Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword or the characters in the game.
Despite the preparations everyone had to make for the night operation, Chung remained in bed under Eve's orders. Claiming to be making necessary adjustments, much of Chung's time was spent under the care of Moby and Remy. As the sun began to set, Eve finished her adjustments to Chung's body and allowed him to gear up.
"So we're done, then?" Chung asked Eve as he strapped his armor on.
"Not quite," Eve said, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall. "Even though they need you, you're still running a fever from the alloy still holding your bones together. The only reason you haven't been feeling hot is my nanomachines regulating your body temperature. As a warning, since you have a fever, you will fatigue more quickly out there. On top of that your spine will be enduring a lot of stress in combat so I've taken the liberty in reinforcing your bone structure."
Chung sighed as he stood, taking his destroyer and holstering his revolvers. At least he didn't have to use the crutches, he thought.
A series of reds and yellows trickled in his mind and he nodded at Eve. "Who knows? Maybe your reinforcements to my bones will be better in the long run."
Greys, pinks, and greens. The prince shook his head as he lead her out of the medbay. "Yeah, right. I'm just trying to be positive. It's the first time in two weeks since I've been of use to anyone."
More colors swirled in his mind.
The prince stopped and turned to face the Nasod. She looked as straight-faced as ever yet under that layer of synthesized skin was a personality he never knew existed until he was injected with her nanomachines. He still saw her as a machine-an annoying selfish one at that-but he couldn't ignore what she had done for him. "Look. I'm... thankful for you putting me back together, okay? But being associated with you the way I am? The way you're constantly recording my thoughts and barging into my business? I'd rather do without the invasion of privacy. So as soon as I'm fully healed, please... please remove these nanomachines. Okay?"
It didn't look like Eve understood and her thoughts pushing its way into his brain only confirmed it.
Chung sighed and stepped closer to the Nasod, close enough to force her to lean back slightly. He brought his right hand to her face and gently poked her on the cheek. Fire red flooded his mind and he raised his left hand just in time to catch Eve mid-slap.
"Don't touch me!" they both said in unison. Cyan eyes locked with golden ones. Eve's golden orbs slowly widened as she realized what he meant.
He let her go and turned away from her, continuing walk to the airship's disembarking platform.
Hot blues and prickly yellows. He hated this feeling the most, for some reason. It resonated with him a little too much.
"Understood," Eve muttered before taking off after him.
"Chung! There you are!" Syrel waved as he and the Nasod approached the blacksmithing area.
Much like the last time he visited, the air was thick with dust and the heat from the forge could be felt well before he even entered. The Velder blacksmiths were hammering away at the last bit of orders for the next assault but Horatio sat at a workbench waiting expectantly for Chung. Flanked at both sides were Frida and Syrel with a mountain of cannon parts set on the workbench before them.
"Hey, Syrel, Frida, Horatio," Chung said with a wave as he set the cannon on the workbench. "What are we adding to my cannon, today?"
The old blacksmith patted the cannon and looked at the parts on the bench. "Today? You're going to be happy with what you're getting today, Prince Chung. You'll be getting standard military tech that the Hamel Knights used to use."
"Standard doesn't sound too fantastic. What is it?" Chung asked as Horatio began disassembling the cannon. Again, his expertise in tearing apart the weaponry impressed the young prince.
"A modification that allows you to empty all your loaded rounds at once and an El powered homing mechanism."
"A homing mechanism? That sounds useful. How does it work?"
Horatio nodded as he removed old parts and replaced it with the newer ones. "There will be module that stores the energy needed to power the homing mechanism. Once the cannon is fired your El powering the module will be applied to the particular cannonball and it will seek your intended target. It's like your will is placed into the cannonball itself."
This sounded familiar. Suddenly he had flashbacks of Julius and how the royal guard used his El to move his broken body. "I've seen that done before. I've done it as well except used the El on my body-"
"Awakening," Horatio nodded, "Some El users know of the concept but it takes a strong will to actually control it. You've done this before, you said?"
"Yeah. It was weird. And yes, it was difficult to control at first."
"Interesting. You know, your armor was specially made to handle the use of Awakening."
Chung looked at the white plates on his body. What used to fit him so loosely was a near perfect fit, now. "My Frieturnur?"
"All Hamel Knights had armor specifically made to handle Awakening. It takes a significant amount of Awakening energy but pour enough into it and you can unlock the suit's hidden power."
"Why wasn't I told this before?" Chung asked. To be honest, he never knew his armor had any potential outside of basic protection.
