Chương 38: On the Brink

The Centipede twisted, racing towards the Observer. It snapped its mandibles. The sand exploded towards Farki Jan, but Verka's Ward intercepted the explosion. The barrier, however, could not withstand the direct clash with the Centipedge and shattered like glass. As the demon lunged, Fiya shot a ray of energy at its head, melting the entire portion of its brain in an instant. It was the same spell she had used against the Door Guardian the first time— Dostrike. Fiya heaved, coughing as she gasped for breath.

Her hands unconsciously tightened, as did her expression, as if she were experiencing a paralysing shock. That was most likely the effect of her Soul Veins being damaged to a crippling degree.

"There were two," Markil heaved. His body was tense as well.

"Three," Farki Jan croaked as he leaned against the wall. He used the layering technique over the wound to seal the blood. Liesel exhaled, conjuring the rune with all her energy. She stabbed the Blood Devourer into it, the rune imprinted on the blade.

"Verka, give me a platform," Liesel said as she looked at the Observer, barely clinging to his consciousness. This was not his job.

"Can you feel it?" Farki Jan nodded, pointing to the middle where Verka was standing.

"Will your barrier hold against a direct strike?" Liesel asked. Verka was hesitant, perhaps for the first time in the entire expedition. This was also the first time she was asking him to be a bait where failure meant death. He shook his head.

"Its strength will overpower my barrier."

"Then, run, and give me some height." Liesel climbed up the platforms.

"Let me do it instead!" Kurvam hollered as he began running towards her.

"You can go after the next one," Liesel said. She hoped this was the last one. She climbed up the translucent stairs over ten meters into the air. She kept channeling Materiality through her body as she waited for the centipede to come out. The fastest Shade Strike still took three to five seconds of wait, and that would have to happen after she had opened its head. The dune rose, and from it came out the centipede, hissing. Liesel jumped down from the air as the sand rolled off the demon's body.

Landing on its head, she stabbed her sword, charged with Materiality, into its head. The blade sank a few inches into the thick shell, and then the Impact Rune exploded, opening a crack in the head. Liesel burned Materiality in her arm and fist to hold the sword through the recoil. And though she managed to hold onto it, the centipede itself started lurching back and forth. And before she could even channel Materiality, it clicked its mandible. A pocket of air exploded, tossing her onto the ground.

She stumbled, managing to run on her feet. She had created enough distraction that Garvin and Markil cleft the side of the centipede between the connecting tissues of the shells while dodging its blade-like feet. Its upper body lurched to the side and, without any support, landed on the sand. Channeling Materiality into the blade, Liesel ran towards the sand centipede. It twisted again, snapping its pincers at Liesel. But there was little strength and speed left in it.

She dodged the explosion and swung her blade into the crack on its head. [Shade Severing Strike Executed!] Its body went motionless. Liesel heaved. This was the last? She waited a moment, expecting the sand to shake again. When it didn't, Liesel heaved a sigh and approached Farki Jan, picking up his cut-off ankle between the demon's body. It was not as devastating as it had felt initially. His leg could be fixed.

Especially because Farki Jan had not sustained any other injuries, it shouldn't be hard for the body to accept a healing like this. Though he was a dead weight now, and his use was questionable at best. Healer Borran rushed to the Observer's side. He created a small orb of light that stopped the bleeding from Observer Jan's leg without the agonizing pain of Layering. He accepted the foot from Liesel.

"It will hurt like a bitch," Healer Borran said bitterly. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"Oh, I am prepared," Farki Jan tried to sound nonchalant, but gasping in pain twice for each word didn't instill any ease in the rest of the team.

"Why the fuck are there so many of these freaking strong demons?" Charbil spat. He sounded on the verge of tears and a moment before exploding with uncontained rage. It was hard to walk on the sand, and fighting anything here was exhausting. As if bothered by his rather honest frustration, the sand began to quiver one more time.

"Fuck," Garvin spat. For how many of these demonic creatures they had killed, they were relatively uninjured. It was because of the lethality of the demons themselves. Unlike Farki Jan, any warrior, including Kurvam, were to sustain a similar injury, it would be their death. A warrior without his leg was a burden they could not afford to carry.

In the next hour, they would fight three more sand centipedes. They stopped coming as the storm began to calm, and once it stopped, the centipedes didn't attack anymore. Each successive one was easier to kill than the last, as they were better prepared and understood the nature of the demons. Jaisel using the sand wave on them helped as well, as those centipedes weren't adjusted to the change in the sand yet. But by the end, Liesel had relatively burned her Soul Veins too.

