Essence of the Void: Part 4

The eerie illusion that once enveloped the mansion shattered like fragile glass as the powerful beam of light pierced through the darkness. Tang-Ji was pushed down onto her knees by the sudden surge of energy that emitted from Ukiyo.

The chilling currents were released in waves of panic, crashing into the mansion's pillars as they wailed against the already worn-out walls. It was as if she was caught between a tornado and an earthquake; that was the incredible force that she was experiencing.

Finally, the supernatural veil was lifted, revealing the dark nature of the surroundings. In the aftermath, an ethereal sight unfolded before Tang-Ji's eyes.

With fluid precision, Ukiyo wielded the giant shears, cleaving through Clicker Husks. Each swing dispersed them into shimmering fragments. Tang-Ji stared, breathless, as Ukiyo moved with graceful lethality, striking with deliberate force.

Beneath the stairwell, Kazami laid gasping. His health bar blinked a dangerous red, with only barely a pixel of red remaining. He attempted to pull himself up using the broken handrail but his legs slowly gave way.

Tang-Ji sprinted to his side.

Suddenly, a dark figure darted between her and Kazami. A Clicker Husk lunged, jaws wide.

"Aaahh!" Tang-Ji shrieked as the fangs loomed—but a radiant flash of jade light intervened.

A blur tore through the space. The Clicker Husk disintegrated into holographic shards.

She turned to thank Ukiyo—only to freeze. Her body shook, and her breathing became laboured as she stumbled ahead onto her. 

"But... you were winning," she whispered, trembling.

Ukiyo staggered into her arms. "The cost of using a Leere... it's too much. My stamina bar is emptying faster than I thought."

She had fought valiantly, her Queen's Soul Leere devastating in power. But there were simply too many.

"I'll be fine. I just need a moment to catch my breath." Ukiyo murmured haltingly as her body limped even more before turning around to face the monsters, her movements slow and unsteady.

In that moment, more Clicker Husks flooded the room.

Their clicking grew into a cacophony. The room vibrated with their collective growls and clicks, threatening to drown out any hope that remained.

Tang-Ji quickly blocked her ears with both hands, but it was already far too late; the effect of the Clicker Husk was already activated.

She suddenly loses strength in her legs before collapsing to the ground. As she laid restlessly on the cold floorboard, she began to trace her eyes above her current health bar.

Although her health was almost entirely inside the green zone, she noticed a chain symbol next to her health metre. This symbol represents the decay mechanic, which locks the player out of action while slowly draining their health. 

"Not yet... I need more time," Ukiyo whispered, preparing to defend them.

However, the weight of the jade shear on her hand abruptly disintegrated into dust. Ukiyo slowly turned to the familiar blue eyes. She understood what was going to come next.

"Dammit!"

She turned to Tang-Ji with a weak smile.

"RUN! Ji-Chan!"

She exclaimed before turning around to creatures with fangs as long as her arm; they slowly enclosed her with their numbers, ready to feast upon their new prey. With inches away from the rabble's onslaught to devour Ukiyo, a gust of wind suddenly blew rapidly across her face.

It was a gust of deep red and pure white wind.

"Huh...!?" Tang-Ji grasped.

With this surprise, the large fangs of the Clicker Husk were thrown high into the air. Tang-Ji stared speechlessly at the silhouette of the person who had appeared.

With a swift motion, not only did Kazami deflect the mob's fangs with ease but also completely sliced right through them with a fast, executed swing of his oversized blade, which has a crimson hilt and a purple-hued edge. The impact reverberated through the room, creating a shockwave that sent the Clicker Husks sprawling.

With his breathing heavy and sweat trickling down his forehead, he paused for a moment amidst the chaotic battle with the horde of Clicker Husks. His eyes blazed with a mix of exhaustion and resentment as he clutched his enlarged blade tightly.

"I've had enough. How dare you force those emotions back on me. I'm going to kill all of you!" A furious rumble escapes his lips.

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The blade bursts into existence as a shining sword, towering above Kazami. He brims with rage at the prospect of facing such a large number of Clicker Husks.

A burst of adrenaline flowed through his digital veins as he tightened his grips on the abnormal blade. 

Concentrating intently, he channelled a sword skill in preparation for calling out his skill technique. In a two-part striking sequence, "Level 1 deployment, Guard Technique: Storm Blade," he entailed a rapid body rotation followed by a downward smash with the user's sword.

Dusk Protocol's fighting system took an individual's real-life physical strength and considerably enhanced it, making it possible for players who otherwise lack the physical power to do so in real life to use such a hefty weapon.

Kazami had felt this weight before, when he tried to protect Tang-Ji from the catastrophe that occurred during the Shrine of the Beginning.

Kazami swung the massive blade in a broad arc, creating a tremendous blast of wind that reverberated around the room. The horde was pushed back by the power of his stroke, forcing the Clicker Husks to stumble back against the mansion's colonnade.

He twisted and contorted his body as the massive blade spun in his hands, utilising the momentum to push back the horde of Clicker Husks. His every action was a dance of pinpoint accuracy and overwhelming force—a tornado of devastation that held back the oncoming swarm.

'The vials. Where are they?' Kazami thought to himself before activating a wide range of search skills.

