Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 292: Temple [3]

My lungs were on fire.

I could hardly see. The entire time, I ran ahead without looking back.

….Several hands reached out for me, trying to grab me from all directions.

I ducked, jumped, and twisted my body in all directions in order to avoid the hands. But it was hard.

“Haa… Haa…”

I could hardly think properly.

…The poison had now reached almost every part of my body. Every movement was laced with a numbing sensation that made it seem as though I was lying on a bed of needles.

It was uncomfortable.

“Ukeh…!”

I ducked down again, tracing my hand down and severing the ankles of a nearby Wraith.

Thump!

Its body fell limp, and with a wave of my hand, our images swapped. I became the Wraith, and the Wraith became me.

Bang, bang—!

A notification flashed past my vision.

I ignored it and looked ahead.

The distance between me and the entrance of the temple wasn’t far.

Running past the shadows cast by the enormous statues, my vision alternated between bright and dark. There were three more statues that I needed to get past, with the distance drawing nearer and nearer as I ran.

“Haa…”

I clutched onto my chest as my lungs burned even more fiercely.

While I had indeed used quite a bit of mana, I still had enough to spare to fight several Wraiths. The problem was my stamina.

….With each step that I took, my body grew heavier, and breathing was starting to become extremely difficult.

But as I stared toward the entrance of the temple, I knew that I needed to push myself just a little more.

A little…

“…!”

Bang—!

A shadow cast above me and I hastily jumped to the side, rolling on the ground for a few seconds before springing myself back up.

“W-what in the…”

When I turned my head, my eyes fell on the area where I had previously been and my heart stopped.

There, a Wraith appeared.

It was no different than the other Wraiths, or was it…? I couldn’t quite tell since all of its insides were littered across the ground.

….It was dead, and the cause of death was obvious.

I raised my head to look up.

“Ahh.”

My lips parted but no words came out.

Crawling like spiders, several dozen Wraiths emerged on the heads of the statues above me, their movements unnaturally fast and eerie.

Their hollow sockets seemed to pierce through my soul as they fixed their empty gazes upon me. My heart hammered wildly against my chest.

Suddenly, with its mouth gaping open in a silent scream, one of the Wraiths lunged at me, its empty eyes never wavering from me.

“Fuck…!”

I understood then what had happened and my expression hardened.

These guys…

For whatever reason, they had become suicidal.

Bang!

A shadow cast on the area above me.

Without hesitation, I hurriedly ran forward in an attempt to dodge the Wraith, and just when I thought I had managed to get away from it, another one jumped.

My expression twisted.

Bang—!

The area behind me shattered.

“Haa… Haa…”

To make matters worse, in the distance, I could see more Wraiths appear. They all stood by the dark entrance of the temple, their empty sockets fixed on me as they attempted to stop me from entering.

My heart sank when I saw the number of Wraiths that were piling up at the entrance.

Bang, bang—!

And the fact that there were many others lunging at me didn’t make things easier.

However, the thing that I was most focused on was the fact that there was not a single Wraith within the entrance. It was almost as if something was stopping them from going in.

My eyes glinted at the thought.

‘I should be safe so long as I get in…’

I looked behind, only for my heart to sink further as the path behind me was overflowing with Wraiths as well.

It was then that I came to a realization.

‘I’m trapped.’

I could neither slow down nor turn back.

The path in front of me was blocked, and stopping would mean a certain death.

‘…They aren’t leaving me with any options at all.’

I tried my best to keep my mind calm, but it was difficult. The situation was out of control, and I needed to think of a quick solution, but regardless of how much I tried to think, my mind remained empty.

The only thought that crossed my mind was to brute force my way through, but was that even possible?

Could I do it…?

Clench.

‘I have no choice but to try.’

Bang—!

Twisting the heel of my foot, I narrowly avoided a Wraith that fell a few inches away from me.

Without looking back, I rushed for the entrance that was overflowing with Wraiths, and as I drew nearer to them, chains appeared over my left arm.

Clenching my hand into a fist, I kicked the ground with force and activated [Step of Supression].

“Uekh…!”

My mind felt as though it was being split in two the moment I activated the skill as over thirty Wraiths fell into the suppression zone.

Something trickled down my left nostril and my left eye twitched at the same time.

I was now just a few meters away from the Wraiths who had slowed down under the effect of my skill.

Swoosh!

But because of how diluted the effect of the skill was due to the sheer number of them, their movements were still considered to be fast.

Still, I could see their movements, and that was enough.

Clank!

Sparks flew as I raised my left hand and blocked an incoming attack.

“Kh!”

The force behind the attack almost sent me reeling to the side, but I kept my feet planted on the ground and just barely managed to stop myself from getting pushed.

“Haa…!”

I breathed a sigh of relief when I was able to keep myself upright and took a step forward.

All I could see were Wraiths as they filled my entire vision, but through a tiny gap, I could see the entrance of the tunnel.

It was so close…

Swoosh!

Ducking down, I thought about severing their ankles but held myself back. While severing their ankles was indeed a good way to get rid of them, that only applied when they were chasing me.

Right now, they were merely blocking my path, and while severing their ankles would stop them from lunging at me, it didn’t mean that they could do nothing to me.

