「Broken Compass」The Soterice Trials 「Trial II」

"The Jade Scythe of the Architect Afterword" -Part II-

Chapter 29

Another creature charged. Li sidestepped, angling his sword to deflect the blow across its upper body.

Juno moved in tandem, a branch manifesting behind her heel as she drove the end through its neck.

She never looked back, letting it dangle in the opposite direction.

More petals rained down, rotting the moss and forcing the creatures to retreat higher.

One struck from above, launching off the wall and flapping its wings to gain height. 

She sprang backward, twisting her shoulders as she sent a line of petals cleaving through its wing in the middle of its strike.

The creature hit the ground with a resounding thump before its body folded in on itself like dry lumber.

Li peered under the creature and realized that the faint marks left by White Rice were hardly visible now. 

Suddenly, the corridor behind them sealed itself with a grinding groan, cutting off their retreat.

He exhaled slowly and scanned the dim corridor. If this was a trap, it was deliberate to be mere coincidence.

He veered his stance. "The walls are moving ahead of us. There's no decay. Something's controlling this space."

Juno cursed under her breath. "Could these seeds be part of a scheme?"

Li's shoulder twitched involuntarily as the unconsidered thought surfaced, "What do you mean?"

Juno twisted her wrist, and the brittle branches she had conjured snapped, redirecting themselves mid-flight to strike the ones perched on the walls from different angles. 

"They require specific resources to survive. Beyond that, only a handful have lived long enough to become a Harlow."

Li frowned and clenched his jaw.

He brooded silently, 'If they weren't just scavengers, then what was guiding them? The Seed sustained itself on the discarded remnants of the Realm of Decay, extending its lifespan. Growth defies its own order; without constant replenishment of its cycle, it would wither the moment it left. The Harlows are a species tethered to a single domain, yet they stand so far from it."

Juno frowned and suddenly spoke, stepping out from behind Li. "They're retreating," 

"..." Li kept his blade raised as he peered behind the creature as an incision tore across its body.

Unlike the first one, nothing spilled from its body.

The branch vanished into petals, dropping the hollow corpse with a heavy thunk.

"You're right. These aren't seeds of Harlow."

Without warning, the furthest creature sprang onto the wall, digging its claws into the moss as it propelled itself forward. 

Keeping its wings tucked, the creature unexpectedly swept past Juno.

Without hesitation, she summoned another branch from the ground, aiming to intercept. However, the creature dropped to the other side of the wall before it could be seized.

Her fingers stiffened. "Damn it!"

At the sound of her curse, Li shifted, witnessing the entire attack.

The nearest creature pushed off the ground effortlessly, its claws arcing straight for the back of Juno's skull.

Li's pupils contracted. He moved, slamming his shoulder into Juno as he rushed past.

The steel blade clashed with the creature's claw, sending a cascade of sparks into the air.

The force of the impact caused him to stagger, his boots carving deep trenches into the dirt as he struggled to maintain his footing.

The seed reeled from the impact but swiftly regained its composure, charging forward once more. Its claws sliced past his shoulder

Before Li managed to steady himself, another one vaulted onto the wall.

It perched for a fraction of a second before springing down.

Its claws stretched wide as it swept toward Juno.

She caught the movement in her peripheral vision and pivoted, dipping low as she rolled aside.

The creature's strike slashed through empty air, its momentum sending it past her.

She propped herself up on her elbow, and extended her fan open, spreading the lacquered ribs fully, before white-glowing vines sprawled out from the edges. 

They lashed forward and coiled around the creatures' legs like shackles before wrenching them down.

Thud! Thud! 

The one in front of Li crashed to its knees.

Juno loosened her grip and the vines unraveled, dissolving into a scatter of white petals.

Li's gaze hardened as he crouched.

His fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword, lifting it from where it had been cast aside.

With a swift step forward, he swung.

The blade tore through flesh and bone, carving through effortlessly.

