On the Horizon

Chapter 126: On the Horizon

Mercury's legs moved as fast as they could carry him, leaping through the mud in hopes of losing whatever that thing was. His mind was still shaken by what he read when he looked at that thing.

Its thoughts were so alien to him, different and twisted. There was a mix of them, of echoing screams and harrowing fear. Mercury felt the disconnect between all of them, and he knew that they'd been stolen. Whatever that thing was, it would take the thoughts of others, then twist them and keep them for itself.

But beyond even that, Mercury felt a strange sensation about the creature itself. He read such malice, such hatred from it, yet none of it was directed at him. The thing hated itself, hated what it was, because it was simply a puppet. A bundle of thoughts with barely enough mind to think and hate, left only to find those who walked this marsh and hunt them down.

Which is exactly what it was doing. From the stygian circle that made up its blurred body, streaks of black drifted through the air and sunk into the ground where Mercury had just been. The fog around him was eerily lit by what was chasing him, and it felt even heavier on his skin now that he was fleeing.

Soon, Mercury felt his lungs burning from exhaustion as he kept sprinting, hearing a hissing sound akin to flying arrows behind him. But in this realm, there was nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.

No matter how long Mercury ran, all that enveloped him was mud and fog. Occasionally, the ground opened up again, and it felt as though the cracks around him were bigger now, as though growing and reaching for him. He felt them pull on the mana within his core, sticking close like a vulture would before something died in the desert.

Mercury fought against the exhaustion, panting heavily as his legs felt on the verge of breaking, but still he ran. Forcing his body as far as he could, dragging his legs across the earth, his blood rushing in his ears. He was trying his best to somehow find a way out of the situation, but came up empty.

All around him, the fog was still enveloped in the yellow light from that thing, and he could still hear hissing behind him. Each time, they seemed to get just a little bit closer now, striking where he had been barely a moment before, forcing him to keep running.

How could he get out of this? No matter how much he ran, the creature stuck to him. He had nowhere to escape, couldn't outrun it, and no hiding spots either. Given that the creature showed absolutely no signs of slowing down, Mercury made up his mind. He had to take the initiative against it.

Gritting his teeth, he readied himself, waiting for the next moment he heard an impact behind him. The second he heard the wet slashing noise, Mercury took a deep breath, coursed mana through his legs, and came to an abrupt stop before dashing back the other way.

As he sprinted, he tapped the black stake that had sunk into the ground with his tail, activating <Throw> to hurl it straight back at the thing that shot it. It was also the first time he got a good look at the projectiles, and while his vision was limited, he could see a trail of the barbed, black stakes jutting from the floor through the fog.

Quickly moving on from the distraction, Mercury was already focused on further striking back. He tapped the other two nearest spikes with his tail, shooting them back up at the thing, while accelerating the first one with <Telekinesis>.

By the time his counterattack was halfway there, Mercury already dodged another two of the stakes by a hair's breadth, watching them sink even further into the ground than the previous ones. Whatever the creature was, Mercury could now read frustration in its thoughts, even beyond the madness.

After he dodged another attack, deflecting it to the side with <Telekinesis>, his first counter finally struck the thing.

Being able to control his projectile's trajectory, the creature's clumsy attempt at avoiding the spike didn't get it very far. Though perhaps its purpose simply didn't include something like protecting itself.

Whatever the reason, the stake hit it, and buried itself deep into whatever was shedding light from the thing's face. The light flickered for a few moments before extinguishing, as the monster let out an abominable screech, loud enough to make Mercury dizzy for a few moments.

Needless to say, he didn't stick around to see if the other ones struck the creature, as he darted off into the fog the moment he noticed he had the time.

He ran again, for a good long while, until his lungs burned so bad he thought he couldn't run anymore. For some reason, his <Astral Body> didn't feel quite as astral here as it usually did in his dreams. Maybe this was just what happened when he got dragged into this dreamplane?

