Chapter 111: The Fifth Wave[4]

Outside, the rain battered the spires of the castle, while within it rumbled with footsteps and the clashes of steel.

Faust’s axe cleaved the Puppet knight in half while Nirvana killed the final one after fifteen slashes.

She looked at her brittle, cracking sword and back to Faust longingly.

"It’s okay, I can give you another sword later," Faust reassured.

"His personal sword," Thalia said behind them, chuckling.

Zen rolled his eyes. "How crude. You should be sophisticated like me."

"You’re a few hairs away from being an actual monkey," Thalia snorted.

"I have a joke for that but only when we’re alone."

Faust ignored them and turned upward. In front of him was a spiraling staircase up.

Everyone stood around the grand staircase with Faust’s summons protecting the entrances.

"I think it’s time you use that fruit of knowledge or death thing, Zen," Faust remarked.

Zen took out the small potted bonsai tree with two yellow fruits. He studied them for a moment. One was poisonous, while the other granted the ability to see magic circles inscribed in things.

"Try to recall the Memory," Thalia said carefully, watching the tree closely. "Try to think about the slight—wait! No! Don’t pick anyone!"

Zen had already begun chewing and swallowed a moment later. "I was pretty sure it’s that one. Besides, I got a fifty percent chance of being right."

They watched him for a moment. Zen doubled over and held his belly.

Spider rushed towards him, grabbing him frantically. "Zen! Zen! Are you—"

The sound of Zen chuckling made her stop and just stare at him. She punched him once, hard, then walked off.

"Asshole," Thalia muttered, pushing him. "Lead the way. We don’t have time for dumb jokes."

Faust dismissed his summons and followed as they ascended the spiraling staircase, trotting quickly, but Zen kept watch. Not long after they began climbing, Zen stopped them.

"That’s a trap right there," he pointed at a specific step on the stairs and waited until they all passed, then he returned to the front to continue leading the way.

He pointed out a few more traps. Ones that waited for you to pass and activate later down the hallway. Traps that scanned the area for motion before exploding. Curses on objects that would activate if picked up.

Zen pointed at a treasure chest at a crossroad on the stairs. "I died to that a couple of times. You open it and this purple magic construct pops out and bites off your head."

"Why did it kill you more than once?" Faust asked skeptically.

"Thought I saw gold behind the purple head-chomping monster, but that was an illusion."

Faust facepalmed. "It was a memory. What would gold even do for you?"

"You’re too rich to understand," Zen countered, then he stopped and raised a hand. "This trap is new... but it looks like one of those ’will explode no matter where you step’ traps. Just run through it full tilt and don’t stop until we get to the top."

Faust looked up and saw multiple meters of spiraling stairs. "That’s pretty far."

"Well, this explosion will bring the entire stairs down, so we have to just keep moving," Zen said blankly.

Spider studied the space between the stairs. "Can we fly up?"

"You’ll be stuck with like five different curses."

Faust clicked his tongue and turned to Nirvana. "We’ll carry Nirvana and Thalia."

"Let me carry Nirvana. You’re always carrying her," Zen joked, then flinched back from her glare. "It’s a joke."

Nirvana got on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggling into his neck and breathing him in.

"Wait, not here," Faust mocked in Nirvana’s shrill voice.

"You talk big for someone in biting range. You smell so delicious," Nirvana said, giggling.

Thalia turned back. "Please, guys, we all have hearing a bit too strong now."

Nirvana blushed and whispered more quietly to Faust, "Can I ask what that was? When we were falling, something pushed me up."

Faust was stuck between words for a moment. "Do you trust me—"

"Yes."

Faust was a bit stunned, but he nodded. "I’ll explain everything, but not now."

He didn’t expect true loyalty from anyone. Feelings, motivations, and most importantly, people change. Trust can turn to spite with the right circumstances.

So his talent would remain hidden.

He expected that someone would get close to figuring it out sooner or later, but he wouldn’t be the one telling them. Ambiguity around how his powers worked was important too.

"Get ready," Zen warned as he got into a low stance.

Spider was up front with him, while Greg and Faust carried the girls behind them. The four of them had to stick relatively close, so they would lower their speed a bit for Greg.

Once they passed a certain section of the stairs, it would explode. This was likely a mechanism meant to stop invaders that made it this far.

Faust glanced up at the distance between him and the top of the stairs.

He could make that distance in around thirty seconds.

But would he have anything to walk on by then?

"Now!" Zen took off.

Spider followed him easily with a sudden burst of speed. Faust left Greg behind in half a second, then slowed down just a bit so he could catch up.

All of them were a blur of motion, faster by far than any human could conceive of ever moving. The air hissed as they tore up the stairs. The lingering scent of sulfur faded.

They were forty meters away when the first trap exploded.

BOOM!

The gap between the time it sensed them and the explosion was enough for them to put distance between themselves and the explosion. It sent a rush of warm air up that was soothing. They were all still pretty wet after all.

BOOM!

BOOM!

Two more explosions followed as they tore even further forward.

The ground was beginning to rumble and fracture. Faust glanced down and saw the stairs crumbling.

Only a few more seconds left.

Spider looked incredibly worried. They weren’t moving as fast as they could. The upward ascent and the spiral stairs made things much harder.

Five more seconds passed and they were almost there.

But the stairs split with a thunderous crack, and they were suddenly midair, jumping between the pieces of stone falling.

"Come on!" Zen roared.