As Ulysses continued his chat, Guy stepped toward Tempeste and asked. “What do you know about the mists to the north?”
“It serves as the border between Lumière and New Svartálfar territory,” Tempeste said. “It was not always there, however. The mists appeared when the corruption changed our world.”
“So, it’s not a natural phenomenon,” Guy said. “The mists are afflicted too.”
“Well, there you have it,” Rachael said. “Game rules say you can’t scan anything below the mists.”
He nodded in agreement to his childhood friend, then barked to the star-elf. “Yo, Ulysses.”
“Hold on, Arn.” Ulysses lowered the communicator. “What is it, Guy?”
“Tell Arn to keep scanning the area outside the mists,” Guy said. “It sounds to me like New Svartálfar is planning an attack and are going to link up with the imperial airship for assistance.”
Ulysses nodded. “I’ll pass that along to him. But keep in mind, the Seraphim’s still in a decaying orbit. Arn can only scan that region when he drifts above it from space.”
And the longer Arn delayed reactivating the Seraphim’s main power, the closer it fell into the planet’s gravity well. He was their eye in the sky, but only for a limited time. Guy sighed. There was an invisible timer counting down.
“If we take too long, Arn will die, and we’ll be stuck on Alfheimr forever,” Guy said to himself. He faced Ulysses again. “How much time does Arn have?”
“One sec,” Ulysses said, and spoke with Arn. “Guy wants to know how much time you have. About two days, eh? And then after that, you and my ship will be a barbecue in the skies. Well, unless you power up the reactor, but then that’ll alert the sentinels, and they’ll turn the Seraphim into a barbeque in the sky. Fuck me, why did I agree to this. Yes . . . I know that.”
Rachael stood beside Guy with her arms crossed. “I don’t like the sound of this, Guy,” she said. “Is two days going to be enough time for us?”
No, it wasn’t from what he guessed. They had a lot to do, find Nijana, protect Lumière, and stop New Svartálfar and their alliance with the empire. Those were the tasks Guy promised he’d do and the jobs the White Dragon insisted they undertake. And they had two days to finish it.
“Here’s the thing,” Guy said to her. “Obviously, if we take too long here, Arn and the hookers he brought aboard dies when the Seraphim burns up and it would leave us stranded.”
“Until another star-dweller ship arrives to trade with the elves,” Rachael said.
“Thing is, the sentinels would probably shoot them down before they landed,” Guy said. “We got lucky because the sentinels weren’t in the system when we first arrived. They are now, and I have a feeling they won’t be leaving anytime soon.”
She sighed, held her waist, and looked to the thicket’s ground. “Long shot, but can’t we just come back?”
Guy gave it some thought. It was clear they’d need more time, time Arn didn’t have. They could ask Arn right now to power the Seraphim, then fly down to pick them up fast before the sentinels moved in to attack. But . . .
He grunted. There was always a “but.”
“I don’t think that’s an option,” he said. “Remember, once Arn powers the ship, the sentinels will find it and attack.”
“Right,” Rachael said. “So he picks us up, and we go into hyperspace immediately. The sentinels can’t chase us once we’re in hyperspace, right?”
“You’re right, they can’t, but the Seraphim has to be far from Alfheimr to jump to hyperspace. Otherwise, hyperspace radiation might contaminate the planet.”
Rachael grimaced as she processed his words. “And if we return, we need to make sure the hyperspace opening is far from Alfheimr as well.”
“Yep,” he said. “If the sentinels don’t leave the system, they’ll not only see our arrival but have enough time to intercept us on our way back to Alfheimr. It’s too risky. If we leave now, then we doom the elves to Autumnfall’s crystal harvest. And let’s be honest here, the empire didn’t just come to grab Averyl.”
“They want soul crystals from the elves, too,” Rachael concluded.
“And if we don’t finish these quests from the White Dragon, then it won’t know where to send us next. If there’s even a place to go next. Serzax, Leafblade, the empire, and sentinels. They’re all here. If we take them all out today, we could end this threat and go back home to the fleet.”
Rachael’s face lit up when he uttered the words go back home. The sole reason they couldn’t return to the star-dweller fleet was the fear that the sentinels would follow them.
