When the morning came, painting the desolate landscape in hues of pale grey and muted orange, and the dark sea, as was its peculiar custom, retreated once more, the four Sleepers prepared to abandon their temporary sanctuary atop the giant statue. Nephis, ever the leader, was the first one to begin her descent, her movements precise and efficient. Before she embarked, however, she paused, her gaze sweeping over Sunny, Kane, and Cassie, her voice cutting through the morning stillness with a stark warning.
"Today will be different from before," she stated, her tone devoid of emotion, yet imbued with a chilling gravitas. "There will be many more scavengers roaming in the labyrinth below. We might not be able to create an ambush or avoid fighting several of them at once. The hunting grounds will be more crowded, and the encounters more frequent and dangerous." Kane thought for a moment, his mind quickly assessing the current status of the monsters they had encountered, recalling the increasing numbers and aggressiveness. He knew her words held a grim truth.
Nephis then looked directly at Sunny, her eyes piercing. "If anything happens," she instructed, her voice firm, "your primary job is to bring Cassie away from the fight, to ensure her safety above all else. We can retreat by using passages that are too narrow for the larger scavengers to follow. If, for any reason, we get separated, you are to proceed to the high point by yourselves. Do not, under any circumstances, wait for us. Do you understand?" Sunny gave a sharp nod, his expression grim but resolute, acknowledging the gravity of her orders. With the plan laid out, Kane and Nephis began their descent, moving with practiced ease, and waited for Sunny and Cassie to follow, using the golden rope that was one of Cassie's memories to aid their climb down the sheer face of the statue.
When they finally reached the bottom, the four individuals moved forward, their formation carefully orchestrated. Sunny took on the crucial role of scout, his shadow extending ahead, silently navigating the treacherous terrain, while also acting as the rear guard, his senses alert for any threats from behind. Kane and Nephis positioned themselves at the front, their swords ready, prepared to intercept any immediate dangers. It wasn't long before they encountered a pair of scavengers directly on their path. The hulking creatures hadn't noticed them yet, their attention perhaps drawn elsewhere, but there was no other way around them, no suitable branching path to take. They were forced to confront them head-on.
Nephis, her voice calm and unwavering, spoke, "Good. We can take on two of them." Sunny, however, voiced a valid concern, his brow furrowed. "There's no time to set an ambush," he pointed out, his gaze darting between the monsters and the surrounding labyrinth. Kane thought, 'Valid concern. Setting up an ambush takes time, and we are lacking time. We can't afford to wait.' Nephis, however, had already anticipated this. "It is almost the same," she stated, her voice firm. "Kane and I will attack directly. You wait in the shadows and strike the scavengers one by one, delivering the killing blow when the opportunity arises." The main concern of their plan was that while Sunny struck from the shadows, Nephis and Kane would have to survive the initial onslaught from each of the scavengers, a task that would be quite tiresome and dangerous. Sunny gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening, but finally conceded. "Alright," he said, his voice a low rumble of acceptance.
Immediately, Nephis and Kane summoned their swords, the Ultimate Defiance and Nephis's elegant longsword materializing in their hands. After Sunny had carefully hidden Cassie in a secluded spot, ensuring her safety, they proceeded forward to attack the two scavengers. Nephis looked at Kane, her eyes conveying a silent warning. "Don't die," she said, her voice barely a whisper. Kane, meeting her gaze, replied, "Same to you." Immediately, Kane and Nephis lunged forward in a sudden, coordinated attack, leaving Sunny behind to follow up from the shadows. Even though the pair of scavengers noticed them, both Kane and Nephis were already upon the creatures, moving with surprising speed.
Kane immediately switched to his mind-body vision, his perception expanding to encompass the inner workings of the beasts. He saw that these monsters would rampage forward with all four pincers extended, attempting to clamp down on him. Kane immediately lunged forward as if he was about to ram directly into the creature, a seemingly reckless maneuver. Just about to make contact, he used his [Silver Plates] armor to switch to a shield, forming a solid barrier. He used his shield to deflect the incoming pincers, pushing them outwards and to the sides, clearing his path. Simultaneously, he attacked the hind legs of the scavenger with his sword, aiming to stop its forward momentum. He used his sword like a breaker, a tool to disrupt its balance and slow its charge. Then he saw Nephis in the back, her movements mirroring his own, she also seemed to be using the same tactic, targeting the creature's legs and pincers. Kane now decided to fight from the back, attacking the creature's vulnerable points.
The scavenger, disoriented by their coordinated assault, turned around, attempting to attack both Nephis and Kane simultaneously. Kane deflected each incoming attack with precision, his movements crude and efficient. The Azarax's swordsmanship he had been practicing seemed to have upgraded within him, becoming more intuitive, and it was helping him immensely, allowing him to anticipate and counter the creature's movements with surprising ease. As he was fighting, he saw Sunny planning to attack the scavenger he was engaging. Kane decided to focus his attack on the creature's mind thread, attempting to drop its pincers uselessly, rendering them inert. But suddenly, he sensed something in his vision, a distinct mind spark emanating from a particular creature, not from the two scavengers they were fighting, and it was charging up towards Nephis with incredible speed. Sunny was already in mid-air, about to execute his stealth kill, but the spark seemed to move with crazy swiftness, far faster than Sunny's attack.
Kane immediately switched his focus from the scavengers and barged directly towards Nephis, his movements driven by a desperate urgency. Nephis took a quick glance at him, her eyes widening in surprise at his sudden, unexpected maneuver. Kane rammed into Nephis, throwing her out of the path of the incoming threat. The centipede-like creature, the source of the mind spark, shot forward like a bullet, its attack intended for Nephis, but instead, it hit Kane, throwing him violently to the ground. Kane immediately rolled up, his body aching, and assessed the creature and the surrounding area. He had landed in the crimson coral labyrinth, and the centipede-like creature was now creeping towards him. It was quite large, far bigger than the Carapace Scavengers, easily dwarfing two of them combined. It possessed a thousand small, scuttling legs and large, menacing mandibles, sharp enough to rip apart anything in its path. Kane thought, 'Luckily, I shifted most of my armor to the impacted area just before it hit, or else I don't think Nephis would have survived this, not at least without her armor. Even though Nephis has a healing ability, that hit would have been devastating.' Kane raised his sword into a defensive stance, his gaze fixed on the monstrous creature. "Bring it on, bastard," he growled, a challenge in his voice.