MTLNOVEL Chapter 362: Few Minutes
Anerias' group almost ran past the exit multiple times in their search for it. They had reached the end of the Basilisk's natural intestines. The only way forward was by cutting things open, which they considered since they had to get up and out. But while they could get through the Basilisk's insides with relative ease, they could not get through its outer skin, even after it was dead.
They had to use a preexisting opening to escape the Basilisk's body.
However, it wasn't like the Basilisk's 'exit' was gaping open all the time. It only needed to be open when it emptied its bowels, which it hadn't done in at least decades or maybe even centuries. It was sealed shut like a bank vault.
It was only after scouring the walls of the Basilisk's intestines several times and going by where it should be that the students found a few wrinkles and an area that was a little off compared to the rest.
After that, they somehow managed to pry it open from within and climb out.
It was as dark outside as it was within the Basilisk, but outside, there was a violent breeze, and those with night vision or who could light up the place saw how blazingly fast they were zipping past the Hole's walls.
It sent chills down their spines. They had to get away from the Basilisk sooner rather than later. They didn't waste any time.
"See you guys down there," Nessa said as the Midnight Butterfly clung to the neck of her shirt while her Dawnthief Bat held onto her shoulders. The two familiars followed Nessa as she climbed to the peak of the Basilisk's gently waving tail before jumping and escaping the Basilisk's draft.
Trying to get away from the Basilisk was to fall down to the bottom of the Hole at a slower speed. But if they were stuck in the pocket of air that was tied to the Basilisk, they would be falling just as fast, just not physically connected to the Basilisk.
Nessa glanced at her friends while her familiars flapped in the unsteady air to slow their descent. There wasn't much she could do to help them, so she took off. But she was still worried about them. And about Zach.
After a little while to make sure there wouldn't be any accidents or collisions in the Hole, Violina also left the Basilisk. She climbed to the tip of the Basilisk's tail as well before jumping toward the wall.
While two of her familiars could float and fly, they weren't doing that because they were great fliers. They just didn't weigh anything. She had to slow her descent by herself. While floating toward the wall, she conjured a huge chunk of ice around her sword that she used to stop herself from colliding with the wall and turning into paste.
The chunk of ice was almost instantly ground to half its size, thanks to the speed they were falling at. Violina reinforced it and focused on its hardness, which helped her put some distance between herself and the Basilisk. It wasn't so much that she didn't see Dukiel and Anerias help tie the Transformation Cube in rope form around the Blackfire Hound and Sentinel before climbing aboard with the Hellcat as the Darkwing and Symbiotic Slime prepared to take off.
The Darkwing was strong. It was fast. It was an S-rank, pretty big, and physically specialized familiar.
Out of all the familiars, it was the one most likely to be able to pull off carrying the Blackfire Hound and Sentinel. It even had the Symbiotic Slime to help it and strengthen its body. But it would still be heavy.
But it would still be tough.
Just like the others, the Darkwing had to go from an incredible falling speed to no speed. It wouldn't just be taking off from stationary or motionless.
Nessa and Violina both wished there was anything they could do to help, but they could barely save themselves right now, and any attempts at helping would only get in the two boys' way since they used such different methods or didn't have the right strength.
At most, Nessa could buff Darkwing and the Symbiotic Slime with her Butterfly or try and help pull them upward with her familiars who could barely pull her. But she would also be in the way if she did that and might even just add to the Darkwing's burden.
Violina could try and do what she was doing for herself for the Hound and Sentinel by riding on them and grinding ice against the wall. But they were too heavy for the ice to have much of an effect, and she would most likely just push them further away from the walls.
But even when they weren't using Violina's method, they wanted to be closer to the walls since the air was more stable there.
It was rough seeing the Darkwing flap with all its might, making it look like a bellows as it struggled to leave the Basilisk's draft behind. After all, it needed to flap its wings faster than the air around it was being dragged down by the Basilisk.
It was no easy task.
But if the Darkwing was good at one thing, it was speed. Gradually, slowly, it managed to put distance between itself and the Basilisk. The further away it got, the easier it became.
Soon, the Darkwing had the easiest time. It just needed to flap its wings. It could even occasionally just leave them outstretched like an umbrella and sail for a few moments. It was nothing like Nessa's familiars who had to flap constantly or Violina who was having trouble slowing down any further. Discover hidden content at empire
A short while after the Basilisk disappeared into the bottomless darkness beneath them to the point where not even Nessa could see it, a large booming sound rang out, exploding up the Hole with a shockwave that blew the summoners and their familiars upward with the shockwave.
The Basilisk had hit the ground only a few minutes after they got clear of it. It wasn't much of a margin of error. If they had been a few minutes later in finding the exit, they would have been toast, even if they had managed to get out before it hit the ground.
Fortunately, it looked like they would be able to land safely.
Violina even took the opportunity to increase the odds of her safe landing by adjusting her method with the push upward from the shockwave. She started sliding along the walls in a spiraling pattern.
Only a few moments apart, the three summoners and their familiars plunged into the remaining darkness of the Hole.