Still panting, Mercury took another gaze behind him. The fog was thick, blanketing the sky, but it didn't feel as oppressive as when he was caught in the gaze of the light anymore. Whatever that thing was, he didn't see any sign of it in the fog around him, nor of any others like it, and to some degree, that was good enough for him.

Shivering slightly, Mercury began taking deep breaths as he plopped down on the floor. The mud stained his fur a murky grey, fur which he usually shouldn't have at all in his dreams, but he didn't care. Taking deep breaths, he tried to regain as much stamina as he could, in case he ended up in another chase.

While doing so, he focused on his rhythm again, trying to feel his heartbeat, and the ebb and flow of his stamina. The two were out of sync slightly he noticed, and with his breath, he tried getting them more in sync. His heart rate slowed, and he kept his stamina steady, up and down, bit by bit.

After a little while, he began coursing his mana, too, trying to match the speed, unsuccessfully. Trying to make another thing fit in just disrupted the other two, breaking up the resonance rather than enhancing it.

Sighing lightly, Mercury decided to stick to more physiological processes for at least a little while, until it became more habitual than meditative. Planting a goal for himself to work towards was always a good idea.

Taking a final deep breath, he rose to his feet and looked around again, checking if anything like the creature he'd fended off was nearby. Luckily, the coast seemed clear for now.

Still, Mercury didn't feel safe just standing around, and instead decided to travel again. He kept an eye on his current Sp while he walked, too, seeing them tick back up little by little. The feeling of crossing less distance had returned as well, now that he was travelling at a steady pace again instead of running for his life.

Because of it and the eversimilar landscape, looking around became quite boring, but Mercury still had to keep on guard. If another one of those damn flashlights showed up, he wanted to be ready at least.

That much was a good choice, though not because he encountered another one of them. No, rather than that, he saw something on the horizon eventually.

It was a strange sight, since the fog blocked off literally everything, yet somehow, a dim light found its way through. Not the same, bone-yellow light that shone from the creature, but something else. The change wasn't very uplifting though, looking like a thin scarlet diamond hanging in the sky, but at the very least it was something.

As soon as he noticed it, Mercury decided to make his way towards it, changing his direction slightly. His current situation was fine and all, he'd just have to occasionally run for his life, but he desperately lacked any way to improve it. Without any form of shelter, all that awaited him in the fog was death, eventually, and even if the diamond turned out to be dangerous, the worst that could happen was dying to it, too.

The mopaaw wasn't that scared of death anymore, at least not in this realm, after he had witnessed the rhino-creature die before. It said it happened every night, which made Mercury think that while it was certainly a shit idea to go off and get himself in trouble here, it also wouldn't permanently take him out of commission.

Considering the dreary scenery around him once more, he decided that any hope of shelter was better than this current hell. Having to resist the siphoning of his mana was beginning to grate down his nerves even more than the constant vigilance already did.

When Mercury made up his mind, his steps began to speed up a little again, not fast enough to be considered a jog, but certainly faster than the slouching he had been doing before. Perhaps, bit by bit, the shape was growing bigger, but before he had the chance to see, Mercury blinked and found himself back in the ashen wasteland.

- - -

Realizing he felt hardly rested, Mercury grimaced. His mind had been on a trek the entire night, so it had very little time to actually recover from the strain. Luckily, though, at least his body felt better. He was sore all over, but that much he could tolerate. His wounds had all closed and begun healing, and while he still looked frazzled, it wasn't nearly as bad as before he'd slept.

Of course, the downside of a good night's rest was that he woke up hungry and thirsty. Very hungry, in fact. Mercury quickly decided to fulfill at least one of those desires, taking a few gulps of water from his waterskin, before checking how much he had left. Barely enough for a day or two, he guessed.

If he was lucky, he could survive off the blood of the creatures he hunted for a little while, but it certainly wouldn't last him forever. No, what he needed was a proper source of somewhat drinkable water.

With a slight grimace conjured up by pangs of hunger and thirst, Mercury surveyed the horizon again. Creatures were still fighting each other, mangled bodies clashing. The fights were spaced much further apart than after the storm though, and the plains looked decently calm at least, which made him think the creatures had probably been driven by hunger after the winds had passed.

