Shadowbane

A loud crunch resounds as I step out of the hole. Looking down I see that some of the rain from earlier is starting to freeze.

It's that cold...? If the temperature keeps plummeting like this, the humans here are in for one hell of a rough time. Only the people in that tent looked like they were ready for freezing temps. In the corner, there was a bunch of equipment made mostly out of fur. Did they know this was going to happen?

As I begin my usual sprint to the hive I pray that I don't slip and smash my head into something.

The last thing I need is to waste my limited resources on healing... So far it feels like it's only pieces here and there turning to ice, but what about in the future? If it gets so cold that the water in that hole freezes over, I'm... Honestly not sure what will happen to me when I am forced back during the reset. It didn't matter till now since I can't feel the cold, but I might have to drain that hole if I want to play it safe.

Upon seeing the hive intact, I immediately pivot towards the village.

A shame I couldn't get a full read on those two girls. The redhead is clearly not gifted in enhancing speed or she would have sped up, resulting in me either losing limbs or wasting a lot of soul protecting myself. Escaping would've been even more difficult as well. She's either talented at strength or ability, hard to tell with how her ability works. They were shimmering in a blue aura but that tells me nothing, nor does it matter I guess? Either way, if they hit me I doubt I can defend myself. The tall girl had the gift of defense since her barrier was blocking physical attacks, and that's all I know. Her attack didn't land nor did I see her ability, so that's it for information regarding her.

A loud boom resounds in the distance, making the ground shake beneath my feet. Both I and the spiders to my right halted their charge in surprise.

What the hell was that? I'm still too far off to see the lights from the village, nor can I hear the bell, but whatever exploded shook me and the spiders to our core.

Together, both I and the spiders begin running again.

Maybe whatever blasted the wall had launched another attack? It would need to be on par with the Satyr to be releasing explosions that large though.

At first glance, the siege is almost playing out exactly the same as last time. The only difference is that both the gate far off to the left and the tower nearby full of archers is now empty. Something must've happened elsewhere that required the assistance of anyone not taking part in repelling the spiders.

Running around back to the other side I spot some tracks in the mud, running out of the broken wall towards the village far off in the distance.

Hmm... The person fleeing has a very large stride.

They're bleeding, or they are carrying something that is bleeding.

And the most surprising of all is that the blood is blue.

Blue blood huh... That's new. Not that I should be commenting on how strange someone else's blood is.

Walking through the hole in the wall, it instantly becomes clear where that explosion came from. The area near the makeshift barrier is completely obliterated.

There are homes in the way so I'm not certain yet, but I'd bet anything that it originated from where the tent was. So much for talking to that girl...

Upon reaching the annoyingly well-lit street, I see multiple people in priest garbs channeling on someone on the ground. Looks like some homes on the right side were also blown up from the inside.

The person being healed is the redhead from before. Both her legs are gone, along with her right arm. I can hear her crying out from here...

Also, it appears I was right, everything around the tent is gone and a large crater replaced it.

The tracks head into the crater, then come back out this way... I think I know who the tracks belong to, but the blue blood? That girl had blue hair, horns, and eyes. So it's most likely her. Does that mean the large woman somehow caused this explosion so she could kidnap the noble girl? She didn't give off the vibe of being that powerful though... I disabled her as easily as I would a civilian. She could be solely relying on her ability... That would explain why she attacked me with the grace of a grandma.

I may not know the girl with horns, but since I'm here I might as well try saving her. That's also what my master would want me to do.

Before that though...

I walk over to the Wendigo, leaning down over it while removing my aura.

It doesn't matter if they see me. They're busy trying to save the redhead anyway.

Devouring the soul, I reactivate my aura and sprint through the wall, following the tracks. Enhancing my right foot I launch myself forward, landing twenty-five yards ahead.

Thank god, that soul gave me enough maximum mana to do a quick speed jump every thirty or so seconds. It may not seem like much but it's going to help a lot considering how much ground I need to cover each reset.

The tracks quickly divert to the left.

Oh? I thought they were going to that pitch-black village over there, but apparently not.

Upon reaching the tree line they turn back to the right, running in the same direction as before.

