TCOB: CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Wiped (3)

"RUN!"

Startled out of her shock-induced stupor, Nai subconsciously bolted for the exit just behind Sir Justin. As they fled, the monster behind them unleashed a great howl. The beastial cry still echoing through the dungeon was suddenly followed by reverberating tremors that raced through the earthen wall, ceiling and floor. The sound of numerous footsteps converging behind them. Chasing.

For a brief moment, the mage glanced backwards to see a horde of monsters pour out of the cavern. Her already ashen face turned paler. Without a moment's pause, she cast [Haste] on both herself and her companion before slamming her staff on the ground as she uttered a spell

“Todesgrube!”

[You have used Class Skill - Death Pit Lvl 6]

A wave of exhaustion overwhelmed her as a trail of toxic bog opened up directly behind her in the path of the horde. Bonehounds unfortunate enough to fall into the spell immediately began to shrivel up, thrashing frantically in the quasi-sentient, virulent, mana-infused pool of mud; their blackened, corrupted corpses stilling a few moments later.

But as Nai fled in Sir Justin’s wake more creatures appeared attempting to impede their exit. A few from behind―leveraging on the ever-growing piles of the brethren's corpses―caught up but were quickly put down by a barrage of stone lances and the sheer ferocity of Sir Justin's charge. The shield-bearing man bludgeoned monsters out of the way, while his deadly blade seemingly embodied a whirlwind of death.

In a matter of seconds, Nai and the knight reached the rest of the expedition with the beast horde hot on their tail. The thought of ordering the yeomen to flee crossed Nai's mind, yet for some reason her words got stuck down her throat, never to see the light of day. The mage looked to her feet despairing at the thought of her own callousness. At the thought that somewhere deep within her heart she wished―hoped―that their non-consensual sacrifice would buy her a slightly higher chance of survival.

They silently blitzed past the expedition, leaving both the squires and yeomen to their eventual demise. It was then that Sir Justin shouted.

"Seal the dungeon, Nai!"

The mage's footsteps faltered. A mortified expression crept onto her face.

"But―"

"Do it!" the knight insisted.

"If I do that, they will all be trapped and killed. The entire expedition would be lost."

"There is no hope of saving them anymore!" Sir Justin shouted as he swung his sword at another monster that tried to pounce at him, splitting the creature in half along its length. "These men are as good as dead! If you refuse, you would be putting the entire region in danger of these monsters! This is the only way!"

Nai fell silent, clutching harder onto her staff. She knew he was right, yet she was afraid of confronting this truth. To intentionally condemn these defenceless men to such a cruel, gruesome fate? All for the sake of her survival? Were the lives of these men truly so worthless?

"Please Nia," The knight begged. "Please."

With a heart laden with grief and self-loathing, the mage resolutely raised her staff as mana began to gather visibly at the end. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked towards the ceiling and began to mutter a spell.

"Don't you dare!"

At the shout, Nai glanced sideways to see a figure she was not sure she had expected to see. Or even wanted to at the moment.

Clyde.

The man glared murderously at her, flinging his weapon with the intention to kill. Time seemed to stall as Nai watched his shortsword arced towards her defenceless form, yet, she could not bring herself to despise the man. A sublime figure fighting desperately for his survival despite the impossible odds, she saw a shadow of herself in him.

Someday, maybe, this might as well be her ordained fate. The inevitable eventuality of the essence of her existence weighed against another… only to be unceremoniously discarded and forgotten soon after.

'I won't forget you, Clyde,' Nai promised, more to herself than him.

The short sword fell to the floor with a clang. Sir Justin protected her.

As expected.

“Feuerball!”

Above the group, her spell, a basketball-sized ball of flames, materialised before shooting upwards. The spell detonated causing the ceiling to collapse and seal the tunnel, condemning the entire expedition to a fate worse than death.

A fate wrought by Nai's own hands.

***

A solemn silence descended, shrouding the small group of men in a baleful aura. Clyde and his fellow soldiers slowly turned around towards the end of the tunnel. There they could faintly hear the heavy thudding of numerous running footsteps.

Moments later, a figure appeared from the darkness. Another bonehound, the largest Clyde had ever seen. Standing at about two-and-a-half metres in height, its muscular shoulders were covered in short bony spikes that faintly scraped the ceiling. Long sickle-like claws on its forearm clinked audibly on the stone floor, glinting dimly in the dark as fresh blood dripped off its edge.

There was a bleeding gash about forty centimetres long between the monster's neck and left shoulder as well as multiple smaller wounds littering its body. Large portions of its thick leathery armour were covered in scorch marks but that did not make the monster look any less intimidating.

Especially not with the pack of lesser bonehounds slinking hungrily behind it.

The monsters' sights were locked on Clyde and the men he stood with.

"Oh, fuck…" he muttered depressingly as the hairs along the back of his neck stood on end.