Chapter 195 - Pitiful Stronghold

Crawling back down the ladder from which he came, he moved on without looking back--burying that sight into the farthest reaches of his mind. 

"Grahh!"

"Rrrughhh!"

"Gyahh…"

All at once, the groans, roars, and grumbles of husks--possessing a number greater than one, from what he could hear, came into earshot. Without sparing a moment, he pressed his back to the corner, knowing just how close those noises sounded. 

There were more lurking around down here?...How? Why're they down here?! Lucas thought. 

He watched with caution in his verdant gaze the ripples in the water, listening as each step came down into a splash as the groans continued. By the close proximity of the growls meeting his ears, he feared his own heavy, anxious breaths would give away his presence. 

It's close...I have to be patient. I don't know what their numbers are like. Think of them, Lucas. If you die, they will die. Prioritize your life. You're the only one right now that can save them, he thought. 

Muffling his own ragged breathing, he kept his body to a complete still so as to not form any ripples within the sewage waters himself, keeping himself steady as he waited for the husks to pass by. By the width of the grimy, cobblestone sewer, it was hardly wider than three meters. It was almost a miracle for him to pray not to be discovered, but he prayed anyway. 

Dwindling his mana signature as low as he could possibly suppress it, he listened as the footsteps now reached his immediate area. Each shallow, yet hungering breath could be heard in such intricate detail that he could almost smell and taste it. 

He couldn't help but look, having to sit idly while such a creature of malice passed by blindly would drive him into insanity. It must've been in the sewers for a prolonged amount of time; it's flesh was bloated, its pale, bloodless skin bubbled up and scabbed off as it moved forward with its tongue flicking up and down beyond its lips. 

"Grahhhh…"

It was truly a mindless drone; one cell within a greater body--dragging one foot in front of another without any stimuli. Watching as the rotten, reanimated corpse moved along, he didn't free his breath--knowing more were coming. 

The booming, heavy stomps that came down from the next one approaching, moving along its linear path, sent a cold chill through Lucas' body. Same as the first--their skin was bloated, decaying further from the constant exposure to the clammy elements. Just being within range to see them was enough for their orbiting stench to reach his nose. 

Having to obscure his presence by using absolutely no mana--he could do nothing to eradicate the stench now; feeling his eyes burn and water as if peeling a thousand onions. 

Awful!...It's like my nose was stuck into a hellish stew of mildew, overwhelming sweetness, rotting meat, and eggs that have been spoiled since dinosaurs roamed the world! Lucas thought to himself. 

It took the will of fire and steel to hold himself as his stomach attempted to lurch out from his throat, wanting more than anything to gag or cough--listening to the passing, rotting bodies as they slowly marched onwards with their groaning presences. 

Even as their slow, heavy footsteps became distant enough to become nothing more than small splashes to his eardrums, he retained his utter stillness until dead silence was all that came to him. The first action he took once completely sure the area was hostile-free was dissipating the stench that invaded his nostrils, dry heaving as he spit residual bile into the already tainted waters flowing gently. 

"...It's not like it can get any worse…"

This isn't like me...What am I doing? I've always been one of hubris; never caring much for anyone outside of my personal circle. This is your fault, Sirius...Why did you have to say all of that?...If I die, it's your fault, Lucas thought. 

After a few more failed ventures through the narrow passages of the sewer, finding himself in the basements of homes abandoned by owners likely finding themselves in the bowels of the husks, he seemed to have found the very thing he was looking for--standing in plain sight. 

A dirtied sigil was engraved into the cobblestone, it was a symbol he recognized--a bird, spreading its wings wide. The Mastorn badge for official mayors of towns; no doubt in his mind that the barricaded manor he saw on the surface was the mayor's residence. 

At last; I can rid myself of this cavern of waste, Lucas sighed. 

Climbing the ladder, he somehow felt as if he was reaching the conclusion of his journey--but he came to remember it was only the start of a mission almost impossible. Pushing his hand up against the lid that separated the sewer from the manor, it hardly budged. 

Feeling such resistance on top of the dense cap brought back memories that were still fresh and gnawing at his mind; giving another, harder push. 

It doesn't...feel like a body. It feels more like something is purposely blocking this gate. Perhaps the townspeople knew of the husks lurking in the sewers? Lucas thought. 

Giving it a few more pushes with his reserved, deteriorating natural strength, it refused to budge in the slightest. 

"...Grahhh…"

A sound most vile and harrowing to his ears returned, seemingly at the worst possible time. As his mind processed the bellowing groan, he froze in place as he gripped onto the rusted handles of the ladder. Soon footsteps became chillingly heard, parting the murky swamp of waste with each step taken forward. It wasn't just a singular source; from left and right--it was all around him. 

Shit, he thought. 

