With a head start, the two made a break for the stairs. At no point did they even entertain the idea of fighting 19 pseudo A-Rank enemies. Even if Sol could disable all their skills, it was still a small army chasing them—who in their right mind would take them on in a direct confrontation?
While running, Sol used both [Analysis] and his ability to view the tethers to identify which enemies posed the biggest threat and which skills to disable first. He was still in the middle of analyzing when one of the Nether Wraiths body warped out of sight. The next thing he knew, it appeared in front of him, swinging its [Spectral Claws].
Caught off guard by how quickly the enemy closed the distance, Sol barely managed to turn his body into shadows just in time, merging into the ground before the claws could strike. While [Shadow Body] didn't make him immune to the claws, it was much faster than trying to dodge manually.
Within the shadows, Sol used [Close Combat], launching his shadowy fists that rose from the ground and pummeled the Nether Wraith. At first, the wraith fought back with its claws, but it quickly realized it was being overpowered. Each shadow punch carried more destructive might than the last, forcing the wraith to warp away before it lost the exchange.
With the wraith off his back, Sol emerged from the ground and continued running after Amber, who had gained a small lead. She paced herself, allowing Sol to catch up while she sent distorted slashes back at the pursuing undead.
The Tomb Hulks charged ahead of the group, taking the brunt of those slashes as the Laughing Skulls hid behind them, endlessly chanting [Grim Flames] at the duo. Sol called upon all his magic hands—seven simultaneously released their respective chromas, while the final three used [Spectral Claws], positioning themselves around the others to fight.
Sol grunted as he felt the strain on his soul, splitting it in multiple directions while actively fleeing. He could only endure the pain and keep running, knowing the hands wouldn't last long but would buy them some time.
Amber helped by spreading sand everywhere, summoning sand soldiers to rise from the ground, ready to defend their escape with their artificial lives.
Despite his concentration being split, Sol continued disabling the incomplete law techniques of the undead. He managed to disable the warping Nether Wraith's and a Tomb Hulk's [Bulldoze], preventing them from easily trampling their defenses.
That very same Tomb Hulk was the first to charge ahead, wanting to break through the opposition and create an opening for its allies. When it tried to activate its incomplete law technique, it fumbled, causing it to trip and fall with a loud thud. Sol's hands immediately seized the opportunity, raining a colorful array of attacks upon the hulk, while Amber targeted the Laughing Skulls with distorted slashes.
[You have slain a Lv 126 Laughing Skull! Gained 134,348,526 Exp (460%)]
[You have slain a Lv 126 Tomb Hulk! Gained 134,348,526 Exp (460%)]
The duo capitalized on the small opening, destroying two of the undead. Unfortunately, when they looked to target the remaining Laughing Skulls, those had already moved behind the other Tomb Hulks.
While the magic hands and sand soldiers did their job defending the line, Sol and Amber continued running toward the stairs. Not long after, Sol felt his hands being destroyed, and Amber lost her connection to the sand soldiers.
"We're at least half an hour away from the stairs," Sol informed her while running, "but I think there might be other undead waiting there to block our exit."
Amber nodded in agreement. Initially, they believed they were stuck in the middle of a monster house, but given that the undead Zomest came from different floors and the way they appeared surrounding them, they knew it was intentional. Something wanted them dead, and if they were in its shoes, they would also block the stairs to prevent their escape.
'If they're considering blocking the escape route, I need to save the Tynamo Cannon to blast through them.'
It was possible to use it now to thin their numbers, as the undead nearly filled the entire passage. Taking down a few without aiming would be easy, but it would consume a lot of energy, and he didn't know how many more would be waiting at the exit.
Glancing back, Sol sighed in relief. "At least we're outpacing the Tomb Hulks. The others will either have to slow down to keep using them as shields or abandon them, leaving themselves vulnerable to our attacks."
Though large and towering, the brutes were slow, and over time, they were getting further behind. But as if to mock his naivety, one of the Zomest leaped onto a Tomb Hulk's back and spread tendrils into it and another hulk. Their muscles swelled with power, and each step launched them forward with incredible momentum.
'I just had to say it!' Sol shifted his focus from disabling another Tomb Hulk's skill to the Zomest.
The distance between the two groups shortened dramatically in the brief moment it took Sol to disable the Zomest's incomplete law technique. By the time its tendrils lost their buffing ability and flailed around uncontrollably, the gap had closed enough for the Laughing Skulls to bombard them with spells again.
"[Grim Flames]!"
"[Grim Flames]!"
"[Grim Flames]!"
"[Light Spear]! [Light Spear]! [Light Spear]!" Sol chanted nonstop to counteract the countless black flames hurtling toward them, but there were simply too many. Amber had to help, launching her own sand attacks to counter the remaining flames.
These exchanges continued as they gained and lost distance in a constant ebb and flow. Sometimes an undead that Sol had already disabled would regain its ability, surprising them. During the chaos, the duo didn't notice—or rather, couldn't afford to notice—that two Zomest had quietly slipped away during the chase.
…
Near the exit stairs, the two Zomest rose from the ground. They looked at each other and nodded, having received the same command.
The two took positions opposite each other and began using the incomplete law technique they both shared, [Combine Zombeast]. Two intricate magic circles with seven different rings appeared, each ring containing glyphs of different animals. The rings began to rotate as the Zomest carefully chose their creation. As the circles moved closer to one another, they began to overlap, amplifying the effect. The circles mimicked each other as the seven rings lined up to form one final creation that they were sure would fulfill its purpose.
"Kekeke..." One of the Zomest cackled as it completed the circle and activated it, causing it to flash a powerful red light.
The magic circle hovering in the air solidified, becoming dark red and opaque. The light and space around it began to bend as two massive claws appeared from the other side. Those claws gripped the edge of the magic circle and began clawing their way out.
"Kekeke!" The Zomest cackled maliciously as the head of their creation emerged, knowing they would be the ones to fulfill their creator's will.