Buried City

Soulless, mindless zombies were now walking the streets of Midseer. They meshed with the ghost horde after the ghosts that possessed them completed their meals.

Ariel retreated from where she stood, invoking her Blessing to form a disc of light to send her into the sky.

From there, she could see the rush of darkness encroaching upon the light. Despite the sunlight, Undead Energy still surged out.

"Just how far will they go?" Ariel muttered to herself, lamenting the fact that the [Gatemaker] stood in her city unmonitored.

Rage was boiling within her mind, controlled only by the discipline of a seasoned fighter.

She channelled her emotions into her Spirit Energy as she spread out her aura once more.

A thousand arrowheads appeared in the air, glistening with Divine Energy.

A bracelet on Ariel's wrist shone, seemingly awaiting a command.

"Fall," Ariel spoke, "Hailstorm of light."

And so, they did.

WHIIIIIIIIIIII!

The whistling of a thousand projectiles rang in the ears of every living being. Many couldn't help but marvel at the abilities that Midseer's Protector was known for.

At first, it had been a dome of rainbows and sunshine.

Now, it was a rain of shining arrows.

Standing on her disc of light, Ariel panted. Another large round of Spirit Energy left her, making her mind waver for a moment.

She listened as a thousand ghosts wailed in unison. She listened as they melted under the heat of divinity.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

It was a marvellous tune. The pained scream of thousands, although brutal, was still something Ariel could admire.

After all, it was rare for her to exercise her power like this.

Most of the time, she was a deterrent force. A presence sitting inside Midseer to counteract any hostile auras from slaying all their people.

There were other Region-Uprooting Elites out there and they could be walking the streets of Midseer without anyone knowing.

Without Ariel, they could spread their aura out and kill in the way she was doing right now. Only through being present, could she destroy the fragile balance of a killing aura and defend the city.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

There was another round of screams.

A thousand more ghosts were annihilated.

The Ghost Union Kraken seemed to sense this as it even sent a tentacle her way.

Only to be blocked by Farlier, who had ignored all possible side effects and invoked his Blessing.

A winged demon could now be seen flapping his leathery wings in the air.

Blood-red skin shone in the sunlight as streams of smoke rose from where Divine Energy touched him.

"Having difficulties?" Ariel couldn't help but call out to Farlier.

"Yes. So shut up. I found something good."

"Something good?" Ariel once again cast her Hailstorm of Light.

Ghosts screamed once more and the Ghost Union Kraken was enraged.

"This monster here is fueled by an artefact. And I want it." Farlier licked his lips.

He dove down and relentlessly let loose a barrage of punches. Shockwaves of different energies bloomed forth, dealing damage to both himself and his enemy.

But the health sacrifice was worth it.

The cries of the kraken could be heard now. Its head had surfaced from underground as it eyed its foes.

The sudden gaze made Farlier pause.

And that moment of immobilisation brought him back to the ground.

BANG!

Grabbed by the heel, Farlier was smashed to the ground like a rag doll. Fissures in the earth broke open as did his bones.

Farlier coughed on his own spit as his mind grew hazy. His ears rang from the shock, and his body screamed in pain.

"Farlier!" Ariel and Repoire both gasped.

They rushed to help the man, but a single gaze from the Ghost Union Kraken froze them in their steps.

BOOM BOOM!

Two consecutive sonic booms shook the sky as the Ghost Union Kraken whipped two of its tentacles.

A bloody gash appeared on both Ariel and Repoire's chests and they were sent flying.

"6.9-stars!" Repoire gasped for air as blood pooled at the back of his throat. "Just how?!"

"How is it so powerful?"

Ariel slammed into a distant building just as she muttered that.

"I thought we were dealing with a 4-star Gate Overflow!"

She groaned and let out a complaint.

As she struggled to get up, she saw two people looking at her in shock.

One was a little girl about the age of 12 with brown hair and crimson eyes. And the other was a seductive lady with green hair and green eyes. They were both dressed in long cloaks that hid their bodies. It was likely that they wore their hoods when they went out as well.

Ariel gave them a tired smile.

"It is best if you two find another place to stay."

And then she left by summoning a new disc of light, leaving behind a ruined hotel room.

Rie couldn't help but cough. The dust that littered the air had gotten into her lungs.

Blaze coughed too.

They had hastily dived to the side just milliseconds before Ariel landed next to them. They avoided heavy injuries by sheer luck and reaction time.

"Are you sure that Ghost Union Kraken is just at 6-stars?" Blaze asked, a crooked smile on her lips.

"I'm positive it is not at 7-stars at least," Rie answered with an innocent tilt of her head. "Come, let us ask reception to give us a new room."

