201 Chapter 200: Into the Darkness (1/2)
I gripped my plasma pistol in one hand and Azure Lotus Sword in the other, navigating through the darkness as cautiously as I could. My lenses had taken on a green tinge, having gone into nightvision mode to allow me to see somewhat in the absolute darkness.
Being almost blind while shrouded in utter darkness wasn't the only thing that terrified me. It was the complete absence of life. With my Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps, I could sense qi everywhere I went. On an ordinary day, I would be surrounded by vibrant life and active qi, the presences of people and martial artists going about their daily lives or angaging in whatever activities they desired, even at a distance.
I had never felt so utterly alone and isolated before. It was as if someone had cut off all my senses and put me inside an empty labyrinth, where I was doomed to wander alone for all of eternity, with no human companion, nothing. Hell, never mind human companion, I couldn't even detect the life of vermin, insects, bugs, anything.
The whole place felt sterile and completely bereft of life. At least during my time in Sen Lin Forest, I wasn't isolated. There were lots of magical beasts and demonic creatures inhabiting the forest with me. No matter how deep I was within the abyss, I could always detect the faint presences of magical beasts in the distance.
This was the first time I felt truly isolated, cut off from the rest of the world, alone and completely on my own.
Swallowing, I pushed up my glasses with my free hand, which was supposed to be holding onto the plasma pistol…except that I did not own a plasma pistol. For some reason, I was half-expecting Genestealers or Genestealer Hybrids to emerge from the shadows, lunging at me and tearing me apart with their flashing claws…
No, no. wrong story. I wasn't in an underhive city built during the 41st millennium. I was in a xianxia world. There would be no foul xenos hybrids dwelling in the underground tunnels of Tushan City, no mutants with extra arms and eyes scurrying around here and seeking shelter from the tyrannical Imperium, no underground Chaos Cults carrying out their heretical rituals, no underhive gangs waging wars against each other.
I hope.
…what? Did you expect me to devote an entire chapter to ecchi fanservice where I got into forced, contrived, cliché situations with Tang Qi Hong in a cramped space, accidentally kissing her or touching her in places no gentleman should be making physical contact in? Don't be ridiculous. Such convenient ”accidents” don't happen in reality.
Besides, Tang Qi Hong was already delivered safely back to Flame Volcano, from what I heard anyway. That was good. I moved better on my own. Better one person stumbling around in the dark than two, or it would be the blind leading the blind.
Actually, where was I? I just knew this was the passageway, but it branched off to a web of corridors, each leading in different directions. I stopped at a junction, unsure of where to take. No, I didn't even know where the hell I was.
”I need a light,” I muttered, regretting not storing a flashlight inside my storage device. No doubt it would have come in handy now, and I could rely on the light to read the map in the secret handbook…
Wait, what?
”I do have a light,” I exclaimed in realization. Two of them, in fact. Retrieving my smartphone, I activated the flashlight option and cast a faint, luminous glow on the barren corridors before me. The nightvision adjusted and the green tinge vanished, to allow my vision to better adjust to the sudden glare. Bringing out the secret handbook, I displayed the 3D holographic map of the labyrinthine secret passageways, which illuminaed the entire area in a gentle blue light.
”Wow…it even has a GPS function,” I murmured when I caught sight of an icon that indicated my position, made out of a circle on top of a triangle. To ensure that I was correct, I moved a few paces forward, and was vindicted when the hovering icon shifted further along one of the blue-tinted 3D paths. ”That's really convenient!”
Celebrating inwardly, I skimmed through the map and picked out the best and fastest route to take. Wanting to get out of this creepy underground labyrinth as quickly as possible, I broke into a jog and followed the shimmering holographic map.
At this rate, it shouldn't take me more than an hour to reach the sect.
A few minutes into my journey, however, the hairs on the back on my neck stood and I felt a prickling sensation, as if something was watching me. I quickly spun around, wondering if I had really seen a dark shape dart away at the edges of my periphereal vision, but despite shining my smartphone's flashlight on the area, I picked out nothing.
”…”
I held my breath for a few moments, glancing around nervously and tightening the grip on my secret handbook. I had sheathed my Azure Lotus Sword in order to both consult the map and wield my smartphone, so I was practically unarmed at the moment.
After a tense few seconds, I registered nothing, no movement. My glasses also didn't pick up anything, the readings staying static and zero.
Turning around, I took a few steps forward.
Rustle.
There it was. The rustling sound. I quickly whirled around, but again I found myself greeted by nothing but shadows.
Damn it, I know I heard that!
No doubt about it, there was something in here with me. Even though I couldn't sense its qi or detect its presence, I could hear it. I could feel its gaze. The damned thing was watching me from the shadows, enjoying my disquiet.
Feeling spooked, I kept my smartphone and drew my Azure Lotus Sword while conjuring my Snow Aegis to hover around me protectively. If there was something that ambushed me later, my Spirit Shield would protect me from it.
Or so I hoped.
Relying solely on the illuminated cast by the 3D holographic map from the secret handbook, I continued making my way through the corridor. If I wasted too much time jumping at shadows, I would back in the sect way past morning, or even noon. Not that I could tell the time, what with being trapped inside and all. Well, I could always consult my smartphone, and it mentioned that it was 3 in the morning. Not exactly a good hour to be up, but being a student, I had strange sleeping hours, so that didn't bother me one bit.
