Chapter 83: The Betrayal!
The Next Day!
The sun had not even fully risen into the sky when the group began their descent into the mines. It was a journey on jagged terrain, where they had to be careful every step they took, especially as they were on guard for Abyssal attacks.
Combined with the terrain was the thick mist that blocked them from seeing far ahead. Still, even through all of this, the group could sense the air that was thick with ambient mana, fluctuating with residual pulses from whatever mining operations had once gone on here, before the Abyss had consumed it.
Damon was at the rear of the entire group, his attention wasn’t on the dangerous path or the mana-rich elements in the air glittering around the mine walls, it was firmly locked on one person.
Ila Venshar.
He wondered what was her motivation for the betrayal? Was she frustrated with how she was treated? Or was she just extremely power hungry. Either way, it didn’t matter now, as he’d strike her down soon.
She walked just ahead of the mapping team, her spatial compass spinning lazily in her palm, gloved fingers occasionally flicking over runes like a harpist strumming her strings.
But Damon had seen the way her mana moved, coiled and controlled like a strangler vine, leaking only what she permitted. The spatial beacon she’d released the night before still resonated faintly, an echo embedded deep into the stone and air. An Abyssal flare.
They reached the mouth of the mine by dawn. The structure loomed like a gaping wound in the earth, arched and reinforced with ancient Mana-infused alloy, cracked and partially collapsed from old Abyssal incursion.
Yet it still pulsed faintly with mineral life. The Mana Crystals that could be mined here would be pivotal in keeping the power running in the fortress.
Bren held up a hand, "Hold positions. Check for residual mana traps."