Shadows Over Arcadia Chapter 24: 24. Sacrifice

Read chapter 24 of Shadows Over Arcadia by Zacheas on NovelPedia.

24. Sacrifice I am Shadow, 9 arcs old. I am a metal golem imbued with a copy of Ren Drakemore’s soul, and I am a D-rank adventurer living in the city of Stonebrook. https://shadowsoverarcadia.com/api/storage/objects/uploads/51f2eb33-199c-4126-a5b5-1bea5c8fc16a The walls of the cave vibrate as a flood of partially metal-clad goblins pour down the tunnel from both ahead and behind us. For some reason, my threat detection enchantment didn’t pick up on them until they rounded the corners from adjacent tunnels, as if the walls had somehow blocked my perception. A solid mass of green flesh and crude metal armor rushes toward us, brandishing swords and spears. Their deafening, guttural roars merge with the clattering of feet on stone, creating an overwhelming cacophony that reverberates through the cavern. My mind races. Time slows. Fire? No. An inferno would burn away the oxygen in this enclosed space, suffocating Maribel, and I wouldn’t be able to control the flames well enough to avoid harming her. Earth? If I manipulated the tunnel walls, I’d risk a cave-in, trapping us or crushing any potential prisoners in the process. Water? I’d need an overwhelming surge to kill this many at once, and drowning Maribel in the process isn’t an option. That leaves barriers. I cast a pair of translucent barriers on both sides of Maribel and myself, sealing off the tunnel in both directions. Goblins at the front slam into the invisible wall, their snarls turning to confused shrieks as they claw and beat against it. The impact sends a heavy drain through my mana reserves, but it holds, for now. Maribel sheathes one of her daggers, pulling two small glass vials from her belt. Inside, dark purple liquid sloshes—the telltale color of her potent Nightshade venom. I watch as she holds them steady in her palm, her expression focused, her breathing measured. She closes her eyes for a fraction of a second, then pours unstable, malformed mana into the vials. What is she planning? The goblins continue to slam into my barrier, their sheer numbers pressing against it like a rising tide. The drain on my mana is significant. I need to act fast. The vials in Maribel’s hand glow an intense white, overcharged with unstable mana. “What are you—” I start, but before I can finish, she flicks her wrists, opening two small portals in front of her and dropping the vials inside. A fraction of a second later, the vials reappear outside my barriers, though I can’t see them beyond the wall of goblins. However, the radiant glow floods the tunnel, light seeping through the gaps between the goblins hacking at my barrier with their weapons. The glowing orbs descend rapidly, falling from the ceiling to about waist height before— BOOM! Twin explosions detonate on either side of us, bright flashes momentarily banishing the darkness. Then, silence—followed by a choking, gurgling sound. Maribel used an unstable spatial spell to misfire an explosion, vaporizing the Nightshade venom into the air, turning the tunnel into a death trap. She made the air outside my barrier poisonous. The goblins hesitate only briefly before their screams start. Roars of agony fill the tunnels as many collapse, choking and spitting up blood. Some double down, attacking the barrier with renewed desperation despite their failing bodies. For a moment, I consider waiting them out. My mana reserves are dwindling, but if they succumb to the poison first, I won’t need to fight at all. CRACK! My barrier shudders violently. More than it should against crude steel weapons. I track the source—spears. Unlike the rusted swords, these weapons strike harder, causing the barrier to ripple with each impact. The spearheads have a faint blue tint, the metal humming with a dim, unnatural glow. What are those made of? SHINK! A spear pierces straight through my barrier, driving clean through my chest. The impact doesn’t unbalance me, but the blade tears through my metal breastplate, embedding itself ten centimeters deep into my