Chapter 42 – The Boss: Corrupted Water Spirit
The imposing structure of the silo stood before them. The silo was a gigantic circular stone tower made of bricks. In front of it was a spacious, open area. The towering structure caught anyone's attention. A bit further from the silo, there was a massive stone wall with a sign that read "sewer" and an arrow pointing to a staircase. The staircase was illuminated by the glow of a torch.
The area was slightly flooded, with some lily pads floating on the water. Water had pooled around the silo, and in the distance, its doors were slightly ajar. For a moment, Lucan felt foolish for once considering going to the silo alone. But he remembered that if he had been alone, he would have fled long ago after discovering what the Veil truly was.
How I wish I could go back to worrying about water...
"This feels really strange," Alice was the first to comment. In truth, Anna and Luke had thought the same thing, but no one dared to say it.
Luke sighed. "I agree..."
He looked around, trying to spot any creatures, but despite the large, open area, there was no one in sight. All that remained was the silo: a gigantic pool of water that looked more like a lake, three Deviants, and their salvation—the sewers.
"Want to take a look inside the silo?" Luke asked, but received a horrified look from both girls.
I was just curious.
Remaining vigilant, they moved towards the sewer entrance. As they continued to walk cautiously, a horrible noise echoed through the area. It was like a distorted, erratic whale song.
The water around them began to bubble and then retract, pulling them slightly. A whirlpool formed in the center of the large pool. Mixed with a strong wind, the water and sludge were sucked in. When the whirlpool stopped, they were thrown away.
Hitting a wall, Luke lost consciousness for a few seconds. Lying on the ground, he got up, looking for Alice and Anna, but his vision was captured by a being standing in the middle of the water.
[Corrupted Water Spirit, Undine]
Golden letters, never before seen describing a monster's name, appeared. A myriad of emotions and feelings passed through his mind, but only these words struck him when he laid eyes on the creature: Danger! Death! Run!
It doesn't even have a rank!
"It's the den creature! We hit the entrance where the squad died!" Alice screamed.
The feeling in the air was palpable, a crushing pressure almost forcing them down. It was as if an entire ocean was falling like a waterfall on them, an indescribable weight of prana pressure. The world and the rain began to distort. Luke could see the rain starting to fall upwards, as if returning to the sky.
We can't do anything; I can barely stand.
An indescribable weight of something invisible made his legs falter. It was something powerful and ancient. What they felt was a presence that should not have been taking form in the physical plane, a suffocating sensation. The prana in the environment was almost tangible. Luke was suffocating just by breathing the air, even the water in the air had prana.
Quickly getting up, he looked around for the others when a voice emerged from beside him:
"Luke, take Anna and run," Alice commanded, holding an unconscious Anna and laying her gently on the ground. She drew her sword, and blue sparks of electricity coursed through her body, conducting into the metal of her blade.
In the distance, a four-meter-tall creature made of sludge stood in the middle of the water between them and their destination, the entrance to the sewer. Just looking at the creature made the atmosphere oppressive, radiating a terrifying power. Luke realized that this must be the essence of true power, prana so potent it felt like a physical force. It was prana from all Segments and Aspects, something with mastery over all forms of prana standing before them.
"Are you kidding? You're going to try and fight that thing?" Luke shouted.
Alice, electricity arcing freely from her body and sword, took the lead and positioned herself in front of him. "We won't make it through if I don't distract the monster. You need to take Anna and run to the sewer."
"And what about you? I'm not leaving you behind. We can find another way. If we run, we might make it," Luke argued.
"You know as well as I do that thing won't let us escape. It'll come after us," Alice insisted.
"We have to try. We can come up with something," Luke pleaded.
"Luke!" she screamed, "We won't make it a few meters before it catches us and draws everything in the Veil toward us. I will protect Anna and you. Just go."
"But why? Why are you doing this?" Luke's voice cracked with desperation.
She laughed. "Because my life means nothing if I don't."
With her wet blonde hair standing on end, Alice charged toward the creature.
Damn it! What a mess! Stupid girl! Idiot! You should have just left us!
Grabbing Anna by the arms and carrying her like a princess, Luke sprinted toward the sewer entrance, struggling to stay upright under the crushing pressure of the presence.
The sludge monster stirred, crashing into the water and creating a tsunami in all directions. Alice moved with incredible speed, almost as if teleporting, leaping high into the air to avoid the waves and closing in on the creature.
The creature resembled an ogre, but it was entirely composed of black sludge, continuously spilling mud. Distracted by Alice, Luke ran, fighting the urge to faint, poisoned by the power saturating the air.
"Wake up, Little One. I need you moving... I need to help Alice," he muttered, barely believing his own words.
Maybe I've gone mad too.
Running while glancing at the ongoing battle, Luke saw that the outcome was not looking good.
Alice was repeatedly thrown back whenever she approached the monster. It formed a spiked sludge ball and slammed it into her stomach, sending her flying. Despite falling hard, she quickly got back up. Her body conducted electricity, somehow making her more resilient and faster, but it wasn't enough. The monster wasn't playing around; it didn't even consider it a game. The monster was bored, but its bloodlust was clear. It wanted to kill and devour everything, and as it moved and released its power, the desire for blood increased, making everything heavy and hard to move and breathe.
Suddenly, the monster jumped and brought down a sludge hammer onto the ground, creating an explosion that sent everyone flying. Luke tumbled but held onto Anna. He rolled down the stairs, landing at the bottom.
Alice was thrown in the opposite direction, further away from the sewer entrance. Spitting blood, she stood with her sword in hand.
The Undine raised one of its hands, and nine giant water balls appeared, spinning in a spiral around it. The monster hurled them at Alice; she tried to dodge, but the explosion's impact radius sent her flying. Another massive water ball appeared, causing even more chaos. Lying on the ground, she watched the giant monster leap into the air, descending with its sludge hammer, creating a massive wave of water.
Struggling to stand, Alice leaned on her sword, letting electricity course through her body once more. The monster moved its hands rapidly, sending a blade of water flying toward her. Alice threw herself to the side, dodging just in time. She got up and sprinted toward the monster, but then two water tornadoes appeared. One tornado lifted her into the air, while the other compressed into a ball and came hurtling like a cannonball, striking her again.
The impact sent Alice crashing into a stone building, causing part of it to explode. The explosion was the result of the force from the giant water ball she was trapped in. With several broken bones, she stood up, using her sword for support, and faced the monster.
Pointing her sword at it, she spat blood onto the ground and said:
"Come at me."
The monster roared and, for the first time, charged toward her. Gathering the last of her remaining energy, she focused everything into her sword. Lightning crackled around the blade, almost making it glow with a faint blue hue, and the metal sang under the strain of the power. Using her unbroken right arm, she lifted the sword high to absorb the lightning from the sky. A green bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens, hitting the blade and staying there.
Pointing all her accumulated energy at the monster, she ran toward it. The monstrous being of sludge charged at her, and a blonde girl, furious and determined, met it head-on, wielding a sword enveloped in green lightning. The Valkyrie Princess, despite being near death, poured every drop of strength and prana she had into her final move, ready to die fighting.
"Hey, you pile of crap!"
Both fighters stopped and stared at the young man in the black cloak, his face contorted in rage, running toward them.
Caught off guard, the sludge monster was punched squarely in the chest by the young man.
Luke's arm sank deep into the creature's chest as he glared at it and said:
"I guess my plan failed."