Instead of going to the village, she actively avoided it huh? I'm curious about what's in there, but that's for another time.

After a few minutes, I came upon a long mark in the mud as if somebody dove into it and slid for several feet. To the side, there is a small human-sized shape sunk deep into the ground, along with a small puddle of blue blood around it.

... The moron slipped, dropping the girl in the process. But she has a good ten-minute head-start on me, so I'll happily accept any fuck-ups like these.

Restarting my pursuit, I finally catch a glimpse of her in the distance about five minutes later. I do one last blast forward.

From here on out I can't risk her hearing me...

Summoning the wooden sphere, I quickly shape it into a sword while imagining it as sharp as possible.

Someone with the gift of defense will always have their barrier activated in a situation like this, so there's that to contend with. If I can't pierce it, then I'll have to try hobbling her again.

Slowly but surely I catch up to her, to the point I can hear her gasping for breath.

That's actually understandable. Running in mud is by no means easy, and she's been doing it for at least twenty minutes while carrying someone.

Fifteen yards between us.

Twelve.

Eight.

Four.

I raise my sword, leveling it up towards her heart. It isn't easy while running and with her swaying all over, but I should at least be close...

She steadies herself. Seeing this I remove my aura, pushing the sword forward towards her heart. In response, the woman's whole body flies to the right, in the most unnatural way possible.

"What?!" We both say in unison.

It's the large woman as I expected, and she's staring up at me with a dumbfounded look. Probably the same look I have on my face.

A large thud resounds from ahead. About one hundred and fifty yards out a massive forty-foot-tall raven-like monster steps out of the trees. It's standing on two long feet, holding a staff in its right hand. It also appears to be wearing armor.

What the hell is this thing..?

"O-Oooh thank you, Lord Tengu!! I was wondering what just happened. You saved me from this harlot, didn't you?!" The woman says, face lighting up like a firework.

The Tengu raises its staff at me.

Oh shit... not good.

I activate my aura, preparing to run, but the Tengu lowers its staff back to where it was while looking into the sky.

"What's wrong my Lord?! Kill her already before she gets away!"

This action is indeed strange, but if the opportunity presents itself...

Dashing back over towards the girl, I stab yet again at her heart from behind, but it only smashes the woman's barrier into her back. A cracking sound popped out, so it at least did some damage.

"Agghh! Y-You mother..."

She stands up, throwing one of the slowest most pathetic kicks possible at me.

... Seriously?

I grab her leg with my right hand, punching down on her knee with an enhanced left fist, shattering her knee completely.

Screams erupt from the woman as she falls down.

"Enhance the barrier on your knee next time idiot. It wasn't even a fast punch, you could've easily blocked that with your gift..."

The woman whimpers a little, then starts whispering. "He...Heh...Hehehehe... Fine. If the Lord is going to abandon me then so be it."

She raises her hands, palm up in the channeling pose. One purple fleshy sphere appears in each hand. Behind her I see the blue-haired girl sit up, looking at me wide-eyed as she shakes her head back and forth. The intention behind her action is clear. I pick the sword back up, enhancing it this time, charging at the woman's chest again. If I have to burn through some of this soul then so be it.

"SEE YOU IN THE NEXT RESET BIT--!" The woman yells as the sword cleanly breaks her barrier and pierces through her chest.

The two spheres she's holding light up while expanding.

Ahh... So this is what blew up the tent and redhead.

The spheres launch high into the air, exploding deep into the dark sky.

What the?

Looking back at the Tengu, I see its left hand raised high above its head.

It saved us...?

Choosing not to wait to see if this Tengu creature is friendly now, I rip the woman's soul out and toss it down my throat while I dash over to the girl. I then pick her up and run back the way I came as fast as I can.

Shortly afterwards I hear a strange clinking noise behind me. Looking back I see a giant icicle ball forming in front of the Tengu.

Stopping, I put the girl on my knee and grab the wooden sword, tossing it slightly into the air behind us while imagining it as a wooden barrier. A seven-meter wide barrier appears, much to my great surprise.

There is no way in hell I have enough mana for that!

That's when I noticed the strange comforting sensation on my hand. The girl placed her right hand on my left, channeling her mana through me into the barrier.

