'Oh, hell yeah,' Nightmare instantly answered. The direwolf moved out of the teardrop pendant before vanishing into Illusionary Emptiness and flanking to the side.
Just as Seth prepared to charge, the Dark Elemental's head snapped in his direction, its two hollow sockets locking onto him—the element of surprise was gone. Seth abandoned all pretense of stealth and dashed forward, casting Intermediate Identity.
Not showing any restraint, Seth pushed aether through the grooves of Phantom Punch while Colossus erupted from the necklace beside him in a shower of brown energy. The next instant, Seth activated Huntbound Rush and tore across the distance in a heartbeat. But just as the spectral, skeletal arm of the Undead spell began to form around his own, the Dark Elemental dissolved into a streak of pure blackness and slid across the cavern floor like spilled ink to reappear directly behind Colossus.
The massive scorpion reacted instantly, the shimmering barrier of Desert Aegis and jagged shell of Quartz Armor encasing his body. He met the dark creature's assault head-on. The Elemental's claws, now wreathed in shadow, demonstrated terrifying penetrating power.
They didn't just slash Colossus's defense, they ripped it apart, screeching through the stone and tearing deep gouges in the armor before biting into the scorpion's natural shell. In no time, the rock-like plating cracked and splintered under the relentless assault.
"Colossus!"
Seth dashed forward and forced an absurd amount of aether into Huntbound Rush, fearing he wouldn't make it before the scorpion was seriously injured. Almost simultaneously, Nightmare phased out of invisibility and cast Mantle of Terror. The aura of bloodlust surged from the direwolf like a tsunami of dread that froze the very air itself; the Dark Elemental faltered, its fluid form stuttering, and its shadow-wreathed claws stopped mid-swipe.
Seth immediately lunged in front of Colossus and crossed his fists as the dark stone of Iron Fists materialized around his gauntlets.
The instant the paralyzing effect of Nightmare's spell broke, the Elemental immediately finished its swing. The claws came down in a blur, striking Seth in three quick, consecutive slashes. The impacts rang out like hammers on stone, and despite the layered protection from Desert Aegis he felt the brutal force of each hit through his bones. Gritting his teeth, he immediately retaliated with a rapid series of jabs that jolted the Dark Elemental's shadowy head back. Nightmare rushed in from the side, clamping his jaws onto the creature's body where it hovered above the ground.
The dark, corrosive smoke from Shadow Bite billowed out from the direwolf's maw, yet instead of eating away at the Elemental's form, it seemed to pass right through, having little to no effect on its shadowy body. The creature spun, slicing its claws toward Nightmare's side. Just as the attack was about to connect, Nightmare used Shadow Step to dissolve into nothingness and reappear farther than expected.
Seth pressed on, his fists hammering the dark creature's chest. The solidified smoke that made up its body thinned, becoming ethereal, so his next punches passed through it harmlessly. The Elemental began to weave around his blows with an unnatural grace, as if time had slowed just for it. A second later, the creature retaliated, lashing out with its claws and forcing Seth to activate his Protecting Belt. The blue barrier flared to life just in time to absorb a flurry of slashes that would have torn open his chest and face.
Nightmare immediately cast Chains of Darkness, and the spell's shadowy wolf shot toward the Dark Elemental to ensnare it in thorny vines. The attack gave Seth the breathing room he needed to channel another Phantom Punch. Yet just as the massive, skeletal fist of teal aether surged around his arm, ready to crash into the foe, the Dark Elemental dissolved into a streak of darkness and slid away.
Not again, Seth grunted inwardly, dashing after it.
The Dark Elemental swung its arm and sent a crescent of pure shadow scything toward him. With no time to dodge, Seth crossed his gauntlets to absorb the blow. The spell tore through the protective aether of his belt with a screech, consuming all that remained in a violent flash. Nightmare launched an immediate counter, plunging his fangs back into the Dark Elemental's solidified form and jerking his head viciously, trying to tear it apart.
The creature of shadow let out a pained hiss and slashed its claws toward the direwolf. Two deep gouges tore across Nightmare's flank, yet just as the second set of claws descended in a finishing blow, a loud screech echoed through the cavern.
Colossus charged.
The elemental's hollow sockets snapped toward him as the massive scorpion thundered forward, rock and quartz quickly thickening over his shell with each beat of his heart. The layers of stone and white crystal didn't just form faster than usual—they pressed into one another until the resulting armor seemed to reach a whole new level of protection. Colossus snapped his pincers, and the shadow beast met the attack.
This time, Quartz Armor held, though splinters of stone and aether still flew with each strike. Seth immediately joined the fray once again, his fists raining down on the distracted elemental. He could feel the unwavering determination of his partners through their bond: Colossus' desire to protect them, and Nightmare's seething frustration at his inability to kill their foe.
Out of pure fury, the direwolf pounced and unleashed Shadow Bite again. This time, the spell surged with smoke as black as the void—a pure, light-swallowing hue that made the elemental's own shadowy form look pale. The attack plunged into the creature's side, not just to corrode, but to consume it from the inside.
