I stared outside, taking a deep breath as I tried to plan our path from here to the heart. With the detailed map that Ember passed to me, I was able to create a path that safely leads to the heart area.
“Fang, let’s run. Keep battles to a minimum.” 𝐞𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥．𝗰𝐨𝗺
Now that Queen Thalia is not around, Fang and I can run at our top speed without restraints. We can’t waste our energy against these almost immortal parasites, the Dragon King’s defense mechanism, so we can only try and outrun them.
“Yes, Leader! I’ll cover your back!”
Fang nodded her head, a fire burning within her eyes. After all, it was a rare moment where I would literally require her to cover my blind spots. I couldn’t help but smile and pat her head, despite the situation we were in. Fang seemed to enjoy it too, as her tail wagged wildly despite the tight space we were stuck in.
“Okay, I’ll brief you on the path we’ll take first, in case we get separated.”
Although I doubt we could get separated in this limited space, knowing is still better than not knowing. I slowly explained the path, where we head back to the path before and turn right, towards the bends of the intestines. From there, we would need to descend several levels until we reached the stomach. From there, we can follow the esophagus upwards, through the diaphragm, and reach the heart.
It was a simple path, but adding the variable called parasites makes things a bit more complex. If we get surrounded by them in a place where there’s no escape, then we’re definitely doomed.
“Did you get all that?”
I asked Fang to confirm one last time, and she nodded her head firmly. I responded similarly, nodding to her.
“Then prepare now. We’ll be rushing out at the same time in five seconds.”
I quickly turned my Lifeblood to the lowest setting, letting my physical strength increase by a small margin. Fang, similar to me, activated her buff skill and readied herself to charge forward.
“… 3, 2, 1, GO!”
At my signal, both of us jumped forward.
As soon as we got out of the ulcer-like hole, the parasites moved simultaneously to smother us without pause. We were literally a meter out of the hole, still in the air, and the parasites were already like a wall covering our path from all sides.
*SHIIING!* *SLASH!*
At the same time that I waved my sword, clearing a path forward, Fang waved her claws and cleared out the parasites coming from above. In an instant, a clean path was opened for us.
“Fang!”
I shouted her name, prompting her to reach out a hand. As soon as our fingers touched, I activated Shadow Movement and forcefully dove into the shadow. A mind-boggling pain unimaginable for any living being washed over my nerves, but before we were forced out of the shadows, I moved forward for a few steps, making sure that we were a good distance away from our initial spot.
When the Dragon King’s life force bounced us out of the shadow dimension, I quickly gritted my teeth, pushing down the blood rushing up my throat.
Fang was similarly weakened after entering the shadow dimension with me forcefully. She was bleeding in her eyes and nose, but she quickly wiped it away with her arms. Her gaze was telling me that she was fine, so I turned forward and watched the path ahead.
Since the parasites were gathered behind us, the road ahead was clear. Without halting our steps, Fang and I ran from zero to top speed instantly. In just a second, we reached the bend where we had turned earlier as Ember guided us.
Instead of going left, returning to the path we took before, we turned right, straight into seemingly endless darkness. Fang’s fingers were slightly shivering, seemingly scared of the darkness we were headed for… But our drop didn’t last that long.
With a thud, we landed on a flat piece of meat in a blackish-reddish-brown organ. From Ember’s map earlier, this was apparently the liver. From above, it looked as black as the deepest darkness, but now that we are standing on top of it, we can clearly see the reddishness of its surface.
We didn’t have time to stand still and wonder why the internal organs of this dragon seemed out of place as the parasites were still actively chasing after us.
Before the parasites could even come into our visible range, I pulled Fang back to her feet as we rushed forward once more. From there, we turned 180 degrees and ran straight. Hopefully, Ember’s map was accurate; otherwise, I have no idea where we would end up with everything around us looking almost the same.
“Over there!”
Fang shouted as we were running, pointing downward to a large organ that was blocking almost half of our view. It was a little lighter in color compared to the liver, which immediately made me think that it was the stomach we were aiming for.
However, even though we can see it, the gap between our location and the stomach was too wide to cover in a single jump. Furthermore, there were parasites crawling all over the place, making it impossible to reach it in one leap. We can only follow the path I calculated earlier to make sure of our safety.
As we ran, we soon reached another strand of intestines. From there, we ran straight ahead without any deviance and reached the stomach a few seconds later. However, the parasites that took a shortcut were already within range and ready to attack us at any moment.
“Fang, go up!”
We can’t climb up without someone covering our rear. Fang wanted to rebut, but I just glared at her and shook my head, making her cower a little.
Even if Fang’s power had increased, she was still at the 5th stage. Her power can’t compare to mine anymore, which was already bordering the 6th stage, almost reaching the 7th.
Probably realizing what I meant, she gritted her teeth and rushed up, using her claws to grab onto the outer part of the esophagus as she climbed up toward the lungs. Halfway up, I also started following her. However, it would be hard to push back the parasites while climbing up. Having no other choice, I used my clone as a decoy to hold the rear.
A problem, however, was that due to the natural energy of the Dragon King, the shadow wasn’t stable enough. The clone I formed was unable to reach even 10% of its maximum potential. It’s literally just a scarecrow right now.
‘The clone wouldn’t last that long!’
I quickly calculated and realized that the parasites would be able to catch me halfway up. That is bad news, of course.
Having no choice, I increased the ratio of Lifeblood’s circulation speed, doubling the output. It was slightly painful, with my internal injuries taken into consideration, but not unbearable. With my physical strength doubled again, I literally ran up the diagonal esophagus, careful not to miss a step, and quickly caught up to Fang, who had just reached the spot where the diaphragm and the esophagus meet.
“Leader, it’s sealed!”
Fang shouted as soon as I approached, worry coloring her face. After all, behind us, the parasites were fast approaching. The clone I left was already done in, unable to last even a few seconds against them.
“Move back!”
I shouted to Fang as I waved my sword forward. As soon as the tip of the sword met the diaphragm’s muscle tissues, I poured as much energy as I could into it and twisted the handle.
Like a drill, the energy was released in a spiral and dug its way through the wall of muscles. The hole opened was big enough for a person to squeeze through, but not too large for us to fit in it at the same time.
“Go!”
I commanded Fang as soon as the wound was made. Fang rushed ahead, squeezing through while ignoring the bloody mess that painted her from head to toe. Shortly after, when I regained my stance, I moved up and squeezed through the hole, similar to Fang.
Just as I passed through and was about to feel relieved that we were close to the heart, I saw Fang’s tail bristle and stand up in intimidation. Looking ahead, even I was flabbergasted.
“What the…”
All around us are not only the white parasites, but there’s even this new red parasite with them. The red one was larger, about as large as a house, and exuded energy levels high enough to reach the 8th, if not the 9th level.
It was intimidating enough to meet one of those, but there were literally walls of them all around us. I turned to the hole we made earlier, and the white parasites that were chasing us were already there, squeezing through and reaching our backs.
“And we’re this close too!”
I cursed as I waved my sword, cutting one white parasite after another. Fang did the same, clawing her way out of a wave of white parasites that were rushing from all directions.
The situation… Is almost hopeless!