*Gwaaaaaar!*
Niara and Darian had only advanced a few meters towards their target when, suddenly, the Risen fighting Ceug let out a frenetic roar and attacked.
Both of them widened their eyes.
'Getting closer? What a brilliant idea, Darian.' That was the only thought that passed through his mind.
**RUMBLE!**
An explosion shook the ground, but the worst part was the terrifying shockwave that spread through the air.
Both were hit and thrown back. Niara crossed her arms over her chest, using everything she had to protect her little partner who was there.
After the impact, they hit the ground and were dragged for almost ten meters, creating a deep trench in the process.
Luckily, the force of the explosion pushed the miasma and other nearby Risen away.
When the dust settled, Niara slowly rose, a bit shaky, surrounded by a white aura that healed her. All her scales had shattered, along with almost all of her bones, but as long as Darian had power and she didn't die immediately, she would get back up again.
She focused on the little creature and saw that he was perfectly fine, breathing in relief. She managed to withstand just barely and protect him. Due to the mediocre body she gave him, if he had been hit, even indirectly, he could have died before he could heal.
Meanwhile, Darian awkwardly waved at her. He figured he should get closer to the main target, and only then would he learn something important. But his impulsive action almost killed them both.
Now wasn't the time to lament, and he quickly focused on where they were. They had been thrown back to the empty region between the second and first lines.
The inside of the Abyssal Nest resembled a large bridge. The side where the first line was located was the part of the bridge where new Risen were constantly sent into battle, replacing those who had already died.
A huge number of weak Risen were crossing this area, heading towards the other battle lines. Luckily, the place was vast, and Niara and Darian were fortunate enough to be thrown into a temporarily isolated region.
All the other lines were fighting in fixed positions at the beginning of the battle. The first objective was to eliminate all the Risen that were already inside the Nest. However, as enemies were taken down, new ones were sent in an equivalent number, maintaining the constant flow of combat.
When only the newly arrived Risen remained, all the lines would need to defeat them quickly, advancing and gradually reducing the space on the bridge that the enemies could occupy.
This advance needed to be precisely coordinated, ensuring that no Risen was left behind. However, as the available space diminished, the situation would become increasingly dangerous for the weaker ones.
The final moments would be the deadliest, when most of the casualties would occur. So far, less than 20% of the Summoners had fallen.
At that moment, Darian looked at the ground and the trench they had created... he noticed something strange.
There were crystals emerging from the trench, coming up from beneath the ground. There were countless of them, of all sizes, glowing in a grayish hue—some darker, others lighter.
He was surprised, as there were so many, and in the darker crystals, he felt a faint trace of miasma.
'What is this?' He asked.
Niara, upon seeing the crystals, answered without surprise:
"They're Chaos Crystals. They're a rare treasure, and only the Academy and Summoners can acquire them with some ease. They appear on very specific planets that have great natural energy. These planets give birth to Crystals full of life. And when they are attacked en masse by the Risen, their miasma invades everything; that's when the Chaos Crystals take shape in the ground."
"They contain a bit of both Life and Death power together, but not for long. If the Academy's people aren't quick enough to exterminate all the invading Risen, the crystals lose their Life power and are completely corrupted. So, like everything that comes from the Risen, they can't be taken."
"When everything is done in time, the Summoners use Earth Crystals, sold at the Academy, to find and mine everything quickly. This planet we're on fits that case, but everything here is already dead. After all, any planet invaded by the Risen turns into a desert in a matter of hours... life never returns."
She finished with a sigh, and Darian understood.
In normal invasions, a certain amount of these crystals can be mined, but in an Abyssal Nest, the quantity multiplied several times.
"Wait... Earth Crystals? We bought a lot of those at the Academy."
Darian remembered that when they sold the weapons, they spent everything on useful things available at the Academy.
He wasn't sure if they would really be useful, but it was better to have some options available. He bought a lot of random things, and one of them was the Earth Crystals. They caught his attention because they helped locate and mine precious materials.
He snorted; it didn't make sense to use them for mining now. They were standing in front of a treasure but could only leave it behind.
*PENG!*
Suddenly, a sharp sound sliced through the air, making both of them jump. Then, a furious roar echoed.
The sounds came from very far away, but even the smallest thing was a danger to them.
