Free Web NovelChapter 235: The Guiding Light
Shima stared at him as though he had completely lost his mind.
"...The hell?" she blurted out. "How are we supposed to bring down a huge Voidspawn when we can’t even see the damn thing? I mean, you’re the only one who can see it!"
Ruvian’s expression remained calm. "Don’t worry," he said. "We just need to lead. If there is no light to guide us... we’ll become one."
Shima fell silent.
She frowned, unable to make sense of what he meant.
After a brief pause, Ruvian looked at her.
"We’ll split the roles," he said calmly. "You won’t have to worry about seeing in the dark. I’ll be your eyes, and you’ll be my sword. All I need to know is... can you keep up?"
A confident grin spread across her face. "You’re seriously asking me that?" She scoffed. "Speed’s the one thing I’m confident at. So yeah... lead the damn way."
Ruvian smiled.
Without another word, mana flowed through his body, as he cast [Body Enhancement]. His muscles tensed as strength coursed through every limb.
The next instant, he exploded forward.
The dim forest blurred around them.
Still holding Shima by the wrist, Ruvian sprinted straight toward the colossal silhouette. The pale purplish glow surrounding her falchion streaked through the darkness like a lone beacon.
In front of them, the enormous creature stopped searching. Then, it turned. Its massive head slowly locked onto the only visible light within the endless black.
A deep rumble echoed through the forest.
It had found them.
"There it is," Ruvian muttered.
The beast suddenly lunged.
BOOOOM!
A gigantic limb crashed into the ground where they had been earlier. Earth erupted skyward as broken stone exploded in every direction.
Ruvian never slowed.
With a sharp pull, he dragged Shima sideways, narrowly slipping past the expanding crater before accelerating once more.
Another attack descended.
A second devastating blow pulverized a cluster of ancient trees, reducing thick trunks to flying debris as a violent shockwave swept across the forest floor.
Shima grit her teeth.
"...Fuck, I don’t know what’s happening but surely, from the sound of it, this thing hits like a mountain! You better not get hit!"
"Say less."
Ruvian remained completely focused.
His eyes never left the towering silhouette ahead. Through the limited vision granted by [Night Vision], he carefully tracked every shift of its enormous body before each attack.
"Left." he said.
Without hesitation, Shima followed. The two of them swerved together just as another crushing strike slammed into the earth beside them.
BOOM!!
Fragments of stone rained through the air.
"Now, jump."
Both of them leaped over a fractured ridge an instant before the beast’s sweeping limb tore across the ground behind them, flattening everything in its path. Despite its overwhelming strength, the creature failed to land a single hit.
Ruvian suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"Shima."
"...Yeah?"
"When I give the order where to strike—"
His grip around her wrist tightened.
"—you strike."
Shima’s expression sharpened. She adjusted her grip around the lightning-wreathed falchion and gave a firm nod.
"..Heh. Say less." (+300PP)
*****
[Yerin’s POV]
Yerin slowly opened her eyes.
A sharp pain spread across her back as she pushed herself off the shattered remains of earth. Dust clung to her clothes, while the ringing inside her ears had yet to completely fade.
She clenched her jaw.
’I... I was careless.’
As the leader, she had been responsible for everyone. Yet she had failed to notice the incoming attack until it was already upon them. Their shelter had collapsed in an instant, scattering the entire squad.
If not for Ruvian’s decisive thinking...
If he hadn’t immediately cast [Wind Barrier] before the impact...
A chill ran down her spine.
The outcome would have been far worse. They might have suffered grievous injuries, perhaps even been eliminated on the very first night of the trial.
Yerin slowly exhaled.
’Enough.’
Beating herself up would accomplish nothing. The only thing that mattered now was finding the others. Steadying herself, she rose to her feet and scanned the suffocating darkness surrounding her.
"..."
But she saw nothing.
The unnatural darkness swallowed everything beyond arm’s reach. Even the sound seemed strangely muffled.
’Not good. How am I supposed to find them in this...?’
Then, out of nowhere, a faint purplish glow flickered within the oppressive darkness.
Yerin’s eyes widened.
"...Lightning?"
She recognized it immediately; it was Shima’s spell. For a brief moment, relief washed over her. But that relief quickly turned into confusion.
’But... what is she doing?’
The glow wasn’t remaining still; it darted through the darkness at incredible speed before abruptly changing direction, only to flash again moments later.
Then...
BOOOM!
A deafening impact shook the forest.
The lightning flared once more; this time, for the briefest instant, the violent flash illuminated a massive surface before disappearing back into the darkness.
Yerin’s pupils contracted.
Another flash.
