Chapter 36 Causative factor
The moment they crossed the threshold, the pressure shifted. The suffocating chaos from the hall faded, replaced by quiet. The air turned cooler here, and the walls glimmered faintly, as if dusted with tiny crystals that caught the dim light behind them and tossed it back in weak, scattered glints. Their footsteps echoed as they ran, the sound stretching oddly along the narrow passage.
They finally arrived at another spacious hall filled with bodies.
Mael studied the remains. "These people looked like they belonged to various clans. They probably came in after the tomb was opened."
Among the corpses stood human-shaped figures, motionless, their skin the color of dried blood. They were hideous, the kind of ugly that made the eye want to slide away. Their skin was shedding in wet strips, and from the exposed flesh beneath came a yellowish pus that smelled of rot and old sickness.
"What a disgusting smell," Ophelia said, wrinkling her nose. The four disciples stayed close to the enforcers, surrounded by them as a precaution.
"Those are truly wild beasts," Jaeden said, then narrowed his eyes. "What is that on the neck of one of the smaller ones? That looks like treasure." He had noticed a peculiar necklace, its pendant glowing with a vibrant green energy.
"Yeah, I think we will find more treasure once we leave this particular place," Kieran said. He did not even bother to look. His sister Lydia remained quiet beside him.
"Mael, over there. That specific body seems to have a lot of resonance energy in its bones," Vandal noted. He was highly sensitive to resonance energy, a sensitivity that had awakened in him since he came into this world and grown more prominent as he became stronger.
"Hm, the safety of these disciples comes first. Let us just leave this place and head to the next section. Whatever we can take, we take. Once we have marked the location of the specific tomb, we can leave immediately. There are several of those human-like things here," Mael remarked.
Jaclyn's eyes shone. "This place will have excellent materials for the toxins I am trying to prepare." She took out her scalpel and carefully scraped some algae from the surface of the wall, though her gaze kept drifting to the humanoid beasts standing still. She made no effort to approach them.
Suddenly, a group of disciples ran into the tunnel and emerged into the hall just as Mael's group was nearing the exit point. They saw the human-like beasts and instantly stifled screams. These disciples were also from the Unseeing Faith; their insignia suggested they belonged to the seeker category.
"Yes, I know where I have seen these things," Yazmeen said, her eyes widening the more she looked. "I read about them in a book. They are harbinger corpse eaters. I never thought I would see such things here."
"They are ugly as well," Chan said. "Let us just get out of this place." He could not wait to reach the other side of the hall, but all of them deliberately walked slowly, placing each foot with care in case the creatures were sensitive to sound.
Jaeden's eyes remained fixed on the jewel around that particular creature's neck. He decided that once the rest were almost at the exit point, he would divert, snatch the necklace, and make a run for it. No risk without reward.
Soon they had arrived at the other side and were about to enter the tunnel when Jaeden quickly turned away from the group. Using his wind echo, he curved his finger and made a subtle motion, manipulating the air to lift the necklace from the creature's neck.
"What are you doing?" Lydia said in alarm.
"Getting my first treasure," Jaeden said with a cocky grin. The wind carried the necklace smoothly through the air, and it landed in his palm.
As soon as the necklace left the creature's neck, its face suddenly moved in Jaeden's direction.
The creature's mouth opened unnaturally wide, and a shrill, piercing screech tore through the hall. Several other harbinger corpse eaters turned toward them.
Whheeeeerrggghhhk!
The air filled with wet, guttural howls and the frantic scramble of claws on stone. Instantly, the strange monsters caught two disciples and began tearing into the flesh of their bodies with huge, savage bites.
"Shit, let us go fast," Mael ordered, and they all broke into a run.
The creatures moved with unnatural speed. Within minutes, they had killed and eaten the disciples behind Mael's group. Just as the party was about to enter the only tunnel entrance that served as an exit, the harbinger corpse eater that had lost its necklace lunged forward with incredible speed, its claws outstretched.
The scream that followed did not come from behind them this time. It tore through the space beside them, close enough to rattle the breath in Sabine's chest as she stumbled forward. The tunnel mouth loomed ahead, narrow and uneven, its jagged edges catching the dim light like broken teeth. The sound of intense tearing and frantic footsteps overlapped until it became impossible to tell who was still alive and who had already fallen.
Sabine did not look back immediately, but the tremor in Lydia's voice forced her to turn her head just enough to see the shape of chaos unraveling. Lydia had been a step behind, her hand outstretched as if reaching for balance, but something else reached her first. A harbinger corpse eater lunged low, its elongated jaw snapping shut around her shoulder, the force twisting her body sideways before she even had time to scream again.
Mael's head snapped toward the sound. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the creature dragging Lydia backward, its jaws clamped tight. Without hesitation, he raised his hand, his echo flaring bright and sharp. Light coalesced around his palm, condensing into a searing lance of pure radiance.
"Get off her!" he roared.
He hurled the light lance forward with vicious speed. The projectile cut through the dim tunnel like a comet, aimed straight for the creature's skull. But another harbinger corpse eater lunged deliberately into its path at the last instant, throwing its own body in front of the strike. The light lance punched clean through its chest with a sizzling crack, and the shielding creature convulsed once before collapsing. The original attacker never even slowed.
Mael's face twisted in raw frustration. "Damn you!" he spat, the words half a curse and half a plea. He did not stop. His hands moved in rapid succession, throwing lance after lance of blazing light. Each one streaked forward with lethal precision, yet time and again the creatures sacrificed themselves without hesitation. Several more threw their bodies forward as living shields, absorbing the strikes with wet, burning thuds while the first harbinger continued its feast.
The creature's eyes, black and glistening and unnervingly intelligent, remained fixated on Jaeden the entire time as it tore deeper into Lydia's body, its jaws working with grotesque hunger. The gaze seemed almost deliberate, as if taunting them, refusing to look away from the one it truly wanted.
"Keep moving," Mael shouted, his voice sharp and desperate, but it came too late to change anything.
"No. That is my sister. I am going back for her!" Kieran turned back.