Score a major victory here, and they’ll lose track of us.
Ulysses finished his call with Arn, put the communication device into his pocket, and joined Guy and Rachael. “You two have been chatty,” Ulysses said. “I take it you made a decision without input from me, the captain?”
“Yeah, we did. I hope you didn’t mind, bro,” Guy replied. “We stay the course and finish this before Arn and the Seraphim go up in flames.”
Ulysses winced. “And we do that by . . .?”
“If Arn’s scans are correct,” Guy said. “Then New Svartálfar is moving to hit the Lumière Kingdom, and Autumnfall will likely be right behind to collect the soul crystals. So, let’s deal with that first, then double back to find Nijana and politely ask her why she looks exactly like Averyl.”
“Spoken like a fearless leader,” Ulysses snorted. “You forgot one thing, mon ami.”
“And that is?”
Ulysses pointed to the evening sky. “We won’t make it to the Sirocco before nightfall. Didn’t Tempeste say undead come out to play at night?”
“Indeed, I did,” Tempeste said, and stepped toward the three star-dwellers. “It is wise that we camp here for now and move out at sunrise.”
Guy eyed the darkening skies set to be dotted with stars shortly. “Fuck.” He examined his party, then later Xanthe’s party as they continued to search for Nijana. “There’s a lot of us here.” Guy looked at Tempeste. “Can’t we fight our way through the undead?”
Rachael nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it seems like a waste to call it a night when so much is at stake.”
Tempeste faced the path ahead and held the hilt of her Spellsword Saber sheathed to her sword belt. “If you believe you can do it, then you are free to try,” she said. “But heed my words, it shall not be a straightforward task.”
“Let’s try,” Rachael said. She gazed at Guy with her blue eyes, waiting in anticipation for his approval.
He gave it. “I agree with Rachael.”
Rachael graced him with a broad and heartwarming smile. Guy was repairing the damage between the two. As much as he wanted to rail Xanthe and hold her tits, he couldn’t ditch Rachael.
Guy whistled to Xanthe, and he hoped Rachael didn’t take it the wrong way. He was trying to get Xanthe’s attention. He needed her and her party close by. The undead would be out soon, and they needed to have each other’s backs.
Once Guy and Xanthe’s party were close, they moved out together. A large group of ten people pushed through the woods to make their way to the plains and the Sirocco parked outside the city of Alita. The normal monsters that lurked became less frequent, likely retreating out of fear of what would spawn soon. The sun had begun its dip beyond the horizon. The falling sun was their falling sand in an hourglass.
And their time had just run out.
Darkness had officially arrived, bringing out the spectacle of stars in the sky, the moon shining its light down, and the horrid snarls of monsters echoing in the darkness. Guy heard a lot of them too, enough to make his heart jump into his throat, and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge.
Tempeste stepped forward with the Spellsword Saber and cast Elemental Weapon: Lightning. The blade of the Spellsword Saber flickered with thundering bolts, brightening the dark trees around the two parties.
“It has arrived,” Tempeste said.
&nbs
p; Guy withdrew Asteria’s Sword from his back. “We can do this!” I hope!
Chapter Forty-Three
Nothing about Alfheimr surprised Guy anymore. The corruption had changed the planet into a theme park powered by the rules of an old RPG. The hordes of zombies and skeleton warriors encroaching on his position? Just another crazy ride comprised of monsters to swat out of the way and push forward. Kill them all, collect some experience points, loot, then carry on.
So Guy thought.
Guy led his party to engage the approaching undead army. Xanthe did the same with her party. Two parties in the woods versus undead. They both had healers and plenty of support. How could they possibly lose? The goblins they fought in the mines were more of a challenge since the dungeon’s rules restricted his party to four.
Guy learned quickly why Tempeste insisted they wait it out after a round of fighting.
The undead didn’t exactly die. They fell down for a few minutes, then got back up with full HP. Guy must have knocked over twenty skeleton warriors to clear a path for his friends. Xanthe took down six herself. The undead rose and retook their weapons. Blinding Flash had no effect on the skeletons, which made sense. Skeletons didn’t have any eyes; how can you blind something that didn’t have them? Xanthe’s Alluring Waltz had no effect either, forcing her to use her AP on Brisk Strike or enhancing her party with Blade Dancer buffs.
