Chapter 1898 - 1897 - Desperate Gamble

Lind had lost 73 more people after breaking through to new hallways. Annabelle's map was obsolete in part but he began to see a pattern in the openings and understood what was happening.

The Bastard had manipulated space not just on himself but on the last stretch entirely. It focused everything on them! How he was attacking so many times so quickly eluded him but it left him harried.

No matter how much progress he made, he might be looping back to a previous hallway without ever knowing it!

The spikes kept repeating, just shifting points of origin. He tracked that and finally pieced together that they were following a pattern.

The floor trap was the hallway right after the gauntlet. The walls were the right step forward but the ceiling was taking him back to the first.

The attacks were worse in the first and last hallway but greatly reduced in the middle hallway. Something changed in that hallway so he had to get back to it.

His dantian was draining fast even with elixirs to keep him running. He had to take a chance or they were all going to die short of the finish line.

"Chu, I need you to take up the weaving control. Hold out as long as you can." She was the most compatible with his harmonic Qi of anyone alive. She would not be able to maintain it for long but they needed to break out of their current predicament.

The weavings shimmered with black as she took over and their speed slowed. Worse, the attacks were having more success!

Lind pushed it all out of his mind. There was no other choice! He summoned his staff once more in front of him. He was not going to use it as a blunt instrument but as a scalpel!

[Getting so desperate, you annoying gnat? Are you all right with me taking all these resources for myself? So cold hearted of you.] The vile voice tried to distract him but he ignored it.

His staff was glowing with sigils and gave off a profound aura all could feel. The once weakened weavings were now strengthened just by resonance.

It was an unexpected benefit but it would not last. Chu would exhaust herself quickly before long.

He was feeling the hallway around them. The dark spikes were not just Fiend Qi, they were coming from another space. The walls, floor, and ceiling were barely part of the same space as his group.

It was clear that the Bastard could have done more but he must be splitting up his attention between the hallways and his own attacks. As he delved into the sensations he was able to perceive 2 more spatial manipulations going at once!

He had been right! The entire stretch was not just a lethal trap but being encircled back on itself to keep them trapped in an endless cycle of death!

It was simply in one aspect but far more complex to run 3 separate spatial Arts at once. The thing he was looking for still eluded him but he now could do something to increase their odds of surviving.

His staff tapped once on the floor of his weaving. A wave of spatial energy moved outward with time woven into it.

He made their space not just more impervious but added a layer of Time to it to lock it in place.

[Paltry tricks will only delay the inevitable. You are so weak minded, Lind Frey.] Lind sneered internally but knew there was some truth to the words. A space-time lock was not much to any Eternal Realm cultivator.

It was the most basic feature of existence.

Still, with everything else the Bastard had to focus on, it would not be quick to get through. He worked quickly on the next step.

He looked into the pattern of the interlaced spatial attacks. They were tied together and he was trying to find the one that was the most dangerous.

The random attacks were the most dangerous compared to the pace of the spikes. Even with Chu's inefficient control, she was able to outpace those.

Lind frowned as it was far more complex than he had feared. He was running out of time. He could not grasp the principle so it then came to a decision.

Did he forcibly break it or did he try to slip through? Both had advantages and disadvantages.

Slipping through was dangerous because the Bastard may have anticipated that and set up an even deadlier path. It also meant they would have to slide by the spikes so closely that more could be killed randomly.

It had the advantage that it would force the Bastard to enact yet another action which may be too much for the Fiend. Running so much at once to attack Eternal Realm cultivators would strain even the best puppet master that was used to splitting up their attention.

Thralls were advantageous in that they could understand his commands thanks to their host's memories. A puppet master had to completely control an inanimate object while being aware of their own body. The best masters could control small armies but only for a short time.

The more actions, the more strain, and the more difficult to keep such delicate operations going. Compared to what he was doing, the Bastard was trying to keep spinning dishes on top of thin poles while balancing on his head upside down!

So, Lind could possibly slip through if he tried.

