Ruwen took large strides backward, protecting himself with the tower shield. Hoping to distract them, he launched Valora’s arm at the group.
The arm struck Valora in the chest, and Ruwen smiled at the excellent shot. “I’m truly sorry about the arm,” Ruwen shouted.
Valora threw the arm to the ground and the barrage of missiles stopped. Ruwen kept moving.
“Return my Dark Portal,” Valora shouted.
“I can’t do that, but I’ll leave your sculpture here. It’s beautiful, truly.”
Valora screamed in rage and pain. She raised her good arm and pointed at Ruwen. “Destroy it and I’ll let you go.”
Ruwen almost stopped in shock, but forced himself to continue. He only had twenty feet left.
“Why would you want to do that?” Ruwen asked.
Valora screamed again, and Ruwen wondered if the Stone Carver was all there mentally. “Destroy it!”
Ruwen had gotten the quest Armed and Dangerous requiring him to return the sculpture Clouds Embracing the Sun. He could leave it here right now and complete the quest, but it seemed Valora would destroy it. The thought of something so beautiful being demolished made Ruwen’s chest tighten. He didn’t want her to do that. Or at least wanted to know why.
But Ruwen didn’t have the time to find out now. He’d have to look for Valora after this was all over.
Ruwen stopped at the edge of the lake and dismissed the shield. “Valora, I’m sorry again. I’ll return your sculpture when we meet again.”
Valora screamed in rage.
Ruwen turned and dived into the water. He had seven minutes to save the temple.
Chapter 81
Ruwen used his Void Band to accelerate down the shaft, and the sand filled water chilled his skin. Fresh Air kept the liquid away, but Lir had said it was salt water, which confirmed this shaft and the tunnel it connected to, reached the sea. His right pinky warmed as his Revolving Ring of Elemental Immunity cycled through fire for fifteen seconds.
Survey and Stone Echo displayed the surrounding area, and as he sped downward, he angled toward the shaft wall and trailed a hand down it, confirming what his display showed.
The smooth walls looked like an artist, not a miner, had tunneled them. Understanding exploded in Ruwen’s mind, and his stomach clenched at his stupidity. He’d had the clues to their rapid tunneling the entire time.
From Valora’s memories, Ruwen had known Naktos had chosen at least one artist to tunnel. Worker Elder Yana had explained that tunneling speed was slowed because getting rid of the dirt and stone took time, even with Void Bands. They’d based all their assumptions on that.
The contents of Valora’s Dark Portal made Ruwen feel the worst. The Stone Carver’s Inventory contained many high count stone stacks. He should have recognized the significance of those numbers, especially after his own Stone Mages’ blocks, used to fortify the city wall, had each required their own slot. Even before that, when escaping the collapsed tunnel connected to the ether cavern, he’d experienced how similar rocks needed to be before they’d stack, after his Void Band had quickly reached its maximum capacity.
Naktos had used artists to make tunnels because they had the control to create near identical cubes. And if all those stone cubes stacked in Inventory, you didn’t need to move them somewhere else. The cleverness of it shook Ruwen.
The water pressure disappeared, and Ruwen’s Revolving Ring of Elemental Immunity grew cold, as it cycled into water for fifteen seconds.
Ruwen’s map showed ten people entering the water above. Valora would not leave him alone. It also meant retreating to the surface wouldn’t be easy.
Lir, can you give me any details on what’s attacking you, Ruwen asked, and then immediately clarified. A summary of the most significant items.
The attackers show an advanced knowledge of temple design. Oscillating essence waves are disrupting my shielding, which reinforces point one. I am sixty-two percent certain the Spirit powering the attacks originated in the Infernal Realm.
The Plague Siren Ruwen had killed in the Spirit Realm had come from the Infernal Realm and so had the young woman, Echo, he’d saved during his Step trial. The Plague Siren had been a favorite of the Demon God Lalquinrial, and the Plague Siren had worn the Scarecrow Aspect as proof. An Aspect which, unfortunately, now existed inside Ruwen.
Rami had said Lalquinrial distanced himself from this planet and the gods here. Why would he be involved? The Plague Siren’s journal, with all the intelligence on other Infernal Realm Clans, hinted that conflict was common there. It might be an Infernal Clan and not Lalquinrial at all.
Ruwen had traveled twenty-three hundred feet, when the temple’s tip finally displayed on his map, five hundred feet below. As he continued down, more of the temple came into focus, and six red dots, likely those responsible for attacking the temple, also appeared. The pressure this deep made movement difficult, even for his Gold Fortified body, and fighting seemed out of the question.
Ruwen had expected a bunch of Haffa’s followers attacking the temple, but it appeared these six creatures were alone.
With only five minutes remaining, Ruwen couldn’t afford a long fight. He had no way to move the temple, which meant his only option involved stopping those six attackers. But he really didn’t have five minutes, because Valora and the other nine Dark Portal users were only a minute behind him.
Once again, things seemed hopeless. If those six below him were Cultivators, they were likely high Gem level. To fight them, he’d absolutely need to use his Spirit, which risked throwing the entire world into conflict. Even if he had time, going to the surface to get Phoenix or some other Cultivator to help was impossible because there were ten enemies above him.
To be honest, Ruwen wasn’t even sure using his Spirt would be enough against six advanced Cultivators. He’d used that option as a security blanket, telling himself if all else failed he’d risk revealing
