Chapter 718 One Step Closer

Irina took a step forward, and frost instantly spread across the floor beneath her feet.

A thin layer of ice crept outward, covering the stone with a pale white sheen. The moment the cold touched the small tentacles writhing near her feet, they recoiled and disappeared into the ground as though something had frightened them. Irina’s eyes narrowed, and she took another step.

The temperature dropped further.

Cold air swept through the chamber, spreading from Irina’s body in waves. The heat that had made the tunnel almost unbearable began to retreat beneath the overwhelming chill of her ice powers. Wherever she stepped, frost covered the ground, and the small tentacles that had been waiting to seize them vanished before they could even reach the surface.

Irina did not stop.

Her gaze remained fixed on Liam, whose body was still suspended against the wall. She could see how weak he had become, and every second she spent watching him suffer made her determination grow more vicious. She had found him. She had finally found him after hours of searching, and she refused to let anything keep her from reaching him now.

Then, with a sudden burst of movement, she launched herself into the air.

Whoosh!

For a brief moment, Irina hung above the frozen floor. Her hands moved, drawing the surrounding cold into concentrated points of power. Five slender ice arrows formed before her, their sharp tips glimmering beneath the brilliant light illuminating the chamber. Each arrow was densely packed with freezing energy, cold enough to make the air around it shimmer.

The temperature plunged so violently that the beads of sweat running down Voss’s forehead began to freeze before they could reach the ground. Even Mira felt the sudden bite of the cold, instinctively wrapping her arms around herself as she watched Irina hover above the floor.

Irina’s eyes locked onto the tentacles holding Liam.

"Let him go."

Her voice was quiet, but the fury behind it was unmistakable.

The five arrows shot forward.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

They crossed the chamber at a frightening speed, leaving trails of frost behind them. Before the creature beneath the ground could react, the arrows pierced the tentacles restraining Liam, striking several appendages in rapid succession.

Black blood burst from the wounds.

A horrifying scream erupted from beneath the floor, shaking the chamber as the creature reacted to the sudden pain. The tentacles writhed violently, releasing Liam as they desperately withdrew into the ground. Their movements became frantic, scraping against the stone before disappearing beneath the frozen surface.

For a moment, the chamber fell silent.

Then Liam’s body dropped.

With the tentacles no longer supporting him, he fell limply away from the wall, his head hanging forward and his arms motionless at his sides.

Irina moved before anyone else could react.

She shot forward and caught him in midair, wrapping her arms around his body before he could strike the floor. The moment she felt his weight against her, her expression changed.

He was far too light.

Liam had always possessed a lean but muscular physique, with a strength that was difficult to reconcile with his appearance. Even when he stood casually, there was something about his build that suggested power beneath the surface. Now, however, his body felt frighteningly light in her arms, as though he had lost a substantial portion of his usual weight.

She carefully lowered him onto the frozen floor, supporting his head as she settled him down.

"Liam..."

Her voice faltered.

His face looked almost hollow, his skin pale and his features drawn. His clothes hung loosely against his body, and the condition of his exposed skin suggested that he had been deprived of nourishment for far longer than the few hours they had spent searching for him. Whatever the creature had been doing, it had drained him mercilessly.

Irina’s throat tightened.

A sharp pang of pain pierced her chest as guilt began to overwhelm her. She remembered the decision she had made, the moment she had chosen to rescue Mira rather than follow Liam into the underground structure. She had believed she could save Mira and still return in time to help him. She had believed that Liam was capable of handling whatever Eldric had prepared.

Now, looking at the condition he was in, she could barely stand the thought.

If I had listened to him... If I had followed him instead of going after Mira, none of this might have happened.

She knew that rescuing Mira had been the right thing to do. She knew the woman had suffered terribly and deserved to be free. Yet that knowledge did nothing to silence the guilt twisting inside her. Liam had ended up alone, caught by a creature that had nearly drained him to death, while she had been somewhere else believing she still had time.

"H-Hey, Liam..."

Irina leaned closer, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Can you hear me?"

There was no answer.

She gently touched his cheek, hoping the contact might draw some response from him, but Liam remained motionless. Only the faint movement of his chest showed that he was still breathing, and even that movement was so weak that she found herself watching him anxiously to make sure it continued.

"Liam, open your eyes," she whispered. "Come on. You’ve made it this far. Don’t you dare give up on me now."

