Chapter 306 – The Price of Victory

Chapter 306 – The Price of Victory

Crimson streaks spread through the inky water pooling beneath Kerril, his listless eyes and face contorted in a grimace. Kai didn’t lower his guard till the cultist’s mana completely stilled.

Four out. None left.

The absence of whispers confirmed there were no more impending threats. He relaxed the grasp on his saber, lowering the weapon. A spiderweb of black lines branched where the blade clashed with Darkness Magic—already scrap metal. He wasn’t particularly attached to it, but it was the only weapon that could replace his sword.

I’ve won.

Losing a scavenged saber was a low price.

He had carved out a victory against multiple opponents with higher professions; at any moment, a single misstep could have doomed him. His experience fighting—and often fleeing—packs of more powerful beasts in the Sanctuary helped, and so did Hallowed Intuition. Without the skill whispering where to evade, he would have gotten seriously injured.

Who says my plans are bad?

The subtle warmth of satisfaction made him forget being trapped in the damp underground lair of a crazy cult. Then his thumping heart reignited the urgency to move.

We can’t stay here.

Letting go of Body Augmentation, a wave of dizziness made him stagger. From his feet to his neck, torn muscles, ligaments and his bruised ribs laced his body with pain.

I can still move everything at least.

The underground air was pleasantly cool after the heated battle, though he’d do without the overpowering taste of blood. Kai closed his eyes, counting up to three for his vision to stop swimming.

“Are you injured?” Kea’s worried voice echoed on his right. The warmth of her hand hovered on his forearm where the Darkness spell grazed him.

“I’m fine. Just need to catch my breath.” He gave her a smile of reassurance. The skin above his wrist had turned angry red with shades of purple, but the pain paled compared to the rest of his body. “I’ve had rashes worse than this.”

Pity Kahali’s Retribution doesn’t work with self-inflicted wounds…

Kea narrowed her eyes but didn’t say more. Her attention turned to the fallen cultists. She prodded Kerril’s body with her boot while holding a dagger. “I didn’t think they’d be so strong. If I had been alone…” She bit her lip, posture slumping. “Your dodges were just ridiculous. I wish I could have helped more…”

“You did plenty taking down one. More than enough really.” He hadn’t forgotten her last-minute intervention against the agreed plan.

All’s well that ends well. I’ll let it slide.

Kai took out a stamina tonic from his ring. Uncorking the vial with his teeth, he downed the pearlescent liquid smelling of peppermint and cut grass. A cool energy spread from his stomach, steadying his weak legs and clearing his thoughts.

Tonics could only delay greater exhaustion, but they’d keep him up and alert in the meantime. Future-Kai could deal with the aftermath if he survived the next few hours.

There are more important matters.

“How’s Niel? ” He turned to the figure shackled at the center of the runic circle. During the battle, both he and the cultists kept their attacks away from Niel, if for very different reasons.

“Right!“ Remembering why they came here, Kea flung herself toward the altar. Creases of concern marked her face as she bent to examine Niel’s condition. “He’s still breathing. We must get him out of here.”

“Let me help you.” Kai drank a few more healing potions and made his way over. Under the stark light of the crystals, Niel looked worse than from his mana senses. Blood and grime made his gaunt face seem years older, though it was the part below the neck that made Kai’s blood boil.

The cultists had carved circles of black runes into Niel’s flesh with gruesome precision. Blood and ink trickled from fresh cuts onto the altar; beneath the bloody tattoos, a crisscross of pale lines covered his entire body. From their shape, they must be the scars of older experiments, healed as if to clean the canvas for another try.

How many attempts did they make… I shouldn’t have given them such easy deaths.

Kai gripped the edge of the altar until his knuckles whitened. Given the warped veins and murky essence, the physical wounds were less than half of the suffering. And he had no idea how to start treating them.

I’ll find a solution once—

“Hey! Stop staring and help me get him out.” Kea wrestled with the shackles, chaining Niel’s arms to the altar. Despite the evident strain in her arms, the cuffs gave no sign of giving out. “How do you— get these things off! Rotten Spirits! Why is there no lock?” Glaring at the manacles, she threw a look at him. “Can’t you use your magic to open them?”

“That is not how magic works…” Kai sighed. “I— Let me take a look.”

After defeating four cultists, they couldn’t get stopped by a pair of enchanted shackles—even Fate couldn’t be that cruel.

The runes on the cuffs resembled the ones in the dungeons, which he still couldn’t decipher in just minutes. There weren’t any seams he could force open with Water Magic either; the lock was likely magical if there was no keyhole.

It can’t be too complicated, people are always lazy.

The ruins in the Hidden Sanctuary had taught him the price of tinkering with unknown enchantments. Those lessons were for people who could afford to wait.

Good news, it probably won’t blow me up. Bad news, the cuffs are linked to a creepy altar…

What could a bunch of mad cultists devise?

Kai clamped down on his imagination to keep it from wandering. Once his mind quietened, he channeled a thread of mana into the metal to prod the runes.

Click. Click.

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The cuffs snapped open as he brushed the first jagged shape.

Sometimes I forget I’m supposed to be lucky.

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t magic them?” Kea raised an eyebrow at him.

“I didn’t…” Kai bit down a lesson in runesmithing and grabbed a handful of vials and balms from his ring. “Can you help me get him ready to move?”

A stream of water washed away the blood and dirt before they could apply the potions and bandage the worst wounds. With his face clean, Niel once more resembled the young man who smiled kindly, always taking care of others before himself.

“Help me lift him,” Kai said.

Kea anticipated him by grabbing the shoulders. “You’re the better fighter. I should carry him in case we meet more cultists.”

“I—” He blinked, stunned.