Free Web NovelCHAPTER 16 — EYES IN THE DARK
No one moved.
The battlefield remained frozen in an uneasy silence as the Mountain Behemoth disappeared into the crystal forest.
The soldiers of the Holy Empire lowered their bows, unsure whether they had witnessed a miracle... or a greater danger.
Lady Helena never took her eyes off Vespera.
"You freed it."
"I did."
"It would have killed my soldiers."
Vespera shook her head.
"No."
"You made it fight."
The words lingered in the air.
For a brief moment, neither ruler nor commander spoke.
Then a deep vibration rolled beneath the valley.
The ground trembled.
Not with the steady rhythm of marching soldiers.
With something else.
Something ancient.
The System erupted into view.
────────────────────────
Critical Warning
Unknown Apex Entity Detected.
Location:
Directly Above Sanctuary.
Threat Level:
Catastrophic.
Recommendation:
All factions should retreat immediately.
────────────────────────
Vespera looked upward.
She saw nothing.
Only darkness hanging over the crystal-lit valley.
Darius did.
His expression hardened.
"Everyone inside the walls."
"Now."
The authority in his voice sent defenders scrambling.
Even Lady Helena ordered her troops into formation.
"What do you see?" she demanded.
Darius drew a slow breath.
"Death."
The darkness moved.
At first it looked like a shifting shadow.
Then dozens of crimson eyes opened at once.
A gigantic body detached itself from the cavern ceiling.
Its limbs were impossibly long.
Its black shell absorbed the light of the crystals.
Where it walked, the stone itself withered.
The refugees screamed.
Lirael's face turned pale.
"No..."
"It's one of its hunters."
The creature released a shrill cry that echoed through every corridor of the Abyss.
The System identified it.
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Abyss Stalker
Classification:
Herald of the Devourer.
Objective:
Locate and Mark Prey.
────────────────────────
"It isn't here to kill us," Darius said quietly.
"It's here to find us."
The Stalker lunged.
Not toward the sanctuary.
Toward Vespera.
She transformed into her Abyssal form in a swirl of black mist, her tail propelling her clear of the creature's claws.
Stone exploded where she had stood.
Darius intercepted with a single sweeping strike.
His blade carved across the Stalker's shell.
Sparks flew.
The creature barely slowed.
"It's adapting," he growled.
Lirael raised her hand.
Ancient elven runes circled her fingertips.
A spear of light shot forward and struck the creature's side.
It hissed.
Not wounded.
Annoyed.
"Don't fight its armor!" Darius shouted.
"It has one weakness."
"What is it?" Vespera called as she dodged another attack.
"The eyes."
Simple.
Dangerous.
Vespera waited.
The Stalker struck again.
At the last instant she coiled around a crystal pillar, using it to launch herself high into the air.
For one heartbeat...
Its crimson eyes aligned beneath her.
She drove both claws downward.
The nearest eye burst in a spray of black ichor.
The Stalker shrieked.
The sound made every soldier cover their ears.
The monster staggered backward.
Then, unexpectedly...
It fled.
It vanished into the darkness from which it had come.
Silence returned.
Too quickly.
The System chimed.
────────────────────────
Battle Complete.
Enemy Repelled.
Reward:
+420 Experience
+140 Essence
New Information Acquired.
Heralds avoid unnecessary death.
Primary Mission:
Observation.
────────────────────────
Vespera frowned.
"It wasn't trying to win."
Darius nodded grimly.
"It learned."
"And now..."
"...the Devourer knows exactly where you are."
Lady Helena slowly approached the sanctuary gates. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Her sword remained sheathed.
"I don't understand you."
She looked from Vespera to the frightened refugees gathered behind the walls.
"My orders say monsters spread ruin."
She glanced toward the destroyed battlefield.
"But today..."
"You protected my soldiers."
"You freed a beast we enslaved."
"And whatever that thing was..."
"It attacked you before anyone else."
Vespera answered honestly.
"I'm still trying to understand it myself."
Lady Helena was silent for a long time.
Finally, she removed the golden crest from her cloak.
She handed it to one of her officers.
"Signal a temporary withdrawal."
"My Lady?"
"If that creature returns while we're fighting each other..."
"There won't be an Empire left to defend."
The war horns sounded.
One by one, the imperial ranks began to retreat from the sanctuary.
Not in defeat.
In caution.
As the last soldiers disappeared into the crystal forest, Darius remained staring into the darkness above.
"He'll come now."
"Who?" Vespera asked.
"The Devourer?"
Darius slowly shook his head.
"Worse."
"The one who commands its Heralds."
Before Vespera could ask another question, the Sanctuary Core pulsed.
A hidden chamber beneath the Council Hall unlocked with a deep metallic rumble.
The System appeared one final time.
────────────────────────
New Area Unlocked
Royal Archive
Requirement:
The First Royal Key Detected.
Hidden Records Await.
────────────────────────
Vespera looked back toward the sanctuary.
The answers she sought might finally be waiting below.
But somewhere in the endless Abyss...
Something had begun hunting the hunter.
End of Chapter 16
