"I already thought of that," Luna added just for the record as we all watched the rocks around us shift.
The ruins no longer became a scattered bunch of rocks but a full-on well that seemingly led into the abyss.
It was such a grand sight that everybody couldn't help but gawk at the image for a few seconds before following Orme to the very edge of it.
"Are we supposed to jump down it?" Luna asked but was quickly shut up by vibration, like a large bell being rung, tearing through the air.
It felt as if it was about to rip my chest open, but I resisted until Orme closed his eyes and tightened his fists.
The swords that were stored within the various corpses had come out of their rings, and all twenty-two of them began to swirl around the well, almost like an ancient ritual that sacrificed not only the blood that spurted from his mouth but the magical metal which melted down from the speed it was swirling at.
It was a terrifying yet beautiful sight as the melted swords began to slowly mold into a new and elongated form, with a thinner blade but denser steel.
"Everyone step back," Orme warned, so we all, of course, took a step back while eyeing the slowly completing ritual that permeated through the air.
It was a strange sensation that seemingly ate away at our chests… but it suddenly disappeared as a massive, ten-foot-long blade slowly came out of the well.
The magic steel was stronger than anything I had ever seen, and its sharpness paralleled my own spear.
And to my surprise, the spear that I gripped in my hand began to vibrate, but I couldn't tell if it was out of anger or possibly fear.
Both would've been a plausible explanation… but for now, the only thing I could muster was,
"I have to kill him now," I muttered through gritted teeth, but Bella's hand, which tightly gripped my shoulder, snapped me out of it.
But, the feeling of anxiety that came from Orme obtaining that massive and powerful blade wasn't good.
It was unsettling, like an unforeseen future that you just couldn't comprehend until it finally peaked out of the shadows and revealed itself to the space-time continuum.
"You done?" I asked Orme as twenty-two blades began to swirl around him and the massive sword that poked up into the sky bent down to be held by its king.
"Yeah," He coldly muttered before finally gripping the leathery handle and losing his breath.
He gasped for air as a purple demonic presence gripped his chest and began to tear itself into his soul.
We all took a step back due to the looming threat, and in the back of my mind, I knew him dying would be a problem, but it would also save us from another bunch of problems.
It was a terrible route. Whether he lived or died, trouble awaited me in the future… but for now, I eased my mind by letting him live and handle the external forces that continued to ravish the borders of Amlas.
"Ack… *cough*... *cough*... *cough*... *cough*... *cough*... *cough*..."
All of a sudden, Orme spat up a massive pile of congealed black blood and then wiped the remaining bits from his mouth.
"*sigh*... Shit… It seems I've evolved once more," Orme muttered to himself before taking a look at his grown body.
He was now a clean 6'2, with a thin and slightly muscular body. It was something fit for a prince who barely lifted a sword as the king sent off troops to tear down opposing countries.
His limbs were long and thin, while his pale white skin seemingly blended perfectly into his long, dark purple hair that represented a nebula that drifted through space.
"How do you feel?" I asked, going to take a step towards him, but the massive blade that was just in his hand dashed in front of me and threatened to slice open my throat.
I could feel it was attempting to just threaten me without any intention to harm, like a trustworthy knight who would have your back no matter the attempt an enemy would make.
But, my spear took this as a threat, and unknown to my knowledge, it teleported out of my hand and clashed blades with the massive sword.
"[Heel]," I ordered both of my blades with the ancient tongue, and surprisingly, there was no damage done to my throat.
It was a bit dry, but nonetheless, I felt completely fine, meaning I had full reign over things that weren't humanoid.
"How wonderful," I muttered to myself as both weapons slowly backed up to their owners like loyal but powerful dogs.
"Sorry about that," Orme muttered, his previously anxious complexion slightly coming through, but it had mostly disappeared with the absorption of the sword's power.
"I don't mind. It was just protecting you… anyway, don't sweat the details; let's celebrate this by storming the Bonebloom house, shall we?" I asked Orme, who smiled back at me with a toothy grin.
"Alright… fine," He muttered before a passage suddenly opened behind us, engraved into the thick stone wall.
It was a staircase that led straight to the surface, and obviously, we took this route as tracing back to the entrance would've been a complete pain.
"I guess tombs differ from dungeons… we would've been teleported to the beginning if it was a normal dungeon, but clearly it didn't… but I'm still confused as to how tombs would be formed then. If they're so different from dungeons, then I doubt they were created through the permeating mana and miasma,"
"You're losing yourself again," Luna muttered as she rushed beside me and slapped my back so hard that it snapped me out of my deep thoughts.
"Ah, my bad," I responded, but all of us suddenly went silent as a small clatter of blades came from the top of the staircase.
The farther we ascended, the more clashing of blades and banging of bullets resounded through the air.
And then, there was a smell. A small that made everybody but Orme crumple with disgust and agony.
"Shit… another battle has appeared."