Aethernea

by Cloe D Frost

  But this particular snow, with a lingering scent of divinity, made it feel inherently uncomfortable. Like an itch that one unconsciously wanted to scratch.

  As the snow fell off, a gruesome sight of flexing muscles permeated with countless black veins was revealed. The creature that otherwise resembled a lupax, looked as if it was skinned, without any fur or hide, with all of its muscles fully exposed. Several parts of its body appeared to be festering, black and white puss flowing out with each flex of its muscles.

  As the pungent rotting smell reached Nelaira’s squad, everyone hastened to cover up their mouth and nose with their bandanas. They were used to the sight of Tainted, thus everyone managed to keep the contents of their stomachs from coming out.

  Well, everyone but the logistics officer, who had been cut in half a moment prior. The two leaking halves of his body seemed to be quite tempting to the creature, because it completely disregarded the retreating eight, lunging towards the gory mess.

  A single gulp and the entire upper half was swallowed into its stomach.

  The monster let out a satisfied snort, its breath visible to the naked eye. Yet, the breath didn’t turn white upon contact with the cold surroundings. No. What spread into the air was so very black. A wisp as black as its pitch-black eyes.

  It turned its ugly head towards the lower half of the man’s body, opening its maw wide once again. However, it didn’t get to swallow its prey this time.

  For the team of eight, who had been spreading and weaving their mana had just finished preparing their spells. Nelaira’s attack came first, several large ice spikes erupting from the ground and impaling the creature through its two hind legs.

  The attack was more effective than expected, managing to briefly restrain its movement so that the following attacks connected.

  One of Aurel’s swords inserted itself into the creature’s open mouth, attempting to skewer it from inside. Laica’s explosive fireballs followed, aiming for its eyes.

  The Tainted reacted fast, clamping down its jaws around the sword but couldn’t shield its eyes from the flames.

  It raised its head with its mangled eye sockets and let out a deafening screech of fury.

  Yet, before it could lunge forwards, it found its front legs encased in ice, courtesy of the team’s scout.

  One tug was enough for the Tainted to crack the ice and set itself free, but at that point, several arrowheads had arrived above its head. With their tips pointing downwards they slammed into the creature’s head with a force of a hammer. They passed straight through the head leaving behind large black holes.

  Before they could lodge themselves into the ground their massive weight shifted to become light as a feather and they swerved to the side, circling around the monster.

  With two gaping holes in its head, a normal creature would have been dead beyond the shadow of a doubt. But the monstrosity didn’t even flinch. On the contrary, when a searing hot whip arrived in front of it a moment later, it even managed to avoid it.

  Its speedy dodge caused the whip to zoom past it to sear through the remaining lower half of the deceased logistics officer.

  The overwhelming stench of burned meat fully awakened the bloodlust in the Tainted. It lunged towards its nemesis in berserk abandon, leaving behind it a trail of crushed gray snow.

  Yet, the target of its hate was neither Nelaira who impaled its legs nor Laica who destroyed its eyes. It wasn’t Aurel who attempted to impale it from inside nor the comrade who created two gaping holes in its head.

  The Tainted felt no pain, no pride, no fear, no fatigue.

  It felt neither happiness nor sorrow.

  The only thing it could feel was endless hunger.

  What it couldn’t stand was being stopped from eating its meal.

  Thus, it lunged towards the whip wielder without hesitation.

  Unlike its assailants who couldn’t spread their minds as to avoid getting tainted by the Ink, it had no such inhibitions. It didn’t need eyes to see.

  Forget the eyes, out of all the mundane senses it had always found its sense of smell and hearing to be far more useful than its vision.

  Followed by the crunching of ice and snow, the creature ran nimbly, as if it had received no injuries, with speed so exaggerated that its target’s acceleration couldn’t keep up.

  The whole team kept barring its path in various ways, sharp icicles, walls, holes; everything just to give their comrade more time to retreat. Unfortunately, although they managed to impale it quite a number of times, it did little to slow it down. Non-lethal injuries to a creature with no sense of pain did very little.

  The only thing it achieved was to make the creature leave black footprints that resembled tar on the pure white snow.

  In mere seconds, the monstrosity was upon its target. Yet just as it was about to bite down, a loud slam resounded, making the creature’s lunge diverge and miss its prey by a hair.

  Only a black, gaping wound remained as the proof that Aurel’s broadsword was there. The shadow of the broadsword could barely be seen as it flashed around the battlefield as if teleporting, mowing down everything in its path.

  Unfortunately, even though the creature’s lunge missed its target, there was still the tail.

  The tail that swished with such speed that it couldn’t even be seen.

  A tail to which a hair’s width of a distance was something that could be traversed in an instant.

  The pale-faced female swung her whip with all her might, attempting to slash through the approaching tail. Her whole arm turned numb from the force but after reaching the bone, the whip could go no further.

  It managed to lessen the force of the blow, but not block it. After all, a whip wasn’t a weapon known for its defense.

  The last thing female cadet managed to do before the tail struck her was to raise her left arm in front of her chest.