Ulysses had a hard time with the skeletons. Half his arrows slipped past the gaps in their bones. He had to turn his attention to the zombies. Zuran had to do the same when discovering you couldn’t set bones on fire as easily as flesh. His Ice spells helped slow a few slow-moving undead by freezing them, however. As for Remy? He just held an I-told-you-so-smug grin on his face and then cut down a zombie that got close.
The previous zombies and skeletons they managed to take down rose again, full HP and all. Their push into the dark forest was a bust. Staying in the tent, as weird as it sounded, might have been the better option. And it also would have wasted time and brought Arn and the Seraphim closer to their ends. The Seraphim was due to crash into the planet in two days, less now. There was no way to achieve victory. Guy stood corrected. There was something about Alfheimr that surprised him—their inability to win the fight.
Guy cleaved Asteria’s Sword across the open, knocking down three skeletons in one swift stroke, and stood to address his friends. He couldn’t spot most of them. The cluster fuck of a battle had divided everyone up.
“Okay, we’re done here!” Guy yelled. “Everyone, fallback.”
“Agreed,” Tempeste said from . . . somewhere, Guy couldn’t see her. “Let us use the tents! It is the only way to stay alive.”
Everyone had made their retreat. Well, those not under attack by the undead. Guy saw the large gathering of zombies and skeletons harassing Kam and Averyl. There was no way the two could escape. He charged into the undead group, and went to test his new spell, Line of Defense. When Guy finished casting the spell, a surge of astral energy erected a force field behind him, protecting Kam and Averyl. Line of Defense was a nifty spell. Too bad it forced Guy to use his limited supply of MP hyposprays. The undead either had to roam around the force field or strike down Guy. A few walked around the barrier, that was until Guy swung furiously at them, got AP, and used Provoke.
About a dozen undead freaks slowly twisted their head to snarl at the Paladin, then surrounded him from all sides. He glimpsed Averyl and Kam get to their feet, their faces full of fear. He hoped they did the smart thing and run. Otherwise, his sacrifice would have been for nothing.
Sacrifice . . . just the mere thought of that word forced his heart to bang inside his chest. Guy fought off the undead piling over him the best he could, got AP, and used Storm Slash. Half the zombies and skeletons flew backward, slammed into trees, and thudded to the ground. Guy was free for now and limped toward his friends. Wherever they were.
Pain prevented him from running, and he felt warm fluids that should be inside his body pour out. The fighting had left Guy at 368 HP and he couldn’t cast Lay on Hands, not with his current ability build.
“Guy!” Rachael yelled in the background. “I’m leaving behind Recovery Orbs for you!”
“Thanks!” he shouted back.
Guy limped toward where he heard Rachael’s voice, and found a few of the glowing red orbs on the ground. He picked them up and received their warm and soothing power, restoring his HP. Ahead, he spotted more orbs, left behind by Rachael. It was a path back to his retreating friends. He followed and grab orb after orb, stopping at the fifth one.
Guy couldn’t see any more orbs and couldn’t hear the escaping footsteps of his friends. He was alone in the darkness of the woods; a haunting howl of wind blew past. At least his HP had recovered to 1122.
“Fuck . . .” he grunted to no one. Maybe they got in the tents already. I’ll keep moving in this direction. They’re probably nearby. “Rachael! Where you all at?!”
Rachael never responded. All he heard was his heart beating.
Then the growl of undead raising around him.
A fresh wave of skeleton warriors and zombies approached. If Rachael and the others were ahead, then the new undead had just cut Guy off. He ran from the undead and away from the tents. There was no choice.
“Oh shit, oh shit!”
Guy kept running as the trees and bushes moved past him—
Slam.
