章節 475: Left No Choice
"Gear! Interesting to see you here."
Gear's eyes brightened upon seeing Lemon, "Just taking a rest."
"Oh come eat then! We have some leftovers."
"Thank you."
Yielya had made her decision. Leaving Gear and Jarvis to watch the village she took the rest of them to lead the attack against the area Wrock found. Her reasoning was simple, walking into enemy territory was dangerous for only a few people. Needing a balanced team was crucial for their survival. Additionally Jarvis had the Sages to help assist if anything did happen to the village. So protection there wasn't lax.
The two entered the blacksmith's home. Upon seeing the two the old man got off his chair, "Lemon, please serve our guests."
"On it!"
"Gear. . . a word please."
The two glanced at each other. Jarvis nodded, "I'll take a seat then."
Gear walked into a room with the blacksmith. With a frown he asked, "What's wrong?"
"You and your. . . recent friends, you're hunting down the Chimeras aren't you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Listen, please stop.", the old man stared into Gear's eyes.
"I. . . what?"
"What you're doing. It's beyond dangerous. It's horrific even."
"Horrific? These things have been haunting you guys for so long! If I can free-"
"It's dangerous! Listen, I've been here since you've arrived. I watched your strength increase slowly over these years. You do not have the strength needed to free us from all of this."
This has been the most the old man has said for a long time. Which only made Gear be concerned further, "I don't understand. After all this time Jarvis and his friends give us the ability to finally do something! I might not have the strength, but you haven't seen what they can do!"
"There's only so much outsiders can do. We've lasted all these years, do we really need to be free?"
"You've been imprisoned! Even now you hide away to keep yourself safe. I want you all to wander the night without fear!"
"We no longer have fear! We've grown used to this! The world outside of here is terrifying! These creatures, while dangerous, are the reason why we're still secluded after all this time!"
"Why do you know of this?"
The old man frowned, "None of that is important. What's important is that what you're doing will bring more harm than good!"
"I'm not going to let these Chimeras endanger anyone longer!"
"We are safe! Don't-"
Jarvis suddenly walked through the door, "Sorry to interrupt, but we have a message."
Gear frowned and opened the group chat. A single unread message lay there.
Wrock: Not here, something headed your way.
Jarvis warned, "If Wrock had no time to make a proper message something strong is there. We should move."
Gear clutched his sword, "Even now your safety is threatened. I won't stand by!"
"Our safety is threatened because you did this!", the blacksmith hollered.
"No matter, we cannot undo what is done."
Jarvis nodded, "Then let's move, Bo and To alone with Kiro are scouting about. No idea what's here, and since nobody is adding any information they must be in some trouble."
"If something has them tied what in the world could be headed our way?"
"We'll find out soon enough. What matters is the protection of the village."
"How do we protect a whole village?"
"Guarton is wrestling with authority over the earth so he can make a wall. That's our best bet."
Jarvis frowned, "If it wasn't for the Heresy I would have had no worries. To think it messes with the Sages elemental authority."
"Do we have anything else?"
"Not to worry, I have a few cards up my sleeve. For now we just have to make our hasty preparations."
"I wonder what the others are against. . ."
~ ~ ~
Slightly earlier. . .
Wrock retracted his fist, a wall crumbling in front of him. Exploration of the tunnels located by Guarton had been progressing smoothly. Almost too smoothly. The resistance they met was mediocre at best. The hardest thing was a measly B ranked Chimera.
Perhaps it was due to them acting a night, meaning most of the Chimera were on the surface. Allowing them to gather what they could in the shortest amount of time possible, without any trouble of course.
Yielya shook her head, "Something feels off. The strongest that roam are maybe a B class. At least that's what Gear said. There's no way there's nothing here."
Wrock stepped through the broken wall with Tilia, for these two were spearheading the whole party. The room was abnormally dark. Spirit flickered in Wrock's eyes for a moment before he shook his head, "Kan'na!"
"Don't shout for me, I'm already on it.", Kan'na complained.
A magic circle hovered above and flashed, a powerful light brightening the room. If a room was even an ample description of the sheer size of what greeted them. It was a hall, with an end nowhere in sight. A single person wide path lay down the middle floor. But that wasn't what garnered the party's attention.
