My lungs were on fire.
I could hardly see. The entire ti, I ran ahead without looking back.
.....Several hands reached out for , trying to grab from all directions.
I ducked, jumped, and twisted my body in all directions in order to avoid the hands. But it was hard.
"Haa... Haa..."
I could hardly think properly.
...The poison had now reached almost every part of my body. Every movent was laced with
a numbing sensation that made it seem as though I was lying on a bed of needles.
It was uncomfortable.
"Ukeh...!"
I ducked down again, tracing my hand down and severing the ankles of a nearby Wraith.
Thump!
Its body fell limp, and with a wave of my hand, our images swapped. I beca the Wraith, and the Wraith beca .
Bang, bang-!
A notification flashed past my vision.
I ignored it and looked ahead.
The distance between and the entrance of the temple wasn't far.
Running past the shadows cast by the enormous statues, my vision alternated between bright and dark. There were three more statues that I needed to get past, with the distance drawing nearer and nearer as I ran.
"Наа..."
I clutched onto my chest as my lungs burned even more fiercely.
While I had indeed used quite a bit of mana, I still had enough to spare to fight several Wraiths. The problem was my stamina.
.... With each step that I took, my body grew heavier, and breathing was starting to beco extrely difficult.
But as I stared toward the entrance of the temple, I knew that I needed to push myself just a little more.
A little...
"...!"
Bang-!
A shadow cast above and I hastily jumped to the side, rolling on the ground for a few seconds before springing myself back up.
"W-what in the..."
When I turned my head, my eyes fell on the area where I had previously been and my heart stopped.
There, a Wraith appeared.
It was no different than the other Wraiths, or was it...? I couldn't quite tell since all of its insides were littered across the ground.
.... It was dead, and the cause of death was obvious.
I raised my head to look up.
"Ahh."
My lips parted but no words ca out.
Crawling like spiders, several dozen Wraiths erged on the heads of the statues above , their movents unnaturally fast and eerie.
Their hollow sockets seed to pierce through my soul as they fixed their empty gazes upon . My heart hamred wildly against my chest.
Suddenly, with its mouth gaping open in a silent scream, one of the Wraiths lunged at , its empty eyes never wavering from .
"Fuck...!"
I understood then what had happened and my expression hardened.
These guys...
For whatever reason, they had beco suicidal.
Bang!
A shadow cast on the area above .
Without hesitation, I hurriedly ran forward in an attempt to dodge the Wraith, and just when I thought I had managed to get away from it, another one jumped.
My expression twisted.
Bang-!
The area behind shattered.
"Haa... Haa..."
To make matters worse, in the distance, I could see more Wraiths appear. They all stood by the dark entrance of the temple, their empty sockets fixed on as they attempted to stop from entering.
My heart sank when I saw the number of Wraiths that were piling up at the entrance.
Bang, bang-!
And the fact that there were many others lunging at didn't make things easier.
However, the thing that I was most focused on was the fact that there was not a single Wraith within the entrance. It was almost as if sothing was stopping them from going in.
My eyes glinted at the thought.
'I should be safe so long as I get in...'
I looked behind, only for my heart to sink further as the path behind was overflowing with
Wraiths as well.
It was then that I ca to a realization.
'I'm trapped.'
I could neither slow down nor turn back.
The path in front of was blocked, and stopping would an a certain death.
'... They aren't leaving with any options at all.'
I tried my best to keep my mind calm, but it was difficult. The situation was out of control,
and I needed to think of a quick solution, but regardless of how much I tried to think, my mind remained empty.
The only thought that crossed my mind was to brute force my way through, but was that even
possible?
Could I do it...?
Clench.
'I have no choice but to try.'
Bang-!
Twisting the heel of my foot, I narrowly avoided a Wraith that fell a few inches away from .
Without looking back, I rushed for the entrance that was overflowing with Wraiths, and as I
drew nearer to them, chains appeared over my left arm.
Clenching my hand into a fist, I kicked the ground with force and activated [Step of
Supression].
"Uekh...!"
My mind felt as though it was being split in two the mont I activated the skill as over thirty Wraiths fell into the suppression zone.
Sothing trickled down my left nostril and my left eye twitched at the sa ti.
I was now just a few ters away from the Wraiths who had slowed down under the effect of
my skill.
Swoosh!
But because of how diluted the effect of the skill was due to the sheer number of them, their movents were still considered to be fast.
Still, I could see their movents, and that was enough.
Clank!
Sparks flew as I raised my left hand and blocked an incoming attack.
"Kh!"
The force behind the attack almost sent reeling to the side, but I kept my feet planted on
the ground and just barely managed to stop myself from getting pushed.
"Haa...!"
I breathed a sigh of relief when I was able to keep myself upright and took a step forward.
All I could see were Wraiths as they filled my entire vision, but through a tiny gap, I could see
the entrance of the tunnel.
It was so close...
Swoosh!
Ducking down, I thought about severing their ankles but held myself back. While severing
their ankles was indeed a good way to get rid of them, that only applied when they were
chasing .
Right now, they were rely blocking my path, and while severing their ankles would stop them from lunging at , it didn't an that they could do nothing to .
