Chapter 610 Abyssal Screechers
The words lingered in the air long after Tatiana finished speaking.
Neither Liam nor Mary said anything immediately.
The cave had become so silent that the only sounds remaining were their own breathing and the occasional scrape of their boots against the uneven stone floor. The little orb of light floating above Mary’s shoulder continued to illuminate the tunnel ahead, but its warm glow only seemed to make the surrounding darkness feel even deeper.
Liam slowly lowered his gaze to the ground once more.
His eyes carefully followed the dusty cave floor stretching into the darkness.
Then he quietly spoke.
"...Twenty beasts passed through here."
He crouched down, running two fingers lightly across the thin layer of dust blanketing the stone.
"And yet..."
He held up his clean fingertips.
"...there isn’t a single track."
Mary frowned.
Tatiana also looked down.
Now that Liam pointed it out again, it became impossible to ignore.
The floor should have been covered in marks.
Even if the creatures had been careful, twenty different beasts moving through such a narrow tunnel would’ve disturbed the dust.
There should have been footprints.
Claw marks.
Drag marks.
Anything.
Instead...
Nothing.
Only the three sets of footprints they themselves had made since entering the tunnel.
Liam slowly stood again.
His attention drifted away from the floor and toward the cave walls.
He hadn’t paid much attention to them while chasing Gregor, but now something else caught his eye.
"The cave gets darker the deeper we go."
Mary nodded.
"Because there are fewer crystals."
"Exactly."
Liam stepped closer to one section of the wall.
His fingers brushed against the rough stone before stopping over several oddly shaped cavities carved into the rock.
"They didn’t disappear naturally."
Tatiana looked over.
"What do you mean?"
Liam pointed toward one of the empty hollows.
"Look carefully."
Both women stepped closer.
At first, neither of them noticed anything unusual.
Then...
Tatiana’s eyes widened.
"...These are crystal beds."
Liam nodded.
"They’ve been dug out."
Every few metres, the cave wall contained similar empty sockets where glowing crystals had once grown naturally before being forcibly removed.
Some of the cavities still contained tiny fragments of blue crystal embedded within the stone, making it obvious that something hadn’t simply broken them.
They had been deliberately extracted.
Tatiana slowly looked farther down the tunnel.
The deeper the passage extended...
The fewer remaining crystals she could see.
Almost every natural light source had been removed.
"It’s almost like..."
She paused.
"...whatever lives down here..."
"...hates the light."
A smile slowly spread across Liam’s face.
He snapped his fingers once.
"Brilliant."
Tatiana blinked.
"Huh?"
Liam immediately turned toward Mary.
"Can you make your light brighter?"
Mary looked up at the floating orb.
"I think so."
"Good."
Liam pointed deeper into the darkness.
"Then make it as bright as you possibly can."
"And throw it."
Mary immediately understood.
Her expression shifted from confusion to realization.
"If they prefer darkness..."
"...they won’t appreciate light."
Liam grinned.
"Exactly."
Without wasting another second, Mary raised both hands toward the glowing orb hovering above her shoulder.
She closed her eyes.
Mana quietly gathered around her fingertips.
The little sphere began expanding.
Slowly at first.
Then much faster.
The warm golden light intensified until the entire tunnel became almost as bright as daylight.
The shadows disappeared.
Every crack in the stone walls became clearly visible.
Even the smallest fragments of crystal reflected the brilliant light back across the cave.
Tatiana instinctively shielded her eyes.
"...That’s bright."
Mary smiled faintly.
"I’m not done yet."
More mana poured into the spell.
The orb doubled in size once again.
Its warm golden glow became almost blinding.
The oppressive darkness surrounding them retreated rapidly as the light flooded farther and farther into the cave.
Liam looked ahead.
"Perfect."
Mary inhaled deeply.
Then thrust both hands forward.
The enormous orb shot down the tunnel.
It floated rapidly through the darkness like a miniature sun, illuminating every inch of the passage as it travelled deeper into the cave.
For one brief second...
Nothing happened.
Then...
The cave erupted.
"SKRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!"
Another shrill cry echoed through the darkness.
It was immediately followed by another.
And another.
Then dozens.
"SKREEEEEEEE!!"
"SKRRRRAAAAAAA!!"
The deafening chorus reverberated through the tunnel from every direction.