Rather, it was the strange pulsing. . . things that could only be described as pustules on the walls. A strange disgusting thing. Wrock walked towards one and reached a hand out. Suddenly Spirit flickered and covered his hand in fire, an action he did not cause.
<Warning!>
<You have stepped into the Heretics Heart!>
<One wrong step and you will awaken all that rest here!>
Tilia could hardly believe here eyes. It wasn't the pustules that worried her, it was what lay inside. There were hundreds, if not thousands of these pustules on the walls. In the expansive and unending hall which reached farther and higher than the eye could see. Each of these beating horrific heretic things contained a Chimera inside. At the bare minimum, they were A class!
<Your presence has disturbed the guardian of the Heretic Heart!>
<Although fleeing is recommended, it is not possible!>
In a split second the wall Wrock broke down was covered in a mass of flesh, thick Heretic energy sparking on its surface.
<An Emergency Quest has activated!>
[Survive the Heretic Heart!]
Lying deep within a place secluded is a home, a heart, a resting ground of Heresy. You have entered, and disturbed, such a place. Now the consequences prove extreme.
Objective:
- Survive!
- (Optional) Defeat as many Chimera as possible!
Difficulty:
- Impossible
Time Limit:
- ???
Reward:
- The World's Favor
- +10 Levels
- 1% increase to all stats permanently
- (Depending on Optional Objective Completion) ???
Failure:
- 10x death penalty
- The release of the Heretic Heart
-End-
The party immediately entered a defensive stance. Tilia's War Sight expanded to protect them in its mountain form. A loud thumping began to fill their ears. Like a heartbeat that was accelerating. Kan'na formed several magic circles but frowned, "What is Heresy? There isn't a lick of mana here!"
The pustules began to twitch violently, the Chimeras that lie in them began to break free of their cages. Yielya made a disgusted face, "Great, can't wait to see what greets us."
Wrock shook his head, "Kan'na, no grasp on how many there is?"
"Negative, without any ambient mana my spells won't work for any intel gathering. I can still move on the offensive though!"
Tilia warned, "There's no telling what they're capable of. My War Sight might be strong, but still has weaknesses. I won't be able to guarantee everyone's safety."
Wrock's eyes flickered with Spirit. His eyes darted everywhere but he only frowned. If only he could be in more than one place! There was too much happening he wanted to check.
"Yielya! What's the plan?"
"Move down the hall, I have a feeling this Heretic Heart is at the end of this place. If maybe we can deal with that-"
The whole hall rumbled as hundreds of Chimeras finally broke free. The ground shook as they all rushed towards the party, various horrific noises adding to the vibrations. It took only a second before Tilia's War Sight was slammed with various attacks from the Chimeras. Remaining steady despite the piling Chimeras gave a bit of relief. However Tilia couldn't shake a strange feeling.
Kan'na spun a finished magic circle into the air. After creating a few more she spoke, "I'm ready!"
Wrock cracked his knuckles by flexing his hands, "I'll create an opening, the rest is up to you!"
Spirit began to flow around him, Azure flames moving like water. Gathering to his palm he took a stance and condensed it. Without the need for a count the party acted, although Igneel was a bit late to the jump.
Tilia morphed her War Sight into its tower shield form and started the charge. Wrock let forth a blast of Azure flame that took the shape of a flying Phoenix. Crashing through the Chimeras he created a small pathway for them to follow.
The various magic circles quickly began to work. The largest shot various bouncing pellets in the hall. It effortlessly pierced through the Chimeras and continued bouncing. This spell was created with the small 'test' Akiol went through during the beginning of the Gated Arena. With each bounce it went faster, until reaching a climactic point and exploding upon touching a Chimera. A smaller circle would then move a thin tendril and touch an immobile Chimera.
Kan'na kept an eye on the results of this tendril. What happened only made her shake her head, "I can paralyze the Chimera's you defeat, but can't properly kill them!"
If the Chimeras did not have their frightening regenerative properties this battle wouldn't have been half as serious. After all in just a moment the party managed to take a seemingly hopeless situation and turn it around. Even as they charged through they were pushing past the endless Chimeras. Yet eventually the ones they knocked down would stand again, and it would continue like a flywheel!
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