They were still alive, and they could very well aim for my legs.
For that reason, I gritted my teeth and kept pushing forward.
"Akh!"
Despite my best attempts, I wasn't able to stop myself from getting injured.
Pain engulfed my mind as sothing pierced my back.
I could feel the back of my shirt tear apart as my blood leaked down. That wasn't the worst of
it all as I received several heavy blows to my abdominal area, and to my face.
"Uekh!"
Groaning and screaming was a way for to cope with the pain.
It helped alleviate a lot of the stress, and I kept pushing forward.
Bang!
Sothing tallic traced the tip of my tongue.
"Cough...!"
I tried my best to hold it within my mouth, but within a short mont, I had no choice but to
spit everything out as the ground stained red.
Spurt!
My lungs burned with even more intensity.
I felt sick, and my vision was all blurred. The only thing I could see was the faint shadows of
the Wraiths as they danced before my eyes.
'Ah, fuck... This is bad.'
The situation was turning more and more dire.
I tried my best to keep myself from falling, but my body was slowly starting to give up on .
Especially my mind.
....I was on the verge of losing it.
The toll that [Step of Supression] had on my mind was far too much for .
It felt as though my mind was repeatedly getting bashed by a hamr over and over again,
and I knew that I had to recall the skill.
But that would mark the end of .
The only reason why I was still alive at that mont was because of my skill.
Without it, I knew that I'd already be dead by now. So... what do I do now? What do I do?!
Bang!
My body shook, and I heard sothing crack.
Thud!
I fell on one knee.
"Ah...!"
My heart pounded in desperation as I tried to get up, but it was no use. My knee refused to
listen to .
'Shit!'
I looked up.
Empty sockets t my gaze.
The gravity that surrounded returned to normal, and my mind cleared up a little.
And finally, I felt it.
Despair.
"Cough."
At that mont, several hands covered my vision. They all appeared to head in my direction.
Ti seed to move at a crawl as I stared at the approaching hands. Despite everything that was happening to , my mind refused to stop working.
I just observed everything that was happening before until eventually, my face twitched.
In a mont of desperation, I lightly moved my foot forward, and the hands of the Wraith
before fell down.
Thump!
The gravity rely lasted for a split second, but it was enough to force the Wraith down.
That's when I understood sothing, and looked around .
I was now surrounded by Wraiths.
They were all reaching out to kill with their hands, and as I saw their hands reach out for
, I pulled myself up a little and stepped forward again.
Thump!
This ti, I didn't focus on any Wraith.
No, I focused on their hands.
Thump! Thump...!
They plopped down on the ground in one go.
"Hahaha..."
I bitterly laughed at the sight as sothing finally struck .
'...This is a little bit more difficult but more efficient.'
There was no need for to focus on the Wraiths as a whole. All I needed to do was focus on
their arms and hands.
Those were their main weapons and problems.
....Not their bodies as a whole.
In that case, what I needed to do was hinder their movents in a way that stopped them
from attacking .
Clench.
I didn't waste a single second upon coming to that realization.
Looking around, I focused my attention on all the arms that were swinging at .
Step.
Thump!
Their arms shot down to the ground in an instant.
"Kh...!"
My head throbbed the mont I activated the skill, but reverted back to normal right after I
cancelled it.
"Cough, cough!"
Pushing myself up from the ground again, I stumbled forward.
Thump!
Each ti a Wraith tried to attack, I'd activate [Step of Supression] to stop their hands which
fell to the ground.
"Haa... Haa..."
Like that, I was able to get past several Wraiths, but I was still struggling.
My vision was blurred, and my body was starting to give up on . I was rely hanging by a
thread.
Still, I could see it.
I reached my hand forward.
Toward the entrance of the temple.
It was only a few inches away from .
It was only...
"...!"
I felt sothing grasp my shoulder.
To my horror, it was a hand. I activated my skill, but it was no use. The mana inside of my
body was completely drained.
"Ah..."
My stomach churned at the realization.
Especially when I was so close to the entrance.
Thump!
Another hand grasped my shoulder. Its long slender fingers pierced my skin as I gritted my
teeth in pain.
Thump, thump!
Several hands reached out at the sa ti.
It wasn't long before I was being held by over half a dozen hands.
"No, not yet..."
I still tried to push forward.
"Kh!"
With my teeth gritted, I tensed my legs and pushed myself forward.
Not yet...! I was so close.
So close!
"Akh!"
Through gritted teeth, I used every little bit of my energy to move free from the hands that
seed to want to pull back. I reached forward with my hand, the tips of my fingers
brushing against the entrance of the temple.
So close. So...!
"Akh!!!"
I scread at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing loudly within the enclosure as I grabbed
the hands that reached my shoulders and pulled them away.
"Huu..! Huu!"
In my desperation, I bit into several of the hands, a bitter and repulsive taste filling my mouth
as I struggled to free myself. But it was as if fate itself was mocking -more and more
hands erged from the shadows, their grip tightening, pulling deeper into the nightmare.
Thump! Thump! Thump...!
They continued to pull back.
Seemingly wanting to devour .
"Ah! No, ah..!"
And then...
They did.
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