Unlike before, however, these cries weren’t focused.
They sounded...
Panicked.
Angry.
The brilliant light continued advancing deeper into the cave.
Something stirred beyond it.
Then the darkness exploded.
Dozens of black figures burst from the depths of the tunnel all at once.
Their movements were unbelievably fast.
Each one flew through the air using long, writhing tentacles that lashed against the cave walls to propel them forward. Their pale humanoid torsos twisted unnaturally while their vertical mouths opened wide, revealing endless rows of needle-like teeth.
Six white eyes reflected the light with obvious hostility.
They looked exactly like the creature Liam had killed moments earlier.
Only now...
There wasn’t one.
There were many.
Tatiana’s eyes narrowed.
She counted almost instinctively.
"...Twenty."
A grin slowly appeared on her face.
"I knew it."
The creatures screeched furiously as they rushed toward the light, their movements frantic and aggressive.
The one flying at the very front suddenly opened its grotesque mouth wider than the others.
The flesh around its throat vibrated violently.
Liam immediately recognised what was coming.
"Mary."
"I know."
Before the creature could unleash its attack, Mary slammed one hand onto the cave floor.
A glowing magic circle instantly expanded around all three of them.
Ancient runes formed a transparent dome of shimmering mana.
"Sanctuary of Silence."
The spell had barely finished forming when...
"SKRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!"
The sonic blast slammed directly into the barrier.
Instead of piercing into their minds as before, the attack rippled harmlessly across the glowing dome, sending waves of light dancing over its surface.
The barrier trembled.
But it held.
Tatiana slowly lowered the arm she had instinctively raised to protect herself.
"...Nice."
Mary smiled without taking her eyes off the approaching swarm.
"I wasn’t planning on falling for the same trick twice."
The protective barrier gradually faded.
By then...
The creatures had already closed most of the distance.
Twenty grotesque predators surged through the air together, filling the narrow tunnel with a sea of writhing tentacles and shrill cries.
Liam cracked his neck.
Tatiana rolled her shoulders.
The two exchanged a single glance.
Then...
Both of them smiled.
Liam slowly licked his lips.
"Now..."
His fingers curled into fists.
"...this is more like it."
Liam planted one foot forward, the corner of his lips lifting into an eager grin as the swarm descended upon them. The tunnel instantly became a blur of writhing tentacles and shrill cries. Twenty pairs of pale eyes reflected Mary’s floating orb, making it look as though dozens of ghosts were charging through the darkness.
The first creature reached them in the blink of an eye.
Its tentacles shot forward like whips, each one tipped with tiny hooked barbs capable of tearing flesh apart.
Liam didn’t move.
He simply waited.
The instant the tentacles entered his reach, his hand shot out.
Smack!
His fingers wrapped around one of them.
The creature screeched in panic.
Before it could pull away, Liam spun on his heel with frightening speed.
The beast suddenly became a living weapon.
Its body smashed violently into two others rushing from the side.
Boom!
The three creatures crashed into the cave wall together, sending crystal fragments flying everywhere.
Before any of them could recover, Liam appeared beside them.
His fist came down like a hammer.
Bang!
The first skull exploded.
He twisted his body without losing momentum.
Bang!
The second creature lost its head as well.
The third tried to crawl away using its remaining tentacles, but Liam stepped on one of them.
Crunch!
The tentacle burst beneath his foot.
The beast let out a desperate shriek.
"You should’ve kept running."
Liam grabbed its upper body with one hand.
Then squeezed.
Crack!
Its entire torso collapsed inward before he casually threw the corpse aside.
Three dead.
The remaining monsters hesitated.
Only for a heartbeat.
Then all at once they screamed again.
"SKRRRREEEEEEEEECH!"
The cave trembled beneath the combined sonic attack.
Invisible waves rushed toward the three humans like a tsunami.
Mary had already anticipated it.
She thrust both hands forward.
"Barrier of Echoes!"
A second magic circle expanded before them.
The sound slammed against it with enough force to send visible ripples across the translucent shield.
The barrier shook violently.
Small cracks of light appeared along its surface.
Mary gritted her teeth.
"So... much stronger together..."
Sweat rolled down her forehead as she poured more mana into maintaining the spell.
Behind the barrier, Liam glanced sideways.
"Can you hold it?"
Mary didn’t look away.
