Chapter 82: His Welcome Party

The carriage roof exploded.

CRASH!

Splintered wood and twisted metal rained down on them.

The sky of the Salt Plains forced its way into the cabin, bringing with it an unbearable stench.

Something fell in the middle of the carriage.

It was a thing that might have once been human, but war and dirty magic had chewed it up and spit it out.

It stood seven feet tall, its skin was grey like ash and stretched over unnatural muscles.

It had no eyes, only empty sockets weeping a black liquid.

A Forest Shadow.

“AAAAAAH! BY THE GODDESS!” Sister Elena’s scream drilled into everyone’s ears.

The woman threw herself to the carriage floor, covering her head with her hands, trembling like a leaf.

’Good acting, old hag.’

The creature turned its faceless head toward Lara.

Lara froze.

Her empathy was betraying her; she was probably feeling the infinite suffering of that thing.

“Move!” Raziel roared.

He gave Lara a brutal shove, throwing her into the farthest corner, right under the seat where Elena was pretending to cry.

The Forest Shadow swiped with its claws.

SWISH!

The claws passed millimeters from Raziel’s nose. If it had been a second earlier, he wouldn’t have a face right now.

“Hey, ugly!” Lucian shouted.

SHIING!

Lucian unsheathed his short dagger and the blade glowed with a faint greenish aura.

Lucian slid through the tight space of the carriage and stabbed the dagger into the creature’s shoulder.

The blade went in.

But there was no blood.

The creature didn’t even flinch.

Its flesh seemed like hard rubber, it just turned its arm and hit Lucian with the back of its hand.

THUMP!

Lucian went flying against the carriage wall, the air escaping his lungs.

“Lucian!” Lara shouted from the floor.

The Forest Shadow raised both hands, ready to crush the noble’s skull.

Raziel grit his teeth, he only had one option left, so he opened his mouth and let his trauma scream.

[SKILL ACTIVATED: TRAUMA ACOUSTICS]

[COST: 2% MENTAL STABILITY]

A dissonant shriek, invisible but devastating, came out of his throat.

The Forest Shadow stopped.

But it didn’t fall.

The creature shook its head, confused for a second, and then let out a guttural roar that canceled out Raziel’s skill.

[SYSTEM: TARGET LACKS COMPLEX MIND. EFFECT REDUCED TO 10%]

’Damn it! Of course, you can’t traumatize something that is already broken!’

The creature ignored Lucian and turned toward Raziel.

It lunged.

Raziel rolled on the floor, dodging the first hit, but the space was too small. The Shadow cornered him against the shattered door.

The creature’s claws rose up.

He felt like he was going to die again.

’Not today.’

Raziel felt the parasite in his chest.

It was a time bomb, but it was also a channel.

If he used the [Light of the Paragon]

directly, the parasite would feed and kill him.

But if he used just a spark… if he filtered it through the darkness…

It was his only play.

’Burn, you bastard!’ Raziel thought.

He closed his eyes and pulled on the golden light inside him.

[CRITICAL ALERT: SHADOW PARASITE REACTING]

[CORRUPTION RISING]

He felt like acid had been injected into his veins. The pain was so sharp his vision went white.

Raziel extended his hand.

FWOOSH!

A flash of light burst from his palm but it was a dirty white, streaked with black, sick, and the beam hit the Forest Shadow right in the chest.

The grey flesh turned to ash instantly, the smell of ozone intensified until it was nauseating.

Silence fell over the carriage.

Raziel let himself fall against the splintered wood. He grabbed his chest.

He felt like his heart was going to explode.

[SHADOW PARASITE: EXPANSION 5%]

[ESTIMATED LIFESPAN: -8 DAYS]

“Oh, thanks to the Mercy of Zhalyr!” Elena exclaimed, raising her head slowly. “I thought it was our end! Young Raziel, that was… a miracle!”

Raziel wanted to spit blood in her face.

“Yeah… a miracle,” Raziel said with a raspy voice, wiping a thread of black blood running down his nose.

Lucian got up, looked at the ash stain where the monster had been.

“Was that?” he left the question in the air.

He knew Raziel couldn’t talk freely with Elena there.

“Yes,” Raziel answered, looking him in the eyes. “And it just cost me days of life.”

“How many do you have left?”

Raziel closed his eyes, leaning his head against the wood.

“The ones I need,” Raziel whispered.

Lucian didn’t say anything else, there was nothing to say.

***

The red sun bathed the Salt Plains, making the crystals on the ground shine, they had to walk the last stretch, and there, at the end of the road, stood the St. Sophia Sanatorium.

The place was beautiful.

Too beautiful.

It was a massive complex of immaculate white marble, with tall towers and spires.

Gardens of red roses surrounded the main entrance.

There wasn’t a speck of dirt, nor a crack in the walls, nor any sign that the country was on the brink of war or plagued by monsters.

“It’s… impressive,” Lucian murmured, leaning out.

“It’s wrong,” Raziel corrected in a low voice.

The carriage stopped in front of the huge wrought-iron gates.

Elena moved forward first, smoothing her habit as if the attack from the night before had never happened.

“Welcome, my children,” Elena said, opening her arms. “Welcome to the place where true healing happens.”

Lara was pale, she had been quiet during the last hours of the trip, with lost eyes, she took a step toward the outer wall of the Sanatorium. She reached out a trembling hand.

Her fingers brushed the stone.

Immediately, Lara let out a scream and pulled her hand back as if she had touched fire.

“Lara?” Lucian approached quickly. “What’s wrong?”

Lara looked at the building, breathing heavily.

“Raziel…” Her voice was full of tears.

Raziel looked at the perfect building. “What did you feel?” he asked, although he already feared the answer.

Lara shook her head, trembling violently.

“There is something underneath this place. Something that screams and there are thousands.”

Raziel looked up at the dark windows of the Sanatorium.

The System blinked on his retina with a blood-red message.

[NEW LOCATION DISCOVERED: ST. SOPHIA SANATORIUM]

[DANGER LEVEL: DEADLY]

[MISSION UPDATED: SURVIVE THE CURE]

Elena watched them from the open door, her smile widening a little more.

“Are you coming?” she asked softly. ” The treatment cannot wait.”

“Let’s go,” Raziel said, pushing Lara gently behind him. “To hell.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep