Chapter 92 - Buried City

Chapter 92: 92 - Buried City

The air became colder and increasingly damp as they descended. Water dripped from roots overhead, gathering between cracked stones until the floor ahead disappeared beneath a dark flooded corridor. Adrien stopped at its edge and extended Absolute Mana Sense through the water. Several signatures moved beneath the surface, while others waited farther ahead.

"There’s a lot more in there," Adrien said quietly.

Lucien manifested his bow and drew a normal arrow from the quiver on his back. "Anything close?"

"Not close enough to attack yet. Most are deeper in." Adrien stepped into the corridor first. Cold water climbed almost to his knees. "Watch your footing. There are broken stones everywhere."

Amelia followed with her mace and shield manifested, while Lucien remained several steps behind. Their progress slowed immediately. Submerged debris shifted beneath their boots, and thick roots had fractured the floor into uneven sections hidden beneath the black surface.

Absolute Mana Sense remained spread around Adrien. It couldn’t show him every submerged stone, but living mana was impossible to miss, even below the water or behind ruined walls.

The corridor widened until the walls on both sides disappeared. All three slowed as the remains of something much larger emerged from the gloom.

Stone buildings lined what had once been a broad street, their upper sections crushed by fallen rock and enormous roots. Some windows were filled with vegetation, while others opened into dark interiors where stagnant water had gathered. Broken balconies sagged toward the street, and old stairways vanished beneath collapsed ceilings.

Damaged statues stood among the structures, one half-buried beneath moss and pale flowers. Farther ahead, a colossal root had grown through an old doorway and split the surrounding wall apart.

Amelia looked around slowly. "Grandfather made this sound like a cave with ruins inside it."

Lucien scanned the openings. "Either he hasn’t been here in a long time, or he didn’t think the details mattered."

Adrien focused farther ahead. "It keeps going. There are mana signatures well beyond what we can see."

Mana saturated the buried streets, gathering around roots, stone and unusual vegetation. Even Amelia noticed it now. "It’s denser. Much denser than near the entrance."

Several plants seemed to thrive because of it. Violet flowers folded shut when the group approached, while translucent leaves turned toward Amelia’s warmth. Another plant released faint golden motes when Lucien passed too close.

"Don’t touch anything," Amelia warned. "We don’t know what’s harmless."

Lucien was already withdrawing his hand after attempting to touch something. "Wasn’t planning to."

They continued for almost another hour. The water eventually receded, leaving slick stone beneath their feet. Adrien stopped before the next intersection, attention fixing on three dense signatures ahead.

"Three. Larger than the others. Two Stars."

Three Thornbacks occupied the ruined intersection, each broader than the Barklings they had fought earlier. Overlapping plates of dark bark covered their backs, shoulders and chests, with hardened thorns protruding from several sections.

Adrien raised Umbral Root and launched a Frost Lance at the closest one. The spell struck its chest hard enough to force it back half a step, but shattered without penetrating deeply.

Lucien watched the fragments scatter. "Front’s useless, then."

"Mostly. The plates separate around the joints. Shoulders, legs, under the arms."

The Thornbacks advanced. Adrien reacted first, forcing an Ice Wall from the stone across the left side of the intersection. It sealed one passage between two damaged buildings and pushed two Thornbacks toward the narrow opening that remained.

"First one, right shoulder."

Lucien moved immediately. He climbed onto collapsed masonry and released while the creature turned to fit through the gap. The arrow slipped between two plates and sank into the exposed joint.

Adrien formed two Frost Lances at once. One struck the creature’s knee while the second hit the stone beneath its feet, spreading ice across the approach. The Thornback stumbled, exposing the shoulder again.

"Again."

Lucien fired. The first creature went down, partially blocking the route and forcing the second to climb over it. Adrien used the delay to freeze around one of its legs and drive another Frost Lance into the softer wood above the ankle.

"Take your time," Amelia called. "I can keep it here."

Adrien did exactly that. Instead of trying to destroy everything himself, he controlled the space. Ice Wall restricted movement, Frost slowed the second Thornback, and Lucien handled the precise attacks whenever Adrien exposed a vulnerable angle. The monster finally collapsed after two arrows entered beneath its neck.

Adrien turned toward Amelia. Her Thornback raised both arms for another strike, so he froze the stone beneath one foot. Its balance shifted as it committed its weight forward. Amelia caught one arm with her shield and drove her mace into the exposed side of its torso.

"Left shoulder," Adrien said.

Lucien’s arrow arrived first, and Adrien’s Frost Lance followed through the same opening. The Thornback collapsed heavily onto the wet stone.

For several seconds, the three checked the surroundings. Adrien kept Absolute Mana Sense extended until he was certain nothing else was approaching. Lucien finally lowered his bow. "Better."

"We’re starting to use each other properly," Adrien said.

Amelia dismissed her mace and shield. "And we’re learning where not to stand when you start changing the ground."

They continued deeper for several more hours. The buried streets narrowed into passages, then opened again into ruined halls where roots had ruptured ceilings and walls apart. The luminous plants became scarcer, leaving more of the route in muted darkness.

Eventually they found a room dry enough to use as camp. Most walls remained intact, and only two entrances connected it to the surrounding ruins. Adrien checked nearby signatures with Absolute Mana Sense and found nothing dangerous within immediate range.

Lucien inspected both entrances anyway, tying thin cords across them with small metal pieces that would rattle if anything crossed. Once satisfied, he demanifested his bow, set the quiver beside his blanket and lay down against one wall.

"Wake me when it’s my turn."

He fell asleep remarkably quickly. Adrien remained awake on his own blanket while Amelia rested several feet away. The distant sound of dripping water echoed through the ruins.

Several minutes passed before her voice broke the silence.

"Are you asleep?"

"Not yet."