Chapter 151

Chapter 151

One had been scary, they moved like ghosts. When more came, it was a nightmare. Lily raced down the stone-paved street-if you could call it a street-that stretched between two rows of the eerie buildings that made up the ‘city’ nestled within the largest section of the dungeon. Her heart pounded in her chest as she hopped up and cleared another fallen piece of a building, pushing her palm against the surface and launching herself further along while the monsters continued their pursuit. They were relentless, leaping into the air and reaching heights that no normal human could ever hope to achieve.

She spun on her heel as she felt the mana shift behind her again, whipping her sword across the path of the incoming projectile. The arrow split down the middle across the edge of her blade, scattering as she continued her spin and resumed her flight. I gotta get back! She thought, forcing down the rising panic in her gut. I wasted too much time out here and there’s so damn many of them!

Everything had gone downhill just a short while ago. They had been exploring the dungeon as usual, mapping out this larger section and studying the structures that made up the city. The scouting party’s numbers had dwindled as the camp had dragged on, either through drop-outs or aspirants deciding that it wasn’t for them. Now there were only five of them together. While the town they’d found the other day had been impressive to say the least, this place was practically a metropolis. Sure, none of the buildings went over three stories in height for the most part, but the few that did struck quite the chord with the scouts. They had taken up camp in what appeared to be some kind of large religious building, there were murals everywhere and it had captured the imagination of several of the more academic members of their group.

It was a good four hours into their research and cataloging when they showed up. The first two had been scouts, it seemed. Just like the one they’d been followed by the other day, they had bark-like skin and vine-like hair. They had ‘elvish’ appearances but they could hardly be compared to the pretty creatures that they’d all heard about in myths and legends. The initial surprise had nearly been catastrophic, but they’d decided to go for Lily first. The cuts and scrapes had healed quickly.

They should have been on high alert at that point, but the mystery of the murals had become even more intriguing. There were two kinds of ‘elves’ on the walls. One set looked beautiful and were often seen positioned above the other set who looked very much like the monsters they’d encountered. There were even a few depictions of elves turning into these things after some kind of calamity. None of them were sure exactly where reality began for the murals and where some manner of fiction ended, crafted by the dungeon. There were even theories tossed around that the dungeon was just filling in details to add atmosphere.

They should have paid more attention. She should have considered how strange the mana felt in the dungeon. She should have given it more thought. Instead, all they concerned themselves with was patting themselves on the back for ‘discovering’ the ‘Dire Elves’ as they decided to call them.

That was when Nina got hit with an arrow right below the shoulder blade. She was laid low in an instant, some kind of poison on it paralyzing her before she’d had a chance to react. William, the healer, had frantically done his best to get her stabilized and had succeeded but only as Lily and the others were beset by dozens of attacking dire elves. By the time the fighting was over, three of their group had been seriously injured and William was working double-time to get them back on their feet.

Without much choice, they fortified the temple using the nearby rubble and ruins for materials and Lily had been sent out to get a better idea of how bad the situation was and figure out a route to take out of the city and back towards the previous parts of the dungeon. They needed to reach the portal.

It was worse than they could have imagined.

She raced around another corner before pivoting a second time into an alley just as the three pursuing dire elves followed her. They ran past her position, gleaming eyes blazing with bloodlust. She grit her teeth and shot forward like a rocket, cleaving across their backs with her broadsword in one quick movement. When she slid to a stop she turned to see them drop to the ground, their faces hitting the broken stone pavement. She panted, sweat dripping down her face as she turned in a circle before spotting the rising shape of the temple. Almost there, please be okay, please be okay!

She didn’t hear any fighting, at least, but that could mean one of two things and she didn’t want to even consider one of them. She raced down the nearest alley, leaping and springing, grabbing onto whatever she could to get higher before finally alighting on a rooftop. She squinted, peering at the distant building as she nearly turned into a blur, her legs pumping with mana as she used her internal energy to enhance herself. Faster! She willed, begging her body to move beyond its limits as she hopped from one building to the next.

Ahead of her, she could make out the distant shapes of dire elves marching up the steps in columns. There had to be dozens more, Where are they coming from? She thought frantically, The mana’s coming into the dungeon way too fast! Still, it was almost a relief to see them crowding around the walled-off entrance to the main part of the temple. Even as several robe wearing dire elves began blasting it with bursts of verdant green energy. That just meant that the others were still alive. She hopped another gap and landed, spotting the end of this cluster of buildings and the beginning of the plaza that surrounded the temple.

She slid to a stop and crouched, peering over the side.

Holy shit, she breathed.

‘You push through any obstacle, over, around, or through. A juggernaut. A force of nature. Burning bright with golden flames,’ Black Lotus continued to push her, just as she always had, no matter how hard it got, no matter how much it hurt.

Five steps, six steps, seven steps! She felt the momentum build to a fever pitch as more and more of them came running at her. A big one charged from the front, holding a longsword over it’s head. It swung down and she threw her weapon up, grabbing the blade with her armored hand and pushing with all her might. She bellowed, shoving the dire elf back as she brought her leg up. Weeks spent perfecting the first technique of her martial style. Days of trial and failure, frustration, fatigue. Now! Do it now! She grit her teeth and felt the instincts blaze through her body, every muscle triggered, every neuron fired, every sense exploding with clarity.

‘A Crusader’

“AAAHHHHH!” She screamed in challenge, the fire bursting from her lips and catching in her hair.

First March of the Golden Crusade!

In an instant her movements became a flickering blur. Her weapon coming up in a right-to-left diagonal slash. Heat erupted from her weapon, the air shuddering for a moment from the force. The big dire elf was blown away by the strike, the flames so intense that he was turned to black ashes in an instant. She stepped down and swung again.

BOOM!

More of them were thrown about like ragdolls as Lillian brought her sword down in an impossible vertical stroke. The sudden shift in position almost impossible for a normal human to pull off. Step after step came with a thunderous boom and more dire elves falling in her relentless path of destruction. Her foot work was slow, but her blows came in faster, harder, crashing into anything in her path and leaving gilded cuts and carvings in the stone beneath her feet.

Firestorm was the spark! She grabbed a dire elf by the face and threw them to the side, bowling over its compatriots. She took another booming step and swung again, I won’t stop, not for anything, not until the people of this world feel safe! I’ll protect them! I’ll give everything! All of it!

She cut through a set of robes as a caster turned at her, eyes wide with confusion and fear.

“GET OUT OF MY WAY!” She bellowed as she took the final step of her march, swinging with all her might as the golden flames began to stutter and die on her shoulders. Blood dripped from her arms and legs, from her chest and side, some of the wounds started to close faster than others as clumps of cloth and incinerated monster flesh collapsed to the ground around her. She panted, turning her back to the wall guarding the entrance to the temple. She pointed her weapon down the steps, not knowing how or when she’d ascended this far. It didn’t matter. She was here now.

“I AM CRUSADER!” She roared even as her entire body ached and her vision swam. Beneath her, a horde of dire elves raced up the steps, weapons drawn. A sea of bodies that seemed endless. She breathed hard, she was in so much pain, but she pushed her blazing aura out as far as she could, letting it wash down the steps and into the temple interior behind her. “AND I AM THE HARBINGER OF THE HEROES BEHIND ME!”

The wall crumbled behind her, revealing the interior of the temple. William and his patients in the back and one that stepped up to join in,a familiar face. She glanced back and smirked at Luke, “Finally got a chance to shine, Luke?”

Luke brushed his brown hair out of his eyes, giving her a petulant frown, “Get back there and help him,” He said quickly, thumbing over his shoulder, “I’ll hold the line till you’re ready.”