My arms shivered as the stone cold walls made contact with them. I kept my eyes closed, on the verge of screaming my lungs out. However…
"I-It stopped?"
Xylvia looked all around and saw that the walls had just suddenly stopped closing in. I looked back over near the entrance, but I didn't see the Wanderer's tendrils grasping the door.
"Grr…ahaugh… That…hurts…"
Catherine held her sleeping son Cameron with her one free arm, while using the other to straighten her shoulder and use the spear still impaled through her shoulder to keep the walls from closing in any further. Catherine was only able to break the stick off the sharp blade, but she left the blade inside to avoid bleeding too much. The blade itself was about thirty centimeters, so it made it really hard to maneuver around. However, it's length proved to be helpful. Even if it was unintentional.
"Holy shit," Xylvia gasped wide eyed. "Miss lady, when we get out of here, I'm treating you to some food at the temporary home."
"I'm…looking forward to that," she said, wincing at the pain. "This really hurts though, so how about you treat me to a healer's meet?"
"Umm…well…"
"I'm only kidding."
The mood thankfully turned more cheerful than it was just a few moments ago. I really did think that I was gonna die.
"May I ask your name," Catherine asked. "Mine's Catherine."
"Xylvia. Glad to know you."
"You've got quite a reliable friend right there you know. Even in a life or death moment, he wanted to protect you."
"Hmm? Oh, you're riiiiight~. Saaay, Hiro~. What was up with that stunt you pulled on me eh~? Trying to sweep me off my feet or something?"
"Please don't," I muttered. "The only thing I would've been sweeping was the dust that our bones turned into if that wall actually did crush us. I just…felt scared of losing you was all."
I slightly scratched my cheek. It wasn't exactly the best response to her not-so-serious question, but it really was how I felt.
"Huh, you don't say," Xylvia said, blushing a little. "Glad to know that you see me like that."
Ok, now it feels a little awkward.
"Anyways, what should we do," I asked. "I doubt you can move with the wall holding you like that."
"Yeah, I'm pretty stuck," Catherine chuckled, trying to hide her wincing. "I don't even wanna try moving. I'd just be hurting myself."
"What do we do then?"
"For starters, I think you should take Catherine's son out of here," Xylvia said. "Don't wanna get a kid involved in this. Plus, he really needs treatment."
"What will you guys do?" I asked.
"It's risky, but I'm gonna go back and see if I can help those Wanderers out. We can't just pull this spear out since it's the only thing keeping this wall from crushing us. Plus, there's not really a way for her to get out of it unless we end up slicing halfway through her shoulder."
"I'd rather that not be our option." Catherine chuckled nervously.
"…Fair point," I said, hesitantly. "I really don't want to leave you guys with Josiah, but I guess this really is our best option. Xylvia, I trust you. Please don't go dying on me."
"I've still got a lot of life left before that even becomes an idea, so just get the food ready back at the Temporary ok?"
I smiled. I was still concerned, but reassured. She was definitely coming back.
"Please take care of Cameron," Catherine said to me, petting his forehead gently. "Make sure he gets help."
"Don't worry," I said to her before heading out of the tunnel and joining with the all the other townsfolk. "He'll be up and running in no time."
And with that, I held Cameron firmly in my arms and, without waking him up, began running out of the tunnel.
Please stay safe, Xylvia.
"So, what do you plan to do?" Catherine asked Xylvia.
"It's like I said," Xylvia answered. "I'm gonna help out those Wanderers. I don't know how strong Josiah is right now, but he definitely looks strong enough to take them all on. I know it hurts, but please try to hang tight."
"Don't worry, I've still got a lot left in me." Catherine lied.
"Good. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Xylvia took off back to the room where Josiah and the Wanderers were left fighting. Catherine held her smile for as long as she could before letting it go. A depressing frown formed on her face as she looked at her bleeding shoulder, then at her wobbly legs.
"Damn Corrupted…" she cursed at Josiah's followers.
Josiah's followers had beaten her senseless before they locked her in a cage, along with all the other townsfolk that were captured and brought here. Her legs were scratched and bruises badly, so it was honestly a miracle that she was even able to stand without passing out.
'Please…hurry Xylvia…'
Catherine's eyes were slowly beginning to shut as she began to feel her legs become weightless.
Xylvia dashed back into the room with haste and determination, her fire magic out and ready to use against the creature that Josiah had become. All the Wanderer's, including the one that led Xylvia and Hiro to this place, were all struggling to keep Josiah at bay. They would get clawed at, slammed into the ground, and impaled by Josiah's tendrils.
