Chapter 1697 – Captured

A stalactite rushed to meet her and Elsi reacted on pure instinct, spinning like a dancer in the air as she parried the stone and flipped, landing on her feet. She looked up… or down… to the floor of the tunnel beneath them, wondering how she could get back there.

Shamus had also landed somewhat gracefully, grunting as his feet slammed into the stone.

“What type of magic is this?” he wondered, crouching low, eyes still focused on the fighting in the distance.

“I have no clue,” Elsi said, settling in beside him.

“Have you managed to cut the mind bridge?” he asked, and she shook her head. “Neither have I,” he grunted. “Must be a powerful mind in that beast to overcome our enchantments.”

Mental illusions were a common tactic for some of the most deadly monsters in the Dungeon. All delvers protected themselves in one way or another.

The fighting… wasn’t going well. Cries and shouts of alarm and fury rang out as the bulk of the delvers had fallen into the ceiling, just as they had. Professional delvers, it didn’t take them long to adapt, regaining their footing and redoubling their attacks, only for the switch to happen again.

Elsi couldn’t help but yelp in surprise as she once again began to fall, in the normal direction this time. Shamus was ready and landed with ease, throwing himself down into the rock once more, concealing his presence. She managed a reasonable landing, able to plant her feet and dive into cover quickly.

The delvers fighting weren’t so lucky. In the midst of launching attacks or dashing, they fell awkwardly, several crashing into each other as they landed.

[Hah! You don’t even seem to know which way is up or down!]

The ant continued to mock them, and Elsi felt unease creep up her spine. Could this monster really flip them upside down whenever it wanted to? Was it even possible to fight something like that?

Even more worrying, she studied the beast and saw it was almost totally unharmed. Not long ago, it had been suffering under a barrage of spells and strikes, but with the delvers thrown off balance, she had a clear view of the creature. No matter where she looked, she saw nothing but exceptionally superficial damage to the carapace, and as she looked, even that seemed to fade away with absurd speed.

“Did you see that regeneration?” she hissed.

“I did,” Shamus confirmed grimly. “A powerful healing gland inside that thing.”

Regeneration fluid was something monsters could produce with ease, but humans couldn’t.

[I’ve given you enough chances,] the ant said condescendingly.

Elsi tensed, wondering what was going to come next. Would the slaughter begin? Was it time to run? Would the delvers manage to turn the tide?

A flicker of purple light sparked within the ant’s carapace. It pulsed once, twice, then exploded outwards, a dome expanding at rapid speed. It raced over the rock, dying everything it touched dark purple. When the first delver was caught inside, they slammed into the ground as if struck from above.

“Run!” Shamus roared.

By the time Elsi turned, he was already off, mid-dash as his explosive speed launched him forward. She braced her legs and leaned forward, heart pounding in her chest as she prepared to do the same.

Not fast enough.

The light overtook her and–CRACK!

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Her skull smashed against the stone with such force she blacked out for a moment. Seconds later, she groggily awoke, only to see nothing. Her face was mashed into the tunnel floor, her nose was thoroughly broken and she thought she tasted blood in her mouth.

What had happened?

She tried to rise, tried to turn her head. It was impossible. As if a mountain pressed into her back, she couldn’t move an inch, trying to shift her neck only felt as she were driving her face further into the stone. The weight was total and unyielding. With rising panic, she realised she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t muster the force necessary to suck air into her lungs.

It didn’t make sense, something like this was impossible!

She tried to fight back with her mind, use her abilities to break down the mana holding her down. Elsi knew she was in some sort of domain; breaking down something like that wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible.

Yet… the energy was so absurdly dense she felt like she was trying to break down a brick wall with her bare hands. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t take hold of it.

Panic rose. Was she really going to die like this?