The very moment Zeke tossed the bottles, the Elementals sprung into action. However, their target wasn't the bottles but the boy who had thrown them. It seemed retrieval was a lower priority than threat removal.
"Quite sensible," Zeke thought as he disappeared from his spot when the first Elemental was about to reach him. His [Short Range Teleportation] could take him anywhere inside his sphere of awareness, and Zeke had tasked Akasha with picking out the best location.
He knew that he wouldn't be able to leave the encirclement in a single move. Therefore, it was paramount to pick the best spot possible.
Zeke reappeared at the very edge of his sphere. As expected, she had managed to pick a spot that was relatively sparsely populated. However, that didn't mean that it was safe. In fact, the Elementals shifted their trajectories right away. It seemed they had locked onto him for good.
The closest one was already swinging a scythe-like appendage toward his neck. Zeke cursed as he shifted position. He was already creating the Spellform in his Core, but he wouldn't be in time.
Instead of his neck, the bladed shadow cleaved through his shoulder. Zeke had expected this to an extent, but it still shocked him to see how little resistance his flesh offered. Shadow Mages made for terrifying assassins.
In the next instant, he disappeared. This time, his teleport took him outside the encirclement. And there it was, the passage. He was just in time to see Gravitas catch the three bottles he had tossed. Despite his repeated [Teleportation], they had been faster. This was primarily due to the fact that Gravitas had used her gravity Magic to speed up the bottles' flight.
Their gazes interlocked for an instant, but then the moment passed, and she turned and ran.
Zeke, for his part, couldn't afford to waste any time either. He had started running the moment his teleport ended. Thanks to his sphere of awareness, he could literally feel the shadows closing in. After taking just a few steps, his Spellform was completed again, and Zeke vanished a third time.
This time, he appeared inside the narrow entrance to the cave. His feet ground to a halt, and he whirled around. His eyes reflected what seemed to be a tidal wave of shadows hellbent on devouring him.
Zeke gulped. No matter how good his plan was, it hadn't prepared him for such a terrifying sight. Nonetheless, he didn't stop, already working on his next spell. And just before the tidal wave reached him, he was ready.
[Spatial Barrier]!
The tide of shadows collided with the invisible wall. It was a strange sight. Instead of an impact, it was akin to a feather landing on the ocean's surface, a clear reminder of how little mass those dark specters had.
However, Zeke harbored no delusions about the effectiveness of this method. This would not hold them for long, and it didn't have to. All he planned to do was buy a few seconds for Gravitas.
As expected, the shadows soon found their way through the small cracks in the cliff surrounding the entrance, easily bypassing his barrier. Zeke abandoned his position when the first of the Elementals emerged on the other side.
Akasha had been preparing another [Teleport], giving Zeke a slight headstart. From then on, he focused on running while she would teleport him just before he would get hit. Of course, their system wasn't perfect, and Zeke suffered a deluge of minor injuries.
He ran so fast that it felt like the air was trying to grab onto him as he raced down the old mining tunnels. He ran faster than he had ever run in his life, the specter of death on his very heels.
Every other moment, a new cut would open somewhere on his body, but it didn't matter. He had no attention to spare for such trivialities. His entire focus was on the tunnel in front of him and the place where his next step would land.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Zeke glimpsed a particular bend in the road. He saw how the air distorted, seemingly without cause. However, he was well aware of the reason for this irregularity.
Just a bit more.
Zeke's body screamed. Its voice was the pain he felt from every inch of skin, every fiber of muscles. He ignored its silent plea and instead commanded his feet to run even faster. The chilling sensation at his back served as a constant reminder of the danger he was in.
Even so, a smile spread across his face. He had made it.
Zeke didn't even dream of slowing down as he dove headfirst toward the wall. Mid-air, he turned his head toward the right. His eyes met Vulcanos, who had been waiting for this very moment.
The Chimeroi was halfway submerged in a pool of molten stone. The heat was so intense that the air distorted in a wide area around him. When their eyes locked, Vulcanos roared and fired a torrent of lava. It was a sight that could make even the bravest of men despair as the very air seemed to burn as the bright glow of the molten rock passed it by.
However, Zeke's eyes were calm as he took in this scene. After all, the attack wasn't meant for him. In the next moment, he vanished without a trace. It looked like the wall had parted for him.
Of course, that wasn't the case. The very same moment he disappeared from the bend, he appeared in another corridor a few steps away. Vulcanos' position had been carefully chosen precisely for this reason.
Zeke fell to the ground, violently gasping. His body demanded a moment of rest — it demanded oxygen. He obliged. However, his attention was on something else. With his sphere of awareness, he could still observe what was happening in the other tunnel.
Oh. What a spectacle it was.
The tidal wave of shadow Elementals ran headfirst into a surging wave of molten death. The first dozen couldn't even scream as they were incinerated on the spot. The next group released a keening wail as their bodies were caught in the wave. They didn't die instantly, but their fate ended up being so much worse for it as they slowly burned to death.
Dozens died in an instant, and the second surge of Lava was already on its way.
Zeke had seen enough. He clambered to his feet and began to jog. His role in this plan wasn't over yet. He arrived at his next position and waited, still catching his breath. From the noises he could hear coming down the tunnel, it wouldn't be long.
A few moments later, Vulcanos came into view, sprinting toward him. Despite his size, the Chimeroi was as nimble as a cat and as fast as a racehorse. Zeke allowed himself a moment of awe, marveling at the physical prowess of their species. But when the massive man ran past, he was ready to act.
[Spatial Barrier]!
