Chapter 183: Death March, Part 4.

The catacombs were as I remembered. Stepping through the large entrance, we came to a large corridor. Chandeliers ran along the ceiling, covered in crystals that gave off a weak light that barely illuminated the space, and set along the wall were sconces that burned with a blue fire that made the air crackle with cold, but oddly refreshing air. Wherever lights did not reach, however, a dark, almost impenetrable darkness made itself known.

The air was heavy with magic. Piles of bones flanked the hallway, and with every step I could almost feel them shuddering when we went by. Like they were laughing at us, mocking us for daring to come down here.

Initially, we didn’t face much opposition, but once we did, it wasn’t easy. They were coordinated, excessively so. They lacked the individual strength of the workers above, but they made up for it in cruel intelligence and numbers.

Explosives dealt with most of the chaff, but the bronze ranks were just as numerous, hiding amongst the hordes of skeletons and aimed for weak points. We very nearly lost a few packs of supplies as they aimed for them. And the further we went, the more frustrating they became.

That and a new problem came to the fore as we continued onward. Traps, with Ophelia easily catching the first, and following that they started to appear with alarming regularity, and when one was tripped, we’d be swarmed by attackers. Floors would fall away to reveal pits filled with bone spikes embedded into the floor. Pillars would fall, blades made of bone would sweep through, seeking to bisect all in its path.

Their overall danger was minimal for us, as the bone blades would struggle to actually do serious damage to our uniforms, but it would exhaust our energy and strain our resources. Ophelia once again proved herself valuable, easing us forward, and checking for traps. Occasionally even pre-emptively disabling them with a well shot bolt. While also thwarting numerous ambushes.

The further we went, the more resistance we faced. Silver ranks quickly made themselves known, summoning additional allies, bolstering others, and sometimes focusing entirely on weakening us with curses or maladies.

With our current group though, such fights usually ended fairly quickly. Especially with Shi being able to shrug off most, if not all of the curses or spells the skeletal mages could throw at us. And those she couldn’t were quickly dispersed by Talia.

It wasn’t long until we came to a familiar place within the catacombs as we sought to go further, putting us at a bit of an impasse.

Do we continue delving deeper, or do we see what lies beyond? That there was a diverging path was a bit of an oddity itself, but Ophelia opted for us to check it out, so check it we did.

Through a dark passageway, we came to a familiar sight. The place where we had fought the skeletal mage and their bone golem. The stands of the arena remained empty. A broken chandelier laid at the center of the arena floor. Taking it in, I couldn’t help but wonder what this was about. Yet, as we looked it over, Ophelia had an answer…

“I thought so…” She muttered, and we looked over, expecting an answer. “There are places in the depths that act as convergent points. Some people call them dungeons, and they sometimes appear here and there, and stick around for a while.”

“So there exist static places within the depths you’re saying?” I asked.

“More or less, but it’s a little different from that. Each location is known to produce a gold rank as an area boss of a sorts, but the place itself tends to be a step up in difficulty from the rest of the floor as a result.” Ophelia answered.

“Then, if we go inside, we should be able to find a gold rank?”

“Most likely, If the space still exists, it’s because a gold rank exists. However, because of that, we might face additional trouble.”

“Trouble? What kind of trouble?” I questioned.

“As I said, this is a convergent point within the depths. Normally, and I’m sure you are aware, but your unlikely to find other magical groups as your exploring.”

I nod along, though, “But that isn’t always the case?” I ask, but I was also thinking of how we met those magical girls from Tartarus during our hunt.

“No, it’s not. Normally, when entering the depths, with how the magic here is layered, it creates separate layers for each group. Converging points exist within special areas in the depths, like here. They also appear whenever a gold rank appears, but those tend to be more localized.”

“And as a converging point, you mean these different layers come together?”

“That would be correct.” Ophelia answers. “Admittedly, I don’t know too much about it, but there are other ways to match wavelengths with other delvers, but it requires special tools, or a specific type of magic to find other frequencies. Typically, if anyone is actively seeking out others, it’s not for a good reason.”

