Drifting through the hell of earth

Chapter 19 The Battle of Extreme Endurance

A-Lai was lucky for a second because he had walls and furniture to hide behind. But that luck didn't last. The bug smashed through it all with two big bangs. The noise of breaking stuff was loud, and things got even more dangerous as everything fell apart because of the bug's attack.

A-Lai was slammed with such force that he crashed to the floor, a tangle of splintered wood and overturned chairs burying him. His trusty spear, once a steadfast companion in battle, was flung from his grasp, leaving him vulnerable and unarmed.

"It's over, A-Lai is going to die, and I'm going to die too!" Little Fly's face turned pale, his eyes filled with uncertainty and panic.

Outside, the massive silhouette of a mutated centipede cast a shadow, its eyes flickering like burning coals in the darkness.

At the moment A-Lai's head struck the ground, he was engulfed in dizziness and sharp pain. His vision blurred, a buzzing sound filled his ears, as if all other sounds were retreating from him. The impact left him disoriented, unsure if he was still conscious.

A-Lai struggled to free himself from this state, but the pain and weight made it hard to focus. He fought to rise, but the weight of the stake and furniture bore down on him like a mountain. His spear slipped from his grasp, clattering away to an unknown location.

After the fierce attack, the monster tried to squeeze its huge body through the gap. The survivors swore they saw the creature grin wickedly, its eyes fixed on them amid the dust and debris. It looked ready to give A-Lai one last strike.

In the darkness of the mountains, two shadows moves through the jungle with the speed of a black panther, making their way swiftly towards the academy.

A middle-aged monk seemed to pick up on A-Lai's distress. He whispered a silent prayer, "May Buddha watch over him and give him the strength to last till daybreak."

A young monk, trailing behind, piped up, "Bhante...did you sense something off?"

"I've got a bad feeling about this... the demon has sent a hit squad and a witch who can control minds to our destination...He's walking into a trap, and we're running out of time... to warn him."

"So, why don't we stick closer together?"

"Well, you can't always keep your valuables with you.... Sometimes, it's safer to stash them somewhere out of sight."

"Is that why we're in this mess now?"

"There's got to be a reason for all this!"

"A-Lai, A-Lai!" The girl's cry tore through the quiet night, jolting A-Lai awake from his drowsiness like a sudden shock.

His heart pounded fiercely, a surge of adrenaline awakening his instinct to fight.

His eyes snapped open, immediately focusing on the monstrous figure less than a meter away.

Its massive form is threatening to engulf everything.

A-Lai had never felt so near to death before; every passing moment now held great importance for him.

In a quick flash, the most meaningful memories flooded back. He remembered that warm afternoon when, for some reason, he had told the principal about the girl sitting next to him sneaking snacks during his class. The girl got a gentle scolding from the principal in the hallway, and her glare at him stuck in his mind.

After the principal left, the girl came towards him with a broom, looking angry. But then she smiled before she got to him. A-Lai awkwardly got away, but he would always remember her beautiful smile. It was like a beautiful flower blooming.

A few days later, during a short break in the afternoon, he lay half-awake on his desk, squinting at the view outside the window. The girl quietly came over and pulled the thin curtains shut. At the time, he thought she was mad, not wanting him to see the scenery. Now he realized, maybe she was worried the strong sunlight would bother him.

A-Lai shouted in his heart, "She has always cared about me, I just didn't know!"

The monster's limbs scraped frantically, trying to force more of its body through. The wooden frame of the window creaked under its power, as if it would shatter at any moment.

A-Lai attempted to rise, but it felt as though a massive boulder weighed down his legs, each movement bringing piercing pain. His spear had been flung half a meter away, its nearly two-meter length now seemingly out of reach.

A wave of helplessness and despair washed over him, but Alai clenched his teeth, exerting all his strength to drag his body with his arms, reaching for that slim chance of survival—his weapon at hand.

In that harrowing moment, the monstrous creature unleashed a deep, guttural roar, a sound reminiscent of malevolent spirits howling in the depths of hell.

With its howl came a stench so foul, it suffocated those who caught its scent.

The massive wooden stakes on the wall, once a feeble barrier between survival and chaos, began to splinter inch by inch.

The ominous crackling echoed through the night sky, foreshadowing the imminent breach of the room's fragile defences.

As darkness crept closer, the monstrous figure grew even larger and scarier.

Its roar filled the air with fury, making everyone feel a deep sense of despair. It was like a looming shadow of doom, getting closer with each passing moment.

In the chaos of the unfolding disaster, Alai's eyes widened in shock as he felt the slick fluid coating his face.

Below him, a pool of blood spread across the wooden floor, a stark reminder of the severity of his wounds.

Despite the numbness creeping through his legs, he found a surge of determination pushing him forward, refusing to be held back by the pain.

Straining with all his might, A-Lai struggled to drag himself just a few feet, clinging desperately to the spear's shaft.

Despite his fading consciousness, he was determined to dismantle the weapon. But as his strength waned, the spear slipped from his weakening grip, slipping away from his reach.

In the face of an unprecedented predicament, a profound wave of helplessness washed over A-Lai. Was this the end of everything?

The impending darkness seemed to hold the answer to an uncertain fate.

As the moonlight slipped behind a drifting cloud and returned to the boy in the classroom, a sudden turn of events unfolded.

A fair and delicate hand tightly clasped A-Lai's, forcefully guiding the short spear he had released back into his grasp. A-Lai could sense a pair of slightly trembling, cold, and moist hands assisting him, firming his grip on the spear. The tip wavered toward the monster's head, an intense moment hanging in the air.

A-Lai's heartbeat surged suddenly.

Despite the discomfiting touch, it was undeniably the touch of a living being. He could discern the swift rhythm of a real person's heartbeat resonating through those hands.

A chill coursed through A-Lai's palms, yet the presence of those supporting hands imparted a trace of warmth and reassurance to his heart. It is the first time he felt fear and coverage at the same time.

The sensations trained through countless repetitions seemed to return.

His mind cleared in an instant, executing a move where the spear flipped heaven and earth. Leveraging the rotation of the spear, he fiercely thrust it towards the monster's head.

In A-Lai's imagination, the short spear pierced the enemy's body, blood splattered, and the victorious hero stood tall with a weapon drawn in triumph.
Yet, a sharp snap shattered this heroic reverie.

The wooden spear tip struck the monster's hard shell, emitting a dull thud. It wasn't the crisp clang of metal meeting metal, but the sound of wood splintering.

Under the immense force, the wooden head split from its base, like fragile branches snapping in a storm, leaving behind a sharp wooden shard, silently conveying its weakness and sorrow.