CHAPTER 41: [ LICH ]

Fae dashed forward, elegantly low to the ground.

She readied each sickle in her hands, clutching them tightly.

She glanced back once, before heading toward the flying Lich. The four raised statues took a step closer together, forming a wall.

The bigger one raised its arm, slamming it on the ground where she would’ve been.

She stopped instantly despite the speed at which she ran, easily taking a few steps backward while rotating to go around its arm.

The sharpness of her moves was becoming faster, the speed at which she ran, how fast she reacted.

[ Sacrifice ]

Power is not lost—it is laid down.

The offering is made in silence. No words, no flame.

Alexander watched with his [ Witness of All Paths ] as Fae improved by the second.

He then used the Will Breaker’s sight to see around him, eyes popping out of his attire that acted as his own.

He tried keeping up with the pace at which the Lich raised corpses beneath him, the room large enough for him to do so for a bit longer.

Each hand that broke through the floor to lunge at his leg did so quickly. They all knew where he was, most likely the work of the Lich.

He glanced back, the first raised undead were now fully out of the ground.

They walked at a fast pace, but while they were slower than him, the sheer amount would eventually overwhelm them.

He could feel his strength leaving him, every step he took reverberating through his bones as he got weaker by the second.

He easily outran the hands emerging from the stone at first, but without the Will Breaker’s sight he wouldn’t be able to dodge them at the moment.

He watched as Fae danced on the ground, dodging the statues while trying to advance further.

"We’re getting nowhere..."

Alexander looked up, the Lich extinguished most of the candles, only a few remaining.

His sight confirmed it, able to count the amount of candles and hands poking out of the ground.

That, paired with the trail of undead behind him.

"Fae!" he yelled.

She glanced his way.

"We’re trading!"

He saw her nod, as she took several backward jumps to get out of the way of the statues.

In an instant, using the Will Breaker’s sight, he switched their places.

Alexander was now forward in the room, near the statues, while she was near the back.

His extended vision let him witness her go all out in a way he hadn’t seen before.

She moved through the horde of undead that was on his heels just moments ago like a blur through a storm.

A cascade of bones hit the ground where she passed, her enemies unable to even react.

She went for the neck, smashing them to pieces when she was close enough. Even if they weren’t, she would hit anything that was close, from an arm to a single finger.

She was relentless, a breeze through a crowd.

The eyes on Alexander’s hat brought his attention back to his own surroundings.

He jumped out of the way, rolling on the floor.

A stone arrow shook the ground, a hole that was easily 30 centimeters wide exactly where he stood moments ago.

Alexander started getting up, canceling that thought to roll further onto the ground.

He could feel it himself, despite how fast he could process what happened with his eyes, his body was sluggish.

It felt like his legs weren’t able to keep up. Just moving his head felt out of sync.

He was out of breath, yet had barely ran through the room.

[ Sacrifice ] gives her my stats, but now I’m almost back to how strong I was before becoming a Dungeon Runner.

He got up, running sideways while trying to analyze the situation. His legs started to feel like they would give up, burning as much as his head.

Fae had carved halfway through the undead. The moment they were dealt with, they would be able to trade places once more.

I just need to hold on for a moment.

Alexander concentrated on the ground before him, slits opening as it cracked open letting through a familiar darkness.

Tendrils that resembled the first one he ever used in his inner path came out of them.

So thin... I can’t use them to block. Maybe deflect?

Another arrow came his way.

Using all three tendrils he summoned, he worked the timing perfectly.

They collided with it mid-air, their combined strength knocking them off-course.

Alexander smiled.

Fae was almost done, he didn’t need to hold on much longer.

The statues broke formation.

While the two archers remained near the Lich at the back, readying their next arrows, the two others walked forward.

"So, this one is the fast one, and this is the strong one..."

The slim insect-like statue remained behind the bigger one, doing its best to conceal its actions.

Alexander ran backward, trying to put as much distance as he could between them.

Using the eyes on his back, several rifts tore the ground open behind him.

The tendrils latched onto the bigger one’s legs. It easily dealt with them, its hands powerful enough to cut the tendrils in one move.

Yet they kept coming, slowing it down.

Alexander’s mind was heating up.

Fractures would show themselves soon, and his vision would crack.

He glanced at Fae once more, she was nearly done.

The thinner statue exited its hiding position in a dash, sliding on the ground before catching itself up and running toward Alexander.

Fast!

He could hear it, an arrow—no, two arrows whistling through the air as they went his way.

They’re trying to hide one arrow behind the other?

It all happened in the span of a second, his eyes going directly toward his companion.

Her eyes met his as she slid to a stop, emerging from a sea of corpses.

In an instant, they switched places.

The moment the scenery changed, she jumped up.

The arrow flew beneath her, where she stood, hitting the ground a meter back.

The other one lodged itself right in its predecessor, forming a rod that extended from the ground.

She landed on top of it, both chipped sickles in her hands.

The enemies stopped moving for a moment, the insect-like stone monster walking several steps back while the archers readied another set of arrows.

We have them cornered.

Then, light dimmed.

Two torches, with their giant blue flames on the wall extinguished.