illusions weren't confusing him anymore. Moving through it finally made sense. Several minutes later, Eric stopped teleporting as his essence was getting low.

He gently set Ash on the ground near him and watched as the raven stood on its legs for the first time since the impact.

"Feeling better now?"

"Ash." The screech wasn't as enthusiastic as before, but for now it made Eric feel marginally better. He sat on the ground once more, exhausted from teleporting around the library. Looking over at the raven, a thought crossed his mind.

"Does the demon know the layout of the library? If it does, we shouldn't stay here long." Ash shook its head.

"That's good news. I wouldn't mind some peace and quiet for a while," Eric said and lay down. All his gear was taking a toll on him, and he transferred the chain belt and his dagger into the inventory. The shoulder plate disappeared into his inventory a moment later. For the first time since arriving in Purgatory, he felt light. Damn. Is this how I felt before coming here? I didn't think I'd ever feel human again. Eric's mind was mush. Always trying to think ahead, always trying to figure out a way to go forward.

As he replayed the past few days, he almost couldn't believe he had survived everything. From the deadly traps to the Key Warden and the eight-legged monster. Between these encounters, he grew stronger. His skills had grown significantly; he leveled up and was more confident. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. While thinking about the journey so far, Eric could hear in the background the roars and hisses of the demon.

Fortunately, they weren't getting any louder, so he knew it wasn't coming nearer. What surprised him was how the monstrous bellows lost their strength and dwindled to shallow rasps. The Shattered might have caught the demon again. Something's going on. Wait… is that a thread? On the ground, a set of blue-green strings materialized. They stretched in a perfectly straight line toward the place Eric escaped from. Unlike the previous threads, these resembled guitar strings. They vibrated slightly and made sounds.

I hope nobody can hear that. It's strange how they are different this time. Let's see what the culprit is." Come on. We're going back," Eric lifted Ash onto his shoulder. The raved nestled closer to his neck and gripped the collar of his shirt. Following the strings made navigating the library much easier. They shifted direction whenever the shelves rearranged themselves, always pointing forward. Eric followed them with patience. He didn't want to teleport yet.

His gut told him this wouldn't be his last encounter with the demon. In the distance, he spotted several of the Shattered guards pulling magic chains. Five conjurers focused all their efforts on keeping the demon contained within a cage. Eric camouflaged and took cover near one of the bookshelves.

"Hold the devil in place! I am the only survivor of the last time we lost control over it." A familiar woman's voice rang out. Waves of relief washed over Eric. He was happy that Kayle somehow convinced the Shattered the ritual went wrong, and she got out. At least that's what he wanted to believe. What other types of magic and bargains she did, he would probably never know.

"Losing control of it? Don't make me laugh. You're barely capable of handling it, that's why you escaped when it broke free." One of the Shattered conjurers was hard at work and yelled at Kayle. She watched in silence until the remark struck her nerves. Her eyes flashed red, and fiery chains appeared in her hands. That guy's in for a rude awakening…" Could you repeat that, please?" Kayle said.

"Didn't you hear me the first time? I said you're weak and…" The chains lashed out and wrapped around the conjurer. He tried to escape, but the burning metal tightened around his neck and waist. Steam rose into the air from his blistering flesh. A guard turned towards the young cult leader.

"Is this necessary? We need all the men we can get," he said.

"If I hear something like that one more time, I'll rip his head off!" Kayle released the conjurer she kept captive, and he resumed channeling energy into the cage holding the demon. Note to self: don't piss off Kayle. Eric's camouflage flashed for a second. His essence was getting low. He quickly moved behind the bookshelves, hoping no one noticed.

"I'll need to go back to the hideout and gather the tomes so that we can return him to the demon realm. Stay here!" Kayle levitated around the cage and drew a sigil in the air using her hands. The spell rotated and slammed into the cage. Roars and hisses erupted from inside. After a while, she drifted toward Eric's hiding place and motioned for him to come over. Clasping her hands together, Kayle raised walls of fire around them, encasing the group and isolating the sound from the environment.

"Now that's what I call a great performance." Eric looked around the burning sphere with a grin.

"Um… thanks. Sometimes, I forget you're also human," Kayle said. She noticed Ash wasn't looking great and walked over to the raven, extending a hand.

"Let me help. I'll heal your wounds. If everything goes right, I might give you a bonus to fire resistance," she said. Ash pushed off Eric's shoulder and fluttered awkwardly to the ground. Its legs still hurt, and it limped over to Kayle. She crouched and gently took the bird into her hands.

"You sure that your magic won't make Ash go all evil bird demon on me?" Eric glanced at Kayle, holding his companion. He didn't want anything to happen to the raven.

"Don't worry about that. You should trust a cult leader." Flames swirled around Kayle and Ash. Both of them glowed brightly, and steam filled the protective capsule. Eric sweated so much that he could barely breathe. Tendrils of flame wrapped around the raven and changed color. The flames shifted from blue to purple before settling into a blood-red color, healing the raven's injuries. It stood up in Kayle's hands and ruffled its feathers. Happy caws followed seconds later.

"Ash!"

"You're good as new," Kayle said. She opened her palms, and the raven jumped back onto Eric's shoulders. He could barely stay on his feet through the intense heat.

"Next time, warn me before you decide to cook me alive." Eric wiped the sweat from his face. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so red. Probably somewhere between the start and the end of his six-second performance on that disastrous talent show he attended as a kid.

"Okay, tomato face," Kayle smiled and waved in the air. A blast of cold air washed over him and instantly removed the unpleasant feeling of burning skin.

"Feel better now?" If not for the fire barrier's glow, Eric might have hidden his amazement from the green-eyed woman. He tried to keep a straight face and give out a serious and unimpressed expression. Looking at Ash and touching his own face again, he felt everything was back to normal. He didn't want to give the Shattered any reason to grow suspicious.

"How much time do we have?" Kayle summoned a small portal, and it showed a direct view into the outside of the protective barrier. The guards and conjurers were still holding the demon while more reinforcements arrived in the distance.

"That's interesting. They actually did what I told them. I think we have some time, but let's not make it too long. We don't want them to be suspicious." Eric mulled over what to ask. He didn't want to reveal his discovery about the cracking sky, but at the same time, he wanted to hear what the cultist knew about it.

"I think Ash found a way to move upwards. The sky is an illusion, just like the layout of the library. It's probably made from something like glass, and we need to destroy it."

"That's unexpected. I thought we had to solve the riddle in the library. There's a bow hidden here somewhere," Kayle said.

"A hidden bow?!" Eric frowned. Ash cawed several times. Kayle smiled at the raven.

"I think we found our next objective."