Forcibly breaking it had a bit more appeal in that it was easier to achieve. All it required was applying the right leverage and let the forces of the spatial Arts cause their own self destruction.

It would be impossible to stop once started but it had 3 massive drawbacks. The biggest was the collapse of the very hallway they were in. If all 3 spatial traps were part of the foundational structure, breaking all of them would cause a collapse.

It would be very dangerous if the space-time lock did not hold. The forces unleashed would be so random and deadly that none of them could defend themselves from the Bastard if they came for them.

The other 2 were related. It was possible the Bastard expected that very tactic and made it such that if Lind caused an imbalance, it would drop them into something worse.

It was the risk of how clever the Bastard was and how much he could control in his current state. Either way was a gamble and he had no choice but to choose one.

He felt a tremor and opened his eyes to see Chu on her knees barely holding on. There were cracks in the shell around them and the Bastard's laughter.

Lind made his choice.

His staff lit up and he looked for a very specific tapestry thread. He had never imagined to see it in his lifetime but the Bastard had given him a chance.

It took only a few moments and a very fragile azure line appeared in his mind. He felt it and he could not deny his heart was moved. She was alive! She was truly alive!

He was about to attempt his next step when his mind and heart froze.

Another line appeared in perfect parallel to the first. It was virulent yellow and he knew it so well he did not need to think to know what it meant. Questions stormed his mind but he had to shut it down as he heard sharp cracks.

There was no time to process what he had just found. His staff shimmered with power and the weavings were changing as he resumed control. Chu collapsed and he stood up. His aura flared like the sun as he looked ahead.

[Did you know, Annabelle?] He sent the question as he prepared. He saw her flinch and he knew she had seen. He understood why she held it back. It was supposed to be impossible but if true, it made the next confrontation the hardest of his life.

He channeled the powers he needed and the weavings became strained as he turned the whole space in a certain direction. It faced into the very spikes themselves. Several people began to panic but a dark laugh silenced them.

[You are desperate. You think you can break through? You will only watch them all die, but I will spare you. I have such a show to give you!] Lind smiled. The Bastard was baiting him. It also told him he was right.

He had anticipated Lind breaking everything.

The staff tipped forward and the space-time lock renewed itself but changed the nature of the lock. Rather than keeping everything out, it focused on a single point. He followed the sensation he had found and a wheezing sound began to be heard.

It was unexpected but Lind only smiled wider. It seemed appropriate. The hallway began to appear and disappear as Lind solidified what he was doing.

"What is happening? What is going on?!" Violet Cloud shouted but Lind had no time to explain. He was sweating as his dantian drained faster than before.

The dark laugh had stopped. The Bastard was now attacking even more fiercely but his attacks passed through them! He could not touch them anymore!

[WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?!] Lind sneered. No imagination at all. The Bastard could not conceive of the impossible being possible. Lind had chosen.

He chose to disappear from one point in space and time to reappear in another directly. He slipped through directly to his destination!

Distortion occurred at the peak of the wheezing sound and they vanished from the hallway. The spikes slammed together at the end trying to crush everything.

Yet, nothing was found.

[NOOOOOOOOOOOO!]

Lind faintly heard the scream of frustration as the group was slammed into a large room. He had not been able to make it nice and a few were injured but only normally. They healed quickly as Haro appeared to give him elixirs.

There was no way to know when the Bastard would appear. He took in the wrecked room as some sparks of Qi went off. It was clear the Fiend had lost his temper but that was not what he was looking for.

He felt a soul tremor and zeroed in on the azure sphere. Lanbao was inside. He could see her dragon body made purely of soul energy. He smiled and she flapped her wings at him.

Yet, it was the cage next to her that drew his eyes. There was a demoness inside with all her limbs broken. Her dark lavender skin was so familiar as were the virulent yellow eyes.

Her bloody smile was ear to ear as tears stung his eyes.

"You are late, Beloved." Cyntilla was restored in the flesh. She was nowhere near being a Divine Realm let alone an Eternal, but she had that aura. It was very unstable. Lind wanted to rush forward but they all felt it.

The Bastard was there.