Chapter 26: The Great Hunt (1)

Lu Lulach drove through the earth like a bird through air. Her vines drilled through the earth, pulling along Wyn and Magus as they fled. A floret, one of her clones, had stayed behind to offer assistance, but the battle wasn’t looking good. With an interlocking chain of feathers and nigh unstoppable regeneration, it simply wasn’t possible to be put down. No matter how many times they were cleaved, crushed, stabbed, they shrugged it all off, if those blows were able to land past their interlaced mail of feathers at all. On the other hand, Lu Lulach was running out of mana, and it was all her floret could do to assuage the injuries they had received. It had begun coating its feathers in its own poison, and poison was much more difficult to heal.

The three barreled from the ground, blasting into the guild in a collapsed heap. Lu Lulach pressed her hands to Wyn and Magus, green threads coursing through their bodies.

“I’ve healed your superficial wounds,” Lu Lulach gasped. “Well, Wyn’s, at least.” She turned to Magus. “You weren’t hurt in the slightest.”

“Of course not. If I were, this cloth would’ve patched them up.”

“I’d love to ask more, but we’ve got more pressing matters now.” Lu Lulach gave the other two a report of the ongoing battle, paying no heed at all to the gathering group of curious adventurers. “The others have begun retreating to the Guild as well. Once they return, Theodore’s going to buy us some time with a barrier. But a siege is hardly our best option. It’s clear that that thing isn’t going to give up anytime soon.” She turned to reception.

“Unfortunately, that Grim Diubh is giving us some real trouble. We’ll need to lock down the Guild. No one’ll be able to leave for the near future.”

“But what about the adventurers still outside?” Wyn asked.

“We’ll probably need to set up a temporary back door, but that’s on Theodore.” Lu Lulach responded. “In the meantime, we’ll need time to recover. Magus, how long until you can fight again?”

“That’ll depend on Wyn.” Magus answered. “I use her mana to cast my spells, and they aren’t cheap. Too much more, and I’m afraid I’ll strain Wyn too much. Besides, if that thing is still the same as the last time we fought, I’m afraid I won’t be able to provide much help. Spells that I cast are ineffective against them.”

“Great. Just great.” Lu Lulach wallowed. “Whatever. Focus on recovering. I’ll wait outside for the rest.”

Before anyone else could get in a word, she stormed out of the Guild. The adventurers began to gather around Wyn and Magus, flooding the two with questions. Wyn did her best to answer them, but each answer only seemed to spread panic amongst the crowd.

“A monster that not even the Wings can handle?”

“Why would they lure that thing here?”

“What are we going to do?”

“Everything is under control!” Wyn assured, shouting. “The Wings aren’t struggling to fight it, they’re struggling to kill it. The bastard simply heals a lot! None of you are in danger, a simple retreat is hardly cause for concern!”

Murmurs spread throughout the crowd, and the panicked energy began to disperse. Of course, there’s no way that the Wings could fail. They were the strongest there was, after all. Everything would be safe in their hands.

And so, there was nothing else for Wyn to do except enjoy dinner.

“They’ve made it back to the Guild! The princess’s wounds have been healed, but she still has to recover her energy.” Lu Lulach reported. The other Wings nodded.

“Quake!” Feregus shouted, slamming his axe into the ground. The other Wings immediately began their retreat as the ground in front of them split apart. With a leap, Tireyien began to cross, only for their head to be met by Feregus’ axe. Numerous tendrils stabbed into the cracks between his armor, but Feregus didn’t falter. He slammed the axe down, sending the wolf into the cracks in the earth. Vines wrapped around his arm and dragged him back, as a faint green glow emanated across his body.

“Thanks, Lu…” Feregus huffed. “Hoo, boy, that poison is real nasty.” He shook the tingles from his arms, as the pain faded away.

“Do you think you’ll be able to move any time soon?” Lu Lulach asked.

“Yeah, just… just give me a moment.”

“I don’t know how much longer I can keep running.” Lu Lulach admitted. “I’m pretty tapped out myself.”

“I can carry you,” Roselwyn suggested.

“Don’t bother. A single floret is hardly worth it. Besides, the dog’s not down yet. It’s digging through the earth like a damn worm.” She cut off the vine carrying Feregus, lashing it to Roselwyn’s arm. She dove into the earth, her roots drilling through the earth.

Tireyien had seen the spirit’s technique to move through earth. With their tendrils, it was not a hard technique to reproduce. They barreled under the earth, carving a massive tunnel in their wake. With their nose, they could follow the humans even as they fled above ground. No matter how far they ran, they would not get away. Their chase was soon halted as a massive flower pried their tendrils apart. The child of the spirit.

“You chose to confront me? In your state?” Tireyien asked. “Fool. You will perish.”

“Hardly.” Massive roots penetrated through the tunnel, entangling Tireyien’s limbs. Tireyien's silver tendrils dug through the plants, tearing them apart from the inside out.

“Tell me, spirit. What do you hope to gain by sacrificing your life here? Is a mother who throws her children to the wolves one worth protecting?”

“What are you talking about?” Lu Lulach asked. With her roots, she collapsed the tunnel behind Tireyien, leaving half of their body buried.

“You are a child of that spirit, created by one of her spells to approximate her visage. Is it your function, then, created with the sole purpose to sacrifice your life for her?”

“You’re over thinking things. This is one mind split across many bodies. This body dying is like a flower losing a single petal. If it can slow you down even a little, then that’ll be enough.”

“How do you know you are one mind? Can you see what your mother sees now? Or are you simply a copy of her mind, fitted in a new body?”

Lu Lulach’s eyes narrowed. They weren’t necessarily wrong. While the main body could easily peer into the florets, the reverse wasn’t necessarily true. Not that it mattered. For whatever reason, Tireyien wanted to talk, which meant more time for the Wings.

“It simply pains me to see another like me submitting themselves to such a heartless creator. Both of us were created for a purpose, life defined by function. Yet the degrees between us…” Tireyien let out a small yip. “Your kind has a word for this strange emotion in my chest. I believe… yes, this is… pity.”

“Enough out of you!” Lu Lulach shouted. Her tendrils dug through the earth, intending to bury the rest of the tunnel. Instead, she found silver light impaled through her chest, burying through her body until she could hardly move a muscle.

“Your creator cursed you with a wasted, futile function. We shall override it. If you survive, you shall be blessed with a new, greater purpose.”

“What the hell… are you doing…?”

“Let’s see if your mind truly is one and the same, or a mere copy, shall we?”