Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 36.1: Desperate Battle

Chaos Order Outpost

04:31 a.m. 18th Banem 1092.

Whoosh!

Kashi winced and clutched his chest as he fell through the darkness. His body ached from the raging battle between the poisonous miasma and Yggdrassil's healing aura. The Tree of Life's potent healing aura rapidly broke down the toxins in the daeben's bloodstream, but for every poison it destroyed, several more poured in.

It took a few seconds, but Kashi eventually got used to the pain and pushed it to the back of his mind. The daeben turned his attention to the seemingly endless abyss, wondering just how deep it went. To answer this question, he shot an arrow and listened for the impact.

Several seconds passed without a sound. Kashi's brows furrowed as he realized he had severely underestimated the pit's depth. Finally, Kashi heard a low thud, which allowed him to gauge his distance from the landing. Kashi waited for a few seconds then stabbed his hand into the wall. Rock and dust scattered around the daeben as he forcefully slowed his descent.

Thud!

Eventually, Kashi's feet struck the solid ground, prompting a sigh of relief. The daeben's eyes pierced through the darkness as he left the wall and walked to the center.

However, Kashi had barely taken his first step when he was beset by a thunderous pressure. The hair on Kashi's skin shot upright. His heartbeat rapidly drummed so loud it could be heard several feet away. Kashi eyes widened in shock as he struggled against his body's instincts to flee for its life.

Kashi was stunned by his body's severe reaction. He had always put great stock in his instincts, and it seemed whatever was within this pit was scary enough for his body to want to flee. Ever since arriving in this world, this was the most severe reaction the daeben had experienced. Neither Rider nor Fladnag had induced such a response in him, leading the daeben to believe that this opponent was either on the same level or maybe even stronger than both men.

However, curiously, although Kashi's instincts were firing non-stop warnings, he never got the sense that the being in there was unbeatable. It was a contradictory feeling. Something he could not rationally explain. But somehow, he felt like the enemy was certainly beatable. It was just that the enemy was much more dangerous than anything he had faced so far.

A wide grin spread on Kashi's face as he clenched and unclenched his right hand. Finally, it seemed a true fight was coming his way. The marilith had been tough, but he had to give himself several handicaps to make the battle interesting. The battle against the army was also fierce, but it had mostly been a case of 'one punch to end an enemy.'

Kashi had not had a good, satisfying mano-o-mano punch up in a long time. It appeared that this being would finally squeeze out all his latent potential. This was precisely the kind of challenge he needed to prepare for the big, upcoming battle.

Kashi forcefully calmed his nerves then walked into the darkness. Moments later, he arrived at a structure that left the daeben wide-eyed in shock. "What the hell?"