This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange - Chapter 507

Chapter 507: Chapter 507: Buried Alive
A deafening shockwave tore through the chamber.

The explosion of light and flesh sent a wave of force outward that the paralyzed Kain was helpless against. Kain, still paralyzed by the backlash from Balens’ wish, could do nothing but brace himself mentally as the wave of destruction surged toward him.

Aegis reacted instantly, his massive stone form moving with surprising speed for his size. He raised his arms, shielding those behind him from the brunt of the explosion. The force of the blast slammed into him, his stone body groaning under the impact as cracks deepened across his surface. But he held firm, his orange eyes glowing with determination as he absorbed the brunt of the attack.

Further from Aegis, many of the Vespid guards were less fortunate. Caught mid-flight, many were flung in all directions like ragdolls. Some managed to stabilize, their wings barely damaged, and managed to regain control. Others weren’t so lucky, their bodies slamming into the chamber walls with sickening thuds.

Queen, guarded by Aegis and the surviving Vespid guards, let out a mournful buzz. Half of her children had fallen, their broken bodies scattered across the chamber. The survivors regrouped around her, their movements tense and sluggish. Had the enemy not died, they likely would have gone berserk by now.

Kain, still frozen in place, could only watch as the chaos unfolded. Bits of flesh, shrapnel, and debris flew toward him, but the Vespid guard responsible for him acted without hesitation. It threw itself in front of Kain, its body absorbing the impact at the cost of its life.

However, even with its sacrifice and with the Starweaver’s additional shield placed on him just in time, Kain wasn’t spared entirely. The force of the explosion left him severely injured, with at least half the bones in his body broken and the majority of his skin covered in severe burns.

The pain was excruciating, but Kain couldn’t even scream. His body remained locked in place, forcing him to endure the agony in silence. His vision blurred, his mind struggling to process the sheer intensity of the pain.

Then—silence.

A heavy, unnatural silence settled over the chamber, broken only by the sound of crumbling debris and the ragged breaths of the survivors. The air was thick with dust and the smell of burnt flesh and machinery. The glowing sigils on the walls flickered weakly, their light dimming and areas of the cavern began to crumble—perhaps from the force of the blast? But Kain’s instincts were telling him it wasn’t that simple.

Kain struggled against the immobilization, willing his body to move. He could feel the backlash from Balens’ wish receding, what originally felt like heavy iron chains around his limbs were slowly loosening. But it wasn’t fast enough. He needed to move. They all needed to move.

A strangled cough broke the silence.

Serena, blood dripping from a gash along her forehead, forced herself to her feet. Her normally pristine attire was in tatters, one sleeve completely burned away, revealing blistered skin beneath. Her gaze swept across the battlefield, calculating the damage.

“Kain?” Her voice was steady, but there was an undercurrent of urgency.

The Starweaver shifted slightly, revealing Kain’s battered form. His body remained unnaturally stiff, his face twisted in silent agony. The burns were severe, and the unnatural angles of his limbs told her everything she needed to know. He needed immediate treatment.

Serena clenched her jaw, pressing down the unfamiliar panic that welled in her chest. She forced herself to remain calm, her mind racing as she assessed the situation.

The Elemental Guardian shifted into its water form, mist coalescing around Kain. A cooling sensation spread over his injuries, numbing the pain from the burns slightly, but it was nowhere near enough. Queen, still reeling from her losses, hovered closer to Kain. The few surviving Vespid guards buzzed weakly, their movements sluggish but unwilling to stray too far from her.

Without hesitation, Queen extended what little remained of her energy to Kain, transferring her strength into him. The healing was slow—agonizingly slow—and Kain felt every itching and unpleasant sensation as his blistered skin rapidly scabbed over and then healed. But it was effective.

Kain’s fingers twitched. The backlash was finally weakening. He sucked in a ragged breath, the first he had taken under his own power since the explosion.

“Stay still,” Serena ordered. Her voice was firm, but a rare trace of something softer seeped through.

