Chapter 186: We All Make It
The three warriors sprinted forward as one, their feet pounding against the muddy ground as they raced through the narrow corridor of darkness. Creatures lunged at them from both sides, but the combination of blindness and electrical disruption made their attacks wild and uncoordinated.
Arthur’s odachi flashed through the air in desperate swings, cutting down anything that managed to get too close. His shadow powers were completely exhausted now, the corridor of darkness already beginning to dissipate as his energy reserves hit rock bottom. Each step felt like running through molasses, his muscles screaming in protest with every movement.
Cara ran beside him, her light flickering weakly as she struggled to maintain even basic illumination. She had used too much power in the massive flash, and now she was paying the price. Her luminous sword had dimmed to barely more than a glowing ember, but she held it ready nonetheless.
Aziel brought up the rear, his spear work focused on preventing the creatures from closing the gap behind them. His lightning attacks had been reduced to sporadic sparks, but he used what little energy remained to keep their pursuers at bay.
"How much farther?" Arthur gasped, his lungs burning with each breath.
"I can see it!" Cara replied, pointing ahead through the darkness. "The car! It’s about two hundred meters!"
Two hundred meters. It might as well have been two hundred miles. Arthur’s legs felt like they were made of rubber, and his vision was starting to blur from exhaustion. The corridor of darkness was collapsing now, and creatures were beginning to close in from both sides.
Myah’s arrows continued to rain down around them, each impact buying them precious seconds as they fought their way through the horde. But even her seemingly endless supply of ammunition had limits, and Arthur could tell that her rate of fire was slowing.
A creature wearing the remnants of a firefighter’s gear lunged at Arthur from the left, its helmet cracked and its face a mask of decay. Arthur barely managed to get his blade up in time, the impact sending shock waves up through his arms. The creature’s weight bore him backward, and for a moment, he thought he might go down.
But Cara was there, her dimmed blade slicing through the creature’s skull with surgical precision. "Stay with me!" she shouted over the chaos. "We’re almost there!"
The armored vehicle was visible now, its bulk a welcome sight in the darkness. Arthur could see Myah’s silhouette on the roof, her bow drawn and ready to provide covering fire for their final approach. The distance seemed to shrink with each desperate step, but the creatures were closing in from all sides.