Elydes

Chapter 306 - The Price of Victory

Crimson streaks spread through the inky water pooling beneath Kerril, his listless eyes and face contorted in a grimace. Kai didn’t lower his guard till the cultist’s mana completely stilled.

Four out. None left.

The absence of whispers confirmed there were no more impending threats. He relaxed the grasp on his saber, lowering the weapon. A spiderweb of black lines branched where the blade clashed with Darkness Magic—already scrap metal. He wasn’t particularly attached to it, but it was the only weapon that could replace his sword.

I’ve won.

Losing a scavenged saber was a low price.

He had carved out a victory against multiple opponents with higher professions; at any moment, a single misstep could have doomed him. His experience fighting—and often fleeing—packs of more powerful beasts in the Sanctuary helped, and so did Hallowed Intuition. Without the skill whispering where to evade, he would have gotten seriously injured.

Who says my plans are bad?

The subtle warmth of satisfaction made him forget being trapped in the damp underground lair of a crazy cult. Then his thumping heart reignited the urgency to move.

Letting go of Body Augmentation, a wave of dizziness made him stagger. From his feet to his neck, torn muscles, ligaments and his bruised ribs laced his body with pain.

I can still move everything at least.

The underground air was pleasantly cool after the heated battle, though he’d do without the overpowering taste of blood. Kai closed his eyes, counting up to three for his vision to stop swimming.

“Are you injured?” Kea’s worried voice echoed on his right. The warmth of her hand hovered on his forearm where the Darkness spell grazed him.

“I’m fine. Just need to catch my breath.” He gave her a smile of reassurance. The skin above his wrist had turned angry red with shades of purple, but the pain paled compared to the rest of his body. “I’ve had rashes worse than this.”

Pity Kahali’s Retribution doesn’t work with self-inflicted wounds…

Kea narrowed her eyes but didn’t say more. Her attention turned to the fallen cultists. She prodded Kerril’s body with her boot while holding a dagger. “I didn’t think they’d be so strong. If I had been alone…” She bit her lip, posture slumping. “Your dodges were just ridiculous. I wish I could have helped more…”

“You did plenty taking down one. More than enough really.” He hadn’t forgotten her last-minute intervention against the agreed plan.

All’s well that ends well. I’ll let it slide.

Kai took out a stamina tonic from his ring. Uncorking the vial with his teeth, he downed the pearlescent liquid smelling of peppermint and cut grass. A cool energy spread from his stomach, steadying his weak legs and clearing his thoughts.

Tonics could only delay greater exhaustion, but they’d keep him up and alert in the meantime. Future-Kai could deal with the aftermath if he survived the next few hours.

There are more important matters.

“How’s Niel? ” He turned to the figure shackled at the center of the runic circle. During the battle, both he and the cultists kept their attacks away from Niel, if for very different reasons.

“Right!“ Remembering why they came here, Kea flung herself toward the altar. Creases of concern marked her face as she bent to examine Niel’s condition. “He’s still breathing. We must get him out of here.”

“Let me help you.” Kai drank a few more healing potions and made his way over. Under the stark light of the crystals, Niel looked worse than from his mana senses. Blood and grime made his gaunt face seem years older, though it was the part below the neck that made Kai’s blood boil.

The cultists had carved circles of black runes into Niel’s flesh with gruesome precision. Blood and ink trickled from fresh cuts onto the altar; beneath the bloody tattoos, a crisscross of pale lines covered his entire body. From their shape, they must be the scars of older experiments, healed as if to clean the canvas for another try.

How many attempts did they make… I shouldn’t have given them such easy deaths.

Kai gripped the edge of the altar until his knuckles whitened. Given the warped veins and murky essence, the physical wounds were less than half of the suffering. And he had no idea how to start treating them.

I’ll find a solution once—

“Hey! Stop staring and help me get him out.” Kea wrestled with the shackles, chaining Niel’s arms to the altar. Despite the evident strain in her arms, the cuffs gave no sign of giving out. “How do you— get these things off! Rotten Spirits! Why is there no lock?” Glaring at the manacles, she threw a look at him. “Can’t you use your magic to open them?”

“That is not how magic works…” Kai sighed. “I— Let me take a look.”

After defeating four cultists, they couldn’t get stopped by a pair of enchanted shackles—even Fate couldn’t be that cruel.

