Gleam - Chapter 150 (Patreon)

Chance was the first out of the alley. Yeo and Bella stayed farther back, ready to help him if he needed it but not wanting to get in the way when they inevitably all had to turn tail and run.

The Essence Eaters had pulled back pretty far in just a few minutes, but they were still hovering around the outside of the house. As soon as Chance let a trickle of his Essence slip out, the monsters all spun toward them.

They lurched into motion, the screaming kicking up instantly as they staggered and dragged themselves toward him. Chance’s Essence shuddered as it pushed back against their influence. He hadn’t even had to do anything to draw them over – though dragging them out was the easiest part of their plan.

All three of them scrambled back into the Old City’s alley, and the Essence Eaters weren’t far behind them. The first one’s hand slammed into the wall, cracking stone as faces pressed against its flesh from within.

“Close the damn door!” Yeo screamed, ducking under a strand of black matter that streaked out of the Essence Eater’s shoulder. It drove into the stone behind him, sending rubble raining down from above.

The Old City’s walls ground, even as a second Essence Eater’s face turned the corner and it lunged forward. The monster’s hand cleared the gap – and the walls slammed shut, crushing it with a wet squelch.

The squirming limb fell to the ground, melting away in a pile of smoke. Chance would have let out a sigh of relief if they hadn’t just trapped themselves in the alley with one very-much alive Essence Eater.

It let out a screeching wail and dug its claws into its chest, ripping itself open. A wave of primal terror drove into Chance and his heart clenched. He grit his teeth, weathering the fear and pushing back against it with his Essence.

The Essence Eater wasn’t content to let them recover and stage a counterattack. The monster reached out, its gnarled fingers extending to wrap around Chance’s throat. He pushed himself back, but Bella interceded before the Essence Eater’s limb could get any closer.

Her sword swept through the air, slamming into the monster’s arm with a crack. She didn’t put any Essence behind the blow, but there was enough force in the blunt weapon to shatter bone.

The monster’s arm flew back and it hissed in fury, raking its claws across the walls and throwing its head back in a scream.

“I’ve never seen a damn temper tantrum look so scary,” Yeo muttered to himself, pressing his hands together and pulling them apart. Strands of silver metal shimmered between his fingers as he pulled them apart. “I’ve got this one.”

Chance and Bella both ducked to the side as Yeo’s strands carved across the alley, empowered by his Core Essence. A dull, vibrating hum split the air, and the Essence Eater’s head snapped around as it went to try and absorb the magic within the wires.

It reached out, grabbing for one of them with a hand. For an instant, it grew larger – but that didn’t stop the wet squelch as Yeo’s magic cut straight through the monster’s flesh. Like an overfilled water balloon, the Essence Eater rapidly grew in size while simultaneously getting cut apart at the seams.

Screams filled the Old City as the souls trapped within the wretched creature desperately tried to escape. The terror washing out of the Essence Eater grew more intense.

Dread built in Chance’s chest as a realization struck him. It wasn’t that the monster had more power to draw on out of nowhere. Its effects just didn’t go away nearly as fast as he thought they did, and they were cumulative.

The longer he spent fighting the monsters, the more powerful their influence would become and the less his own Essence would be able to fight them off.

Chance sank deep within himself, pulling on the warmth of the golden mist. His eyes ignited with Core Essence and he let out a cry, a golden arm forming connected to his back. He sprinted forward, ducking under the Essence Eater’s reaching arms and throwing himself toward it.

Yeo let out a slew of curses and yanked his threads to the side, but Chance didn’t need him to. He spun and wove through the glistening maze of metal, letting his Essence guide him – and arrived directly before the engorged, carved up Essence Eater.

A face erupted from its chest, its scream piercing into Chance’s ears as it bulged toward him – and caught a fist right between the eyes.

The scream sputtered and squelched as Essence poured out of Chance, tearing through the Essence Eater’s body like a storm. Golden light split the alleyway as he forced it full of Good Karma.

There was a loud snapping nose, and the terror wracking all of them vanished. The Essence Eater’s body exploded, steams of warmth ripping it apart from within. Souls burst out of the monster, finally free from their torture, and lifted up into the sky.

Chance released his Essence, staggering against the wall and drawing in ragged breaths as he brought himself back under control. His heart hammered in his chest and his throat was tight.

“I hate those things so much,” Yeo said, bracing his hands on his knees. “How many more of them are there? I don’t know if I can keep doing that. I barely did anything and I still feel like I’m a step away from keeling over where I stand.”

