Chapter 79: A disaster

"Move!"

Jennifer grabbed Cassie’s collar and pulled her aside as a beast’s claws struck the rock where she had been standing. A pale, shimmering construct appeared before her palm, and a spear of brilliant golden light shot into its open mouth with blinding speed, sending it tumbling down the slope.

"Stay behind Lois," she told her, pushing him towards the others. Before she could check whether he was hurt, another beast climbed over the rocks above them.

They were on the steep side of an inactive volcano, where dark clouds obscured the summit and cast the region below into shadow. Loose stones covered the narrow paths, and deep cracks split the mountainside, making it difficult to move without watching every step.

Unfortunately, the beasts had no such problem.

Their bodies resembled large hunting cats, though black plates covered their backs, and their long forelegs ended in hooked claws. They climbed almost as easily as they ran, using the cracks to move around the group and attack from unexpected directions.

What should have been a short encounter had dragged on for almost an hour. Every time the group tried to retreat, more creatures emerged from the crevices.

"On your left!" Lois shouted softly and loudly at the same time.

Jason turned, a trail of lightning flashing above his sword as the crackling rune spread along its blade. He slashed a beast across the face before it could sink its teeth into Naomi, then shoved the young lady behind him.

"For fuck’s sake! She told you it was coming!"

"I saw it!"

"Then why the fuck am I fighting it for you?"

The beast lunged again, an amber triagram appearing above its body as the plates along its shoulders thickened. Jason’s sword struck the armor and lodged between two plates, forcing him to duck when it swung a claw at his head.

Cassie raised her hand, a blue-white triagram forming before it. A flood of water spread beneath the beast’s hind legs, causing it to slip, and Jason used the opening to wrench his sword free and drive it beneath its jaw.

He kicked the corpse away, glaring at Naomi, whom he had rescued. "If you can’t kill it, at least keep it busy!"

Jennifer understood his frustration. She, Jason, and Lois had spent most of the battle covering the others, leaving them little opportunity to finish their own opponents.

Their companions weren’t completely helpless, but fear was making them careless. They struck too early, failed to watch their surroundings, and sometimes abandoned their positions to help someone who didn’t need it, thereby exposing another person.

"Jennifer, above!"

A dark, wispy triagram flashed before Lois, and a burst of shadowy essence knocked a descending beast into the mountainside. It caught the rock with its claws, hanging just a few paces above Jennifer.

She stepped away, forming another triagram as a spear of light pierced its exposed belly. The creature fell past her, striking the slope before rolling out of sight.

"Thanks," she said to Lois.

"N-no problem," Lois replied. "I’m Just, doing my job." Lost had perhaps proved to be the most efficient after them, apart from Jennifer, of course.

Despite her reserved nature, her instincts as an evolver were top-notch. She was a natural at this.

Jennifer nodded, looking for a better position. Lois was breathing heavily, and Jason wasn’t doing much better, though he still had enough energy to curse whenever someone made a mistake.

Behind them, Adam struggled to reload his crossbow, while the Ryder, standing beside him, kept turning his spear between the ledges above and the cracks below. Neither knew where to focus, and Jennifer couldn’t entirely blame them.

It wasn’t their fault they were struggling; this place was clearly too much for them as they were now, and by now, they must have understood what was going on.

If things continued this way, it was only a matter of time before they lost someone.

She had been forced to lead the vanguard, even though many of her skills were support-oriented. The worst thing about it being that she had only learned one powerful attacking rune for her light affinity.

"Keep your spear pointed uphill," she told him. "Don’t chase anything. Make them come to you."

He nodded, and she turned to Adam.

"Reload while we cover you. There’s no point rushing if you’re going to drop the bolt."

A scraping sound came from below before he could answer. Three more beasts squeezed out of a fissure, their claws digging into the rock as they climbed towards them.

Jason glanced down and cursed. "How many of these fucking things are there?"

"We’re moving to that shelf," Jennifer said, pointing towards a wider stretch of rock farther along the slope. "Keep together. Jason, cover the rear."