The runes on the cuffs resembled the ones in the dungeons, which he still couldn’t decipher in just minutes. There weren’t any seams he could force open with Water Magic either; the lock was likely magical if there was no keyhole.

It can’t be too complicated, people are always lazy.

The ruins in the Hidden Sanctuary had taught him the price of tinkering with unknown enchantments. Those lessons were for people who could afford to wait.

Good news, it probably won’t blow me up. Bad news, the cuffs are linked to a creepy altar…

What could a bunch of mad cultists devise?

Kai clamped down on his imagination to keep it from wandering. Once his mind quietened, he channeled a thread of mana into the metal to prod the runes.

Click. Click.

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The cuffs snapped open as he brushed the first jagged shape.

Sometimes I forget I’m supposed to be lucky.

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t magic them?” Kea raised an eyebrow at him.

“I didn’t…” Kai bit down a lesson in runesmithing and grabbed a handful of vials and balms from his ring. “Can you help me get him ready to move?”

A stream of water washed away the blood and dirt before they could apply the potions and bandage the worst wounds. With his face clean, Niel once more resembled the young man who smiled kindly, always taking care of others before himself.

“Help me lift him,” Kai said.

Kea anticipated him by grabbing the shoulders. “You’re the better fighter. I should carry him in case we meet more cultists.”

“I—” He blinked, stunned.

Did she just compliment me again?

Twice in a day. Kai glanced around the chamber, expecting the Great Spirits to descend. "Alright. Are you su—“

Niel’s soft groan cut his words. His eyelids stirred before slowly drawing open. A pair of confused green eyes squinted at the bright crystals in the ceiling.

“Mat…? Are you… And Kea?” Niel hummed to himself, coughing in between. A frown creased his brow. “Did I go mad…? Or am I dead? How are you here…”

“I’m real, you clamhead.” Kea helped him drink from a cup of conjured water, her eyes glistening. “We— we’ve come to get you. Did you think we’d abandon you? Niel…? Do you understand me?”

Niel blinked as if it took a physical effort to elaborate the words. His face turned a shade paler. “How did you find me? No, no, no. You have to… You can’t stay here… Caeden betrayed us. Caeli too… You can’t let them catch you. Why did you come—”

Kea shut him with a tight hug, blinking rapidly to clear her eyes. “Stop speaking nonsense. We’re already here and we’re all getting out.” She waved to the corpses spread around the hall, daring him to contradict her. “The assholes who did this to you are dead. Calm down and help us get you out of here. Can you walk?”

Niel nodded weakly. His unfocused gaze regained some sharpness. “Not fast, but I’m feeling… better.” He licked his cracked lips. “Did you give me a potion? Are there more?”

“You’re not in the condition to drink more. Take this. It’s cold down here.” Kai gave him a pair of his own clothes. The white shirt was one size too small and the pants didn’t quite reach his ankles, but they were better than the rags Niel wore.

“C’mon, the others are waiting.” Kea pushed him to his legs off the altar. Her blunt methods kept Niel busy in the present, away from what the cultists did to him.

Niel leaned heavily on the altar, the effort of standing evident in his shaky limbs. “I should be able to move—” His gaze fell on the jagged runes, and he jolted away his arm as if burned. The sudden jerk made him lose balance.

“Be careful.” Kea dashed to grab him before he fell. “Lean on me. We’re getting you out of here.” She didn’t wait for a response to lead him toward the exit.

“Uh, thank you…” Niel mumbled. They stood before the door when he abruptly spun back to the narrow cells on the opposite wall. “I— We— we have to help them… There were two others imprisoned with me. I can’t abandon them. They were here longer than me.”

Shit.

Two faint signatures still glowed in the cramped cells. “We can’t carry two more people through the tunnels,” Kai said, forcing the emotions out of his tone.

He had lost track of time during the fight, but their deadline must be nearly upon them. Guilt and shame twisted his guts, but that didn’t change the facts. Those people looked in an even worse state than Niel; he couldn’t lift their bodies and evade the guards on the way back. Even by his standards, that was akin to suicide.

“I know you want to help them, but we can’t save everybody,” Kea said, gently rubbing his arm. “We’ll send for help once we escape. The Republic can’t ignore us if we bring them proof.”

