Chương 73: Chapter 72: Outsmart

Ophila winced as the wind howled past them, the freezing roar tearing at their clothes as she and Senna plummeted down into the pitch-dark shaft. Senna shrieked, grabbing at Ophila as the sheer terror completely took over her. But through the panic, she somehow managed to force her hands out and call desperately on her rune. And with a sudden spark, a small spirit materialized into being. The tiny wisp fell alongside them, glowing faintly.

It wasn't much, but it dispelled enough of the darkness to reveal the craggy stone walls rushing past at a terrifying speed. It also revealed the solid stone floor of the abyss, which was rapidly coming into view. Shit… Ophila readied herself, reaching down into her pouch and grabbing a marble. Her superb spatial analysis tracked the fast-approaching stone floor through the dim spirit light. Then, timing it to the absolute last second, she threw the marble downward with all her might.

The moment the marble struck the ground, Ophila activated her rune. [Ad Valorem] Instantaneously, she swapped places with the rough bead. Ophila slammed boots-first onto the solid rock floor, the impact—though it had been lessened by the rune—sending a jarring backlash straight up her legs. But she didn't even have a second to catch her breath before Senna came hurtling down right toward her. Ophila tensed, bracing herself, then lunged forward, catching Senna out of mid-air.

The horrible momentum of the collision sent them both crashing hard onto the stone. A horrific, paralyzing agony flared straight up Ophila's spine, feeling like the impact almost broke her back right then and there. They rolled across the rough floor, until finally settling into a tangled, groaning heap, while Senna's small spirit drifted lazily above them.

"Ophila! Are you alive?" Senna gasped, scrambling off her friend. She gestured for the tiny spirit to drift down lower, its blue light casting more light on them. Ophila lay flat on her back, staring up blankly. She hissed in pain.

"I think... my spine is still in one piece," she groaned.

"Barely though."

"That's a relief," Senna whispered, wiping a worried tear out of her eyes. She gripped Ophila's underarms, helping her slowly roll over onto her side. With a muffled curse, Ophila forced herself up into a sitting position, then onto her feet. Her legs shook like twigs, and the only reason she could even stand was because Senna was right beside her, holding her up.

"Where are we?" Senna murmured, looking around.

"I don't know," Ophila replied shortly. Then she winced.

"But be careful. The thing that took William might still be down here. And who knows if Sparrow can come down." They didn't have any other option but to move. Keeping close to the rough stone wall, they began to walk. The ground beneath their boots was strange, periodically covered with a strange, oily slime that smelled of chemicals. But as they progressed down the widening path, the environment began to change considerably. The biting chill of being underground disappeared, replaced by a thick, warm humidity.

"What is that?" Senna whispered, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.

"Why does it smell like that?" Ophila didn't answer. She was simply too focused on remaining standing up, fighting against the pain pressing down on her back. The spirit hovered a bit ahead, its blue light shining over the stone, and as they rounded a slight bend, the light caught a large, dark shape resting on the floor a few yards away. They both froze. It was a body. The lifeless corpse was leaning against the stone wall, completely motionless.

With pale skin, the corpse's clothes were torn, stained with fluids, and their limbs were bent at awkward angles. Senna's eyes widened. She inhaled sharply, preparing to expel a shriek of fear. But before the first speck of sound could escape her lips, the figure suddenly bounded off the floor in an explosive burst of movement. A hand shot out of the darkness, slapping over Senna's mouth and cutting her scream off.

"Shut up," the figure hissed. Ophila's eyes widened in disbelief. It was William. He was nearly unrecognizable. His skin was sickly pale, caked in dried slime and dark stains, and his clothes had been shredded to rags. Deep reddish marks adorned his arms and torso, and his face was so full of exhaustion and pain that it made him look like a ghost. William glared past Senna to stare at Ophila, his left hand trembling as he pressed an index finger firmly to his own lips.

"Don't make a single sound," he whispered.

"It's right around the corner." Ophila frowned at William's paranoia.

"What do you mean it's around the corner?" she whispered back.

"What happened to you?" William shook his head, no daring to answer. Instead, he just gave a nod toward the end of the path and slowly released his grip on Senna's mouth. Senna bit down on her lower lip, trembling. With agonizing slowness, William turned and began to crawl back toward the lip of the ledge. Ophila and Senna were right behind him, making sure to creep forward quietly, keeping low to the damp stone floor. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

When they reached the edge, William pointed down into the colossal vault. Ophila leaned over, and instantly, she felt like she wanted to throw up. The entire cavern was filled with fluorescent fungi, illuminating massive stone walls and a ceiling. But the true horror was what was in the center. There, a grotesque, fleshy sphere sat, its surface covered with dozens of blinking, lidless eyes.

From that strange meaty ball, titanic tentacles sprouted—their rubbery limbs thick and powerful—curled the main body around lazily. Behind her, Senna involuntarily gasped. Ophila quickly clapped a hand over her friend's mouth this time, glaring at her, but Senna wasn't paying any attention to Ophila. Her eyes were wide with terror as she stared down at the fleshy mass below. Senna gently pulled Ophila's hand away, her whole body trembling as she leaned in close to both of them.

"I know what that is," she murmured.

"I read about it before in some Union reports." Ophila frowned, looking from the massive beast back to Senna.

"What do you mean?"

"It's an Akkorok," Senna whispered, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.

