Chapter 29: Lightbulb

"I don't understand. They're usually docile and usually ignore people when they come out to bathe in magic," Rando said.

I turned around to see the Miords hot on our tail. Some of them slithered, some crawled, whilst some stood upright and walked on two legs. But thankfully none of them moved fast enough to catch us.

"Harmless, eh?" I said sarcastically as we ran, with Sigrid leading the front. She was apparently able to see vividly in the dark and therefore became our sole navigator.

"We're about half a day's walk away from the edge of the forest, we won't be able to keep this up for long!" Rando exclaimed whilst panting.

Sigrid stopped and turned around to fire a few arrows. They all hit the mark and landed on the Miords like toothpicks in jelly. Failing to do any harm to them, she cursed and continued running.

"How do we kill them?" I asked, also out of breath.

"We don't, they usually disappear by the time the sun rises. It hurts them. That's why we never encounter them during the day," Rando said.

"Mortal weapons certainly don't work on them. And we don't have anybody who can use offensive magic, so we're basically screwed if they get to us," Sigrid added.

What? Mortal weapons? Sunlight? I instantly remembered my soulblade and how its ray managed to cause some harm to the Miords that visited me the night before.

"How many hours till daybreak?"

"Another two hours, maybe three," Rando replied.

Lia tripped and let out a yelp. We stopped and I helped her up.

"My ankle…"

The Miords were quickly closing in to us. So far we barely managed to maintain a short distance between them, running as we did. But based on our stamina and the distance from the border, not to mention Lia's injuries and the time before sunrise...

"Try to heal yourself, I'll buy us some time!"

I stood between Lia and the Miords and unsheathed my soulblade. Sigrid and Rando imitated me and readied their weapons too, despite knowing it's futile. I found myself feeling a bit touched by their loyalty.

The Miords swiftly approached but we stood our ground, ready to stall in order to let Lia heal.

"Just… leave me and run," I heard her said feebly.

I closed my eyes and focussed. Recalling the sensation of power, pouring my will onto the blade. They arrived right in front of me, trying to reach out with their boneless limb. A blinding light burst forth from my weapon. Like a platinum sun that illuminates the forest, pushing away the darkness as the incandescent glow caused the Miords to stop in their tracks. Letting out inhuman shrieks as they wriggle away in pain. Retreating away from the searing radiance coming from my soulblade. I held it up above my head with one hand as everyone stared at me flabbergasted. I turned to Lia and barked, "Heal up!"

She awoke from her daze and began the process of healing her sprained ankle.

The Miords didn't retreat as far as I expected, hiding behind trees and using them as covers instead. Trying to shield themselves from the harmful burn that my soulblade emanated. But I could tell that as soon as the light went off, there would be nothing stopping them from resuming their assault.

Unfortunately, our respite didn't last long. I felt the power beginning to fade as my blade slowly dimmed. The Miords noticed this and started to emerge from their cover. Creeping towards us as the coverage of the light started to shrink. Inching closer just outside the field of luminance.

Aw hell. "How's your ankle doing?" I called to Lia. "Doesn't look like I can keep this up for long."

She didn't answer me. "Uhh, Lia?"

I turned to see her still sitting at the same spot where she fell. Her usual soft blue eyes now replaced with horror. "I don't understand, it's healing much slower than usual," her tone tinged with despair.

"Rando, carry her. We're getting out of this mess alive," I commanded.

My soulblade continued to dim further and the Miords steadily approached. One of them got too near and entered the illuminated area. With a sizzle, it let out a cry and immediately pulled away.

Rando followed my order and piggybacked her. I held my sword up like a torch and we resumed our escape, this time with a jog, trying to conserve stamina and cover ground at the same time. "Don't stop trying, keep healing your ankle."

We continued fleeing with the Miords following closely just outside the reach of the light. The boundaries constantly shrank and we had no choice but to huddle closer together. As we moved, I somehow found it odd that despite having my power active for quite a while, it seemed to maintain a consistent shine within a radius of 3 meters. It's as if it's constantly being replenished by some unknown external source. I didn't know where it came from since I personally can't sense magical energy. I considered rousing up Ellariel to figure it out, but decided against it since I don't feel like taking the risk of losing control of my body to that unpredictable woman. Right now, the survival of everyone takes the utmost priority. Realizing that we're no longer in any imminent danger and the beacon of light could sustain itself reliably, we decided to stop and rest. Rando put Lia down and she focused on healing her ankle in order to be mobile on her own as soon as possible. I glanced at Rando and Sigrid, ready to answer any questions they have regarding my abilities. But they ignored me whilst continuously staying alert towards any change of behavior from the Miords that surrounded us from every corner of the forest just outside where the rim of the light touches. Lia's ankle eventually made a full recovery. Nevertheless, we decided to stay put since there's only about another hour to go until dawn. However, the unthinkable happen. My soulblade suddenly started to flicker like a dying lightbulb.