Chapter 76: Feasible Suggestions.
Vincent groaned as he planted his cane against the creature’s enormous beak. The frozen ground beneath his feet split apart while his boots carved two deep trails through the ice, his entire body being forced backwards despite resisting with everything he had.
Priesty rushed in beside him.
Damien remained firmly on the undead priest’s shoulder as Priesty drove the ritual staff forward with his free hand, wedging it against the side of the gigantic beak.
The impact shook the entire underground space.
Even working together, they couldn’t stop it.
The creature continued driving both of them backwards with terrifying force. Vincent took the brunt of the impact while Priesty struggled beside him, one hand carrying Damien and the other gripping the ritual staff tightly enough for the runes carved into it to glow.
The first wall of ancient ice shattered apart.
Vincent and Priesty were driven straight through it before either of them could regain their footing. Countless shards burst around them, yet the creature never slowed.
Damien watched chunks of ice the size of houses explode around them as they crashed through yet another barrier.
His eyes remained fixed on Vincent.
He didn’t possess Chad’s unique status that granted overwhelming physical strength against anyone standing before him, yet somehow he was still holding back this monstrous creature with nothing but a cane.
Even more unbelievable. The cane hadn’t bent.
Damien suddenly felt as though he’d been cheated when it came to Dormant Abilities.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time to dwell on life’s unfairness.
The creature screeched again, lowering its head as it poured even more force into the charge. Vincent’s boots sank deeper into the frozen ground.
Priesty’s arm visibly trembled beneath the pressure.
The creature bulldozed through every obstacle before it, dragging Vincent and Priesty along with it as though the ancient ice surrounding them simply didn’t exist.
Damien had it the worst. Being carried on Priesty’s shoulder meant the undead priest couldn’t properly shield him, leaving half his body completely exposed to the collapsing walls of ice.
At this point, Damien was fairly certain his face had been promoted to a battering ram.
As another wall exploded around them, his blurred vision caught sight of a familiar figure gliding across the frozen ground, it was Naomi.
She had dissolved most of her body, stretching her arms across the ice and using them to pull herself forward with surprising speed.
Damien smiled as though he’d just reunited with an old friend.
"HEY!... Naomi!"
She instinctively turned her head.
The moment their eyes met, her expression stiffened. It was the crazy undead, the Apostle of death and the creature was fixated on them, which was good, except seeing them has never been good for Naomi, so she immediately changed directions and started swinging in the opposite way.
"Shit". Damien cursed.
Damien looked towards Vincent, but before he could say another word, the creature drove them straight through yet another wall of ancient ice. The impact buried Damien’s face beneath a shower of frozen debris.
When they finally burst through the other side, his mouth was packed full of ice.
He spat it onto the ground before turning back to Vincent.
"Naomi’s still alive... We should find a way to turn this thing’s attention towards her."
Vincent let out a strained groan, still resisting the enormous pressure bearing down on his cane.
"And how exactly do you propose we accomplish that?"
Damien opened his mouth, but he hadn’t really thought that far ahead.
"If we don’t do something, we’re going to die."
For the first time, Vincent seemed genuinely uncertain.
"No," he corrected. "I’m going to die. You, on the other hand, seem remarkably difficult to kill."
Damien blinked.
"Oh."
He considered it for a brief moment before nodding.
"In that case, you’re going to die, and I’m going to spend eternity being digested inside its stomach. Which one do you think is worse?"
Vincent didn’t bother answering.
Instead, he suddenly twisted his cane.
The creature’s enormous head shifted just enough for its charge to veer sideways before crashing into the wall beside them. Ancient ice erupted in every direction as the beast continued tunnelling straight through it, disappearing beneath tonnes of collapsing ice.
Vincent slowly rolled his shoulders, easing the stiffness that had built up from resisting the creature’s relentless charge.
"We should leave its territory. The creature may not follow us beyond it."
Damien agreed in principle.
The problem was that neither of them had the faintest idea where they were anymore.
After being driven through countless layers of ancient ice, all sense of direction had long since disappeared. They could climb for hours only to emerge in the middle of the Eidolon army or somewhere even worse.
He glanced at Vincent.
"Why don’t you suggest something a little more feasible?"
Vincent actually considered it.
His eyes drifted across the frozen surroundings as his mind raced through every possibility. Fighting was out of the question. Escaping underground without knowing the way was hardly any better. Luring the creature towards Naomi sounded promising, but she wasn’t stupid enough to stand around waiting to become bait.
For nearly a minute, neither of them spoke, even Damien couldn’t think of a solution.
"Do you feel that?" Damien suddenly asked.
Vincent’s expression changed.
The broken fragments of ice scattered across the ground had begun vibrating. At first, it was almost imperceptible, then the vibrations rapidly intensified until the entire frozen floor trembled beneath their feet.
Thin fractures spread across the ice between them, the next instant, the ground exploded.
An enormous white beak erupted from beneath the ice, forcing its way into the chamber before the rest of the creature followed. Its colossal body unfolded with terrifying ease, wings spreading so wide they nearly brushed every wall around them.
The temperature seemed to fall even further, It slowly lowered its head, Its icy white eyes settled upon Damien and Vincent.
Then it opened its beak.
SKREEEEEEEEeeeeeeeee!
The screech tore through the underground world.
Damien and Vincent instinctively clamped their hands over their ears, yet the sound ignored flesh entirely. It travelled straight into their souls, ancient and impossibly cruel.
Even the Emissary’s voice was drowned beneath it.
[You’ve been cursed by the Therizon]
[You’ve been cursed by the Therizon]
[Your soul is corrupted]
[Your soul is corrupted]