Chương 32: A bloody reunion (2)

After a moment, Ethan gently pushed Leah back so he could get a proper look at her. Her face was streaked with dried blood and dirt. Dark bruising marked her jaw and her cheeks were sharper than he remembered. She looked thinner.

"What happened to you?" he asked quietly.

"Why are you here?" Leah scrubbed at her eyes, breaking away fully from the embrace. She lifted her hands and stared at them as if only now noticing the blood covering her fingers. Ethan followed her gaze and immediately scanned her body for injuries. There was blood everywhere, but none of it seemed fresh. And she didn't look injured.

"Are you okay?" he asked, hating how stupid it sounded. She gave a small nod, though her hands trembled as they dropped back to her sides.

"I was on a mission," she said.

"They had all been so easy. I—I was trying to grow stronger." Ethan nodded along. He already knew most of this but just needed it confirmed.

"Are you hurt?"

"No. They weren't too bad with me. Mostly questions. Who I was with. How long I had been here. I think I was lucky I'd only just arrived." Ethan let out a breath, feeling relieved. He had seen the other prisoners. It was like they had been through surgical procedures. Or experimentation. He was glad to know that hadn't happened to Leah.

"Good," he said.

"I'm glad I found you when I did. Even if it was more difficult than it needed to be." He gave her a pointed look. But before she could respond, Bella appeared at his side.

"We need to move," she said calmly.

"More guards will arrive soon." Leah stiffened slightly at her presence, but Ethan nodded. He turned to the tall blonde, who was wiping blood from her face with the back of her wrist.

"And who's this?" he questioned, noting the way Leah had stuck close to her.

"Alice," she replied, still breathing heavily.

"And I take it you're the brother I've heard so much about." Ethan nodded, so this was the woman Leah had been doing missions with. He already had mixed feelings about her. On the one hand, she had gotten them in danger. But on the other, she had clearly been trying to keep Leah safe earlier.

"Ethan," he supplied, then turned to Bella.

"And this is Bella." Alice studied her for a second before giving a short nod.

"Thanks." Bella snorted.

"As nice as this all is, we really should get moving." Behind them, the rescued prisoners muttered among themselves.

"We should hunt them," one of the warriors growled.

"Kill every last one." Others agreed with him, but the scout shook his head.

"We don't know how many are in here. Or how strong they are. We need to leave and try to reach the second level before it's too late." Bella spoke before the tension could rise further.

"We should find the necromancer, I still need answers." Ethan turned toward her slowly.

"He's the core of this operation," she continued.

"If he's alive, this continues. If he dies, it collapses. And he will know where the others are." Alice's jaw tightened.

"My guild mates are still missing." Ethan's mind immediately flashed to the room of reanimations. Forty bodies standing in stasis. Broken Dawns. Valkyries. Others. Was Bella's sister among them? He considered telling her. Considered dragging them back to that room and showing her the truth. Instead, he swallowed it and nodded.

"Alright, let's try to find the necromancer." After all, he wanted them removed as well. —~~— They moved back through the tunnels. It had turned far too quiet for Ethan's liking. Ethan extended [Keen Sense], stretching it through corridors and junctions as they advanced. He had been keeping it active this entire time. They passed a chamber filled with heavy wooden tables. Bella slowed, her finger sliding across the table and coming away with blood on it.

"What the hell," she muttered. The tables were stained dark. Surgical tools lay scattered across the surfaces—saws, hooks, clamps, scalpels. Restraints had been bolted into the wood. Leah's breathing shifted beside him. He could only imagine what she was thinking. Why would someone do this? How was it possible? But Ethan knew the truth. The trials changed you. Brought out something more primal. And humans were the worst. Power consumed them, warping their minds and changing their personalities.

It was something he had seen even before he entered the trials. And something he would never forget. They continued upward. The corridors widened until eventually the passage opened into a vast chamber. The settlement monolith sat at the center. The space where the guild hall should have operated was empty. Only dim wall lighting illuminated the chamber, casting long shadows across the floor and hiding anything within. Ethan stepped forward slowly, the others right beside him.

Through [Keen Sense] he could hear footsteps echoing slightly. He stopped and watched the building intently. From the shadowed entrance of the guild hall, a figure emerged. They wore dark robes draped over a tall, gaunt frame, just like the other guards. But even from a distance, Ethan could feel mana sitting deep within them. More than any other human Ethan had come across. The man stepped into the dim light. He looked around forty. Thin to the point of frailty. Pale skin stretched tight across sharp cheekbones.

