Chapter 268: Got It

With enough room to breathe, Ned and Katolin rested. There were a handful of smaller ones remained, which were hesitant to attack after they saw how the Evolved Kruthik died.

Ned and Katolin took this opportunity to march forward the iron door.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Ned," Rassus began as they walked the piles of bodies and holes scattered around the base of the tower. "This won't change anything just because you killed one."

"But it sure gave us time to breathe," Ned said and paused with Katolin nowhere to be found. Ned looked over his shoulder only to see that Katolin was breaking the belly of the Evolved Kruthik and harvests its Core.

She then went beside Ned and handed him the Core of the beast. Ned then took it back to his spatial dimension and thought that it could be sold for a good amount of gold back on the surface.

For Rassus, the Core was intimidating since he could absorb it to gain more mana. But no matter how he convinced Ned, the latter chose to keep it.

Having mana crystal in his inventory, Ned gave another one to Katolin.

Katolin hesitated at first, but sensing that Ned wouldn't give up, she accepted the mana crystal and started to absorb it.

As they progress towards the iron door, Ned encountered some of the smaller ones.

In order to prolong Rassus's black energy, he urged Ned to Devour the remaining smaller Kruthiks. There were more than a dozen in the far distance.

"What now, Ned?" Asked Katolin who was puffing air beside him. She, at least, tried to finger her golden hair when talking to Ned, trying to look a beauty.

"We're going to the plaza," Ned replied.

"Why? What is in the plaza? What did you notice there?"

Ned frowned. For a moment, Rassus was quiet. Black steam of gas protruding his body, it swayed with his steps. Ned couldn't feel his body giving up, but he knew he was way past his limits. Also, whenever Rassus was awake—or out, ICE's voice was hidden behind Ned's mind as though Rassus was suppressing it.

"It was an Array," Ned answered after a moment. His eyes sweeping the remaining beasts. "But too old, and very complex. If my guess is right, that Array is connected to S'vokalt, and to this prison-like castle."

Ned's eyes looked above and around him.

Katolin tilted his head and said, "Array? What's that?"

Her knowledge of things lacks even though she took in my blood, Ned thought. Might as well test on that later on.

"Arrays were a complex set of Runes, and symbols, and magic that produces effects," Ned explained. "There were many kinds of Arrays, ranging from simple ones to complex ones. And the one I saw was complex. Not sure, but some symbols I recognized were set of Runes like Trapping Runes, Barrier Runes, and even Illusion Runes, I even saw Changing Runes."

"~Wow?" Katolin whispered in surprise. "There are things I don't fully understand. And Runes? So, Runes combined could make an Array?"

"Hmm," Ned stroke his chin. For a moment, the black clouds oozing his body seemed to calm down. "Not bad. But not all, some Arrays were made with magic and symbols without Runes. Although Arrays made with Runes are weak. Still, it was faster to set up."

"What are Runes made of—"

Katolin ducked after a spike went past over her head. Some of her golden hair was caught in action.

Smaller Kruthiks started to emerge above and dashed as soon as they saw the human invaders.

The air around Ned whistled and his figure became a blur, leaving an afterimage of himself in black energy, and appeared behind the smaller Kruthik that attacked Katolin.

The beast let out a screech and fell on the ground like a puppet cut of strings.

They have to move, and so they did. Ned and Katolin dashed. They skidded dead bodies piled in the center of the base of the tower.

"Tch!" Rassus hissed. "I told you to Devour them. Do it, and you might get out of here, alive. Both of you even."

"And how are you going to do it?" Ned asked and tagged Katolin by the arm as he tried to support her.

"The Array ain't that complex."

Rassus admitted, he lived for too long that the moment he saw the Array that was set up in the ruined plaza he immediately recognized what it was.

"Do you know what kind of Array it is?"

"Do you know what kind of Array, blah, blah, blah," Rassus spoke in an irritated voice? "Of course I know what it is. It is called Array—Oh! On your left."

