Entire river was engulfed in flames, the trees surrounding us burning up, leaving behind nothing but ash. Smoke filled the air, mixing in with the oxygen— even the blood river was in flames, the flames hovering over the crimson river in what should be logical impossibility.
The Bloodroot Stranglers whined and began thrashing wildly, the vines being engulfed in flames— the creatures were weak to it and they were dying, due to the flames left behind by the explosion Nico had created. Most of the Bloodroot Stranglers, just dropped dead to the ground, after thrashing around for awhile.
None of them bothered getting close to the flames, most of them just retreated underneath the river in fear, suddenly not caring about dragging me or Nico with them.
Limping away from the smoke, I slumped into the blood red river, breathing heavily. My tunic was tattered, in complete ruins. My body had suffered severely burns, most of my side and chest scorched. The pain was unbearable, but I held it together by activating [The Zone.]
Somehow I managed to survive.
I had run away the moment Nico pressed down his palm beneath the blood river, but due to the momentum from rushing towards Nico so recklessly, I barely managed to get out of there in time. Thankfully, I didn't lose a limb or anything like that. Only suffered some severe burns due to throwing myself into the flames, just to escape the Shockwave.
Usually, that would be an even worse outcome for me. The pain would of been unbearable, I didn't think I had the mental fortitude for it. However, with [The Zone] active, it nulled the pain ever so slightly, helping my mind remain calm, even as my entire body was littered with burns.
Groaning, I managed to slowly get on my feet and look around, my eyes half-lidded. I took in the surroundings, still wary of any more attacks from the Bloodroot Stranglers, but luckily there was none. I heaved a sigh of relief, just now realizing that the Bloodroot Stranglers had a very clear weakness—Fire.
"Now where is that bastard…"
I gritted my teeth as I thought of Nico. He must have used the very last of his innate spirit, pushing his own body to the limit, just to cause that explosion. This is the best chance i would ever have of killing him. I can't let this opportunity go to waste! I had already lost too many chances!
Mustering all my strength, I started walking towards the blood river, my eyes scanning for any signs of Nico in the sea of flames. The smoke and fire created a perfect cover for Nico, I knew he was taking advantage of it and wouldn't make it easy for me to have find him. Not when he was so vulnerable.
Just as I was thinking about Nico, something he said came to mind when he suggested the outrageous idea of me teaming up with him.
"Move to the next level before night comes…"
I murmured, summoning the screen by instead, turning to the mission log, where underneath, it showed the details regarding the blood river.
Blood River:—
Current Location: Level 4.
Location Monster: [Bloodroot Stranglers]
Distance to next Level: 10.6Km.
Time until Nightfall: 26:30 minutes.
'Why is there a counter to Nightfall?'
If even Nico was wary of night coming, it must truly be something bad. He seems to know alot, too much, even. I was genuinely curious to see what would happen when it becomes night, when the time hits zero. But I quickly shook off these unnecessary thoughts and continued my search.
I searched and searched, yet I couldn't find him. It was frustrating, but I knew I couldn't just keep on searching for him. Whatever he was doing and what he was planning was now unnecessary. If I couldn't find and kill him, I'll just have to try and reach the next level of this river!
Gritting my teeth, I clenched my calves and moved, as fast as I could, I started rushing down the river, while keeping a close eye on the distance meter.
10 kilometers. That was a long run, it would take me atleast 35 minutes. Nico would struggle even more, with his lack of physical capability, it would be difficult for him to run 10 kilometers. So I wasn't that worried he suddenly got a large lead after the explosion— what I was really worried about my own Stamina, exhuastion and dehydration, that has become even more intense.
If this continues on any longer, im definitely gonna collapse from pushing myself too hard.
Despite my worries, I knew this run was something that must be done. No, it's not like it must be done, I just wanted to do it. I was greedy and wanted the power Movarathos had, by Spirit Binding with him. How could I allow Nico to get his hands on it? First come, first served!
Thus, I continued running despite the aching on my calves and my breathing becoming shallow. I ignored it all, my mind focused on a single goal—reaching the next level.
Distance to next Level: 6.2Km
Time until Nightfall: 12:56 minutes.
I was religiously checking them, practically my lifeline at this point, the only thing keeping me sane. By now, I had turned off [The Zone] to reserve Innate spirit, allowing it to flow naturally within my body and replenish by itself.
My eyes were about to shut, my muscles were aching and my mind was screaming at me to stop, lie down and sleep. But I knew sleeping here would be a death sentence, so I tried my best of resist, even though it was becoming more difficult by the second.
Eventually, just as my resistance was about to wane, my eyes caught something that made it shot open.
From the sky, a shadow of something fell, plunging into the depths of the blood river.
My muscles tensed as I halted, i instinctively got ready for a fight. I had some innate spirit to spare, so I was confident I would be able to defend myself regardless of the circumstances. But what was it? What could of fallen from the sky?
