The Inner Odyssey-Chapter 189: Endless

Celeste had come across her fair share of Defiled ever since she had awakened, but even then, the current sight before her left her stunned. Her gaze trembled, her mind struggling to come to grips with her latest reality.

Reflected in her jewel eyes, a stream of insect-like abominations hummed angrily, their collective cry almost akin to a low, dreadful hiss.

Their small, elongated bodies were a blur, fading in and out her vision. Through her enhanced sight, however, Celeste spied flashes of beady eyes, twitching antennae, and a pale-green exoskeleton complemented with thin, slender legs.

Suddenly, Celeste shuddered, sensing an innumerable number of gazes feasting hungrily on her figure, itching to devour it whole.

"Snap out of it! This is no time to dawdle."

Gestella yelled over the deafening hum.

She was right.

The Chosen of the Divine Sovereign gritted her teeth.

With the sudden appearance of the Defiled grasshoppers to the front and the imminent swarm to their back, the party of six found themselves almost penned in.

Suddenly, Celeste's frame shone with a soft, white radiance.

A bow materialised in her hand.

Immediately after, a pale arrow detonated within the frenzied horde. In the next moment, the locusts surged, fury and hunger spurring their movements.

'Blast it.'

Celeste quickly stowed her bow away.

Then, she and the young warrior promptly dove into the seething horde.

Life energy shrouded the Chosen of the Divine Sovereign's figure. And not a moment too soon, for the wild colony abruptly expelled a green, slimy substance. Celeste's sword sliced through numerous locusts, her life energy preventing the dripping poison from inflicting her any harm.

In the same breath, she swung again, releasing a visible wave of vital force. Several abominations failed to react in time, cleanly cut in two. Those who did not receive such a mercy, meanwhile, burst apart, unable to handle the life energy which abruptly penetrated their corrupted frames.

For a very brief moment, Celeste basked in the irony - the poison belonging to the Defiled could not damage her, while her power was absolutely lethal to them, even in the smallest dose.

A dark, vindictive grin almost blemished her pastel features.

Meanwhile, the young warrior to her right, Ossian - who was also an [Adept] -, vanquished the grasshoppers in his own way. The abominations attempted to bury him in a startling flood, erasing his existence through their razor-sharp mandibles.

However, the warrior remained firm.

In the next moment, the locusts in his immediate vicinity faltered, countless bone spikes jutting out of their exoskeletons. Like a porcupine, the young warrior released a torrent of bone shards.

A long, jagged bone sword also extended from his hand in the same breath, cutting down even more grasshoppers. At the same time, the young man gripped a pale-white bone shield, the buckler sizzling as it came into contact with the slimy poison.

However, strangely enough, the bone shield did not show any signs of breaking. It was as if it had been forged from a flawless material, as dense and impervious as heavenly ore.

Ossian whirled, adorned in bone armour from head to toe.

Immediately, another set of locusts fell to his blade.

In the back of her mind, Celeste silently appreciated the unique display of power. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

It was certainly very flashy.

However, inwardly, she had no doubt that the hard part of the battle had just begun.

…They were in for a tumultuous ride.

Channeling more of her mana, the light surrounding Celeste's figure flared. She had become akin to a shining beacon of hope amidst a turbulent, hissing storm. More locusts fell by her hand, either poisoned by the bright light or sliced cleanly by the tip of her short-sword.

A few steps behind, Gestella and Clara subdued their respective pests, their postures signifying their relative ease. The former wielded a growing force of slain abominations. The sight was akin to a large, acridid wave suddenly rising from the ground, intent on engulfing the colony of Defiled Locusts whole.

Needless to say, the more of these revolting creatures fell, the more might Gestella had at her disposal.

Meanwhile, the locusts surrounding Clara appeared to behave strangely. As soon as they came within a certain distance of her, they suddenly froze. Their twitching antennae gradually stopped and their wings ceased their incessant buzz. Very soon, they dropped to the ground, dead, unable to reach her and Lucy.

Celeste had no clue how Clara had managed to achieve such a morbid feat. She did not have the current mental capacity to ruminate over it, either. All she knew was that Clara was terrifying… both of the cloaked figures were, really.

No wonder Oakia Bloom had accepted them into her organisation.

Finally, the older gentleman with a missing arm brought up the rear of their formation, occassionally swiping out to finish off any stragglers. Still, while the group of warriors fought valiantly, vanquishing the Defiled Locusts with impressive speed and chilling grace, it did not seem to make a difference to their vast number.

More and more Defiled took their brethren's place, their demented wrath leaving no room for cowardice or hesitation. All they knew was an insatiable thirst and a deep-seated urge to claim such delicious human flesh.

A green and black cloud swiftly formed within Nature's Grove, fetid black blood mixing with the slimy poison to create a toxic, unbreathable shroud. The pleasant, cool air hissed, visibly protesting, while the branches and leaves sizzled, dark patches marring their bark and surface like irreversible stains.

Celeste flared her life energy again, struggling to keep up the momentum. In one fluid motion, she severed a locust, the tip of her sword glowing with a radiant light. Suddenly, an infinitesimal sliver of Celeste's pristine, holy mantle flickered, turning faint.

It was incredibly brief.

…But in that instance, sharp mandibles tore through her flesh.

Instinctively, Celeste cried out. Immediately after, her skin shone with a harsh radiance, mending the wound and killing the blasted Locust. The young healer gritted her teeth, anger and pain lending a burst of greater strength to her movements.

Unfortunately, for Celeste, that rush of energy did not last very long.

Soon, she found herself drowning in a sea of sharp mandibles, strained to the absolute limit, constantly on the move. Idly, as the battle raged, she wondered if their fight against the Defiled and its vile, parasitic host - miasma - would ever come to an end.

With the way things were panning out…

It seemed like it never would.