Murai looked at her serious face, curious and wondering what else she was probably hiding in her head. There must be many other things that she wasn't letting out, like him. He kind of feared this version of Lisa who was eyeing the opportunity and her ideas with her own benefits and cares.
Sothing was definitely hiding behind her action, but so were kind of needed, and others were insensible like trying to swim in a desert. This ti here wasn't for her to try herself, nor it was important 3rd ti here. It was an opportunity to cause so variables and for Murai to clutch and try to work around certain rules.
Lisa was acting for her sake more than hoping to change this status quo. That, Murai saw in her and he preferred this sort of reasoning much better than her usual deanor. Now, she actually had reasons, and she took him to an interesting place to escape danger from. Well, it ended up in a place full of other dangers, so should he rejoice in his suffering or luck?
Was it even luck? Murai was doubting his choices over this topic, but this version of trouble was better than the kind he had before. He will take what he gets. What else would be the point of worrying about it anyway?
He can't go out of here, considering the problems of Death Valley's location and lurking dangers that would endanger his life. He can go straight toward another potentially deadly situation, but it was better to take stakes in so form of a dungeon than worry about the hunt for his skin.
Without giving an answer to her question or more words, Murai grunted and shoved her aside. He at least tried to, but his beak traveled through Lisa this ti around, causing her figure to waver and her face to flicker in motions. It changed back to normal in a second.
She didn't even smile, or let out a sight or any words. Her face wasn't the usual unbothered kind. The issue pertaining to the Temple was a significant one, and she was familiar with it in her head. It shouldn't have changed in 50 years, let alone through the unknown years, that went on in this place. Not even the Centralis Kingdom would be able to change a thing since it got the Seventh Death Forest under control.
It posed no issues with the lurking dangers ahead, as it was no place for n to touch a thing. There was a place lurking and working through the hands of a certain Goddess hiding underneath this whole place.
She was thinking alone, outside of Murais' views or curses, thinking and calculating about the way of this situation. There was this hesitation about certain rules too, but most of it revolved around the questionable ways Murai was prone to have. She was never sure what to expect because of it, but he indeed was like a magnet to dangers and a plot of gods. Since she discovered the notion of the Seventh Death Forest, she recalled Death Valley too.
Then, Izik got the map in his head, causing her to discover their route of hunting and it was close to this Death Valley.
After that, the hell went loose as the Coyotes appeared and the rest was history.
Murai ended up here because of her. In a place that she was rightfully claiming to be an opportunity and sothing that could help him, but could it? She thought of it as an excuse, more than an opportunity, but it was better than trying to move through the Seventh Death Forest which was ho to the hunting grounds of Centralis Kingdom.
That was the undeniable truth, and she wasn't wrong in any regard of those topics. But how much this idea could change his fate? With the whole perception that was surrounding Murai and devouring him, she doubted Lordis or his perception of the Encounter was anything but a ans to destroy this Blessed Anatidae that should never exist. That was a fact she understood and realized the mont she beca his Life Companion and began to know him from the inside out.
Though, it was nothing but undeeded worry, as she can't undo her choice, nor her vision as a 3rd ti carrier of living. First life was whatever. It went like a fog, hidden after she followed a much more intricate 2nd New Beginning, which was crazier than anything else. She went ahead and lived a fulfilling life as a succubus, following desires, powers, and options as a Blessed. Right now was her 3rd choice and probably her last worry to have.
Wasting it wasn't sothing that she wished for, yet the circumstances of this choice weren't up to her. Nothing was, in a sense, as whatever decided on these choices was nothing but wild chaos that she was unable to see, let alone change.
Now, a non-option of being a Life Companion of a Blessed Anatidae that shouldn't exist moved her nonexistent innards. Along with that went her internal motivation and confidence surrounding many visions. From gods, heavens, and things she discovered as she was closing on the power of an Extre. Lisa was stubborn like a brick and her old vision, ego, and self were sothing she was realizing. Her mind was still hers and it shouldn't be any different.
Her terms were not hers, however, but she can work around Murai in a way that may work. It could, because if it wouldn't, then it would be yet another End and her last chance. She disliked the fact of this context of her last choice that was more like a death sentence, but what if... What if this situation would still turn around to greater heights?
Could she trust him with her life? She may, albeit she never did before. Too few did.
