Chapter 269: An Astonishing Scene

The two remaining Rank Two Ratchyrs plunged through the scarlet gloom, their enormous wings beating hard enough to scatter dust from the broken pillars and send loose fragments of rubble skittering across the flagstones.

Their grotesque silhouettes cut through the dimness like a pair of harbingers descending upon a battlefield, their crimson eyes gleaming with murderous intent as they bore down upon their chosen targets.

The mournful shrieks they had released moments earlier still seemed to linger within the ruined temple, mingling with the incessant cries of the lesser Ratchyrs and the clash of weapons that echoed throughout the chamber.

Their fallen companion lay among the scattered corpses below, its lifeless body already becoming another obstacle beneath the feet of its kin. Yet neither surviving leader spared the corpse another glance. Whatever semblance of grief they had displayed had been swallowed by the fury now driving their assault.

The moment the two creatures began their dive, Aureleah and Kaeloris noticed the incoming attacks.

The silver-haired Assassin shifted her stance, angling her Daggers towards the descending beasts as she prepared to intercept whichever creature came within striking distance.

Her knees bent slightly, lowering her centre of gravity while her gaze followed the movements of their wings. She had no intention of allowing herself to be caught flat-footed merely because her opponents possessed the advantage of altitude.

Beside her, Kaeloris tightened his grip on his Scroll, already considering which Law Script might prove most effective against the incoming threat.

His previous attempt to restrain a Rank Two Ratchyr had demonstrated both the potential and limitations of his abilities. Although his Laws could interfere with an opponent’s movements, their effectiveness diminished considerably when the target possessed superior cultivation.

Against two such creatures, the cost of maintaining even a partial restraint could become troublesome.

Nevertheless, he was prepared to try. But unfortunately, or fortunately, neither had time to act...

This is because the instant the Ratchyrs committed themselves to their attack, Aelric had already moved.

His longsword left its sheath with a sharp shing, the metallic note reverberating across the ruined temple like a bell tolling in a cathedral of the dead.

The sound was strangely distinct amid the surrounding chaos, its clarity momentarily cutting through the shrieks of the Ratchyrs and the dull thud of bodies colliding with stone.

Aelric’s emerald eyes narrowed as he raised his blade.

There was no elaborate preparation, no dramatic declaration, and certainly no indication that he considered the two approaching creatures worthy of particular concern.

He simply swung his sword towards them, his movements economical and almost lazy in their execution...

WHOOSH!!!

A crescent of blue Aether sprang from the blade’s edge.

Much like his previous attack, the arc of energy shot forward with astonishing speed, its luminous surface shimmering as it tore through the dusty air.

For an instant, the blue crescent resembled a fragment of the heavens descending upon the mortal world, carrying the merciless finality of a divine punishment pronounced from the highest reaches of the sky.

Its radiance illuminated the surrounding pillars, briefly casting the fractured temple into sharp relief. Cracks in the flagstones, broken statues, and the dark stains of spilled blood appeared beneath its passing light before being swallowed once more by the scarlet gloom.

The attack possessed a terrifying sharpness such that anyone unfortunate enough to stand in its path might have found themselves severed before they even understood what had happened.

Yet the two Rank Two Ratchyrs had already learned something from their previous encounter with Aelric.

They did not know precisely how destructive the crescent would be, nor did they understand the principles behind the Aether projected from his sword.

Nevertheless, they possessed instincts honed through countless encounters with dangerous predators and hostile Netherytes and now, those instincts warned them that the incoming attack was not something they could afford to receive carelessly.

Their enormous ears twitched, catching subtle vibrations in the air that their eyes might have missed. Then, the creatures adjusted their trajectories almost simultaneously, their wings folding at precisely the right moment as they plunged into sudden nose-dives.

Their bodies twisted in opposite directions with startling agility, one veering to the left while the other dropped sharply to the right, making way for the blue crescent to pass between them.

For the briefest instant, its light reflected in their crimson eyes, revealing a faint glimmer of the destructive energy they had narrowly avoided. Then the attack continued beyond them, slicing through the dusty chamber before crashing into the distant temple wall.