His lips moved slightly, but no words came out.

Irina’s fingers trembled as she brushed the hair away from his forehead. She had seen him face dangerous situations with an infuriatingly calm expression, even when everyone around him was struggling to understand what was happening. The sight of him lying helplessly before her was almost unbearable.

Then Mira’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Irina... his stomach."

Irina immediately looked down.

The area where the tentacle had been attached was badly damaged. His clothing had been torn, exposing the wound left behind when the creature pierced him. She carefully pulled the already damaged fabric aside, her expression darkening as she examined the injury.

It looked like a deep puncture wound, but something about it was wrong. There was surprisingly little fresh blood. Instead, the surrounding skin appeared unnaturally dry, and the wound looked as though much of the blood had already been lost or drained away.

Irina’s face turned cold.

That tentacle had not simply restrained Liam. It had been feeding on him, drawing something from his body until he had been reduced to this condition.

She pressed her hand carefully against the area around the wound, trying to determine how badly he had been injured without causing him further pain. Liam did not react. He was too weak even to move away from her touch.

"We need to get him out of here," she said, her voice low and urgent.

She began to position her arms beneath him, preparing to lift him, when a sound echoed through the chamber.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Irina froze.

Mira turned sharply toward the sound, while Voss immediately shifted into a defensive stance. All three looked toward the entrance to the chamber, where a familiar figure was walking toward them with unhurried steps.

Eldric.

He approached with his hands coming together in slow, deliberate applause. A deeply satisfied smile stretched across his face, and there was not the slightest trace of surprise in his expression. He looked at Liam lying on the ground, then at the black blood scattered across the frozen floor, before finally directing his attention toward Irina.

"Well, well," he said, continuing to clap. "You actually managed to find him."

The moment Irina saw his face, something inside her snapped.

A terrifying killing intent erupted from her body.

The air seemed to grow heavier as the cold surrounding her intensified, and the frost beneath her feet spread farther across the floor. Her eyes became frighteningly cold, and the expression on her face was so murderous that Voss instinctively stiffened.

He had known Irina was powerful, but he had never felt such concentrated hostility radiating from someone standing so close to him. It was not simply anger. It was the kind of killing intent that made it clear she had already imagined countless ways to destroy the person standing before her.

And Eldric was the target of all of it.

Irina slowly lowered Liam back onto the floor, making sure his head was supported before releasing him. She then rose to her feet and began walking toward Eldric.

Each step was deliberate.

The frost beneath her boots cracked softly as she advanced, and the cold in the chamber grew more intense. Her eyes never left Eldric’s face, and her expression promised that if she reached him, there would be no conversation and no second chances.

Eldric merely smiled.

Irina was only a few steps away when she suddenly stopped.

Thud!

Her forward movement was halted by an invisible force.

She frowned and pressed her palm against the space in front of her. Something solid had appeared between her and Eldric, despite there being nothing visible to the naked eye. She pushed harder, but the invisible surface did not move. It felt like a thick wall made of pure energy, stretching across the space and preventing her from advancing.

Irina’s eyes narrowed.

She struck the barrier with her palm, sending a faint ripple through the air.

A force field.

Eldric chuckled at her reaction.

"Did you honestly think I was that stupid?"

Irina slowly turned her head toward him, her expression twisting with anger.

Eldric spread his arms slightly, looking almost amused by the situation. "You knew where I was taking Liam. You followed me, investigated the village, and eventually discovered this place. Did you really think I would walk into this chamber without preparing any protection?"

He tilted his head, his smile widening.

"Tell me, Irina. If I had entered this cave without a barrier, what exactly would have stopped you from rescuing Liam and killing me the moment you were finished?"

Irina’s fingers curled against the invisible wall.

She had been so focused on saving Liam that she had not considered the possibility that Eldric might have prepared another layer of protection. She had expected him to rely on the creature beneath the ground, perhaps believing that the beast would be enough to stop anyone who entered the chamber. Instead, he had allowed them to reach Liam, knowing that even if they defeated the creature, he would still have a way to keep them separated.

Her expression twisted with frustration.

Eldric laughed.

"And once again, you underestimated my intelligence."

He took another leisurely step forward, stopping on the opposite side of the barrier. His smile became almost gleeful as he looked directly into Irina’s furious eyes.

"You see, I will always be a step ahead."