Chương 42: Only The First

The slither in the sand drew attention to the distant expanse of the wasteland. Something was shifting there, far bigger than the swarm of centipedes. After the first storm, which Liesel had been unprepared for, this was the first time she had the opportunity to observe the wasteland the moment before the storm. Other days, they'd already be huddled in a spot, and Verka and Yehia would create the ward to guard them. From here, it was different.

The storm was not a constant of the Necropolis, but something alive and gigantic. If that thing was the cause of the storm, even though Liesel couldn't fathom how, just how vast its body would be? Tens of miles? Closer to hundreds, rather, Liesel imagined. Can it be killed? Can I use Soul Unravelling on it? I am already dying from the materiality within my body—why lust for power beyond my station? We were unwittingly seeking the source of the storm.

The thing was still a distant idea of what Liesel could only see as a slight squirm in the sand, rather than the creature that it was. Another echo rippled through the sand. And then, the sand and ash exploded from the squirming spot in the wasteland, twisting into a wave that raced towards the wall on this side as well as towards the peaks on the other. Liesel took a deep breath, channeling Materiality into her veins.

"I trust you, Auram." Liesel uttered as she climbed back to her feet.

"I will be back!" Auram teleported away. Liesel dashed towards the wall. She was giving up her only opportunity to a dignified end. As her body spiked with pain with each step, she realized how miserable an end awaited her if Auram were to fail. Perhaps it was the better idea. To fight until the end, there has to be some dignity in it, too, right? She reached the wall, her heart thumping in her throat.

Verka conjured the outer shell of the ward, and Yehia reinforced it from the underside, creating interlocking structures to withstand the impact, rather than using energy as direct weight. To survive the wasteland, their use of magic had to be calculated, as efficient as they could be under the most ideal design. Liesel heaved, leaning against the wall. With each breath, the world in front of her felt a little hazier, darker. Her eyes rang.

The wave crashed, filled with so much Materiality that the current in the air felt like thousands of tiny needles poking her skin. For a moment, her mind blanked. [Perception +1 Perception 12---> 13] When her eyes focused again, the System's notification hung there. Who could've thought hypersensitivity to materiality could be a way to train Perception? Don't get any funny ideas now? Liesel could see Auram's frowning face if she told her that.

Her lips curled up at the idea, both of a new method of training and the spirit's reaction, if she ever got to show her this.

"Are you okay?" Fiya asked. Liesel took a deep breath, standing a little straighter. It was easier to rein in even the worst pained expression than a slightly eased-up face. She didn't have much practice in that department.

"I am fine," Liesel uttered as impassively as she could.

"Please stay behind," Fiya said. There was a heavy weight of worry in that request.

"We must be as efficient as we can be," Liesel replied. The crash this time lasted over two minutes, and when it settled, the ground was already quivering with the hum of the centipedes.

"How many are there?" Liesel took a deep breath and exhaled. She wanted to rest her hand on her knees and take a moment to ease her body. That was probably the worst thing she could do in front of everyone.

"Four!" Farki Jan shouted. He pointed to the areas. The team was already splitting. Verka and Kurvam were one unit. Fiya, Healer Borran, Garvin, and Markil were another. Jaisel, Farki Jan, and Charbil were the final team. Yehia's role was to provide cover and yank anyone she could from danger, as well as allow Liesel to get close to the demon's exposed body for her to execute them quickly. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Though Healer Borran and Farki Jan had primary Archetypes unsuited for combat, and as much as Liesel preferred to preserve them in safety, things were desperate. Exposing them to combat might be safer than trying to guard them, especially when the demons could swim under the sand.

"Can you really perform a Shade Strike?" Yehia asked, glancing at Liesel from the corner of her eye.

"You look really sick, and I mean sincerely, can you do it in your condition?"

"Do we have a better option?" Liesel asked. Yehia sighed.

"You will have exactly one opportunity to gloat at my failure; don't miss it," Liesel grinned. Yehia didn't see humor in her words. If anything, it seemed to ground her expression to the grim reality.

"I don't want to have that opportunity ever." Except for Liesel, no one on the team seemed to be able to execute the Shade Severing Strike, even with rest and time to meditate to settle their minds. Liesel had to stop pushing them for it after the second day, because it almost seemed like she was boasting about her specialness.

Liesel still believed it was the lack of their foundational training necessary to do it, and the weight of the technique in the context of their battles made it far more daunting than the complexity of the technique itself. Shade Severance shouldn't be impossible. The entire swarm of centipedes never came to the surface at once, and whenever there was more than one, they stayed away from one another. They all violently hated each other, it seemed, and if two crossed paths, they'd tear each other apart.