"For a little while."
"That’s enough."
Beside him, Tatiana had already transformed.
Her fingernails lengthened into razor-sharp claws.
Silver fur spread across parts of her arms while her crimson eyes glowed brighter than ever.
A savage smile appeared on her face.
"I’ve been waiting."
The barrier shattered.
Not because it failed.
Because Mary dismissed it herself.
The moment it vanished...
Tatiana disappeared.
Boom!
The cave floor cracked beneath where she had been standing.
One second later she crashed into the middle of the swarm.
Her claws flashed through the air.
Slash!
One creature’s chest split open.
Before its body even hit the ground, she grabbed another by its throat.
The beast tried opening its mouth for another sonic attack.
Tatiana didn’t give it the chance.
She drove her claws upward through the underside of its jaw.
The claws burst out from the top of its skull.
Blood sprayed across the tunnel.
She ripped her arm free with brutal force before spinning around.
A tentacle wrapped around her waist.
Another grabbed her ankle.
A third lunged toward her neck.
The creatures had learned.
If they restrained her first...
She couldn’t move.
Unfortunately for them...
They had forgotten one important detail.
Tatiana wasn’t alone.
Whoosh!
A blur flew past her shoulder.
Liam.
His elbow smashed into one creature’s face.
Its head folded backward unnaturally.
Before gravity even noticed, he caught another monster by both legs and slammed it into the ceiling.
Boom!
The impact echoed throughout the cave.
The entire upper body burst apart, showering black slime onto the remaining beasts below.
Tatiana laughed.
"I was handling them!"
Liam ducked beneath another tentacle.
"I know."
He drove an uppercut into the attacker’s chin.
"...I’m just making it easier."
The creature left the ground completely.
Before it reached the ceiling...
Liam jumped after it.
His knee buried itself into its chest.
Crack!
Its ribs caved inward.
He grabbed its arm in midair.
Twisted.
Ripped it clean off.
Then threw the mutilated corpse straight into another cluster rushing from deeper inside the cave.
Bodies collided.
Tentacles tangled.
The entire swarm briefly descended into chaos.
Mary stared in disbelief.
"I don’t even..."
"...they’re treating Mid Spawn beasts like toys."
She quickly regained focus.
Several creatures had ignored Liam and Tatiana entirely.
Instead, they charged directly toward her.
She raised one hand.
"Chains of Lumina."
Golden magic circles appeared beneath three of the incoming beasts.
Chains made entirely of light erupted from the ground, wrapping tightly around their tentacles.
The monsters screeched furiously as they struggled.
"Liam!"
"I saw."
He didn’t even turn around.
With one kick he launched the corpse beneath his feet across the tunnel.
The flying body smashed directly into the restrained creatures.
Boom!
All four were crushed against the cave wall simultaneously.
The wall itself cracked.
Blue crystal shards rained onto the floor.
Only nine beasts remained.
They had finally begun understanding something.
The humans weren’t trapped with them.
They were trapped with the humans.
Several started retreating.
Tatiana noticed immediately.
"They’re running!"
Liam smiled.
"I noticed."
One of the beasts suddenly climbed onto the cave ceiling, using its tentacles to race across the stone at unbelievable speed.
Another followed.
Then another.
Within seconds, the remaining creatures scattered in every direction, trying to disappear into the countless branching tunnels.
Liam sighed.
"I hate chasing."
His body blurred.
Dragon Step.
Boom!
The air exploded behind him.
He vanished.
A heartbeat later...
Bang!
The first fleeing creature burst apart.
Another sonic scream echoed deeper inside the cave.
Then stopped abruptly.
Bang!
Another corpse fell from the ceiling.
Tatiana wasn’t about to lose.
She pushed off the ground with monstrous force.
Her claws dug into the cave wall as she sprinted sideways instead of forward, chasing two creatures along the vertical surface itself.
One looked back just in time to see her smiling.
"Oh..."
"...you noticed me."
Her claws swept once.
Both creatures were cut cleanly in half before they even reached the next tunnel.
The remaining beasts abandoned all thoughts of fighting.
They fled blindly into the darkness.
Liam and Tatiana exchanged one amused glance.
Then both disappeared after them.
Within moments, the cave became filled with nothing but terrified shrieks... followed one after another by the dull, sickening sound of bodies hitting the ground.