Chapter 1618 – Pierce the Heart

It’s hard to get a sense of exactly what’s going on, so much of my energy is focused inwards. Pretty much all of it, in fact. The incredibly dense liquid mana is attacking any remaining doom-goo on my carapace, but it can’t do anything to help the toxin that’s already gotten in.

Every ounce of my strength is diverted to containing the rampant spread of the infection. The stuff is like normal fifth stratum mana on fast-forward. Everything it touches is instantly devoured and repurposed, changed into more of itself. If it actually manages to touch my core… I think I’ll just instantly be dead.

Or worse.

As the amount of cleansed energy around me rises, I feel a presence by my side. More than one, in fact.

“Get around the Eldest. What’s their condition?”

“Protectant?”

She ignores me, the gall of her!

“That bad? Get ready. We’ll take all that we can.”

“Take what? Hello? What the heck are you doing?”

I don’t have the attention to spare, otherwise I’d dig into the Vestibule to see what these ants are up to. All twenty are nearby, I’m pretty sure at least, which means the area immediately around me has been fully cleansed.

“Any chance a few of you are healers? I could use a little help.”

“Of course we’re going to help you,” Protectant pats me on the head with one leg. “What did you think we were put here for?”

All of a sudden, the internal strain is sharply reduced as a third of the infectious mana is sucked away from me. I clack my mandibles reflexively in shock, so relieved at the lessened burden.

I redouble my efforts, trying to hold onto the ground that I’ve suddenly gained, but a sliver is spared to help me better take in my surroundings. As expected, the twenty defenders are there, arranged around me in a defensive formation, Protectant near my head. Sapphire blue liquid mana is still rocketing out of the vents as if a dam had burst, raining down and filling up the heart from within. Somewhere behind me, I can see a violent storm of smoke and froth rising up from the sludge pit as it reacts violently to every drop of cleansed energy that touches it.

I don’t know what Solant has planned here, but I’m really starting to wonder if any amount of cleansed mana could fix that pool. If we threw a few wuffers in there, they’d be instantly turned to something awful.

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I go to thank my defenders for coming to the rescue, when I realise that they don’t look particularly good. Which gets me thinking. What happened to the mana that was taken out of me? Where did it go?

“Protectant… tell me you didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?” she says, right before she collapses.

“Oh, you little idiot!” I yell, surging to my feet so I can stand over my defenders who are all falling over, one by one. “This stuff is way too dangerous for you to handle!”

“So we should leave it… inside of you?” Protectant snaps. “Don’t be… foolish.”