I nod along, not having heard that much, “These fixed locations, or rather, convergent points, are they well known?”

“A little, you hear about them from time to time. Most people don’t go much further than the Water Works, with some teams making it to The Catacombs. Any further is unlikely, but I do know that they call one of the convergent that can be found on the floor above, ‘The Workshop’. It’s basically where all the workers come from, and where they make and produce their equipment.”

Ophelia pauses a beat before continuing.

“For the catacombs, I think they called it, ‘The City of The Dead.’ But I can’t be too sure. I’ve heard word of others, but they aren’t common enough, and not enough people have seen it to give them definitive names.”

I nod along though, this felt almost too good to be true.

“I know what you’re thinking, but this isn’t going to be a walk in the park.” Ophelia answered, filling in the silence. “These places are packed with monsters and are treasure troves. Not to mention with the magic density, we will face serious opposition. Last I heard of one of these places being found, a lot of groups had banded together to delve inside, only to take serious losses.”

“That serious, is it? If they’re that difficult, surely, we won’t have to deal with other magical girls then?”

“That… I can’t promise anything, but with the state of the city, I doubt any groups would willingly delve. Part of why I wanted to join with you, is because a lot of the groups have gotten a lot more reserved with their hunting, with how dense the magic has become. However, if we do run into a magical girl, well, we’d better be prepared for trouble.”

Again, I could understand that. I could also tell Ophelia was subtly trying to dissuade me from entering this place. Even Talia seemed concerned but was wisely choosing to keep her mouth shut. I looked over my soldiers, knights, even Shi, and finally went back to Ophelia before making my decision.

“We’re going forward.” After all, if a gold coin was guaranteed, it was better than trying to delve into an unknown level. Especially with the magic so dense, and with it so close to a blood moon.

Ophelia frowned but didn’t argue. And after a final check, we went forward working our way past the arena. We went through another large corridor and once we walked through, passing through another large gate, we arrived at, of all things, a literal city.

We looked to have entered a plaza of sorts. A long road led straight to a castle that loomed in the distance. The sky above was filled with mist, and bathed in darkness, but I could almost see figures moving in that mist. Some large, some small.

The roads were dotted with lights. Braziers flickered with blue flames here and there; crystals embedded into the paths along the road gave off a dim light that only made it harder to see everything else. That and along with the omni-present fog that hung in the air and pressed down us, diminishing our senses. Even then, through the fog we could make out the vague shape of a castle in the distance, shimmering like a mirage as flickering lights dotting its body made themselves known.

Every other building was cast in a haunting manner. The air felt, dead. Empty. The moment we stepped inside, it felt like we’d disrupted a long ancient tomb as the still magic stirred with our presence.

We’d just about finished taking in our surroundings when we heard it. The click clack of hooves on stone. Glancing to the source, we slowly formed up and out of the darkness, and the slowly swirling fog, a figure appeared

A knight on horseback, both undead, skeletons. Wearing armor not made of bone but made of black metal with an odd sheen to it. From within the horse’s skull, burned pale orbs of fire that made the surrounding air notably chillier. Even the knight mounted on the horse was eyeing us with that same icy gaze.

It didn’t have a weapon drawn, but as we watched each other, more figures came out of the mist. Skeletons, clad in that same black metal, from head to toe obscuring all but their icy gazes. They wielded spears, and heavy shields. At the head of each column was a slightly larger figure, wielding a sword and shield.

They were imposing. That much was for sure. The knight was clearly silver ranked. The soldiers at the forefront bronze. Which made for a single silver, four bronze, and perhaps forty regular infantry.

They were organized, disciplined. The moment they were formed up, spears were lowered, and the formation slowly fanned out until they were arrayed before us in a crescent formation. Blocking all paths forward. Whereas behind us sat the door from which we had entered.

Was this a warning? A threat? Cautiously I took in our surroundings and considered our options. Neither side moved, neither mine nor the skeleton knight’s side. Both of us eyed each other, gauging one another.

