Lockeroom's Pandemonium

Chapter thirty nine: Into the portal of Artemis

Alina swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Her body was laid flat in the ground, below the high stems of the Artemisa flowers.

Her heart was pounding hard. She was nervous of what will soon happen.

She look behind her. There, she saw Jiero.

The child nodded at her. With that, they started crawling—slow, sure, and quiet.

Alina's stare was fixed at the beast. The moonwraith.

It was constantly sniffing, finding patterns, yet still unsure if there were players that accidentally discovered this realm.

Alina can't stop herself not to look at the horrible look of the heads that was crowned at the top of the beast.

She believed it was the players whom it had killed. She believed that if ever they were discovered, and that they fail to enter the realm, they would be the next heads that would be displayed at the beast’s head.

“Okay,” she whispered.

Their crawls were successful. They miraculously crawled without the beast seeing them.

She again looked at Jiero. Then, she whispered, “Standby.”

They waited silently.

They were near at the centipede's body. The beast was long, for there are hundreds of arms and legs that was attached through them.

The reason why they were nearing the Moonwraith’s body, was because in the middle of it, the portal towards the next level of dungeon, could be found.

Jiero was holding his trident spear. He was prepared. He was just waiting at the right timing, at the right moment. Soon as he the signal has been ignited, he would use his own weapon.

He then secretly hopes that somehow, this plan would work.

Now Alina was staring above the Moonwraith's body. The human arms and legs it was using to crawl, was slowly moving, slowly stepping.

She wanted to puke as well, for the smell of a decaying body has been lingering into her nose. Drips of sticky and frothing blood was falling into the Artemisas, worms are wriggling and enjoying the delight of the decaying flesh.

It was gross. But she have to endure it—or else, they would suffer just like the heads that was at the Moonwraith's body.

She then looked at the bright lit of the moon. It was big and rounded. The Silver light that it produces are making the whole field to glow and became bright.

Then, something peculiar happened.

A cloud—pink in its color, Alina was certain—started to form just in the center of the moonlit.

Then, the whole place became filled with a sudden flash of light. It was brighter than the moon. Sooner, the Moonwraith started to cry.

Its head was smoking, as if it was hit by something. By a lightning. By the flash of the ligt that came from the formed clouds.

Then, she realized. “The signal.”

She immediately looked at Jiero. “Quick!”

She then stood up, dashed towards the centipede's body, and started to climb.

Jiero, on the other hand, casted a skill: “Ramiel's wrath!”

Another set of thunder bursted in the sky, and started to hit the head of the Moonwraith.

Then, As Alina was climbing, she heard a voice. It was coarse and low. As she look at the Moonwraith's body where she was climbing, a man's face was looking at her.

She screamed hard, frightened.

Seeing a man's face appearing at the centipede's body, right between the decaying human legs and arms, was more scary than how she could imagine it.

Alina recognized it as one of the heads that serves as the crown of the beast. She was certain of it.

Then, the mouth started to beam light. Just as Alina realized what is going to happen, she immediately pulled herself upwards, towards where the face of the man couldn't see her.

She witnessed how the light from the man's body started to beam and bursted through the sky.

Another face started to appear in her front. She quickly moved and climbed until she could reach the top of the Moonwraith's body.

“Jiero!” she screamed. She waved her hand to signal that he can now jump and stop from distracting the Moonwraith.

The Moonwraith then, moved its body. It stomped its one hundred human legs and arms, making Alina fell outbalanced. Good thing, she managed to hold tight.

Opposite her, she then saw Yohanna who just finished climbing the giant beasts' body. They both nodded to each other, and started to run in the center. There, they can see a small size of a bright light.

They have to stretch it so that they could open the portal.

However, as they run, two heads started to appear in each of Alina and Yohanna. Its mouth was glowing in white, ready to assault both of them.

Alina dodged the incoming burst attack by rolling in the ground. The Airbow started to materialize in her hand as she casted and summoned it.

She pulled and release the string directly at the head. As the pressure of the air hit, the head bursted into pieces of flesh. Had she not moved immediately, she might have been attacked by the bursting light it was trying to make.

She then saw Yohanna finishing the head that tried to kill her.

Their gazes met each other again, then started to move towards the portal.

“Let’s pull it in opposite direction,” Alina said.

“O-Okay. Let's do it fast,” said Yohanna who was now pale and nervous.

“Relax. We can do this.” She quickly patted Yohanna's shoulder, and sat down to start doing their job.

“I—I know,” said Yohanna. “It's just that . . . it was hard to believe you were relying to me by doing this.” She then started pulling the light along with Alina.

“We can't do anything but to rely to each other, Yohanna. That's what the best we can do right now,” Alina said.

The light that they are pulling, trying to expand, was actually a metallic gate attached to the Moonwraith's body.

The source of the light was the real portal that they need to dive into, so that they could escape the wrath of the Moonwraith.

“Now, pull harder,” said Alina. They both did their best to pull it, to expand it, to open it—a total execution of a girl's power.

A threat was waiting to them, however.

Another head started to appear at each of their side. Their mouth started to gather light that would make them dead if ever it would touch and explode through them.

They have to escape. They have to dodge the coming burst from the heads’ attack.

But there is one extreme caution that Alina told to each of them, just before they started to execute their plans.

“As soon as we stop pulling the light, it will close within ten seconds. That is why, we have to be there just before the ten second could ran out. If we miss that chance, the portal would close and would be opened into other part of the Moonwraith’s body. By the time we figure it where, we would be already dead. That is why we only had one chance.”

If they dodge, if they move from their pulling, Silver and Jiero wouldn't make it to the portal.

Jiero was busy opening his skills to hit the head of the Moonwraith. Silver too, was busy slashing and severing the legs and arms of the beast, so that it won't be able to move.

“Jiero! Silver!” Alina shouted.

And they heard.

Before the heads could release their power, before they could torn Alina and Yohanna's bodies, Silver and Jiero saved their lives.

A thunder flashed at Yohanna's side, burning the head into nothingness, while a whip had divided the head that was supposed to kill Alina.

“Are you alright?” Silver asked with hint of concern and worry.

“Yeah. And we're more alright if we start to enter the portal,” said Alina.

“P—Please. This one's heavy,” Yohanna complained.

“Then let's go.” Alina and Yohanna immediately stopped pulling the portal then dove towards the light. Jiero and Silver soon followed.

It was a triumphant move. They were the first group who managed to surpass the immortal, cruel beast.

They hadn’t noticed, but there were three pairs of eyes that was watching them in the realm. Two of it were unknown of identity, smiling. But sure, they are the players that Silver and the group saw before they were dragged in this realm.

The other one is the Dark clown. He was smiling too as he hid in a certain place, looking at the other players who saw the thrilling actions that the group of Silver had done.

“This is starting to become more interesting, isn't it?” the dark clown told.

“Indeed.” From the earphone that was attached on his ears, someone answered his question.

“I've got a feeling, this will be the best season of this game, boss.” With a smile, he then disappeared at the realm. The shadow ate him as he laugh—in the tone of horror.