Book 5: Chapter 25 — Arachleon Hunter (3) |
Noah stopped Arcane Stepping. Instead, he planted his feet, activated Dragon Shift, and met the beta's next charge head-on. Life Siphon activated at point-blank range, Wyrm's Curse to stack with the Life Siphon.
[Wyrm's Curse] applied to [Darkstalker Arachleon - Beta]!
[Life Siphon] activated.
The abilities reached into the beta's life force and tore it away, siphoning energy directly into Noah's depleted reserves.
Health: 58%... 63%... 71%...
The lion staggered, its movements suddenly sluggish as vitality poured out of its massive form. Noah pressed the attack, his Crimson Spear finding gaps in its guard that hadn't been there before. Each cut spread across the beta's hide, burning and festering.
The creature tried to retreat, but Noah didn't let it. He stayed close, inside its reach, where those spider-legs couldn't get proper leverage. His Dragon Scales took hit after hit, but the life he was draining healed him faster than the beta could damage him.
His claws raked across its face, blinding three of its eight eyes. His blade punched through its chest, seeking the heart.
The beta collapsed.
With the beta dead, the remaining lions in the second chamber broke formation. Their coordination shattered; had the creature been directing them?
Bun Bun targeted the fleeing lions with ruthless efficiency. Each bite left corrosive wounds that prevented regeneration, and his small size made him harder to hit in the confusion.
[Acidic Bite] applied to [Darkstalker Arachleon - lvl 414]!
[Acidic Bite] applied to [Darkstalker Arachleon - lvl 419]!
[Acidic Bite] applied to [Darkstalker Arachleon - lvl 427]!
They try to flee, Bun Bun observed with vicious satisfaction. We do not allow fleeing. Bun Bun finishes what he starts.
Aurelia grabbed the nearest lion by the throat, fire erupting from her grip, and used the thrashing creature as a weapon against the others, swinging it in wide arcs while flames exploded from every impact point.
Your party has killed [Darkstalker Arachleon (Rare) - lvl 414]!
Your party has killed [Darkstalker Arachleon (Rare) - lvl 421]!
Your party has killed [Darkstalker Arachleon (Rare) - lvl 419]!
The few lions that did manage to escape Bun Bun's acid and Aurelia's flames leapt into the deeper tunnels, their eight-eyed glares promising revenge but their survival instincts overriding their hunger.
Which was when the alpha emerged.
The creature was twice the size of even the hunters, its body out of reach over Noah’s head, legs thick and crossed with old scars. Death energy flowed around it in visible currents, drawn to its presence.
It opened its maw and roared.
You have been afflicted with [Apex Terror].
Dragon’s Will has negated [Apex Terror].
The two auras collided in the space between them, but not for long. The alpha's eyes focused on Noah with newfound interest. It had expected easy prey. Instead, it had found a rival.
Bun Bun will assist, Bun Bun declared, though the murder bunny's ears were stiff and his nose trembled. Alpha is strong but Bun Bun will beat it.
Aurelia stood frozen, Apex Terror overriding her ability to think.
The alpha charged, its many legs glowing with a strange mix of silver light and deep shadow. It was in front of Aurelia so fast it may as well have teleported, then darted down to bite her head off with its sharp teeth.
Noah barely teleported in front of her in time, twisting to the side as he braced. The impact drove him back ten feet, his Dragon Scales absorbing the blow but only barely. If he’d been a split second slower, he doubted even the scales could have saved him.
As it was, the attack tore through one of his wings, shredding the membrane and sending dizzying waves of pain through places Noah wasn’t used to having. Pain Resistance made short work of that, though his wing would be out of commission for a few seconds until it had time to heal and Noah had no time to wait around for that.
He lashed back in that moment of contact before the monster sprang away again, slicing deep into its chest.
[Wyrm's Curse] applied. [Life Siphon] initiated.
Life Siphon has been resisted.
The sheer level difference meant they barely slowed it. It came at Noah again, and again, each strike threatening to overwhelm his defenses, however he tried to evade. Arcane Step only bought a split second, it was so much faster than him that even full Agility Form couldn’t let him keep up.
And unfortunately, he wasn’t its only target. One furry leg swept out almost casually, catching Aurelia across her midsection and hurling her limp body across the stone floor toward the rift.