"Well... It was about five years ago, wasn't it?" Horatio tossed an old piece over his shoulder. The hard metal clanged loudly against the stone floor as he fitted more and more new parts into the cannon. "You weren't exactly combat ready back then, I assume. Nor had you even studied the use of El magic. On top of that the Frieturnur armor is a Hamel specialty. Its secrets died with the knights who fell that day. Even I don't know the exact details about it. I just know that it can and has happened before."
"Hm..." Chung looked over his armor again. Other than pure white plates of unknown metal, the set of armor he wore seemed rather insignificant, be it very lavish looking. But now that he thought about it, this armor has survived thick through thick and thin without so much as a dent. Even his bout with Victor that crushed his bones and broke limestone, the armor came out largely unscathed.
He looked up at the other three and noticed Syrel was staring. Not at him, but at the Nasod standing behind him. She tilted her head curiously as she eyed Eve up and down. Eve had clearly taken notice and was simply avoided eye contact.
"You're the one waiting outside Chung's room every time he has visitors, aren't you?" Syrel said with a smile, "So you must be Eve, right?"
Eve didn't say anything and didn't even acknowledge the blacksmith.
"Chung! How could you?" Syrel said in a mock scolding voice.
"How could I what?" the prince asked.
"She's a lot cuter than I expected, based on what you said I pictured her to be more... metallic. You know, like an actual robot. Look at her, I just want to squeeze her!"
"I'd advise against that she doesn't-"
Too late. Before Chung could stop the buxom blacksmith, the soot-covered girl had thrown herself on Eve. She embraced the Nasod, rubbing against her cheek-to-cheek. Hot red filled his mind and a spear materialized over Eve's head.
"Look out!" Chung yelled.
A loud clang rang out and the spear was sent spiraling upward moments before embedding itself into Syrel's head.
Next to the blacksmith who still held Eve in her arms, a red-headed knight stood, blade in his hand. "You might want to at least be her friend first before you start feeling her up like that without her killing you," Elsword said with a grin, resting the blade on his plated shoulder.
Syrel let Eve go as she caught a glimpse of the young man. The Nasod, who was suddenly set free, nearly fell to the ground only to be caught by the red-head. "And as for her majesty, again, you need to loosen up! She just wanted to say hi."
Pinks and blues filled Chung's head as he watched as Eve lightly slapped the knight in the face. So light was the motion that it was more like a hard caress and Elsword laughed before letting the Nasod get back on her feet.
"See? She's finally warming up to me after only five or so years," Elsword said to the blacksmith. He then turned to Eve with a playful smile, "Maybe in another ten, she'll let me get to second base, huh?"
Greys twisted in Chung's head and he shook his head at Eve. "It's better you didn't know." Still the greys persisted and Chung sighed as he tried to envision what the red-head meant by second base. Strangely, it wasn't that hard for Chung trying to picture Elsword and Eve engaged in heavy petting.
Elsword laughed, "Yeah, it's nothing to worry about, no big deal."
Eve quietly processed Chung's thought string. Slowly Eve's eyes widened and she quickly slapped Elsword much harder this time, getting a bewildered look from the knight.
"What was that for?!" Elsword exclaimed.
"This is Elesis's younger brother isn't it?" Syrel asked as she stood eye to eye with the knight.
"Yep. Name's Elsword. Nice to meet you," Elsword said, extending a hand to the blacksmith.
"He's quite the looker," Syrel commented, taking the young man's hand and setting it on her hip. She stood very close to him as her chest pressed against his armor. "The pleasure is mine. I'm Syrel. Chung told me all about you. But he's been holding out on the finer details." Her hand traced up the young man's arm, feeling the strong forearms and his bicep.
Syrel glanced back at Chung and she discreetly pointed at Elsword, mouthing something that he couldn't fully read. Something about Elsword, Aisha, and the prince. Chung think he understood so he nodded. Syrel gave him a small grin and mouthed the words "don't worry" before turning her attention back to the red-head.
Elsword backed away slightly from the soot-covered maiden yet her grip on his arm held him in place. "Oh don't be afraid of a little ash. I actually clean up really nicely. Tell ya what, you come back in one piece after today and I'll make sure to sharpen your sword for you," she said the last part in a whisper but it was still loud enough for everyone to hear.
She backed away from him, giving him a playful wink.
"I-Interesting friend you have here," Elsword said with a nervous laugh, "Quite a joker."
"She's not joking," Chung and Frida said in unison, both with a palm on their face.
Chung turned to the other girl, the black-haired blacksmith. "Shouldn't you be stopping her from doing this?"
Frida pulled down her goggles and looked at him with a raised brow, "Boy, she does this to every handsome guy she sets her sights on. I gave up years ago."
"Relax, Chung, she's not my type," Elsword waved dismissively.
"Oh? And what type is that?" All eyes turned to Eve as she seemed genuinely interested. Chung was beginning to think she was.
