Chapter 382: Paradise Lost
“What happened to the golems?” Coop asked, referring to the companions of the Hellhound.
The other opponents had been excluded from his duel thanks to the efforts of Lyriel. When he glanced up, he didn’t see any obvious smoke trails or other signs of demonic beasts falling from the sky, which was good, but given Lyriel’s continued lack of confidence, he doubted she defeated them herself.
“They did not give chase when we followed you off the bridge.” She stated with certainty. “Why should they, when their kin occupy the entirety of the Ark?” She added like it was the most obvious observation in the world. She then pointed behind him, toward the bottom edge of the innermost ring of compartments.
Coop turned, not needing to squint to see the lowest cells nearest to their position. Though they emanated auras that were powerful enough for him to feel even from a great distance, the cells had yet to discharge their occupants. Evidently, pursuit wasn’t necessary when so many forces were staged all over the Ark.
He winced at the sight of so many more cells, feeling like each compartment was essentially a ticking time bomb, both for him and his friends on the surface. The fact that there were so many monsters crushed any feeling of confidence he could take from defeating one Hellhound.
From where they stood, he could make out about 10 rings before their bottom edges blended in with each other, continuing forever. Knowing their heights left him feeling sick. If the Ark deemed them a threat, there was no escaping a fight. Its soldiers were everywhere.
Coop put his thumb and index finger on his forehead, genuinely worried about their chances if the forces of mana continued to track them, wondering what to do. If he followed his instincts and tried to take the initiative to force a confrontation before the enemies were fully awake, he risked escalating the response to their presence. It could easily get out of hand in a way they would never recover from. Even if he had the capacity to defeat the demonic opponents, he didn’t have the time to engage with their numbers.
As he looked down, rubbing his temple, thinking about his next course of action, he couldn’t help but note that they were standing on even more of the identical hexagonal compartments. He dropped his hand and shook his head at himself, not enjoying the implications, and already feeling the weight of overwhelming pressure form a knot in his chest. No matter how he looked at things, he felt like they were in trouble.
Coop resummoned his spear, finding confidence with its presence, as he came to the only possible conclusion that aligned with his basic philosophies. Lyriel was convinced that as few as a handful of the true forces of mana would overwhelm them no matter how they were confronted, but he wasn’t entirely on the same page. By defeating one Hellhound, even if it was the weakest example, he had proven they could fight. It may not have been a ringing endorsement of their chances, but it meant they were better than zero.
Looking back, even the very first Ancient Defender variant of the Primal Constructs had been an overwhelming struggle to overcome. Coop scowled, thinking that even without the system, he would find a way to progress. He vowed that he would turn the Hellhounds into the weaklings they were meant to be.
He wouldn’t let himself be caught off guard by any opponent, and he was frankly eager to prove himself again, but it seemed better to stay on task if he was going to fight. If the Ark only sent small groups after them, conserving the absolute majority for its efforts on the surface, they could still make good progress exploring the ship and he would inevitably get his chance to prove himself again. They shouldn’t have let him get one, because it changed the whole dynamic between himself and the monsters.
“We still need to find that command center.” He pointed out, feeling more like it was their best path to victory than ever before. More than anything, he didn’t want his allies on the surface to have to endure the absolute maximum that the forces of mana could offer, but he couldn’t know how long they had.