The elemental shrieked in agony though it still forced itself to strike back at Colossus. Its claws rang against the scorpion's defense enhanced by both Desert Aegis and Quartz Armor. Seth seized the opening to hammer the Elemental with a relentless barrage of punches. Each blow chipped away at its wavering form until, with a final hiss, the dark creature of smoke unraveled and dissipated, leaving a single crystal to clink onto the ground.
With a heavy groan, Colossus collapsed to the cavern floor, his massive body sending up a puff of dust around him. The last crystalline fragments of his Quartz Armor crumbled and fell away, revealing the numerous spiderweb cracks and wounds that marred his natural shell. Seth reached into his Endless Pouch for a healing potion, yet before his fingers could close around a vial, the scorpion's voice echoed through Link.
'Don't need it.'
Taken aback, Seth moved closer and looked at the deep gouges and punctures in his partner's carapace. None looked fatal, but they were pretty severe. 'Are you sure?'
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Colossus nodded, the movement causing a faint grinding sound. 'Can I have a beaststone instead?'
Seth frowned for a moment, then complied. He assumed Colossus knew what he was doing.
He retrieved one of the brown Earth Elemental beaststones from his pouch and tossed it to the scorpion. At the same time, Nightmare snatched the black crystal of the Dark Elemental from the ground so he could crack it between his jaws. Aether flared from both stones, and the bodies of both Seth's partners began to jerk and twitch as they absorbed the raw energy. Seizing the moment, Seth cast Intermediate Identify on himself.
Huntbound Rush reached Exceptional, Seth realized.
A pattern was starting to emerge—the grooves of some spells, like Huntbound Rush or the Beastmaster, seemed to improve in quality and potency whenever he gave in to his anger and followed his core without restraint. Others, however, such as Night Veil and Iron Fist, demanded finesse, the kind he could only cultivate with the use of the Eldric Book.
As soon as Nightmare and Colossus's trembling from the energy absorption subsided, he showed them their attributes and the spells that had improved in quality.
'Why didn't you show me the description of Shadow Bite just now?' Nightmare asked with a growl. 'It just moved up to Exceptional.'
'Because it doesn't say anything useful?' Seth answered. 'You want to see that the aether cost went down? That's the only part that changes?'
Seth glanced at the direwolf. 'Happy?'
Nightmare grumbled in response before looking at the distant structures of shadow on the left. ''Those things are a pain in the ass to kill, but they force us to get better.'
'I still think it's too dangerous here. Colossus could have gotten killed there,' Seth replied. 'We should head back to fight the other Elementals instead.'
'No,' the scorpion immediately retorted, his mental voice ringing with an unshakeable resolve as he pushed himself up. 'I want to fight here. I will get stronger so they can no longer hurt me. So they can never reach you.'
Seth looked at the young beast, at the fierce, protective loyalty burning in his eyes. Seth then glanced at Nightmare, who met his gaze and, after a moment, gave a single nod of approval.
'Fine,' Seth answered. 'Let's continue.'
He recalled both his partners into the teardrops of his necklace, where they could recover and absorb the ambient aether from the Essences inside, then moved forward alone into the massive elemental territory. It didn't take him long to reach what felt like the outskirts of the subterranean city.
The Dark aether nearby became so dense that it was like wading through a cold, heavy fog. Before Seth could fully comprehend the scale of the distant city-like structure ahead, a flicker of shadow amongst the far-off rocks to his left caught his eye.
Seth crept forward, his boots whispering against the stone floor. A pulsating, dark-purple light danced onto the cavern walls from behind two massive pillars. The spectral glow of the mushrooms guided his steps as he edged closer. The moment he rounded the corner, he abruptly stopped.
Before him stretched another section with walls studded with shining, amethyst-like crystals, but it was the occupants of the room that had made him freeze: dozens upon dozens of strange, mole-like creatures with smooth, gray, gleaming hides. They were all immobile, inches from the glowing crystal, with the purple light within seeming to flow into their bodies. Their fur slowly shifted color to take on a deep violet hue and crackle with an audible hum of raw aether.
Behind them stood five Dark Elementals, all with their claws held high and ready, observing the process like taskmasters. The moment one of the mole-like creatures began to tremble violently—its now purple-hued body seemingly on the verge of exploding from the sheer volume of aether it contained—the supervising elemental gestured for it to move. With a flick of its shadowy claws, it directed the creature to join two others of its kind, which were already saturated with the same purple energy.
With each step, the small creature's face contorted in a silent scream, as if the power it now held threatened to rip it apart from the inside. Seth then noticed that all the other moles still absorbing energy from the crystals were in a similar state of agony, their bodies jerking and spasming.
Clenching his fist, he cast Intermediate Identify on one of them.
For a moment, Seth watched the grim scene unfolding before him. The Dark Elementals were forcing these weaker beasts to harvest the energy of the cavern and turn themselves into living reservoirs of raw aether.
But why?
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21 25!! advanced chapters on !