A desperate attempt to open the lid failed once more; trying to remain as silent as possible in hopes of not being discovered. As he was, his appearance was hidden within the vertical tunnel that scaled up the ladder, but the reemergence of the husks didn't do wonders for his confidence in this obscurity. 

Drawing near, the pained, gargling groans of the bloated husks sent his anxiety through the roof, pounding his fist against the lid as he desperately tried to open it now. 

Finally succumbing to using reinforcement, the usage of such magical energy instantly sent the husks into a drive of aggression--listening as they all let out disturbing screams from their foul bowels, beginning to traverse the excrement-filled tunnels in a sprint. 

"...Open up, dammit!"

Clenching his teeth, there was no longer any point in attempting to be stealthy, unleashing a slam of his knuckles as his reinforced strength knocked the lid up as if it were nothing more than a hollow lid made out of plastic. 

Reaching the top, he crawled onto the cold, polished floor that awaited him beyond the reaches of the sewer, coughing as he threw the possessive stench of the horrid labyrinth from his throat. 

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Is he bit? Scratched?!"

"Calm down!"

"Look! He's wearing some sort of bloodied covering; he likely got wounded by a husk! Throw him back down!"

In his relief of reaching the desired destination, he didn't notice the frightened, frantic people surrounding him--yelling out to him with eyes full of fear. 

"He removed the lid with a punch...With magic like that, he must be an adventurer!"

The young man wearing the robes of a peasant; a light-brown tunic with patchwork pants that reached just above his ankles and loafers to boot, called out with some relief to his exasperated tone. He was still pointing the makeshift spear towards Lucas, crafted from the looks of it by tying a kitchen knife to the end of a broom. 

Too tired to even respond, Lucas sat up, catching his breath for a moment as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. By the looks of it, there was no doubt he was in the esteemed, large manor he saw from the surface earlier. Even the basement was stalked full of shelves holding vials of brewings likely magical in nature, old, dust books--the floor was somewhat minty as well. 

Noticing his eyes scanning the nature of the room he found himself in before answering, one of the other men didn't seem too happy by his silence. 

"Hey! Explain yourself--right now! Or this blade is going into your skull!"

"Abraham! He looks like he's a kid--no older than Jonas!"

Stepping in between the belligerent and Lucas was a woman, dressed better than the peasants--likely middle-class from Lucas' deduction, wearing a long, olive dress with an oak corset wrapped around her waist. 

Lucas half-expected the gorilla of a man to shove the girl aside, but even he briefly seemed calmed by her words before doubling down. 

"...That's exactly why we can't hesitate to handle him if he's a problem! We've got kids to protect!"

"If we start killing kids--we're no different from those things out there!"

"Yes we are; we're still alive!"

Brushing past the woman, the man named Abraham stomped towards Lucas with a blade in hand, holding a reddened complexion, contorted by confused and desperate anger. By his build, he definitely wasn't a noble--standing just over two meters with broad shoulders and arms as thick as Lucas' own torso. 

"Last chance, kid! Explain yourself before I do something that'll make me lose sleep tonight!"

"First, you should probably handle the sewer."

Lucas' calm response seemed to take the words from Abraham's mouth, confused by the unconnected speech. 

"...The hell are you talking about?--"

The answer to that question came just as fast as he asked; two figures birthing themselves from the opened entrance of the sewer. Their bloated, decaying flesh peeled as they roared out--bearing jagged, needle-like teeth. 

"I-it's them!...They got in!"

"Shit! Shit!...We're going to die! We're going to die!..."

Just the sight of the rotting entities was enough to drive some of the townsfolk into utter despair, losing their grip on their shoddy weaponry as they backed away slowly. 

However, Abraham didn't hesitate--rushing past Lucas with his blade in hand as he began to combat the leftmost husk--covered in loose, soaked black clothing that was worn baggily over its repugnant form. 

"Get back upstairs! I'll handle things down here!"

"But Abe--"

"Just go!"

He seems to be their leader, or at least has some respect amongst them. Impressive, for a normal human, Lucas thought. 

Listening to the footsteps of his people grow distant as they traversed up the stone staircase, Abraham held a vicious smile as he launched his fist against the jaw of the husk, stunning it for a moment before it unleashed a high-pitched roar towards him. 

"Make yourself useful and get that damn door shut!"

Abraham called out to Lucas, who was still sitting down on the ground as he watched all of this transpire. 

I don't like being ordered, but I guess such times call for it, he thought. 

Using a bit of his wind, he brought the lid of the sewer entrance back down, sealing it tightly shut before turning his gaze towards the other intruder. 

"You're a mage, right? Then fight!"

"Stop giving me orders!"

Finding himself annoyed by the man's bossy attitude, Lucas pushed the husk in front of him against the wall with a blast of air, knocking it into the shelf. 

That was much weaker than I expected...I'm lower on mana than I thought, Lucas thought.