And because of that, different sections of the creature’s enormous body appeared for less than a second before vanishing again.
Then another one, again and again.
Her breathing gradually slowed.
’Could it be...? Can Shima actually see in the dark?’
For a brief moment, Yerin wondered if Shima possessed some way of perceiving her surroundings despite the pitch-black darkness. It was the only explanation that made sense, considering she was matching the beast’s movements and trading blows with it.
But that wasn’t supposed to be possible.
As the squad leader, Yerin had spent time studying every member of her team. She had learned their strengths, weaknesses, habits, and combat styles. If Shima possessed an ability to see through complete darkness, Yerin should have known about it.
Unless she had somehow overlooked it.
After all, judging by what she was seeing, Shima was holding her own surprisingly well.
None of Shima’s swings were random.
Every burst of lightning briefly revealed another part of the monster’s colossal frame. Its shoulder, one of its limbs, the outline of its towering torso — piece by piece, the flashes painted the creature’s shape inside her mind.
She understood immediately what Shima was doing. And so, Yerin silently memorized every glimpse. By the time the next flash faded, she no longer needed to see the whole creature; she could already picture it.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"...Thank you, Shima."
Without another thought, Yerin drew her own blade, and flowed her mana into the weapon. A moment later, crimson flames blossomed along its edge, burning brightly against the endless darkness.
If Shima had become a beacon to guide the others...
Then she should do the same.
*****
[Ruvian’s POV]
Ruvian landed several metres away from the colossal beast. Both of them steadied themselves after weaving through the relentless barrage of attacks.
Shima lowered her lightning-wreathed falchion, keeping the crackling blade at her side as she glanced toward the darkness where the enormous creature still stood.
"...Did it do any damage to the beast?"
Ruvian kept his eyes fixed on the monstrous silhouette.
"I don’t think so much, but..."
His mind replayed the brief exchange from moments earlier.
When Shima’s lightning-infused falchion had struck the creature, the flash had illuminated the point of impact for only an instant. It was far too brief for most people to notice anything beyond the slash itself.
Yet, aided by his enhanced vision, Ruvian had caught a fleeting detail.
The wound had ignited.
Not for long; the flames had vanished almost as quickly as they appeared. Even so, that brief spark had exposed something beneath the creature’s outer layer.
A striking resemblance to weathered timber.
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"...I could be mistaken, but I think we’ve found its weakness."
Shima glanced at him.
"...What is it?"
"Fire."
His gaze never left the colossal figure.
"If what I saw was real, then this creature isn’t entirely made of flesh. At the very least, part of its body seems to be composed of wood."
Ruvian continued observing the colossal silhouette in the distance. If the creature’s weakness truly was fire... then, there was only one person who could make full use of that discovery.
At the same time, Shima turned toward him.
The two of them spoke almost simultaneously.
"Yerin."
Shima nodded.
"...We need her."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Ruvian’s lips.
"Well, the good thing is..."
His gaze shifted past the towering beast.
"...she already saw us."
Far beyond the creature, a faint crimson glow emerged from the darkness. It was dim compared to Shima’s lightning, yet unmistakable all the same. Flames coiled around a sword as its owner advanced at remarkable speed, heading straight toward them.
Shima let out a sigh of relief.
Then, before either of them could say another word....
"I knew it was you, shorty!"
A familiar voice rang out from behind.
Both of them turned just in time to see Arlok’s silhouette emerge from the darkness, a broad grin plastered across his face as he jogged over.
"Took you long enough, muscle head." Shima shot back with a smirk.
Then, a second figure soon appeared several paces behind him.
"T-thank goodness it was you, Shima," Horren said between uneven breaths. "I was scared that it was an enemy... W-wait... is that you, Ruvian?"
Ruvian glanced toward him.
"You can see in the dark, Horren?"
Horren hurriedly shook his head.
"Ah, n-no, I can’t. But... I can somehow tell when we’re close... or, um... it’s more like I can feel it."
’Feel? What does he mean by that?’
But before Ruvian could question him further....
A crimson streak descended from above.
Boom!
A silhouette landed lightly a few metres away, knees bent to absorb the impact. Embers scattered across the ground as the flames surrounding her sword continued to burn steadily.
Yerin stood up and rested the blazing blade against her shoulder before looking around at the gathered squad.
"...Am I the last one?"
Ruvian nodded.
"Yeah. You’re the last one...."
A faint smile appeared on his face as he turned his gaze back toward the colossal beast looming within the darkness.
"...And your flame is the crucial key to bringing that thing down, Yerin." (+200PP)
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[Chapter 235: The Guiding Light]
Plot Points= 19,620
