Chapter 251: Chapter 251: What is that?
But these things?
These were something else.
She slowly raised her bow.
The special arrow appeared.
Red-gold light pulsed along its shaft.
Swanly drew.
Her restored shoulder strained.
Her other muscles screamed.
She held steady.
One breath.
Two.
The System whispered:
HOST. YOU MUST REACH THE PROTECTIVE BEND BEFORE DETONATION.
"I know."
THE ARROW WILL DETONATE ON IMPACT.
"I know."
Swanly stared at the sphere.
Then lowered the bow.
She needed a clear shot after retreating.
But the bend blocked her direct line of sight.
Of course it did.
Swanly looked around.
A narrow crack ran along the side of the stone column.
Through it, she could see the sphere from the protected passage beyond.
Just barely.
She tested the angle with one ordinary arrow.
It shot through the gap.
Struck the far wall.
No creature reacted.
Good.
Swanly moved.
Slowly.
One step.
Another.
A Hollowmaw lifted its head.
Swanly froze.
Its mouth twitched.
The sphere pulsed.
THOOM.
The creature turned back.
Swanly slipped behind the bend.
Her breathing became shallow.
She raised the bow again.
One arrow.
One chance.
The red-gold arrow formed.
Her fingers trembled.
She tightened them.
The System flashed:
TIME REMAINING: 2 MINUTES, 11 SECONDS.
Swanly whispered:
"Shut up."
She drew.
The arrowhead glowed.
She aligned it with the narrow crack.
Through the stone.
Past the feeding chamber entrance.
Straight toward the black sphere surrounded by thirty-nine Hollowmaws.
Her fox ears flattened.
Her tail went completely still.
Swanly released.
The arrow vanished.
For one heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then it struck.
BOOOOOOM!
The chamber exploded.
A wall of fire swallowed the creatures.
Black-gray bodies flew through the air.
Stone armor shattered.
A violent shockwave slammed against the basalt walls.
The ceiling cracked.
Pieces fell.
Swanly threw herself into the protected bend.
The blast struck the other side.
Her ears rang.
The stone beneath her shook so violently she lost her footing.
She crashed onto her knees.
Pain shot through her ribs.
Hot air rushed past.
Dust swallowed everything.
Then came the screams.
Dozens.
High.
Wet.
Animal.
Horrible.
One by one, they stopped.
The ground continued shaking.
Swanly curled against the stone.
Both hands over her head.
"System!"
BLAST CONTAINMENT HOLDING.
A second boom rolled through the chamber as part of the roof collapsed.
Swanly screamed.
The System’s light flashed around her.
A small personal shield formed just long enough to deflect falling fragments.
Stone battered the barrier.
Then silence.
Real silence.
Swanly remained curled against the wall.
Her ears rang.
Her lungs burned.
Her body shook.
She slowly lifted her head.
"Did..."
Her voice barely came out.
She coughed.
"Did it work?"
The System hovered before her.
Its little wings trembled.
A golden map opened.
The chamber was black.
No moving signals.
None.
ALL HOLLOWMAWS ELIMINATED.
Swanly stared.
Then laughed.
Not happily.
The exhausted, half-crazed laugh of someone who had been one second from dying too many times.
"Oh, thank fuck."
The fairy immediately flashed another warning.
ROOT-SEAL STILL AWAITING ACTIVATION.
Swanly’s laugh died.
"Right."
She struggled upright.
Her legs almost folded.
"Fuck."
She caught the wall.
The System projected a golden line toward the feeding junction.
TIME REMAINING: 1 MINUTE, 04 SECONDS.
Swanly ran.
Or tried to.
It was more of a stumbling sprint.
Her side hurt.
Her legs trembled.
Her white tail dragged through dust.
She reached the pillar.
The Root-Seal device glowed in its hollow.
"Activate."
DIRECT HOST CONTACT REQUIRED.
"OH, COME ON!"
She slammed her palm onto the device.
Golden light surged.
Thin lines shot through the ancient stone.
Down the feeding passage.
Across the floor.
Into the pale roots.
For one terrifying moment, the entire network shuddered.
THOOM.
Swanly’s heart nearly stopped.
Then the roots began hardening.
Pale tissue darkened.
Mineral plates spread across the feeding shaft.
Stone and ancient root fused together.
The tunnel mouth narrowed.
Slowly.
Then faster.
Massive slabs of hardened mineral met in the center.
CRRRRRRRRCK!
The feeding passage sealed.
Completely.
The System flashed gold.
ROOT-SEAL ACTIVATION SUCCESSFUL.
HEART CONTAINMENT ROOTS PROTECTED.
Swanly stared.
Then looked at the timer.
TIME REMAINING
00:00:38
Thirty-eight seconds.
Swanly blinked.
Then slowly slid down the pillar.
"Oh my God."
She sat on the floor.
Her arms dropped.
Her head fell backward against the stone.
For several seconds, she simply breathed.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
No screaming.
No claws.
No creatures crawling toward the Heart.
Just her own exhausted breathing.
Then the System floated into view.
HOST.
Swanly opened one eye.
"What?"
A long golden panel unfolded.
MISSION COMPLETE.
HOLLOWMAWS ELIMINATED: 62.
TOTAL COMBAT REWARDS: 744 POINTS.
EMERGENCY PURCHASES AND SUPPORT COSTS DEDUCTED.
CURRENT BALANCE: 1889 POINTS.
Swanly stared at the number.
Then laughed weakly.
"Look at that."
The System folded its tiny arms.
YOU HAVE RECOVERED MOST OF YOUR EXPENDITURE.
"Most?"
YES.
Swanly slowly turned her head.
"I almost got eaten sixty-two times."
YOU WERE NOT ALMOST EATEN SIXTY-TWO TIMES.
"Do not correct me."
NOTED.
She closed her eyes.
For a moment, she thought of Kael.
His golden eyes.
The way he had screamed when she pushed him away.
Soren.
His enormous white body holding the collapsing ruins.
Kairo’s injured arm.
Nilo crying while trying to be brave.
Miko begging her to come back.
Eira and Sira reaching for her.
Her smile faded.
"I need to go home."
The fairy looked at her.
YES.
Swanly slowly stood.
Her legs protested.
She groaned.
"I’m getting too old for this shit."
HOST, YOU ARE NOT OLD.
"Then why do I feel ninety?"
BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN RUNNING, BLEEDING, FIGHTING, AND FALLING FOR THE LAST TWENT-NINE MINUTES.
Swanly smiled.
"Aww. You were worried."
I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT MY INVESTMENT.
"There it is."
She pushed away from the pillar.
Then stopped.
Something glowed beyond the sealed feeding shaft.
Not gold.
Not red.
Green.
A soft, strange green light pulsed between two ancient stones.
Swanly frowned.
She had not noticed it before.
The glow brightened.
Then dimmed.
Then brightened again.
Swanly slowly approached.
Her fox ears turned forward.
Her tail went still.
She crouched near the strange light.
"What is that?"