Percy had come a long way since joining the Alchemists’ Guild. He’d learned a lot and honed many of his spells over the years, though if there were two things he’d gained the most experience in... well… it would be brewing elixirs and killing wasps.
The latter was precisely the skill he was currently exercising, to survive the onslaught of Starry Workers rushing him like a torrential river amidst a downpour. Most of them were headed to their doom of course, but the mad beasts didn’t seem to care, heeding their ruler’s command without complaint.
Another two killed and one attack evaded.
‘There’s no end to them…’
The workers never truly stood a chance against his oversized sickles, the crescent edges slicing the wasps’ very souls apart like hot knives through morsels of butter. The constructs were frankly overkill for the job, as was the young man’s speed and ferocity, rendering the poor creatures without any means of defending themselves. Thus, no single insect posed a problem by itself, though their sheer numbers did.
With a diameter of nearly three metres, the tunnel was more than wide enough for a dozen workers to arrive at once without bumping into one another. Moreover, they dove upon him in waves spaced apart by mere fractions of a second, never giving him a moment to catch his breath.
‘At least the dead ones are blocking the way…’ Percy smiled bitterly.
So many had he slain already, that their fox-sized corpses littered his surroundings, forming multiple large mounds. It was to the point some of the oncoming insects had to waste time flying around – or digging through – their fallen comrades, relaxing the pressure on him slightly. Of course, every now and then, one of them crashed violently onto the piles of bodies, sending their limp frames tumbling through the tunnel.
‘Is it me, or are they deliberately not using their stingers?’
Given his recent advancement, the upgraded boosting art and his many years of experience, Percy was doing a decent job holding on. That said, he couldn’t help but notice he owed some of his success to his enemies not giving their all. Their endgame was to bypass and overwhelm him from every direction, apparently still intent on capturing him alive.
‘Just what does she want from me?!?!’
The mere thought of being delivered as a prisoner to the titanic monster would have sent a chill down his spine, if only Synchronization wasn’t cooking his body inside out.
“CAW!!” Micky suddenly cried.
It was hard to make his voice out through the cacophony of the buzzing wasps and the endless rumble of the tunnel. Still, Percy could’ve sworn it sounded a little deeper and slightly more piercing than before.
‘Are you done yet?!’ he asked through the cord, too occupied to turn around.
Taking the hint, the crow used the connection this time, sending him another glimpse of the knight’s carcass. Only a chunk remained, though it was the part Percy’s clone had filled with acid. Micky couldn’t eat that. And it appeared the bird still needed some food to finish evolving…
“For fuck’s sake!” Percy spat through gritted teeth. “Just eat the smaller ones!! They’re all over the place!!!”
Intensifying his efforts, he advanced through the chaotic corridor, leaving his cover behind. Slaughtering a path through the workers’ ranks, the young man turned into a violent hurricane of flesh and soul, his weapons unleashed in a lethal flurry against the insects.
The incessant buzzing gave way to the rhythmic sounds of dead bodies, some making dull noises as they crashed against stones and metals, a few forming crisp tunes as they collided with the crystals instead. Step by step, slash by slash, Percy pushed back the rush of beasts with sheer grit and force of will, his muscles burning and his bones aching as he left a graveyard in his wake.
“Well?! What’s the hold up?!”
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Fortunately, it didn’t take Micky much longer to complete his transformation. The giant corpse had left him very close, and the veritable buffet Percy had prepared for him was more than enough to seal the deal. But it wasn’t all good news. A fleeting glance revealed the crow was now as tall as a human! It had already been impossible for it to fly inside the narrow tunnel before, yet now even fluttering through it was out of the question.
‘Just run then!’ Percy felt like banging his head against the wall. ‘Do I look like I can carry you?!’
The bird didn’t sound particularly happy but then again, it wasn’t the one that had to keep an army at bay. Jolting off, it disappeared into the colourful corridor as Percy also backtracked, conceding some ground to the insects to keep up with his familiar. Under different circumstances, the young man might have found the bird’s awkward dash hilarious – Micky actually looking like a chicken as he skittered through the tunnel!
This wasn’t the time to laugh at the crow’s antics, however, as another change occurred with his attackers. The second platoon was upon him. Spilling into the tunnel, the drones filled in the gaps between the workers, blotting out Percy’s view. Pathetically weak as they were, he knew he could crush each of them with a finger. If only he had a few hundred fingers…
‘This is going to suck…’
As the cloud of palm-sized wasps reached him, he made the split-second decision to ignore them entirely, focusing his Mana Sense solely on the Orange creatures. Continuing as before, he simply allowed the drones to do as they pleased, many latching onto his body, as a few made their way to his familiar.
