The air in the sunless ruins grew heavy with the stench of brine and decay as three Carapace Scavengers skittered out of the gloom. Standing two and a half meters tall, the abominations were a grotesque fusion of chitin and nightmare. Their four pairs of segmented, scythe-like legs clicked rhythmically against the stone, while their human-like torsos swayed with predatory malice. Two pairs of enormous pincers snapped, eager to crush bone, as the monsters lunged in a coordinated swarm.
Sunny didn't wait for the circle to close. Calling upon his shadow, he felt the familiar cold weight of his essence wrapping around his limbs, augmenting his speed until he was a blur. As the first Scavenger swung a massive pincer, Sunny detached his shadow from the ground and laced it into his sword. The blade hummed with dark power as he slid beneath the creature's center of gravity. With a precise, upward thrust, he drove his shadow-slicked steel into the soft joint of its rear leg. The monster shrieked—a wet, gargling sound from its mandible-filled mouth—but before it could retaliate, Sunny vanished back into the gloom, a phantom of the battlefield.
Nearby, Nephis and Blaze stood back-to-back, a wall of incinerating heat. Nephis's blade ignited with a pure, white radiance that shimmered with the dual promise of salvation and ruin. She met the second Scavenger head-on, her movements a disciplined dance of steel. When a scythe-like leg whipped toward her chest, she didn't just parry; she bathed the limb in her white flames. The chitin blackened and cracked instantly. The Scavenger lunged with its pincers, but Nephis let the flames roar outward, the searing heat acting as both a shield and a branding iron that forced the beast back, its armor glowing cherry-red.
Blaze seized the opening to engage the third horror. While Nephis focused on the physical shell, Blaze targeted the essence within. His sword erupted in flickering, ghostly violet fire—flames designed not to melt armor, but to scorch the soul. He leaped over a swiping pincer, his boots finding purchase on the creature's chitinous shoulder. With a roar, he buried his sword deep into the gap between the head and the armored torso. The soul-burning flames surged downward, bypassing the thick carapace. The Scavenger froze, its many eyes rolling back as its very life force was turned to ash from the inside out. It collapsed into a heap of twitching, lifeless limbs.
The first Scavenger, wounded by Sunny, tried to retreat, but Sunny was already there, his shadow-wrapped form appearing directly behind its neckless head. Simultaneously, Nephis surged toward the final standing beast, her sword trailing a wake of white fire. In a synchronized strike of shadow and light, Sunny's blade found the creature's throat while Nephis's fire consumed its heart. The monstrous centaur-crabs slumped to the ground, their mandibles stilled forever.
As the echoes of the fight died down, a shimmering spark of light condensed near the fallen monsters. Sunny's eyes widened as he realized he had obtained an Echo of the Carapace Scavenger. While Nephis and Blaze stripped the corpses for soul shards and resources, Sunny hurried back to the crevice where they had hidden Cassie.
When they reunited, Nephis looked at him with a silent, questioning gaze.
Sunny grinned. "I got an Echo."
Nephis's pupils widened slightly, and Cassie gasped. "An Echo? You actually got one?!"
"Congrats," Blaze added with a nod.
With a larger group of monsters approaching, Sunny didn't waste time. He summoned the Scavenger. The hulking beast materialized from sparks of light, its black chitin becoming solid and terrifying.
"Good," Nephis said, a small corner of her lip curling up.
"I think we can use it to carry Cassie," Sunny suggested. "It'll make us much faster."
Cassie's mouth fell open. "Carry me? Like... like a mount?"
"More like a princess carried by her steed," Blaze teased. Cassie flinched slightly at the mental image, but Sunny chuckled and slapped the scavenger on its carapace.
"Trust me, it's quite spacious up there. Especially when they aren't trying to eat you."
They helped Cassie onto the beast's back, using the golden rope to fashion makeshift reins. With their new "mount" in tow, their speed tripled.
For a moment, Blaze felt almost relaxed. They were jogging through the labyrinth, making up for lost time. But the calm was short-lived. The wind picked up, carrying a sharp, metallic scent.
"Stop," Cassie commanded suddenly.
The three warriors frowned, a collective premonition of dread washing over them. "What is it?" Blaze asked, already suspecting the answer: The Storm.
Cassie dismounted and pressed her ear to the coral floor. Her face went pale. "It's murmuring. The ground is shaking."
A heavy drop of water hit Blaze's face. He looked up to see black, unnatural clouds swallowing the sky at a terrifying speed.
"Run to the highest point!" Blaze shouted.
He shoved Cassie back onto the Echo, but then an idea struck him. "Everyone, climb on! Now!"
Sunny and Nephis hesitated for only a second before scrambling onto the monster's back. "Sit as close as possible!" Blaze ordered. He placed his hands on the Echo's carapace and unleashed his Hellfire, coating the creature in a protective, empowering layer of flames—leaving only the seating area untouched.
"What are you doing?!" Sunny yelled. "Are you trying to destroy my Echo?"
"Look at the speed and just drive!" Blaze countered.
The flames acted like a supernatural booster.,covering the echo,making it more menancing. The Scavenger let out a soundless screech and surged forward, its legs moving with mechanical ferocity. Blaze focused his power on the joints, pushing the Echo to its absolute physical limit. 'If I can do this now,' he thought, 'maybe when I Awaken, I can transform objects and vehicles like in the ghost rider movies.'
Behind them, a terrible rumbling filled the air. A colossal, crushing wall of black water rushed through the crimson forest. They watched a stray scavenger get caught in the torrent; its "unbreakable" carapace shattered against the coral like a rotten egg.
They reached the base of the high cliffs just as the spray hit their backs. Sunny dismissed the Echo, and they began to scramble up the rock face. Nephis, Sunny, and Cassie led the way while Blaze stayed at the rear to cover them.
"Brace!" Blaze screamed.
A wall of dark water slammed into the cliff mere meters beneath them. The entire rock face shuddered. Boulders tumbled from above, narrowly missing their heads. The water rose with frightening speed, threatening to swallow them whole.
The climb became a desperate race against the tide. The rain was a torrential hammer, and the wind threatened to peel them off the rocks. Every muscle in Blaze's body screamed in agony. He scrambled upward, tearing the skin off his fingers on the sharp stone.
"Fuck!" Blaze hissed.
No matter how fast he moved, the sea was faster. The water swallowed his legs, then his waist. The current was a physical weight, trying to drag him into the abyss. When the water reached his shoulders, his grip finally failed. His fingers slipped from the wet stone, and he felt himself being swept away like a toy.
No!
In the final second, a golden rope lashed through the water beside him. Blaze lunged and grabbed it with the last of his strength. The rope snapped taut, dragging him upward.
A strong hand reached down and hauled him over the ledge. Blaze collapsed onto the muddy ground, gasping for air. To his right, Nephis and Sunny lay in the same state, utterly drained. Nephis was still clutching the end of the golden rope.
Blaze wanted to laugh, but he didn't have the energy. He stared at the dark, roiling sky and thought, 'I didn't Isekai for this shit.'
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