Elsword blinked, just as surprised as Chung was. "Well... my type..."
The knight rubbed his chin in thought as he seemed to be straining to come up with an answer. Out of everyone, Syrel looked the most interested, but in Chung's mind, he knew that the Nasod's blank stare only hid the mix of emotions that went through her head.
"Finished!" Horatio shouted, setting the hammer down in front of Chung. "Alright, all of you. You people are causing a traffic jam in my blacksmith. Get the hell out before we fall further behind on orders."
"But Horatio," Syrel protested.
"Back to work, you two! I want at least another twenty blades done in the next hour," Horatio then turned to Chung, "By the way, prince, be safe out there. When you come back I want a full review on the modifications. Syrel and Frida fashioned some of these modifications themselves so I'm not sure on their reliability."
"It's not going to explode on me, is it?" Chung asked jokingly.
Horatio didn't laugh. "If it does I'll give these two a good flogging. You're our best hope out there, I feel, and I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you because of our equipment."
Gentle waves rocked the three small rowboats that traveled along Hamel's northernmost cliff face. Visibility was low with the moon as their most reliable source of light as they traversed carefully through the rocky waters. Nearly a hundred meters of sheer rock separated the infiltration group from Hamel's castle walls high above yet despite the limited light, the white walls were easily visible. Lowe, Noah, Chung, and Elsword were on the leading boat as it floated along with Lowe and Elsword handling the oars. The second boat carried Ara, Lyra and Eve while the third boat carried Useli and three others that made up the medical team.
"We're getting close," Lowe said as he scanned the rock face. The sergeant directed the lead boat around a particularly tall wall of rock that masked a small watery alcove easily missed among the uneven rocky terrain.
Within the recesses of this alcove was a small entrance barely wide enough to fit a single rowboat and headroom that forced each passenger to duck low to avoid. Had it been high tide this entrance would've been completely submerged.
"How'd you find this place?" Elsword asked, laying flat on his back as he and Lowe used their hands to slide the boat along the low entrance.
"Denka mentioned the possibility of a hidden entrance looking at the blueprints of the castle," Lowe explained, "He said that it might've been possible that one existed seeing as the prince escaped unscathed so many years ago so we sent scouts to scour the cliff edge for it. Took us three days of careful searching to find it."
"I remember this place!" Chung said as the boat entered a large open cave. An old moldy wooden pier greeted them. Five equally aged boats drifted idly, each tied to one of the six posts that held them in place. One was missing.
Rock walls surrounded the prince as he stepped on to the dock. Looking around, he saw a number of old torches and moldy supply crates from long ago. Excavation equipment sat at a smaller tunnel that led deeper into the cave. Nothing but darkness could be seen beyond the tunnel and it was haunting staring into the abyss knowing he had been here before.
In Chung's mind he vividly remembered his experience on this dock: struggling; trying to claw his way back to the castle entrance while his advisor was pulling him onto the boat. Chung remembered saying his father needed him. That he had to tell him the passage down here was safe. He remembered biting, kicking, and scratching at the advisor as the older man held him down.
"Your father will be down here soon," he had said, "He'll be here soon. We just have to leave now. Trust me."
Chung knew he was lying. That's why he never stopped fighting until Hamel had all but disappeared in the horizon.
The other two boats had just cleared the entranceway by the time Noah and Lowe disembarked. Torches were lit while the rest of the team assembled at the pier with Noah leading the way deeper into the tunnel.
"Captain! Wait for the rest of us!" Lowe shouted after Noah. The woman only gave him a sideways glance before disappearing into the gloom.
Lowe cursed under his breath and turned to Elsword, Chung, and Lyra. "The cave-in is a few meters further down the tunnel. Follow her. You can't miss it. Don't start blasting until I give the go ahead. We still need to set up here and we don't know what's on the other side yet."
"So you've been in here before?" Lyra asked as they felt their way through the narrow passage in the dark. It was difficult but the faint reflection of light bouncing off the damp rock walls was enough of a guide to keep the three from running into a wall.
"Yes," Chung said, voice echoing through the tunnel, "This was a secret escape route that only my father knew about. I was lead through here with the help of my father's advisor during the demon invasion."
"I take it your dad wasn't with you when you made your way through here?" Elsword asked.
Chung nodded but he was sure no one could see in this darkness. "It was just me and the advisor. I didn't like him too much. It was all business for him and he always pulled my father away for important meetings whenever my father tried to spend time with me."
"He was the king, afterall," Lyra said, "He had a lot of responsibility on his plate, I'm sure."
"I'm not saying it was wrong for Advisor Picklebottom to pull my father away from me. It's just-"
"Advisor what?!" Elsword burst out laughing.
"P... picklebottom?" Chung was a bit confused at why he was laughing.
