Volume 2 Chapter 145:  The Wrath of the Earth And The Collapsing Bunker

The rocky mountains trembled beneath the thunderous roar of the Geo Wyrm.

Ayame clung tightly to the crystalline mane of the Lapis Lion as the enormous beast raced down the uneven mountain slope. Its paws struck the stone with enough force to send fragments of rock flying in every direction, and every time it leaped across a gap in the terrain, Ayame's stomach lurched as she struggled to keep her balance.

Ramos lay across the lion's back in front of her.

The former village chief remained unconscious. Nearly all the color had drained from his face, and although Ayame continued channeling healing magic into his body, his breathing remained weak and shallow. Every few seconds, she glanced down at him, desperately checking to make sure his chest was still moving.

"Please hold on," she whispered.

She tightened one arm around him as the Lapis Lion leaped over a large boulder.

"We're almost out."

She wasn't sure whether that was true.

The bunker had already disappeared behind the mountain ridges, but the sound of destruction continued to follow them. Stone cracked in the distance. Trees collapsed one after another. Entire sections of the rocky slope broke apart as the Geo Wyrm forced its enormous body through the mountains.

The creature moved like a living avalanche.

Its body was almost as large as a four-story building, and layers of rough stone armor covered its enormous frame. Jagged plates ran from the top of its head all the way down its back, resembling a mountain range that had somehow come to life. Every time it forced itself through the terrain, the earth split beneath its weight.

Boulders rolled down the slopes, crashing into smaller rocks and sending clouds of dust into the air.

Behind the enormous wyrm, hundreds of Lyra's earthen clones continued pouring out of the bunker.

Some ran along the existing mountain paths.

Others climbed directly over the cliffs.

Several even emerged from the stone directly in front of Ayame, forcing the Lapis Lion to change direction at the last possible moment.

"Left!" Ayame shouted.

The Lapis Lion immediately reacted.

The crystalline beast twisted its body and bounded toward the left side of the slope just as a clone erupted from the ground where they had been heading.

Its stone fist slammed into empty air, missing Ayame by less than a meter.

Before the clone could recover, the Topaz Tiger leaped past them.

Its golden crystalline claws tore through the earthen soldier, shattering its body into chunks of dirt and stone.

But two more clones emerged from the slope behind it almost immediately.

The Topaz Tiger turned toward them and released a threatening roar.

Its golden body flashed beneath the fading sunlight as it charged back into the swarm.

Ayame looked over her shoulder.

The tiger was doing everything it could to protect them, but the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming. Every clone it destroyed was replaced by another. The mountainside seemed to be producing Lyra's soldiers endlessly.

Then the Geo Wyrm opened its enormous jaws.

A roar exploded across the mountain range.

GROOOOOOOOOOOOAR!

The sound shook Ayame's entire body.

The Lapis Lion stumbled for half a step before recovering its footing.

Ramos stirred weakly against its back.

Ayame immediately looked down.

His eyes remained closed.

"Ramos?"

There was no response.

His breathing continued, but it was frighteningly shallow.

Ayame's grip tightened.

"Lapis Lion, faster!"

The blue crystalline beast lowered its head and accelerated.

Its paws struck the rocky ground repeatedly, launching its enormous body forward across the slope. Ayame leaned over Ramos, shielding him from the worst of the wind and flying debris as they raced downhill.

The path ahead narrowed between two enormous cliffs.

For one brief moment, Ayame thought they might be able to lose the Geo Wyrm there.

If the passage was narrow enough, perhaps the creature wouldn't be able to follow them.

Then the mountain behind them exploded.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

Ayame flinched.

The Geo Wyrm smashed directly through the cliffside.

Stone erupted into the air.

A massive section of the mountain collapsed beneath the creature's weight, and enormous boulders rolled down the slope.

The wyrm emerged from the destruction without slowing.

Its stone-plated head turned toward Ayame.

Its glowing eyes locked onto the Lapis Lion.

Ayame stared at it in horror.

"That's not even fair!"

The Lapis Lion roared as though it agreed with her.

Unfortunately, the Geo Wyrm was already gaining on them.

Ayame looked down at Ramos again.

His condition was deteriorating.

The blood extraction had left him dangerously weak, and the constant movement was making it difficult to maintain a stable healing spell. She needed to reach a village. She needed a clinic. She needed help from Crowned Era.

Her fingers instinctively closed around the Emergency Crystal Fayzan had given her.

