There were, however, plenty of the creepy saplings. I found an Ear standing right in the middle of the intersection. Holding my breath, I crept closer, then threw a small rock I’d picked up to have the wraith turn its back to me. Wielding my ax backhanded, I thrust it into the thing’s left shoulder, then bore my body weight down on it to push through to the heart. I twisted and dug the blade deeper and deeper until it rent the pumping organ. The Ear reached out both hands, desperately searching for anything. I tackled it, then decided to relieve it of its head just to be safe. Placing the blade of my ax against its neck, I stepped down hard on the ridge. Another one bit the dust. Once again, I was alone—at least, as far as my crude senses could discern.
On soft feet, I pushed on, going as fast as I could without making a noise. Past the broken door, in one room, I saw some kind of vessel not too different from something we could find in the modern age. But with no time to carefully inspect whatever it was, I would have to scrutinize it as much as I wanted to later. Right now, every second counted. Swiftly, quietly, and definitively, I needed to turn all my senses to the task at hand while keeping a lookout for danger.
I had to go in for the quick kill; there was no other possible option. One sapling, I could handle somehow, but two or more would overwhelm me. If they caught me, I was dead. That wouldn’t bother me so much if it was only my life on the line. I’d never thought it amounted to much anyway. But if I died, help might not reach Lana in time. I couldn’t die; therefore, I had to slaughter them with accuracy 100 percent of the time.
I killed eight saplings, my surprise attacks miraculously working every time. While still a far cry from the original, I’d managed to copy Pops’s moves.
Fifty meters remained between Lana and me. My path led into a wide corridor. Instinct told me I’d find her if I followed it. I forced my ragged breath to steady. Never mind the advantage of a sneak attack or that the monsters didn’t quite reach human stature; continuously slicing through flesh and bone and hearts, not to mention hacking heads off, took a heavy toll. Knowing that failure meant death and steeling my body for battle every time also chipped away at my stamina. Every muscle I had screamed out in protest at the unfamiliar labor. Pain twisted in my stomach. My heart felt about ready to explode.
But hell if I cared.
All I needed was to make it to the end of the day. I forced all the anguish down with sheer willpower, mentally squashing the exhaustion and pain.
I can do this. I can still fight.
Over my wildly pounding heartbeats, I heard soft footsteps approach, then saw a Mouth turn the corner. Run! I commanded my body, then sprinted for the ghoul. Its head plopped to the ground before it could even begin an enchantment.
Ever since I’d slipped through that door, I’d been firing on all cylinders. But I was working on borrowed time, the last flickers of light before the candle blew out. I didn’t have long. I just had to power through. Every second lost could mean Lana’s life. Hastily, speedily yet soundlessly, I noiselessly burned through my very life force to get even one step closer to my goal. Silently, I hunted my prey like a murderous beast, like Rhora herself, slaying the gruesome saplings to which she gave birth.
Then finally, I arrived—at a necropolis, an impossibly huge domed chamber. Majestic geometric patterns covered the lofty ceilings, and effigies of mythical gods lined the walls. Like tabernacles, rows and rows of stone coffins stretched out before me as far as the eye could see, adorned with deceased adventurers’ trophy kills. There were maybe one hundred, no two, or a thousand—actually, more than ten thousand at least.
In my peripheral, I found my enemy and my wife. I took off my shoes and crouched low to hide behind the coffins as I made my approach, then used my poncho to wipe my bloody, oily ax. The blade looked awful; badly chipped, it would almost certainly shatter the next time it found a mark. Shifting it over to my left hand, I took out my karambit and gripped it in my right. This was it—the final push. Don’t mess this up, don’t panic, but hurry the hell up. I ordered my body to move.
Mr. Souya, a suggestion. A message from Yukikaze appeared on my glasses. I have informed your party of your location. Please wait for them before engaging in battle. This is too dangerous.
The closer I got, the louder my thumping heart pounded in my ears. I came to a round, empty space in a corner of the sprawling cemetery. It immediately brought the image of an operating room to mind. Recently shredded clothes, pieces from a robe and underwear, accessories, and a staff lay scattered on the ground—the newest additions to the other broken weapons and antique gear haphazardly strewn about. Aged bloodstains covered the floor.
I saw Lana’s porcelain skin. Naked, both her arms and legs had been stretched out atop a stone bed that looked like a birthing table. She seemed to be asleep, her face resting in a pleasant expression as if she was dreaming peacefully, completely oblivious to the revolting ghoul that was Rhora at her side.
This wretched thing had some way to subjugate her victims, though whether that was through poison, drugs, or magic, I could not say. The dark voids she had for eyes drank in Lana’s body. She traced her long claws along the beautiful elf’s skin, eliciting a quiet “Ah” as they passed over her protruding breasts. I gnashed my clenched teeth together, making a gravelly scraping noise.
Not yet. Hold it. Just a little farther, and you’ll be totally hidden in her blind spot.
I had one shot. I had to kill her with the first blow. No way in hell I’d let her slip through my fingers. Pops’s intuition had been on point. For thirty years—no, much longer, this monster had deceived adventurer after adventurer, yet here I stood right by her, and she had absolutely no idea.
I stood diagonally behind her. Just a tiny bit more, and I’d be in the perfect position.
Just a—
—little—
My eyes flickered over to a half-open coffin. I couldn’t unsee it. The image of the elf’s bust tortured, toyed with, starved, left to shrivel up and dry, and strangled to death. For a second, I hallucinated I saw Lana’s future. With nothing but rage and destruction on my mind, I leaped from the shadows, my body low, as low to the ground as it could go, and with all the speed I could muster, I struck.
I’m gonna freakin’ kill you.
Blood went flying everywhere. Red droplets splashed on Lana’s cheek.
“Grh! Agh!”
As Rhora had whipped around, her claw pierced my left shoulder. I’d messed up. At the very last second, I came up short, failing to conceal my presence.