Kain tried to respond, but all that came out was a wheeze. His throat was too dry, and his lungs burned with every inhale. Instead, he let his head fall back, his vision swimming.

But even as he lay there, barely able to move, he could feel it.

Something was still wrong.

Serena moved toward him with a bottle of water she likely retrieved from her space ring, but the moment she stepped forward, the ground quivered. Large chunks of rock began to fall from the ceiling, the chamber groaning as the ruins began to collapse.

“The entire underground network is going to collapse!” Serena shouted, her voice filled with urgency. “We’ve got to move!”

The survivors sprang into action. Those who could still fight rapidly fled the cavern, carrying the two humans, those who were too injured or tired were retrieved by their respective masters. Majority of Kain’s contracts were retrieved by him, except for Vauleth who remained relatively unharmed. He scooped up Kain while Serena’s Elemental Guardian shifted into its air form, creating a protective barrier around them as they fled.

As they raced through the crumbling corridors, Kain noted that in every area where the faint purple light had completely faded from the sigils carved into the walls, it was as though an invisible support beam had disappeared. The structures in those areas collapsed almost instantly, the ground giving way beneath them.

It seems as though since Kain completely drained what little energy remained in the core fragment supporting the ruins, the entire structure was unable to continue supporting itself.

The air was thick with dust and debris, the sound of collapsing stone echoing through the corridors like thunder and they tried to use the noises as a guide for what tunnels had likely already collapsed so as not to be closed in. But when they entered a fork in the road where both paths visibly looked as though they would collapse the next second and the path behind them was already crumbling, Kain was faced with the very real possibility that they may be buried alive.

Vauleth tightened his grip on Kain, his massive claws surprisingly gentle as he adjusted his hold.

The red dragon flicked his tail in irritation, his molten eyes narrowing as he scanned their crumbling surroundings. Dust and stone cascaded from above, filling the air with a suffocating haze. The underground ruins were collapsing, and time was running out.

With a low growl, Vauleth lowered Kain’s still mostly paralyzed body to the ground. Despite his normally cold and callous demeanor with Kain, he was surprisingly considerate of Kain’s current vulnerability.

“Stay down,” Vauleth commanded, his deep voice reverberating through the enclosed space. “I will clear a path.”

Before Serena could object, the beast launched himself upward, powerful wings propelling him toward the ceiling. With a mighty intake of breath, Vauleth gathered his strength, his chest glowing with intense heat. Then, with a deafening roar, he unleashed a torrent of searing energy at the ceiling above, aiming to blast an escape route to the surface.

The explosion sent shockwaves rippling through the chamber, illuminating the darkening ruins in a burst of firey light. Stone and ice above shattered from the force of the blast, sending razor-sharp debris raining down which Serena’s contracts protected them both from. For a moment, there was a sliver of hope as chunks of the ceiling gave way.

But then, the ruin groaned—an eerie, hollow sound that sent a shiver down Serena’s spine.

Instead of an opening, the weight of centuries-old snow and ice, compressed into an impenetrable mass, laid beyond the stone ceiling of the ruins above them. The blast had disturbed a delicate balance, and the already unstable ruins began to crumble even faster.

A deep rumble filled the air, followed by the unmistakable sound of cracking stone.

“No—” Serena started, but it was too late.

The collapse accelerated. Entire sections of the ceiling buckled under the strain of tons of snow, sending avalanches of rock and ice cascading downward. The ruins, already on the brink of destruction, could not withstand any more.

Vauleth barely had time to twist mid-air, his wings snapping out in an attempt to shield those below. But even he could not hold back the inevitable. The weight of the collapse crashed down upon them, an unstoppable avalanche burying everything in its path.

The last thing Kain saw before darkness swallowed them was Serena’s outstretched hand, reaching for him just as the world caved in.

Then—nothing.

The ruins had completely collapse, leaving no sign of life beneath the mountain of stone and snow.