  A snap, and her body flew through the air like an arrow shot from a bow, before falling to the ground dozens of meters away. It skidded and rolled through the snow, raising white mist into the air, painting a crimson ribbon in the pure white snow.

  The time started ticking again, the dust settled.

  Yet, the woman never got up again.

  In an instant, Nelaira’s squad of eight became a squad of seven.

  Luki flinched and involuntarily took a step back before his reason overpowered the instinctual fear. Then he stepped into position to fly towards the fallen member. There might still be a chance to save her life.

  However, just as he was about to activate his boots, the archeologist next to him barred his path. He gave Luki a meaningful look and shook his head.

  His argel eyes could see the mangled chest of the female much more clearly than Luki.

  There was simply nothing left inside but minced meat.

  Luki’s face fell and he gritted his teeth. Their luck was just too horrid this time around. This Tainted was of a much higher level than what their squad was equipped to deal with.

  It made sense, once he thought about it. If it wasn’t extremely powerful, it wouldn’t have survived beneath the snow for centuries. The Ink would have corroded its flesh into nothingness a long time ago.

  The fact that it was still undead and kicking was a clear statement of its former might.

  A might that only increased after it had been corrupted by the Ink.

  It flashed around the battlefield like lightning, moving faster than them, with each one of its attack being enough to take a life.

  All they could do was fall back, try to slow it down, and aim to take its head off before it caught up with them.

  Removing its head was the only thing that could end this battle in their favor.

  Like a saw, Aurel’s sword kept gnawing away at its front leg, repeatedly banging at it until it was half-severed. Though the Tainted barely seemed to notice, not slowing down much. Mid-run, it cocked its head to the side, trying to hear the whizzing of the sword as it buzzed around it like a pesky fly
.

  It halted briefly to swipe with its claws towards the approaching shadow of the sword, only for the shadow to suddenly switch direction in what seemed to be an unnatural maneuver, completely avoiding the swipe and slashing towards the already barely attached limb.

  The creature momentarily lost its balance and stumbled. It seemed unable to comprehend what just happened because it still attempted to get up using the now already severed leg.

  In its moment of confusion, Laica’s fireball hit its head with a loud boom followed by sizzling noise.

  The monster lifted its half-melted head up and let out a disturbing, sinister bellow that made one’s eardrums feel like they would burst. Finally regaining its balance without a support of its lost leg, it kicked off with its hind legs towards Laica.

  Its head swayed left and right, dodging the arrowheads that kept falling around it like meteors. They were aiming to open more holes through its head, however, not a single one managed to connect. Although their power was the highest among the comrades’ attacks, the slight delay caused by their increase of weight was more than enough for the monstrosity to move its head away from their trajectory.

  As it reached the vicinity of its target, it extended its neck and snapped towards Laica’s head.

  At that moment, the last remaining front paw that it had, fell through the snow, making it stumble onto the ground. Apparently, Nelaira had laid a trap for it in front of her comrade, creating a hole underneath the snow.

  By the time it managed to get back on its feet, Laica had escaped its vicinity and numerous wounds big and small had appeared on its large body. In fact, at this point, some of its black innards had started falling out and many of its pustules had ruptured. The stench spreading in the air was so vile that even the specially made bandanas weren’t enough to block it.

  Time and time again it had been thwarted in eating its meal. If it had the capacity to feel true emotion, the rage and indignation that it would have felt would be enough to drown any mind that touched it. Yet, seeing the violent way it slammed its paws onto the ground, causing a minor earthquake, it was hard to make the distinction between emotion and instinct.

  The Tainted screeched so loudly that it caused everyone’s mind to buzz, dazing them where they stood. And then, like a shadow, the creature slid on the snow, appearing next to Nelaira.

  * * *

  Coming up in the next episode:

  She could feel the intangible fingers of death reaching for her. They could almost touch her, almost pull her into the abyss. Her life hung in a balance, suspended by a thin thread.

  Even if they successfully killed this Tainted, without supplies they were doomed to perish in the forbidden zone!

  The rims of Laica’s eyes reddened, her lip trembled, and what came out of her mouth was a screech of mixed grief and fury.

  Neither dead nor alive, they desperately clung to this cursed existence.

  * * *

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  Episode 148 - Fall

  Previously:

  Kiel and Elaru are waiting for the results of their Muni entrance exams. Meanwhile, Nelaira’s squad finally sees the end of the Valley of Eternal Snow. Unfortunately, a Tainted takes them by surprise and beheads one of their comrades before anyone could react. Due to the extreme speed and power of the Tainted, two more comrades are killed off in succession, after which, the Tainted sets his eyes on Nelaira.

  * * *

  The Tainted screeched so loudly that it made everyone’s mind buzz, dazing them where they stood. And then, like a shadow, the creature slid on the snow, appearing next to Nelaira.

  * * *

  Episode 148 – Fall

  The blasted woman kept tripping and poking it everywhere. If it weren’t for her constantly slowing down its charge, half of the pests would have already been in its stomach. Not to mention it wouldn’t have gotten hit so many times, even losing a leg!