The item rested safely inside her inventory, waiting to be used.

Not yet.

Ayame didn't know exactly what the crystal would do.

She didn't know whether Crowned Era could receive the signal from this far away.

And she had no idea how far away her allies were.

But she couldn't afford to waste it.

Not while they were still moving.

Not while there was still a chance to escape.

Ayame looked ahead.

The mountain path descended sharply toward a wide rocky valley.

If they reached the valley, perhaps the Geo Wyrm would have less room to move.

Or perhaps—

Ayame swallowed.

Perhaps it would simply destroy the entire valley.

She had no time to consider another option.

"Lapis Lion!" she shouted. "Keep going!"

The crystalline beast responded with another roar and leaped from one rock formation to another.

Ayame nearly lost her balance from the sudden movement, but she immediately wrapped both arms around Ramos and held him securely against the lion's back.

The wind tore at her clothes as the Lapis Lion landed heavily on the opposite side.

The impact sent small stones rolling down the slope.

Behind them, the Geo Wyrm followed.

Another tremor traveled through the mountain.

Elsewhere, far from the fleeing tamer, Kiraya's battle had reached its breaking point.

The former vice captain of Eternity Lions stood on the ruined mountain path with Lionheart firmly gripped in both hands.

Her armor was scorched and cracked from the battle.

Blood ran from several wounds across her face and arms, while her breathing had become uneven and labored. The flames surrounding her body, once fierce enough to engulf her entire figure, had weakened into thin ribbons of fire that flickered around her armor.

Across from her, Corvina remained in a low combat stance.

The purple-haired assassin was injured as well.

Burn marks covered portions of her armor, and the flames created by Kiraya's Lionheart Requiem continued eating away at her health.

But Corvina was still standing.

Still calm.

Still smiling.

Kiraya tried to raise Lionheart.

Her arm trembled.

The custom gunsword suddenly felt heavier than it had ever felt before.

Just a little longer.

She forced herself to remain upright.

Ramos was still inside that bunker.

Silla was waiting for him.

Kiraya had no intention of allowing the enemy to take another life while she was still capable of fighting.

Corvina noticed the movement.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"You're barely standing."

Kiraya tightened her grip around Lionheart.

"Still standing, though."

Corvina's smile widened.

"That's true."

She shifted her weight, preparing to move.

Then—

the ground beneath Kiraya moved.

A sharp vibration traveled through the stone.

Kiraya's eyes widened.

"What—?"

The earth suddenly erupted beneath her feet.

A thick stone pillar shot upward without warning, striking her from below and launching her into the air.

Kiraya had no time to react.

The pillar twisted beneath her body before violently slamming her sideways.

BOOOOOOM!

Kiraya crashed into the cliff wall.

Stone shattered around her.

The impact sent a wave of pain through her entire body, and Lionheart nearly slipped from her hands.

She fell several meters before landing hard against the rocky ground.

Her health bar dropped sharply.

The flames around her body flickered.

Then weakened further.

For a moment, the assassin looked genuinely surprised.

Then she slowly glanced toward the ground.

A familiar presence had appeared.

The stone behind Corvina began to ripple.

Lyra stepped out of the wall as though the earth were nothing more than water.

Dust slid from her shoulders.

Her expression remained calm, but her eyes immediately moved toward the distant mountain path.

Corvina turned toward her.

"Lyra?"

Lyra ignored Kiraya for the moment.

Instead, she looked directly at Corvina.

"Matilda sent a message."

Corvina's expression changed.

"What did she say?"

"The mission is complete," Lyra answered. "The blood extraction has finished."

Corvina glanced toward the distant bunker.

"And the prisoners?"

Lyra smiled faintly.

"The crystal tamer escaped with the NPC."

Corvina's eyes narrowed.

"Ayame?"

"Most likely."

Lyra folded her arms.

"She is already outside the bunker. I attempted to stop her, but she managed to get farther than expected."

Corvina looked toward the mountain slope.

For the first time, the smile disappeared from her face.

"Then we should leave."

Lyra nodded.

"The others are already withdrawing."

She reached into her inventory and retrieved a blue crystal.

The object emitted a faint blue glow against her palm.

Corvina recognized it immediately.

"A Warp Crystal?"

"Matilda prepared it before leaving."

Lyra placed the crystal on the ground.

A circular formation of blue light immediately spread across the stone beneath them.

Ancient-looking runes appeared around its perimeter, rotating slowly as the air inside the circle began to distort.