Unfortunately, the die had already been cast. Retreat was never going to be an option… Yet, before I could give the command, a spear of ice was chucked right at the mounted skeleton knight. The mounted skeleton knight immediately drew their blade and deflected the spear of ice, but a iron bolt quickly followed.

The mounted skeleton knight had little to no time to react to the new projectile, but even then, it managed to block the bolt with its blade. The impact, however, swiftly dismounted the knight. A shrill shot from my rifle promptly ended the mount as the piercing round drilled into its skull, ending its un-life.

Irked at having been caught off-guard, I sent a glare to the one responsible, Orion. His reply? An almost smug glance before continuing to chuck spears at the rapidly approaching line of armored skeletons.

Fathom met them head on. Crashing into their ranks with gusto. Surprisingly, they held the line. Managing to not only resist Fathom’s charge but even push him back. Their every step rang out like thunder, as a testament to just how weighty the armor they wore was\ and how coordinated they were to move in lockstep.

Two of the four bronze ranks converged on Fathom’s position. Only to be stymied by Luna and Estrella. The other two were stopped by Shi and Talia. Our ranks spread out, the silver captain immediately began to use the magical megaphone. Immediately, muffled words echoed out of it, and I felt a strange warmth envelop me, increasing my abilities by a token amount.

The effect wasn’t great. Nor did it last long, but the effect stacked upon itself. Spoken into rapidly, the effect rapidly hit capacity, which resulted in a fairly respectable boost overall. Even then, even a momentary halt would see the effect rapidly dwindle. Part of why I gave it to the silver captain to use, as he had nothing but time to speak into it.

The soldiers began to fire into the ranks, and I followed through. Taking my chances at weakening or killing whomever I could.

Only, the amor the skeletons wore was rather frustrating. A single normal round left a sizeable dent but wouldn’t pierce. A second shot blew clean through, destroying the bone underneath, but even then, the wound and the armor began to heal and close as black smoke emitted from said wound. Likely under the influence of the silver ranked skeleton knight that was slowly working its way up.

Ophelia’s regular bolts had enough oomph to push back or even throw back the original skeletons. If they held their ground, it punctured, but not enough to be dangerous. The iron bolts though, punched clean through, but she saved those for the bronze ranks.

One bronze rank had its knee taken out by an iron bolt, and Talia quickly followed up with a blast of light that had the bronze skeleton warrior screaming in agony. One of the other bronze ranks broke off from fighting Luna to assist, only to be blocked by a sudden burst of spears that cut them off.

A shrill, piercing round shot forward, punching through the joints of the bronze rank that had tried to assist its dying comrade, the damage just enough to prevent them from mustering the energy to smash through the barricade of spears, buying Talia the time needed to finish her foe. With one down, she quickly moved to the downed one, but at that point, Fathom was pressed back as the silver ranked skeleton knight joined the fray.

I considered my options before surging forward, bayonet affixing itself on my rifle.

I slipped past my knights, and under Fathoms guard, and thrust my bayonet right into the silver rank’s face.

The skeleton knight jerked back and deftly dodged. Following their retreat, the surrounding skeletons surged in to fill the opening. Pushing me back.

The silver rank was actively bolstering his allies, not unlike how I was with my rime. However, his effect was different from mine. Boosting their speed, strength, and even regenerative abilities. Whereas mine bolstered our allies’ defense first and foremost.

A quick salvo of hissing smoke bullets dampened the effect and simultaneously weakened the cohesion of the unit before us. Granted, the smoke bullets had less power compared to the grenades, the effect was much more immediate. In that split moment, a number of the skeletons were quickly culled, and another bronze rank was finished off by a combination of Shi and Ophelia working together.

With Shi taking the brunt of its attention, Ophelia managed to slip behind the skeleton warrior and thrust her dagger into its skull, ending its un-life.

Now, with two bronze ranks down, the remaining two found themselves quickly hemmed in. Allowing Luna and Estrella to join Fathom at the front. Working together, they managed to press, and by the time the little bit of smoky rime faded, little of the frontline remained.