Juno acted swiftly, moving before the other creature could rise. She seized it by the back of its skull and slammed it into the ground.

Once. Twice. The dull crunch of bone echoed through the maze until its body went completely still.

She exhaled, leaning away as her fingers slipped from its fractured skull.

The atmosphere drew a much stronger scent of blood now. 

Li could feel the fox's invisible presence, winding through the maze's terrain like a ghostly puppeteer.

The remaining Seeds of Harlow stood motionless, their hollow faces fixed forward. 

Juno looked between them before she turned to Li, who was hoisting himself up with his sword.

"What do you think they are?" she asked.

Li brushed the dust from his mantle, studying the pair perched on the wall above Juno. After a moment, he spoke. "Replicas."

Juno frowned. "Replicas?"

Li stepped closer to the headless body on the ground.

He raised his sword and drove it into the torso, dragging the blade toward himself to carve a deep incision.

The inside was hollow, save for dozens of thin, writhing tendrils that emerged like strands of hair, and moved with an unsettling fluidity.

Her eyes widened in horror as she exclaimed, 'What in the hell... Is that a parasite?

Li shook his head, and answered, "Oliverous pawns."

Juno's brows knit together as she studied the shifting tendrils. "That doesn't make sense. The trial keepers can't interfere with another trial."

"They can't cross into different trials physically," Li corrected, "but as long as their main body stays put, they can extend their abilities elsewhere."

He gestured toward the corpse. "Oliverou can only transform into people, so he uses pawns to replicate monsters."

Juno's thoughts coalesced as she murmured, "Then... he must have collaborated with White Rice in some manner. Yet, this doesn't appear to be unfolding as intended. His replicas are malfunctioning."

Li exhaled deeply, an unfamiliar pressure settling in his chest.

However, it wasn't fear or worry that gripped him.

"He's being countered," he said. "When an elixir's traits malfunction, the wielder is being physically or mentally affected." His gaze swept over the deformed replicas. "Judging by these distortions... it's the former."

The corners of his mouth curved into a subtle smirk.

Juno's stumbled back. 'Hoku? Could he have already disrupted the constellation seal binding the Blade of Thieves?'

She muttered, "That kid... he's nothing like Feiyu."

"I'm already aware of his potential," Li said.

"It's only a matter of time until he-"

Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!

The white masks on the remaining seeds loosened their grip, cascading to the ground in succession.

Their bodies trembled, limbs spasming discordantly. 

Cracks split through their flesh, widening until entire chunks collapsed like brittle husks. Then, layers of skin and sinew sloughed away, peeling back in uneven strips.

From within the dissolving husks, something else began to emerge.

A hunched figure crawled free, its frame emaciated yet unsettlingly large.

Patches of matted black fur clung to the exposed tendon, and its hind legs were bent at disjointed angles.

Jagged antlers branched from its skull, their tips lined with fibrous tendrils that squirmed.

Li retreated further into the middle, pulling his hood back over his face.

His eyes narrowed in aversion as large lumps swelled beneath its back.

The bloated portions split open dryly, spilling out more creatures hidden within the seeds.

Their slick bodies slithered free, twitching and writhing as they snapped their spines into place, like newborns clawing their way out of a swollen corpse.

A warm sensation surged up Juno's throat, prompting her to gag as she swiftly clamped a hand over her mouth.

Li slid his grip higher up the hilt, keeping a steady gaze.

Before them, the malformed figures began to unravel, their antler-like tendrils quivering, as if acutely aware of their presence.

Then, in unison, they advanced.

Li pivoted, his blade grazing three creatures simultaneously. 

He wasn't seeking immediate results but rather cumulative strikes; layers of damage that would lead to a collapse at the opportune moment.

Maneuvering through the corpses, Juno swiftly reached Li's side. 

She placed a hand on his shoulder, and said, "Stop! Your sword is ineffective against them now."

Li released a heavy breath and pulled away.

A creature abruptly lunged at Juno from behind.