A deep humming sound filled the mountain path.

The center of the formation twisted into a dark blue vortex.

A temporary gateway had opened.

Corvina glanced back toward Kiraya.

The former vice captain had begun forcing herself upright.

Her movements were slow.

Painful.

But she was still trying to stand.

Corvina watched her for several seconds.

Then her familiar smile returned.

"Looks like we'll have to finish this another time."

Kiraya raised her head.

Her eyes were filled with exhaustion and anger.

"Don't get too comfortable."

Corvina chuckled.

"I'm looking forward to our next fight."

She stepped toward the portal, then paused.

"Hopefully, you'll be a decent challenge by then."

Kiraya's expression hardened.

Corvina entered the Warp Crystal's portal.

Lyra remained behind for one final moment.

She looked at Kiraya.

Then she glanced toward the distant mountains, where the thunderous roar of the Geo Wyrm echoed across the landscape.

"Your friends are running out of time," Lyra said.

Kiraya's eyes widened slightly.

Lyra stepped backward.

Her body sank into the stone.

A moment later, she disappeared completely.

The Warp Crystal's portal remained open for only a few seconds longer.

Then the blue light collapsed inward and vanished.

Kiraya was left alone on the ruined mountain path.

Her flames finally flickered out.

She lowered her head, breathing heavily.

For several seconds, she simply stood there.

Then she slowly forced herself upright.

"Dammit..."

She looked toward the direction of the bunker.

"Ramos..."

Deep inside the bunker, Fayzan continued fighting.

The corridor around him had become a nightmare of broken stone and shattered earth.

Clones emerged from the floor, walls, and ceiling. Their bodies formed from dirt and rock, each possessing Lyra's appearance as they attacked Fayzan from every direction.

His hands burned with orange flames.

He struck one clone directly in the chest.

BOOM!

The figure exploded into fragments.

Before the pieces had even finished falling, another clone rushed toward him.

Fayzan ducked beneath its fist and drove his flaming elbow into its stomach.

The clone broke apart.

A third attacked from behind.

He turned and blocked the strike with his forearm.

The impact forced him backward.

His boots scraped across the stone floor as he struggled to maintain his balance.

Fayzan gritted his teeth.

There were too many.

Every time he destroyed one, another emerged.

But he refused to stop.

He could feel vibrations traveling through the bunker.

The ground trembled somewhere in the distance.

Something massive was moving outside.

And somewhere beyond the walls—

Ayame and Ramos were trying to escape.

Fayzan looked toward the direction of the vibrations.

That must be them.

He pushed forward.

A clone swung toward his face.

Fayzan tilted his head and avoided the attack.

Another swung from the side.

He caught its wrist, twisted its arm, and slammed his flaming fist into its chest.

The clone burst apart.

Fayzan continued advancing.

His breathing grew heavier.

Sweat ran down his face.

The flames around his hands flickered with every movement.

But he kept pushing toward the exit.

Toward the source of the tremors.

Toward Ayame.

Toward Ramos.

Then a massive explosion shook the bunker.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The entire corridor trembled.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Fayzan looked up sharply.

That wasn't a normal attack.

It was too powerful.

Too destructive.

He immediately understood.

Falco.

The black lightning warrior was still fighting Ryota.

Fayzan clenched his fists.

"Ryota..."

He turned toward the sound.

Then began forcing his way through the clones even faster.

The corridor where Ryota and Falco fought had been reduced to ruin.

The floor was covered in craters.

The walls had been torn apart.

Metal supports hung from the ceiling, bent and twisted from repeated impacts.

Broken stone filled the passage, while black lightning continued crawling across the rubble like living veins.

Ryota stood in the middle of the destruction.

He was exhausted.

His clothes were torn.

Blood ran down his arms and dripped from his chin.

Several wounds covered his torso, and one of his legs trembled whenever he shifted his weight.

Across from him, Falco stood almost completely unharmed.

Black lightning wrapped around his body.

It crawled across his shoulders, spiraled around his arms, and gathered around his fists.

His expression was relaxed.

Almost bored.

Ryota slowly raised his sword.

Falco tilted his head.

"Still trying?"

Ryota exhaled.

"I'm stubborn."

Falco smiled.

"That isn't a useful skill."

Ryota stepped forward.

His body screamed at him to stop.

Every muscle was exhausted, and the pain from Falco's lightning still burned beneath his skin. Scalular Impact had protected him from much of the physical force behind the attacks, but it couldn't erase the sheer scale of the black lightning itself.