A thunderous crack erupted.

The ancient stone shuddered beneath the impact, and a section of the already-damaged wall fractured under the force. Chips of stone burst outward, raining across the floor like a shower of jagged projectiles while dust billowed from the point of impact, briefly obscuring the ruined masonry as the sound rolled through the chamber and disturbed the remnants of the temple’s long-abandoned silence.

Several lesser Ratchyrs scattered from the vicinity, their shrill cries rising in alarm as fragments of stone struck the ground around them.

The blue crescent had missed its intended targets, but its passage had left little doubt about the danger it represented.

The two leaders pulled sharply upwards, beating their wings in powerful strokes until they hovered above the battlefield. Their movements were measured now, their earlier fury tempered by a more cautious assessment of the opponent standing before them.

Their crimson eyes shifted towards Aelric.

The green-eyed youth stood a short distance away, his longsword held loosely at his side. Dust drifted around his boots, and the faint blue radiance lingering along his blade gradually faded.

Yet his expression remained so utterly indifferent that, had the Ratchyrs possessed a greater appreciation for personal insult, they might have considered it more offensive than a deliberate taunt.

He looked neither impressed by their evasion nor particularly displeased that his attack had missed. Instead, he appeared to be regarding them as one might regard an unexpectedly persistent pest that had interrupted an otherwise uneventful afternoon.

The contrast between his composure and the hostility radiating from the two creatures was almost comical.

After several moments of tense observation, the Ratchyrs acted first. With a furious beating of their wings, both plunged towards Aelric...

Their decision was hardly surprising. Even without understanding the precise nature of his abilities, they had recognized that the green-eyed youth posed the greatest threat among the group.

His attack had forced them to alter their trajectories, and the destructive force displayed by the blue crescent had offered a rather persuasive explanation for why they should direct their attention towards him.

Consequently, they abandoned their pursuit of Aureleah and Kaeloris.

The silver-haired Assassin and the failed Gnost, meanwhile, had already turned their attention towards the lesser Ratchyrs closing in around them. Neither attempted to assist Aelric, nor did anyone else within the group make any effort to intervene.

Because there was little reason to do so.

They knew perfectly well that Aelric could handle the two Rank Two Ratchyrs alone.

Besides, only Aetherium knew where Aelric would put his face if he failed to defeat a pair of oversized flying vermin after repeatedly insisting that the rest of them needed more combat experience.

The sheer absurdity of such an outcome was almost enough to make the prospect entertaining.

After all, Aelric had spent the better part of their recent encounters behaving as though the greatest difficulty they faced was finding an adequate opportunity to improve themselves.

He had repeatedly allowed them to struggle against dangerous opponents, intervening only when the situation threatened to become genuinely troublesome.

If he were now to be overwhelmed by two creatures he had apparently decided were suitable opponents for himself, his lectures about combat experience would acquire an unfortunate degree of irony.

The embarrassment alone might have been fatal.

Of course, that assumed Aelric possessed enough pride to be embarrassed in the first place.

Judging by his usual demeanour, he would probably consider the entire affair an irritating inconvenience and find someone else to blame for wasting his time.

Indeed, as the two Ratchyrs descended upon him, the green-eyed youth seemed considerably more concerned about the prospect of being attacked from above than about the danger posed by their combined strength.

One could hardly blame him for that particular grievance. Being assaulted by oversized flying vermin was an unpleasant experience, especially when one had made no effort to provoke them beyond existing within their general vicinity.

Unfortunately, the Ratchyrs had little interest in accommodating his preferences.

The first creature opened its jaws as it approached, revealing a pair of enormous incisors that gleamed beneath the dim light. Dense Nether energy gathered around the teeth, spreading across their surfaces until they acquired a hard, unnatural sheen.

Its Stour Gnaw Impulse had been activated.

The ability reinforced the creature’s incisors, transforming them into formidable weapons capable of biting through materials that would ordinarily withstand considerable punishment.

Even certain Soul Essences, despite the protection they provided, could be compromised by the sheer destructive force concentrated within the Ratchyr’s jaws.

The second creature followed suit.