  Nelaira’s face paled and her eyes widened in shock. The contrast between her pale skin and dark eyes made her eyes look so black they were darker than the Ink seeping out of the charging monstrosity reflected in them.

  [Estimated time of impact: t – 1.5 seconds]

  Nelaira’s heart stilled, but her mind raced faster than ever. What should she do? What could she do?

  She activated her acceleration boots with all the speed she could muster, intending to flee to the left, yet she knew it was futile. The disparity in their velocities was too huge, and the time she had before her untimely demise too short. What kind of profound tactic could she possibly come up with in the last second of her life?

  She had been fighting Tainted for many years, she had countless ways, countless methods to attack and control its movement. But all of her methods and tricks were useless in the face of absolute power.

  Or rather, absolute speed.

  Magic and everything else needed time, the time that she didn’t have.

  The time that none of them had.

  She could feel the intangible fingers of death reaching for her. They could almost touch her, almost pull her into the abyss. Her life hung in a balance, suspended by a thin thread.

  Yet, Nelaira didn’t panic in the face of death.

  All of them were prepared to die. They wouldn’t even be allowed onto the expedition unless they handed in their last wills.

  They knew what they were getting into.

  Instead of falling into despair, what she should concentrate her last moments on was ensuring that her sacrifice was worth it.

  She had to use her flesh and blood to give others time.

  To help them survive.

  That was her duty as their team leader.

  [t – 1.25 seconds to impact]

  No!

  The Beacon… !

  Their team’s last Beacon was in her possession!

  The backup Beacon had been on the body of their logistics officer, which was now dissolving in the stomach of the monstrosity. If she too ended up in the stomach of this thing alongside her Beacon, none of her team members would be able to return back home alive! Even if they successfully killed this Tainted, without supplies they were doomed to perish in the forbidden zone!

  Nelaira hastily reached into the inner pocket of her jacket. Her eyes darted towards Aurel that was the closest one to her, hoping that he would understand her intentions.

  [t – 1 second]

  Her eyes screamed “Catch!”, however, as her gaze locked with Aurel’s, her hand that was ready to throw the Beacon stilled. After years of working together, she knew Aurel like the back of her hand.

  She saw through his intentions with but a glance.

  Without any extra thought, when her boots powered up, instead of accelerating towards the left, as she initially intended, she accelerated towards the right, towards Aurel.

  He was her teammate.

  A person she could trust. A person she could rely on.

  If he thought that his family’s modified acceleration spell Blitz would be fast enough, then it would be.

  [ 0.7 s]

  Her right hand reached out to close the distance. Every inch counted, no matter how little. Every inch closer to Aurel was an inch further away from the abyss.

  Yet, before she could fully extend it, before she could reach Aurel’s speeding form, her right shoulder slammed…

  …into an invisible wall.

  Unable to proceed further.

  [ 0.5 s ]

  In her peripheral vision, she could see the sharp gray teeth of the Tainted becoming bigger and bigger as they came closer.

  Still, she was unable to break through the invisible wall in front of her.

  [ 0.4 s ]

  Both Aurel and his flying broadsword blitzed in Nelaira’s direction from two sides, leaving afterimages in their wake.

  Aurel’s heart stopped as he noticed Nelaira’s sudden halt, but he h
ad no time to change his direction of movement.

  Slam!

  [ 3 ]

  His left shoulder smashed into something.

  His speeding body swerved to the right, almost banging head first into the creature next to Nelaira.

  His outstretched right hand missed Nelaira completely, but luckily, he still had a free left hand that almost reflexively grabbed onto Nelaira’s hand.

  [ 2 ]

  Aurel’s neck twisted away from Nelaira, towards the monster on his right.

  If only his lunge didn’t swerve off course.

  If only it hadn’t swerved to the right.

  But it did.

  It flew right into the path of the creature’s attack.

  [ 1 ]

  Aurel’s flying broadsword blocked in front of him, clashing strongly with the monster’s claw swipe.

  A piercing sound of a metal on metal collision was followed by a loud crack.

  And then the lower half of Aurel’s sword fell lifelessly to the ground.

  But the creature’s claw didn’t stop.

  Its momentum lessened considerably, but it still continued onwards.

  Towards Aurel’s chest.

  [ 0 ]

  A shrill scream tore out of Laica’s throat as she watched with bloodshot eyes as her best friend and the love of her life, her husband, the father of her son, got whacked away like a fly, speeding towards the pit from which the creature had climbed out of.

  The two sailed through the air for a long distance, leaving behind round red droplets of blood that crystallized and froze before reaching the ground.

  They fell like red pearls, glittering enchantingly in the white snow.

  And then the two bodies crashed to the ground, raising the snow into the air.

  They rolled through the path from whence the creature came from.

  Rolled through the crushed snow and black blood.

  Until the black mixed with the red.

  And then the red became black.

  Everything stilled.

  Laica’s pupils dilated as she stared at the white mist and snow floating in the air around their impact point in a daze.