Paralysed by the degrading effect of the Clicker Husks, Tang-Ji and Ukiyo laid among the chaos. Although he was in his enraged state, Kazami's true intention was to get the girls who had been supporting him back on their feet, not to eliminate all the Clicker Husks. His gaze swept the area while his aggressive swings were still in motion.

Just when he was about to exhaust all of his remaining mana, he spotted two potions. It was near the pouch that the player had left behind, glinting with a faint, restorative aura.

Before he began his investigation on the first quest, the corpse's hand on the first body had a faint glint when Kazami saw it. A closer look revealed it to be a potion with the label name "Decay Cleanser," although its usage was unclear at the time.

The preceding player must have discovered, in his last moments, that the clicking sound coming from the Clicker Husk could trigger the decaying effect. He probably just left it on the corpse of the NPC who died so that the following players could find it.

Kazami gritted his teeth before yelling out, "Tang-Ji! Ukiyo! Drink these potions! They'll cleanse the decay effect!"

With his last-ditch effort, he slashed through the air, expertly guiding the spinning blade towards the potions. The giant blade swept them up delicately as he commanded before carrying them towards the immobilised girls.

As the potions hovered in front of them, Kazami's voice cut through the chaos, reaching their ears. "Quickly! Drink them! They'll restore your mobility!"

Tang-Ji and Ukiyo's gaze locked with Kazami's as they summoned every ounce of strength they had left to catch the pods. With trembling hands, they reached out and grasped the potions, their fingers closing tightly around the vessels.

They raise the potion to their lips, drinking deeply. Almost instantly, a warm feeling coursed through their bodies, dispelling the decay effect that held them captive.

Kazami stood at the forefront of the chaos, his presence cutting through the frantic movements and sharp voices like a blade, his posture unwavering as he shielded the girls behind him.

The Clicker Husk began to swarm around him once again as their grotesque forms moved in a disorganised frenzy. Kazami's eyes narrowed, and he tightened his grip on his weapon, ready to carve a path through the masses.

Raising to her feet quicker than Tang-Ji, Ukiyo dashed towards Kazami, who could now be seen getting slower by the second. As the player and NPC exchanged glances, Kazami realised that his stamina was diminishing due to his repeated slashes.

He quickly pivoted his front foot, which was carrying most of the weight of the sword, on his right arm before swinging vertically downward. With a mighty swing of his colossal blade, Kazami struck the ground in front of him. Like a rabid beast, lashing out with such unrestrained fury that even those close to him could be caught in its wake.

The icy mansion trembled beneath the force of his blow as a straight and narrow path emerged amongst the black mass. Dust and debris filled the air, momentarily obscuring the chaos that surrounded him.

However, as the dust slowly settled, a figure emerged from the periphery of the dark horde. It was Ukiyo; she was agile, evading multiple attacks from the Clicker Husks, and now sensing the opportunity, she sprinted towards Kazami. Her steps were light and purposeful.

Just as she reached him, she leapt into the air, her body soaring gracefully through the space above the path that he had created. Kazami slowly lowered his weapon. He left the giant blade in front of his body before exposing the flat section of his weapon.

Ukiyo landed with a flourish on the flat section of his blade, balancing herself effortlessly. She paused for a moment, her eyes locked on the path ahead, before propelling herself forward with an explosive burst of energy.

"Ready, set, fly!" Kazami roared as he projected Ukiyo through the air.

She ascended, her hair flickering like ethereal flames and her slim form cutting through the space with precision. Time seemed to slow as Ukiyo reached the apex of her flight, a moment of suspended grace before she began her descent. 

The Clicker Husks regrouped, encircling them again as the black mass awaited her below, a writhing sea of danger.

As Ukiyo descended, she activated her Leere, and the glove on her right arm began to glow prominently before settling down with the sight of a holographic blade materialising in her hand, crackling with electric energy.

At the same time, Kazami's giant blade vanished into thin air as Ukiyo now held a blade that could conjure lightning at will. She struck the ground with fierce determination, the holographic blade piercing the earth beneath her. In an instant, a powerful area effect surged outward, electrifying everything within its reach.

The Clicker Husk, once frenzied and chaotic, now convulsed as the electric current coursed through their grotesque forms. They writhed and spasmed, their movements disrupted by the overwhelming power of Ukiyo's attack.

The black masses let out piercing screams of anguish as lightning crackled and danced over their bodies. Ukiyo was in the core of the charged cluster, her Leere was still active, and her body was emitting an electric field with a controlled intensity.

Sighing with relief and amazement, Tang-Ji was observing Ukiyo and Kazami's demonstrations of teamwork.

"Amazing..."

The Clicker Husk was now severely weakened, providing a perfect opportunity for Kazami to launch a counterattack.

However, in an instant, the group stood frozen, their eyes fixed upon the ominous door behind them, which began to creak violently.

In spite of the fact that the battle was still raging on, as displayed by the incessant growls and clicking that echoed through the mansion, an unsettling silence now hovered in the air, broken only by the soft sound of Tang-Ji's own breathing.

Suddenly, the creaking noise grew louder as it pierced the stillness, drawing her attention to the large wooden door as it slowly started to move. Before anyone could react, the door that served as a bridge between the winter wasteland and the realm of chaos was severed.

In a blink of an eye, any chances left of escaping unscathed were gone. The door quickly slammed shut with a bone-chilling force, shaking the very foundation of the mansion.