Aina pulled her sword out quickly.
She didn't quite understand what was happening. Shouldn't Invalids be creatures of instinct? They shouldn't have any intelligence or sense of comradery. Something like signaling one's allies was a distinctly human trait. Sometimes beasts of higher intelligence would engage in such matters as well. But, Invalids? That should never happen.
'It didn't become energy?'
Aina was shocked once again. The Invalid before her collapsed, but it didn't disappear into energy she could absorb. Just what was happening?
Aina's heart seized. Did she make a mistake? Was it not an Invalid at all?
No, that was impossible. Its eyes, its aura, its demeanor, it all screamed Invalid. So, what was happening exactly?
Aina didn't believe that she would make such a rookie mistake. Plus, what existence other than an Invalid could shriek like that even after having its head pierced through?
Aina was certain, it hadn't been a shriek of pain or unwillingness. It had no emotion behind it all, it was completely hollow and without conscience.
'I need to move.'
Aina thrust these thoughts to the back of her mind, taking a glance at the wall the 'Invalid' had been scratching at.
If Leonel had been there, he would immediately recognize the Tier 5 Black Ore embedded into the wall. It wasn't very valuable, but it wasn't worthless either. At the very least, it could sell for a couple kilograms of Black Urbe Ore.
'I don't have time to dig it out and it doesn't seem like a very high level ore either.' Aina nodded to herself. 'Run.'
Without hesitation, Aina turned tail and ran. She felt it was unfortunate that she had placed herself in such a difficult situation for such a worthless Ore she couldn't even mine, but there was no time to cry over spilt milk.
Aina shot back in the direction she came.
She knew she didn't have enough time to run and create new markings on the wall. And, if she got lost in these tunnels, there would be no one to come out and save her. Therefore, her best chance was to follow her arrows in reverse.
If that screech was really a signal as she thought, then it likely meant that there were more Invalids on their way. If she was correct, then her arrows wouldn't mean much if anything to them. With their low intelligence, she didn't need to worry about being followed.
Aina rounded a corner with confidence, only to come to a grinding halt.
There were three of them blocking her path, all of them with their backs facing her. But, they all simultaneously rotated their heads in her direction as though they were night time owls. It was the kind of sight that sent shivers down one's spine.
Aina hesitated, her jaw clenched.
Should she go forward? Or run back?
The former was the only way for her to continue following her arrows. But, the latter would force her to forget her initial plans entirely. There was no way she would be able to keep a mental map of where she was going and getting lost would be a near guarantee.
This network of tunnels simply had too many diverging paths. If it wasn't for this, there was no way that Aina would only meet these Invalids on her way back and never even sense them during her first trip down this passage.
Aina grit her teeth. 'Forward!'
She knew that this was the best choice she had. If there were Invalids on her way back, that only meant that she had been very lucky not to run into them on the way here. If that was the case, there might very well be even more if she headed in deeper rather than trying to exit. Her only way out of this situation was to leave this network of tunnels entirely.
Aina's blood began to boil, a faint red hue covering her blade and her body.
With a thought, she shot forward, brandishing her blade.
The three Invalids reacted all at once, but their reactions seemed disjointed. Though they were as fast as Fourth Dimensional humans, their joints would often bend at odd angles as though they were double jointed in all areas.
They moved less like humanoids and more like some alien species just learning how to walk on their own two feet thanks to bodies they had snatched.
The sight send a cold shiver down Aina's back, but this was a good thing for her. The less coordinated they were, the greater chance she had of leaving this place.
With a sweep of her blade, one lost an arm and a leg in quick succession. Without even bothering with the remaining two, she shot by the gap she created after the Invalid toppled over, nearly hitting her head on the ceiling of the cave as she soared by them.
Aina pumped her legs as quickly as she could, no longer minding the noise she might make. As long as the Invalids she came across continued to be so uncoordinated and slow, she just had to continue running with all her might.
She rounded several corners, almost lamenting her previous actions. Why couldn't she had traveled in a straight line before? What possessed her to take so many turns?!
Aina ran into several more Invalids. Many were alone, allowing her to easily bypass them. But, a few came in groups of two and three. Still, it wasn't beyond her means of dealing with.
However, she grew more anxious the more she ran. How were there so many Invalids here? Why did none of them become motes of light? Why were they all acting so weirdly?
She couldn't fathom how there were so many here. The more she ran into, the more she began to question how she had traveled so deeply without running into even a single one.
'Dammit!'
Aina rounded another corner, only to run into several more Invalids. But this time, they numbered almost a dozen.
Their odd interactions continued. As though they couldn't sense their comrades by their sides, they all tried to squeeze into the narrow tunnel at once.
They pushed against each other, shifting to their sides as they continued to press forward.
It should have been a comedic sight. Some of the Invalids had their cheeks pressed flush against one another, others even had their noses squished as though they couldn't kiss each other deeply enough.
But, their emotionless gazes and their indifferent expressions sent a shiver down one's spine. It was as though they would stop at nothing until they devoured Aina.
Aina clenched her teeth. She was so close. She could feel it. It had only taken her half an hour to travel as deeply as she did, but she had already been sprinting with all her might for almost five minutes. She knew that she must be closing in on the exit.
But, just when she had been, eleven Invalids completely blocked her path forward.
'Continue!' Aina wanted to press forward. She just had to get past this line and she would be free.
Unfortunately, reality was cruel. Just when she took a step forward, she saw another wave of Invalids coming between the cracks of the 11 that had squeezed themselves together.
If they combined into one, their numbers would exceed 20!
Aina's eyes flickered with a hint of helplessness.
Without a choice she shot into a diverging path, knowing full well that she was now lost.