They were still alive, and they could very well aim for my legs.

For that reason, I gritted my teeth and kept pushing forward.

“Akh!”

Despite my best attempts, I wasn’t able to stop myself from getting injured.

Pain engulfed my mind as something pierced my back.

I could feel the back of my shirt tear apart as my blood leaked down. That wasn’t the worst of it all as I received several heavy blows to my abdominal area, and to my face.

“Uekh!”

Groaning and screaming was a way for me to cope with the pain.

It helped alleviate a lot of the stress, and I kept pushing forward.

Bang!

Something metallic traced the tip of my tongue.

“Cough…!”

I tried my best to hold it within my mouth, but within a short moment, I had no choice but to spit everything out as the ground stained red.

Spurt!

My lungs burned with even more intensity.

I felt sick, and my vision was all blurred. The only thing I could see was the faint shadows of the Wraiths as they danced before my eyes.

‘Ah, fuck… This is bad.’

The situation was turning more and more dire.

I tried my best to keep myself from falling, but my body was slowly starting to give up on me.

Especially my mind.

….I was on the verge of losing it.

The toll that [Step of Supression] had on my mind was far too much for me.

It felt as though my mind was repeatedly getting bashed by a hammer over and over again, and I knew that I had to recall the skill.

But that would mark the end of me.

The only reason why I was still alive at that moment was because of my skill.

Without it, I knew that I’d already be dead by now. So… what do I do now? What do I do?!

Bang!

My body shook, and I heard something crack.

Thud!

I fell on one knee.

“Ah…!”

My heart pounded in desperation as I tried to get up, but it was no use. My knee refused to listen to me.

‘Shit!’

I looked up.

Empty sockets met my gaze.

The gravity that surrounded me returned to normal, and my mind cleared up a little.

And finally, I felt it.

Despair.

“Cough.”

At that moment, several hands covered my vision. They all appeared to head in my direction. Time seemed to move at a crawl as I stared at the approaching hands.

Despite everything that was happening to me, my mind refused to stop working.

I just observed everything that was happening before me until eventually, my face twitched.

In a moment of desperation, I lightly moved my foot forward, and the hands of the Wraith before me fell down.

Thump!

The gravity merely lasted for a split second, but it was enough to force the Wraith down. That’s when I understood something, and looked around me.

I was now surrounded by Wraiths.

They were all reaching out to kill me with their hands, and as I saw their hands reach out for me, I pulled myself up a little and stepped forward again.

Thump!

This time, I didn’t focus on any Wraith.

No, I focused on their hands.

Thump! Thump…!

They plopped down on the ground in one go.

“Hahaha…”

I bitterly laughed at the sight as something finally struck me.

‘…This is a little bit more difficult but more efficient.’

There was no need for me to focus on the Wraiths as a whole. All I needed to do was focus on their arms and hands.

Those were their main weapons and problems.

…Not their bodies as a whole.

In that case, what I needed to do was hinder their movements in a way that stopped them from attacking me.

Clench.

I didn’t waste a single second upon coming to that realization.

Looking around, I focused my attention on all the arms that were swinging at me.

Step.

Thump!

Their arms shot down to the ground in an instant.

“Kh…!”

My head throbbed the moment I activated the skill, but reverted back to normal right after I cancelled it.

“Cough, cough!”

Pushing myself up from the ground again, I stumbled forward.

Thump!

Each time a Wraith tried to attack, I’d activate [Step of Supression] to stop their hands which fell to the ground.

“Haa… Haa…”

Like that, I was able to get past several Wraiths, but I was still struggling.

My vision was blurred, and my body was starting to give up on me. I was merely hanging by a thread.

Still, I could see it.

I reached my hand forward.

Toward the entrance of the temple.

It was only a few inches away from me.

It was only…

“…!”

I felt something grasp my shoulder.

To my horror, it was a hand. I activated my skill, but it was no use. The mana inside of my body was completely drained.

“Ah…”

My stomach churned at the realization.

Especially when I was so close to the entrance.

Thump!

Another hand grasped my shoulder. Its long slender fingers pierced my skin as I gritted my teeth in pain.

Thump, thump!

Several hands reached out at the same time.

It wasn’t long before I was being held by over half a dozen hands.

“No, not yet…”

I still tried to push forward.

“Kh!”

With my teeth gritted, I tensed my legs and pushed myself forward.

Not yet…! I was so close.

So close!

“Akh!”

Through gritted teeth, I used every little bit of my energy to move free from the hands that seemed to want to pull me back. I reached forward with my hand, the tips of my fingers brushing against the entrance of the temple.

So close. So…!

“Akh!!!”

I screamed at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing loudly within the enclosure as I grabbed the hands that reached my shoulders and pulled them away.

“Huu..! Huu!”

In my desperation, I bit into several of the hands, a bitter and repulsive taste filling my mouth as I struggled to free myself. But it was as if fate itself was mocking me—more and more hands emerged from the shadows, their grip tightening, pulling me deeper into the nightmare.

Thump! Thump! Thump…!

They continued to pull me back.

Seemingly wanting to devour me.

“Ah! No, ah..!”

And then…

They did.

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