"Pickle? Butt? C'mon. Don't tell me you don't find that remotely funny."
"Oh..." Chung said as he forced himself to laugh.
"But you said you had an advisor. Yet when we found you in Altera you were alone. What happened to him?" Elsword asked.
Chung was silent for a moment. "He died. On the boat by the fifth day."
"How?"
"Dehydration. I think, at least. He started drinking the sea water and I think that made it worse. He was saving the fresh water for me."
"We're here," Lyra said, stopping before a large wall of fallen rock. Noah stood, glowing mace in hand as she stared up at the obstacle.
Seeing the prince arrive, the ice mage stepped to the side. "Clear the path," she said.
"Sergeant said we had to wait for the rest of them before getting to work."
"I said clear the path," Noah instructed again. Chung didn't move and the hesitation only made her more irritated. "I'm the captain and I order you to clear the path. Now."
"Might as well do what she says, dude," Elsword whispered. Chung stared into Noah's icy blue eyes. Roger was right. There was something missing in her.
"As you say," Chung said with a sigh and loaded a metal slug into the cannon. "Stand back everyone. Be ready in case it causes another cave in. Oh. And cover your ears everyone."
The prince slung the cannon over his shoulder and aimed it at the pile of rubble. Before them. Bracing himself for the recoil he fired the heavy rail gun and the tunnel was lit in a bright flash of blue. The slug cut through the rock, melting the edges like a blowtorch near butter. The echo of the explosion reverberating through the narrow tunnels blasted his ear drums and causing him to lose his hearing for quite some time.
As his eardrums had been shot, the prince had to rely solely on his vision as he saw Noah wave the wand around through the thick cloud of dust around them. They were talking, it looks like and he could tell that Elsword was cursing about how loud it was.
The overheated destroyer was dropped to the ground. Glowing red, it was going to be a bit before it was useable again. Lowe came running in waving the dust away from his face as he looked to be yelling at Noah. Noah stood there, arms crossed as she let him say his piece and she merely turned her head away.
Despite not being able to hear any of this, Chung was able to understand the gist of what was going on from what was happening in front of him. On top of that, a string of colors filled his mind as Eve came into the picture. The combination of the two talking and that added information from the Nasod was enough for him to draw a picture of what they were talking about.
Lowe was upset that she authorized it without his consent and was arguing that the Red Knights could have been just on the other side of the cave-in waiting. He was saying that she was being ridiculous and that she was endangering everyone's lives by acting without consulting the others.
Noah turned her head and lashed back. Saying that Penensio showed little regard for the safety of her chapter and she is merely returning the favor. She turned to Lyra who looked just as astonished by Noah's attitude as Lowe was and motioned for her last remaining soldier to follow her in.
Chung felt a pinging sensation in his head and he looked over at Eve who was looking at him. She tapped her ear cone as grey colors filled his mind. Chung shook his head and the Nasod nodded, bringing up a projected window as she typed something into a command prompt.
As soon as she entered the command a new sensation filled him. His hearing returned to him except it was slightly off. He was standing next to Lowe and Elsword yet their voices sounded distant. Footsteps that sounded like they were to his right were in fact to Eve's as Ara passed the Nasod, leading the way into the dark tunnel after Noah.
"Hurry!" Ara said to the rest of them. "Your friend. She is in many dangers!"
"How do you know that?" Lowe asked, turning his torch to Ara.
"I have feelings for demon powers. There are many demon powers. Many many demons maybe," Ara said, emphasizing each sentence with a wide wave of her arms.
"She has feelings for demons?" Lowe whispered to Elsword.
Elsword laughed. "She's still learning our language. It's pretty good, though, isn't it?" the knight said.
"Okay, well, regardless, we have to hurry, then," Lowe said then started off with Ara down the tunnel after Noah. "Captain! Captain wait for us you're in immediate danger!"
Chung, Elsword, and Eve followed close behind. The passage was cramped and steadily climbed upwards. If the prince had to guess, the should at least be within the first wall.
Lowe continued calling for the captain until the passage opened into yet another chamber. This room was stocked with Velder mining equipment. Noah and Lyra stood at the far end, their magical light shining over something. No signs of life as the rest of the team caught up with them but when Chung looked over the ice mage's shoulder, the sight he saw quickly turned his stomach.
It was a body. A Red Knight-or what was left of one, at least. Lying in the corner with limbs stuck to the wall with a web like substance and hand still clutching a runed blade, the body's torso was torn open, his innards nothing but a black goop that looked to have liquified. The smell was horrible. A mixture of rot and feces. The look on the knight's face showed his demise had been agonizing.
"What in El did this...?" Elsword asked as he pinched his nose.
