Chapter 28. Where Vision Cleared

"It's really there,"

Ron, Bassena, and Sierra were hiding behind a boulder on an elevated ground overlooking a huge, flat terrain that seemed to be the heart of the mountain. There, in the center of the terrain, was a tree-like creature as big as an apartment building filling up the space. Its road-size roots were planted on the ground, on the wall, and on the ceiling of the huge cavern, pulsing like some kind of life-sustenance device.

"So that's the Wood Specter?" Sierra asked in a whisper carefully, peeking out of the boulder.

"Hmm...this is tricky..." Bassena looked at the ceiling of the cavern. His eyes then moved to the nine cave entrances surrounding the Specter. One of them should lead to the location of the shard, but they had no idea which one.

After walking along the right-side path and spending another night on the uncomfortable river bank, they arrived at the end of the tunnel. From there, the river ended in a waterfall, but there was no way to climb up. The tunnel led them to another exit not far from the river, and as they climbed the elevated ground that marked the exit, they were greeted with this view.

It was an underground lake with a small island at the center. Or, rather than an island, it was probably more correct to call it the Specter Lair. The only occupant of that island was the sinister-looking tree, sitting in the middle of black water that felt more like a huge puddle than a lake.

Within various levels of height, there were cave and tunnel entrances much like the one they used right now. Five of them had streams of water flowing to the lake, and they concluded that one of those five should lead to the shard.

The question was which one?

"Let's get down first," Bassena tapped on the other two espers and they slid back down to the tanker and the non-combatants waiting down in the cave.

"So?" Han Shin greeted them with a question.

"It's tricky," Bassena repeated what he said up there. "There are five possible entrances, but we couldn't know which."

"Well...what about using the tracker again?"

Bassena shook his head. "Using it here is no use. If we want to be precise, we have to use it in front of the entrance."

"But it's not like we have five chances..." Han Shin sighed.

"Unfortunately,"

"What about checking them one by one?"

Bassena answered with a flick on the healer's forehead. "Past that Specter? We can if we have someone like your brother, but I don't think Ron has concealment skills, do you?"

Ron shook his head at Bassena's question. "I have a stationary one, but it doesn't allow me to move."

"Uhh...we should have dragged Hyung to join the expedition," Han Shin rubbed his stinging forehead. As it happened, the Captain of Mobius was the Tower of Scathach's beloved champion who had a [Night Walker] trait, which could conceal his movement within the darkness. But of course, someone in his position wasn't a person who could be summoned just because his younger brother asked him to—especially considering the man's widely known bad relationship with Radia Mallarc. "Can you just use your skill to probe the tunnels?"

"I've tried," Bassena clicked his tongue, visibly dissatisfied. "But the Specter instantly sensed it earlier, and swatted them the moment they got close."

Han Shin was about to open his mouth again before Bassena cut him off. "Also, before you suggest anything more, know that the moment we defeat the Specter, the ceiling will collapse. So we only had one chance—everyone should enter one of the caves before I finish the Specter off."

From the way the cavern was structured, the whole space was supported by the Specter's giant roots. It was why the creatures had only been able to send its offshoot to attack them before, since it practically couldn't move its main body without destroying the integrity of its home.

"And the moment the ceiling collapsed, the entrance might get sealed, and the water had no outlet. Which means the tunnel could be flooded. So we have to constantly move to reach the exit before we get completely drowned."

"Uff—" Han Shin let out a sound that perfectly represented the rest of the team's feelings.

Eugene scratches his growing beard nervously before stating the obvious. "Which means...we'll gamble?"

"We'll gamble," Bassena let out a bitter smirk. He was the one who said they'd gamble their next chances, but who knew it would really come to that?

An understandable silence fell on them after that, as they realized it was the closest they would have to failure. It wasn't much about the Specter itself, since they vehemently believed in Bassena's prowess. But not even the mighty Bassena Vaski could prevent the work of gravity on tons of unsupported earth and stones, or stop the flow of water.

The one who broke the silence, surprisingly, was the quietest of them all. "Then, if it's up to fate anyway, can you let me choose?"

They all shifted their gaze to the nice, low voice of the guide.

