Chương 75: Chapter 74: Swaps

Ophila barely reacted in time, hurling a rough marble directly toward the Velite. The exact moment the sphere reached the arcane entity, she triggered her rune. [Ad Valorem] Instantly, she swapped places with the marble, materializing directly between the summoned soldier and the child. Lunging, she grabbed the young boy and yanked him back just as the spear point struck the stone, sending shards of rock flying into the air.

Before the Velite could strike again, Ophila dropped down low, sweeping her leg across the loose earth, kicking a spray of stone and dirt directly into the foot soldier's face. The distraction bought her a split second, in which she spun around, scooped the boy into her arms, and began bounding up the incline. As she sprinted, she checked out the rest of the battlefield with her peripheral vision. To her immense relief, the other Velites did not copy the first one's lethal attack.

Instead of striking the hostages, they simply dropped the children onto the gravel. Down in the basin, the Akkorok was furiously tearing at the jester's motionless form, but its massive tentacles met no resistance. The limbs simply swept past the fog. Taking advantage of the monster's distraction, two of the Velites suddenly lunged down the slope, raising their weapons as they charged directly at the thrashing monster. The remaining three Velites, however, turned their faces toward the slope.

Abandoning the children they had carried, they brandished their weapons and began to advance toward Ophila. Meanwhile, the dropped children scrambled to their feet, their terrified faces sobbing, and rushed forward to cluster behind Ophila. She stood as a barrier between them and the approaching threats, scowling at the three Velites. Shoot. She didn't even have a weapon. Ophila lamented the fact that she hadn't asked to borrow William's knife. But it was far too late now.

So to compensate, she bent down and grabbed a large rock shard from the ground, gripping it tightly. Just before the arcane entities reached her, she cast a quick glance upward at the ridge where William and Senna were at. But there was no William rushing down the incline with his knife drawn. No Senna summoning a helpful creature. Whatever had corrupted the entities, it had also left Ophila completely cut off. She was entirely on her own.

"Get back," Ophila murmured to the children, keeping her voice calm so as to not betray any of the adrenaline pumping into her systems.

"Don't make a sound." The children, thoroughly terrified for their lives, obeyed. Then, the three Velites reached her, having closed the distance at the same time in unnatural synchronization. The first Velite lunged forward, thrusting its bronze spear directly at Ophila's throat. Ophila twisted to the side. She didn't dare retreat. Retreating meant giving up ground, and the children were right behind her. Instead, she stepped closer, getting inside the entity's guard, driving the rock shard into its neck.

The stone was shoved deep into the ghostly flesh, but the entity didn't even flinch. It simply released its grip on the spear and then backhanded her with a forearm. The blow struck her jaw, sending Ophial flyin. She cried out as she slammed into the ground. White light exploded behind her eyes, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. She spat out the crimson liquid and rolled to the side, just barely dodging as a second spear plunged into the earth exactly where her head had been.

Ophila scrambled to her feet, grabbing a marble from her pouch. She only had a few left, though her spatial analysis had already memorized where the rest was lying. She threw the sphere with all her strength, sending it bouncing between the legs of the second Velite. Just as the third Velite reached her, leaping into the air, bringing its spear down with terrifying accuracy, she activated her rune.

[Ad Valorem] Ophila materialized instantly behind the second Velite, while the third Velite's downward strike cleaved through empty space. Seizing the brief window of opportunity, Ophila grabbed the back of the second Velite's head and shoved it violently forward. The entity stumbled forward, straight at the third Velite's outstretched spear. The moment the weapon pierced its comrade's core, the impaled Velite dissolved instantly into a plume of dark smoke. One down.

The third Velite didn't even seem to register the death of its ally. Ripping its spear free, it instantly whipped the heavy shaft in a sweeping arc. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Unable to dodge in time, the solid pole caught Ophila squarely in the ribs. She heard a sickening crack, followed by a flare of agony so intense that her vision blurred and flashed. All the breath in her lungs were driven out as she stumbled backward, clutching her side.

Her situation was bad. And it only grew worse as the first Velite—the one who had tried to murder the child— re-engaged from the front. Ophila's mind raced, processing the attacks just in time to force her battered body to move. She ducked under a thrust, but she couldn't avoid the spear entirely. The blade grazed her shoulder, tearing straight through her tunic and leaving a burning cut that immediately bloomed with blood. Snarling, she lashed out, smashing her rock shard against the first Velite's knee joint.

Its balance faltered. Ophila didn't hesitate, throwing her entire body weight forward, tackling the soldier to the ground. Her ribs cried out in agony, but she ignored them. Pinning the Velite under her knees, she raised the heavy stone shard high, and brought it down with all her remaining strength. She crushed its face multiple times, until the entity finally exploded into black fog. But in her desperation to secure the kill, she had left her back completely exposed.