“KRAAA!!!” the bird cried in annoyance, shaking the bugs off with a powerful flap of its wings as a series of amber lines lit up on its plumage.
Percy on the other hand was having a tougher time, as he was neither a beast, nor at Yellow. The blanket of insects crawled all over his skin, inhibiting his joints, trying to slow down his movements.
“Piss off!” he shouted, sending a powerful burst of cyan out of his pores, blasting the pests to smithereens. His pure mana might have not been that useful against the knight or the workers, but for the drones? It was plenty.
And thus, they continued – a man and a bird, desperately inching towards the exit, struggling to resist the suffocating grasp of the magical hive trying to steal their freedom.
‘How much further is it?!?!’
They must’ve run for half an hour , and Percy wasn’t sure he’d last much longer. While he’d grown far more proficient with Synchronization over the past few months, he’d never fought at such intensity and for such a prolonged period of time.
Yet, even more than his dwindling stamina, Percy had another thing to be worried about. The tremors beneath his feet had grown fiercer, indicating the soldiers were about to reach them too! Luckily, there didn’t seem to be another knight nearby, or it would have long caught up by now. Still, it wasn’t like he felt confident handling a legion of the Yellow creatures in his current state.
‘CAW!!!’ Micky suddenly called out to him ecstatically, sending a vivid image through the cord.
It was bright, but different than the magical glimmer of the cavern. Sunlight! They’d reached the exit! Moreover, the fact the sun could peer into the tunnel meant Nesha had succeeded too, digging them a way out of this infernal deathtrap.
‘Hurry up!!’ Percy said, the literal light at the end of the tunnel renewing his vigour. ‘We need to get there before the soldiers reach us!’
Keenly aware of the danger they were in, the two drew on any lingering dregs of strength they’d yet to tap into, hoping to make it in time. But they weren’t fast enough.
‘Shit, they’re here!’
Percy’s heart skipped a beat, as the first hint of Yellow appeared in his Mana Sense. Realizing the soldiers would get to him before he made it out, he decided to change tactics. Fighting the workers one-armed, he allowed the sickle in his other hand to transform, soon taking the shape of half a dozen throwing stars. Next, he launched them towards the bugs, the projectiles piercing long lines through his enemies, killing scores of them as they flew into the distance.
This seemed to ease the pressure on him momentarily, letting him manifest a sheet of cyan in his now-free hand, as he continued to hold off the rest of the wasps with the other. Finally, he flung the cloth of pure mana against the creatures, ensnaring many of them and forcing them to collide, before turning the second sickle into another set of projectiles and throwing that too.
Having exhausted all the mana he could spare while retaining his boosting art, he then turned around, sprinting towards his familiar. Picking him up, he slung him awkwardly over his shoulder, before crossing the last few metres separating them from the exit. And without even waiting until he took his first step out of the hellish tunnel, he called to his partner.
“NESHAAA!! COLLAPSE THE ENTRANCE!!! NOW!!”
Catching a glimpse of a dark shape by the corner of his eye, he barely ducked in time to avoid the bolt as it crashed onto the ceiling.
CRACK, CRAAAAAAACK, BOOOOOM!
Percy didn’t bother glancing back at the aftermath as he leapt out of the cave, hoping the girl had poured everything into the spell.
“What the fuck is that?!” she asked upon seeing Micky.
But the young man didn’t register her words, only now managing to examine the devastation behind him. The bolt of space mana had done its job, shattering a layer of stone off the ceiling, leading to a cascading demolition. Still, this wasn’t going to hold them off for long – he was certain the wasps were already busy clawing their way out.
“No time to waste!” he told his companions as he picked a handful of dirt off the ground. “Scrub your bodies with it.”
Their only shot at survival hinged on eliminating their trail. No way they’d outrun the wasps in an open space. The others followed his advice, even Micky tossing a few beakfuls of mud onto his plumage. Finishing first, Percy helped the crow speed up the process as he noticed a dark bandage hung over its neck.
‘Wow, did you actually remember to take it off before advancing?’
That was quite some foresight from the bird. Percy had been too busy to think about that but, had his familiar evolved with it still wrapped around his abdomen, they’d be in need of a new one by now.
‘CAW…’ Micky said, flashing him an annoyed “I’m not a moron” look.
A minute later, the entire group was done masking their scent – and just in time too. The loose pebbles resting atop the recently collapsed entrance were already shaking violently, intense tremors seeping through the ground.
“Good. Now let’s get the hell out of here.”