She swung her fan, and branches appeared in rows, twisting along the walls and floor to block the attack.

The white buds along its length swelled and burst into full bloom. 

Several attempted to slip through the gaps, but slender vines shot out from the flowers' centers and coiled around the creatures' antlers before hurling them into the wall.

As each blossom responded, it withered and dropped.

The creatures that had been flung aside crawled back up, with jerky movements.

"They'll spread unless they're completely obliterated or minced! You need to go ahead, I'll hold them off."

Li's expression hardened. 

He drove his sword through a creature's skull, halting it from attacking him.

After wrenching his blade free, Li darted ahead without hesitation. Juno followed closely. 

A glance over her shoulder revealed that all the flowers had fallen from the branches, and more creatures were seeping through.

'Damn it, why did that bastard have to interfere with his disgusting pawns?' Juno cursed inwardly, suppressing her resentment.

She closed her fan, the last remnants of its blossomed branches withered into white petals, scattering like remnants of a fleeting defense.

She exhaled sharply and called out to Li ahead, "The potion's in the next corridor!"

Li acknowledged with a nod, turning another corner.

Behind them, the echoing taps of a pursuing herd grew louder.

Soon, they faced a familiar design: three diverging paths.

 Li glanced down, sighing in relief when he noticed that the mark he had left in the previous area was absent.

Juno caught up, maintaining a slight distance from Li as she fended off the pursuing creatures.

"The maze is layering false paths! If we find another collapsing ceiling trap, we can use it to crush some of them!" Juno shouted.

White Rice wouldn't make it that simple. It had forced them to rely on mapping the terrain, disrupting any attempt to memorize a direct route under pressure.

The jade sword, dismissed as weak by others, remained their only key forward; so long as they obtained the potion Li needed to wield it at its greatest potential.

Li's brows pressed together. 'The right should be where we started!'

"Cover your face!" he called out before darting into the passage.

Black spores billowed from the side walls, forming dusty clouds.

Li couldn't suppress the searing discomfort in his throat. 

He swallowed his saliva and coughed uncontrollably into his hood.

As he sprinted toward the end of the path, the sound of stone grinding reached his ears. 

Peering back, he saw Juno lagging, about halfway down the corridor.

The creatures encircled her, closing in swiftly.

Li cursed under his breath and shouted urgently, "It's about to collapse!"

Juno cast a quick look over her shoulder. 

She drove her fan toward the ground, sealing several branches between the walls before sprinting in Li's direction.

Small rocks tumbled from above. Li stepped back. 'She won't make it in time. She'll be buried-' He darted past the trap without a second thought.

Larger chunks of stone crashed down as he closed the distance.

Only one creature had managed to keep up.

Juno's pupils contracted. "What are you-"

Before she could finish, Li seized her arm, and yanked her forward, pivoting sharply.

He slung her arm over his shoulder and forced them both in the same direction.

The moment they cleared the space, the ceiling caved in and the shadow of an enormous rock loomed overhead. 

Li ducked, grabbing the back of Juno's head as he shoved them both to the ground.

They rolled into the patches of moss with a heavy thud.

The creature trailing them was less fortunate; its entire body lay crushed beneath the rock, save for its head. 

A black liquid seeped from the cracks, pooling outward.

Then, it bubbled and expanded upward as it swiftly reshaped itself. 

The creature hadn't been killed, it was in the process of forming another body!

Meanwhile, the horde pursuing them had already breached Juno's barricade.

Li picked himself up, dragging Juno off the ground.

A faint tremor ran through his fingers as he gripped his sword. 

He swung it over the head of the nearest creature, splitting its body in half.

More misshapen bodies rose from the puddle until at least a dozen loomed before them.

Juno winced and lowered her gaze to her arm.

The skin had been scraped raw against the stone, the edges tinged with a faint redness.

She averted her eyes and exhaled.

Then, she grimly said, "He's trying to exhaust us before we reach him."

Li responded, "At this rate, neither of us will get the chance."

To Be Continued…