“What...happening?” Hollow's voice reached out. Holding himself up with his sword as a crutch, he waddled over to my side.
(No time to explain, let’s run! I’ll take Veyra, so just get going!)
Mending my arms together, they crumbled on contact with her. With my HP as low as it was, there was no way I could rebuild my body. I grunted as my teeth gently pierced the fabric of her tunic, dragging her by my teeth. Just as we got to the entrance way, a grotesque vine violently whipped through the air and brought down a large corner of the room.
“Liar… you’re a liar!!” Delta’s rage seeped through every word. Boils blew up along the skin of her arm as it retracted back to its original state, each one moving and expanding as if she were boiling. She looked at it, unaware of what to feel. Just then, a malicious smile darkened her expression.
“Hey, hey, Atlas… Master really does hate me, doesn’t he? You said so yourself. Hey, hey, he hates you too, though? I’m sure of it!”
Her teeth bled with thick green liquid as her body cracked and warped with every motion. The boils and bubbles along her body stretched out into petals and other floral mutations, until her body was littered in them. Blades of white bone sprouted out along her back as she fought off the pain that came with the blue maws along her stomach.
The Visceria Moonflowers?! How’d those end up on her body? Is this some kind of effect from the conduit?
My eyes widened in horror at the wriggling bulge that stretched out from her shoulder, taking position beside her head. Its unsightly form stretched and shaped into that of another woman's. Composed of wood and brought to life by the roaring flames deep within the eye sockets, it was the spitting image of the Deep Forest Natch we had defeated before.
All sorts of monsters from the ruins were appearing across her body. It wasn’t a pretty sight by any means. They were in pain, even Delta.
Tears welled up from the corner of her eyes, yet she equipped herself with the same terrifying smile she had when we met her.
Her cheeks rose with creased lines across the sides of her face, forcing a joyous ring behind every word, “Atlas, I can’t let any failures remain here… Master won’t come back until I wipe them off this world's surface. Hey, hey, Atlas, you’re a failure too, right? Yeah, you have to die too!” With a flick of her wrist, the skin hardened, and spikes drew out of its surface.
“At–laaaaaas!!” She sang, holding her arms out at her side. “Come and play!!”
Right before she could take her first step, a slash appeared across her stomach. Deep purple light stretched along Hollow's sword as he appeared from the Stealth Step skill in front of Delta. Without giving her a second to react, he immediately followed with another swing of his sword.
Hollow was locked in place, his blade trembled right before it could land a hit. A green light encompassed his body as the witch's head, placed next to Delta’s, silently chanted under her breath. It was magic.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
My body was too weak to fight, so I channeled my mana into a single attack and forced a blade of wind through the air to lop off the head. Delta blocked with her armoured hand, but was pierced a moment later by a bolt of green energy.
Once the energy dissipated, a single arrow rested in the flesh of Delta’s hand. She staggered back on the verge of laughing and forced her attention to Veyra with a crooked head turn. The sudden snap of her neck as she turned was unsettling to say the least.
Veyra was hunched over, her shoulders arched and an arrow clenched in one hand. Battling heavy breaths, she drew her shoulder back and prepared to throw an arrow, forcing the green light of her magic into its point.
“Even without your bow, you’re annoying! Another failure– Gahh!” Cutting her off, a pillar of stone extended from the ground and into her face.
A second pillar rose from the ground and broke through the witch's jaw with a monstrous crash. The Ring of green magic shattered from Hollow's body, and his blade pierced into Delta a second later.
“Y-you’re all…dead…all failures…all going to die!” Delta clawed at the witch's head and ripped it from her body. “You’re the reason Master hates me! He kept cutting pieces– taking pieces… from me!!” She slammed the dismembered head into the ground with a splat. “And for what? To make these failures? Hey, hey, what’s so interesting about these?”
Mana flowed out from her arm, and she drove it, and the smashed in head, through the ground. Chunks of stone and dirt exploded around her with every hit.
“It’s not enough! Not enough! Not enough! Never enough!!” She continued wailing on the remnants of the witch's head until it crumbled to splintered chips. “I should be enough for him… For Master… Master come see how strong I am… Why won’t you come see me?!!”
The sudden explosion of her mana sent us flying back, and the laboratory crumbled around her. Veyra just barely managed to stand, and we ran as far as we could before falling in pain. Neither of us could walk, let alone fight. We watched with hopeless gawks as Delta rose from the debris, a single blade drawn from her hand.
The effects of the other monsters slowly faded, and her body was dying out. Even though I could tell she didn’t have long, it was still plenty of time to take me down with her.
Crap, I can’t even use my body anymore… I don’t even have any mana left. Should I Bulldoze again? Maybe use my claws? I doubt it’d work.
Hollow struggled to his feet but ultimately collapsed behind me. The metal snapped at his ankle, forcing him into a crawl. Even Veyra, who’d been shielded from that last explosion, was brought to her knees. The wound from her forehead opened, along with a new one along her shoulder. Just barely conscious, she extended a hand and her lips parted with worry.
Although no sound accompanied it, I heard her thoughts perfectly. “Please…don’t…”
The desperation carried in her voice was nearly enough to ground me, but I couldn’t let my emotions tie me down. I still had a chance after all.
I made a promise to them, after all. I wanted to help Veyra get stronger. To help her get her voice and strength back. To help Hollow find strength and possibly, one day, beat me. I wanted those things to happen, really, I did. If it meant I had to die, I’d at least want them to live on and find it themselves. Even if it was without me.
I wasn’t going down without a fight, so I needed every advantage I could use.
Oracle, you haven’t let me down yet, so please, help me out here. Is there anything I can do to save my friends? I really need a miracle here.
{Unable to provide Inf0–#^Xx}
The panel of light suddenly glitched and was replaced by a new, blackened screen. The words written out in a rich purple haze spread across the screen as if spoken in real time. Her voice carried a demanding tone that grasped my attention, like soft commands into my ears.
{When brought to death, she must hear your call and answer back}
{Title
{Access Granted}