"Demon powers. I feel it," Ara said as she looked over the body.
"I've never seen a demon do something like this," Lowe mumbled.
"Is it even worth it dragging his body back to the medical team?" Elsword asked, still holding his breath.
Lowe shook his head, "We have a mission to do. We'll send any other survivor back if they can manage."
"If we even find any," Noah muttered, taking the tunnel deeper into the secret passage.
The team eventually reached a giant chamber. Standing at the top of a spiral ramp that wrapped around the entirety of the chamber in a counterclockwise direction, the team could see almost everything in the dimly lit room. Lining the rock was the faint blue glow of El shards, giving the entire place an almost cosmic feel. Chung had noticed the temperature had dropped significantly compared to the previous room and he remembered running through this large chamber as a kid.
"There should be a big set of stone doors across a stone bridge that crosses a chasm somewhere here. If memory serves me that should be the entrance to the castle," Chung said, peering across the wide expanse of the room. There, in the distance below, around the one o' clock position in the chamber, was the bridge he mentioned that connected the ramp to the bottom tip of a stone structure. The massive stone structure was cone-shaped and hung from the ceiling high above.
"Over there. That should be it," Chung pointed for the others to see.
Lowe grumbled, "And still no sign of the Red Knights."
"You think they were taken hostage?" Lyra asked.
Lowe shrugged, "After seeing what happened to the poor guy back in the other room, I could only hope that had happened... And as for the explosive charges..." Lowe pulled out a map of the chamber and looked over it. Chung and Elsword peeked over his shoulder, as well. Red x's marked the locations at three points of the ceiling at one side of the chamber and the three men trained their eyes over to the general location. They squinted in the dark before a bright projected screen appeared in front of them, scaring the three of them as Eve commanded Remy to zoom in on the given location.
"Well that's handy. Thanks, Eve," Lowe said as the group stared into the screen.
It was extremely difficult to pick out but copper wiring eventually caught Chung's eye and he traced it to one charge stuck in between two large stalactites was an explosive charge with a blue El battery attached to from its size, the explosive must be as big as the person who managed to climb up there and place it. Tracing the wiring to a splitter, the group found the general location of the plunger hidden somewhere in the forest of stalagmites around the eleven o'clock of the chamber.
"From the looks of it, the men being taken hostage might be the case. Either that or they fell down the chasm. How deep does that thing go?" Lowe asked Chung.
"Uh... Pretty deep. I'm not sure exactly but if they survived the fall down there I'm not sure if there would be a way out," Chung said.
Lowe sighed, "Great. Well the best we can hope for is carry on with the mission and hopefully we'll run into them during the invasion. And here I was hoping we'd find at least some of the men."
"How many Red Knights are we looking for, here?" Elsword asked.
Lowe paused, "Thirty five, total. The large majority of Penensio's remaining men. He had like fifty-some-odd men left out of the initial two hundred. It's a shame, really."
"It is," Noah said her voice lacking sincerity while she continued on down the long winding descent.
Lowe looked as if he wanted to say something to her but withheld it as he signaled the rest to follow.
"You know, it's weird," Elsword said as their footsteps echoed through the hallowed chamber, "Ara, you said you can sense a lot of demons, right?"
"I have feelings for demons, yes," Ara nodded, "Very many. Everywhere!"
"Yeah, I get that. Your senses are always on point. But we haven't run into any yet. I half expected to be knee deep in demon guts by now but," the knight motioned at the emptiness that surrounded them, "nothing."
"Maybe they're the invisible kind," Chung joked.
"Or maybe they're ghosts..." Elsword said, imitating a ghost as he hovered over the prince's shoulder.
"Please," the prince said rolling his eyes, "after Feita I've learned ghosts aren't that big of a deal."
Lowe raised a hand, halting the other four behind him. "Quit the chatter. Don't you hear that?"
The El Search Party paused behind Lowe as they turned their ears to their surroundings. Noah and Lyra, however, ignored Lowe's command and continued ahead of them towards the eleven o'clock where the explosives were located. Nothing but the sound of distant water like a light shower dripping from the damp ceiling could be heard.
Of course this was all difficult for Chung to listen to as his sense of hearing came from Eve. But even through that, he couldn't pick out anything strange. "I don't hear anything-"
"Shush," Lowe said again, arm still outstretched.
At the corner of Chung's eye he saw Ara and Elsword quietly draw their weapons. Did they hear something? He looked to Eve as sharp yellows and blacks rolled through his mind. Moby and Remy had already begun circling their queen defensively. Even Noah and Lyra further down the winding path had stopped to draw their weapons.
Chung was at a loss during all this. He couldn't hear anything. The feedback from Eve wasn't enough, and he didn't know where to look.
