Sorry for the delay, I was still writing the chapter
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CLANG, CLANG, SSSSHHHH
The sound echoed in the dark.
Luki was breathing heavily inside his helt. Each breath ca with the muffled creak of tal, mixed with the rattling of bones moving around him.
The mist clung thick to the ground, covering everyone's legs and hiding their movents.
Even with an elf's sharp sight, everything around him was nothing but shadows and blurs, not because it was dark, but because it was chaos. His eyes simply couldn't keep up with everthing.
Thirteen enemies.
All of them moving endlessly, without breath, without fear.
'Right… only now I realize these things don't feel pain either. Great.'
The sword in his hands was covered in tiny fragnts of bone, but no blood, of course. Perfect strikes, full force, and still… nothing.
The dry sound of his blade cutting through bodies with no flesh to tear was maddening.
Since the mont he got into this ss, he hadn't managed to take down even one. Even the one whose skull he had crushed under his boot didn't give a damn about this fact, still coming at him like any other, just a little... headless.
After all, for a monster that's already dead, what's a head? Decoration.
Luki stepped back, and they advanced two or three steps in return, much faster than him, especially because they were so light.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
It was like the beating of funeral drums, a cruel reminder that he was surrounded.
One of the skeletons lunged forward, spear in hand. Luki twisted his body and parried, the impact vibrating through his entire arm, a dull pain throbbing in his forearm.
Another ca from the side, wielding a curved bone shaped like an Egyptian saber. He ducked, twisted his wrist, and countered with a horizontal slash.
The strike grazed the creature's ribcage, nothing more.
— Tch…
He kicked the enemy hard in the chest.The impact echoed through the hall, the light body flew and crashed against the nearest wall.
A small gap opened for an instant, and Luki took it, charging forward at full speed.
'These things are too light… if I focus on pushing them, I might open a way.'
But the plan died as quickly as it was born.
Two more skeletons leapt from the side, crossing their strikes in sothing close to a coordinated attack.
He blocked them, steel scraping against bone, the shock making his arm throb.
Another strike ca from behind.Luki spun and blocked by instinct, but the impact forced him two steps back.
Every second, the circle tightened.The green flas burned around him, like eyes judging how much longer he could last.
Even with the armor holding up, Luki's body was starting to give in.His muscles burned, his breath was heavy, and every move demanded more than he could give.
'They're slow and dumb… but they don't stop. This is a race against ti. All they have to do is wait for to wear myself to death, even with my Skill i still fell tired.'
The elf growled, forcing his body to move. His right arm ached, heavy, tired of raising the sword.
anwhile, his enemies were perfectly fine.
Luki swung his blade with an explosive burst of strength, striking one skeleton's knee and toppling it. Then he spun and delivered a side kick, hurling another into the wall. Bones flew, cracking on impact.
But before the echo even faded, more were already closing in.
Again and again, without end.
His voice escaped between clenched teeth, muffled by the helt.
— I should've stayed out of this...
Crack.
The dry sound of the floor breaking echoed through the room.
The elf looked down just as sothing cold grabbed his ankles. Two pale, bony hands erged from the mist, yanking him down.
— Damn it… — he snarled, struggling to break free.
A skeletal head burst from the ground, the green fla inside its skull blazing brightly, reflecting on his blade.
— SSSSHHHH!!!— IIIIIXXXX!!!— SHAAAaaaa!!!
All the skeletons in the room surged forward like a tide. The sound of dry footsteps, scraping weapons, and crackling flas blended with his ragged breathing.
Luki tried to break free, but the grip on his legs was too strong. All he could do was watch as death closed in.
CLANG. BANG. KRRRSSS. CLANG. CLANG. BAM. BOOM.
A club hit his shoulder. Another strike to his leg. Another to his back.
The tallic clang of armor echoed, each impact reverberating inside him like thunder trapped in his chest.
The force of the blows pushed him back until he stumbled and fell, disappearing into the thick mist below.
— Nngh… — the sound escaped unwillingly.
Before he could rise, four skeletons grabbed him. One pulled his arm, another seized his sword, another tried to force off his helt—the only thing keeping him safe.
They didn't stop.
Within seconds, the elf was swallowed by a swarm of monsters. Kicks, shoves, and strikes ca from every direction, muffled by the clash of tal and bone.
Each second, the flas in their eyes seed to burn brighter.
'...Is this it?'
Even without visible wounds, his body scread for rest. His muscles trembled beneath the armor, he was exhausted.
One of the skeletons raised its club high and brought it down with full force against his helt.
CLANG!
The tallic sound rang through the chamber, echoing off the stone walls. Luki's vision wavered—the world spun, shadows twisted, and for a mont, he lost all sense of place.
'Stay... awake!!!'
He tried to move his arm, to fight back sohow, but nothing responded. His muscles felt like lead; his consciousness was fading. He was completely at their rcy.
The mist swirled around his fallen body, and the bony figures surrounded him—thirteen unmoving shadows, a circle of death and silence.
In that mont, call it delirium, Luki swore he heard a childish voice in his head, mocking him.
