Chapter 696 - Power of the Chains

[We should leave.] Quella said as the monsters are bound to return soon since the weapon was now under Shiro's control.

"Mn." Nodded her head, Shiro looked around to make sure that she hadn't missed anything before climbing into the tunnel.

Since she was now climbing up rather than falling, it took her quite a while before she was finally able to reach the surface. Her wings weren't exactly helpful either since the space was cramped.

[So how did you get Hades' Sigil? As far as I know, you haven't got a second divinity yet and the first belonged to Nike. In addition to this, the Sigil isn't like average divinities.] Quella asked as this was on her mind.

"Well… one of the Dryads told me that this is something called a dormant sigil. It's similar to a divinity I suppose but so far I don't know how to use them." Shiro replied with a shake of her head.

She decided to hide some of the truth from Quella since she didn't need to know that she had met the gods she looked up to in her world and had even pissed off quite a few of them.

Plus, she had obtained several god's blessings which included those from the 12 main gods. Since she couldn't use the power, there was no point telling Quella.

[Hmm… I see… That's quite odd but it doesn't seem like it'll activate. I believe the only reason it activated this time was due to the fact that we were close to one of Hades' most powerful weapons. If it was a weaker weapon, the reaction might be a little weaker.]

"Maybe. Do you think there's a chance of more corrupted creatures appearing where the Hamoena died? We didn't exactly clean up the goo and the spider was mutated in the end." Shiro reminded.

[Ah don't worry about that. I've already sent a message out to my sisters and they'll deal with it. Of course, if we happen to see any mutated monsters on the way back, it's in our best interest to kill them immediately.] Quella reassured as Shiro nodded her head.

Sneaking around a little at the bottom of the ravine, Shiro tried her luck with some of the weapons that might have been dropped here but none of them were up to standard. They were either average or too broken to be used which was unfortunate but she literally obtained the Chains of Hades' so she shouldn't complain.

However, due to her actions of wanting to seek out some more weapons, quite a few of the monsters had returned and now flying out would be akin to seeking her own death.

[. . . .]

"Uff… Don't say anything. I should have just left when I had the chance." Shiro sighed.

[Hm??? I didn't say anything though.] Quella replied with confusion in her voice.

"Ah nothing." Shiro shook her head. She was so used to Nimue or Madison turning to her the moment she made a mistake but now that she was here in this trial, it was kind of lonely without them.

Sighing softly while looking for a chance to escape, Shiro grabbed an old sword and chipped away at a small stone.

"This one's for you Nimue." Shiro muttered while carving the stone into a tiny table and flipping it with a flick of her finger.

Once she had flipped the table for Nimue, she stood up and unfurled her wings.

Stomping down, she soared up into the sky since this was the perfect chance to rush up. All of the monsters had mostly moved to the side now so she had quite a large opening to escape from.

However, this didn't stop a few of the monsters from charging at her.

Most of them were insectoid type monsters while there were a few who were more reptilian.

The closest monster that had come to hitting her was a winged beetle of sorts with an extendable neck.

Flapping its wings slightly, it propelled its head forward in an attempt to eat Shiro up in one go.

Quickly dodging to the side, she summoned her Chains of Hades and whipped it towards him.

*CLING CLING!

Rattling slightly from the clashing of metal against carapace, corrosion marks could be seen on the beetle's shell as the first stack was applied.

But since she was forced to defend herself, it gave the other's a chance to catch up.

[Not good!] Quella shouted out in a panic.

"No sh*t! I can see it for myself!" Shiro roared back as she dived down and narrowly dodged the net of monsters crashing against each other above her.

Quickly switching her focus onto the beetle, she tugged on her chain and dragged it towards her.

Second stack, third stack, fourth stack!

Applying three more stacks in quick succession, she twisted her body and kicked it as hard as she could, launching herself away from an attack that was directed to her back.

Summoning her bow, she quickly fired an arrow into the eye of a serpent that was hiding near the back that was trying to launch a sneak attack against her.

Looking at the situation from her familiar, all Quella could see was a swarm of monsters rushing towards Shiro as she was forced deeper into the ravine with the surface getting further and further away from her reach. The worst part about it was that she couldn't do anything right now since she could only observe with her familiar.

However, the body of a monster suddenly flew past her and slammed against the wall.

*BANG!

Cracking against the jagged rocks sticking out the side of the ravine, green blood and organs could be seen splattered against the wall as the beetle like monster was killed in an instant.

Looking at the gap that this had suddenly created, Quella managed to see Shiro standing in the middle of the monster horde with a malevolent glare. Dark aura surrounded her body as howls of ghosts could be heard roaring out besides her. Her clothes were drenched with blood as a deep gnash could be seen on her waist along with several cuts and bruises around her limbs.

20 stacks!

+20% attack speed, 20% attack damage, 20% armour penetration, 4% soul steal!

Gritting her teeth, she glared at the monsters surrounding her and released as much killing intent as she could.

"Out of my way!" She shouted out before summoning her bow.

Notching as many arrows as she could thanks to the 20% increase to attack speed, Shiro fired the arrows.

*BANG!!!!

Exploding out like a blast from a shotgun, several arrows could be seen piercing through the bodies of the monsters while one or two rapidly decayed thanks to the 4% soul steal that were triggered through sheer luck.

Using this opening to rush up into the sky, Shiro shrank her chain and returned it to her side.

When she was roughly 10 meters from the top, a serpent jumped up and tried to bite at Shiro's ankles before she could leave.

"Piss off!" Shiro glared back in anger since she was furious right now. Not only was her outfit ruined, she had sustained quite a few injuries right now which meant she had to wait for some medicine to arrive in order to heal. Plus, with these kinds of injuries, it would be a miracle if she could actually make it back on time.

Flicking her wrist, she sent the chain flying towards the serpent as it slammed against its jaw, dislocating it in an instant before breaking some of the serpent's teeth.

Seeing this, most of the monsters quickly backed off.

Making it out of the ravine, Shiro didn't waste any time and flew towards the city of Vox.

Quella managed to catch up besides her as Shiro only glanced towards her.

"Order me some of the best medical ointments for one of the towns. I need to get this injury treated soon." Shiro ordered while glancing down at her waist that had been cut deeply. She was currently holding the wound with her left hand and tried her best to stop it from bleeding but it was rather hard to accomplish that with her wings flapping behind her.

[Mn, I've already called for some. If you land in the town of Ophrit, it should be there when you arrive.] Quella replied as there was some urgency in her voice since she knew Shiro needed help as soon as possible.

Remembering where the town was located, Shiro rushed towards its location as it was on the way to the city of Vox.