"Zen?" Ron was the most surprised of them all, since he was the one who knew Zein the best. This sudden proactive move was even more uncharacteristic than the laughter he let out yesterday.

Zein, however, wordlessly stared at Bassena, the one with the authority of decision-making. The amber eyes probed him, glowing slightly to peer through the goggle. Zein might have said it as if he would just pick it out based on luck or intuition, but Bassena could see the firmness behind the deep blue eyes.

"Come," the esper got up, taking the guide's arm on his hand. Without waiting for anyone's input, or saying anything regarding his decision, he took Zein to their scouting place behind the boulder.

For others, it might seem like Bassena granted the request because of his blatant courting to the guide that he had never tried to hide. But from his firm tone and sharp eyes, Zein knew the esper made the decision based on rational thinking.

"Can you see the entrance where the streams come out of?" he whispered, and the guide nodded. The esper held Zein's wrist then, thumb laying flat on the other's pulse. "Back then, you were already looking at the right side path from the start, before I even took out the artifact."

Zein, who was in the middle of discerning the five entrances, stiffened for a second. "Did you feel something?" there was a slight jolt on the guide's wrist. "Can you feel it still? The fragment..."

There was no answer from the guide, and Bassena asked again; lower, sterner, in a whisper only they could hear. "Does it has something to do with the mark on your nape?"

This time, the pulse beneath the esper's thumb ran erratically for a few seconds. The guide turned his face then, and though his face was obscured by the mask and the goggles, Bassena could see it clearly—the coldness of defense.

"I don't mean to probe if you don't want me to, but I need reassurance even with a gamble," Bassena paused for the words to sink in, before adding. "Because it was you who told me to be cautious."

When the coldness inside the blue eyes dissipated, Bassena let go of the guide's wrist. "Just tell me if you can sense it."

Zein let out a soft, resigned breath. "Ten o'clock," he said briefly. Then, in an even softer whisper; "I sense it there."

Bassena nodded and they came down again, with inquisitive looks from the other. Certainly, neither of them had any intention to humor their curiosity, and Bassena went straight to the plan.

"We'll take the cave entrance at the ten o'clock position. Here's how it'll go—"

* * *

Zein had never seen Bassena properly fought before. The espers had always managed to eliminate the beasts from afar, and during the fight against the Earth Specter, Zein was busy with the offshoot of the Wood Specter to be able to see anything.

But Han Shin told him one thing about spectating Bassena's fight: "It's annoying."

Clearly, Zein had no idea what that should mean. He just watched with curiosity as the man climbed the elevated ground while snapping his fingers. The shadow beneath his feet was wriggling, and several small snake-like figures made of pure darkness slithered out, coiling the esper's body.

"Go," with a short command, and another snap, the snakes turned into arrows and scythes and flew out of the cave. Bassena turned his head to the others, a smirk adorned his calm face. "See you then," he said in his low, husky voice before he was scattered into darkness.

When they climbed out of the entrance to hide behind the boulder, Zein saw Bassena standing in the open, on the farthest side from the cave they meant to enter. With arms casually crossed in front of his chest, and amber eyes coldly staring at the Specter, the man looked like the epitome of a valiant hero in the brochure.

"So annoying!" Han Shin grumbled. "Why does he always try to act cool?"

"Umm, I don't think he tried to act cool, Chief..."

"Fuck, I know!" Han Shin hissed. "That's why it's even more annoying!"

Zein watched keenly as Bassena walked to the edge of the lake, boots planted on one of the roots crawling on the ground. "Truthfully, I didn't come here with a grudge against you or anything," the esper said, as sounds of lashing and shrieking resounded distantly from within other caves. "But you did hurt someone I like, so..." there was a smile on the esper's face, something that didn't match the coldness inside the amber eyes, "...forgive me for being rough."

Zein narrowed his eyes and muttered. "How annoying,"

As the sounds of annihilation reverberated through the other caves, the giant tree started to move. It moved slowly, but since every trunks and root were gigantic, the impact itself felt like an earthquake.

Unlike tree monsters or creatures like Treant that roamed the dungeon, the Specter had no eyes or mouth-like parts that made it seem sentient or humanoid. It really felt like a supernatural phenomenon or disaster, as the gigantic roots that were as thick as a car wriggled and moved. The sound that the motion created was somehow resembling an angry shriek.