Light blue eyes gleamed beneath his hood, cold and irritated. He studied them with open disdain.

"So," he said smoothly, "you're the group who entered my settlement and disrupted my research." Ethan did not answer immediately. He extended [Keen Sense] outward, probing the surrounding corridors. Movement stirred from multiple places, where moments ago it had been dead still. Alice stepped forward, sword in hand.

"What have you done with my guild mates?" she demanded, her voice tight with restrained fury. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The necromancer's mouth curved slightly. Ethan looked around the open chamber. Shit.

"You will understand in due time." Reanimations began emerging from the six corridor entrances that fed into the chamber. They walked in steady, coordinated lines. Armor torn. Guild colors stained and shredded. Ethan shifted his stance as the others let out quiet curses and shuffled closer. He looked around. There were maybe thirty of them. A far cry from the amount he had seen in the room, but he wouldn't complain. Besides, he didn't even know if they would be able to handle this many. The prisoners were weak.

The only people he could rely on were Bella and Alice. Maybe the old man. But he just seemed more brave and angry than anything.

"Try to stay together," he ordered, but had little more time to spare for others. The reanimations were already closing in on them.

"Stay by my side," he continued, directed at Leah, before raising his sword just as a reanimation attacked. Ethan parried the blow, the reanimation's sword coming to a stop as [Steadfast] didn't allow him to be pushed back. Ethan went on the attack, his blade coming down at the reanimated Valkyrie. What followed was a quick assault, leading to Ethan's sword cutting through the reanimation's neck, putting an end to them. But as he looked around he knew this couldn't go on.

They were vastly outnumbered and would be overrun if they continued to fight like this. To end it and put a rest to this whole situation, Ethan needed to get to the necromancer. He looked for Bella. She moved through the reanimations, cutting tendons and disabling as many as she could. Ethan called out, "Can you get to the necromancer unseen?" He blocked another attack, waiting for her answer. Amidst the fighting, she shook her head.

"I can't enter the Shadow Realm. I overused it earlier." Shit. Ethan twisted away and cut down another reanimation that was attacking one of the prisoners. The necromancer stood near the monolith, hands clasped loosely behind his back. He was watching. Ethan felt anger burn cold in his chest. He understood then that fighting the reanimations was pointless. The source stood untouched.

"I'm pushing forward," he said.

"Stay close to everyone else," he continued, directed at Leah, before pushing his way forward. If no one could sneak up on the necromancer, then he would do it the tried-and-true way. Through brute force. With [Keen Sense], Ethan liked to think he had a pretty good awareness of his surroundings. That was only heightened by his cultivation and levels he had gained since entering this place. All this was to say, as Ethan pushed forward, he was forced to dodge blades, spells, and any other manner of attack.

The others seemed to be trying their best to keep the reanimations off him. Bella had also branched out, moving to the back and dealing with any mages. Ethan still took a cut across his forearm, a wind blade to his thigh, and a couple of other cuts. His body was already a mess of pain. Going all the way back to his broken rib that made his breathing hard and his strikes lose power. It was growing harder to ignore.

So as he stepped through collapsing bodies, using them as momentary barriers and striking out at anything that came within range, he did not slow. He needed to end this. The necromancer's gaze had turned to him, watching his advance. Ethan could see the strain on his face at keeping so many reanimations active at once. From everything he could understand, the necromancer was targeting people who needed to leave the level but were weak.

More reanimations came his way, the necromancer likely ordering them to keep the threat away. Ethan kept fighting though. By now his strikes were far weaker. His body was bloodied and he was pretty pissed off. He felt for the mana sitting in his core, forcing it out and into his tendons. It was a skill he used with aura, and one he had become proficient in. But mana was different. You couldn't own it like you could aura. It was an energy you borrowed, so it fought him at every stage.

He narrowed his focus, trying to imbue just his legs. It was risky. If he had time he wouldn't be doing this in battle, but he had no choice. The reanimations were swarming him and he needed to close the distance fast. Mana coursed from his core and was forced into his legs. He felt the tingle as it spread through his muscles. It felt like they were slowly catching fire. Instinctively, he knew he didn't have much time. He powered forward.

His muscles coiled and exploded with motion, far faster than his body could normally handle. Ethan shot through the reanimations, bowling one to the ground. The necromancer's eyes widened as Ethan quickly closed the gap. He raised a hand. Ethan could sense mana gathering, but it was too late to move off course. Something struck Ethan square in the chest and hurled him backward with enough force to make [Steadfast] obsolete. His back hit something solid, his bag acting as a cushion.

