Chapter 47: One Second’s Carelessness
He turned to Liaraen.
Liaraen was standing exactly where he’d left her—against the wall near the entrance. Her short dagger pointing at the floor. Her eyes open with an intensity Nathan hadn’t seen in her before.
"Are you okay?" Nathan asked.
Liaraen took a second to respond.
"Nathan."
"Yes?"
"You just killed four creatures of high C-Rank, or probably low B-Rank, in less than twenty seconds."
"Yes."
"Without being touched once."
"Yes."
"Still working? Are you okay?"
"Still working, but it cost me more than half my mana."
"Ah."
"Which is concerning."
"Yes."
Nathan walked to the lamp. Picked it up. The light illuminated the four bodies. The stingers were still raised in the position of the last attack. The black eyes were still open.
He approached the first one. Crouched beside the stinger. Examined it at a distance without touching. The tip had a dark drop of liquid that wasn’t drying—it seemed to be slowly oozing from inside the structure itself.
Poison.
Fresh.
*Good.*
He stood up.
"Don’t touch them," Nathan said. "The stingers have active poison. Even after death."
"I wasn’t planning to touch them."
"Good."
Nathan looked at the four passages. The northern one had the deepest signature on Soul Sense. Presences further ahead. Larger. More numerous.
*We can’t continue down there.*
*It’s time to go back.*
He turned to Liaraen.
"Sprout."
"Yes?"
"We’re turning back."
Liaraen looked at him.
"Now?"
"Now. These creatures were stronger than estimated. I spent too much mana eliminating them. And Soul Sense tells me there are more of these—and probably worse—further ahead. You saw one more chamber. You saw the chest. You saw the creatures. I fulfilled my part of the original agreement. It’s time to go."
Liaraen didn’t argue.
She nodded once. Sheathed the dagger at her belt. Adjusted her cloak.
"Acceptable."
"Let’s go."
Nathan turned toward the passage they’d entered through.
And took two steps.
---
He didn’t see it coming.
Neither of them saw it coming.
Because at the exact moment Nathan turned toward the exit passage—
One.
From the vault’s ceiling, at the exact point above where Liaraen was standing, something fell.
It wasn’t one of the large creatures. It was different. Smaller. Roughly Nathan’s size. Covered in the same dark skin with bony plates as the four Nathan had just killed. It had been waiting on the ceiling throughout the entire fight.
Without moving.
Without making a sound.
Soul Sense barely registered it because it had been so still.
It fell directly onto Liaraen.
The creature wrapped both arms around Liaraen from above. Covered her mouth with one hand. And with its stinger, it didn’t attack her.
It held her.
The muscular arms wrapped around Liaraen, immobilizing her against the creature’s body. Liaraen’s dagger fell to the floor with a sharp metallic sound. Her eyes widened with surprise.
Two.
Simultaneously, from the northern passage, three more creatures of the same size and adaptation emerged. Running. At significantly greater speed than the four large ones had shown.
Nathan spun.
*Shit.*
*Shit.*
*They were waiting.*
*All of this was the trap. The four large ones were bait. The agile ones were the real hunters.*
*And I fell for it. Like the adventurer I’ve spent five days saying I was going to avoid being.*
He extended his left hand toward the creature holding Liaraen.
*Soul Reap.*
His hand stopped halfway.
The skill didn’t activate.
Nathan felt the specific internal block the Class produced when the target didn’t meet the conditions.
*I can’t kill it. Not while it’s holding Liaraen. Soul Reap’s targeting doesn’t work on an objective embracing an innocent. The Class doesn’t allow it.*
*Designed with stupid contextual morality.*
*Designed not to accidentally kill people who don’t deserve it.*
*Right now, specifically, that morality is preventing me from saving Liaraen.*
The three creatures from the northern passage arrived.
Nathan reacted by reflex. Extended both hands.
*Soul Pulse double.*
The dark waves shot out. Hit the first two agile creatures. They staggered.
They didn’t fall.
The third creature reached him and hit him with its full body.
Nathan fell backward. The lamp flew from his left hand and rolled across the floor. The light scattered in odd angles against the walls. Nathan hit the ground right shoulder first. Pain.
He stood up.
Looked toward where Liaraen had been.
The creature holding her was no longer in the center of the chamber.
It was already running. Toward the northern passage. With Liaraen pressed against its chest. Liaraen’s feet weren’t touching the ground. Her hands struck helplessly at the arm holding her.
Her eyes, above the hand covering her mouth, sought Nathan’s across the chamber.
They met.
For half a second.
Nathan saw in Liaraen’s pale green eyes exactly what she was thinking in that instant.
*Not fear.*
*Calculation.*
*She’s registering the passage they’re taking her through. Memorizing the direction. Storing tactical information for when I catch up.*
*She’s trusting that I’m going to catch up. They’ve already done it once.*
Then the creature carried her out of the chamber, and they disappeared down the northern passage.
Nathan turned toward the three remaining creatures.
The three now stood between him and the northern passage. Blocking pursuit.
Nathan looked at them for half a second.
Then extended his hands.
*Death’s Domain.*
Four hundred more mana.
Three hundred remaining.
The cold wave expanded. The three agile creatures stopped. Their stingers lowered. Their black eyes blinked.
Nathan didn’t wait.
*Soul Reap. Soul Reap. Soul Reap.*
Six hundred mana.
Seventy-five remaining.
The three creatures fell.
```
ELIMINATED: Minor Corrupted Moles x3
Level: 12
Total EXP: +540
Status: energy emergency.
Remaining mana: 75 / 2,100
```
Nathan lowered his hands.
He looked at the northern passage.
There were no more footsteps from the creature that had taken Liaraen. It had already moved far enough that the passage echoes covered them.
But Soul Sense still registered it. Weakly. In motion. Descending toward the south of the deep dungeon.
With Liaraen.
Nathan stood in the center of the chamber for exactly two seconds.
*Seventy-five mana.*
*I can’t activate Death’s Domain again.*
*I can’t fire more than three Soul Reaps without collapsing.*
*I don’t have time to wait for natural regeneration.*
*And Liaraen is getting farther away.*
He picked up the lamp from the floor. Picked up Liaraen’s dagger. Tucked it into his belt.
And ran toward the northern passage.
Behind him, in the chamber, seven corrupted mole bodies lay in silence.
Ahead of him, somewhere deeper in the dungeon than he’d been willing to explore until this moment, someone was waiting.
And Liaraen was with that someone.
*I’m coming, Sprout.*
*I’m coming.*