What bothered me was the rustling sound. I heard it again, but I ignored it, hastening my steps until I was almost running.
”!!”
For some reason the rustling sound was growing louder, as if whatever was causing it was drawing closer to me. I spun around instinctively, lashing out with my sword, but struck nothing. It was my imagination, after all…
…or I thought it was, until I caught a glimpse of razor-sharp fangs, gleaming claws and a forked tongue before the monstrosity disappeared into the darkness again, scurrying away.
”What the hell is that?!” I demanded, though there was no one around to answer. I swear, that thing actually resembled a purestrain Genestealer, but that was impossible. This was the wrong universe, the wrong story. I was carrying a Spirit Sword and a Spirit Shield, not a laspistol and a chainsword. And I wasn't some legendary Commissar who claimed that he had a fraudulent reputation. Not to mention, I didn't have any sidekick with his trusty meltagun to back me up.
”…huff…”
I began running as quickly as I could. But whatever it was, the horror was chasing me, and from the scurrying across the ground, it was fast. Much faster than me…
”Hiss…!”
Its tongue lashing out, the creature lunged at me, but I used my footwork technique, Duo, and evaded it. The creature crashed through the space where I had been occupying a millisecond ago, its claws rending empty air. It raised its bald, grotesque head, stunned, only for a mobile turret from my Snow Aegis to punch a hole through its skull with a qi beam.
The creature screeched as it crashed onto the ground, going into spasms before finally quieting down.
”The hell is that?”
Tucking my Azure Lotus Sword under my armpit, I retrieved my smartphone and cast my flashlight over it. It looked like a purestrain Genestealer, but it wasn't – otherwise Games Workshop would sue me. Rather, it looked like a cross between the Japanese youkai Kappa, with a shell-like carapace on its back, and a reptilian bug. A forked tongue, a skull-like face with mandibles, and claws curving from scaly arms and legs. It looked as if it usually moved on all fours, but its hind legs were thicker and more massive, implying that it also spent a fair amount of time standing on twos.
It was unlike anything I had seen before, and I was sure I had spent a fair amount of time studying demonic creatures and magical beasts. I certainly hadn't seen anything like this creature in the encyclopedias I had read.
”Oh, whoops. Looks like you found out about them.”
A familiar demonic voice echoed throughout the labyrinth and I stilled.
”You…!”
I recognized the voice. He was the shadowy, demonic existence who dwelled underneath the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars, trapped in the lake beneath that huge platform at the foot of Flame Volcano. The guy who repeatedly tried to possess my body over and over again, only to be repelled by my Snow Aegis.
”Yes. Me.” The demonic existence laughed mockingly. ”It's been a while. I see you've upgraded your spiritual defenses again.” I felt something press against the invisible barrier that Snow Aegis cast over me. ”You truly are a cautious young man.”
I ignored his taunts and attempts to subjugate me and instead focused on the grotesque corpse lying in front of me.
”Were you the one who created these monsters?”
”What? Create these monsters? Me? Goodness, no!” the demonic existence howled with laughter. ”What makes you think I can create these monsters? I'm sealed underneath the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars, for heaven's sake! If I have the ability to create monsters, I might as well use it to escape my bonds centuries ago!”
Well, he had a point there, but I wasn't going to trust him so easily. Giving the thing a wide berth, I continued on, relying on the blue holographic map.
”These creatures have been living under the city for decades, undetected by you pathetic humans.” The shadowy voice chuckled again. ”They are not of this world.”
That caught my attention. ”You mean they are aliens?” I blurted out.
”Aliens?” the demonic existence sounded like he was frowning, as if he found that word unfamiliar.
”Um, beings from another world,” I quickly qualified.
”Ah, yes. Then they are probably aliens. Like I said, they are not of this world.” The shadowy existence paused dramatically. ”It seems that you still aren't aware of the demonic world. On occasion, the barrier between this world and the demonic world thins, and foul monsters such as these sometimes slip through. That's how they got here, and with no one to hunt them down, they quickly prospered and built their nest in this area.”
”…prospered?” I repeated, not liking the sound of that.
”Yeah.” The demonic existence giggled sinisterly. ”You really didn't think that was the only one of its kind living down here, did you?”
When he finished his sentence, I heard that same rustling sound again, only this time there was a lot more of it. From the sound of it, it seemed like there was at least a dozen of this monster's comrades scurrying in the darkness behind me.
”Holy fuck…!”
With a yell, I took off in the corridor that the holographic map pointed me into, shutting the book and hoping my memory wouldn't lead me astray. An inhuman screeched echoed behind me, and I spun around on reflex, only to see a bunch of claws flashing toward me.
Fortunately, Snow Aegis moved in to intercept, and the claws bounced off its hard surface without leaving a scratch. The grotesque monster snarled in frustration at being thwarted, but I replied by directing one of my six flying mobile turrets to incinerate its head with a well-aimed qi beam and it slumped into the ground.
As it fell like a sack of potatoes, I caught a glimpse of an entire horde of monsters, which probably numbered more than a hundred. Deciding to just call them Deros for now, I coordinated my six hovering mobile turrets to launch a concerted volley of fire, the qi beams lancing through the thick carapace of the shrieking monsters and slaying a few.
Over and over again, my mobile turrets fired, but for every single one they slew, three more took its place. I was sprinting full out now, using my footwork techniques to widen the gap between us as much as possible, but for some reason these Deros were still able to catch up with me.