A zombie tackled Guy to the ground. A second and third out of nowhere joined and mauled his HP away in the most vicious manner imaginable. He was back down to low HP, 210 to be exact. He shoved one off, got up, punched and kicked at the other. Asteria’s Sword had fallen somewhere in the darkness. He wasn’t sure where. When Guy was free, he found and retrieved his sword, brought it down on a zombie’s head, and split it apart—
A shower of blue and green light sparkled around Guy, soothing and healing the bites on his skin. Two seconds later, another twinkle of soothing light came followed by the buzz of fairy wings echoing in the air. Guy’s HP had risen to 460. The zombies looked up as another burst of light flashed and brought Guy’s HP to 585. Guy glanced up as well.
Averyl had flown above Guy, her eyes shut as she held her glowing Flame Priestess’s Scepter. Two seconds later, Averyl waved the wand and cast Starlight Recovery on him once more. Averyl stayed behind to save him. Why?
Because you saved her life, dumbass. She doesn’t want to owe a human. Right now, we’re even.
Averyl came to land in a clearing ahead, waving her hand at him. “Hurry!”
He joined up with Averyl, took the lead, and searched for a path to their friends. The snarls of the undead increased as with their numbers.
Zombies to the left, skeletons to the right, and probably a combination of the two behind. No point in fighting. Guy sheathed Asteria’s Sword to the back of his trench coat. He saw nothing ahead, so he grabbed Averyl’s slender wrist and ran that way. The dark trees of the woods moved past his left and right during the dash, during which Guy opened his Inventory screen and was glad it hovered and floated to keep pace with his run. He pulled out the tent Tempeste had given him beforehand with his free hand and tossed it into the air.
“What are you doing?” Averyl asked in a panic.
“Getting us to safety!”
It expanded into a full-sized tent as it fell to the ground. Every sense in Guy’s mind told him that going inside was insanity and that his and Averyl’s only means of survival was to keep running. But game rules called the shots, and according to it, staying inside the tent was their best bet.
Guy opened the tent’s entrance, then looked at the visually startled fae princess and her trembling fairy wings. “Get in!”
He stepped to the side while keeping the tent open. Averyl hesitated at first, holding her fist to her chest. Behind, a zombie growled and sauntered to her with its hands extended out. She glanced at the zombie, then at Guy holding the tent open, said a quick prayer to Asteria, and went inside. It was Guy’s tu
rn now. The zombie that was chasing Averyl shifted its dead eyes on him. He got the fuck inside seconds before the zombie’s hands clawed at him.
The two were inside the tent now and crawled to its opened entrance. Guy and Averyl peeked out in the dark wilderness they had left and watched the undead surround the tent. The monsters groaned in disappointment and fucked off without even trying to push it over.
Guy sat back from the entrance and rubbed his forehead. “That is fucking stupid . . .”
Averyl sat with him. “I agree,” she said, eyes forward to the tent’s opening as the moonlight shone in. “These, game rules, as you put it, are—”
“Going to keep us trapped here until the sun rises.”
She sighed, crawled to the opening, and poked her head out. Nothing happened. Averyl crawled toward him.
“The other tents are too far away,” she said.
“Yep, just you and me, now.”
Guy opened his Party screen and selected the disband option. The system registered him as a solo adventurer now.
“Drop from your party,” Guy said as he hit the close button on the screen. “No point in being in it now since we’re cut off until the morning.”
She brought up her screen and selected disband. “Done.”
Guy sent her a party invite and watched as the request floated on a screen ahead of her. Averyl just looked at him. “Is it even necessary?” she asked.
Guy shrugged. “Fine, suit yourself.”
Averyl never accepted the invite. She lay back on the opposite end of the tent and said nothing else. As Averyl laid down, Guy took a closer look at her. This was the first time he was close enough to view her like that. She was an exact copy of Nijana, or was it the other way around? Averyl’s cheekbones, eye shape, cherry red pixie hair, wings, slender limbs, and waist were the same. He couldn’t spot any physical differences between her and Nijana. They were precisely the same, like twin sisters. Just one spoke with contractions, and the other didn’t. One was the princess of the Autumnfall Empire, and the other was mistaken to be her and mistakenly sentenced to death to force her to marry Wylume—
Mirror Princess: A LitRPG Space Fantasy (Sword of Asteria Book 2) Page 33