Chapter 174: Deep Maw

Chapter 174: 174: Deep Maw

The puffer rabbit curled tighter in Cedric’s arms. Its ears flattened against its head, and its small body shook as if the old man’s voice had turned into cold fingers around its neck.

Cedric stepped back. "That trace is locked on Puff."

Lucard looked at the silver line. "Then break it."

"I am trying."

Cedric placed two fingers on Puff’s forehead. Blue crystal mana spread over the rabbit’s fur, forming a thin shell around its body. For a moment, the silver line weakened. Then the cave wall hummed again, and the line pierced straight through the crystal shell as if it were only mist.

Cedric’s face darkened.

The old man’s voice came again through the stone. "Good rabbit. Good plan. Bad luck."

Elowen’s face turned pale. "He is already close."

Lucard did not answer.

He raised his hand, and blood threads spread across the cave wall. Blood Spell Formation opened in three rings. The rings locked around the silver line and pulled, trying to cut the spell from the stone. Bloodfire Lv2 burned along the rings, dark red and quiet.

The silver line bent.

Then it snapped back.

Lucard’s blood circle cracked.

A force came through the trace and struck his palm. It was not a full attack, only a warning touch, but it pushed him back one step. His fingers trembled once before becoming still again.

Cedric saw it.

"You could not break it?"

Lucard looked at the wall. "Not from here."

Cedric’s expression became worse. "That is not a comforting answer."

"You wanted comfort from a stolen spring?"

Cedric gave a short laugh without joy. "Fair."

The cave shook.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Elowen looked up quickly. "Is it collapsing?"

"Not yet," Lucard said.

That did not make her feel better.

Outside, stone cracked with a slow, heavy sound. The old man was not walking like a normal pursuer. He was moving through the mountain’s own veins, using earth and water to shorten the distance. Every few breaths, the silver line grew colder. The cave air became heavier. The vials of Deepwell water in Lucard and Cedric’s possession glowed faintly, as if answering their true owner.

Cedric looked at his vial, then at Lucard. "We could return it."

Lucard looked at him.

Cedric smiled faintly. "I said could. I did not say should."

"If you return yours, I still keep mine."

"I expected that."

"And if I return mine, you keep yours."

"I hoped you would not notice."

Elowen stared at them. "This is not the time."

Both men ignored her because she was right.

Lucard opened his palm. A blood circle formed in the air, larger than before. It spun slowly, drawing lines from his own blood and the mana around the cave. Cedric lifted his wand and formed a blue crystal pattern beside it. For one moment, their powers stood side by side without fighting each other.

Cedric said, "If we cannot break the trace, we can block the next attack."

"For a few breaths."

"That may be enough to run."

The silver line pulsed.

The old man struck.

The cave entrance exploded inward.

Not fully. Not yet. A spear of clear water pierced through the stone and shot toward Puff. It moved faster than a normal arrow and carried enough pressure to punch through armor. Cedric raised a crystal wall in front of the rabbit. Lucard placed a bloodfire circle behind it.

The water spear hit the crystal wall.

The wall shattered instantly.

The broken crystal slowed the spear by one breath. Lucard’s bloodfire burned the mana inside the water and turned part of it into steam. The remaining force struck the blood circle and tore through the outer ring before losing shape.

Water splashed across the cave floor.

Every drop froze into clear beads.

Elowen stepped back until her shoulders hit the cave wall.

Cedric looked at the broken crystal dust near his feet. "That was casual."

"Yes," Lucard said.

"He attacked casually."

"Yes."

"I hate old monsters."

"You will become one if you live long enough."

"I prefer becoming one without being killed by one first."

The cave shook again.

The old man’s voice came from outside now, not only through the stone.

"Little thieves, you are not bad. But children should know when to lower their heads."

Lucard looked toward the broken entrance. "Old men should know when not to place treasure where rabbits can reach."

There was silence.

Then the old man laughed.

The laugh was not loud, but it made the stone under their feet tremble.

Cedric whispered, "Why did you provoke him?"

"To see if his temper is slower than his spell."

"And?"

"It is."

"That is useful?"

"It means he enjoys this."

Cedric’s face tightened. "That is worse."

The old man raised his hand outside.

The cave ceiling cracked.

Lucard and Cedric moved at the same time. Lucard caught Elowen by the cloak and pulled her away from the wall. Cedric shoved Puff inside his coat and jumped toward the side passage. A huge stone slab fell where Elowen had been standing. Dust filled the cave.

Lucard formed a blood thread around Elowen’s waist and dragged her after him. She stumbled but did not scream. Fear had made her pale, but she kept her teeth locked together.

They rushed into the side passage.

Cedric ran ahead, his wand lighting the narrow path with blue light. "This way!"

"You know this cave?" Lucard asked.

"No. I dislike the other way more."

"Acceptable."

Behind them, the old man did not chase immediately. That was the only reason they were still alive. He was too strong to rush like a young mage. He wanted to press them, test them, and take back what was his without damaging the water. That gave them a small opening.

A very small one.

The passage twisted downward, then split into two narrow cracks. Cedric chose the left. Lucard pulled him back before he entered.

