A dense torrent of bullets poured into Vilemaw.
Its enormous body had no time to evade.
Under the fierce burning of the sacred light, its hard carapace gave off a foul, scorched stench, and its shrill screams did nothing to hide its agony.
More and more bullets hammered into the giant spider’s body.
Even its incredibly resilient shell couldn’t withstand such a relentless barrage.
The instant the storm of gunfire ended, Vilemaw finally reached its limit.
It let out a miserable shriek and lost its grip on the cavern wall, plummeting downward.
The massive creature crashed to the ground with a deafening boom.
A sharp stone spike pierced straight through Vilemaw’s body, and green fluid poured from the wound, corroding the surrounding ground.
Its eight legs thrashed wildly, shaking the entire cavern so violently that it seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
“You actually dared to…”
Elise’s face went pale with rage.
A mass of webbing instantly wrapped around Lucian before he could dodge, and a small spider swollen with venom rapidly crawled toward him as he lay on the ground.
Elise’s body twisted and transformed once more into a massive spider.
Together with two spiderlings, she leapt into the air and descended upon Lucian.
The situation was critical.
Levi didn’t have time to think.
He rushed forward, scooped Lucian off the ground, and ran.
He had arrived just in time to avoid the center of the explosion, but the blast still caught them.
“Exhaust!”
The spider’s explosion sent both of them flying.
Elise landed and immediately lunged toward them, but pale yellow light suddenly enveloped her body.
Her movements became sluggish, and she felt her strength rapidly draining away.
A trace of panic flashed through her scarlet eyes.
“Cocoon!”
Levi used the same trick again, binding Elise in webbing.
Then he fired Piercing Light straight at her head.
Elise screamed miserably as a searing, bone-deep pain tore through her skull.
“Ghost!”
A faint blue glow surrounded Levi’s body.
He hoisted Lucian over his shoulder and sprinted away at tremendous speed while chunks of stone and clouds of dust rained down behind them.
The moment he escaped the cave entrance, the entire cavern collapsed.
The tremendous shockwave knocked Levi off his feet, and Lucian crashed heavily to the ground beside him.
Levi looked back at the collapsed cave with lingering fear.
If he hadn’t activated Ghost when he did, they probably would have been buried underneath it.
“We should be safe now.”
Using all his strength, Levi tore away the webbing binding Lucian.
He finally let out a long breath of relief.
“I’m afraid not.”
Lucian’s weak voice immediately shattered that relief.
His complexion looked terrible.
The fabric around his arm had been torn open, revealing two horrifying puncture wounds that were oozing black blood.
His entire arm had swollen badly, and even his naturally dark skin had turned an alarming shade of blackish purple.
“Spider venom? When did that happen?”
Levi’s expression instantly became serious.
“When I was trapped in the web, one of those venomous spiders bit me.”
Lucian’s bloodless lips trembled.
Even forcing himself upright was difficult, and his body swayed unsteadily.
He leaned against a dead tree before slowly lowering himself to the ground.
“What do we do? Should I suck the poison out?”
Levi had never dealt with anything like this in his life.
Completely at a loss, the only solution he could think of was something he’d seen on television.
“Are you kidding? You’d probably die from the poison before I did. Help me tie this beneath my armpit.”
Lucian tore a strip of cloth from his clothing and handed it to Levi.
Understanding immediately, Levi wrapped the strip tightly around Lucian’s upper arm and secured it as firmly as possible.
“This should slow the spread of the venom, but I probably don’t have much time.”
Lucian’s breathing had already become labored.
The poison was clearly beginning to affect his nervous system.
“How do I save you?” Levi asked urgently.
He absolutely did not want Lucian dying in front of him.
It was obvious that Lucian hadn’t rescued Senna yet.
He couldn’t die here because of Levi and become just another among the countless spirits haunting the Shadow Isles.
“I’m afraid this is where I die. I still haven’t avenged Senna.”
Lucian struggled to speak, his eyes filled with unwillingness and regret.
Tears actually shimmered in them.
A man who could face countless undead without flinching was now shedding tears because he couldn’t accept dying before accomplishing his goal.
“You can still be reunited with Senna. She’s only imprisoned inside Thresh’s lantern.”
Levi looked at him and spoke quietly.
Lucian stared at him in disbelief.
He could hardly believe what he had just heard, but Levi had unmistakably spoken the name of the wraith he had spent his life hating.
Thresh.
“Stay alive. For Senna.”
“Heal.”
Green light flashed.
Some color returned to Lucian’s face, and he gradually fell into a deep sleep.
Levi knew the spell could only delay the inevitable.
His Summoner Spells could currently be used only once per day, and he had no idea how to reduce their cooldown yet.
For now, all he could do was deal with things one step at a time.
Levi lifted Lucian onto his back and headed deeper into the forest.
Trying to escape the Shadow Isles and seek help elsewhere was nothing more than a fantasy.
Since there was no hope of survival by heading outward, his only option was to search deeper within the islands.
If he wanted to survive in this land of death, he would have to find one of the few living beings that still remained here.
A burst of sacred light flashed, burning several wraiths into nothingness.
Levi hadn’t encountered any particularly powerful undead along the way.
Thanks to the natural advantage sacred light held over the undead, he had somehow managed to make it this far.
But if things continued like this, he would probably die before he ever found the person he was searching for.
Lucian’s condition was terrible.
If he couldn’t receive treatment soon, this world might permanently lose two champions.
As Levi gradually entered the deepest part of the forest, the surrounding darkness made him increasingly uneasy.
If it weren’t for the gentle glow emitted by Lucian’s relic weapons, Levi doubted he would have been able to keep going this long.
Night had already fallen.
Only a single day had passed since Levi arrived in this world, yet so much had already happened that the formerly carefree young man felt completely overwhelmed.
Both his body and mind were exhausted.
He desperately wanted to stop and rest, but if he rested here, there was a very real chance he would never wake up again.
“Awooo!”
A chorus of howls suddenly echoed through the forest.
More and more wraiths began surging toward him.
Cold sweat trickled down Levi’s forehead.
There were far too many.
With only the two offensive abilities he currently possessed, there was no way he could fight them all head-on.
“Piercing Light!”
A dazzling beam of sacred light pierced through several spirits at once.
Levi fought while retreating, desperately waiting for the ability to come off cooldown.
Elise’s Cocoon couldn’t cause any meaningful damage to these incorporeal undead.
Right now, the only ability he could truly rely on was Piercing Light.
After killing dozens of undead in succession, Levi felt as though every ounce of strength had been drained from his body.
He was carrying a full-grown man on his back on top of everything else.
The fact that he had lasted this long was already proof of just how desperately he was clinging to life.
Then an icy presence appeared behind him.
Levi could feel an extraordinarily powerful undead creature slowly approaching.
There was no doubt about it.
This was the strongest wraith he had encountered since arriving in this world.
A freezing wind swept past him.
Fast.
Extremely fast.
Levi felt the undead creature suddenly charge straight toward him.
With a bitter smile, Levi turned around and prepared himself for whatever was about to come.