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"We are approaching the end of the plain."
I said as I looked toward the end of the plain. In front of us was a rocky barrier rising from the ground as if it were the end of the world, with a passage in the middle about two meters wide.
"Finally, I'm tired of facing those monsters. Nothing should happen now."
Ronan sighed in relief. No one blamed him. We had faced five earth worms—but we killed them. How? Well, I used the same method on the first two, while Elena threw a sun into the mouths of the remaining three and exploded them from the inside.
'But to be honest, her method is disgusting—imagine the sky stabbing us with rotten meat. It was utterly revolting.'
I was thinking about the previous battles, but Elena's worried voice brought me back to reality.
"Guys, do you hear something?"
She said, looking around in all directions, trying to detect what was wrong.
"What sound? I don't hear anything."
Ronan said, looking at Elena as if she were strange.
"Just focus."
Ronan scolded before she returned to concentrating.
After a few seconds, we heard a faint sound coming from afar.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
A faint buzzing sound grew louder over time.
We looked to the sky quickly after identifying the direction of the sound, but what we saw filled us with dread.
A giant fly, the size of a bear, covered in white flowers, was coming toward us from afar.
'If you're wondering why we fear a fly, it's because this damn fly is not alone. There's a huge swarm; if you didn't focus, you'd think it was a black cloud.'
"Run! Run! Run!"
I shouted at the top of my lungs, running toward the passage as fast as I could.
"Damn it, Ronan! Don't you know how to stay quiet? Didn't anyone tell you that the moment you say nothing will happen is exactly when a disaster will strike?"
I cursed Ronan angrily as I watched the swarm of flies approaching slowly.
"How… it's not happening. It's my fault."
Ronan complained unfairly, looking at Elena, hoping she would help him.
"She's right, Ronan. Actually, it's because of you."
Elena's words left Ronan stunned. He closed his mouth and started running with all his might.
Ronan had gotten ahead of us due to his wind ability. I was at the rear—after all, darkness isn't fast.
'Hmm? Light is supposed to be faster, so why is she behind?'
Curiosity struck me at the current situation. I had studied clearly that users of light are among the fastest people, so Elena's delayed position was strange.
'What do I do? I'm going to get killed by an annoying swarm of flies. Why am I thinking about trivial things?'
I shook my head and cleared my mind.
We entered the rocky passage, but we didn't stop; we kept running.
The flies had already caught up with us at high speed, but unlike us, they didn't enter the passage; their wings hovered above it, flying along the passage itself.
The buzzing was incredibly loud; without boosting my hearing, I could already feel the sound striking my bones, weakening my senses.
The flies moved and started diving into the passage in small air raids, few at a time. After all, the passage wasn't wide enough for them all, so they would fight in batches.
"Five are attacking! Watch out, everyone!"
I shouted, summoning spears from the darkness and throwing them forcefully. The flies had no space to dodge, so my strikes hit the target. Two flies fell, and the rest were injured.
"Focus on the wings or the head. Watch out that the passage doesn't collapse on us!"
I commanded as I continued my attacks. The others joined, launching spears and blades in a barrage.
"This is strange."
I said in confusion, looking at the flies above us.
"What's strange?"
Elena asked, apparently able to hear me amidst all the noise.
"They are extremely weak. Most of them are probably at the lower part of level nine. This means they are trying to exhaust our endurance with their massive numbers. This swarm is trying different strategies than before."
I shared my thoughts, making the others realize the danger of the situation.
"What should we do then?"
Ronan asked as a fly tore close to him.
"Stop attacking. I'll handle them myself. After all, I can just eat their corpses without tiring myself. You only attack if I fail to repel them. Is that clear?"
The two nodded and ceased summoning attacks.
"Ronan, run behind me. Elena, take the front. We don't need to rush."
I summoned balls of darkness and launched them into the air. As soon as they neared the flies, they exploded, firing projectiles in all directions.
"This cleansing is weak, but it's useful against you."
I said sarcastically, watching the flies fall like shooting stars. Well, if a shooting star is something disgusting.
The battle continued like this for a whole hour before the flies changed their strategy.
They rose high until they disappeared from our sight.
I signaled the others to stop as I observed the current situation.
"Hah… hah… hah… they're gone."
Ronan said, panting deeply.
"This is bad. If the assumption is correct, they are waiting on the other side to strike us as soon as we exit."
I said, putting my hand on my chin, considering all possibilities.
"What do we do then? We have no other option."
Elena said, leaning against the walls to rest.
"Let's keep walking, but slowly. I want you to look around; maybe we'll find something useful."
After walking for two hours, I stopped when I noticed the ground beneath us had become strange.
"What's wrong? Did you discover something?"
Ronan asked hopefully.
"Doesn't the ground beneath us seem hollow? The sound of footsteps feels very different."
I said, prompting them to step on the ground to confirm.
"You're right. Maybe there's a tunnel beneath us."
Ronan spoke excitedly, putting his ear on the ground and tapping.
'I said it's hollow, I didn't say there's a tunnel. Why is he so optimistic?'
"Make a hole in the ground."
At my words, Ronan summoned a wind ring spinning rapidly, then sent it toward the ground.
It cut through the ground like a sharp saw, leaving a circular hole after blasting the earth completely.
"This is light!"
Elena said in amazement, looking at the hole from which soft blue light emerged.
I knelt, stretching my head toward the hole.
A breathtaking view welcomed me—a large cave filled with glowing blue crystals.
"Let's go down."
I said simply before jumping down, unfortunately.
The others quickly followed, amazed by the cave's splendid view.
"It's beautiful. I thought this world had lost its beauty, but who would have imagined such a place exists beneath our feet?"
Elena said gently, the cave's light reflecting in her eyes.
"I found a passage."
Ronan said, pointing excitedly toward a passage leading in the same direction as our destination.
"Now you're making up for your mistakes."
I said sarcastically, causing the smile to vanish from his face.
"Enough sarcasm. Let's hurry. Once we cross the valley, we should see a mountain range where the temple is at the highest peak."
Elena scolded us, urging focus on our main goal.
"You're right. Let's go."
I said, starting to walk in the dark passage, leading the way since I was the only one who could see in the darkness. They walked blindly.
"Hmm?"
I lowered my head, looking at my right hand held by Elena as she walked with a smile.
'This girl… is she serious? She just scolded us for taking the situation lightly.'
I mocked mentally, smiling, then held her hand firmly as we walked side by side.
...