Chapter 270: To the Exit

The ground trembled, along with the walls, and the ceiling. S'vokalt's roar wasn't something to easily dismiss. Her roar was either a command or an irritated one. Ned hoped it was the latter.

After they exit tunnels, and chambers they have reached the ruined plaza. Marble white floor with parts half-cracked like a spider web.

The air around Ned swirled with the black form of energy as he examined the surroundings free from the army of Kruthiks. Some of the beast's deep brown scales were scattered on the ground. Spikes forming their limbs were torn on one other side.

And since they were at the edge of the ruined plaza, it shows how wide the plaza was. Some form of concretes were scattered over another side, which Ned haven't noticed before when they marched going to the ruined castle.

"Ned," Katolin said after she tugged the end of Ned's upper coat. "Please, don't let that monster control me."

Ned nodded over his shoulder and said nothing. He held Katolin's arm and smiled.

"Ahh," Rassus said as though grinning inside Ned's mind. "How sweet."

Then the ground trembled. Over the horizon, massive metal chains clanked together with S'vokalt's scream.

"I don't care if you cut your hands or legs. But make sure to not die," Rassus said. A hint of worry over his voice. "My consciousness is fading. So, you better wrap things here human. With your eyes, finding the trigger in this Array will be easy."

That was the first time that Ned heard Rassus spoke in this kind of manner.

Ned felt the energy in the ruined plaza. He could tell which part of the plaza with thick mana and he assumed immediately that this mana was connected to the ruined castle. The longer he focused, the more he could sense the mana in the center of the plaza.

But not long after, the tunnels behind them, and far to their right (near the dark tower) echoed of the screeching from the smaller Kruthiks. Then in the middle of the tower, its wall shook then cracked and another Evolved Kruthik revealed itself.

Ned clenched his fist with the incoming wave.

He recalled the broken Butterfly. It was back to its broken form. But after it was summoned out of Ned's inventory, it shook then the black energy around Ned was absorbed. Until it appeared longer and extended of black energy.

"Show off," Rassus remarked about Ned's broken Butterfly. "That thing hates me."

"This?" Ned said raising the broken Butterfly. "It looked beautiful."

The black energy around the sword coiled and slithered from the hilt to the tip of the black energy.

At the base of the tower, the darkness distorted from the crystals over the walls. Then, there emerged the Evolved Kruthiks, with smaller ones running under its belly.

They leaped and skidded rocks.

"Ned," Katolin said, "there's a lot of them. I'm not sure if we could take them all."

"I'm pretty sure we can't take them all with the big one joining."

Ned focused with the Butterfly he held on the ready. He could sense thick mana concentrated in the middle of the plaza.

Ned ran toward it with Katolin trailing him behind. She readies herself with only her limb behind her back, and tiny orbs of lightning around her palm. It was the best she could manage with her remaining mana. Her energy was also depleted that she could expose only one of her limbs out of eight. Even the way she ran was limping from her wounds from before they fell the tower.

Ned stopped over a circular pattern covered with dust and some marks from the spikes of the beasts.

"There!" He cried looking at the circular pattern. Ned brushed the dust only to reveal other circular patterns that were connected to the bigger circle in the middle.

There were 30 smaller circles around the bigger one. These smaller circles were then carved with a line that looked like a thread that ran outside the ruined plaza.

"Shit!" Ned cursed, and Rassus laughed with Ned's predicament. "This is more complex than I thought."

The ground behind them rumbled. Then over the tiny hills of rocks, at the foot of the tower, emerged the army of beasts.

"They're coming, Ned."

Katolin rushed beside Ned and extended her spider-like limb and brandished it as though acting as a shield with its thick scale. Katolin couldn't conjure her armor since she was lacking the mana to do it. Still, she stood before Ned and acted as his shield.

Ned heard Katolin but he was more concerned about the Array.

S'vokalt then screeched inside the ruined castle, then Ned heard another chain clanking. She was forcing herself to break the chain.

As her screech resounding the dome, the circle and smaller circles shone a bright line, then dimmed immediately.

But Ned saw engravings inside the circles. Each circle were Runes that held the bigger circle. The engraving inside the bigger circle caught Ned's attention.

He bent and knelt as he analyzes the circles. Behind him, Katolin started to fight the smaller Kruthiks.

Ned must hurry and find a way to use the Array against S'vokalt and her army of beasts.

Katolin bent and swept the smaller Kruthik's spikes which pushed them further back. Katolin was on the defensive and she barely moves to left Ned alone.

Her move created a distance between her and Ned and the smaller beasts, this also gave her the chance to use the smaller orbs circling her fingers.

A blast of light shot off from Katolin's hands. This light turned to arcs and pierced the advancing Kruthiks. Passing it through their body, the Kruthiks fell one by one, dead. Bodies charred and black smoke leaked from their bodies.

Rassus remained quiet, the usual mouth he got was not echoing inside Ned.

Ned noticed that the engraves inside the bigger circle have S'vokalt's image. A big crab-like creature with countless limbs and an elongated head was visible inside the big circle. Every time S'vokalt roars, the big circle was lit with white light.

It was intricately carved as though she was being worshipped.