Inside a black forest that appeared far from the Valley of Death but was actually quite short in straight-line distance.
Lucian and Natasha peered through layers of overlapping leaves at the sky, where dark clouds blotted out the stars. Tonight there was no starlight, no silver moon — visibility was barely arm's length, and the deepest, most oppressive fear and panic were brewing in the darkness.
"Our area of movement has been squeezed down to almost nothing. Looks like we'll have to head back to the Valley of Death." Natasha leaned against the trunk of a great tree, pressed close to Lucian, and sighed as she pointed toward the horizon. "It'll be dawn soon. Aunt Camille should have reached the Metanin Oasis by now, but it'll still be another day before any rescue arrives. I wonder if we'll live long enough to see the sun come up?"
They had been caught up by Congers roughly a day after separating from Camille. They killed him, but that forced him to spend over a day and a half reconstructing his body and returning from the principal material world. After that, they had circled around the Valley of Death for more than half a day. All told, it had been over three days since they parted ways with Camille — and even accounting for her recovery time, she should have reached the Metanin Oasis by now.
"We'll definitely watch the sunrise together." Not a trace of dejection or despair showed on Lucian's face. The more dire the situation, the more resolute he became, and a gentle smile full of hope radiated from his features.
Natasha was much the same kind of person. After a brief sigh, she gripped her longsword tightly, her posture radiating fighting spirit, determination, and confidence.
She glanced at Lucian's left hand with a smile. "After that outburst this morning, the fragment of the mysterious entity from the Nether should be under the Silver Moon's control. The episodes of losing control are getting less and less frequent — maybe the next one won't be until a day from now. If we can escape the half-god lich this time, even if we do nothing but hide, he may never find us."
That morning, the fragment of the Nether's mysterious entity had undergone its most violent episode of losing control yet. It had not only frozen Lucian solid, but even Natasha standing beside her had been caught in it, making her feel as though one or two years had passed. Fortunately, in the real world only two or three minutes had elapsed, and nothing else had gone wrong. Since then, the intervals between episodes had grown steadily longer — the last one had been in the early hours of the dawn, and it was that episode that had exposed their location, allowing Congers to gradually compress their range of movement.
"Etna said the most ferocious counterattack phase has already passed, and now it's just a matter of digesting the cake. But is the Nether's mysterious entity really that weak? Even if it hasn't recovered its consciousness, being completely absorbed by an equal-level existence in just seven days seems awfully fragile." Lucian voiced his doubts.
Natasha let out a snort of derision. "Weak? If it had held out for even a few more days, Congers would have shipped us off to the Nether as undead. When it comes to things in the domain of quasi-deities, Etna certainly understands better than you. She doesn't seem concerned, so it should be fine."
Lucian was about to reply when the last sliver of light within the black forest vanished, plunging them into the purest darkness.
"Stop hiding. Come out quietly, and I'll grant you rest in death." Congers' voice drifted in from the far side of the forest like a cold wind blowing through a silent hell. "How much longer do you think you can run?"
"Straight-line distance — less than a thousand meters." Lucian and Natasha exchanged a glance, quietly slipped away from the great tree, and began following their planned route back toward the Valley of Death, taking a slight detour along the way to avoid the mountain and forest crawling with undead servants.
The scene around them was a living depiction of an "undead plague."
Congers let out a cold laugh. "I know — you're still clinging to hope. Hoping that the 'Deep Blue Tide' you parted ways with has already reached the Metanin Oasis and sent word to that old pervert Storm and to Heather to come rescue you. But do you really think I'm that foolish and careless?"
Natasha's steps faltered abruptly, and her face went slightly pale. Aunt Camille?
"It's fine. If Aunt Camille had been killed or captured by him, he would have shown us her body long ago to shake our resolve." Lucian patted Natasha's shoulder and soothed her in a gentle voice.
Worry made the mind chaotic, but Natasha quickly snapped back to her senses, recovered her iron composure, nodded at Lucian, and accelerated their return.
Congers' voice drew ever closer. "I'm in a hurry to catch you two little mice and don't have time to deal with the 'Deep Blue Tide,' but I replaced the contact at the Metanin Oasis with my loyal subordinate long ago. Leor has always been my secret student. Tell me — do you really think your message for help could ever reach the other side of the ocean?"
Lucian's expression shifted slightly, and a flicker crossed his eyes. Congers had been monitoring him for over two months — of course he would have made arrangements for everything else. Still, this was only one shattered hope, not utter despair. Just as Natasha had said moments ago, if they could shake him off this time, the Nether fragment would no longer lose control easily, and they would be able to secure a safe situation. Once Etna recovered, the roles of hunter and hunted would be reversed.
Phew — Natasha let out a soft breath and smiled at Lucian through their mental link. "He never caught Aunt Camille after all. If Duchess Heather and Lord Stormmaster had privately commissioned me to search for you in Church-controlled territory, they would naturally have arranged for secret contacts as well."
That was reassuring. A smile surfaced on Lucian's face too.
Congers had determined with certainty that the two of them were nearby, so while he tried to rattle them with words, he suddenly dissolved into a mass of ashen-gray mist teeming with countless grotesque mosquito-like creatures.
These creatures matched the color of the mist, but their heads had been replaced by twisted human faces — ethereal, as though forged from souls. They emitted a ceaseless, maddening buzz that drove the gray fog outward, instantly blanketing an area of over four hundred meters. In just a dozen seconds the entire zone had been swept clean. Then the mass of mist drifted forward to cover a fresh area.
Seeing this, Lucian and Natasha quickened their pace once more. They darted through a hidden cave and emerged near the Valley of Death, trailing blurred afterimages as they slipped deeper inside.
The buzzing — that grating, maddening drone — suddenly sounded right beside their ears.
"Damn it!" Lucian cursed inwardly. He thrust out his left arm, pulled Natasha against him, and flickered away from the spot.
Legendary mages had far too many uncanny tricks. He had discovered them just a shade too early!
A beam of ghastly green light struck the ground where they had stood less than a second later.