Corrupt Creations

Swoosh! 

BOOM! 

Just as Seth used the Shadow Walk to instantly move away from that area, a big and heavy crystal figure descended with full force at the place he was previously standing, completely destroying everything. 

Seth was getting out of Mana from using his Shadow Walk skill too many times in a row already. He had battled against two powerful enemies prior to this and his Mana was already partially spent. Now, he was feeling like he was getting closer and closer to a dead end. 

He kept running away with everything he got, until he suddenly felt an uncommon aura in a certain area. 

At that moment, he noticed that some thousand meters ahead of him, there was an area where a gloomy and dark energy existed, but it wasn't an energy compatible with darkness, but something more sinister. Other than that, there was a smothering silence around there and the looming sensation of danger that made Seth think twice if he really wanted to go there even though he was running for his life. 

Seth quickly used his Soul Sense to identify what was actually laying ahead of his path, but he instantly got shocked. Just a single second after he used his Soul Sense, he felt it was totally blocked by something. His Soul Sense wasn't able to penetrate that area and reveal its secrets for him to see. 

The fact that his supreme scan skill wasn't able to see anything, brought him some uncertainties. However, behind him, there were no uncertainties, but certain death! 

"There isn't a choice..." 

"There is! Drop her down and leave!" Lexi's voice urged him to take the most correct path for his survival, but Seth didn't think about doing that even for a brief moment. 

"I won't!" 

"Then you're going to die and drag me along with you! Why do you have to act like that? You're not only living for yourself!" 

"I'm sorry Lexi, for putting you in this situation... But I will never abandon her behind. I'm going to survive; we all are going to survive!" 

He kept running forwards, totally concentrated on finding a path to escape, until he suddenly felt he had arrived at that different place and was finally able to completely see the scenery. There was an abysmal crater lying ahead of his path, covering an area that was more than a hundred kilometers wide. 

Actually, it was not a crater, but an endless abyss, where no one was able to see the ground, just an everlasting darkness that covered the whole field of view. Seth instantly stopped moving forwards while at the same time, he started to remember Lan Xue's words. That place was not safe and he needed to find another route. Even the air there seemed gloomier, making him feel threatened. 

But suddenly, he heard a ripping noise of something cutting the air at full speed. Not even thinking twice before acting, Seth once again teleported with Lan Xue while using his movement skill, avoiding a huge crystal shard that would have killed them instantly. 

However, the distance he was able to cover now, was not even two hundred meters. His Mana was getting thinner at every passing second, but that was the smallest of his problems, because just as he appeared, there was already a gigantic from descending towards his way. 

The red crystal golem descended like a crimson star, fully charged with an explosive layer of Mana, that threatened to destroy Seth and Lan Xue. 

"Shrouding Light!" 

Seth casted his dark defensive ability, creating a veil of shadows that didn't even let light penetrate. But instead of staying inside the darkness cocoon, he immediately left it while holding Lan Xue and using that cocoon of darkness as a decoy. 

Seth chose to jump into the air, since he would be less affected by the energy wave from his enemy's incoming ground attack there. 

The golem smashed hard against the floor, making it shake by the force of the impact, but this time, instead of generating an energy shockwave, the Mana he had concentrated on his huge crystal hands, generated many spiky shards on the ground. They propelled themselves upwards while using the force of that impact to assault Seth and Lan Xue up there, sealing his escaping path. 

Seth could not use another defensive ability now, so he gritted his teeth and tried his best to cover Lan Xue's body with his own and resist that attack. 

Swish! Swish! Swish! 

One after the other, many shards passed through the area he was in, cutting his skin in many different places and making him bleed. He was really fortunate and lucky that, most of them have missed and only a few of them were able to hit him. Even so, those shards that were able to hit him, were not able to deeply pierce his body anywhere, only opening shallow wounds on his skin, from where he felt a weakened version of his aura of corruption entering his body. 

As for Lan Xue, she was not hit at all. Seth received all the damage while she stood uninjured. 

Seth was about to recompose himself and move farther from that area, but through the corner of his eyes, he saw a huge crimson arm closing in to them. While Seth was protecting himself and Lan Xue against those shard attacks, the crimson creature had taken the opportunity to execute a physical strike that would put an end on it all. 

Seth wasn't even able to feel it approaching. Mana Sovereign beings were out of his league. Even though his Mana was robust, it was still too shallow to compare with beings at that level. 

At that moment, he noticed that it was already too late to execute any escaping skills and there was not even time for Seth to dodge that attack either. He was right in mid-air as well, making it even harder for him to evade and on top of it all, his Mana reserves were at the end. So, he only had one last option left and even if it would only be able to save them once, he would never give up fighting for his life. 

Inside Seth's hand a blue round small object appeared. He immediately crushed it and a water elemental shield suddenly covered his and Lan Xue's body. They were covered by a bubble that seemed to have many layers of water elemental protection. 

That item was the water elemental bead Darya has gifted him, an item that was going to save his life, protecting him from a strike that would probably instantly kill them. It was a gift from an Ancient Elemental Spirit, so it wouldn't be something weak at all. 

BOOM! 

The golem's arm smashed against the surface of that water bubble, but it wasn't able to destroy it at all. The damage was thoroughly mitigated and only the outer layers of water were undone. However, the force behind that strike was so great, that the bubble flew through the air at an inconceivable speed, moving towards the place Lan Xue feared the most. 

Seth was only able to see the environment rapidly changing from a desolate rocky ground, to an abyss of total darkness. He quickly tried to undo the water bubble and leave from there, but he suddenly felt an irresistible attracting force, pulling him down towards the deepest parts of the abyss. 

The water elemental bubble vanished in a matter of seconds, being totally swallowed down by the darkest abyss that existed. Their Mana signature was suddenly erased and the golem lost its connection with it. They had successfully escaped in a single instant, but definitely through the wrong means. 

Roar! 

The enraged crystal golem quickly arrived at the edge of that abyss and watched as his target disappeared from its field of vision. He felt something on that target, something that could make him more complete. However, he was gone now. After trying multiple times to get their Mana signature back and track it with his energy sense, it realized it would be useless to keep doing that. 

But suddenly, when it was about to leave, the monster felt something from deep down there. Something that could not only make him complete, but make him even stronger. It was a really faint feeling that only instinctive creature would be able to perceive.

Bang! 

That massive creature jumped down towards the abyss, destroying part of the edge. It fell down like a red grain of sand in the immensity of a sea of darkness, swiftly disappearing inside it. 

The destruction cause by the extensive battle at the deepest parts of the Desolate Scorching Wastelands was so huge, that when people eventually find out about it later on, they will start creating tales of how that area was cursed and that monsters were leaving from the Forbidden Lands and destroying the mainland. However, the monsters were actually entering that place and not coming back so soon.