Chapter 248: Absolutely disgusting

Chapter 248: Chapter 248: Absolutely disgusting

"Then let them come."

Swanly pulled the bowstring.

Five golden-black arrows formed between her fingers.

The tunnel was narrow, barely wide enough for three grown males to stand shoulder to shoulder. Wet roots hung from the ceiling. Water trickled between ancient stones, carrying the rotten smell of things that had been dead for far too long.

Ahead, dozens of pale mouths opened in the darkness.

The Hollowmaws had stopped moving.

They were listening.

Swanly’s fox ears slowly flattened.

"System."

YES, HOST?

"Tell me something good."

A golden panel appeared.

TIME UNTIL FIRST HOLLOWMAW REACHES THE HEART’S OUTER CONTAINMENT ROOTS: 30 MINUTES.

Swanly stared.

"Thirty?"

YES.

"Thirty minutes?"

THAT IS WHAT I SAID.

"Oh, fuck me."

The System raised one tiny finger.

TWENTY-NINE MINUTES, FIFTY-EIGHT SECONDS.

"STOP COUNTING OUT LOUD!"

The first Hollowmaw moved.

Swanly released.

Five arrows screamed through the tunnel.

THUNK!

The first struck an armored skull and shattered.

The second ripped through a hooked leg.

The third entered an open mouth.

The fourth followed it.

The fifth punched through the softer underside of another creature’s neck.

Two Hollowmaws dropped.

Three others scrambled over their bodies.

Swanly drew again.

Her right shoulder exploded with pain.

"AH!"

The bow slipped.

One arrow fired wildly into the ceiling.

Swanly staggered.

Her injured arm hung uselessly for a moment.

Blood ran down her fingers.

Her legs were shaking.

She had almost forgotten how much damage her body had taken above.

Almost.

A Hollowmaw lunged.

Swanly threw herself sideways.

Its mouth snapped shut inches from her ankle.

She rolled, came up on one knee, and stabbed her blade beneath its jaw.

Black blood splashed her wrist.

The creature convulsed.

Swanly yanked the blade free.

Then stumbled against the wall.

"Shit."

Her breathing was awful.

Every inhale hurt.

The System flew directly in front of her.

HOST.

"What?"

STOP.

Swanly looked up.

Two Hollowmaws were advancing.

"Terrible advice."

YOUR BODY IS FAILING.

"I noticed."

The fairy’s eyes glowed.

A scan ran down Swanly’s body.

RIGHT SHOULDER: JOINT DISPLACEMENT AND PARTIAL LIGAMENT TEARING.

MULTIPLE RIB CONTUSIONS.

BLOOD LOSS: MODERATE.

MUSCLE EXHAUSTION: SEVERE.

SURVIVAL PROBABILITY UNDER CURRENT CONDITIONS: UNACCEPTABLE.

Swanly stared at the report.

"Wow."

She pressed her back against the wall.

"You make me sound so pretty."

The fairy ignored her.

A new panel appeared.

EMERGENCY RECONSTRUCTION SERUM AVAILABLE

JOINT REPAIR. TISSUE REGENERATION. HEMOSTATIC SUPPORT.

Swanly blinked.

"You have that?"

YES.

"YOU HAD THAT THE WHOLE TIME?!"

IT IS RESERVED FOR LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCIES, HOST. YOUR CONDITION HAS NOW REACHED THAT LEVEL.

Swanly opened her mouth.

Closed it.

"Fine. Use it."

The System stared.

Swanly’s expression softened.

"Aww."

The fairy narrowed its eyes.

"You love me so much."

NO.

"Look at you, saving your poor dying host."

COST: 110 POINTS.

Swanly stopped smiling.

"Excuse me?"

CURRENT BALANCE: 1395 POINTS.

"YOU WANT TO CHARGE ME?"

YES.

"I AM LITERALLY ABOUT TO DIE!"