"Right."

Cedric frowned. "Why?"

"Airflow."

Cedric listened. "I hear nothing."

"That is why you are not leading."

Lucard entered the right crack first. Elowen followed behind him, and Cedric came last. The passage was so narrow that Puff’s small body pressed against Cedric’s coat. The rabbit made an angry sound, but Cedric covered it with one hand.

The old man’s mana touched the stone behind them.

The left passage collapsed.

Cedric’s mouth twitched. "Right was good."

"Speak less."

They crawled through the crack and came out under a slope of roots and stones. Open air struck their faces. They had reached the other side of the ridge, but not safety. Behind them, the mountain continued to groan.

Elowen looked around quickly. "Where are we?"

Lucard opened the old map with one hand while keeping his senses on the ground. The place around them was marked by thick black lines and warning symbols. The trees ahead were taller, darker, and closer together than the forests they had crossed before.

Cedric looked at the same marks and went very still.

"No," he said.

Lucard looked at him. "You know this place."

Cedric’s voice lost its usual amusement. "That is the Deep Maw Forest."

Elowen’s face changed. "The deepest beast region?"

Cedric nodded slowly. "The outer Maw Range is dangerous. The deep forest is worse. Even Sixth Circle mages can die if they go too far inside. My family records say there are beasts in there that do not care about noble blood, duke seals, or rank. There are old things. Sleeping things. Things that hunt by smell, sound, mana, and fear."

Lucard looked toward the forest.

The trees were dark green, almost black. Mist moved between their trunks even though there was no rain. From somewhere far inside came a low roar. It was so deep that Elowen felt it in her bones before she heard it with her ears.

She whispered, "We cannot go in there."

Behind them, the ridge split open.

The old man stepped through the broken stone.

He looked calm. His gray robe had no dust on it. His white beard moved lightly in the wind. One hand was behind his back. The other held the silver trace spell that still pointed toward Puff.

His eyes moved from Lucard to Cedric, then to Elowen. Finally, he looked toward the dark forest.

"Oh," he said. "You ran to a troublesome place."

Cedric’s face tightened. "That was not our first choice."

The old man smiled faintly. "It never is."

Lucard held his vial in one hand. Cedric held his under his coat. The trace still pointed toward Puff, but the old man’s eyes had already understood everything. The rabbit stole the deep water. These two young men helped it. The girl was a witness and perhaps baggage.

The old man stretched out his hand.

"Return the water and the rabbit. I may let the girl leave."

Elowen’s heart tightened.

Cedric’s hand moved slightly toward his wand.

Lucard asked, "And us?"

The old man smiled wider. "You two are too interesting to release so cheaply."

Cedric whispered, "That means no."

Lucard said, "I know."

The old man moved his fingers.

Water rose from the ground around them in four thin streams, forming a cage before they could blink. Cedric raised crystal walls. Lucard released bloodfire. The powers struck the water cage together.

The cage held.

Cedric’s eyes widened. "That water is from Deepwell."

"He controls the surface water," Lucard said.

"And we stole the deep part."

"Not enough to make him helpless."

The cage tightened.

Elowen cried out when the water touched her cloak and froze the edge stiff. Lucard cut the frozen cloth away with a blood thread and pulled her closer. Cedric placed Puff under one arm, then struck the cage with a sharp crystal lance. The lance cracked the water but did not break it.

Lucard sent bloodfire into the same crack.

For one breath, the cage opened.

"Run," Lucard said.

They ran toward the Deep Maw Forest.

The old man’s eyes sharpened. He lifted his hand again, but at that moment another roar came from inside the forest. The mist between the trees moved outward like breath from a sleeping giant. The old man paused.

Only for one breath.

But one breath was enough.

Lucard, Elowen, Cedric, and Puff crossed the first line of black trees.

The air changed instantly.

The old man’s trace spell flickered.

Cedric looked back while running. "The forest interferes with tracking."

"Good," Lucard said.

"Good? This forest kills people like us."

"Then it may slow him too."

Elowen almost tripped on a root. Lucard caught her arm without looking and dragged her forward. She gasped from pain in her injured shoulder, but she kept running.

Behind them, the old man stood at the edge of the forest.

For the first time, he did not look amused.

He looked thoughtful.

The silver trace in his hand pointed into the trees, then bent, twisted, and split into three directions before fading. The deep forest swallowed the spell like mud swallowing rain.

The old man looked at the dark trees.

Then he laughed softly.

"Interesting children."

He did not enter immediately.

Inside the forest, Lucard felt eyes open around them.

Not human eyes.

Many of them.

Cedric slowed, breathing hard. "We need to keep moving. The edge is bad, but the center is death."

Lucard looked deeper into the forest.

A huge shadow moved between distant trees.

Elowen’s voice came out small. "What was that?"

Cedric did not answer.

Puff hid fully inside his coat.

Lucard’s blood stirred with danger and interest.

The old man waited behind them.

The deep forest waited ahead.

Lucard tightened his grip on the vial of pure water and smiled faintly.

"Now," he said, "we see which monster reaches us first."