"It belongs on Floor 31. It's an apex predator down there. A single one is capable of completely slaughtering entire teams of high-ranking Delvers." Ophila felt a chill run down her spine, her blood turning frigid. A monster from Floor 31. Her mind struggled to even process that. How? They were on Floor 3! To a standard, upper-level Delver team like them, anything past Floor 20 was considered an automatic death sentence. Floor 31 wasn't just out of their league; it was in an entirely different world!

Seriously, they were all just standard Delvers!

"It has the kids," William whispered, grimly pointing. Ophila blinked, her eyes following his finger to the base of the massive entity. There, nestled in a small, recessed alcove of rock near one of the colossal tentacles, were a small cluster of five shadows. It was the children from Trestfall. They were huddled together in a pitiful, terrified pile, their small faces pale with sickly fear.

A few of the smaller ones were sobbing silently, their shoulders shaking while the mountain of rubbery flesh lazed around just inches away from their spot. Ophila felt a hot spike of anger. The Akkorok wasn't even eating them immediately. It was keeping them there, storing them in the dark like damn livestock.

"Go back," William hissed. Ophila nodded. Taking Senna by the shoulder, she guided her friend backward. Inch by inch, the three of them crawled away from the lip of the ledge, creeping back into the oppressive–but much safe—darkness of the tunnel. They didn't stop until they were far enough down the passage that the green light was entirely out of sight, leaving them surrounded only by the faint blue glow of Senna's tiny summoned spirit. William collapsed against the cave wall, letting out a groan.

He clutched at his ribs, looking like he was one good punch away from passing out entirely. Senna sank to her knees next to him, burying her face in her hands, as she dissolved into terrified whimpers. Ophila stood leaning against the rough stone, staring into the dark. For a fleeting moment, she thought wistfully of Lio. If Lio were here, she was confident things would be completely different. Ophila could already picture him standing in this foul-smelling tunnel, looking completely unbothered.

He simply possessed an incomprehensible sort of competence. He was always a step ahead, no matter what strange incident occurred. Ophila scoffed, rolling her eyes. But who was she kidding? She certainly wasn't the type to sit around waiting for a savior, especially not for someone like Lio. Ophila didn't trust Lio. Not even a little bit. The guy was an enigma, and he always seemed to be playing a game. A game where nobody else knew what the fuck was going on.

So in a twisted way, his absence here was actually a blessing in disguise. Without Lio around to casually solve everything, this was her chance to handle it. More importantly, it was an opportunity. Being trapped in the literal depths of the abyss with Senna meant they had to rely entirely on each other. And so, surviving a nightmare like this would forge an unbreakable bond between them. And that was exactly what Ophila needed.

If she could get closer to Senna, she might finally figure out what Lio was trying to do with her. He clearly had some sort of plan for the naive girl, and Ophila intended to uncover it before he could exploit her. Plus, there was William. The guy was half-dead, but he was capable enough. If she could pull him out of this hellhole alive, he would owe her his life.

Having a capable, indebted ally like William on her side would be a massive asset moving forward, especially when dealing with whatever hidden agenda Lio was cooking up. Ophila slapped her own cheeks with both hands, the sharp sound making both Senna and William flinch in surprise.

"Alright," Ophila said, forcing her voice to remain steady.

"We are definitely not fighting that thing. If Senna is right, throwing ourselves at it is just mass suicide. But we aren't leaving without those kids either." William gave a grave nod.

"Agreed. We can't kill it."

"But even then, how?" Senna whispered, wiping her eyes.

"It's huge. If we step out onto that cavern floor, it'll crush us before we even get to the kids." Ophila reached into her pouch, resting her fingers on her marbles.

"Yeah, it has eyes everywhere on its core," she muttered, pacing around in deep thought.

"But William, it dragged you in here, right?"

"Yeah." Ophila frowned.

"Why did it let you go? If it's so strong, why didn't it manage to capture you as well?" William grimly smirked, raising his battered knife. The notched blade was coated with a strange pale fluid.

"I hacked deep into its tentacle. I think I hit a nerve or something." Ophila stepped closer, her analytical mind working fast.

"So it can feel pain. That's good. Think back, William. Any other specific weaknesses we can use?" William's brows furrowed in concentration, his gaze on the floor as he replayed the fight in his head. Suddenly, he jerked his head up, his eyes widening as a realization dawned on him.

"Yeah. There's one," he said.

"I think it's mostly blind." Ophila cocked her head, her expression instantly becoming one of skepticism.

"Its whole body is covered in eyes, William. That's not exactly 'blind' in my book. What do you mean?"

"No, think about it," William insisted, shaking his head.

"I think the eyes are just for show. When I first saw it, I was in that thing's direct line of vision, cause I went too far out into the ledge. But it somehow didn't see me." Ophila frowned, crossing her arms.

"Even if you're right, a lucky break on the ledge doesn't guarantee anything. We can't bet our lives on that assumption." William grimaced, the look of slight hope fading from his expression.

"Yeah, you're right. It's too big of a risk to—""No, wait," Senna interrupted, sitting up straight.

"William's right! I remember! In the Union reports, it said that Akkoroks hunt in deep underground rivers. They don't need sight. Instead, they're incredibly sensitive to auditory stuff." Ophila's calculative mind immediately realized the potential in that single word. Auditory. That was it. They didn't need to outfight the Floor 31 apex predator. No, they just needed to outsmart it.