Ned raised his broken Butterfly, blocking the spike that wanted to stab him. He then put the flat of his palm to the chest of the beast and conjured black Fireball—perhaps his last if he doesn't Devour—making a loud boom in point-blank. Brown liquid leaked from the beast's chest and it fell, dead.

"You were saying?"

"Arrogant little prick, tch!," Rassus said, without the urge to stop with his mockery to Ned. "To where I came from it's called Mors Kantinatus—to chain. And it wasn't just simple chaining. It chains lifeforms that even Kings of my old world couldn't control. So, whoever chained that ugly bitch incarnate is not from this world, or migrated here via Gate."

"But I see there's more to it."

"Not bad," Rassus exclaimed. "I hate to admit it but you are too valuable for a mere creation. Yup, little prick, the Array isn't just holding that ugly Mother, but it also holds all of this underground. From the prison to that S'vokalt, heck, even this ground, or the darkness above.

"Looks like we're going to leave this place, not in one piece."

"Prick, Devour. Or else forget leaving this place. I'm nearly out of juice. See my Core? It's half half-empty."

"Ned."

"Oh great," Rassus said as though rolling his eyes hearing Katolin's weak voice. "Another one."

"I'm not sure if I could make it. But, if ever I do, please bring me with you to the surface."

Ned turned around after hearing Katolin. He smiled as said, "I'm planning to, but what about your Queen?"

"Hey, hey. How about we Devour their Queen? I bet she tastes sweet."

Seriously? You could barely show your self, and you wanted to Devour a Lord Grade beast? Ned thought after a moment of looking at Katolin who couldn't answer Ned.

"I'll ask her," Katolin said with her golden eye twinkling. She then slumped to the ground, exhausted.

"Wait here," Ned said looking at Katolin. Then vanished from his spot.

Circling the base of the tower took almost half of Rassus's energy. Without much of a choice. Ned had to use Devour since currently, it's the only way to replenish the lost mana and energy.

Hesitation between desperation, he chose desperation.

The air around him distorted as the black energy waved in unison to his breathing. He then vanished.

To Katolin's eyes, the surrounding around her was like a globe of black energy. The smooth globe of black energy puffs and hide whenever Ned appeared.

Around Ned, the beasts were confused as to what had happened to the other beasts. Before they were enveloped with the black energy, the beast's let out a soft growl both out and inside the globe of Ned's Devourer.

Feeling the energy his mana replenishes, Ned increased his speed.

The smaller beasts kept on falling from above but Ned had to smile in between his Devouring since the second Evolved Kruthik hasn't arrived yet.

I should take his moment to completely annihilate them, Ned thought. Unbeknownst to him, his lips arched with joy.

"Keep it coming, Ned."

Rassus was overjoyed by Ned's action. His Devour wasn't just benefiting Ned, but also Rassus. Although stuck inside Ned, this doesn't let him stopped his track to conquer. He just needed more power, and the moment that Ned had the power he wanted, he will start again.

But for now, his plan was simple: let Ned Devour to make himself strong and control—

"Why did you stop?!"

If Rassus had a face, anger would swell up to it by now.

"Something's not right," Ned said.

Behind him was the iron door, around him was the remains of the dead Kruthiks, and above was another swarm of more Kruthiks. The last of the Kruthik, he just Devoured.

Ned withdrew the Butterfly back to his inventory and looked at his palms—they were shaking. Not with fear, but with joy.

Although there was no wind in the underground, Ned made his own. The air around him whistled and mixed with the black clouds oozing his body. The black energy then extended to his shoulders, his arms, and legs.

"Damn you," Ned said. "What did you do this time?"

"Shut up," Rassus demanded. "I didn't do—wait. Ha! You got it, prick! You got it!"

Ned frowned with black clouds hovering in front of him.

"Got what?" Ned asked.

"What else could it be?" Rassus made a mocking voice. "My Prime Evolution!"