Chapter 146: Deeper (1/2)

The giant leech didn't do anything after Elbek's corpse left its mouth. It tried to crawl toward its prey, but it seemed to have problems moving its body in its stretched state.

Khan inspected the leech for a few seconds and confirmed that it wouldn't attack before moving his attention to the corpse. He had known Elbek for a mere week, so his death didn't affect him too much. Yet, the event still swept his mind with a wave of sadness that he couldn't suppress.

The two girls experienced stronger feelings at that scene. Liiza was relatively better off since she didn't have close relationships with her peers. However, she had known most of the students in the academy for years due to her mother's unique role in the Niqols' society, and she couldn't help but take Khan's hand while her eyes remained on the corpse.

Instead, Azni's world turned upside-down. She had shared countless parties with Elbek, and the boy had even attended many lessons with her.

The Niqols' way of life often put students in front of dangers since the elders made them handle monsters and similar threats. However, the death of a friend remained a tough event to endure. Azni had it even worse since Elbek was her first companion lost in a mission.

The leech screeched as its mouth started to shrink, but Khan promptly slammed his foot at the center of its body. The creature voiced a high-pitched painful cry, but it didn't turn its attention away from its prey. It even tried to rely on its elastic body to reach it, but Khan kept it still.

The cave was so silent that Khan didn't miss Liiza's gulp. He allowed himself to ignore his pretense at that point. He pulled his girlfriend close and wrapped his free arm around her while making sure to caress her back.

Khan wasn't a stranger to death. He had accepted it during the Second Impact, and Istrone's crisis had made him grow used to it. Elbek's corpse only managed to generate sadness inside him, but it didn't stop his mind from gathering information.

Elbek's corpse didn't show any visible deadly injury except for the melted skin. Some strands of white hair and a few patches of skin were still in place and revealed his identity, but Khan didn't manage to find anything that could have caused his death before the arrival of the big leech. Turning the body on the other side with his free leg only confirmed that the creature had killed him.

'We have been lucky,' Khan concluded in his mind after his inspection.

Elbek couldn't be weak since he had earned a spot in that mission. He was still in the first year, but the Niqols didn't use that to describe a student's battle prowess.

The lack of evident injuries confirmed that the fall didn't kill Elbek. The big leech had probably taken the Niqols by surprise while the rivers of ground submerged him. Even Khan would have died in those conditions, so he couldn't help but consider himself lucky to have met only the small versions.

His embrace tightened when those conclusions reached his mind. Liiza had also been lucky, and he couldn't help but feel grateful about that. The girl had continued to stare at the corpse even after Khan had taken her into her arms. Still, she turned her worried gaze toward him when she felt his reaction.

Khan limited himself to move his hand on the back of Liiza's head and pull her even closer. He immersed his face in her long white hair and bathed in her scent. Feeling happy about that outcome wasn't good, but he didn't care. He felt glad that the big leech found Elbek instead of her.

A sob forced the couple to turn toward Azni. Tears had started to fall from the girl's eyes as they remained fixed on the corpse. The scene generated another wave of sadness inside Khan, but he didn't know what to do to console her.

Surprisingly, Liiza made the first move. She left a kiss on Khan's bare shoulder before gently pushing him away and taking Azni's hands into hers. The latter sobbed again when their fingers touched, and she felt unable to oppose Liiza pulling her into her chest.

Liiza was an outcast, but she still knew how to behave in those situations. Also, she could understand Azni's pain, even if it weren't as intense for her.

Khan sighed and placed a hand on Azni's shoulder to express his emotional support. His other hand went on Liiza's head, and she turned to show a complicated expression to him.

Azni continued to cry while Liiza held her. Meanwhile, the latter continued to stare at Khan. No one knew what to do in that situation, but Khan had more experience, so he eventually decided to divert his attention from that sad moment.

The big leech had almost regained its original form during those minutes. It had even shown some agility while stretching its elastic body toward the partially melted Elbek. Its abilities were coming back, but Khan wouldn't let it live that long.

Khan left the two Niqols and pointed the entirety of his weight on the foot keeping the leech still. His other leg bent until his knee touched his chest before unleashing the accumulated power downward.

His attack created a foot-shaped hole that pierced both sides of the leech's mouth. Khan didn't know how tough a creature of that size was, but he saw that it continued to move, so he didn't hesitate to repeat his technique.

The leech stopped moving when Khan removed a quarter of its body. Azni trembled every time an attack landed on the ground, but she didn't say anything. Liiza only held her tightly to make her forget about that event.

Khan's attention moved toward the pile of soil at that point. He checked the hole in the ceiling standing right above it to make sure that no big leech tried to ambush him and moved forward after confirming the absence of threats.

Using his hands to dig through the soil was too dangerous, so Khan performed light kicks that dismembered the pile little by little. A few small leeches reappeared when he reached its deepest parts, but taking care of them while his leg was already in the air was far too easy.

His action wasn't meaningless, and his eyes lit up when he found what he was looking for. A torn backpack full of leeches appeared in his eyes when he reached the other side of the pile, and he didn't hesitate to grab it while killing all the creatures he found.

'Hopefully we can retrieve another one,' Khan thought while emptying the backpack's contents to take care of the remaining leeches.