Movement caught Chung's eye, however. On the far side of the chasm, crawling up from the giant pit was a creature he couldn't quite make out in the dim light. Two more could be seen crawling upward. Then sixteen. Then hundreds.
Only when the creatures crested their side of the chasm was the prince able to see just what they were dealing with. It had a round, dark blue and white body about the size of a dog, four beady red eyes, eight blade-like legs, and a line of teeth dripping with green fluid that glowed faintly in the dark. If he had to guess, this was the corrupted form of Hamel's manta spider. But those things were harmless-much less venomous.
The spider spat its venom at them, it's green fluid catching Lowe by the flat of his blade. Immediately the point began to fizzle as the acidic substance began to eat away at the metal.
"Run!" Lowe shouted.
"Where to?" Elsword shouted back as more and more spiders appeared, closing off their escape.
Lowe pointed further down the path. "We set off the explosives then make a run for the bridge! Now go-"
A manta spider jumped on Lowe. He raised his arm defensively and it sunk its teeth into his limb, jerking its head left and right as it tried to rip his arm off.
Ara drove the spear through the side of its head, causing the monster to shriek before falling limp as she raised her spear and swung the body towards the edge. The body collided with another spider, sending both of them sailing over the edge. Dozens more crested the edge and Ara swept her spear, creating a temporary path as she moved forward, cleaving left and right for the rest of the group.
Elsword extended a hand to Lowe. "You okay, sarge?" he asked as Lowe extended his damaged arm to the boy. He cried out in pain and Elsword knelt down, rolling up his sleeve to look at his arm. Fresh blood flowed out of his wound. The punctured skin was already black and beginning to liquify.
Lowe looked up at Elsword as the knight picked him up off his feet. Elsword opened his mouth to speak but the sergeant turned to the others. "What are you waiting for? We got a job to do! Get going!"
The five pushed through the swarm, Ara clearing a path with each sweep of her spear. Elsword ran along the edge of the chasm, batting off the spiders within his reach. Chung and Eve brought up the rear with Lowe, the prince tugging him by the arm as the sergeant stumbled in pain while Eve picked off stray spiders with pinpoint accurate spears.
The entire time they were running, Chung was overwhelmed with the amount of information flying through his head. Aside from the colors that danced in his mind, his vision had been altered once combat began. It was as if he were looking through a high-tech target-finder as targets of opportunity were immediately highlighted white over the rest. Each target that flashed white was quickly dispatched with a spear or crushed by Moby and Remy. This happened at lightning fast speed as dozens of targets were highlighted before him at once and each would be taken down by one of the three Nasods.
Despite the defenses, however, the hundreds that climbed onto the path were quickly beginning to overwhelm them as they continued down the path. The white highlights began to flash red as the three Nasods could only hold back so much. Spiders began to flood between the running team and the ones that hit the ground between Eve and Chung were highlighted red with Eve too preoccupied with the ones before her to do anything.
Chung unslung his cannon and swung it in front of him. The weight of the blow crushed the thick carapace and sent the spiders flying over the edge. Eve glanced behind her and only gave Chung a knowing nod before continuing down the path Ara was clearing for them.
He slung his cannon over his shoulder again and with his free hand, Chung drew a revolver. The magical bullet easily pierced through each target and the bodies were dead before each hit the ground.
They were catching up with Noah and Lyra who were at the brink of being overwhelmed. The only thing keeping the spiders at bay was a searing light that erupted from the cracked rock at their feet. Lyra stood at the center of it, glowing mace in hand as she chanted a spell that burned the spiders if they drew too close. With each attempt to jump in, the circle would flash and Lyra would flinch as a portion of her El repelled the beasts. Noah stood within this circle, El energy swirling around her as she charged what looked to be a powerful spell.
"Ara! Above you!" Elsword called as the spiders at this point had already crawled high above them and were beginning to rain down on the small group. It landed on her, knocking her to the ground. The knight threw his weight into a kick, pushing the beast off her just as it was about to sink its fangs into her. She had only been down for a moment yet the path between the search party and Noah was already saturated by literal piles of spiders.
Elsword pivoted on his foot, spinning and transferring the momentum to his blade as El ignited his weapon in a red glow. With one swift upward motion, the blade struck the rock like a match. A cone of heat sprayed outward at the undulating mass, incinerating the beasts and turning them into ash that was violently whipped away by the energy gathering at Noah's mace.
A storm had kicked up within the chamber under the ice princess's command. Thousands of spiders had surrounded them as the rest of the party caught up with the royal guards and stepped within the safety of Lyra's protective ward.
"We're sitting ducks here," Lowe said, clutching at his arm.
"Just a little more time," Noah said before returning to her chanting.