Clever girl... Right, come to think of it, she did survive that explosion back in town. She must have some amazing defenses to have come out of that alive... But unfortunately she is caked in dried blood from her left shoulder down to her feet, so she couldn't defend against it all. The explosion must have come from below the tent. Those purple spheres gave off a massive mana signature though... So how the hell did she hide them?

My thoughts are interrupted by another explosion behind me. The land around us for hundreds of meters turns to ice, leading to the temperature spiking down even more. The girl in my arms starts to shiver.

"Hang on a little bit longer, it should be resetting soon."

The girl nods.

Leaving the barrier behind, I run towards the ice and put as much power as possible into my right foot, launching us straight forward onto the ice. As we land I drop to my knees, so we begin sliding over the ice.

Without permission not even a god can use telekinesis on someone, so he'll have to stop us with something else. Thinking about it now, ice was a rather surprising choice. Instead of killing us, he apparently wants to lock us down? Then again I guess it's not so strange when I consider the fact that he had that woman bring this girl to him alive.

Little bolts of lightning streak across my vision.

Uh oh, that is not good. Lightning is what I'm most resistant against, but I don't know if the girl can handle it.

The air itself starts to feel electrified, to the point where the girl's hair is beginning to look a little wild. Mine is probably the same.

A chorus of snapping, crackles, and pops resounds as the Tengu finishes casting the spell. Unfazed from the attack, I kick off the end of the ice and begin dashing through the mud again. While I'm sure that surprised the Tengu, I'm more surprised that this girl's barrier fended it off completely.

Reactivating my aura, I turn right heading straight into the trees.

Running out here in this long open stretch is a death sentence. If he loses his patience and blasts me with something like a meteor, there won't be anything I can do. He doesn't appear to want us dead, but why risk it?

I see the girl out of the corner of my eye staring at me wide-eyed.

"What's wrong?"

She mouths, {How?}

"Oh, the lightning? Yeah, I don't know why, but it's never really harmed me. You would need to strike me directly with a bolt to do some damage. But electrifying the air? Walk in the park."

For a few seconds, she just stares at me, before laughing and mouthing something else. It looked like she said {Weird girl}.

I keep running for about five minutes before diving behind a tree and peering out behind it to see if the Tengu is following us.

.....................

... Nothing? Is it really letting us go?

I have no illusions about that escape back there. If it wanted to stop us, it could have. It was purposely choosing non-lethal spells. And that lightning spell might have stopped the heart of a normal person but it was still very weak. Normally that kind of spell would have shattered the trees or ignited them, but they were completely fine. The intention was clear, the Tengu only wanted to stop me from moving. Sending shocks through my muscles was a good choice, it just chose the wrong opponent to use it on.

Oh, that reminds me.

"Is that an Eldritch god back there?"

The girl shakes her head.

"Seriously...?" Now that is very surprising. I wonder if it's a Demon then? Demons have a certain aesthetic shared between them all though... And it's not whatever the hell that was.

I feel a tap on my chest.

Looking at the girl, I see her mouth the word {Lord}.

"Are you serious...? That was a Lord?" Have I ever encountered a Lord that powerful? That looked more like a god... And I bet it could wipe out the spider hive easily, including the Satyr. I did hear that crazy woman back there call it 'Lord Tengu', but I thought that was just the usual formalities. As confusing as it is, Eldritch gods that people worship are always called 'Lord' for whatever reason.

Sitting down, I rest the girl's head against my chest.

"Rest for now, it shouldn't be much longer."

The girl nods, closing her eyes.

She's probably in a lot of pain, but isn't showing any of it outwardly.

We sat in silence for much longer than I expected. Water appeared around me about twenty minutes later.

My internal clock is either way off or the reset doesn't have a set time... I wonder if that girl knows.

Only the top of the water is frozen. I punch my way through, climbing out like usual.

With the bomber gone forever, there should be no more problems over there except the redhead. But didn't her friend blow her up too? I'll sneak past her and try asking the people in the tent. They're bound to have a lot of the answers I've been craving. I'm sure they'd also like to know what their dear colleague Keith is up to...