"Yes, yes, you're pissed aren't you?" while the tremor made the other members of the expedition team hold on to the boulder for dear life, Bassena casually floated in the air with the cloud of darkness beneath his feet. "After all, I killed all of your babies~"

There was a flair on the esper's tone that matched the sneering face and the mocking gaze. He even put his hands inside his coat pocket for added measure. The root where he stepped on earlier lashed out with a whooshing sound, but the man easily dodged by stepping on the air, another dark platform following his every movement.

"Mm, mm~" Bassena smirked, lips parted in mirth. "What are you gonna do about it?"

As if expressing its fury, the roots' movement became bigger, shaking the whole place even more. Now they were truly convinced that the whole place would collapse with the Specter's death. The lake rippled wildly, and the calm surface formed a tide with the rising of the underwater roots.

"Fucking hell..." Han Shin cursed with bated breath as the tremor became stronger. To avoid being sensed by the enraged Specter, they had to take cover within Ron's concealment skill. But it also meant they couldn't move at all, which was why they were clutching into the boulder in front of their cave entrance.

The poor researchers were being held by the tanker and Sierra; their teeth clanking within the ground's vibration. They had to stay like that until Bassena fully aggravated the Specter, so much that it had no chance to react to their movement.

The roots on the ground and underwater moved wildly to chase the annoying fly disturbing the Specter's space. But the handsome fly moved lightly in the air like it was his home garden, all the while with a loud, cheery, irritating laugh.

And then, fleet of darkness started to dash out of the caves, and Bassena took out his hands, reaching out his arms as if welcoming outstanding sons. "Aah...seems like my kids won over you babies. Too bad, now you can't even lie down another root, poor you..."

The esper put his hands in front of his chest in a gesture of fake sympathy, eyes knitted in sorrow, but lips stretched in joy. The Specter shrieked now—they had no idea where the sound came from, but it was positively enraged.

"Is he like that to his other opponent?" Zein asked Han Shin, for the first time tearing his sight away from Bassena.

The healer grinned amidst the shaking ground. "You mean to other espers? Absolutely!" and then, with a voice that was way too gleeful, he added. "Also to basically other human beings."

"Hmm, I think I know now why people don't like him much..."

Han Shin laughed, although it made him cough hard for a second. "Ugh—but what about you?"

Zein pulled his face away, and turned his attention back to the faraway esper that was still actively mocking the Specter with a sneering face and imposing gait. "I don't dislike him,"

"Oho—uaagh!" Han Shin's commentary was cut short by the Specter's sudden movement. Its main body wriggled heavily, before countless vines sprouted out of its body, lashing furiously through the air and striking the earthen walls and ceiling with mad vigor.

"Hold tight!" Ron warned them with clenched teeth. The other was already having a tough time just trying to hang on, but he also had to maintain his skill, so it was way harder for the scout.

The appearance of the vines was the signal that the Specter had been fully aggravated by Bassena. All the roots and vines were focused on swatting and crushing the nimble magician. Since Bassena was moving exactly to the opposite side of the cave they had to enter, the space between them and the cave was now free of vines and roots.

Immediately, Bassena waves his hand, and the [child of darkness] moved to attack the Specter—or rather, to annoy it even more. While the trunks and the vines blindly tried to attack the moving darkness, Bassena condensed his mana and started to recite a spell.

"Get ready," Han Shin gave out the signal, and Balduz gave the researchers to Ron and Sierra. This time, he had to get ready to shield the team from possible stray attacks.

Zein's eyes had never left the esper all this while. Floating with the support of his darkness, the esper moved his hand in the air, fingers drawing runes with his mana as incantation flew out of his lips. Seeing that even someone like him had to make long incantations, it seemed like the skill was a high-tier one.

"It's his signature crowd control skill," Han Shin whispered an explanation, and he muttered the skill name at the same time as Bassena;

—[Serpentine Hold]—

Immediately after the skill name flew out of the caster's lips, a huge magic circle appear. The ten-pointed sides were exactly situated where the esper had been stepping in the air earlier. Turned out he wasn't just casually dodging since the start.