The light at their feet began to fade as Lyra struggled to keep the ward up. Chung could do nothing but stare at the thousands that had surrounded them. Each spider that attempted to leap onto them was thrown off with equal force from Lyra's spell but hundreds piled on the bubble and it took everything within Lyra's El reserves just to keep them off.
"My... captain. My strength is... failing," Lyra mumbled as her grip on her mace loosened. The barrier began to fall.
"Just a little more... time..." Noah said, eyes shut as she hurried with her chanting.
The light faded for a moment and in that moment the monstrous spiders began pushing their way through.
"She said she needs a bit more time, let's give it to her!" Lowe said, taking his blade with his left hand and striking one of the invading spiders down.
Magical orange orbs circled Ara, sweeping the spiders off their feet above her head. With a raised palm an energy vacuum sucked out the spider's souls as more orbs were produced around her.
Elsword moved to the back end of the group, a blue flask already half empty down his throat as he drew his blade. "Armageddon blade!" El surged to the tip of his sword and expanded outwards. The magical sword shined brightly in the darkness and cut into the invading beasts by the dozens. Each swing of his blade easily cut through their numbers yet more and more continued to pour in.
"Above us! Hundreds of them!" Lowe called. Looking up Chung saw the spiders rappelling down.
Multiple targets were highlighted and a hail of Nasod rounds were fired upwards. The white targets were blotted out and Chung supplemented, picking off the reds with his own volley of magical rounds.
Despite all their effort however, more and more poured on them like an unending tide. Even with the assisted targeting from Eve, not all his shots landed and some managed to breach the weak barrier.
Chung unslung his cannon, again, grabbing the reload lever as he topped off he cannon's magazine. Looking over the cannon he located the homing module that Horatio attached: a small box that protruded out near the handle. Next to the box a second firing mechanism could be seen. Focusing his El to that singular point, the small box began to glow a bright white. He looked up at the hundreds of spiders rappelling downward to them. There were so many. Which ones should he hit?
Right on cue, six targets were highlighted in red for the prince to pick out and he palmed the second firing mechanism before pulling the trigger.
The cannon was emptied as the six shells flew out. Each shell glowed a hot blue as his El directed the cannonballs upward in a swarming fashion. The shells dodged and threaded themselves between each spider and each connected with their intended target.
The resulting explosion lit up the entire chamber in a flash of brilliant blue that vaporized all of the rappelling spiders unlucky enough to be caught in the blast.
Chung fell back as the drain on his El was a lot more than he had anticipated. The sheer power of the attack was none like he had ever experienced. Their victory, however was short lived. For even though they cleared the ceiling, the sides and the edge of the chasm still crawled with thousands of spiders that Ara and Elsword were struggling to hold them off.
The armageddon blade had dissipated and Elsword was left picking off each spider one by one. Ara flung the last of her soul orbs into the swarm before resorting to sweeping with her spear again. The bodies that piled around them made it difficult to strike cleanly at this point.
"Today, captain?" Lowe said as he fell to his knees, clutching his right arm in agony.
Noah's eyes shot open and she raised her mace high above her head. A magical white rune appeared at her feet as the icy winds began to form shards that were sharp enough to pierce rock. "Absolute zero!"
The rocky walls surrounding them solidified into ice while the hail shards shredded and froze anyone not within the eye of the storm. The arctic explosion cascaded outward, covering the whole chamber in a white flurry.
It all happened in an instant and just as quickly as the storm arrived, it vanished with nothing but a sea of frozen beasts before the group. Noah loosened her grip on her jeweled mace, letting her hand slide up the handle. With a single, delicate tap of the hilt on the icy floor, the entire chamber resounded in an ear splitting crack as every living thing hit by her spell burst into shards of ice.
It was like glass falling on more glass as the cave echoed the aftermath of her absolute zero spell. Not a thing stirred and Noah let out an exhausted sigh of relief. Reaching for her belt, she extracted a blue flask and quickly downed half its contents before tucking it away and quietly continuing on to the bridge.
"Well... you think you got all of them?" Lowe said in a half laugh. Noah didn't answer. The sergeant heaved as he wiped the sweat off his brow.
"You going to be alright, Sarge?" Elsword asked as he helped the man up on his feet.
Lowe looked at the others and saw that, for the most part, everyone was unharmed. "We'll continue with the mission. Elsword... Head on over to the plunger. We'll start heading across the bridge and..."
Lowe fell to his knees again and Ara came to help. "He is unwell. It must be the poison," Ara slinging the bloody arm over her shoulder as she lifted him off his feet. "Elsword. Make the thing happen. I'll carry him."
"I'm just... a liability right now. Leave me here and... I'll walk back to the... medical team after the second set of explosives are... set off."