As a flash of metal appeared right in the corner of her eye, Ophila moved simply with primal, animalistic instinct, throwing herself violently to the right. It was the only reason she survived. The final Velite left swung its spear downward, missing her spine by just an inch, but the jagged bronze tip still stabbed deep into her left side. The impact shredded through her flesh. She gasped in shock and pain as a wave of cold washed over her, followed by a white-hot agony.

The fabric of her clothes rapidly soaked through, blood pooling onto the ground beneath her. Her knees buckled, and she fell to her side, her fingers losing their grip on the jagged rock shard. The Velite wrenched its weapon free, a spray of blood painting the ground. Ophila lay curled on the stone, her vision swimming. She couldn't run. She couldn't even stand. But as the soldier raised the spear high into the air, Ophila's bleeding fingers twitched against the dirt.

Her hand slid weakly across the ground until her fingertips brushed against the rough, jagged rock shard she had dropped. She didn't have the strength to swing it. But she wasn't planning to. Instead, she activated her rune. [Ad Valorem] The rock right now, was to her, a lifeline. Instantly, the Velite was ripped from its stance mid-thrust, its lithe form vanishing from above her and materializing instantly ten feet away.

Simultaneously, the jagged shard of rock vanished from her hand and appeared directly in the empty air above her, exactly where the Velite's had been a second prior. The stone dropped down, clattering harmlessly onto the ground next to her. But the important part was where the Velite had landed. The place where the shard of rock had previously fallen and laid was made up of crumbling rock and soil. And with the sudden materialization of the armored soldier, the ground gave way instantly beneath its boots.

The Velite lost its footing entirely. It stumbled backwards, tumbling helplessly down the steep incline, sliding down toward the basin below. A second later, the Akkorok, alerted by the sudden, heavy crashing of the falling soldier, didn't hesitate. Turning away from its frustrating battle against the foggy jester, it lashed out with a giant tentacle, wrapping around the tumbling Velite and crushing it until the entity exploded into a cloud of smoke.

Ophila gasped out a ragged breath of relief, pressing her hand against her side in an attempt to slow the bleeding. But her eyelids just felt so impossibly heavy, the sheer exhaustion and blood loss threatening to drag her under into unconsciousness. Then, a towering shadow suddenly fell over her. Ophila forced her eyes open. And she stared up at a massive new entity that hadn't been there before. It was a heavily armored knight, wider than any Velite, its torso accompanied with six formidable arms.

Was this how she was going to die? Lying on the cold stone floor, looking up at as an arcane soldier prepared to unleash the finishing blow— The giant knight knelt down, scooping Ophila up with one arm, his touch surprising gentle. Its other five arms swept outward, deftly gathering the sobbing children into its secure embrace all at once. Without a sound, the six-armed knight turned and began to bound rapidly up the steep incline, scaling the treacherous terrain in seconds.

Within moments, they had arrived at the ridge. Senna was there, propped up against a boulder, her face pale and sickly. She was shivering and trembling violently, but the moment she saw Ophila, tears welled up in her eyes.

"Ophila... I'm so, so sorry," Senna whimpered, her voice one of immense guilt.

"I lost consciousness for just a moment, and I lost control of them. Oh no, look at your side..." William stood right beside her, his expression incredibly grave. He ripped the bottom half of his shirt off, using it to tie a makeshift bandage on Ophila's wound.

"We have to go," he rasped. At this close distance, Ophila could see the clumps of dried blood resting inside his ears.

"We have to get out of here." With the six-armed knight leading the way and carrying the most severely injured, the small group hurried away from the cavern. They left the roaring of the Akkorok behind—still occupied with the jester, walking as fast as they could. Until finally, the dark tunnel began to widen. They had made it back to the chamber with the massive hole in the ceiling—their ticket out of this nightmare. But… Something was wrong. The cavern was much, much too bright.

The gaping hole in the ceiling was so far away that the chamber below was supposed to be in complete darkness. But it wasn't dark at all. The cavern walls were illuminated by an artificial glow. Ophila's eyes strained against the sudden brightness, managing to track the light to its source. Resting right in the center of the path, was a small brass lantern. And leaning languidly against a wall beside it was the mystery woman. Sparrow. Hearing the sound of their pausing footsteps, Sparrow glanced up.

She just stopped twirling her golden needle, gazing at the bedraggled group. She gave a playful, mocking pout.

"Oh, look at you birdies," Sparrow sang.

"I must admit, when you two jumped down that hole, I really thought I'd lost my prize. But…" She straightened up.

"But I really don't give up that easily," Sparrow gushed.

"But I think our little game of hide-and-seek is officially over. Now, be good little birds and hand over the injured one."