With the numbers no longer in their favor, the skeleton knight quickly found themselves beat down and promptly eliminated. Coins were collected, and loot was looked over.

Oddly enough though, there was quite a bit of it. The armor the skeletons wore persisted, which wasn’t too unusual, but so too did the armor and even the weapons of the bronze ranks and the silver rank. They didn’t seem different on the surface.

“Seems like a magic metal.” Was Talia’s observation. “I’m not sure if its anything special, but… it might be a good idea to take some back and see if we can’t find out what it’s made of.”

“We’ll do that then. Pack some way, but not enough that it’ll slow us down.”

She promptly went to work. As we gathered up though, I heard something. Rather, felt it. A subtle sound. A similar sound. The same sound as the skeletons had made as they marched. Of metal on stone.

Glancing further ahead, down the main road of this city, illuminated if only just barely by the flickering lights that dotted the misty road. I saw them. More skeletons. Armored in the same armor, only, with a key difference. They wielded not spears and shields, but bows.

“Hit cover!” I barked, bodies moved, Fathom took the front, raising his shield high. Not a moment later the air screamed as dozens of arrows came from above, and drove right into the surrounding stone.

“Forward!” I commanded, but before I even spoke, Orion was on the move. The others quickly followed. More arrows came, but as we closed the distance the angle changed. Instead of coming from above, the arrows came from the front with punishing power.

Each arrow made Fathom shudder. His shield quickly became adorned with arrows made of the same black metal that the skeletons’ armor and weapons were made of. Still, he was unyielding, still he pressed forward.

The archers were unhurried, unbothered by our approach. Even when Orion chucked his spear at them, they hardly faltered. Nor when Ophelia’s iron bolt blasted through their ranks. It wasn’t until we got close enough that they acted differently, drawing blades, they charged and were swiftly dismantled.

Like the last group, their unit was made up of four bronze ranks, a leading silver rank, with each bronzer rank leading ten normal skeletons. Also, just like the last group, on collecting the coins, their armor stayed, weapons as well. Leaving a small armory worth of equipment.

We barely had time to catch our breath before we heard it again. The telltale sound of metal sabatons on stone. However, it sounded louder, more present. Out of the dreary fog, more soldiers came. Wielding swords and shields, And beyond them another group came, wielding large double handed blades.

But that was only just the beginning. More kept arriving. With discipline they moved. Rapidly arraying themselves before us, barring our path forward. I considered retreat, glancing back, only to notice as more groups closed in from the flanks, slowly surrounding us.

The final nail in the coffin though, was another sound. A constant drumming thunder that made the ground beneath us shake. In the far distance, I saw them, mounted knights wielding long spears charging down the road. The forces ahead of us began to make way for the cavalry charge, with those behind closing ranks, forming an impenetrable wall.

Fight? That wasn’t even an option with their numbers against ours. Not with us surrounded. Not like this. An answer for our predicament came quickly enough though.

“There’s an alleyway over there!” Ophelia pointed, having realized our position. None of us questioned it as I barked for retreat, we all streamed into the alley. It wasn’t small by any means, easily able to fit four grown men shoulder to shoulder. The problem was, even with Ophelia leading the way, and without the lights of the streets, everything was rapidly consumed by suffocating darkness.

Even my own bonds, links with my creations dimmed. Obfuscating where they were, making me only aware that they were still alive, and not by my side. Talia did what she could, creating a ball of light above her head to banish the darkness, but it only made the darkness that much more harrowing.

Like the lone light of an angler fish in the absolute dark of the depths. A promise of safety, that in truth, was nothing but a lie. As we moved through the alleys, the shadows danced around us, the darkness leered back, laughing at us. Nipping at our heels, seeking to devour us whole.

I could see things moving within the homes and buildings we passed, through broken windows and cracked doors. Shuffling things that made my skin crawl every single time I even saw a hint of their existence.

If it was just that, perhaps I could have ignored it, but behind us, I heard them. The constant beat of metal on stone. As soldiers followed us with that same pace and speed. Unrelenting, inexorable.

