Hikari marched up the slope.
The caves had gotten darker again as the mine depth decreased.
They reached the next cave in.
The demolishing team holds up their lantern.
"That's a thick layer of rubble."
The breaches reported back to Rey after surveying the wall ahead.
"Hikari, do you sense anything in the next room?"
"None"
"Once the charges blow, we'll be hit be an avalanche.
Can you hold it?"
"Yes."
Hikari planted her shield in the ground.
One knee on the ground for added stability.
The men huddles tightly behind her shield.
The charges are set.
An explosion.
An avalanche of stone.
Hikari holds her ground against the mass.
Her shield funneling the
The way forward is clear.
But the debris had blocked the way back.
"The mining team will clear the rubble behind us. We press on. We are almost through."
Hikari presses through the breach.
The troops did their usual scan.
The cavern was empty except for a signboard in the middle of the room.
Rey shone his torch light on it.
"Good work boys! We are almost there!"
"There's a lot of spider holes around."
One of his men complained.
"Form up. We can't deal with the spider nest right now. We just have to clear the way to the mine shaft first."
Hikari picked up her shield and strided.
She stopped.
Cracks appearing in the ceiling.
"Cave in."
The ceiling rumbled.
"Cave in! Run up the slot!"
The troops dashed up the slope as quickly as they could.
Some climb on all fours up the steep incline.
Hikari held her shield up.
Large chunks of stone pelted her shield.
Rey's robot jumped with both legs, propelling him up the slope
More stone chunks pelted Hikari's shield.
"Get out of there now!" Rey blasted from his megaphone.
Hikari stood her ground as the remaining two men scurried under her.
The ceiling collapsed, burying Hikari in a pile of stone.
The cave in stopped.
There was a calm.
"Pixaxes! Get them out of there."
As the breachers rushed to the pile, the stones cracked.
A burst of mana from below.
The pile shattered into pieces.
Hikari and the two men hiding below her were unscathed.
Hikari lowered her shield, dusting off the loose pieces of stone.
"Phew, that was close. Did you get lucky or you knew you could handle the cave in."
"It was nothing"
"I see. Sheela's training really came in handy huh?"
Rey surveyed the aftermath of the cave in.
"Our route back is cut, we have to clear it. Looks like the ale will have to wait."
Hikari began walking back down the slope, brushing aside pieces of stone with her boot. She pressed her hands on the blocked passage, mapping out the depth of the blockage.
"How is it?"
"It's thick."
"Hmm… this is bad. I'm signaling the rescue team. They will start making their way here to clear the blockage behind us."
"Shall I clear it?"
"No, save your mana. Besides, if you shatter the stone now, you might bury the rescue team down the slope."
Hikari sat down and began meditating.
Rey arranged sentry duties and a small team to begin blocking the spider holes.
The rest of the men sat down and rested.
Quietly huddling in the darkness.
Some of them take sips from their water skin.
One last wall to go.
The ground has become level which makes it easier to rest.
Rey took out a curious device.
Wurrrhhh! Wurrrhhh! Wurrrhhh!
Three consecutive sirens, echoing throughout the caverns.
Pop. The sound of Rey popping open a can of fruit inside his armoured suit.
But the men were exhausted just from walking up slope in their armour.
If the old map were to be trusted, they are very close to the finish line.
Pulse.
Pulse.
Hikari checks her surroundings.
The cave had way more tunnels than the previous ones.
Some were much wider.
Skittering sounds.
She senses movement.
She stood up and picked up her shield.
"What's wrong Hikari?"
"They're coming."
The men looked around confused.
"Formations!" Rey ordered.
The men formed up in three rings in front of Hikari. The front row held up their shields. The second row readied their muskets. The third row readied their bombs.
The cavern lit up as flares were thrown.
"What's coming Hikari?"
The skittering of spiders was heard.
It grew louder and louder.
"Burn them, Hikari!"
Hikari paused.
She senses an eerie mana in the spiders similar to the dark crystals she found in the mana vein.
She's going to need a lot more firepower.
Her pouch of steel balls.
Each with a telekinetic rune etched into it.
She tosses the whole pouch, scattering the steel balls all around.
Then they began rolling along the cave surface in circles, creating a whirling barrier of steel against the spiders
As the spiders emerged from the holes.
They
Rey caught on to what she was doing.