Given the current situation, there was a good chance he could avoid fighting anything too much bigger than he was. If there was any chance, he would really rather not fight giant apes or anything even remotely similar to them, not to mention the moving hill he had witnessed just before.

As a shiver ran down his neck, Mercury tried to look as far as he could. With less ash hovering in the air, he could see much further now, and while most of the area around him didn't look promising, just stretches of wasteland covered in ash and more ash, he thought he could see something at the very edge of the horizon. It was barely visible, between two much more jagged hills than the rest, where the area transitioned to more mountainous terrain, but he thought there was maybe a slight blue reflection there.

Confirming again that his eyes weren't tricking him, Mercury nodded to himself. No matter what, he'd have to get there within the next five or so days. He'd probably need to drink blood after three, and he didn't have the confidence to fight or travel for much longer after that.

Having found his goal, the mopaaw decided there was no time to lose. He simply had to buckle down and get moving once again.

- - - - - -

Lucia heaved multiple heavy breaths, her arms placed on her knees to help her get more air. After only a handful of them, she began coughing heavily, blood pitter-pattering onto the charred grass before her.

Smoke still filled the air, making it even harder to breathe, but the crackling behind them had subsided. The stench was terrible.

The metallic smell of blood mixed with the terrible odor of burnt hair and flesh, as well as campfire smoke from all the grass. It was accompanied by a cacophony of sobbing and yelling behind her, orders being barked by Rondo and Esmeya as any of the wounded who were still breathing were cared for.

In the city, anyone who knew how to wrap a bandage was now certified medical staff and administering first aid to anyone who wasn't already a walking corpse. The choices in there were harrowing, Lucia was sure of it, and she was almost glad to be out here rather than behind those walls.

They'd succeeded. Well, success was a very strong word for what happened. The whole affair was more akin to a slaughter. They'd slaughtered all the northerners who still had the will to storm forward, spurred by the dying words of Scarlet.

Lucia spat on the floor as she thought of the warmonger. So many pointless deaths, all because she just couldn't stand being inferior. Thinking of it, the priestess felt somewhat responsible, too. If she had killed Scarlet in their first fight, perhaps more people could have lived, perhaps-

When her thoughts just began to spiral, Lucia found herself in an embrace.

"My lady," Iris said, "please don't blame yourself."

"..." Lucia was too tired to give a reply, returning the hug for a full second, before quickly escaping the embrace and looking around.

Kaga was sitting up against the wall, leaning back. Her face was dirty, full of soot and smears of blood. There were plenty of cuts on her, some big, some small, but she would live. Most certainly.

Somehow, with her eyes closed, her expression even looked almost peaceful. Only almost, though, since there was a hint of conflict in it.

Her demons, however, were hers to fight. There was someone else who certainly needed more attention right now.

Avery Beckham was unable to stand or sit. Instead, he laid face down in the dirt, his head tilted to the side barely enough to let him breathe. The fact that he was still alive was solely due to the fact that he had levelled up once or twice in the fight, gaining parts of his health back every time.

As the priestess walked closer, she could hear his shaky breath interrupted by groans of pain.

"You're alive, Beckham," she stated.

The shaky calm in her voice made Avery laugh, a hoarse cackle, which lasted for barely a moment before it turned into a hacking cough, followed by more red stains on the floor. His head tilted a little to avoid the small puddle. It couldn't sink into the ground there, not with how much it had compacted as Avery kicked off it again and again and again.

Kneeling down next to his poor state, she got a closer look at his injuries. His entire face was badly burnt, and she could see that his visor had almost fused with skin. Most of his hair was now gone, and the only reason his his chainmail hadn't sunk into his flesh was the thin, magical shirt he wore underneath it.

When she lightly touched him, Avery didn't even react. He could hardly feel any of his body anymore, given that most his nerves were completely burnt.

Soon, Kaga found herself next to the others as well. Her legs seemed shaky, and she leaned heavily on her naginata, gazing at the guildmaster with an uncharacteristically solemn impression.

