บท 18: Queen Himiko's Tomb(chapter 18)
Amid the gunfire and explosions, Lara shouted to Gray, "Got any more of those explosions?"
Gray, still crouched beside her, shook his head with a grin. "No, but I've got something better." He reached into his pouch again, this time pulling out a small test tube filled with a swirling red liquid. "What the hell is that?" Lara asked, but Gray was already winding up.
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Chapter 18
"You'll see," he replied, his voice calm. He threw the test tube directly into the center of the camp, where several guards had gathered, barking orders to regroup. The glass shattered on the ground, and instantly, a thick red smoke began to billow out, spreading quickly. The guards didn't react at first, confused by the sudden appearance of the strange mist. Then the effects hit.
The red smoke, dense and suffocating, filled the guards' lungs, causing them to choke violently. They dropped their guns, clutching at their throats as blood started to pour from their noses, ears, and eyes. Some fell to their knees, gasping for air, while others stumbled blindly, their faces contorting in pain as the poison ripped through their bodies. Within moments, they collapsed, blood streaming down their faces, dead before they hit the ground.
Lara, crouched behind cover, watched in horrified awe as the red fog continued to spread, claiming more lives as it rolled through the camp. "Jesus…" she muttered under her breath. The few remaining guards who hadn't been caught in the smoke began to panic, firing their guns wildly as they tried to flee the scene.
Lara didn't hesitate. She dashed into the camp, her bow still in hand, weaving between the burning debris and the bodies. Her eyes scanned the area until she spotted Lu Ren, tied to a post along with several other captives. He had a gash on his arm, and his face was smeared with dirt and blood.
A guard stood nearby, rifle in hand, watching over the prisoners. Lara quickly nocked an arrow, took aim, and released. The arrow buried itself into the guard's chest, and he dropped instantly, his gun clattering to the ground.
"Go!" Lara shouted to Lu Ren as she approached. She quickly cut his bonds with a knife she carried and handed him the fallen guard's gun. "Get the others free. I'm going for the satellite phone to get us out of here."
Lu Ren, wincing as he moved his injured arm, nodded. He turned to the other captives, speaking rapidly in Japanese. "Get ready to run. Stick together!" He picked up the rifle, grimacing in pain, but kept moving, determined to help the others.
As Lara disappeared into the chaos of the camp, Gray stepped out of the tree line with a calm, measured stride. His movements were lethal and efficient, enhanced by a combination of his natural speed and the potions he carried. A guard barely had time to raise his weapon before Gray's hand struck his throat with brutal precision, crushing his windpipe. Another guard lunged toward him, but Gray sidestepped, his fist connecting with the man's temple, sending him crumpling to the ground. Each strike was calculated, leaving no room for retaliation. Bodies dropped silently in his wake, their deaths as swift as Gray's movements. Suddenly, something caught his eye amidst the burning wreckage of the camp—a container marked with a bright red label: "LETHAL". His Secrecy detectors flared "Oh, this was more than just plants".
"Now this is what I'm talking about," Gray murmured with a grin. His eyes gleamed as he made his way to the container. It was filled with various plants, herbs, and toxins, all carefully preserved. Gray collected as much as he could, stuffing them into his pouch before moving on. He soon arrived at the tomb entrance, now wide open. "Hm," he muttered, his curiosity piqued but not surprised. The entrance had been disturbed, just as he had hoped. Peering down, he saw a sheer drop into the darkness below. With a casual glance, Gray began his descent, climbing down the rocky face of the entrance like a seasoned rock climber.
The lower he went, the darker it became, the pitch-blackness enveloping him. But Gray was prepared. Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out a small vial and uncorked it. The familiar potion he had brewed for his journey into the Forbidden Forest shimmered as he drank it down, enhancing his vision and allowing him to see in the dark. His surroundings became clearer, revealing the decayed and crumbling state of the tomb around him.
The walls were slick with moss, which Gray carefully collected as he moved. The tomb had been neglected for centuries, and the air smelled of damp earth and rot. As he ventured deeper, he stumbled upon a fully intact human skeleton, its skull hollowed and filled with crawling spiders that scuttled in and out of the eye sockets. Gray paused, observing the scene with detached interest, before a cold wind blew through the tomb, sending a chill down his spine. The structure groaned under the pressure of time, its decaying stone barely holding together. Gray took a cautious step forward, his foot brushing against something unusual. He glanced down and noticed a slight shift in the stone beneath his foot.
"Pressure plate," he thought immediately, freezing in place. His enhanced agility had alerted him just in time. He scanned the area, noticing one of Vogel's men impaled on a trap—an iron spike running through his body from the base of his spine to his throat. "That's a rough way to go," Gray muttered, thanking his quick reflexes for saving him from the same fate. Stepping carefully around the trap, Gray moved forward, arriving at a large ledge. His temporarily enhanced vision allowed him to see the depths of the chasm below, where piles of skeletons lay, their bones bleached white.
"Chasm of the dead," he thought to himself, studying the ledge. The remains of a broken ladder were visible on the other side, but it was of little concern. Gray rummaged through his pouch, pulling out a speed potion. Without hesitation, he drank it, feeling his agility spike once again. With a powerful leap, Gray soared across the chasm, landing gracefully on the other side. He continued forward, only to be confronted by a wall adorned with golden faces—an ancient depiction of Queen Himiko. "Queen Himiko, I presume," he thought, eyeing the intricate carvings. To his left, the passage was blocked by debris, but to his right, there was an open path, though much of the floor had crumbled away. Only a few tiles remained, creating a precarious route forward.
Gray sighed, glancing at the open door at the other end. "Guess this is what I get for coming late to the party," he muttered. With no other choice, he sprinted forward, jumping from one tile to the next. As expected, the moment his foot left each tile, it collapsed into the abyss below. His speed and agility were enough to carry him across, and he landed safely on the other side.
Ahead, Gray found a large chamber, the air heavy with the smell of decay. A pagoda-like structure stood in the center, ancient and crumbling, with flares still burning inside. Gray could hear distant voices—he had caught up. Smiling, not because of the reunion but because he spotted a rare plant near the entrance, Gray plucked the plant before entering the pagoda. Inside, thousands of skeletons were entombed, their hollow eyes staring at nothing. As he passed by, a faint, agonized scream echoed from deeper within.
Gray moved silently, his enhanced agility making him a shadow. In the main chamber, he saw them—Lara, her father, Vogel, and his men. The tomb of Himiko had been opened, and there she sat, upright and decayed. One of Vogel's men screamed in agony as his body rapidly decomposed, his skin sloughing off his bones. "It's not magic," Lara said, her voice tense, "she was a carrier of a disease, and she was immune." The decomposing man convulsed, his finger squeezing the trigger of his rifle. The bullet hit another of Vogel's men, killing him instantly. Vogel, unphased, raised his gun and shot the man dead, ending his suffering.
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