The energy continued injuring him even when the force behind the strikes was reduced.

Still, Ryota moved.

He swung his sword.

Falco leaned aside.

The blade passed harmlessly in front of him.

Then Falco raised one hand.

A black spear of lightning formed in his palm.

Ryota's eyes widened.

Falco threw it.

The spear tore through the corridor.

Ryota barely managed to move out of its path.

The weapon passed beside his body and struck the wall behind him.

KRAAAAAAAAAASH!

The entire section of the bunker exploded.

Ryota was thrown forward by the shockwave.

He rolled across the floor before slamming into a pile of broken stone.

Falco slowly lowered his hand.

"You're still too slow."

Ryota pushed himself upright.

His breathing was ragged.

"Yeah..."

He wiped the blood from his mouth.

"I've heard that before."

Falco's smile faded slightly.

Then he stepped forward.

Black lightning intensified around his body.

Ryota immediately raised his sword.

But before either of them could attack, a burning figure suddenly burst through the ruined corridor.

Fayzan.

The flames around his fists blazed brightly as he charged directly toward Falco.

"RYOTA!"

Ryota turned.

"Fayzan?"

Fayzan didn't slow down.

He drove his flaming fist toward Falco's face.

Falco simply shifted his head to the side.

The punch missed by several centimeters.

Fayzan's eyes widened.

Falco looked at him with mild irritation.

"Know your place, weakling."

Black lightning erupted around Falco's fist.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Warrior Skill: Blitz Shocker]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Falco moved.

The attack was so fast that Fayzan didn't even have time to raise his guard.

Falco's fist struck him directly in the chest.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact was precise.

Focused.

Devastating.

Black lightning exploded through Fayzan's body as he was launched backward.

He flew across the ruined corridor before crashing into the far wall.

CRAAAAASH!

Stone collapsed around him.

"FAYZAN!"

Ryota's shout echoed through the corridor.

Falco didn't even look toward the fallen warrior.

He simply turned his attention back to Ryota.

Ryota was already moving.

He charged forward with the last strength remaining in his body and threw a punch toward Falco's face.

Falco caught it.

The two stood frozen for a moment.

Ryota's fist was trapped inside Falco's hand.

The full force of Ryota's punch had been absorbed by Scalular Impact, but Falco didn't appear to care.

Instead, he smiled.

"You're pointless if you can only do one thing."

Black lightning spread from Falco's palm.

It crawled up Ryota's arm.

Then covered his entire body.

Ryota's eyes widened.

"Wait—"

Falco twisted his body.

Then slammed Ryota into the ground.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The floor shattered beneath him.

A crater formed around Ryota's body.

Pain exploded through his back.

His vision blurred.

For several seconds, he couldn't move.

Falco stood above him.

Black lightning continued flowing across his body.

Then a system notification appeared in front of Falco.

He glanced toward it.

A private message.

From Matilda.

Falco opened it.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Private Message: Matilda]

Mission complete.

Blood extraction successful.

We are withdrawing.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Falco stared at the message for a moment.

Then sighed.

"So it's done."

He looked down at Ryota.

The white-haired boy was still alive.

Barely moving.

Falco's expression became faintly amused.

"Good."

He opened his inventory.

A blue crystal appeared in his hand.

The same type of crystal Lyra had used.

A Warp Crystal.

Falco dropped it onto the ruined floor.

CLINK.

The crystal struck the stone.

Then blue light erupted around it.

A circular portal began forming in the middle of the destruction.

Falco looked toward the swirling gateway.

A grin slowly appeared on his face.

"Project: Spectrum is upon us."

The words echoed through the ruined bunker.

Ryota heard them.

Even through the pain.

Even through the ringing in his ears.

Project... Spectrum?

He tried to lift his head.

"What...?"

Falco ignored him.

Instead, he raised both arms.

Black lightning erupted from his body.

The entire corridor darkened.

The energy spread across the floor, climbed the walls, and surged into the ceiling.

The bunker began to shake violently.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Warrior Skill: Unrivaled Dominion]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Falco released the skill.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Black lightning exploded outward in every direction.

The walls disintegrated.

Stone pillars shattered.

Metal supports snapped apart.

The ceiling split open.

The destructive energy tore through the bunker like a storm of darkness.

The entire structure began collapsing.

Fayzan's rubble pile shifted.

Ryota's crater widened.