"Aurelia!" Noah watched in horror as she teetered, arms pinwheeling, her aura flaring wildly as her instincts tried in vain to fight back against the power holding her in place, then she fell. Under normal circumstances, that shouldn’t have even bothered her, but paralyzed as she was…
He Arcane Stepped without thinking. The world went dark for a fraction of a second as he passed through that tiny pocket of void, and then he was beside her, his hand closing around her wrist just as her feet left solid ground. Her weight yanked him toward the edge, and for one terrible moment they were both falling—
Tony reacting! Tony shouted in his mind, and before Noah could even process the thoughtTony formed a tendril of void-stuff that found a crack in the stone and anchored there with a grip that could have held a falling dragon.
The line snapped taut with a jerk that nearly dislocated Noah's shoulder.They hung there, suspended over the abyss, Aurelia dangling from Noah's grip. His heart pounded with adrenaline, flooding his arm with strength to maintain his hold. He couldn’t remember if he could teleport with Aurelia or not once she was the same rank as him and he didn’t dare risk disappearing and leaving her to fall alone.
"Please don't let go," Aurelia hissed. Her eyes were wild, but her voice was steady.
"Wasn't planning on it." He glanced down. Below them, the sinister lights danced with hungry anticipation. Noah’s injured wing hung limp, still tattered, though healing fast. It wouldn’t be soon enough.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The arachleon alpha charged.
Bun Bun struck. The familiar had been circling the battle, waiting for his moment. When the alpha committed to another devastating strike against Noah, Bun Bun launched himself across the ravine and slammed full force into its face, clawing and biting at its eyes before it could get near his master. His acid-coated fangs sank into the alpha's leftmost eye cluster.
The creature screamed and thrashed wildly, trying to dislodge the small predator that had just blinded two of its eight eyes.
Bun Bun has blinded the big cat! Bun Bun announced triumphantly, leaping clear, but not before the alpha slashed him in three deep gashes across the side. The familiar valiantly ignored the injuries. Now finish it while it cannot see properly!
"I'm going to swing you up," Noah said through gritted teeth. "Ready?"
"Do it."
Noah gathered all the strength he had left and swung. Aurelia arced upward, her body rotating in the air, and Noah let go at the apex of the swing.
"Noah!" Then Aurelia was at the edge, reaching down. "Grab my hand!"
Tony's tendril slipped, the stone crumbling.
Noah fell.
For one horrible second, he thought this was it. He'd used too much mana, Tony was depleted, and whatever lurked below was hungry. His gut surged with desperate defiance, refusing to accept death, but there was nothing to grab, nothing to—
Then something grabbed him from behind and hauled him up.
Zax had transformed just enough to dive off the ledge and catch Noah before pulling back up with a single powerful wingbeat that created a shockwave of displaced air. They landed beside Aurelia, and the dragon's human form reappeared almost immediately as he stepped away, clearly not going to interfere further.
Noah summoned Bloodwyrm Swarm. The wyrms poured from his bleeding palm in a crimson tide, swarming the alpha, slithering between its scales, finding the gaps that Bun Bun's acid had created.
The alpha snapped at the wyrms, crushing dozens with each movement, but for every one it destroyed, Noah summoned three more. The creature's regeneration struggled against the combined assault of void corruption, acid damage, and blood wyrm infestation.
Aurelia recovered and added her flames to the assault. Fire poured over the alpha's hindquarters, purifying the death energy it was trying to use for healing.
The alpha was weakening. Noah Arcane Stepped directly onto the alpha's back, his Runeforged Armaments manifesting the Spear of Crimson End. He raised it high, void energy and crimson rot swirling around the blade.
He drove the spear down with every ounce of strength he had, and the blade punched through the alpha's skull, through its brain, and out the other side.
[Spear of Crimson End] has inflicted [Crimson Rot-IV].
[Spear of Crimson End] has applied [Bleed-V].
After that, it was only a matter of moments. All Noah had to do was keep out of reach as the damage took its toll.
The monster made one last feeble slash at Noah from too far away to reach, then collapsed.
You have killed [Death Valley Arachleon Alpha (Epic) - lvl 498]!
Noah let his Dragon Shift fade, scales retracting, senses returning to baseline. He stood in the center of the carnage, covered in blood that wasn't entirely his own, his chest heaving with exhaustion. Around him lay the dissolving corpses of over two dozen lions, their bodies already beginning to break apart into shadow and return to the Valley's ambient death energy. Then his legs gave out. He sat down hard, his whole body shaking with adrenaline and exhaustion.
"I did say I would protect you when necessary," Zax said, his voice perfectly calm.
"Thanks," Noah managed.
