Chapter 290 - Shadow Step To Victory

"Woah! What the--!"

Ren attempted to maintain his balance, to no avail as squares of the stone floor jutted upwards, splitting and revealing an empty crevice--causing competitors to begin falling into the newly revealed depths. 

"Iris!"

Attempting to grab hold of the girl in this pivotal moment, Ren successfully met her hand with his own, holding it tightly as they both began to plummet into the unknown abyss. 

"Ren…!" 

"Just hold on!" 

Horrified screams came from all directions and all competitors as a shower of stone followed them down into the pitch-dark domain. 

Without thinking twice, he brought the azure-haired girl close to his body, holding her as he braced himself to bear the impact for the both of them, "I've got you…!" 

As he looked at her, she had shut her eyes tightly out of fear of the daunting fall--something he indulged in as well before suddenly--his feet met the ground. 

There was no feedback from the landing; it was as if he simply was placed onto the floor below without a problem. 

"Huh…?"

"Ren?"

Hearing his name called by her, he looked at Iris before a deep red embedded itself on his cheeks--realizing just how tightly he held her. Letting her go, he quickly retreated to hide his blush before facing her again. 

"Where are we?"

"I'm guessing..this is the preliminary location."

As she answered with doubts herself, Iris' words were followed by the landing of a familiar, draconic woman. 

"Val!" 

"Ghh...curse this place, I thought a rock was about to take my head off."

Valerie brushed the sediment from the shoulder of her crimson armor before setting her gaze on the two companions next to her. 

Before they could reunite in completion, the darkness that enveloped the unknown abyss subsided as a mixture of verdant and violet flames were born alit, filling the enormous chamber with light as its essence was revealed. 

It was a completely warped territory; large structures of stone jutted out from the sides of the deep, lengthy realm, defying gravity in completion as many pillars also inhabited the ground. Even in such a vast space, he felt almost claustrophobic with the amount of colossal walls that existed, acting as dividers seemingly. 

"It's almost like...a maze." 

Ren muttered, taking in the fantastical, yet daunting sight. 

"Crap--the others!"

Almost finding himself ignorant to the situation at hand in the vast, warped scenery, Ren quickly swerved from side to side to look for his other companions--seeing nothing of the sort. 

"Why do I have the feeling this was intentional?"

Valerie shook her head with a sigh as if experiencing a migraine, adjusting her crimson locks as they fell at her shoulders--a quick swipe of her hand brought her lance into the tight grip of her gauntlets. 

"Should we look for them?"

"I'd like to, but…"

"We might not have the time."

Finishing Ren's reply to Iris for him, the proud, fire-wielding knight from Vesta seemed to take the initiative in this situation, inspecting the domain they found themselves stuck in--for better or worse. 

"Right…" 

"Don't worry--I'm sure they'll pull through!"

Assuring the pale-skinned young woman, he placed a hand on her slender shoulder--giving her the best smile he could muster. Even with this reassurance, she seemed hesitant to accept it as she held her hands together, looking down at the cobalt ribbon tying together the collar of her silver coat. 

"Thank you, Ren…"

"Of course!"

As he had hoped, his upbeat radiance was contagious, earning a smile that could compromise his heart from Iris. 

Allowing the blue-haired girl dressed in a fluffy coat, wearing blue stockings pass him by as she followed the draconic knight, his smile dissipated as his eyes focused--sharpening as he looked up. 

We have to make it through this--no matter what, he thought. 

"How do you exactly want to go about finding these little fiends? Ren--?"

Turning around as no response came from the snow-haired young man dressed in sable garments, Valerie's question was halted by a sudden burst of volatile actions from Ren. 

Without a word, he initiated shadowstep, suddenly warping to have his footing be placed against the side of one of the towering rock formations before kicking off into the air--reaching out at something that inhabited the dank air. 

"Got you!" 

Swiping at it, Ren's fingers narrowly missed the object in question--revealed to be one of the impies as it evaded his grasp. 

Landing on his feet, he huffed--keeping his eyes locked on the creature as it taunted him with a fit of high-pitched, ear-scratching laughter. 

"There's one already here?!"

Iris exclaimed at the sight of the valuable creature, watching as it continued to taunt them, hovering in the air as its little wings flapped rapidly. 

"You've got a good eye there, Ren." 

"Slippery bastard."

Focused solely on the impy, he ignored the crimson-haired demi-human's complement--tracking each movement of the small fiend as his eyes followed it. 

It was no larger than a softball, and packed a speed that made it a blur to the naked eye--backing up that agility with unorthodox, stutter-like movements. 

Attempting to grab hold of it herself, the draconic warrior launched herself into the air as she grasped at the creature with both of her arms in an unrefined movement--missing by a large margin. 

"Gah! This thing is starting to piss me off!"

Manifesting her anger into a tangible heat, she gritted her teeth and squeezed her gauntlets. Taking her turn, Iris scoured her mind for the right spell to use in a situation like this--though an answer didn't come easily. 

Spells specializing in capturing small creatures...I don't know if I have anything like that to use, she thought. 

Opting to give it a try anyways, Iris closed her eyes momentarily as she focused her magical energy into her own thoughts and will, pressing her palm in the direction of the impy as a guiding light manifested. 

"Licht: Bind!"

Launching a pair of light tendrils towards the creature, a chase began as it evaded the hold of the light spawn, dodging and weaving amidst the air. The continuous chase was brought to an end as the tendrils wrapped themselves into knots. 

"No way…!"

Almost in a pout, Iris watched as the small creature managed to outmaneuver her spell with complete finesse. 

"Enough. I've got this."

Holding his hand out to halt any further actions from his companions, Ren spoke with complete focus--holding no emotion in his voice as his eyes had yet to leave the impy. 

"...How, exactly?"

The azure-haired girl couldn't help but ask, not that she lacked faith in the Outlander, but simply not knowing his capabilities well enough. 

Maybe he can use his ability? No...I doubt that, she thought. 

Though the answer to this question came swiftly and with utmost haste; jumping into the holds of the dank, verdant lit air, Ren was propelled by another shadowstep. 

Focus. Move freely. Don't think about it. Just do it, he thought. 

With both a clear mind and a honed one--all of his instincts were solely devoted to the capture of the entity. Tightening his muscles until they met their maximum, he gathered his magical energy--propelling it through his body; hastening the process while maintaining a smooth transition. 

It was with that almost animalistic resolve that he set off a series of movements that perplexed his companions--unleashing a burst of shadowsteps all at once, vanishing from spot to spot within the empty holds of the air. 

There was no proper footing to be had in the air, but none was needed. It was a simple, but powerful evolution of his magecraft, one born from a further understanding of his own magic. 

"Gyu!? Gyu!"

Taken aback by this blinding, disorienting speed, the impy turned from side to side in an attempt to track and evade the approaching movements--in complete failure. In a swift burst of unseen agility, Ren caught the impy, already holding it in his hand by the time he manifested from the momentary darkness.

"...Gotcha!"

Smiling at his success, he landed on his two feet as he presented the captured fiend to his two companions. 

"...Just what was that?"

Valerie asked, sounding almost devoid of breath--the same expression being held as the blue-haired otherworlder standing beside her. 

"Mm...just a little something I've been working on." 

Having seized the impy, the small creature suddenly dissolved into a puff of smoke before the insignia etched onto the back of Ren's hand lit up. 

"I guess that means I've registered one out of my three…" 

"Guess so. We'll need a lot more if we're all going to pass though." 

Iris followed up his words as she noticed the glow emanating from beneath the fabric of the young man's glove. 

"Right. Let's continue forth then--time is of the essence."