The floor beneath him broke apart.

Falco turned toward the Warp Crystal's portal.

He stepped inside without hesitation.

The moment his body crossed the threshold, the blue gateway began shrinking.

Ryota stared at him through the dust.

"Wait..."

His voice was barely audible.

Falco glanced back.

A faint smile remained on his face.

Then he disappeared.

The portal collapsed.

And the bunker began to fall.

Ryota forced his fingers to move.

Pain flooded his body.

Every part of him wanted to remain where he was.

To close his eyes.

To let the destruction pass around him.

But then he remembered Fayzan.

He remembered the impact.

He remembered Fayzan disappearing beneath the rubble.

"Dammit..."

Ryota pressed one hand against the broken floor.

His arm shook violently.

He tried to stand.

His body refused.

The ceiling above him began collapsing.

A massive stone beam fell toward his position.

Ryota immediately raised his hand.

"Scalular..."

The beam struck his palm.

The force was reduced.

The impact didn't crush him.

But the sheer weight of the falling stone still drove him down onto one knee.

His muscles screamed.

Ryota gritted his teeth.

Then pushed.

The beam shifted aside.

He crawled out from beneath it.

Dust filled his lungs.

The bunker continued collapsing around him.

Walls fell.

Floors split.

Passages vanished beneath mountains of stone.

Ryota looked toward the rubble where Fayzan had landed.

"Fayzan!"

There was no response.

Ryota staggered toward the debris.

A broken support beam blocked his path.

He punched it.

BOOM!

The wood and metal shattered.

Another wall collapsed in front of him.

He punched through it.

Stone fragments struck his body.

His health continued dropping.

But he kept moving.

"Come on..."

He reached the rubble pile.

Then began tearing through it with his bare hands.

He lifted stones.

Destroyed beams.

Pushed aside broken slabs.

Each movement felt like dragging his own body through a mountain.

His fingers became scraped and bloody.

His arms trembled.

His vision repeatedly blurred.

But he refused to stop.

Finally—

he saw a hand.

Fayzan's hand.

Ryota froze.

"Fayzan!"

He grabbed the warrior's wrist and pulled.

The rubble shifted.

More stones fell from above.

Ryota gritted his teeth and pulled harder.

Fayzan's body emerged from beneath the debris.

He was unconscious.

Blood covered his face.

But he was breathing.

Ryota immediately hooked Fayzan's arm over his shoulder.

"Don't you dare die on me."

He staggered beneath the warrior's weight.

The bunker shook again.

A section of the ceiling collapsed behind them.

Ryota turned toward the nearest opening.

There was no proper exit anymore.

Only broken walls and collapsing corridors.

He tightened his grip around Fayzan.

Then activated Scalular Impact again.

He manipulated the force around his body, concentrating it into his next movement.

Ryota drove his shoulder into the nearest wall.

BOOOOOOM!

The wall exploded outward.

Stone fragments flew into the darkness beyond.

Fresh air rushed through the opening.

Ryota stumbled forward.

Another section of the bunker collapsed behind him.

He punched through a second wall.

Then a third.

Every strike tore apart the weakened structure.

Every impact sent more pain through his already-damaged body.

His vision blurred.

His legs nearly gave out.

But he refused to stop.

He had Fayzan.

That was enough.

"Just a little farther..."

Ryota stumbled through the final opening.

The moment he reached the outside, the bunker collapsed completely.

KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!

The enormous underground structure folded inward beneath its own weight.

Stone and metal crashed down the mountain.

A massive cloud of dust swallowed the entire entrance.

The shockwave rolled across the rocky terrain.

Ryota was thrown forward.

He landed on his knees, still holding Fayzan.

For several seconds, he couldn't breathe.

Then he slowly looked back.

The bunker was gone.

Only a massive mound of rubble remained.

Ryota lowered his head.

His entire body trembled.

Fayzan lay unconscious against him.

But alive.

Ryota released a weak breath.

"...We made it."

The words barely escaped his mouth.

Then his remaining strength finally disappeared.

He collapsed beside Fayzan.

Above them, dust continued drifting through the air.

The bunker had fallen.

Falco had escaped.

The blood extraction mission was complete.

Kiraya was wounded.

Lyra and Corvina had withdrawn.

Fayzan was unconscious.

And somewhere beyond the mountains, Ayame was still running for her life from the Geo Wyrm.

The rescue mission had not ended.

It had only entered its most dangerous stage.