Without hesitation, Xylvia fired off a stream of orange flames at Josiah. He screamed, but more out of anger than in pain.
"You are such an imbecile," Xylvia shouted at the creature Josiah had become. "All because of some stupid war that means nothing nowadays! Even before you were Corrupt, you were always so stubborn! Why the fuck do you have to make this so difficult?!"
Xylvia continued to let out more and more streams of fire as tears suddenly began to well up in her eyes.
While she had no plans on hesitating to kill Josiah, she was still in pain. She was great friends with Josiah back in the City of Colors. In fact, Josiah was one of the first people to show her compassion when she first arrived here. He had taught the young Xylvia a lot about the city's history. He was one of the many people who brought light back into that poor girl's eyes.
And here she was, having to kill that very man.
"Please, just make this easier for the both of us," she pleaded to the creature. "Just die before it becomes too hard."
Josiah didn't listen. Whether it was because he didn't want to, or because he no longer cared would never be found out. Instead, he leaped towards Xylvia with his tendrils extended towards her body.
However, Xylvia was much faster than him. She was nimble and flexible, able to dodge attacks effortlessly even if they moved at insane speeds. While he attacks weren't the most powerful, she could easily wear an enemy down to the point where they would drop dead from exhaustion. She had a high endurance tolerance as well, so even if she was dealt a ton of blows she would still be able to keep moving.
"Hey, I need your help," Xylvia called out to the Wanderer that led her here. "There's a woman stuck in the tunnel! She's hurt and needs help getting out!"
Wanderers were mysterious creatures who were born without any knowledge of their emotions or purpose. They cannot think freely for themselves because they do not see the value in themselves as well as people do. Though their souls are practically dead, that does not mean they they do not have a candle that can be lit back up.
All they need is a little compassion and hope from others.
The Wanderer Xylvia called out to acted without hesitation and extended their tendrils straight to the tunnel walls, prying them back open again. Josiah tried to claw at the Wanderer, but all the other Wanderers got back up to defend their own. Xylvia also continued to harass Josiah with her fire. And while this most certainly overwhelmed Josiah, he was already far into Stage four to end up being beaten this quickly.
'He's got too much endurance in him. Maybe if I can find a way to trap him down here…?'
As Xylvia let her mind begin planning while also dodging Josiah's ferocious attacks, Catherine was on her knees barely moving forward.
'I…don't think…I can make it…'
Catherine was growing more and more tired as she struggled to keep herself awake. She slapped her cheeks and but her lips many times, but her fatigue was beginning to numb the pain completely. If anything, it just made her feel more tired.
'Come on, please stay up… I can't leave my son alone. I have to be there for him when he grows up. I want to see my son become a strong, reliable man to everyone.'
Catherine couldn't ask for anything else but to see her son grow up. She wanted to see every single one of his accomplishments. Even if she couldn't see them, she at least wanted Cameron to tell her about them.
'Please…let me see…my son…'
She kept herself from collapsing onto the ground after the tunnels had been pried back open, keeping the spear from damaging her shoulder even more. Instead, she slowly sat down and began to scoot herself forward.
"Hey, is there a doctor who's free?!"
The huge crowd of people that Xylvia, the Wanderer, and I helped freed were all chatting with one another, resting, and having their wounds treated by people who I figure were doctors. Most of them were probably back up on the surface, so the ones who remained down here probably needed help the most.
"I'm assuming you mean Healers," one of the doctors treating a woman said. "Come over here! Let me see what's wrong!"
"No, I'm ok," I said to her. "But I have a kid who's hurt pretty badly!"
I rushed over to the Healer and set Cameron down gently, making sure not to wake him. He groaned a little from the pain, but he remained asleep.
"Oh dear, poor boy," the Healer muttered, her voice sorrow and angry. "Those monsters got what they deserved. Oh I hope they burn in whatever hell they get thrown into."
"Will Cameron be ok?"
"Oh he'll be fine," the Healer assured, already beginning to treat his wounds with what looked like water magic. "I just need to make sure none of his cuts are too deep and that his marks aren't too dark. Otherwise, he should be ok with a day of sleep."
"Thank you! Please, take care of him."
I bowed then took off back into the cave.
"Hey, where are you going!" The Healer called back to me.
"There's a groups of people who are still in there," I yelled back to her as I was running. "I need to get them out of there!"