Elsword frowned and turned to Chung and Eve. "You two head on after Noah and Lyra. Make sure they don't get too far ahead. Ara, take him back, okay? We got it from here."
Ara nodded and began walking the sergeant back to the entrance of the tunnel. Chung and Eve ran after Noah as she was about to reach the other end of the bridge while Elsword hurried over to the stalagmites at the end of the path.
"Captain!" Chung called as they carefully made their way across the stone bridge. Still covered in a layer of ice, both prince and queen had to watch every step they took. "Captain, wait for us! We need to stick together! If you go in too early you might alert the demons-"
The heavy stone doors swung open, causing the prince to slide to a halt. A large demon, round in belly and thick in arms stood before them. His right hand gripped a strange hammer with a long curved handle that partially wrapped around a crudely shaped rock. Bearing a large lower jaw and a small head the demon smacked its lips as a grin slowly crossed its face. "Well what do we have here?" he chuckled.
The demon looked up and around as if looking about the chamber for the first time. "Impressive. To think that this was under us the entire time."
"How..." Chung said, voice shaking, "How did you find this place?"
The demon raised a brow at him. "You humans have a poor understanding of what it takes to be discreet. Demon General Ran knew there was a hidden path somewhere what with all the tremors you've been causing but... of this scale... This is serious," the demon rubbed its chin in thought then turned his tiny eyes to the humans on the bridge. "I better report this to the general..."
Through his muddied hearing ability, Chung distinctly heard footsteps behind Eve. Suddenly, a figure flew over all four of them, landing a downward strike on the demon who managed to raise his hammer just in time to deflect the attack.
"Ara?!" Chung called as she was knocked back from the deflection. She landed on her feet, gripping her spear as her body seemed to glow with an unusual white energy.
Remembering Lowe, Chung looked back along the path to see the soldier lying face first on the ground.
"Ara what are you doing? You have to help Lowe!" Chung yelled.
"Where is he?" Ara said to the demon, ignoring the prince.
The demon tilted its head. "He? Who is this 'he' you speak of, puny human?"
"Ran! Where is Ran?!" she growled.
The demon laughed, "What kind of fool do you take me for? Giving away our general's position? Preposterous."
Ara leapt at him, putting him on the defensive under a flurry of strikes that were parried or outright deflected from the thick demon hide. She landed before him and threw her entire stock of orbs at the demon who was forced to fall back from the assault. Planting her feet she threw her weight into a thrust which the demon side stepped. Ara was quick to react, however and directing her palm at him as she began to drain his soul.
The demon looked surprised at the ability as his soul looked as if it were struggling to hold on to its vessel. With his free hand he gripped the spear and pulled. Ara refused to let go and was thrown to the side as easily as paper. She was slammed against the rock wall, grip loosening as she fell unconscious.
The demon held a glazed look as if his life had just flashed before his eyes. He hobbled over to the body and stood over her, gripping the woman by the hair and pulling her up before him. "This is a dangerous one-"
A shot rang out and a magical bullet connected with his shoulder, burning a pinpoint hole into his thick hide. "Don't you dare hurt her," Chung said as he gripped both revolvers.
The demon laughed and turned to them, holding Ara's unconscious body by the hair in front of him. "I'm afraid her fate falls on you, little human. How about this. You tell me what you and your kind are planning and I'll kill her here and now. Quick and painless. You refuse and I'll bring her up to the others to torture the information out of her. We have our ways of extracting knowledge. Either way she's going to die."
Chung gritted his teeth, "Like we'd just tell you-"
"Is that a no, then? Very well," the demon said with a shrug.
"You still have to deal with us," Noah said, gripping her mace as it began to glow a bright white.
The demon paused and considered her words. "Ah, you're right, how forgetful of me," the demon said with a nod. He turned, winding up his hammer and before anyone could react, he brought the weapon down in a heavy smash that shattered the stone bridge Noah, Lyra, Chung, and Eve were standing on
Still only halfway across the bridge, the four could do nothing but watch as the stone left their feet below them. Chung felt his gut rise to his throat as gravity took him to a freefall, sending him and the other three plummeting into the dark chasm below. The last thing he could see was Ara weakly grasping at her hair as the demon dragged her off through the stone doors.
A/N: Hello~ Thanks for reading, everybody!
Anyways, I can safely say this story is about halfway done plot wise. That doesn't mean chapter 24 will be the last, per say. It just means we've reached the halfway point in the plot written out in my head. There's still that whole romance thing I've been pushing. Have you figured it out yet? I think it should be obvious where it's going by now but of course, it's not something that's gonna happen right away. You're gonna like how it develops. At least I do, in my head. It makes me giggle just thinking about it. Credit goes to Tiffany for polishing up my writing.