Ethan sucked in a deep breath, struggling to get oxygen. He looked up. The necromancer began chanting in a language Ethan did not recognize. Dark veins of mana crawled outward across the floor from his feet, branching toward the reanimations. He heard a scream and quickly looked to where Leah was, hoping it wasn't her. One of the prisoners dropped to the ground. A reanimation stood over her, blade stabbing down. Others seemed to attack with enhanced power, Ethan's ragtag group getting pushed back.

He could see more had already fallen. He must have missed when. Ethan didn't have time to worry. He needed to get to the necromancer and put an end to this. Again, he pushed mana into his leg muscles. The strain was intense and as he moved, he felt something give. His leg buckled but he was on him. The necromancer thrust his palm forward and skeletal hands burst from the stone, trying to reach for Ethan. He felt them grasp at his ankles and calves, but he hacked downward, cutting any restraints.

Ethan brought his sword up and slammed into the necromancer. Steel cut through fabric and bit into flesh along the man's side. They both hit the ground, Ethan from his legs giving out and the necromancer from Ethan's weight and the sword that was still embedded in him. Ethan rolled off the man. He was breathing hard, a black mark on his chest. He brought his sword up, ready to end it. As it descended, Bella appeared in front of him. Her dagger caught his blade before getting pushed back.

"Wait," she pleaded. Ethan got to his feet, looking at her searchingly. The necromancer was on the ground behind her. She was blocking his advance. Behind him, he could still hear fighting.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. Had he been wrong to think she had changed?

"I need him," she pleaded, while turning her back to Ethan, showing surprising trust.

"Call them off." The necromancer's eyes flicked past Ethan's shoulder and toward his minions.

"Now!" Bella demanded. The necromancer raised a hand and Ethan prepared to attack. But as he lowered it, the sound of battle behind him disappeared.

"If this is about your sister," Ethan said carefully, "you did not need to do it like this. I'll help you find her." Bella's expression did not change and she stayed planted between him and the necromancer.

"I'm sorry, Ethan. I don't have a sister. I just knew it would make you help." Ethan paused, registering the words. Something inside him settled into something cold and angry. He had allowed himself to believe there was a version of her that might be good.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I need him alive," Bella replied.

"And I am leaving with him." Behind Ethan, the remaining prisoners began advancing, rage overriding survival instinct.

"He needs to die," the older man snarled.

"That's the bastard who starved me for weeks."

"Back off," Ethan said quietly, his thoughts churning. Could he take her? He imagined he could. His legs were busted from the mana use so he wouldn't be able to move around, his rib was likely cracked and he had multiple cuts, but he would still back himself. The real question is what would happen if she could still enter the shadow realm. She had already lied about having a sister, maybe she was holding more secrets.

He had only seen her cast one skill, she was definitely over level twenty so she had at least another two she hadn't revealed. That could change everything. She could go after his sister and he would be too slow to react.

"After what he has done—" someone began.

"Back off," Ethan repeated, steel edging his voice. Bella's grip tightened fractionally on her dagger. Ethan could sense the micro movements she was making. She would fight them if she had to, and would likely be able to kill most of them before he got there.

"He will die. I promise." Bella continued.

"I am sorry, I will make this right. But this is life and death. I need him to come with me." Was this where Bella would turn down a dark path, or would taking the necromancer stop that from happening, changing her future? He didn't know. Ethan's eyes did not leave hers. He weighed up the benefits of letting the two get away. One, she would owe him, and he would be collecting. Two, no one else would have to die today. Although he was willing to do it, he didn't savour the thought of taking another life.

Especially one that has so much potential to help humanity survive.

"What do you want with him?" He questioned. If the answer wasn't satisfactory he would attack. She must have sensed he was willing to listen, because her stance softened.

"I need him to cure my teammates. They have a death curse on them. He's got the power to remove it." Ethan considered it. Before giving a slight nod. He wouldn't attack, but he couldn't say anything for the prisoners.

"I will not forget this." She nodded and moved back to the necromancer. She seized the necromancer by the collar. Shadow pooled around them both like liquid ink.

"Thank you, Ethan. You have no idea how much this will change." They vanished. The chamber felt abruptly hollow. The reanimations stood lifeless once more. Ethan stared at the empty space where they had been. So he was right, she could still use the shadow realm. The prisoners looked between him and the frozen undead, fury written plainly across their faces. He had just denied them their chance at revenge, all so the witch of decay would owe him one.

It felt like a gamble, but he thought it was worth it, these prisoners would likely die in the mirage or before. But Bella would grow to be one of humanity's strongest.