บท 16: Impending doom
Arsh placed a hand on her shoulder, letting Amanda cry her heart out. He looked around, his expression was chiseled as unpretentious.
He disowned any emotion he owned, with the sole purpose of destroying the inhumane creatures surrounding him.
"Who are you, kid?"
The brown-bearded man asked, his eyes darting between Arsh and the monsters. He spun around completely, in the midst of leaping chaos among monsters.
"....I had a situation. Honestly, I don't care if you live or die. I am here, just for Elsa"
Arsh replied, rising from the earth. He pinned his daggers out of his pocket, taking a defensive stance.
Arsh took a deep breath. He was nowhere near his full potency. But, a few moments of rest was enough for him. To at least refill a scrap of his essence.
He gripped the daggers tightly in his hand. Moving toward Amanda, to clear the horde of monsters from her side.
"Anyway, I am Arsh. Don't ask me anything unnecessary, it can wait. I have a plan for now. Answer me if you understand"
"Ohh brownie! , Also there is a beast on your right"
The brown-bearded man took a step to the left, to avoid the attack from the beast. He swirled his spear in a circle, disassembling everything in his range.
"My name is Ethan, I am the leader of this group. The guy you just healed is Adam. The man with the ax is Joey. Amanda is the healer of our party. …Andrew was our tank"
"Now the introduction is done, tell me about your plan. I don't think, we are going to survive this seige for long"
Ethan gave him a hard look. To which Arsh just simply nodded. There was no need for any more words. It will be unveiled when the time is right.
"Are you sure Ethan? He is just a kid"
The ax wielder named Joey asked the spear holder. Palpable confusion leaked from his face.
"He is no ordinary kid. I can guarantee you that much."
"In my whole career, I never met someone like him. He may not be the strongest. But, he is the only person present here, who can get us out of this place. The kid also seems to have a better understanding than any of us. It's well worth the risk"
Arsh heard everything but chose to promptly ignore it. He took a deep breath, looking at his shadow commanding it to move.
|Shadow Envelope|
Arsh, equipped with his black armor, faded away into the chaos. Others tried to look for him, but they couldn't find him anywhere. Until the monsters started behaving strangely.
Suddenly, The monster's side was upturned from the inside. They were trying to run away from the center. They were getting killed so fast in there, that they couldn't even see their cause of death.
"Are you sure, he is not a monster himself?"
Adam asked, dumbfounded by the sudden change in the battlefield. Arsh's presence changed the whole situation. Due to him obliterating everything in the middle.
'They are much weaker than I thought'
Arsh himself was stunned by the rate he was killing them. He was sure they were just coyotes. But, even still it was too fast of a pace.
But, It wasn't without consequences. His essence was draining at a rapid rate, along with his body twisting from inside, taking damage from the constant spell use.
The sudden turn of events startled even the monsters. The weaker monsters fell back, and the stronger ones came forward. The final horde of the primate-level monsters moved ahead.
'....About time. You wretches"
Arsh retreated back to the group, letting his armor disintegrate into his shadow, again.
He looked at his trembling hand, he could feel his body twisting from inside. The exhaustion of using the shadow envelope, with his quick movements. Hit him hard.
'This is taking a toll on my body'
"Amanda, Heal me quickly. This is going to take a bad turn"
Amanda ran toward him with a frightened expression, still in complete shock from losing her comrade. But, Arsh chooses to ignore her. This was not the time.
"Can any of you scan the area? Find a safe place. A cave, a valley, a mountain, anything. Just find a path to it"
Arsh shouted at other members of the party. He was aware of his limits. However, much he wanted to rip every present monster to shreds. His body wasn't capable of it, just yet.
"Be specific, Arsh. What are you talking about?"
Leo replied hurriedly, understanding the urgency in Arsh's voice.
"Find a safe place, Dammit!. Scan the area and look for caves or something. Do any of you have a suitable attribute for that?"
Arsh looked through each of them, scanning them for a reply. The plan needed someone with a suitable attribute. Otherwise, they were going to die without a grave.
"Yes, I can. I can scan the ground for plateaus or caves. It will take some time, though."
Joey replied, turning everyone's attention in his direction. He was alone in the frontline, killing more monsters than Leo and Ethan combined, with his mud spell.
"Hmm ok. I think that will wor-"
"SCREEEEECCHHH"
A loud roar resounded through all the forest, yet again. Arsh looked up instantly, to see the source of the roar.
'I think, I am not going to leave this place alive, after all'
5 gargoyles hovered in the blue sky, flying in circles just above the whole chaos. Waiting for the right time to fish their prey out from the ground.
The monsters on the ground also started retreating, due to the fear of the flying nightmares above them.
'That flying shit called for his friends'
"Fuck Everything. Joey takes the lead. Everyone grab the person closest to you. We are leaving. And Amanda, you have to heal me constantly"
"What about Andrew's body?"
"The dead can wait. We don't have time to take corpses with us. Elsa, hold Leo's hand"
'I am pushing myself. I just hope, I don't die'
Arsh gritted his teeth frustratingly and chanted.
|Smoke Screen|
The whole area got engulfed in black smoke. Turning everything into pure chaos around them.