Nether energy gathered around its own incisors, creating a faint, ominous glow as it angled its snout towards Aelric’s shoulder. Both creatures accelerated, their wings beating furiously as they attempted to overwhelm him with a coordinated assault from above.

Their intentions were clear enough.

One would force him to evade, while the other would exploit the resulting opening. If their reinforced incisors found their mark, even a practitioner as powerful as Aelric might have to contend with a rather unpleasant injury.

Unfortunately for them, their opponent was not particularly accommodating.

Aelric suddenly stepped aside in respond to their attack.

His movement was so swift and precise that, to an ordinary observer, it might have appeared as though he had teleported.

The first Ratchyr snapped its jaws shut, its reinforced incisors tearing through the space where his head had been a heartbeat earlier. The sound was sharp and vicious, resembling the cracking of a heavy trap closing upon an unfortunate animal.

Yet it caught nothing but empty air.

Before the creature could correct its trajectory, Aelric had already turned his body and brought his longsword around in a horizontal cut.

Another blue crescent burst from the blade.

This time, the attack was directed towards the Ratchyr’s flank, where the creature’s body was exposed during the final moments of its dive. The crescent travelled at an oblique angle, leaving the Netheryte with little room to manoeuvre without disrupting its flight.

The Ratchyr twisted desperately, attempting to escape the incoming strike. But its evasion was not entirely unsuccessful because the attack tracked too close for it to avoid completely.

And then, to the astonishment of those watching, the creature did something extraordinary.

It opened its jaws and suddenly clamped its reinforced incisors around the blue crescent itself.

A sharp, grating crunch rang through the chamber.

For a moment, the luminous arc seemed to resist the pressure, its surface flickering as the Ratchyr’s jaws closed around it.

Then the crescent shattered between its teeth, breaking into streams of blue light that scattered across its snout before being swallowed greedily by the creature.

The Ratchyr released a triumphant shriek.

Its Nether aura swelled as the stolen energy flowed into its body, the dark currents surrounding it growing more pronounced.

Whatever damage the blue crescent might have inflicted had it struck cleanly, the creature had instead consumed the attack and converted its energy to its own advantage.

The second Ratchyr, encouraged by its companion’s success, immediately resumed its assault.

It snapped its jaws towards Aelric again, attempting to catch him while his attention was occupied.

However, the green-eyed youth showed no sign of surprise.

He merely shifted his sword, his expression remaining as untroubled as before.

The group, on the other hand, could hardly conceal their astonishment.

They had already witnessed the Ratchyrs’ ability to bite through Soul Essences, but seeing one consume a crescent of projected Aether was an entirely different matter.

The attack had not been a tangible object that could simply be crushed between a pair of powerful jaws. It had been a concentrated manifestation of Aether, released through Aelric’s sword and shaped into a cutting force.

For the creature to intercept and consume it so effortlessly suggested that the Stour Gnaw Impulse possessed a more troublesome property than they had initially assumed.

If the Ratchyrs could devour Aether-based attacks, then confronting them with techniques of that nature might prove far less effective than expected.

The implications were particularly concerning for practitioners who relied heavily upon such abilities.

Aelric, however, remained entirely composed.

There was no widening of his eyes, no involuntary pause, and no trace of the astonishment displayed by the others. He had watched the Ratchyr consume his attack with the mild interest of someone observing a familiar trick performed by an equally familiar nuisance.

After all, the group might not know much about Ratchyrs, but Aelric was intimately acquainted with them.

These creatures were scattered throughout the Nether Lands, inhabiting numerous regions and appearing in places where their grotesque habits and relentless reproduction could be sustained.

Their precise numbers were difficult to determine, not least because their colonies could expand with alarming speed whenever circumstances favoured them.

In that regard, Ratchyrs were much like rats and bats: adaptable, persistent, and extraordinarily invasive.

They were the sort of creatures that could turn a neglected ruin into a sprawling colony, transforming abandoned halls into nests filled with shrieking bodies, foul odours, and an endless appetite for anything unfortunate enough to wander within reach.

And, like their fellow vermin, they possessed a remarkable talent for making themselves everyone else’s problem...