Glancing around the further dunes, Lisa seed to accept her wonders in silence, following behind Murai who got to his walking. It was a decision that Murai didn't expect to occur as it was another ti for another wild and dangerous dive, and for what?
So A Temple huh? Another place of danger? Murai thought. Call old-fashioned but my sense of adventure is ticking off. Hell, even my na was Danger at one point! Bah! I am not fearing this ssy place that may be more than one would assu. An ancient past fell from grace, moving to the future to turn into yet another ancient past. I saw things like this more than twice, or thrice. It just ans I will have to put full resolution over my decision and cater to this ss.
He was walking through the desert, fearing things he should. With his body low in the sand, the wind was pushing him to the ground, rather than away. That was an unnatural advantage in this sort of place, where the wind blew and sand was making things uncomfortable. Though, he passed and flew over the most ridiculous storms, and was in a more milder part of Death Valley.
He snuggled his neck down, squinting his eyes to see better so he could move past the wind blowing to his face. It didn't work that well.
He saw the direction to go, so he jolted his Mana Detection with further limits, fearing the lurking dangers above when he glid through the air. He also tried to seek out the Temple's direction, but it was hard to tell what went on beyond his 30-ter limit.
The hills and mountains were still around 1 kiloter away, but all things considered, he fell very close to the temple and was more than 5 kiloters away from the nearest cliff. That was a surprising amount of flying distance he managed to pull off after falling for 100 ters. The wind of this place helped the most, unsurprisingly.
Flying was much better than going on foot, which was sothing most people willing to challenge this place had to do. Lisa was glad in this case since Murai wouldn't be able to get here if it wouldn't for his wings. She was glad she forced him through this ordeal.
Then Murai stopped, feeling as if sothing wild spread through his senses and smacked him to his head. Before, he was not as attentive about so things, and... the underground... No! This whole valley was reeking of blood, death, and certain brightness that was full of an unkept ambiance. It was seeping of the mana too, and quite a wild one it was.
It was evil and chaotic, like the forest before, but that one was direct and nacing like the Death itself. But this place was hiding the true colors of sothing more hideous, yet surprisingly intricate than a large forest. It was sothing more than death as if so dark elents wanted to clash with so Order instead, creating clashing revolutions under the sand. The mana was shimring underground, filling the sand with strange vibrations of many kinds.
Aura was there too. The kind that mana was letting out involuntarily through the srizing effects of years of so ways. Whatever was below, or further, wasn't normal.
Murai could feel tingling senses of dangers underneath him yet he was unable to point to specific things. It was more about the aura, than anything specific. Nothing sensed him, nor attacked him, much to his surprise. It was because his Mana Detection wasn't that good, and he also felt he didn't penetrate more than 20 ters below the surface.
Though one feeling was particularly terrific, so Murai stopped walking upon discovering it. “L-Lisa... This fucking place... This is terrific. You weren't joking nor exaggerating.”
“About what? Ancient god, or what? Trust , I know what I am talking about when I have no ti to waste, mostly... sotis. I suggest putting away the Mana Detection, or sothing will find it offensive enough to clutch your weak body like a pile of old grass. None will attack you, I an. We are close to the temple, much to your lackluster luck of being able to fly to its proximity, so it is your luck before the actual challenge even starts. Since you are weak, that is, but I fear so things may be closer to you... There are so issues around the Temple, and they will try to apprehend you.”
“Apprehend?”
“To your death, seeping the life out of your or your blood,” Lisa said fearfully, before chuckling and patting Murai on his head, smirking. “I wished I was joking more than I could, but don't fret. We are close thanks to my guidance and your tries in flying. I would praise your wings, but... I reckon you don't need it.”
Murai gulped down, feeling the dry saliva in his throat. “Nah... Keep your praises to yourself.” he quacked in annoyance. “Isn't it better to wait a bit to rejoice in this journey? I haven't eaten a thing in a while. I am hungry.” Murai put forth an excuse, which Lisa ignored at first.
“You will be fine. There will be so food, probably.” she hesitated. “if you are lucky in terms of the party.”
Her words didn't reassure him, yet Murai still accepted her suggestion and ignored whatever was underground.
Putting forth his Mana Detection was sothing he can force across the surface and the air alone. He ignored the underground for now, noticing the living beings in the sky, or feeling the surrounding location. From his senses, he figured that the sand itself was shimring light brightness, and he could feel the sand unmoving even in the midst of so storms. Only the tiniest specks of sand moved to the wind. Lisa didn't need to worry about any storm since any physical object can move through her body like a ghost.
