Infinite Classes in the Apocalypse

Chapter 97: Out of Options

"What’s... going on?" Nyla’s voice was nothing more than a whisper.

Her head rose away from Damon’s chest, only realising she was lying on him when she saw his head right in front of him. But instead of her usual moment of fluster at seeing him this up close, she found comfort in having him so close.

Her head dropped slowly back to his chest, her arms grabbing tighter around him.

’She’s probably scared,’ Damon thought, which was a fair assumption, as who wouldn’t be in this situation? If it wasn’t for his unique ability, Domain of Darkness, they probably would’ve been dead by now.

The worst thing was the lack of direction, no apparent way to win over this thing. Their best bet, the bright orb at the bottom, or rather, the top of the tree, was their only option.

"We’ll rest here for a bit, then we’ll go back out there."

As Nyla’s head rose away from his chest for the second time, Damon noticed a mix of emotions flash across her face.

He could tell she didn’t want to go back out there, despite her disorientation, she was smart enough to understand when the threat was too serious for her to handle, just like now.

"Don’t worry, I’ll break the spell."

A flicker of surprise flashed across her face.

Of course, Damon had no idea if destroying the orb that he had seen would break the spell. He didn’t even know if he could break it in the first place, but he had a faint suspicion that if the girl’s mental state had gotten any worse, the spell might truly kill her.

Nyla’s expression brightened up upon hearing those words. A sudden hope flared up in her brown eyes, confidence in the capabilities of her trusted leader.

She slowly began to shift, rising up beside him, her grip on his almost breaking before he suddenly snatched her hand, making her heart flutter for a moment.

"Don’t. To stay here, we need to keep physical touch."

"Oh... I see..." she mumbled in response, feeling her cheeks turning warmer.

Damon rose beside her, keeping his grip on her hand the entire time.

For a short, silent moment, they simply stood there, Damon holding her hand until she suddenly spoke.

"Why don’t we sit somewhere?"

It was a suggestion that came from the quiet awkwardness rather than something well thought out, as when they looked around, there were no seats other than the throne at the far back of the chamber.

"Sure," Damon replied before moving toward the throne.

But as they reached the small podium at which the throne sat, they came to a second silent pause.

"Go ahead, I don’t mind standing," Damon said, but the girl quickly rejected.

"No, no-"

Damon couldn’t be bothered to deal with a pointless argument, especially since they were both exhausted, starved, and basically dying of thirst.

He sat on the throne first before pulling Nyla toward him. The girl’s cheeks turned completely red as she landed on his lap.

"We both need rest."

Although his explanation made perfect sense, to Nyla, he may as well have been speaking a different language, as she didn’t understand a word he said, her mind spiralling and her heart hammering against her ribs.

Damon allowed himself to lean back in the seat, resting his head against the hard surface. Nyla sat stiffly at first, but as minutes passed, she found more confidence to move, and soon enough, she wiggled her way closer toward him, leaning completely back on his chest.

Unfortunately for her, she would not enjoy the comfort of being so close to Damon, as once he got enough rest, it was time to move.

"It’s time to go."

"Oh... Okay," she replied as she slowly rose to her feet.

Then, Damon simply let go of her hand. The girl disappeared in an instant, he watched her vanish before he followed after her by using his ability.

Returning to the rift was unpleasant... to say the least. Nyla’s arms trembled at her sides, already expecting the worst while Damon moved without wasting a second.

"Stay there, keep your mind focused on where you are!"

The second he finished his instruction to her, he leapt off the edge of the plateau and dove deep into the water. He followed the exact same path he used earlier, moving toward the crack in the bark just when his lungs began to burn from the lack of oxygen.

’This is it,’ he thought.

Assuming there would be more pockets of air below was wishful thinking, and Damon knew better than to believe in miracles.

He took a couple of deep breaths, soothing his lungs and filling them with oxygen as much as he could before leaving the safety of the hollow spot in the bark and descending further down.

The enormous silver-purple upside-down tree top looked eerily beautiful across the bottom of the dark sea.

The luminescence it cast against the dark water was otherworldly enough to make breaths catch, if they already weren’t, since it was underwater after all.

Only once Damon descended low enough to reach the tree’s branches did he stop diving. There were no openings in the tree bark, which he already expected, and so he had no option but to summon his blade and force his way through.

He plunged his blade strongly into the bark, the tip of his sword reaching a couple of centimetres deep before coming to a halt. Thrusting a blade underwater made his strike significantly weaker, but as he continued to thrust it again and again, he began to chip big chunks of wood away.

But before he could reach the orb he had seen earlier, he suddenly froze.

His eyes widened in terror as he felt a presence appear behind him.

He moved on instinct, pushing his body away as fast as he could and barely in time before a massive fish-like monster crashed against the tree bark where he had been a second ago, sending a terrifying wave across the water around him.