From Moving Crates to Killing Gods-Chapter 104: Shepherd

I needed to think fast because the underground fight wasn’t slowing. Through Sense I counted fifteen Corruptors trapped in the collapsed tunnel, packed tight with no footing, while the serpents struck them from below and the larger one stayed above, attacking the remaining five.

The corridor would run through here and I couldn’t let all of the Corruptors die, because of the portals, and because the serpents might grow stronger by killing them. Walking away wasn’t an option.

An idea formed, not a good one, but the only one I had time for.

I grabbed the cube and forced the barrier outward, larger than before, big enough to contain the fifteen Corruptors, then deactivated it and moved.

I ran toward the hole where the Corruptors had fallen.

The edge crumbled under my boots as I reached it, loose soil giving way where the ground had collapsed. I stopped just long enough to glance down into the pit, dark and shifting with movement.

I threw the cube.

It dropped and vanished into the noise.

Through Sense I tracked it settling among the fifteen Corruptors, all compressed together as serpents struck from the tunnel openings around them. Pressure built behind my eyes, backlash from pushing my abilities too fast, too often.

Not yet.

I waited until the cube sat near the center, then triggered the barrier.

It snapped into place.

The serpents struck against the outer edge, pressure rippling through the barrier’s surface.

I had to move, fast.

Quickstep.

I put distance between us, far enough that the serpents wouldn’t immediately find us, but still within range of Sense.

My hand moved on instinct, grabbing a rock from the ground. I extended Sense until I found the pit and wrapped a mental shape around the barrier, a defined volume I could focus on.

Everything was moving. The Corruptors pressed from every side, the ground vibrated beneath me, sweat slicked my grip on the stone.

Focus.

I didn’t need to focus on the Corruptors. I didn’t need to focus on the serpents. Only on the shape of the barrier.

Switch.

The ground shuddered.

I looked to the side, the barrier’s green light flaring against my palm.

But the shape looked wrong, curving inward.

Then I understood.

I was inside the barrier with them.

"AAAA." I shouted instinctively, the sound ripping out of me before I could stop it.

For a fraction of a second everything aligned, fifteen bodies turning at once, every Corruptor locking onto me inside a closed space where sound meant prey.

All fifteen lunged.

"You have done it this time Allaran." I muttered under my breath.

Something in me moved faster than the thought.

Shrink.

The barrier pulled inward.

The first Corruptor slammed into the wall instead of reaching me, its momentum breaking just enough to disrupt the lunge, then another hit it, then a third crashed into both as space shrank around them.

The barrier kept tightening, not crushing, just compressing, forcing fifteen bodies into each other, stacking them against the green surface, stripping away every inch of room.

"Stop." I said sharply.

The barrier held.

In the distance, the serpents inside the pit went still. Through Sense I felt scales shifting against dirt, the larger one adjusting, trying to understand what the glowing sphere had done and where its targets had gone.

We weren’t far enough.

I had seconds.

I then did three actions back to back.

I crouched and grabbed a fistful of sand with my left hand, locked onto the cube buried in the middle of the Corruptor mass, then threw the dark water canteen to my right. It hit the ground a few meters away and cracked open, dark liquid spreading across the dirt.

Switch.

The cube snapped into my hand.

Deactivate.

Fifteen Corruptors, suddenly free, most of them freezing for a fraction of a second as the pressure vanished.

I was already moving.

"Now run for your life!" I said to myself, lunging forward. Placing the cube inside my inventory so I could run easier.

Quickstep.

The world stretched and snapped as I pushed the ability hard, each step covering as much ground as I could. Behind me the Corruptors recovered and gave chase, not coordinated, not clean, but accelerating as they locked onto a target.

Me.

I ran in the opposite direction of the serpents.

I didn’t look back.

I just ran, not sure how far I needed to go.

Not sure how far I could.

Behind me, I heard the sound of fifteen Corruptors trying to navigate rough terrain at full speed, it was not graceful.

I kept running.

"Just a normal day." I gasped between steps. "Normal day in the wasteland, perfectly normal. Nothing unusual about being chased by fifteen monsters I just kidnapped from a snake pit."

The ground sloped upward ahead. Good, high ground meant better visibility...

Also more running.

"Should have stayed in camp." I continued, because talking to myself helped distract from the burning in my lungs. "Should have let Damian handle it, I’ve only seen him do office work."

Behind me, the sounds of pursuit grew closer. Not because they were faster, but because I was slowing down. I was used to running 100 laps, but not at max speed.

"I should have rested." I wheezed. "I should have napped when Wip did it. Wip understands the importance of rest."

I risked a glance back.

Fifteen Corruptors were spread across the terrain behind me, strung out in a rough line. The fastest ones were maybe thirty seconds away from me. The slowest was currently tangled in something that looked like a bush.

One of them tripped, fell and got up. Then ran into another one. Both went down the slope.

"Terrain advantage." I said, gasping. "Finally something goes my way."

I just had to guide them to the other side of the mountain, where the snakes wouldn’t find them.

I was going to make it... probably.

I just had to guide them over the mountain, far enough from the serpents, that was it.

My vision flickered. The pressure behind my eyes spiked, sharper than before.

I stumbled mid step.

"Oh no." I said, breath catching as I kept running on pure momentum. "That’s bad."

I felt it.

I had reached my limit.