Strangely, this put his mind at ease, so he walked and did not run like a mad duck since this place made him very nervous for so reason.
It was the atmosphere, or this deepness of this Valley that seed like the burial of Ancients, rather than so asly place of fallen gods. Murai definitely felt itching in his beak but couldn't put his finger on the specific feelings. Those were feeling that kept pestering his mind no matter how many hundreds of ters he breached forward.
That went on until he reached 100 ters before the tough hills and crazed sandstorm that were 10 ters before him. This was the only place in the kiloter radius that had so wild storms around it.
Swirling gusts of tangible twisting tornadoes moved around. They were hundreds of ters tall, and a few ters wide, forming protection around what went behind. Sand, rocks, and sharp winds, along with an unspecified range of mana went around those sandstorms.
They hugged the surroundings around these protruding sand rocks that were at least 300 ters tall while the temple was nowhere in sight. It was like a sight out of an apocalypse, yet the close surroundings around him were more than fine to stand before it.
He was close to those things, yet he stood with his low weight, eying the tornadoes that should smack him like a pebble away. They didn't, as the forward force of these storms remained in specific proximity around the hills, rather than swirling around on a whim.
“So a formation, of so kind... Now what? Do you want to walk through these things? I will die...” Murai argued with Lisa about what he figured.
She kept glancing forward, uncertain, but sure about so things.
“No need to care about such things. Those storms are nothing but a lock. If you feel them to be worse enough, just wait for what will happen when the party starts. You need to get acclimated to death.” Lisa said, unbothered by the storm since it probably wouldn't do a thing to her. She itched to try her chances, considering her physicality, but didn't seem to have a final itch. Instead, she pointed with her hand towards the rocky and dusty hills, where certain sothing began to erge from the underground. It was happening at last.
Hundreds of figures were rising from the sand within the storm, clasping the sand and wind away, chirping the wind too, as it subsided to accommodate for the death. Those were the skeleton undead of all kinds of beings and races. Most were humanoid, littered with treasured armor and weapons alike. There was nothing to them apart from bones and treasures. So wore full body armor of glistering color, indicating it was a treasure and a majestic piece of equipnt that moved even through death.
Each skeleton had a pair of rising flas, within their empty eye socket. Those were the presence of a soul fla, indicating so nasty things about the necromancy. That was an Undead Path. Necromancy, or so kind of curse about the land that prevented the souls from dispersing to their proper Ends.
Murai noticed it right away, while Lisa had no need to care about it because she was expecting the Welcoming Party to start a long ago. It happened here, for so reason. 100 ters before the Temple? She didn't mind it, it seed.
“Huh? So a fight against the undead? Is there sothing to this than that? Sounds cheap....”
“Heh!” She chuckled. “I want to hear you talk like this later. Fight to your tries and see what you will get. You like bones, don't you?”
This ti, Murai chuckled, smacking the sand with his feet and pointing his beak further above, glancing at the hundreds of figures rising from the sand. “I am not a maneater, but... Well, those undead will do!” Murai said, gleaming with a fighting spirit. The majority of the skeletons were human remains, but so weren't. So were hiding further in, and Murai couldn't perceive what went there. There were so large ones, demonic ones, or even alive ones? He didn't question them, as he was worried about the overwhelming undead and the surroundings of this whole undead army.
From the start, he noticed the human skeletons. They were adventurers, past challengers, or mages of so kind. It was hard to tell what wasn't of the human race, since the bones remained with their featureless skin or exteriors. In this way, Murai almost caused a joke to litter his head.
In this way, what race mattered? Bones looked the sa all the way to the little details. That was, of course, unless one would have devil horns, or large stature like orcs, but it all resembled one another. Everyone was similarly deep to their bones.
There were few figures of larger statures. Those were of beasts, radiating quite a terrific aura from their eye sockets, but Murai wasn't one bit fearful of them, even if he should be.
“So a death wants to see my reasons, paynt, or might? It is like an invitation? I knocked on the door as an uninvited guess, so it makes sense to make ands for my mistake. I like this sort of rule. But..” Murai walked forth, stopping 10 ters before the undead army. “You are already dead, so what's the point in seeking the world of the living and crawling back to the surface? I will be generous enough and help you back to the ground. What a reasonable thing... I swear.” He chuckled and pulled his shit together and watched how the last figures crawled from the sand.