"Do not make me do it again." Zax looked at both of them, his eyes almost soft. "You fought well. But you must be certain of what you can afford to spend. Remember that."
Tony apologizes for not being able to continue holding on, Tony said quietly.
It’s fine, Tony, Noah said as he turned his gaze toward Aurelia, wanting to see if she was fine.
Aurelia's body trembled as the fear slowly faded. They were both battered and exhausted, but they were alive.
He could already feel his wounds beginning to knit together just as quickly as usual.
Mana: 1%
Health: 41%
Aurelia had collapsed against a wall, her Sunlight Warrior state fading as the adrenaline wore off, leaving her shaking and pale but gloriously alive. Light still flickered around her fingers, slowly dimming.
Silence fell over the cavern, broken only by the crackling of fading flames and their heavy breathing.
Tony is very tired, Tony reported wearily.
Bun Bun killed three lions on his own, Bun Bun announced, hopping over to sit proudly beside Noah. And Bun Bun blinded the alpha.
"You did good, Bun Bun," Noah managed. "That eye strike saved us."
Yes. It did. Bun Bun is generous enough to share credit.
“The arachleons will not return today,” Zax said. “They need time to reform and recover."
"Great," Noah wheezed. "Can I pass out now?"
"After we establish camp.”
—
An hour later, they sat around a crackling bonfire in the main chamber. The flames cast dancing shadows on the cave walls, and for the first time since entering Death Valley, Noah felt almost secure.
It was an illusion, of course. Nothing in this place was safe. But the fire was warm, his wounds were healed, the ambient mana strength here meant his pool was almost full again, and Aurelia was alive.
But how much longer? The intrusive thought nagged at him. He remembered her question, whether she’d actually be able to keep up with him for long. She’d grown stronger, reached her B-Rank, but level alone wasn’t the main advantage Noah had over fellow B-Rankers.
He’d started to take his resistances for granted, his immunity to fear, ability to heal from anything in minutes. But Aurelia didn’t have that. She didn’t have any of it.
She’d gotten lucky during the Thornback confrontation, fighting the beast that didn’t use debuffs. But if it’d been her locked down with paralysis and Noah on the outside…he couldn’t help but feel he’d have been unable to save her.
He’d been able to protect her today, barely, against a single low-level monster after scaring away all its subordinates. This was the easiest Death Valley was going to get, and she’d been locked down almost trivially.
He pushed away the thought and focused on the moment, smiled as he watched Aurelia stretched out on her bedroll. Her eyes were closed but she wasn’t sleeping, her breathing steadily returning to normal. Noah had used his blood to speed up her recovery, her link to him strong enough for it to prove fully effective.
Bun Bun had claimed a position near the fire, his scales soaking up warmth while his crimson eyes tracked every shadow in the cave.
Bun Bun has done well today, Bun Bun repeated for the tenth time. But Bun Bun could do more.
The comment sparked an idea in Noah's exhausted brain.
"You know what, Bun Bun," Noah murmured, a mischievous smile forming despite his exhaustion. "Go fight some Arachleons yourself."
Bun Bun turned toward him, ears perking up. Fight? More fighting?
"Yes. You need to increase your level too, grow stronger. Go find the ones hiding in the cliffs and tear them apart. Tell you what, Uncle Zax will go with you as you do so."
Zax turned toward him, eyes narrowing. "Me?"
"You're the most rested among us. Surely you can follow Bun Bun and help him grow for a bit? Get him up to par so that he can fight with us properly during the rest of the journey? And keep him from falling off the cliff into the shadow monster’s mouth, of course."
Bun Bun approves of this plan, Bun Bun added eagerly. Bun Bun wishes to test himself and become the apex predator of this den.
"Fine." Zax stood with utmost dignity. "Bunny training it is."
"Yay!" Noah cheered weakly, satisfied at his little petty revenge for all of Zax's cryptic comments and near-death training methods.
Yay! Bun Bun echoed, delighted at the opportunity for more violence. Bun Bun will kill many spider-cats. Bun Bun will return covered in blood and guts!
Aurelia watched them go, then looked at Noah with one eye cracked open. "You just wanted Zax to stop being smug about watching us nearly die."
"Maybe."
"And you wanted Bun Bun to stop nibbling on my boots."
Noah glanced at her footwear, which had indeed gained several new bite marks during the brief rest period. "Also maybe."
"...Fair enough." She closed her eyes again, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Wake me when something tries to kill us again."
"Will do."