Taboo Online

More strands rose along the wall. Luke knocked two aside while Lauren stepped closer instead of retreating. A third struck his shoulder and tore through the damaged cloth, sending cold pain beneath his skin before he ripped it away.

"Luke."

"I’m fine."

"You are becoming less convincing each time."

"I can still move."

"That was not my concern, but it will have to be enough."

More droplets gathered along the barrier. Luke tightened his grip on the spear while Lauren reached for his free hand.

"Let me show you."

Purple light flashed across his vision, changing the dead root wall before him. Three dark knots appeared among the tangled wood. One pulsed near the floor, another sat several feet above his head, and the third hid deep on the right beneath a narrow split in the bark.

A fourth shape flickered behind them. It was larger than the others and wound around a thick support root curving across the ceiling.

Lauren released his hand. The marks remained in Luke’s memory, though he could no longer see them.

"The order matters," she said. "The lower knot feeds the upper one, while the knot on the right feeds both."

"So right, lower, upper."

"No. If you destroy the right knot first, the larger one will draw mana from the supports. The ceiling collapses in most of the futures I saw."

"Most?"

"In the others, it collapses after your second strike."

"Right. Worse."

Lauren pointed toward the upper knot. "Upper first, then lower. The one on the right must be last."

Luke studied the distances. The upper target was nearly twelve feet above him. He could reach it with Arcane Thrust, but the lower knot sat close to the ground, and the last one hid behind several layers of bark.

"I could hit them separately," he said.

"They would have time to rebuild."

Luke looked at her. "I was expecting you to call that the safer choice."

"It would be safer for us." Lauren turned her face toward the dark passage beyond the wall. "It would also waste time the village may not have."

Another tremor passed through the roots. Faint pain and anger traveled with it, followed by a golden pulse that weakened before reaching them.

Lauren’s breath caught.

"Someone connected to the Heartroot is fighting ahead," she said. "We have to move."

Luke considered using Rapid Magic Flurry.

"I can use the new skill."

"Then use it."

He hesitated. "That was fast."

Lauren turned toward him. "You explained what you did, and I felt your battle end through the roots. I know what you can do."

"You trust the skill?"

"I trust you."

Luke’s grip tightened around the spear.

Lauren reached for his hand again. "I will show you the pattern, hold the tunnel, and warn you if the final knot moves. You will destroy them."

"You make it sound easy."

"It is not easy." Her fingers closed around his. "It is necessary."

Another golden pulse traveled weakly through the roots.

"Lethariel cannot wait," Lauren said. "Use it, Luke."

Exhausted or not, Luke suddenly felt ready to tear the whole wall apart.

He nodded. "Then tell me what to hit."

Her mouth curved faintly. "That sounds more like you."

The wall shuddered as dark mana moved between the three outer knots. Black strands thickened and spread along the ceiling.

Lauren studied them for several seconds. "Rapid Magic Flurry cannot change targets once you begin."

Luke frowned. "How do you know?"

"I saw what happens if the final knot shifts after your first strike."

"And?"

"You hit a support root."

The ceiling cracked above them, and small pieces of soil fell through the dead branches.

"What makes it shift?"

"Damage to the lower knot."

"So after I hit the upper and lower ones, the final target moves."

"Yes."

"Then the skill will follow the original location."

"Unless you account for the movement before you begin."

Luke examined the narrow split on the right. "How far does it move?"

"Less than two feet, deeper and slightly upward."

"I can turn with the strike and follow it."

Lauren nodded. "That is what I saw in the clearest successful future."

Luke glanced at her. "How many successful futures were there?"

"Enough for this to work."

"That isn’t an answer."

"It is the answer you are getting."

Despite everything, he almost smiled.

Lauren stepped closer and pressed her palm against the tunnel floor. The veins beneath her hand glowed faintly.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked.

"Asking the Heartroot to reinforce the living supports."

"Can it?"

"For a few seconds. You will have to make those seconds enough."

Green light traveled through the floor as the surviving roots answered her connection and tightened around the dead ones.

Lauren’s breathing grew heavier, but her voice remained steady.

"Luke."

He raised his spear. "I’m ready."

"Upper first, then lower, then right. Follow the last one when it retreats."

Luke ran through the order one last time.

Rapid Magic Flurry gathered Arcane energy around the spearhead. The power felt different from an ordinary Arcane Thrust. Instead of building toward one impact, it divided into three narrow currents waiting for him to move.

The black strands attacked, but Luke moved first.

His spear shot upward and pierced the bark covering the highest knot. Arcane energy burst through it, destroying the dark pulse before the skill dragged his arms down into the second strike.

The spear drove into the knot near the floor. The instant it broke, the final target retreated deeper into the wall.

"Up and right!" Lauren called.

Luke turned with the motion and allowed the skill to carry the spear across his body. The point entered the narrow split and followed the moving knot through two layers of dead wood.

The final current released, destroying all three knots in less than a second.

The corrupted roots tore apart with a long, splintering shriek. Black liquid exploded between them while the living supports beneath Lauren’s hand tightened around the tunnel.

The hidden fourth knot twisted around the ceiling root and pulled hard enough to split the bark.

"There!" Lauren shouted.