Darian focused, trying to feel where the enemy was, and soon realized there were three presences. They weren't three powerful Risen, just one. There were two people with karma greater than that of the Risen. He could clearly tell that they were two Spiritual Guardians.
Nearby, their Summoners were present, but their karma was only a little higher than normal. On the other hand, their Spiritual Guardians were terrifying.
Then…
'It could be him! We need to get a little closer.'
Darian spoke mentally, already expecting Niara's hesitation. After all, he had almost killed them before by suggesting something similar. But to his surprise, she immediately moved in that direction.
He sighed; it was nice to have someone reckless to follow him. But he couldn't keep abusing her trust. He needed to think carefully about his actions, or sooner or later, he'd end up killing them for real.
Darian never considered himself particularly smart. He was just pushing himself to survive. The pressure since being recruited by Rhea had been constantly forcing him to go beyond his limits.
Niara moved very slowly, as carefully as possible.
Darian kept an eye on the movements of the battle ahead. Until he noticed something wrong with that powerful Risen. He looked so, so weak—almost defeated.
It was now clear that Ceug and his allies were not friends with all the Risen. They were, in fact, trying to kill them in this Abyssal Nest.
'But why the hell aren't they using the Abyssal Heart to end everything and everyone?' Darian murmured.
He couldn't guess why with the information he had at the moment. But… he had already realized that the more powerful a Risen was, the smarter they became.
From what Niara had told him, the Risen Lords were the most powerful figures among the Risen, and there were records of several existing. Darian snorted… wherever there was a lot of power at play, there were conflicts and disputes for more.
Surely the Risen Lords weren't exactly united. The one Ceug had allied with… maybe couldn't leave traces of what really happened here. Maybe using the Abyssal Heart on the Risen of the nest would alert the other Lords, or something even worse.
Everything was a maybe. But if it were true… Then the plan of the Summoners allied with the Risen Lord was, in fact, to eliminate the Risen of the Nest first, using the other Summoners as tools for that task. In the end, with no Risen left, they would use the heart and kill all the Summoners. After that, they'd destroy the Nest, and the other Lords would never know anything.
It seemed plausible, Darian thought. 'Okay, but that doesn't solve anything. What can I do to survive?'
He was thinking about that when Niara stopped walking. They were very close now, and she couldn't get any closer. The distance was enough to see the battle and far enough that those in front wouldn't notice them.
Then...
Darian clearly saw, from a distant point, two figures hiding, watching the movements of the enemy Risen carefully.
A man, native to the Canid tribe, was standing next to a slender figure that resembled an elf from Earth's tales. That elf was a Spiritual Guardian.
The elf held a bow...
With black arrows...
Niara was certain when she saw the arrows. It was him who attacked them before.
Darian took a deep breath. He attacked them from an immense distance, coming from the first line? Yet he still managed to hit them from behind, with Niara facing the other direction...
He attacked and ran? Was this the result of his blessing? Why did he attack them?
So many unanswered questions.
But Darian had a few certainties.
The Summoners had restrictions from the Academy and couldn't kill directly. The blessings, on the other hand, were powers from the Spiritual Guardians, and they didn't have that limitation.
That explained why Ceug's ice eagle and his allies did what they did. The Summoners just didn't interfere.
So, in this universe, everyone had to be extra careful. The Risen were dangerous, but the other Spiritual Guardians were even worse.
As for their power, the blessings, they could be strange or extremely simple.
In the beginning, when a Spiritual Guardian was weak, their blessings could easily be identified when used—just go to the library and research.
But when they had many rings, the blessings could develop abilities different from the original or not.
In short, the strongest hid the true power of their blessings.
Therefore, knowing exactly what someone's blessing was and what it did was essential information and very difficult to obtain.
'Wait!'
Darian shuddered. It definitely took him too long to realize the obvious. If he could see Ceug's recent past, then this elf, being his ally and certainly as cruel as Ceug, should be the same.
If the elf was hiding while fighting now, it meant he was the type meant to attack, not defend. Every time he attacked, he had to give it his all to avoid risks. So… he had definitely done terrible things and killed many with his blessing.
As for Darian... he had a perfect cheat to deal with hateful people.
He focused only on the elf...
A minute later, he returned to reality.
Then he looked up, and his eyes met Niara's, who was waiting for him with expectations.
'Partner... let's do something big. Like... really big, to the point of being unbelievable...'