She didn't know how long she would be useful before she became a dead weight as well. Healer Borran reattached Farki Jan's foot, but he wouldn't be able to walk yet. Healer Borran carried him on his back. After extracting seven of the orbs, they began their weary trek towards the north again. They insisted on resting there for a few hours. Liesel didn't have the courage to stay near a dead demon's body. And her effectiveness in the battle gave her words more weight.

The lack of resistance to her orders was addicting. Liesel wished she didn't feel as gratified as she did. After all, she would be the first to burn her Soul Veins and be left behind. As the pain in her Soul Vein refused to ease, it became a knot in her guts. After an hour, they had stopped. Healer Borran was tired enough that he couldn't continue with the Observer on his back, so that task was shifted to Charbil for now. He was the second biggest among them.

And he would carry Farki Jan for another two hours before succumbing to exhaustion. Fighting was one thing, but carrying a man without any food or water was another. Garvin tried, but his stature was too short, so he had a harder time walking on the sand. In the end, Liesel felt she had to carry him as well. Her natural strength was considerably high, so it shouldn't be that hard. To Liesel's great surprise, Kurvam offered to share the burden.

He could carry the observer as if the man were nothing more than a small backpack.

[Ascendant Soul Analysis and Extraction Successful: Materiality +0 Ashtouched Materiality Disposed. No Soul Aspect Acquired No Assimilation Possible] Sarkot's soul resulted in nothing, and Liesel was somewhat glad about the fact. She wouldn't have found it pleasant to use one of her former companions' souls as fuel for her strength. It also made it seem that, though Sarkot had been alive, he was basically destroyed in both body and soul.

The System didn't tell her how much Ashtouched Materiality was disposed for her to figure out the reality of the situation. Because Ashtouched Materiality would still be in his soul, just cursed to be useful for anything. It might be useful for something, I suppose... There were Ashdust thieves in the Saffron Helm after all. Wonder what happened to them? Liesel sat on the dune, away from the expedition team, who were resting by the wall. It was hot. Liesel's entire body was burning. Was it a fever?

Or just the natural climb in temperature in the Necropolis. Her body was numb. She didn't want to figure it out, as either was not good news. It had been seven hours since the last ash storm, and she didn't know the frequency yet. She felt it came about once every twenty-four hours and remained raging for one. It could be twenty-three, possibly. If they had to fight another swarm in sixteen hours, Liesel couldn't see herself lasting till the end of the day.

She glanced back at the disturbing state of the Ascendants. Their temperament was also waning, and every word was retorted in return, no matter who started it. Liesel could see them descending a dark path if one hit a low point. At least, her words carried some weight, but it was uncertain whether it was enough to stop them. Even now, Kurvam seemed ready to cut down Verka and Yehia. He had been without any water for five hours at this point, and the small consideration he had shown was quickly draining.

Liesel considered for a moment before sighing. Fiya approached her. She looked ill, and her left hand was swelling again.

"Why are you sitting on the hot sand? It's cooler there."

"I can't sit with them," Liesel said.

"I feel weak. I cannot be perceived like one."

"I don't think we are going to last much longer now for you to worry about your image," Fiya said, falling onto the sand beside Liesel. She grimaced as the hot sand warmed her clothes.

"I don't think I am recovering Materiality anymore. My Soul Veins are burning every time I try to channel."

"I will ask Auram," Liesel said.

"Auram?" Fiya raised a brow, propping herself into a sitting position.

"The spirit," Liesel said as Auram manifested in front of her. She was close enough that Liesel's body served as a natural cover.

"How did she hear you?" The spirit grinned, "I am always watching. You can say I am sort of omniscient." Liesel shrugged, pretending not to know. Fiya frowned as she observed the spirit, now without any golden glow emitting from her skin and body.

"How can Farki Jan not feel your presence?"

"Oh," Auram grinned, puffing her chest.

"I have been alive for a while. I know my ways around invasive human magic. You gotta push some of the energy this way," Auram waved her hand to the right, "and some this way," she gestured to the left, "and stand in the center. I am so tiny that their grand magic will never notice a speck of dust like me."

"Should you be explaining that to a human?" Liesel said, frowning at the inconceivable nonchalance the spirit still showed. Was she not persecuted out of reality by humans?

"She's your friend. I don't think she's gonna get me in trouble," Auram said.