“Their fear sits with us longer than I thought it did,” Chance said through desperate breaths. He straightened up, gritting his teeth, and paused as Bella put a hand on his shoulder. He was surprised to find that some of the tightness in his chest slipped away at her touch, and he gave her a small smile. “Thanks.”

“I noticed the same thing,” Bella said. “I think we could maybe handle one more of those things. But… more than that? I feel like I’d collapse.”

“What do we do, then?” Yeo asked, swallowing heavily. “I’m with Chance. I don’t think I’m a paragon of justice or anything, but we can’t leave those… things wandering around. Imagine what happens if a normal person runs into them. As Shikari, it’s our duty to take that crap out.”

“You know, every once and a while, you say something relatively respectable,” Bella said, eyeing Yeo with a frown. “I keep waiting for you to add on something that ruins it.”

Yeo raised an eyebrow, then crossed his arms. “Well, now I’m not going to say anything else.”

Chance couldn’t keep himself from laughing. “Guys, focus. There are still at least a few more Essence Eaters. I’m with Yeo. We can’t risk leaving these things behind. If we leave, I don’t know what will happen. At the same time, we shouldn’t just kill ourselves trying to take them out. We need to be smart.”

“As if you’ve ever considered that,” Bella said, rolling her eyes. “What should we do, then? The best case scenario would be getting backup, but we can’t leave.”

“Not all of us can,” Chance corrected, a thought striking him. “What if we sent someone for backup while the others remained behind?”

“Did you forget about the Strandwalkers?” Yeo asked. “I’m not keen on running into a group of those things while I’m on my own.”

Chance grimaced. He had, in fact, forgotten about the Strandwalkers. It was too dangerous to travel through the Old City alone, especially as drained as they already were. Chance bit his lip, his mind racing furiously as he tried to work out anything that they could turn to their advantage.

He could feel his concentration starting to falter. The Essence Eaters had done a heavy number on him, and it was difficult to properly sink into himself and think without panic. He pressed his lips together, then forced his shoulders to relax.

Closing his eyes, Chance reached out to his Essence, remembering the words of the golden being that had given him guidance when he was at the Brackern sect. Essence tingled at Chance’s fingertips, forming into a ball of golden yarn.

As his fingers worked through it, peace slowly wove its way back into his chaotic mind. He let himself sink into the task for a few minutes, bringing his being back under control before he opened his eyes again, letting the Essence dissipate.

“Okay,” Chance said, letting out a breath. “If we can’t leave, then we just have to bring someone else here. Someone that can help. Does everyone feel like we can handle one more Essence Eater while we wait for backup?”

“Whoa, what backup?” Yeo asked. “There’s no way your Essence can just… summon someone out of nothingness. Can it?”

“No, probably not,” Chance admitted. “That’s a bit of a reach. But there’s someone who’s been helping us out this whole time, even if she can’t act directly herself because of how dangerous Essence Eaters are to her. Am I right, Ocie?”

For several seconds, there was no response. Then, slowly, a circle traced itself in the stone next to Chance’s head.

“Oh! You sent Ocie out to get backup?” Bella realized.

“More like I think she’d probably be trying to do that already,” Chance said, letting out a relieved sigh as he saw the circle. Ocie was helping out. “She’s likely been waiting for someone vaguely useful to stumble into the city’s alleyways so she could send them our way. She doesn’t control all of Gleam, so it would have to be someone in the right place at the right time. But, fortunately, that’s definitely within the realm of my own Essence.”

“So we’re getting backup?” Yeo asked.

Chance waggled a hand in the air. “I think it’s likely we will.”

“That is not what I wanted to hear.”

“Are they close, Ocie?” Chance asked. The wall didn’t change, which he took as neither an acknowledgement nor a rejection. Whoever she’d gotten was probably on the way, but they weren’t there yet. Either that or she hadn’t been able to get one yet.

The circle faded from sight. It had probably taken Ocie a fair amount of energy to communicate with them. In her current state, Chance doubted she’d be able to do much more.

“What’s that mean?” Yeo asked.

“It means backup will show up at some point,” Chance replied, turning back to the wall and drawing in a deep breath to steady himself. “Take a few more moments to get your nerves under control. I don’t want to let the Essence Eaters do anything else. Unless anyone has any objections, we’re going back in. I think our backup will be here soon.”

It wasn’t the most promising reassurance, but it was all they had to go with.

Bella and Yeo exchanged a glance, but neither of them said anything. They both just gave Chance a sharp nod and readied themselves. After confirming they were prepared, Chance turned and put his hand on the wall. It sank back, granting entrance to the alleyway once more, and he strode out to meet the Essence Eaters.