From within the magic circle glowing in amber light, a pitch-black shadow flew out, darker than the darkness of the lake. The shadow glowed, amber light lit up beneath the scale patterns, like a snake of coal and lava. The giant snake coiled around the tree, slithered up between the roots and vines and trunks. The shadow jaw opened and bit right at the main body, where it trembled and shrieked in suppressed fury.

All Zein could think was, 'Ah, that's why people called him the Serpent Lord' before Ron yelled "Now!" and all of them sprinted into the ten o'clock cave. They ran around the lake, all the while ducking through the stray, rebellious vines that lashed out with abandon.

"How energetic," Bassena waves his hand and platforms made of darkness appeared above the turbulent lake.

Balduz reached out his hand and made four mana shields hovering above the other members as they jumped into the platforms all the way to the cave's entrance. Ron jumped with Eugene first, and Han Shin followed. Sierra took Anise in a bridal carry and nimbly jumped over the platforms even while gasping—Anise from the vines lashing about and Sierra from how tight the researcher choke on her throat.

It would be pretty comical if it wasn't for the loud rumbling of the ceiling as the Specter pulled the roots supporting it. Zein wanted to watch the fight, but the situation forced him to move swiftly.

After jumping across a dozen or so platforms, they arrived at the cave entrance with a splashing sound. Still carrying the researchers, Ron and Sierra wasted no time and ran against the stream.

As soon as Balduz, the rearguard, get off the platforms, they morphed into sharp spikes and flew up above Bassena's hand, as if being summoned. Zein paused at the entrance and couldn't help looking up. There, above the esper's platinum blonde hair, was a contrasting figure of massive darkness. It was formed by countless sharp spikes, like thousand of needles joined together. As Zein traced the figure, he realized that it formed another giant snake.

"It's [Jormungandr], he's making the last attack," Han Shin glanced briefly before running further. "Harry up Zein, he'll be fine!"

Of course, Zein knew Bassena would be fine. After all, the man still smirking through the tempest of the lake and the lashing motion of the Specter. "I want to see," he said briefly, eyes didn't leave the sight of the man—no, the sight of the burning amber eyes.

"Why—ugh, fine, whatever," Han Shin sighed as he saw the unchanging gaze of the blue eyes. "Let's go!" he tapped on Balduz's shoulder, who was visibly confused as to what he should do—protecting the guide or chasing the other. "Come on, your priority is the civilians!"

Zein turned his head slightly at the tanker and nodded, so Balduz finally ran along with Han Shin with a big splashing sound.

When the guide faced the lake again, the spiky snake had moved and crashed itself against the constrained Specter. Instantly, all parts that touched the snake were shredded like used paper. The Specter moved its limbs—roots and vines and all its trunks—wildly to counter the spikes. But the snake would scatter and form countless smaller snakes that shredded even more parts.

Still flying in the air, Bassena hold a black sword and slashed all the appendages that came swatting at him, each slash that severed the limb splashed dirty, black substance at his body like blackened blood.

"Ugh—bastard!" that was the only time the smirk wiped out from the esper's face, replaced by disgusted grunts. Clicking his tongue, the esper clenched his free hand and all the devouring snakes joined into one giant figure. With a strong swing of his black sword, the giant snake crashed powerfully as if devouring the remaining, shrieking Specter.

As if trying to contest the loud shriek, the earthen ceiling began to rumble, losing all of its support. The stones and dirt started raining down into the lake with a loud crashing sound, prompting Zein to step back deeper into the cave to avoid the debris and turbulent waves.

As the shrieking sound died down and the thunderous crashing sound got louder, a lump of scattering darkness condenses into a human figure with a loud splashing sound at the entrance.

Zein stared unblinking at the crouching figure of the esper that slowly stood up. The black, blood-like substance covered his clothes and face, leaving the amber eyes blazing brightly inside the darkness.

Like a certain time, within a certain place, of certain extraordinary circumstances.

Zein stood frozen then, mind swirling and churning memories, eyes widened and unblinking. When the esper raised his brow and tilted his head at Zein's reaction, the guide only blankly said;

"So it was you?"