'I really hope that Xylvia and Catherine are alright.'
'Damn. He's not wearing down at all.'
Even with all the Wanderers simultaneously trading blows with Josiah and Xylvia constantly harassing him with her fire magic, he still showed no signs of stopping his onslaught. However, Xylvia still had a plan that was beginning to work.
The room that they were in was massive, about the size of a warehouse. What kept it's roof supported were the many stone pillars, mostly lined on the outside with some towards the middle parts of the room. Xylvia was spending as much time as she could blowing those pillars apart while also forcing Josiah to knock them out as well.
She was also counting on the Wanderers to tire out Josiah as much as possible, but that didn't seem like it was going to happen anytime soon. Another problem was that even though Xylvia was doing everything should could to keep Josiah's attention mostly on her, he kept trying to slash at the Wanderer who was holding the tunnel walls open.
The Wanderer looked like they were straining to keep them open while dealing with the brunt of Josiah's attacks, but they remained stationary.
'Just hold out a little longer. I'm almost done.'
While she wanted to believe that, she still had half of the remaining pillars left over. She went for as many of the outside ones as she could before battling more inwards. The danger of doing this was that the whole place could collapse at any moment, however it was the best chance she and the Wanderers had at escaping with their lives while also trapping Josiah in here; possibly killing him as well.
Xylvia was beginning to grow tired as all the magic she was using was constantly draining her stamina, but she continued to press forward, showing no hints of her fatigue with her speed.
"AAAAAAAUUUUUUHHHHH!!!" Josiah shrieked for all to here.
He grew frustrated and angry, doing everything he could to make the Wanderer he continued to target let go of the tunnel walls. He tried forcing his was through the other Wanderers. He tried to fight off Xylvia's fire. He tried fighting through the stationary Wanderers defense. However, he could not break them.
*BRRRRRRRR!*
Just as Josiah was about to slash at the stationary Wanderer, the floor began to shake as rubbles of rock from the ceiling began to fall to the ground. At long last, after forcing Josiah to slash into the pillars, along with Xylvia using her fire magic against them, the remaining pillars could no longer withstand the weight of the roof.
"CATHERINE!"
'Eh…H-Hiro…'
Catherine was no longer crawling anymore. She was near unconscious, but a familiar voice called out to her. When she looked up with her groggy eyes, she could see the man who had saved her and her child from death.
"It's ok," Hiro said to her. "I'm gonna get you and everyone else out of here. Just hang tight and get some rest."
Catherine couldn't remember the last time she was carried like this before. She was then reminded of how her husband had carried her during their wedding, holding her in her darling's arms and smiling warmly. She felt so happy that day she cried tears of joy. When times were simpler for them. When they thought that not even the Corruption could break them apart.
Memories like those were thought to have been locked away deep in her heart. However, they resurfaced and caused tears to form and break through her shut eyelids.
"XYLVIA!!!"
I dashed as quickly as I could back into the room. The ground was shaking violently as rocks began falling to the ground. A few of them hit me, but I continued to press forward.
After a few moments of running, I finally found the room. Xylvia was there fending Josiah off while he tried prying through the Wanderers to get to the one holding the tunnels open.
"XYLVIA, EVERYONE, HURRY!!" I shouted to them.
As soon as Xylvia spotted me, she fired off one final stream of fire, a much more powerful aura could be felt from it, and dashed off to the entrance. The Wanderer holding the tunnels open looked at all the other Wanderers who were fending Josiah off and began to take off. All the other Wanderers did the same after making one last effort in knocking back Josiah as far as they could.
"COME ON! LETS GO!!!" I shouted to them all.
Xylvia and the Wanderers rushed out ahead of me. I followed along after I noticed the Wanderer holding the tunnels open was close enough.
However…
*CRUNCH!*
The last Wanderer was caught by one of Josiah's tendrils, slowly being pulled back as they tried to grab onto anything on the ground.
"NO!!! DAMMIT!!!"
I stopped running and looked back, but that was a huge mistake. Josiah extended another pet of his tendrils towards me and grabbed hold of my leg. I quickly turned to my back so that Catherine didn't end up hitting the ground. I struggled to get off, but he had a tight grip on my ankle.
"XYLVIA! HELP ME!" I shouted.
Without delay, Xylvia quickly dashed back over and tried to pry off Josiah's tendrils, but she couldn't get them off. Even the Wanderers tried to help, but to no avail.
