Chapter 271: To the Exit II

Katolin blocked a spike that tried to pierce Ned behind. To compensate for her low mana, Katolin called off her orbs of lightning and then added another limb. With a pair of limbs attacking and defending, Katolin let out a breath.

But not for long, after her limb stabbed the spiky head of the beast, another army emerged over the rocky hills. This time, an Evolved Kruthik followed.

Please hold on a little longer, Ned thought with his mind on Katolin and back at the symbols in the circles.

S'vokalt roared. The figure inside the big circle dazzled with bright light, then a pair of Evolved Kruthiks emerged from the iron door of the ruined castle.

"Tch!" Rassus hissed, "you're in bad luck here. Three overly massive beasts. Hundreds of smaller ones, and only two of you. The Array isn't working. What now?"

Ned let out a steamy air in his nose. His silver eyes boring the symbols.

Ned raised the Butterfly and tried to slash the thread-like lines that were connecting the circles.

Normally, Arrays were connected with stored mana inside the Runes, and cutting the flow of mana will break the Array. Releasing of whatever was hidden or mechanics the Array has. In their case, breaking the Array would release S'vokalt, or break the entire place to destroy whatever the Array was holding, and that was S'vokalt.

If Ned was wrong, it could kill both of them. But if he was right with his actions, the Array could show them the way going to the surface.

As the sword struck the thread-like engraving, it produces a barrier. The broken Butterfly shook on Ned's hand, unable to accept that it can't cut the flow of mana in the engraving.

Ned didn't bother to cut the thread again, it was a foolish mistake he tried that yielded him of another idea.

Ned recalled the broken Butterfly back to his inventory and extended his hand to one of the smaller circles. He then pressed it hard together with his mana. The circle where he put his hand flickered with light followed by a metal clanking inside the ruined castle.

For a moment, after the clanking of the metal stopped, S'vokalt roared. But it wasn't hinted of anger, but with joy.

"Shit!" Ned cursed, "one of the chains snapped, releasing her of her burdens."

S'vokalt laughed inside the ruined castle with her voice roaring inside the darkened doom.

Wait, Ned thought. She said to break the seals that were engraved in the chains, I simply have to break the flow. "Great," Ned muttered, "and I did that just now."

Katolin leaped and caught a spike that passed beside her. Her limbs extended and acted like scissors but were used in a stabbing manner. But with the increasing number of Kruthiks, one of them blindsided her and tried to stab her by her shoulder. But due to its sloppy aim, the stabbed only grazed her skin. She hissed. Twisted her body, along with her limbs stabbing the grounded beast around her, killing them through their heads.

To her surprise, Katolin's wounds weren't as painful as before. The blood stopped leaking both on the stab on her shoulder, and leg. The stab from before was visible but they weren't that grave the first time she was wounded. She has yet to discover what caused her wounds to recover faster.

Ned clenched his fist as he clenched his jaws. He wasn't just analyzing the circles. But also, at the same time, focuses on Katolin's situation.

"'You're one of them'" Ned muttered what had S'vokalt had said before they left the ruined castle.

Now that Ned remembered what she had said, he also remembered that she said those words that it was also at the same time as he conjured his spell, releasing the mana inside his body.

"Rassus!" Ned cried that made Katolin flinched in surprise. "Recall everything. Leave now."

Ned's voice wasn't a plea but an order.

"Good!" Rassus said, his voice echoing. "Now you get it. I'll be leaving you—for now. But don't think I won't return. I need more from you, but I also want you alive."

With that, the black energy wrapping Ned seeped back to his body, and veins, and to the crystal Core deeply hidden inside his body.

Ned felt his energy was almost empty. His body burning with both pain and warmth.

Ned gritted his teeth seeing that Katolin blocked another attack that was supposed to hit him.

With Rassus's energy gone, Ned was back to the way he was. Unfortunately, no Overclock to aid him as three Evolved Kruthiks were approaching,

[Ned!]

ICE's voice echoed inside his mind and Ned smiled hearing this.

"W-welcome back," Ned said, his vision blurring. His mana at 300, nearly Mana Burn, his energy less than 5%. Obviously, not sounding good for him.

With S'vokalt's voice recalling inside his head, he reached for the circle in the middle and injects his remaining mana—pure, untainted mana.

Doing this, the circle glimmered of blinding lights and the ruined plaza shook.

The plaza in rectangular form shook and the circles in the middle let out a strong barrier that lined the ruined plaza.

Everything outside the ruined plaza couldn't enter inside. While those at the edges of the plaza were cut to half as the barrier emerged from it. One of them was the Evolved Kruthik. Its body sliced in half with the barrier. The other one was left outside. While the third Evolved Kruthik that came from the tower successfully entered the plaza before the barrier caught its body.

After the barrier was erected, the ground shook which causes the remaining tower to collapse. The ruined castle didn't fare as well, its walls collapsed along with S'vokalt's roar.

After the dome shook, the entrances at the base of the dome cracked and lit with red light inside. There were 30 entrances, and all were in raging red light except one. An entrance to a cave near the ruined castle was in complete darkness.

"There!" Ned cried seeing their exit was visible.

The entrances that shine in red light released a smoke followed by lava slowly creeping out the mouth of the caves.