[Chapter 224. On the Run]

Searanox dismissed his assault and offensive drones; their metallic forms dissolved into motes of blue light as System Energy reclaimed them. The familiar hum of their energy cores faded into the cavern's heat, leaving a brief silence before new defensive drones materialized. While the old ones vanished in a flash of System Energy, the new defensive drones took their place in another flash of light. Their hexagonal barriers flickered to life, casting faint blue shadows across the volcanic archway as they positioned themselves protectively around him.

Both of his Intermediate defensive drones projected their barriers behind and below him, while their basic counterparts erected theirs on the remaining four sides, fully encompassing him in a cube made of barriers. The hexagonal patterns shimmered and shifted, creating a mesmerizing dance of light against the orange glow from below.

As fireballs impacted against the barriers surrounding him, each collision sent ripples of energy through the protective fields. The hexagons flickered between blue and orange as they absorbed the devastating heat. The barriers sizzled under the constant assault, their integrity tested with every impact as the fireballs left temporary scorch marks that slowly faded as the energy dispersed.

He moved over the narrow bridges, taking turns and moving below or over others. The arches beneath his feet trembled with each fiery impact; tiny fragments of volcanic rock broke loose and plummeted into the inferno below. His boots found precarious purchase on the slick, heat-warped surface, the soles softening with each step as he navigated the treacherous maze.

The air inside his protective cube grew suffocating, the temperature rising despite the barriers attempts to block the external heat. Sweat poured down his face, stinging his eyes as he squinted through the shimmering distortion, trying to discern the path ahead.

The roar of the Fire Elementals echoed through the cavern, their guttural cries mixing with the crackle of flames and the hiss of cooling rock. All the while, fireballs impacted against the barriers surrounding him. Their impacts became more frequent as the Elementals closed the distance, their heat radiating through his defenses with growing intensity.

It took Searanox less than five minutes to get fully lost in the maze of arches. He no longer knew the exact direction in which the exit lay, not that he had known before he began this frantic chase. The disorienting orange glow from below painted everything in hues of fire and shadow, making it impossible to distinguish one path from another.

Each arch twisted at unnatural angles, some curving back on themselves in Escher-like configurations that defied logic. The constant barrage of fireballs against his barriers added to the confusion, their impacts creating bright flashes that temporarily blinded him and left spots dancing in his vision. Sweat dripped from his brow, evaporating instantly in the oppressive heat that seeped through his defenses despite their best efforts.

The air inside his protective cube grew thick and suffocating, carrying the acrid scent of sulfur and burnt stone that made his throat constrict with each breath. With a flick of his mind, he summoned a recon drone into the air. The small orb rose slowly while scanning his surroundings, its blue light momentarily piercing the orange gloom as it ascended. Moments later, a fireball blasted it out of the air, detonating right above his protective cube. The explosion sent a shockwave that rattled his teeth and made the arch beneath his feet tremble violently.

In the few seconds it remained active, it had located a wall to its left and what he took to be the entrance he had come through. Seconds later, a new barrage of fireballs hit his barrier, breaking the right layer of his cube. The lesser protection of his basic drone splintered like glass, the hexagonal patterns fracturing into a thousand tiny fragments that dissolved into nothingness.

The affected drone vanished in a flash, and in its place appeared a freshly summoned basic defensive drone. Its barrier formed, filling the open space once again, the hexagonal patterns shimmering to life in a beautiful yet deadly dance.

`Where is the fucking exit!`

He screamed in his mind while running along the arch, jumping down from the one he was on onto the one below him. The impact sent jarring vibrations through his legs despite the cushioning of his boots. After a second of finding his footing, he continued his jog, his muscles protesting with each step as the heat sapped his strength.

Searanox could run much faster than he currently was, but on these narrow bridges and their constant bends, he couldn't push the pace. The risk of miscalculating a jump or losing his balance proved too great in the hellish environment. The arches grew more treacherous as he progressed; some narrowed to barely the width of his foot, while others showed signs of instability as chunks broke away and plummeted into the inferno below.

Every few minutes, he sent a recon drone into the air to check his position and locate the path that would lead him out of this chamber, praying each time it would survive long enough to provide useful information. It took only seconds every time for his drone to be picked off by one of the following Elementals. Their attacks became more accurate as they learned his tactics, sometimes anticipating where the drone would appear before it fully materialized.

`There is no exit. Is this the boss chamber? You are fucking kidding me, right? After all that bullshit... This is the boss.`

Minutes blurred together until he lost all sense of time. Every route looked identical. Every attempt at reconnaissance ended in another burst of flame. Eventually, after what his internal clock estimated to be nearly an hour, exhaustion began to replace panic. All this time, Searanox pondered how he would fight something apparently immune to his weapons. All the while he continued to run and think. Despite his best efforts he couldn't come up with something that would defeat one not to mention twelve of them.

Before he finally saw the way out. An opening sat not at his current level, but below the arches. It had been down there all along. He technically never needed to get on the treacherous bridges in the first place, since the opening lay right below the entrance, only a few meters down.

Once he got close enough, he dissolved the cube around him. His drones fanned out to create a large wall of individual barriers between him and the approaching Elementals, their hexagonal patterns shimmering like a crystalline shield against the raging inferno. He summoned new ones to fill their ranks, their blue light flickering as they materialized to replace any that had fallen. A flash of light appeared in front of him, and he stretched out his hand, grabbing the edge of the newly formed disk. Its surface felt cool against his scorched palm despite the searing heat surrounding him.

Within the next second, Searanox was yanked from the precarious arch with bone-jarring force, if it weren't for the drones nature the sudden lurch would have torn his grip from the disk. The travel drone's acceleration was brutal, pulling him horizontally toward the crack in the wall like a fish on a line. Wind, thick with ash, whipped past his face, stinging his eyes as the maze of arches blurred into an orange smear. The Fire Elementals roars echoed behind him, their rage palpable even at this distance as they realized their prey was escaping. His body dangled precariously from the disk, feet scrabbling for purchase in the air as he maintained a death grip on its edge.

"You fuckers will pay when I return next time," he cursed loudly as his drone pulled him into the slit. His voice ran raw from the heat and exertion, the words swallowed by the narrow opening. The disk barely fit through the jagged gap, sparks flying as it scraped against the volcanic rock. The sudden darkness of the tunnel marked an abrupt shift from the hellish glow outside, his eyes struggling to adjust as he was pulled deeper inside.

Once fully inside, he recalled his drones. Most of his basic drones were already destroyed by the time he entered the crack, their energy signatures winking out in rapid succession as they absorbed the final barrage of fireballs. The remaining drones formed a multilayered barrier that blocked off the entrance like a cork, their hexagonal patterns interlocking to create a formidable seal against the Elementals frustrated roars. The barrier glowed with a faint blue light, creating an ethereal wall that held back the oppressive heat from outside.

After he was deep enough, he pulled his Intermediate defensive drones back to his position while keeping the lesser ones behind, protecting his back while he went deeper into the tunnel ahead. The air grew cooler with each step away from the chamber of living fire.

He waited in the narrow tunnel for his two defensive drones to catch up, before venturing even further into the tunnel.