Chapter 10

“RUN!” Rollo shouted at Drake snapping him out of his daze. 

His mind was still lagging after witnessing the horrific scene. The red head snatched the Salamander’s Soul and stashed it into his bag just as his companion came back to his senses beginning their desperate attempt to escape.

Of course their enemy wasn’t about to just let them through. The two tried shaking him off by going into a different direction from the one he picked using the rows of crates to their advantage, but sadly a second cultist appeared at the entrance blocking even though they managed to avoid the first.

I have no choice but to tackle him! Drake thought to himself. A moment later the world around him blurred.

[SKILL: Quick Step]

[SKILL: Razor Claws]

Drake failed to comprehend what had just occurred. He was running toward the entrance but next thing he knew he had already reached it clearing the significant distance in the blink of an eye. A loud thud reached his ears as something fell to the floor behind him and a second one followed soon after.

How? 

He wanted to ask, however just looking at his hand gave him the answer. The fingers on his right hand were covered in a white glow that extended out forming five blade like nails. 

As he ran toward the cultist his speed suddenly increased and with one swing he severed the cultist’s head.

“Drake!” Rollo yelled forcing him to move.

He tried but failed and ended up getting a glimpse of the cloaked man’s headless body. Pushing down all the feelings raging inside him Drake pressed forward repeating one sentence in his head over and over again

This isn’t the time. THIS ISN’T THE FUCKING TIME!

“OVER THERE!”

The moment the two reached the tunnel they were met with two other cultists running toward them from the direction they came from. 

Red dots appeared on the miniature map one after the other. Thankfully all of them seemed to be coming from behind however Drake found that was terrifying in its own way.

Running with no care to where they were heading the two soon reached the end of the tunnel. A brighter light was ahead but just by looking it was easy to tell it wasn’t that of an exit. 

“Shit!”

Drake’s mind was in high alert, but that didn’t explain why he was able to take in the scenery in front of him without having to stop. 

“This way!” Rollo yelled at him, leading the way as they continued to run.

They had entered another large cavern. This was far bigger than the one they passed earlier. At the center was a pit far too deep for them to see the bottom. Falling in it meant certain death they had to keep their distance from the edge. 

The second thing to note are the rails on the ground. Adding to that the faintly glowing crystals protruding from the wall, floor and ceiling, Drake immediately realized that this place was some kind of mine.

“THERE THEY ARE!”

There were several other tunnels scattered on the wall of the circular cavern, some of which had black cloaked cultists rushing out of them. 

“Don’t stop!” Drake yelled at his red haired companion 

They tried but couldn’t avoid confrontation. One of the cultists running their way had a spear in his hands. Though it seemed like he was preparing to strike in Drake’s eyes his movements felt rather slow and clumsy.

“YOU WON’T GET AWAY!!!” The cultist roared pointing his spear at the two.

Drake regained his calm and quickly surpassed Rollo. He was confident of his speed and he knew evading the cultist wouldn’t prove to be difficult, however he didn’t know if the kid behind him could do it. 

The quest made it clear that Rollo’s survival was crucial for him to escape safely. Knowing that, Drake pushed all unnecessary thoughts into a deep corner of his mind, and for the first time in a long while.

He released his restraints.

[SKILL: Quick Step]

[SKILL: Razor Claws]

Two blue stripes flashed under the miniature map in the corner of his sight and the next moment the world around him blurred.

“What th-" 

Startled by his sudden acceleration the cultist flinched before clumsily thrusting his spear. 

Avoiding it didn’t prove to be difficult, Drake just ducked to the left letting it pass over his right shoulder and as the cultist wondered how he did it he swung his right hand running the glowing white claws through his opponent’s flank.

“ROLLO! YOU OKAY!!?” Drake called as he locked his sight on two other cultists running toward us.

“Y-yes!” the kid’s voice was just a step behind him which was quite surprising. “I’m fine! Don’t worry about me!”

Sadly that isn’t something I can do!

Drake engaged the first cultist however unlike the last two this one was a bit different. The air around him seemed hazy as if he was surrounded by a thin layer of mist. Focusing on the feeling from before he summoned the white claws once more and swung at the cultist, however he didn’t get the results he wanted.

The claws bounced off the cultist as if they had collided with a very hard surface. The next second all five of them shattered into small particles vanishing like specks of dust.