The storm subsided to a side, making room for these figures that were littering 100 ters from the rocky hills.
Nothing indicated the start of the party, but Murai wasn't a polite duck. Conjuring large amounts of mana out of his core, he Shaped them into dozens of Flaming Shots in a couple of monts. They hovered above him. Then, he Shaped them with affinity of his Sharpness, rather than the Fla alone.
This was a combination of two affinities that can work in tandem. It wasn't like two flas pulled together like the ti when he fought the 2 Phantom Coyotes. At that ti he did things without intentions or awareness, uncaring for the chaos that gulped the flas.
Now, he was using his own familiarity and control over his own affinities that he catered to in the past week. Using the two together may not be as easy as lifting a finger, but he was close in terms of so advanced adjustnts. All one needed was a proper imagination, enough ntal fortitude, and Shaping which should be up to the task with the concepts of the magic.
Spells worked in many ways through the imagination, but certain rules stills applied to many structures of certain spells. In this sense, it was all about using what was available to soone, and Shaping was the start to get the hang of it.
In fact, Murai wasn't Shaping the mana out of the 2 affinities. He used the 1st and stabilized it on its own. Then he moved with the 2nd one, creating a Two way of affinity shaping, which was an uncommon thing in magic and many paths or spells had them in later stages. Considering he was rather low-level and his core was yet under his full control, what he was doing was as ridiculous as a duck riding an Alpha Coyote.
Murai handled Fla Shots like a rock that was up to a sculptor's care. He changed the structure of the Fla Shot, turning them wider and long like an arrow. They remained in the flaming state, but certain sharpness moved them together, creating a Fla Arrow. He did so with the rest, but each one took at least a second to reshape.
It wasn't a lot of ti to do so, all things considered, and Lisa glanced at his action with interest and certain integrity. She didn't talk but floated back to see what will happen and start next. That was a Welcoming Party of the Temple. Each was unique, so whatever Murai will get wasn't up to her, but to the rules of the Temple or the whim of certain soone.
Most undead were unmoving so far, yet when the first's skull smashed to crips of flas, shattering under the power of the Fla Arrow out of nowhere, the dozen of others howled. Their skulls cluttered in shock, and ground and sand flickered in motion. The soul flas within their heads frenzied, turning angry and crazy when one of them died.
Then, the few undead skeletons went forth from the front row. 3 ard, holding swords in their hands and with limited armor. Their aura wasn't anything special. The further the undead were before the mountain, the more powerful they were. What was before murai weren't that strong undead.
Just 3 pounced forward from the forward group of 4 dozen. They weren't fast or anything, reaching Murai in many strides so he had all ti in a word to shatter them like he did the one before. He only struck one to see their reaction. As for the one he struck, it was quite sothing. A kill in one hit? A surprising result, but he chose one of the weakest in terms of a soul fla.
Now, from the way it seed, stronger ones erged. Murai hit another one 4 ters before him. He hit the skull again with his Fla Arrow, yet the undead head wasn't damaged at all, so he willed another arrow upon the different target. The skeleton swung his arms towards him, while another 3 were behind.
Many clutter of lines, flaming arrows, and swings later, Murai jumped away from safety, clasping a sword in his beak. He successfully disard the arms of each undead skeleton. He put most attention to the limits of common physicality ~ the joints around their bony and shrill shoulders.
Armless, those skeletons beca like fish out of the water, cluttering their jaws and swinging their legs in a try to get up from the ground.
“Tsch... Only limbs? Those bones are tougher than goddamned steel.” Murai complained, yet he was slow to realize the truth. Flas weren't the strongest kind of tool against the undead skeletons. Sharpness added so effects, but it wasn't the strongest. So he jumped forward, using his own beak to see the status of these bones.
Skeletons screeched in terror, turning their clattering skulls into a shockwave that traveled to Murai's ears. It shook him not even a little. His Will was firm, albeit without any ssage of the Will of the Battleworld again.
Murai's jump ended upon the head of his first prey. Pulling his head and neck backward like a crescent moon, and without Beak's Peak, he smashed the tip of his beak toward the skeleton's head.
Bang!