“They… they won’t last that long…” Niel had a desperate glint in his eyes. “And I didn’t mean to bring them with us… You don’t know what they do here… It’s better…”

Kai felt his blood freeze. Any hope of misunderstanding died when Niel avoided meeting his gaze. He tried to swallow, but his throat was suddenly dry. “Are you— are you sure that’s better?”

“We… we promised each other…” Niel stared at his bare feet on the stone floor, shoulders shaking. “Each time we lost too much blood, they healed enough to keep us breathing… They wouldn’t let us even… The shackles alerted them…”

“If it’s what they want…” Kea grimaced, taking a step toward the cells.

“No, I’ll do it.” Kai stopped her. “You get him ready to move through the tunnels.”

“I can—”

“You promised to follow my directions.” He steeled his tone. “We have no time to argue.”

“But…” Kea pressed her lips in a thin line. Shaking her head with a downcast look, she helped Niel toward the door in silence.

Let’s get this over with.

Kai suppressed the tide of rising emotions and strode toward the closer cell. At each step, he wanted to turn around and forget about the people imprisoned. It wasn’t his responsibility to help everybody, especially not like this. A myriad of arguments surfaced in his mind, each one a sweet excuse to take the easy choice. But once unmasked, the truth refused to be ignored.

I can’t save them. This is the least I can do.

Before he realized it, he was standing in front of the first cell. Brushing his finger over the enchanted metal, the door creaked open with the same runic pattern he found on the shackles. The foul stench of prolonged imprisonment wafted over him, making him gag. Kai ignored it to focus on what was inside

Every wall was covered in webs of intricate black arrays. The cell was barely large enough for a human to sit crouched in a pile of rags. He couldn’t tell their age under the layers of filth, but he guessed it was a woman when she weakly lifted her head, orange eyes like empty pools.

Kai hadn't expected her to be conscious. Panic fractured his determination. He crouched beside her, raised his palms and smiled to reassure her. “I’m here to offer help if you want it.”

Met with her empty stare, he repeated the words till a spark lit her eyes. Time was slipping through his fingers, but his voice remained unhurried, patiently waiting for an answer.

There wasn’t a spot on her body not covered in jagged black runes up to her shaved head. “The… cultists…?” Her whisper was barely audible, mixed with fright.

“Dead. At least the ones here. There are more outside.” He hesitated, forcing the sour words out in one breath. “I can’t carry you out.”

She grabbed his hand, her cold grip surprisingly firm. Kai let her pull his arm closer. The orange eyes studied his face, searching for deception.

“Thank… you…” A smile bloomed on her face in contrast with the grim cell. It was a wide, luminous smile like what a bride might give on her wedding day. Beautiful and painful. She closed her eyes, still holding his hand.

I’m sorry.

Kai immersed himself in Mana Observer, unable to bear the sight. He gathered a trickle of Water mana and visualized every detail, vainly trying to stall. It wasn’t the first time he had killed someone, but those were usually murderers themselves. This was different.

Pressed by the ticking urgency, he released the spell. Amidst the world of glowing motes, the blue spell cut with the precision of a scalpel—the grip on his hand immediately slackened.

Kai jolted to his feet. The phantom feeling of where she held his hand seemed to burn. He turned to the last occupied cell. When he opened the second door, he felt relief and guilt to see the man inside was unconscious. He couldn’t stand to see another smile.

The emaciated figure was a tapestry of dried blood and ink, his murky channels flickering like dying embers. Life was draining away from the man. He’d probably never wake up without the intervention of a healer. And the only healers around here were part of the Stygian Cult.

You can rest.

The spell cut the air with a soft thud. With his vision blurring, Kai turned to run toward the door and bumped into one of the desks that lined the chamber.

It held three haphazardly strewn journals. Out of habit, he stored them in his ring—perhaps one of them might help Niel. Another time, he would regret leaving the chamber without analyzing every clue available; now he was just relieved they couldn’t linger.

He strode toward his companions. “Let’s move. Follow behind me.” His voice was stilted, almost belonging to a stranger.

No one mentioned what happened. Niel hummed, his gaze lost in the grains of the door. He leaned on Kea to step aside.

As he walked past them, his sister squeezed his hand with a sad smile. Kai wiped his face with a sleeve and turned the knob to head into the maze of tunnels.