"Of course," he grumbled. "Wouldn’t want anyone else to have to fight."

Jennifer ignored him and led the way, with Lois staying near the middle. The shelf had a rock wall behind it and enough space for them to stand properly, which was already better than fighting on this narrow path.

For a while, they made progress. Adam, their crossbow wielder, even managed to shoot a beast through the neck when it tried to follow, earning a relieved laugh from the Ryder.

Another creature climbed onto the path ahead of them.

Ryder thrust his spear before it was within reach, striking the rock beside its head. It caught the shaft between its teeth and pulled, dragging him towards the edge.

"Let go!" Jennifer shouted.

He held on.

She rushed forward, a triagram appearing beside her hand as a spear of light formed in her grip, though she didn’t throw it this time. She stabbed the creature in the eye, forcing it to release the spear, but Ryder had already lost his footing.

Jennifer caught his shoulder, only for his weight to drag her after him. Her boot slipped off the path, and for a dreadful moment, she thought they were both going over.

Naomi caught her by the belt.

"Pull him up!"

Jennifer braced her foot against the rock and hauled Ryder back onto the path with Naomi’s help. She shoved him against the mountainside, her shoulder aching from the strain.

"I told you to let go."

"I thought I could pull it..."

"You nearly dragged both of us down there," she snapped. "Next time, listen."

He lowered his head, but she had no time to say anything else.

"Are you done over there!?" Jason shouted. "Because I’m getting a little fucking busy!"

Two beasts had reached him, and a third was climbing along the wall above his head. He kept the first two back with his sword, but every step he took brought him closer to the others.

Naomi raised her hand, a green triagram forming before her as a blast of wind knocked the climbing beast off the wall. Lois joined her, sending shadowy spikes across the path through another shimmering triagram.

The beasts recoiled, giving Jason room to retreat.

"This is exactly what I warned you about," he said as he backed towards her.

"Keep moving."

"We’re going to get ourselves killed covering for them."

Jennifer couldn’t dismiss his words, which only made them more unpleasant to hear. She had insisted on keeping everyone together, but really, she hadn’t expected the higher-ups to be so petty.

They finally reached the shelf, where one of their last companion, Alex, sank to his knees. Adam leaned against the wall, his hands shaking too badly to reload.

"Stay on your feet," Jennifer said. "We’re not finished."

"Just a moment," He pleaded. "I need to catch my breath."

Lois looked at Jennifer, and she reluctantly nodded. They needed the rest, but the beasts below were already moving around the shelf, searching for a way to reach them.

Jason stood at the narrow entrance, blood dripping from his sword. The crackling lightning had faded, and a cut ran along his forearm.

"How much essence do you have left?" Jennifer asked.

"Enough, if I stop wasting it covering everyone’s asses!"

She glanced at Naomi, who shook her head. She had used too much keeping the creatures off them during the retreat.

Jennifer wasn’t much better off.

Before she could decide what to do, a growl came from above. Small stones fell onto the shelf, and the group looked up to find a much larger beast standing on the ledge overhead, its claws gripping the edge.

Jason stared at it, then tightened his grip on his sword.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake."

...

"This is fucking ridiculous."

Jason dropped the sack onto the counter, drawing a disapproving look from the guild official seated behind it. Blood had soaked through one corner, leaving a dark stain on the polished surface.

The official glanced at the sack, then at the eight exhausted recruits before him.

"Careful. Some materials lose value when damaged."

Jason stared at him.

Jennifer placed a hand on his arm before he could say something that would get them into more trouble. "We’re here to submit our harvest and mission report."

Their return had attracted more attention than she would have liked. Between their torn uniforms, bandaged wounds, and the blood covering their equipment, it wasn’t difficult to imagine what people were thinking.

Ryder could barely stand without Alex’s help, while Cassie had wrapped her injured hand against her chest.

The mission had been a disaster.

They had survived, but only after abandoning part of their harvest and using nearly all the supplies they had brought. Jennifer still hadn’t stopped thinking about how close that larger beast had come to tearing Adam’s head off.

"Assignment number?" the official asked.