Chapter 3703: Sending a Message (Part 2) "Why am I still alive?" Cailm asked. "What do you want from me?" "That’s the first smart thing that came out of your mouths today." Lith smiled, but there was no joy in it. "I’m not stupid. I know that you aren’t alone in this madness. Your group must be just one of many. "You were simply arrogant enough to volunteer. You were confident of succeeding. You were wrong. Yet if I kill you, nothing will change. Your associates will just bide their time and prepare better next time." "What then?" Cailm asked after the silence became oppressive again. "I need you to deliver a message for me." Lith replied while taking care of Hushing Valeron and blanketing the baby with his left membranous wing. "Anything!" The Orthrus’ canine snouts smiled from ear to ear. "Trust me. When I’m done telling everyone how you massacred my team, no one-" "Trust you?" Lith echoed as Ragnarök pierced through Cailm’s stomach and came out of his back. "Trust is too valuable a coin to waste it on a murderous mutt like you. You’ll deliver my message, but in a way that won’t brook misunderstanding." The angry blade used the Reverse Flow enchantment to twist the Orthrus’ life force while Lith released Dread Flames right beside the Lesser Fenrir’s mana core. The two forces ripped and burned, making Cailm writhe in agony. "Don’t worry. I won’t kill you now. That’s the only mercy you’ll receive from me." Lith stored the Golems and Warped toward the nearest mana geyser he knew of. It took him a while to find a landmark he recognized. After that, he could Warp straight to his destination. "See you again, scum." Lith let Ragnarök slide off the wound slowly to inflict much pain but no more damage on its way out. "Consider yourself lucky that delivering Valeron to safety is my first priority, or this wouldn’t end so easily." He left the Orthrus squirming on the ground and Warped away, disappearing from sight. Cailm pressed on the wound on his abdomen, trying to stop the bleeding, but he had only two hands and a matching gash on his back. The pain almost made him faint as his ruptured organs inched closer to the other open wound. ’Life and darkness fusion, you idiot!’ Yet he fainted as a result. The life force near the Orthrus’ mana core was badly injured, and the Dread Flames had stopped millimeters from it. The slightest exertion of the mana core strained the life force, bringing them both closer to crack. Claim regained his senses minutes later, saved by the powerful vitality and survival instinct of a Lesser Divine Beast. ’Okay, no fusion magic. Chore magic?’ The pang he experienced for conjuring a mere sliver of light magic told him it was a bad idea. ’What about Invigoration, then?’ The Orthrus took a deep breath, and before he could circulate the world energy, he coughed up blood due to his nicked lungs. ’What’s the point of this? How can I deliver a message in this condition? If Verhen wanted to kill me, he would have already done it. My corpse would have been the message, and his absurd battle abilities would remain a secret. ’What does he expect me to do?’ As the blood slipped from its vessels, desperation snapped Cailm out of his shock. He noticed that Lith had included Cailm’s communication amulet in the Warp Steps after stabbing him. ’The message!’ He finally understood. ’Verhen wants me to contact my allies and ensure...’ Pain and death give anyone clarity. ’He wants me to call my allies and lure them into a trap!’ Cailm cursed Verhen and his offspring, adoptive and not. ’That’s why he left me on a mana geyser. He might have left dozens of arrays, and no one can notice them. ’I won’t play his sick game. I-’ Alas, clarity goes both ways. ’I’m dying and he knows it. I can lure my allies into a trap, or I can die here like a dog. Either way, Verhen wins.’ The Orthrus waited to see any sign of Lith, to catch his smell or drive him into the open. His dripping blood marked the passing of minutes, yet nothing happened. Then, the pain worsened and Cailm discovered in horror that his mana core was about to crack. "No, no, no!" He pressed a rune on the amulet and luckily for him, the person on the other side answered immediately. "Cailm, what happened-" "Shut up and listen." The Orthrus cut the woman short. "Everyone’s dead, and I’ll join them soon unless you help me. Beware, though, this is most likely a trap. Verhen dropped me over a mana geyser and left me to die." "I see." She replied with clinical detachment. "Explain to me how Verhen overpowered fourteen Awakened." "I’m fucking dying you bitch!" Yelling made him cough up blood. "Either you come here to rescue me, or you can find the answer yourself when Verhen kills you." "You are being unreasonable." She replied. "I’m also dying." He countered with a low snarl. "Whatever happens next will be your problem. Not mine." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞 "Fine. Give me your coordinates." She asked with a sharp sigh, and Cailm complied. Lith had consulted the map during the short trip and had left Cailm near a landmark, so the Orthrus knew exactly where he was. ’It’s too damn easy.’ He inwardly cursed. ’Hesaria might hate me, but in my shoes, she would have done the same thing.’ Hesaria the Basilisk called for reinforcements, alerted them of the likely trap, and then studied a plan before approaching the geyser. "I’m almost gone and with me, your information." Cailm pressured her every time his condition worsened. "I’m here, you stupid mutt." A Warp Steps opened right beside the Orthrus, letting out a young, strikingly cute woman. "Now start talking." "Healing first." Cailm talked with the confidence of a dead man. "Fine!" She signaled her allies to scout the area and started to administer first aid via her breathing technique. The life force needed to be treated first, or Cailm’s core would crack. She stopped the bleeding to buy time and then started untangling the damage caused by Ragnarök. "You are a lucky dog." Hesaria said. "One more minute and you’d be dead. Are you sure this is a trap? Wounds this bad can’t be faked. Verhen should have intervened by now." "I’m sure." Cailm whined in relief, feeling the pain lessen. "He wanted to send you guys a message." "What mes-" Ragnarök stabbed her from behind, twisting and burning her life force until Hesaria’s wound matched Cailm’s. "Nobody messes with my family." Lith replied. "Thank you for enduring this long, Cailm. If you had folded immediately and called your allies, they would have arrived while I was still bringing Valeron home." The Orthrus’ eyes widened as he realized he had played in Lith’s hands twice. There was no trace of the baby, only the power of his Life Maelstrom remained. "What about my companions?" Hesaria grunted while holding her wound. "You mean my messages?" A snap of Lith’s fingers huddled the Awakened together in one bloody, agonizing lump. "I can be pretty awesome with no one to defend and a whole lot of allies. Isn’t that right?"