The expedition had tried to use it to their advantage, but the centipedes instinctively seemed to be aware of each other's locations, and the only way to make them cross paths was by destroying at least one mandible from each. Attempting such a thing would be far more dangerous than the current plan they were using. One person distracted, the other created a hole in the upper portion of the centipede, and then Liesel would rush in to execute the centipede with a Shade Severing Strike.

At least, that's how they largely acted. Kurvam shattered the shell and proceeded to use his sword skill to cleave the centipede in half almost instantly. He had the element of surprise, but it also attracted the fourth centipede's attention to him. With Verka's help, he'd win again. But that was almost half of his capacity instantly wasted for nothing. The centipedes were physically very tenacious, so even with their shell cracked open, it required a charged skill to kill them after all.

Liesel frowned, but she had accepted this was the price for Verka's wards when it mattered, and the warder seemed to have the same understanding, at least. In the case of Jaisel's team, the other two were supposed to distract the centipede and let him use an echoing sand, and then Piercing Shot. The first paralyzed the demon as it leapt out of the sand, and the second cracked open its shell, two joints beneath the brain.

Using Soul Severance beneath the fourth joint didn't kill the creature, so that was one consideration they had to keep in mind. I need to move. Liesel's heart thumped as she wove the Materiality into her flesh, and then into the sword. The pain was paralyzing. Clenching her jaw, she decided to run without forcing her legs to preserve her body for a bit longer. As the centipede fell to the side from the spell's impact, it emitted a hum, trying to bury itself into the sand.

Charbil bashed its head, knocking the magic off for a moment, allowing Liesel enough time to reach them. Liesel should've been there before it could have shaken off the Echoing Sand. She was being too slow. We are most likely going to see thirty or more centipedes. I need to be patient. Liesel mentally reminded herself. It was an effort to act recklessly. Now that she had decided to fight, the least she could do was get as close to the final centipede as possible before the recoil completely shattered her mind.

No matter how she equated, she'd need to perform fifteen to seventeen consecutive and successful Shade Severing Strikes and hope the rest of Kurvam and others would be able to kill. The first failure would kill her. Patience... Liesel exhaled. She stabbed the blade. As her blade cut the soul, her entire body was paralyzed, as if her Nebulous Core was unravelling. A pain unlike anything she had experienced bled from her soul. [Shade Severing Strike Executed!] Only the first.

Liesel reminded herself as her lungs refused to accept oxygen. It's only the first. At least ten more, I can kill that many. Just have to breathe...

Isa was grinding materiality cores in a mortar made out of an animal's bone dust. Its properties, mixed with another gel-like solution, created a special structure that trapped materiality leaking from the cores. On the side, in a furnace, those solutions were already burning. Auram teleported beside the furnace and flinched away from the heat.

"You are back," Isa said.

"Is everything all right?"

"How long do we have to wait?" Auram asked, frowning as the stench of the burning mixture touched her wings.

"At least another hour," the alchemist replied.

"We don't have that kind of time. It's already here," Auram's voice echoed. What should I do!? Her eyes bounced from one thing to another, as if there was a potion to fix everything hidden somewhat in those shelves. If there was a solution, it definitely was not here.

"It's not even been an hour," Isa chewed the inside of her cheek as she smashed another Materiality Core with a little more strength. The mixture splattered on the countertop, sizzling on the timber.

"I am working as fast as I can, dangerously so. But I am limited by the time necessary to prepare a Constitution Enhancement potion. I can try raising a temperature slightly, but at best it would save a few minutes."

"Yeah, but," Auram didn't know how to explain the stretch of time being different inside the Necropolis and the outside world.

"The Necropolis's time stretches differently. It's already been more than two hours at this point there."

"How is that even possible?" Isa frowned.

"If I believe that, then there's no way I make the potion no matter how recklessly I do it. We never had the time to begin with." Isa stopped crushing the cores.

"Don't stop!" Auram hadn't completely rationalized how impossible Liesel's request was. The human most likely forgot about the weirdness of time. I should've remembered... remembered, and do what? We never had the time. That's so unfair.

"Please make it," Auram said, "I am sorry for not considering the time... but there's still something I can do to extend her life. Then your potion will save her." The storm would be long over before the potion is ever prepared. Auram took a deep breath. There was only one other person she could turn to.