Nel'Vess took a deep breath to ease his agitation and then walked away, knowing that his authority over the spiders had expired.
In other words...Rustle! Rustle!
The spiders charged again at the party, seeing nothing but red. Sergio and Jamal have already closed their eyes, accepting their fate ,while Arthur was left trying his best to stop his brother's nonstop bleeding, but alas...His giant hands were big enough to cover the hole, but that was the only thing they could do.
Tears flooded down Arthur's eyes as he gazed at the scorched marks in place of his brother's eyes.
It was like he was living a deja vu, remembering the day he was brought up by his uncle to the hospital and seeing his big brother lying on the bed with bandages over his eyes and torso.
All he could do at that time was cry and cry while holding his brother's hand, feeling utterly helpless.
He thought if he were to fall into the same situation, it would be different, but here he was, sharing the same helplessness as when he was a child.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As the spiders jumped on them and sank their fangs across their bodies, Arthur used his wide back to shield Levi, not letting a single spider touch him. Even Jamal and Sergio suffered from major bites to keep Shia safe until the last second.
It was like they still had a tint of hope in her...
"Totem...of...protection, shine...your light."
They made the best decision possible as the moment they were buried under the mountain of spiders, a sudden flash of light emerged from the cracks, releasing concentrated, purified sunlight everywhere!
Nel'Vess was hit by one of the beams and felt like he was pierced by a bullet, forcing him to jump away instantaneously. The moment he landed on a tree, he touched the hole in his chest with a grim expression, feeling the searing pain coursing through him.
But, he didn't give it much thought as his eyes were affixed on the sudden emergence of a golden shimmering dome, big enough to contain Shia's party!
As for the mountains of spiders? It was already decimated, leaving the rest of the spiders to cower away from the glaring dome.
"Huh...We aren't dead?"
Sergio and Jamal lifted their heads after sensing the warm sensation coursing through their bodies. It was like they were bathing under their Holy Pillar. Even their wounds were healing at a comfortable pace while the pain was numbed.
"Damn you, dad...Did you have to make the custom incantation so damn long and complicated?" Shia spoke at last as she held onto a shimmering sun-like necklace.
"Shia, is this what I think it is..." Jamal's eyes widened in disbelief as he gazed at the shimmering necklace.
Before she could reply, Sergio exclaimed in shock, "It is! Grade 'A' Protection totem...Solar Dome!"
His reaction was understandable, as this totem wasn't even sold to the public, but used as a gift by the Solar Aegis Sanctuary to reward the top five highest-ranked Daywalkers on the Holy Heliodor Region leaderboard!
It was a priceless treasure for even high-ranked Daywalkers, yet it was in the hands of Shia.
"This isn't the time to discuss my father's treasure." Shia ordered with a hurried tone, "My arms are still broken, help the Larson Brothers recover faster! I have a couple of recovery totems in my backpack."
Sergio and Jamal swiftly reached into Shia's backpack and poured everything on the ground. Besides some makeup and hair gadgets, they found one assault totem, one defensive totem, and two healing totems.
When they saw them, they smacked themselves for not considering digging into her belongings earlier without her permission. But it was already in the past.
They took the recovery totems, and each one focused on a Larson Brother. Sergio flipped the passed-out Arthur away from Levi and immediately poured the pink liquid into his lips.
Although his body was filled with small spider bites, there were too many, causing him to lose a significant amount of blood. Yet, his situation was nowhere as brutal as Levi's.
"Shit...This, this is too much."
Everyone's expressions turned for the worse after Levi's massive stomach wound was revealed...His guts were exposed for the world to see.
"Feed him!" Shia shouted angrily at the shellshocked Jamal, "The protective dome is keeping him alive."
As she said, Levi might be passed out cold, but he was still breathing faintly. If it wasn't for the healing prowess of the protective dome, he would already be a goner.
That's what they thought, but in reality, Levi was still alive because of one entity...Unbeknownst to everyone, Levi was meeting him right now in his dream.
***
Levi and Ash'Kral were seen standing on top of an empty, dead field with a scarlet sky, clouds, and a cracked moon gleaming from above.
Levi's clothes and hair became pitch-black while Ash'Kral remained the same, maintaining his creepy bat-like appearence.
Levi instantly knew that he was inside a dream and that Ash'Kral had invaded it, twisting it into his desired environment.