Rie beckoned to Blaze as she turned around.

"There's something interesting underground."

.

.

.

Blaze was unsummoned from beside Rie and made to appear next to a pale-lipped Magnus.

She held out a palm-sized flame to bring light to the darkness.

"Hey," Magnus nodded.

"H-hey…" Blaze scanned the teen before her.

There were no visible injuries but he had pale skin and strands of white hair. He also had bags under his bloodshot eyes as if he had stayed several nights awake and void of slumber.

"…Success?" Blaze asked.

"Success. My Spirit Attributes should be about 0.3-stars right now though…" Magnus replied with a sly smile. "The Soul Devourer Art has undergone a change. It has adapted to its new prey."

"You can eat ghosts freely now, right?" Blaze asked.

Magnus hummed a yes.

"Enough about me though." Magnus then gestured at the distant rocky wall behind him, "Look around you."

Blaze complied, and she was astonished to discover a peculiar sight as she directed balls of flame to illuminate the area.

It was peculiar because it was hard to explain.

"These walls should have been buildings in the past," Blaze touched the nearest wall of stone. Dust fell at the provocation of her fingertips.

"And these roads should have been buried by all the soil above us." Blaze's eyes narrowed.

"Something must have carved out the roads after this place was buried." Magnus kicked at the dirt at his feet. "It snaked around the more solid buildings and dug only at the weaker rock that had been crafted out of hardened soil many years ago."

Blaze continued the thought, "But now it's all solid rock… why is that?"

Magnus shrugged, "I don't know."

"Then let's look for the answer. I'm curious." Blaze walked forward, leading Magnus through the street-like caves.

"…Do we really?" Magnus groaned, "I'm more keen on completing my Trial by finding the Gate that caused all this… Oh hey! Wait up!"

.

.

.

"Look at these markings, do these look natural to you?" Blaze shone her light at a few markings on the wall as she asked Magnus this question for the nth time.

Her eyes glittered with so much of the light of adventure, that Magnus had to resist snuffing it all out.

He could do so for sure, but he did not feel the need to at this moment. It was not like her hatred for him and Klaris that would be inherently detrimental, after all.

"Ughh," Nonetheless, Magnus groaned in complaint. "It looks normal to me…"

His voice suddenly trailed. Magnus squinted as he scrutinized the weird image shown to him.

It looked like some sort of writing. Some language.

It was imprinted onto a building's wall, right above a preserved yet shattered glass window.

It seemed to be some sort of signage now.

"Run this image through Rie." He suddenly said. "I know it's a stretch, but it's worth a try."

Blaze then sent the relevant memories through the Hivemind. After a short moment of awkward silence, Rie's reply came.

[ It's reminiscent of a monster's language and writing. ] She spoke through the Hivemind. [ As for what kind of monster? I don't know. I did not get any information on it. The MagiNet has nothing about it as well. ]

"I see. Thanks," Magnus mumbled, sending his thoughts through the Hivemind in reply.

A ghost suddenly appeared in front of Blaze's face at this moment.

"Ah!" Blaze yelped, sending a small, concentrated fireball out of her palm and annihilating the ghost in a short moment.

"These ghosts keep appearing at the most shocking of times. It's getting annoying." Blaze took in a deep breath. "It also feels like the frequency of their appearance has grown."

"Could that mean that we're getting closer to the Gate?" Magnus' eyes shone, "Perfect."

Blaze shrugged, "Perhaps. Don't get too excited now. Come on, let's continue."

After carefully walking through the shattered glass window, the two found themselves in a spacious, carved-out room.

Blaze could tell that it was carved out since the shape was irregular. There was a slope to the ground, and the walls were circular. Curved. Albeit not perfectly.

Creating rooms of circles inside a building that should have square-filled architecture. This was definitely the work of beings different from the building's first builders.

—Criek!

A sudden sound.

Magnus and Blaze froze in their steps.

"Did you hear that?" Blaze asked in a whisper.

"Yeah. A mouse squeaking or a door creaking. I can't put my finger on which one exactly. It sounded like half of each..." Magnus relished in the feeling of suspense, "What do you think it is?"

"I think it's the monster." Blaze replied. "Come on!"

Thus, one truth-seeker and one thrill-seeker crouched down and advanced through the circular room slowly.

Their small wisp of light was all that helped them in their advance.

Blaze pursed her lips, suddenly realising the danger she might be in.

"I… I am not fond of this setup," She spoke, putting more strength into the flame on her palm.

The temperature in the area rose, but so did the flame's brightness.

"Let's keep going!" Magnus was now the delighted one. He wasn't as bored as he was previously.

"I can feel it. The monster is about to strike."