"Get up," she said, defiant. "I don't wanna take care of this city."

Again, Avery coughed heavily, a bitter smile now placed on what was left of his lips. They moved, but whatever words he was trying to say, they came out as barely a wheeze.

Lucia grimaced. She knew her flames could now heal, occasionally, but she hadn't exactly gotten a chance to perfect their usage. Additionally, she didn't even need to look at her mana to know she was currently running on fumes. After all, towards the end of the fight she had to pick up a bow from a corpse rather than use her own.

With a miserable look, she turned to Iris. "Could you give me a hand?" she asked, slowly.

Iris nodded without hesitation, then went on to check her current vitality. She had about a third left, and it was still slowly draining, but she would certainly live. Taking a glance at her stamina and mana, each had around a sixth or so left.

"Of course," she smiled, activating <Donation>. Quickly, her legs buckled, and she found herself first sitting, then laying on the floor as the remainder of what she could give was transferred to Lucia. The Skill lost some of the substances in transfer, of course, but given how physically and emotionally close she was to Lucia, the percentage was luckily fairly low.

The major downside was that she couldn't cancel it until either she was out, or the target was filled up on whatever she chose. So, after experiencing a quick, pounding headache, Iris passed out as her stamina dropped down to a single point.

Lucia, instead, found her mana refilled to a degree. Not all of it, not even close, but enough to activate her fire for a while.

"Now then, master Beckham," she sighed. "We will see each other again once you wake."

As she used her Skill, pleasant warmth first flooded Avery's joints. His flesh began to knit itself back together as the continuous drain on his vitality slowed. Soon, though, he was hit by the pain again, as his nerves regenerated and made contact with the raw ground. His face distorted in agony, his entire body quaking as he fought to stay awake.

Of course, it was a pointless fight.

Soon, the guild master had passed out. The healing consumed his stamina, too, not just the healer's mana. Additionally, Lucia had to go slowly, so as to get the maximum possible effect. If she simply spent all her mana at once, there was little point to it. Instead, she first focused on the major damage, fixing Avery's nerves and blood vessels, before regrowing his skin wherever needed.

Second by second, most of his blisters faded and sank back into his skin, until Lucia was fully spent again. Avery was alive. Bruised, battered, and in a terrible state, but alive. His stamina was at rock bottom, and he would need to eat plenty to have it recover, and his health was probably still dangerously low, but at the very least, it shouldn't be draining by itself anymore.

With the deed done, Lucia swayed side to side. She had already practically died once today, bringing another person back to life with so little mana had taken a toll on her too. With that, the third of the defenders passed out.

Kaga sighed as she looked at the three of them, then put her naginata away. Her wounds were fairly severe, and the pain was slowly beginning to set in, now that her battle-related Skills wore off. She was surely not going to last very well outside, maybe even bleed to death, and if she was heading to an infirmary, she might as well take the others with her.

Sighing and lamenting her fate, Kaga picked up the others, carrying Lucia and Iris between her arms and torso, while Avery rested draped over her shoulder. "Fucking... I'll charge you for this, bastards," she swore, before stepping through the city gates.

They were burnt, and it didn't take much to open them at all, just a gently pull almost took one of the wings off its hinges, after which she stepped in. The misery was louder inside, but she cared little for it.

Instead, she stepped into the healer's tent Marcel was in. She'd caught a glimpse of him before she'd gone out to protect the gates, and now her perceptiveness paid dividends. Coming face to face with the young man, she grinned. "Hey trashcan. Your guild owes me now, I'll have you know," she said, leaving Marcel's jaw opening and closing like a fish on land, before she unceremoniously dropped her luggage onto one of the cots, then proceeded to pass out onto one herself.

After taking a deep, long breath, Marcel composed himself with a sonata of inner screaming. "Take better care of yourselves, you pieces of shit," he cursed, before rolling up his sleeves and getting to work.

They'd saved as much of the city as was possible. The least anyone could do was return the favour in kind.