Then from the rooftops, loose shingles fell, alerting us that even from above, we had pursuers. I barely had time to make a clipped response before Orion moved, managing to somehow get his way onto a nearby roof. There was a series of snaps, as something whistled by, some hitting the ground at our feet, others punching into Orion’s form. He swung his spear, chucking it to somewhere unseen. Shi quickly joined and soon enough, I saw the face of our assailants.

Though, face would be an incorrect term. They were skeletons, yes, wearing the same metal armor, only of a lighter fare. With a metal mask on their face, and a cloak wrapped around their body, wielding crossbows made of bone and metal. They fired small bolts that punched through most material with ease. They moved with speed and agility. Sweeping in with knives and daggers and retaliating with crossbow bolts when allowed. They moved like a pack of wolves, circling us, keeping pace and waiting for moments of weakness before striking. With Orion and Shi both working together to keep them at bay from their vantage, they kept us from being totally at their mercy and for their reward they were peppered with bolts and wounds.

Within moments, I realized we were being hemmed in. I still heard the distant sound of hooves beating into stone. The sound of a unit of cavalry circling the block, moving along the main roads, all the while we were being led like cattle to the slaughter into their path.

Any attempt to break free was met with immediate reprisal. A wall of bolts and bodies to bar our path. Forcing us onto the one true path they ordained we take. Going through the wrecked and deserted homes had my mind screaming. Every instinct told me that death was preferable to stepping into those hallow places.

Every building felt like a tomb, a place of rest better left alone and undisturbed. Lest the spirits within demand recompense.

I felt wholly out of my depth. We’d barely stepped into this place, and I was already on the backfoot. Scrambling, struggling to push forward. Yet, even then, it wasn’t like we were quietly going to our end.

We fought. With every fibre of our being. In spite of the reprisal we earned, we did our best to break free of their machinations. Running headlong into ambushes, smashing through ranks of soldiers waiting for us. Yet, it did not give us salvation, just a reprieve from the executioner’s blade.

The further we went, the more I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. Figures in the shadows, small flitting things, and above all, feathers?

I didn’t have the presence of mind to consider the implications. Rather, it felt like another ill omen heralding our end. Like death itself was watching us, converging upon us. As more of those small flitting things gathered, their eyes gleaming in the dark, that feeling of death’s inexorable approach grow ever more certain.

Crows, that was what they were. Countless in number that seemed to take up positions along our route. And it wasn’t until they began to swarm that I realized how familiar they seemed. Feathers flew, sharp cries filled the air, drowning out the sound of metal on stone. The incessant sound of rolling thunder of cavalry on the move.

The bolts slowed, even stopped as the crows harried those on the rooftops. Orion, injured as he was, threw himself back to the ground level, Shi followed, covered in wounds and adorned with bolts much like Orion was.

In the midst of all this, a figure slipped out of the darkness and gripped onto my arm. My whole body froze as Infelt the kiss of death’s scythe on my psyche. A shrill cry nearly left my lips at the suddenness of their appearance, but… frozen as I was, any such cry died in my throat. And allowed me a chance to take in the stranger, rather, the familiar face before me.

“Fancy meeting you here, eh?” She said, smiling with a wide smile. Her hand gripping my arm, my mouth tried to work, but I was frozen still. “I’m sure you got questions, but… I really do think we should get outta here, no?” Her hand let go, she looked at me. Her smile faded briefly, as I tried to loosen up.

And all at once, her smile came back in force. A laugh left her lips, “Come with me if you want to live!” She announced and like that, bolted back into the darkness from whence she came.

I didn’t think, I couldn’t. My body moved instead. Trusting fully in the salvation before me, even if it was death itself. My body crackled as I forced it to move. Sensing my intent, my familiar’s moved as well, and a single word ripped out of my throat, “FOLLOW!” And only then did Ophelia and Talia fall in line.

And like that, we dove into darkness, into a cloud of feathers. Away from the sound of metal and hooves, right into death’s embrace.