Zeke repeated his earlier trick, blocking the tight passage using his Magic. In fact, this was pretty much the extent of his plan. Gravitas, whose abilities were next to useless against the Elementals, would grab the bottles and run. Meanwhile, he and Vulcanos would take turns stalling them while reducing their numbers as much as they could.
This simple strategy would be a lousy choice against any other opponent, but it was perfect for Elementals. Their primitive level of intelligence all but guaranteed they would fall for the same trap over and over again.
Zeke didn't harbor any delusions of winning like this. There was no way he could win, as new Elementals would be born to replace the dead ones. But winning a fight had never been his goal anyway. All he needed, all he wanted, was to reach the surface.
This second time, his barrier held them off far better. He and Vulcanos had done their best to seal any cracks beforehand. But it wasn't perfect. Before too long, one of the Elementals slipped through, forcing Zeke to run again.
This game of cat and mouse dragged on for an unbearably long time. Objectively speaking, only a few minutes had passed, but to Zeke it felt like an eternity. Pushing himself beyond his limit took a toll, especially doing it repeatedly. He had not been this tired in ages.
Zeke knew that he wouldn't last much longer. Fortunately, he wouldn't have to.
After teleporting through one final wall, Zeke stumbled to his feet. His vision was swimming as he gasped for air. His Core was burning, more than it ever had. He could barely keep his eyes open as the darkness at the edges of his vision kept creeping in. Nevertheless, his feet didn't stop moving.
Then he saw it — sunlight.
And silhouetted in the entrance ahead, Gravitas. The Chimeroi was calling out to him, urging him on. He couldn't hear the words, but her lips were definitely moving. But why was her face so panicked?
Then, Zeke sensed it. A figure appeared in his sphere of awareness. Like a war chariot, Vulcanos came bounding down the hallway. Zeke smiled. He had made it, too. A moment later, his smile died.
On Vulcanos' heels followed a group of shadows.
Only about a dozen were left at this point. It didn't matter. It was more than they could handle without preparation. Especially now, with his Core the way it was. Despite his exhaustion, Zeke's mind raced.
What should he do? What could he do?
However, before he could come up with anything, Vulcanos reached him. Zeke expected the Chimeroi to run past, but that wasn't what he did. Without breaking his stride, Vulcanos grabbed Zeke by the nape of his neck. Like a kitten being picked up by its mother, Vulcanos carried him in one hand. The additional weight didn't seem to slow the giant down in the slightest.
Zeke didn't rejoice. It wouldn't be enough.
Vulcanos seemed to know it, too; Zeke could see the realization dawning on him. His eyes had been anxious just a moment ago, but now they were calm. Instead of the fleeting hope of moments ago, they showed a grim resolve.
Zeke instantly knew what he was going to do. "NO!"
However, it was too late. He had already left the man's grasp and sailed through the air with tremendous speed. Instead of slowing down, he only accelerated further once he entered Gravitas's reach.
Zeke's eyes never left Vulcano's figure, which was getting smaller and smaller in the distance, not even when a slender pair of arms wrapped around him. He could vaguely feel the warm rays of sunlight on his skin, but it didn't matter.
His eyes remained fixed on that distant shape. Vulcanos was still moving, but it was meaningless. The throw had slowed him down even further. There was no chance for him to make it anymore.
Zeke tried to struggle, but the two arms were gripping him like a vice. He tried to [Teleport], but Akasha destroyed the Spellform before it took shape. It was for the best, and Zeke knew it.
What could he even do?
He had said he was ready to risk their lives, and now the Grim Reaper had come to collect on that promise. All he could do was watch silently as another man died in his place, died to give him the chance to advance a tiny bit faster.
Zeke didn't know what to do — so he did nothing. His eyes moistened as he saw the shadows slowly catching up with the running figure. He wanted to look away, but he forced himself not to.
At the very last moment, just before the blades reached Vulcanos's back, Zeke noticed something enter his sphere of awareness. As fast as an arrow, the projectile passed him by. No, this was no projectile. It was a tiny reptile, its wings tucked in, as it flew at a speed so fast that his eyes couldn't follow.
The Dragon had arrived.
However, Zeke didn't think it would make it in time. It was then that the Dragon opened its maw… and roared.
The sound that emerged from its throat completely belied its tiny frame. It was a deep, rumbling growl. It was a sound so primal that every single hair on his body stood on end. He had never met a Dragon, but his body instinctively knew to be afraid. This was an apex predator, the pinnacle of hierarchy, the sky above the sky.
This feeling wasn't limited to Zeke. In fact, he seemed to be least affected. Gravitas froze completely; her iron grip slackened, and he felt her shivering against his back.
Vulcano's eyes widened comically, but luckily, his fear only seemed to make him run faster.
Most noticeable, however, was the effect on the shadow Elementals. They had come to a complete halt. Granted, their stupor only lasted for an instant, but it was enough. The Dragon dove into their midst, tearing, biting, and clawing in all directions.
Of course, it was utterly outmatched by the tide of shadow Elementals. A few moments later, the bloody corpse of the tiny reptile hit the floor, and Zeke felt its Soul return to him. However, its sacrifice had been enough.
Vulcanos was finally in range of Gravitas's spell. A moment later, his giant frame came sailing through the air. They tried to catch him, but it was no use. His massive frame knocked them to the ground, but Zeke didn't mind. In fact, he had never been this happy to be sent tumbling.
Zeke patted the big guy's back from his position on the floor while keeping his eyes on the shadow Elementals. As expected, they came to a halt just before touching the beams of sunlight.
He let out a deep sigh. They had made it.