Taking a glimpse in the direction of the howling creature, Nyx felt a chill run down his spine. The knights who had been fighting the Broodweaver and died were all turning into Spawns of the Broodweaver. But the most frightening weren't the spawns—no, it was the creature itself. It had finally revealed itself, looking as if it had crawled straight out of the most terrifying nightmare.
Its body was colossal, limbs thick and packed with muscles, bearing massive claws, each bigger than one of Nyx's arms.
Three grotesque heads protruded out of its body, each maw wide enough to swallow a man in one go. Countless tails coiled and twisted in a hypnotic rhythm, resembling dark tendrils.
'That thing didn't crawl out of a nightmare—that was most likely the nightmare itself.'
Nyx was sure of it. There was no way they could defeat such a monster.
They had to run. Run away as fast as possible. The moment that thing became aware of them again, it would be over. Nyx had a hunch it already sensed that its spawn had been killed. The only reason it hadn't tracked them yet was probably because it was still busy with a few of the knights, and the stench of the Broodweaver Spawn's blood that clung to Nyx's whole body.
He could only hope they would have enough time.
Just as Nyx turned to tell Caelia and Avelyne to hurry, he felt strong vibrations in the ground. It was as if thousands of beasts were running towards their location.
'Well, fuck.'
The smell of blood and the noise had without a doubt awakened all monsters in the vicinity. If even one of those creatures was on the same level as the Broodweaver, they could forget about any chances to get out alive.
But maybe they could use the chaos of the approaching beasts to slip through—kill the smaller ones and carve an escape route through the swarm. Or rather, Caelia and Avelyne would. Nyx had no weapon, and on top of that, he had never fought with a real one before.
Of course, he had fought many times in the alleys of Eurasis when some rats tried to steal his food. But that couldn't be compared to this.
Looking at the two women who went on as if they had been granted all the time creation could offer, Nyx froze in disbelief at the sight of them.
"Could you hurry up, or do you plan to die?"
Caelia and Avelyne met his gaze, not understanding what he was talking about until they focused on their environment again.
The calmness from before was nowhere to be seen. Both of them had stern expressions on their faces.
"Why does that have to happen to us?"
Caelia frowned, not liking this one bit.
'They might not be as strong as I thought.'
Nyx couldn't help but comment inwardly on what he had observed so far. He had assumed that Caelia and Avelyne were at the level of his sister or even father, but they clearly weren't. Otherwise, they would have noticed the monsters rushing towards them, no matter how lax they were.
It would have been too easy to challenge the trial with two Ascended on his side and looking at the situation the trial wouldn't allow that. Still, both of them were stronger than the knights, and not just a little bit. So they had to be low-tier Acolytes at least, and high-tier at best. It was not that bad, but everyone would like to have someone stronger on their side for protection.
Summoning her weapon, Caelia got into battle stance, ready to cleave the way through. It was an elegant longsword with a slender, silver blade. The hilt had a dark cross emblem set into the guard, and delicate engravings ran from the grip down the blade, making it look like a divine artifact.
It was simply a breathtaking sword. Even Nyx, who had no knowledge of craftsmanship, knew that this was not just any blade. This was a masterpiece.
Caelia glanced at Nyx and Avelyne, her expression now calm, as if everything was within her control, as if nothing could shake her in this moment.
"Both of you stay behind me in a clear line. Don't even take a single step to the side, or you will be swept away."
Nyx and Avelyne did as Caelia told them, both wondering what she was planning. Releasing a deep breath, Caelia focused on the task at hand. The monsters were already in sight, close enough to be able to name some of those abominations.
Unfortunately, it wasn't just a few. It wasn't a small tide like Nyx had prayed for—no, those had to be thousands, and not just from one direction. Thousands, no matter where you looked
Luckily for them, they had decided to go in the direction away from the forest. The number of beasts was much less on this side compared to the others. Which didn't mean it was a small number.
Lifting her sword Caelia was ready to meet the first monsters head on, some of them were much faster than the rest of the tide which was why they were almost upon them, even when the mass of beasts was still so far away.
Steel met flesh, Caelia swung her longsword in a downward motion, cleaving the first abomination in two. Black ichor sprayed across the ground, marking the death of the first creature.
She didn't hesitate, moving her sword in wide arcs, cutting through flesh and bone alike. Every motion of her sword seemed perfect, her swordsmanship brutal and precise, ending life after life without hesitation. Killing countless monsters in a single second.
Behind her, Nyx and Avelyne followed through the narrow path she carved. The air was vibrating with roars and screeches. Nyx's chest tightened. He had no weapon, no strength to match them. All he could do was run, clinging to the space Caelia created with every strike.
But the tide did not lessen. For every beast that fell, two more forced their way through. Nyx's heart hammered as the ground cracked under their weight. The swarm was like a infinite storm of living flesh. Ready to chew them up.