MTLNOVEL Chapter 363: Landing
Dukiel, Anerias, Nessa, and Violina could feel the end of the Hole beneath them as the walls opened up into a large underground space. Before they could even look around, their attention was caught by the swarm of dolls surrounding the Basilisk's corpse.
At first, it looked like it had just plopped down on the ground head-first and was resting in a shape a little similar to a turd. But as they looked closer, it became clear that the Basilisk's front half had been flattened by the impact like clay, and the remaining half had just kind of fallen down on top of it.
The dolls swarming the ground and Basilisk like ants seemed like they were trying to sort through the mess and investigate the Basilisk's death. They didn't look strong at first glance since they were just dolls similar to the ones that had swarmed Basilia.
But these ones were different. They had the strength to move the Basilisk's heavy body when working together, and they managed to pluck some of the stony scales off of the Basilisk's body. Find exclusive stories on empire
The Basilisk was dead and severely damaged from the fall, but the dolls didn't look like they were struggling.
Nessa, Dukiel, Violina, and Anerias knew what they had to do.
They had to get rid off the dolls.
Regardless of what their intentions were, they were trying to enter the Basilisk. Maybe they were preparing it for another resurrection, maybe they were going to salvage what they could, or maybe they were looking for the artificial life project that had brought it back to life.
However, what they might find before anything else was Zach. If he had survived, which he most likely had, he probably wouldn't be in a very good state.
If the dolls stumbled upon him during their investigation, it was obvious what would happen to him.
The others had to get rid of the dolls and find Zach first. Without him, this whole adventure would be doomed.
So, before they could even think of moving on and trying to get deeper into the Underworld, they had to secure him.
"Nessa, head inside and look for Zach. If he's still there, he should be close to the head. Bring my Frost Imp and Anerias' Hellcat with you. They should be enough to open up a path through the mangled flesh. Dukiel, Anerias, the rest of us are stopping the dolls here. I'll create a frost field to slow their movements," Violina ordered as she dropped down in a rain of snow and cut down a string of dolls on the Basilisk's back.
The Sentinel was entirely petrified, and the Blackfire Hound was mostly petrified. They were the two main sources of heat. WIth them out of commission, the best way for them to fight would be for Violina and her familiars to create an area that suited her. Dukiel wasn't bothered by the cold when he put on his second contract skill, which turned him into a perfect statue of quicksilver-like metal.
Anerias was a little weakened, by the cold, but he wasn't all that useful against dolls that didn't feel the pain of his Malicious Touch anyway. So, most of his strength came from his Darkwing, who still had enough energy to stretch its wings and flicker through the vast underground space and tear through the dolls like they were target dummies.
The students made quick work of the dolls that were already on the Basilisk, but just like when they had swarmed the city, they didn't stop coming just because they killed a few. More and more dolls came out from the cracks and doors in the walls of the underground space.
The dolls weren't powerful enough to put up individual resistance against the students' slaughter, but their numbers put a dent in the students' stamina and strength. They wouldn't be able to keep this up forever. Fortunately, it didn't take long before a certain black-haired goddess of death punched her way out of the Basilisk's mangled front. With her addition to the fight, it swung in overwhelming favor of the surface dwellers.
However, when the students looked at her, silently asking about Zach and the others, Soara only shook her head.
They had gotten separated during the crash. It had been sudden, and Soara hadn't been part of the Zach-un-petrification efforts, so she hadn't needed to stick as close to him as the others. She had been sent flying by the sudden collision with the ground, only kept perfectly intact by a lingering barrier from Zach, which was proof that he was alive.
But the barrier had since faded, unable to hold up after the crash.
After regaining her bearings, Soara had noticed the battlefield outside the Basilisk. While she could try and find Zach and the others, the outside was closer. And her powers would be best put to use to keep the underworlders off of the Basilisk to give Alzara as much time as she needed to restore Zach and Yanael.
By killing underworlders, she could also help Zach level up and strengthen him. It wouldn't be much and far from enough, but it could buy him some more time while he was petrified. Every second mattered, considering how quickly the petrification had devoured him after he killed the Basilisk.
So, unlike the other students, who dreaded more dolls and the appearance of powerful underworlders coming to check on the situation, Soara hoped for it. She wanted strong sacrifices she could use to help Zach in any way she could.
Soara had also felt it when the Basilisk died.
She was a deity of Death. That hadn't changed even she she had lost a portion of her power. She had lost part of her strength, not the fundamental power.
Soara grew stronger through death. It was different from how summoners gained levels through killing other beings.
Her power over death increased the more things died around and by her.
There wasn't just one way for her to regain her original level of strength.
Taking back the strength she had lost was the simplest and most direct way, but it was also the most difficult to achieved, considering what ahd taken her strength and where it was.
The other method was slower, far less efficient, and maybe even as difficult since the death of ordinary ants wouldn't do much if anything at all for her.
But killing enough beings would give her her strength back.
Soara's black hair fluttered as a robed phantom appeared behind her, hiding her in its shadow.