Slowly moving closer, I caught sight of what it was. Messy blond hair with bangs, wounded and injured youthful body, wearing a familier chain-mail armor without the headpiece.
"Nico?"
I was surprised, but not for long. My legs moved on their own, as I suddenly recieved a burst of strengh and lunged towards him, my fists clenched, ready for a fight. Raising it to the air, I struck it down, causing the blood river to ripple around me, as my fist smashed into violently.
Nico had moved out of the way quickly, jumping back and making distance.
"Wait, Morgan! Seriously, wait—"
His words were cut off by an attempted kick to his side, which Nico once more, nimbly dodged. I didn't give up, though. All these punches and kicks was helping me draw closer towards him, to force him into engaging in close-combat with me, that I was certain i could win.
[Probability Pryer] was active, [The Zone] was active. My limited reserves of innate spirit was running dangerously low, but at the moment, it was a gamble i was very much willing to make, if it meant I would be able to kill him right here, right now.
Nico gritted his teeth, dodging another punch from me. But it was just a decoy, as I kicked him right in the stomach, before pouncing him on like a feral animal.
Nico met me with a punch of his own, pushing me away, making me stumble back. But I was persistent, meeting him with an advantageous close-range exchange of blows, mixed in with kicks and headbutts.
I uppercutted him right in the jaw, making Nico's face jerk upwards, making his eyes momentarily black-out, but Nico quickly retaliated with a kick right to my crotch area.
I yelped, my eyes widening as I saw Nico's palm headed straight for my face. Instead of blocking, I gracefully side-stepped out of the way, the momentum leading Nico's palm to be pressed against a tree, which he exploded to pieces upon impact.
'He still has innate spirit to spare….I can't let myself be touched.'
I thought, suddenly more wary now. Knowing simply going crazy isn't a great idea, I turned off [The Zone], pouring the rest of my innate spirit into keeping [Probability Pryer] active to its fullest effect.
Nico half-turned his body to face me, as he spoke.
"Morgan, just hear me out. We need to team up, otherwise there is no way we are surviving the night."
I scoffed. I didn't bother responding. No matter how difficult the night may turn out to be, there is no way I'm teaming up with him. I saw Nico grinding his teeth in frustration, before sighing in defeat.
"Fine, then!"
He seemed to have given up on trying to make me see 'reason' and is now entirely focused on killing me.
Which was exactly how I wanted it to be.
We circled each other briefly, before I suddenly saw Nico dismiss the chain-mail armor, this time putting on the headpiece only. I didn't know what I summoned it, I was about to ask why— but Nico quickly answered with his actions.
He started flying away!
My eyes widened as I watched his feet being lifted off the ground, using some special skill his armor had to defy gravity, flying like a little bird without wings. He looked down at me with a difficult expression for a moment, before he started flying towards the giant tree.
"NO!"
If he could fly, there is no way I could catch up to him! He was gonna take over the lead and reach the destination before me! This also explained how he had suddenly fell from the sky. After all, he had been pretending that his blessing was that he could fly. But in truth, it was a skill from the headpiece he wore.
I couldn't believe it! I genuinely thought that he had run out of innate spirit, but it seemed he still had some to spare.
Still, he can't keep that up forever. That thought gave me some solace. All I could do now was try and catch up to him, then attack and kill or destroy his headpiece when he has landed.
So, without further delay, I started chasing after him. Again. That seems like all I have been doing these past few hours. Nico was very good at running away—it seemed to be his only strategy right now, the only thing he could think of.
I turned off [Probability Pryer] to reserve Innate spirit, then continued chasing after him. I could only see him as this dot in the sky, proving how far and high up he was, but that didn't deter my determination. My only options of defeating him now was to either killing him or destroying that headpiece that allows him to fly—if he reaches the final level of the blood river wearing that, I had no chance of retrieving the Key of Ruin before him. Then, Movarathos would fall to his hands!
As I was lost in these angry thoughts while chasing after the flying Nico, I hadn't even realized how much time had passed. The sun was slowly dipping across the horizon, engulfing the sky in a beautiful orange-crimson glow, the clouds glowing a bright orange. Or atleast, it seemed like they were.
Time until Nightfall: 2:00 minutes.
I still had the screen up, so I managed to check this fairly quickly. There was only two minutes left, but I didn't bother checking it any longer, dismissing the screen with a wave of my hand, I kept my gaze fixed on the dot that was getting further away.
2 minutes passed by in a blur. I hadn't even realized as the sky turned fully dark, since I wasn't focused on it— I only realized when the familier voice inside my head ancounced;
[The Crimson Moon rises….]
The world was engulfed in an eerie crimson veil, that seemed to hit me like an invisible pressure.
[The Monsters grow stronger!]
I didn't have to react, as more than fifty of those Bloodroot Stranglers suddenly shot out from beneath me, grabbing on to me like I was some toy, then dragging me down to the depths before I could even process it.
A muffled scream escaped my lips, as I was plunged into the depths of the blood river.
Time until Daybreak: 30:00 minutes.