The monster started ripping each other to shreds in the black smoke, while the gargoyles started taking dives into the smoke, catching anything that came in their grips.
"Joey, scan quickly or whatever you are going to do. The smoke will disappear after some time. We have to hurry up."
"Ethan and Leo will take the frontline. Adam and Joey guard the middle. Elsa is in the center. Amanda in the rear with me"
Arsh commanded every person to be at their assigned post. They complied quickly, not a single one of them questioning Arsh.
"There is a cave in the North direction. It is too far away, though. The smoke won't cover even half of our path. You have to use the spell at least two more times"
Joey told Arsh in a low voice, to avoid being detected by the monsters around them in the smoke. Arsh took a deep breath, bracing himself for what was to come.
'Welp, Guess I'll die either way'
"...Okay, Run quickly. Just tell me the moment, when I have to use it. That flying shits will follow us through, you have to be precise."
They ran straight ahead. Leo and Ethan, killing everything coming their way from the front. Adam and Joey taking care of other directions. Arsh was assigned the rear, which was relatively safe from other spots.
"NOW"
Joey shouted suddenly, alerting everything in the vicinity. But, it didn't matter for now, if the new cloud of smoke was formed. They would just disappear as quickly.
'Hopefully, it doesn't overload me'
|Smoke Screen|
The smoke once again became dense around them and the chaos was silenced. Most of the monsters were either dead fighting each other, or they just fled in fear of flying nightmares.
They ran at full throttle, maintaining the same formation through. Joey looked tired from the scanning spell he was using. Adam now took the frontline, sending Leo back in the middle to rest.
"The smoke is about to disappear. Arsh we have to use it again. Right Now"
"Easy for you to say. Dumbshit"
Arsh cursed him openly, before chanting again in irritation.
|Smoke Screen|
His skin felt dry, the second he chanted that spell again. His inside twisting gruesomely. Even though Amanda was constantly healing him, it was still not comparable to the damage he was taking.
"Are you okay brother? You are staggering"
Elsa asked him, from the center of the group. The safest place in the whole formation. Her almond eyes blinked rapidly, her expression painted with worry.
Arsh smiled slightly, caressing her head.
"I am fine, Elsa. I am stronger than anything in this world"
Arsh smiled again at the little girl, moving toward the ax wielder.
"What are the chances? How far is it now?"
"...None. We won't reach the cave if we consider those flying nightmares hovering over us. We need at least one more smokescreen"
"I will overload this time, you bastard. Do you want me to die? before those, flying motherfuckers can do so"
".....It is your choice"
'Curse you, my fucking fate. I miss that annoying master of mine right now'
"You don't have to do that, Arsh. It can kill you if you use any magic again"
Leo replied in a concerned voice. Arsh looked at him, uncomfortably. He didn't want to use the spell himself. He was not a masochist by any standard. A sadist, perhaps. But, definitely not a masochist.
"We will think of something other than you dying. Don't worry about Elsa. I am her father. I won't let any monster near her"
'Damn you fucker, Now I am emotionally burdened too. Sorry Alan I should have treated you better'
"Don't worry. If I died during this, blame this all on Alan"
'Nah just kidding, that bastard doesn't deserve anything better'
|Smoke Screen|
Arsh used the spell last time, straining his body to dangerous levels. His skin started tearing apart all over his body, his blood gushing out everywhere.
'AAAHHHHHHHH. This hurts, this hurts, this fucking hurts'
Arsh staggered on his legs, before falling to the ground in agony, writhing in pain. Ethan quickly picked him up on his shoulder, as Amanda continuously used healing spells on him, keeping him conscious.
'Th..is spe..ll does more da..mage than help. I prefer being unco...ncious right now'
After a long run, they reached the cave huffing and trembling. The gargoyles lingered around the cave for some time, until flying away abruptly.
"Are you still alive, Arsh?"
Ethan shouted at Arsh. He put Arsh on the ground, slowly.
Arsh drank a deep breath, before coughing violently again. The spells used by Amanda proved to be much more useful than he gave them credit for.
Even replenishing him with some of his essences. His tattered skin knit back together, his broken bones mending slowly back, along with minor injuries.
"Barely"
Arsh raised both of his fists in the air, announcing his victory against his rotten fate. He smiled victoriously, looking at his new companions.
'I made it. Fuck you flying lizards.'
Arsh tried to sit up, hearing a sudden rustling of air, coming from the cave.
TAP TAP TAP
Heavy footsteps moved toward them from the cave. It was then, Arsh's every fiber of his being gave him, the most ominous warning he ever felt from a monster.
The warning of the impending doom closing on him.
Arsh choked on his breath, looking inside the cave for the first time. He saw 6 bright eyes shining inside the dark cave. The ominous being approached closer to them with every fleeting second.
Every sense of Arsh cried to him, to leave everything and run away. Its closing presence made it very clear, they were no match for this being.
The monster stepped out of the cave, making a show of itself. It was taller than any house in the town with three different heads, peering into them with intelligence.
The three-headed beast snickered suddenly, with all three mouths. Its eyes focused on every single one of them, at the same time. As if to mock them, for being alive right now.
The aura made it faultlessly clear.
It was a Millenium.
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