The fact that he was here made him assume that he was still alive on the outside, which implied that Shia had succeeded in activating her protection totem.
While Levi didn't know what kind of protection totem was in her possession, he was the only one capable of hearing her faint whispers of the incantation, allowing him to guess the totem's type.
That's why he tried his best to buy time for her, even risking his life in the process. He just didn't expect Nel'Vess not to care about his Talk No Jutsu and pin him in no time.
"Ash'Kral, is any of this your doing? Be straight, I think we are long past the foolery." Levi asked.
"If you're talking about the Lurker Spider Queen's trap, I had nothing to do with it."
Ash'Kral floated towards Levi with a hunched back and claws long enough that they were grinding on the ground. When he was a mere meter away from him, he showed a sinister smile and confessed, "But, I did know about it."
"..." Levi went silent.
Ash'Kral's silence and disappearance ever since their last discussion about the contract did raise some concerns in his mind.
He knew that Ash'Kral wouldn't give up on him that easily, not after spending a decade monitoring and saving him for himself.
"What now? I believe you have the upper hand." Levi lifted his arms with a bitter smile, "Do your best, I don't have much choice anyway."
Levi wasn't delusional to believe that Ash'Kral hadn't brought him here unless he was certain that he had the upper hand in their negotiation.
"I like it when you are sensible." Ash'Kral chuckled, "Still, it's only fair to show you how bad your situation is. I don't want to hear you complaining that I have swindled you."
Ash'Kral snapped his finger, and the cracked moon rippled akin to a peaceful lake. Then, images of the outside world were reflected on it, stunning Levi.
"I can see...How?" Levi murmured as he touched his scorched marks.
Unfortunately, his eyes were still nonexistent even in the dream world. Yet, the scenes of Shia and the others trying their best to wake him up appeared as vivid as a voice in a silent room.
"I am sharing my vision with you, enjoy it while it lasts," Ash'Kral replied.
But, when he saw the condition of his little brother, the joy of seeing the real world after a decade was extinguished...Yet, this wasn't even the worst part.
The scene switched to Nel'Vess hurling giant trees and massive boulders at the Solar Dome. He seemed absolutely livid as he cursed Shia and the others.
"Is this what I get for trying to be nice? Wasting my energy and time for a decided outcome?!"
Crack! Crack!
Each time a tree or a boulder smashed the Solar dome, it released a wave of purified sunlight, weakening it bit by bit.
'The Solar Dome is great against nightcrawlers and their abilities, but it doesn't work as well against real-life objects.'
Levi's face went dark, realizing that if Nel'Vess kept his bombardment, he would destroy the dome in less than half an hour.
Half an hour should have been good enough to buy them some time until reinforcement arrived, but the network was down, and no one knew if their emergency flares were seen or not.
Even if they were seen in time, it took an hour, give or take, from the outpost to the forest using mounts.
In simpler terms, there was a high chance Nel'Vess would get to them before reinforcement arrived...This time, he wouldn't waste a single moment bashing their heads.
"You proved your point, I am willing to sign your desired contract." Levi requested with a look of unwearying acceptance, "My only condition is to save my brother and the others."
In his eyes, he wouldn't even bat an eye if the contract was pure rubbish. He was the one responsible for bringing his brother into this mess, a mess that was beyond their capabilities.
He would rather lose his sight ten times over before letting his brother die.
"Of course I will do that, I am not a monster." Ash'Kral's demonic smile said otherwise.
Without further ado, he waved his hand, and a massive Nocturnal Contract was summoned in front of them.
It was already written and prepared, even signed by Ash'Kral's name at the bottom. The only thing missing was Levi's signature.
Before Levi read the terms, he felt a chill course down his spine at the notion that Ash'Kral had this contract drafted for over a decade, awaiting this very moment.
But then, he glanced above him and saw the horror his party was going through. He took a deep breath and looked back at Ash'Kral.
"There is an old saying that I have read in a book." Levi smiled, "It says, if an oil company wants to buy your land, there's probably oil under it."
"What does that supposed to mean?" Ash'Kral raised an eyebrow in intrigue.
Levi replied calmly as he started reading the terms of the contract, "Isn't it obvious? I don't know why you are seeking my body, but I know there is something there. I am just saddened I don't know what it is before selling it..."
"Sign the contract and you will find out." Ash'Kral grinned.