"Staggered fire.
Some spiders got through.
They jumped for the helmet.
The contraption on the helmet triggered, pushing the spider away.
The man lowered his head to rewind the contraption.
His comrade beside him fired his musket, blasting the spider to bits.
Another spider leapt onto his face, his contraption failed to trigger.
The spider bit into his eye, injecting its poison.
His comrade shot the spider at point blank.
But the man dropped dead to the ground.
The battle continues.
The blasting of grapeshot.
A sink hole appeared on the ground.
Masses of spiders crawled out.
Hikari's steel balls smash into the mass of spiders.
"Bombs!"
Rey fires his cannon into the hole.
His men threw their shrapnel bombs.
A series of deafening explosions.
The mass of spiders trickle out.
But spiders from the holes are still
"Hikari, how long can you keep up the barrier?
Hikari expanded her senses.
She senses an eerie aura from beyond the cave in ahead.
"Breaching charges."
"You want to break down the wall ahead? What's your plan?"
"Burn the hive."
"Got it!"
Rey's armoured suit hummed.
His shoulder cannon fired a breaking charge.
But it hit the wall the wrong way, bouncing onto the ground.
The second shot stuck onto the wall.
But it was a dud.
"Land!" Rey shouted as he fired the third charge.
The charge exploded.
The wall collapses.
A giant spider leapt out of the passage.
The muskets fired but did nothing against its thick shell.
Rey scrambled to load another shell.
"Shit" The giant spider was right above him, bearing its sharp front fangs the size of ballista bolts.
A sword swung over his head, cleaving through it and splattering its insides.
"Thanks Hikari! But I can't break the second wall from here."
Hikari took a deep breath.
Lifting her shield with one arm, Hikari threw the massive hunk of metal at the second wall.
Crash.
Hikari threw her hammer.
Crash.
She breaks down the wall.
Masses of spider webs and cocoons.
Hikari drew a throwing dagger, ignited it to the point of melting.
The flaming dagger illuminated the cavern as it flew into the hive.
It melted through the web, spreading its fire..
She ignited another dagger.
As the dagger reached the center of the hive, she pulled it upwards.
Flaming dagger after flaming dagger.
Until the whole hive was engulfed in RazenHeir flame.
The stream of spiders was petering out.
The remaining infantry was able to hold the line without the protection of her barrier.
She advanced.
The sound of dead spiders crunching under her boot.
"Leave the rest to me."
"Good luck."
Hikari drew her sword.
Giant spiders appeared.
Each larger than a man and could rip one in two.
She draws her hand cannon.
The contraption concentrates her telekinetic power into a single steel ball.
It fires.
The piercing force pierces through several giant spiders.
She swings her sword.
Slice. Pierce. Slice.
She cuts through three giant spiders in a row.
Crunch.
She crushes their squirming bodies as she advances.
She emerges in the mine shaft.
The largest cavern she encountered thus far.
All around, the RazenHeir flames eat into the spider webs.
She looks up, a spider larger than a golem.
The queen.
It unleashed a deafening screech as her hive burned around her.
"I should remind Ria to dust off the spider webs more often."
The spider queen gathers flames in its mouth and releases.
Hikari dodged.
The flames extinguish as it hits the ground.
The mana felt familiar.
Much like the ones the cultists of Eon used.
Hikari fires her hand cannon at its mouth.
It blows off a portion of its carapace.
The spider screeched.
Hikaris fires again.
She kept firing, preventing the queen from charging up another attack.
The queen leapt off its perch at the top of the hive.
Hikari dashed to dodge the body slam.
She kicks the wall and charges the queen as it was still recovering.
She dodges past its massive front legs.
A back hand swing.
She hits the joint between her leg segments, severing it.
"One."
She was under the spider queen in its blind spot.
"Two."
The queen was slower to turn.
"Three and four."
Hikari hacked off its hind legs one by one.
She dashes out from below just before the spider queen collapses.
It screeched in pain.
Several giant spiders popped out of the surviving cocoons.
Swing.
Swing.
Swing.
She cuts them each in two as they lunge at her.
The spider queen charges up a ball of flame in its mouth.
Hikari dodge.
She raised her hand cannon.
She charges up a shot.
With its legs chopped off, it was unable to move.
Without a sound, the steel ball smashes through the spider queen's skull.