"Next ti, don't ignore , idiot."
'I hope this armor holds up... I don't think I'm getting out of here anyti soon.'
Even subdued, Luki didn't feel fear. Maybe he didn't value his life that much, but still... he didn't want to die.
'What a ss I've gotten myself into, huh? Just got back in the ga, and I'm already about to retire for good. My entire training arc was for nothing... but give a break, okay? I'm fighting dozens of level 2 monsters with no special abilities; it was obvious this was going to happen. But what a beautiful transmigrated I am, huh?'
A heavy sigh escaped between his teeth, muffled by the helt.
'Well... it was good while it lasted. I just hope Hestia doesn't take it too hard... that'd be awful.'
Tired, he let his arms fall. He stopped resisting, stopped struggling.
Accepted the inevitable and waited.
Waited for the mont when the monsters would tear off his armor and finish what they started.
VUSH!
Sothing sliced through the air.
WHIIISH!
The object cut through the mist and struck the heap of skeletons piled over Luki, still trying to pry off his armor.
CRACK!
The sound of glass shattering. One second later-
FOOOOM!
An explosion of blue light engulfed everything. The flas rose in spirals, violently dancing, lighting every corner of the dark room like a sacred pyre.
— SSSSHHHHH!!! SSSSHHHHH!!!
The skeletons started to scream, not roars or human cries, but high-pitched hisses, distorted, like boiling water.
— SSSSHHHAAA!!!— SSSKKHHHH!!!— SHHHHZZZZ!!!— SSSHRRRHH!!!— HHHHSSSKK!!!— SSSHHHHKKK!!!— ZZZZHHHSS!!!— SHHHHHRRR!!!— SSKHHHHHH!!!— HHHSSSSHHH!!!— SSSHHHHRK!!!— ZZZSSSHHH!!!— SSSHHHHAAAH!!!
The hissing rged into a macabre chorus, a collective scream of pain and despair that echoed through the stone walls, reverberating like the wail of a thousand condemned souls.
The bluish flas licked their bones, burning them as if they were firewood.
At that mont, the undead looked more alive than ever.
The green flas in their skulls flickered, trembling in pure agony. A tornt that sounded almost human, but was sothing far more twisted.
— What the hell...? — Luki muttered, voice muffled by the helt, eyes wide at the blue inferno surrounding him.
The heat was unbearable—his armor wasn't enchanted with Fire Resistance IV, after all. He could feel the air vibrating around him.
Bones cracked and popped like dry wood—it was clear this blue fire was more than just hot.
And then he felt it.
A hand grabbed his. Small and firm, but desperate, pulling him out.
— Ngh...! — a strained voice grunted. — Co on... move...!
The person on the other end was pulling with all their strength, but it was useless. Luki's body was too heavy, and the pile of burning skeletons above him pinned him down like a grave of bones.
CLACK! CRACK!
Fragnts fell, raining around them.
'What the hell...?'
Finally realizing the situation, Luki forced his body to the side, slipping between the burning carcasses. He used the chaos of the writhing undead to crawl free.
— Hurry! Just a little more! — a muffled shout.
— I'm trying! — she answered, gritting her teeth.
After one final push, the elf broke free, rolling over the mist-covered floor until he felt the cold air again.
Panting, he lifted his gaze, and saw her.
The support. The sa person he had saved before.
The figure before him was trembling, shoulders rising and falling in short breaths. The hood hid her face, but the edges of her cloak were torn and covered in soot, the fabric stained with dust and dried blood.
— Hurry! They won't stay like that for long! — she said, her voice shaking but determined.
'A woman's voice...? So she was a girl.' Luki thought, surprised.
Leaning on her small fra, he rose with effort. His armor creaked, every muscle screaming in protest.
Together, they staggered away from the flas, with the hissing still echoing behind them.
SSSHHHHKKHHH!!!, ZZZZSHHHHH!!!
Luki looked over his shoulder. The skeletons were still writhing, but sothing was different. The flas didn't consu them instantly. They clung to them, licking their bones as if determined to make them suffer to the end.
The blue fire crackled softly, but its sound was deafening: FSSHHHHHH! CRRKHHHHH! ZZZSSHHHH!
The dead flailed, trying anything to extinguish the flas. One bashed its skull against the wall repeatedly, leaving black soot marks. Another threw itself to the floor, rolling, scattering embers across the room.
But nothing worked.
They ran in circles, tripping over one another, the flas reflecting on the wet stone floor like a sea of tornted souls.
For a mont, Luki felt sothing he hadn't expected, pity.
It was a grotesque scene... but also sad. Those beings, empty, voiceless, mindless, seed to truly feel pain.
He drew in a slow breath, heart heavy beneath the armor.— What... is this...?
— No ti to explain! We need to run, now! — the girl shouted, yanking his arm.
The hissing continued—a symphony of suffering echoing through the walls like a lant from beyond. SSSHHHHKKKHHHH!!! ZZZSSSHHHHH!!! KHHHHHHHHHH!
The two ran, the blue light reflecting on Luki's back as if the flas themselves were chasing them.
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