WHICH IS WHY I AM OFFERING MEDICAL TREATMENT.

Swanly stared at the fairy.

The fairy stared back.

A Hollowmaw shrieked.

Swanly grabbed her bow.

"Do it!"

PURCHASE CONFIRMED.

110 POINTS DEDUCTED.

A small silver injector appeared in Swanly’s palm.

"Greedy little fairy."

YOU SPENT EIGHTY PERCENT OF YOUR POINTS ON THE ROOT-SEAL DEVICE. I AM MANAGING A FINITE EMERGENCY BALANCE.

"You only love my points."

YOUR POINTS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ME.

"I KNEW IT!"

INJECT YOURSELF, HOST.

Swanly shoved the device against her injured shoulder.

Click.

Something cold entered her body.

For one second, nothing happened.

Then she screamed.

"AAAAH!"

Her shoulder jerked.

The displaced joint snapped back into place.

Heat flooded through her arm.

The torn tissue began knitting together beneath her skin.

Her fingers curled.

Uncurled.

She lifted her arm.

Then lowered it.

Again.

No sharp pain.

The torn cuts across her palm closed into thin pink lines.

Her ribs stopped stabbing her with every breath.

Swanly stared.

"Oh."

She rolled her shoulder.

"Oh, that’s beautiful."

THE SERUM DOES NOT RESTORE LOST BLOOD OR REPLACE SLEEP. YOU ARE STILL EXHAUSTED.

Swanly grinned.

"Good enough."

Her ears lifted.

The Hollowmaws rushed.

Swanly stepped away from the wall.

"Round two."

She drew six arrows.

HOST, SIX IS ABOVE YOUR RECOMMENDED ACCURACY LIMIT.

"Then watch me miss one."

She released.

The arrows tore through the tunnel.

Four hit mouths.

One tore through a limb joint.

The sixth shattered against stone.

Swanly smiled.

"See?"

The System blinked.

YOU MISSED TWO LETHAL TARGETS.

"Do you ever stop talking?"

NO.

Swanly ran.

The first Hollowmaw lunged low.

She planted one foot against the wall and jumped sideways, her fluffy white tail snapping behind her to correct her balance.

The creature crashed into the stone.

Swanly fired downward.

Two arrows.

Straight through its open mouth.

It stopped moving.

A second Hollowmaw crawled across the ceiling.

Swanly’s ears caught the scrape above her.

She dropped flat.

Its claws cut through the air where her head had been.

She rolled onto her back.

Draw.

Release.

An arrow shot straight up through the creature’s exposed underside.

Black fluid rained down.

Swanly rolled out of the way before the body fell.

CRASH!

HOLLOWMAW ELIMINATED. +12 POINTS.

Another came.

She spun.

Arrow through the mouth.

+12 POINTS.

A third.

Two arrows.

+12 POINTS.

Swanly grinned.

"Oh?"

The System looked at her.

She looked back.

"So you pay me for murder."

CONFIRMED KILLS OF HOSTILE ORGANISMS GENERATE REWARD POINTS.

"Why didn’t you lead with that?!"

YOU WERE BUSY DYING.

Swanly laughed.

It hurt her ribs.

She stopped laughing.

"Fair."

The tunnel opened into an old stone passage.

Three directions.

One sloped downward.

Another turned into darkness.

The third was flooded knee-deep with black water.

The System projected glowing lines across her vision.

ORIGINAL FEEDING JUNCTION: 620 METERS AHEAD.

ROOT-SEAL INSTALLATION REQUIRED AT JUNCTION.

TIME REMAINING: 25 MINUTES, 41 SECONDS.

Swanly looked down the flooded passage.

"Which way?"

A red line appeared.

Through the water.

Of course.

"Wonderful."

She stepped in.

Cold water swallowed her ankles.

Then her calves.

Her fox tail lifted immediately, curling high above the surface.

"Absolutely disgusting."

Something moved beneath the water.