"Xylvia, take Catherine with you," I said to her. "Get her to the Healers!"
"NO! I'M NOT GONNA LEAVE YOU HERE!" Xylvia screamed at me.
"GO!!! I'LL GET OUT OF THIS!!!"
"NO YOU WON'T!!! YOU ALL SAY THAT, BUT YOU'RE LYING!!!"
Scenes of fires, crumbling rocks, sharp weapons flying at her, and Corrupt monsters began to play within the shadows of Xylvia's eyes. She looked at the man who was screaming at her to leave with sorrow and anger. She didn't want to leave him. She didn't want him to die.
"I'M NOT GOING TO DIE!!! I PROMISE!!!"
Even though she didn't want to believe that promise, even though she wanted to stay, she got up and ran with Catherine in her arms, tears escaping her eyes as she dashed as fast as she could to the exit.
"FFUUUUUUUCK!!!!" She cried out in pain.
The other Wanderers remained, trying to help me get Josiah's tendrils off my ankle. I noticed the Wanderer behind me looking over at us, and, for the first time ever, I could see emotions pouring out from their eyes.
Sadness. Anger. However, the one thing I could see the most, was contentment.
"…wait…" I muttered.
At the exact same time, the Wanderers pulled at me as hard as they could the second the Wanderer behind us let go of the tunnel walls and slashed off Josiah's tendrils.
The Wanderer held Josiah in place as he screamed at us ragingly. He tried to break free, clawing and slashing at the Wanderer, but they refused to let go. Then, after I was free, three out of the group of Wanderer's held open the tunnels. None of them must've been as strong as the Wanderer who held Josiah back, as the three couldn't move while holding it back.
"You're not…"
Before I could let the words come out of my mouth, one of the three places their free tendril on my shoulder and gently pushed my back, waving bye to me and putting it back onto the wall.
I wanted another option, but the walls were starting to close in again. It was clear to me that the three of them wouldn't be able to hold it any longer. Even though I wanted a different option, I knew that there wasn't any.
Looking back on it now, even if I had all the Wanderer's stay here and hold it open, I don't think anyone could be able to hold the walls open. I could maybe use the spear that was impaled in Catherine's shoulder, but they were long gone and that could risk her bleeding out to death before we could get her to a Healer in time. She was already in bad enough shape.
I couldn't risk it. There wasn't enough time either. It was all a spur of the moment, so I didn't even have enough time to think about those options.
Instead, I ran. I ran as fast as I could. All the Wanderer's were ahead of me, but I wasn't far behind. The walls were closing in on me, but I had a feeling I was gonna make it.
'See Xylvia. I promised I would make-'
*CRUNCH!*
I felt something shatter inside me. My left leg felt like pins and needles first, but then one of the most brutal pains came stabbing right into my left foot.
"GRRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" I screamed painfully.
The wall had crushed my left foot completely. I could feel the bones shatter completely, the crunching sounds made me wanna vomit. Flesh and blood was violently squeezed out and spurting up my leg. I tried to pull back, desperately grabbing onto the ground and pulling as hard as I could, but I couldn't separate myself from the wall.
"AAAAAUUUUUHHHH!!!! XYLVIAAAAAAAA!!!" I screamed as loud as I could. "SOMEONE!!! HELP MEEEEEEE!!!"
I felt myself growing desperate. I could contain myself. Every bit of my survival instinct went out of control from the amount of pain I was having to deal with. I reached out to whatever I could, but nothing helpful could be grabbed by my hands.
Suddenly, I could see Xylvia running back over with Catherine in her hands. She was woken up by my screams, something I felt bad for later on.
"HIRO! WHAT DO I DO!!"
"CUT IT OFF!!! FUCKING CUT IT OFF!!!"
"WH-WHAT?!"
"CUT IT OOOOOOOOFF!!!"
*SHLICK!* *CRUNCH!*
Before a second had even passed, Catherine yanked out the spear impaled in her shoulder and used it to slash my crushed foot off completely. My whole leg suddenly felt numb as a stream of adrenaline rushed into my head. I looked over at the stump on my left leg, blood gushing out of it in rhythm of my rapid heartbeat. My lips quivered, every part of my body was shaking in fear. Everything went muffled, as a distinct ringing sound filled my eardrums.
"…heh…?"
Before I could even completely register what had happened, I felt all the blood drain from my head and collapsed on the floor. The last thing I remembered was Xylvia's muffled screaming and Catherine falling down to her side.