Murai's attack shook the skull, cracking it to many pieces, yet the fla upon the skeleton turned to a frenzy that much more. It was seeping with anguish as if sothing precious was destroyed at the mont.
Murai didn't care about that, so 2 more strikes obliterated the skull to smithereens, while the following 3 aid at the chest, seeking the small tallic plates and how much damage he can deal to that. The skull crushed to the sand, many pieces of bones fell, and the soul flas itself dissolved into the sand as well.
Bones themselves didn't follow, but perhaps they soon will.
Murai wasn't inclined to eat them yet. When he saw the quality of them, he grimaced. There wasn't any marrow inside and each was hollow like a pipe. They were dried, and petrified for decades, if not more. That was like wanting to eat a rock. He simply refused those without any hesitation.
Murai unhappily grunted and sidestepped to dodge the swipe of a blade, that almost cleaved his head off.
It was the second laying skeleton, which held the blade within its jaw. It was angry at the death or aid to kill the enemy without care. Maybe they were acquaintances when they were alive. Who knew but them?
Murai was fed up with these poor bones, so he willed his Beak's Peak to certain effectiveness. The channeling and accumulation of power took only a few monts, and two strikes later, Murai struck the blade at two sections. One at the edge, one at the tip. Both he, and the blade shook afterward, yet the Murai was one to bounce back.
Alas, the blade's edge bent and then completely shattered from the points of Murai's hits.
Damn... I am light, yet the beak's power is good to go along with it. Good, but I need to be damned perfect, or sothing will butcher when I am not careful. How does even Anatidae fight? With beak, right, or magic... Those evolutions probably create a lot of variables in this way. I am more of a mage Anatidae if I am not wrong. He thought and watched how the skeleton unhappily tossed the blade away. It took another blade of its fallen comrade.
It did it fast, but before it had a chance to get its hand on it, Murai' shaped a quick Mana Blade and slashed at the head. It was a clean hit aid at the torse at 90 degrees angle. It went through the shoulder and ended up a couple of dozen centiters deep, below the armpit. At that point, the limit of the mana blade reached the limit and the shaping lost its touch. Murai didn't mind it, as the skeleton crumbled to bones, death along with its body.
With two done, Murai turned his attention to the last one on the ground, obliterating the skull with his beak. As he was over it, more undead were waiting for their turn.
It seed the rule of battle still followed this place, and they simply didn't swarm the enemy in high numbers. It wasn't the kind of rule that was popular, especially in the context of what this place was. The remaining skeletons of the beast and humanoid figures were patiently waiting until those 3 were killed.
“What nice skeletons... Really...” Murai acknowledged and remained standing with another Blade by his side.
1st Wave of the Welcoming Party was over, but the 2nd shall start right away.
The one who ca next was a single, bulkier undead skeleton, wearing a partial full body armor apart from the face shield of his helt and a few other parts of the set. The armor seed sturdy, making it slow by thrice the amount than the last ones. There were only a few points of interest in having slower speed because of defense. Murai saw it as a weakness. An obvious one.
The armor was round around the torso, arms, and head. Its bottom was all bones, indicating nothing ordinary was there. It was asking to shatter the lower body.
Within its right hand, resting on its bony shoulder was a 2-ter-long curved blade with quite a long handle. With the 2-and-a-half ter height, the undead skeleton made quite so impression, but it was slow, albeit it looked impressive. The sword itself looked like sothing that would cleave a cow in half, let alone a human, or a asly little duck.
“You want to hit with such a blade? Pche! you damned wish!” Murai sneered and felt his chances rising exponentially.
Though, the skeleton was indifferent to his taunts, which either ant it didn't understand him, or it didn't think much of it.
The tightly clutched hand around its single-handled grip loosened, and the next thing it did, was to shake the air. The burly skeleton unleased a vertical slash, reaching with its blade down from 3 ters away onto Murai's location in less than 2 seconds. With power over the unnatural gravitational pull or strength and unlikely speed, the blade seed far at first, yet it reached him in seconds.
Murai didn't even have a chance to quack before a blade was upon his beak.
Defend? Counter? Catch? Dodge?
Dodge!
Murai sidestepped the fastest in his life, uncaring about anything but cold steel facing a couple of centiters off of his neck. The gust of wind shook the sand away when the blade hit the ground, causing him to fly far into the air.
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