By the miracle of his superhuman durability, Klein’s fingernails weren’t torn off as he jammed them into stone, but the pressure he put upon them was still enough to cause him to squirm. Physically strong as he was, the man had neither the power nor the technique to push holes into stone, and had settled for bracing himself against it instead, using his strength to anchor both himself and Amulak in place. But his fingertips were getting awfully sweaty, and the natural wetness of the rock wasn’t doing him any favors, after all.

The mage’s response, thankfully, was swift. The three-meter long Spirit Divider sliced through the air, part of it breaking against Klein’s body as it fell. A twang sounded, and an instant later, the pressure on his leg disappeared. Before anything else could happen, the two scrambled up after, assisted this time by Raime, whose own strength, while nothing compared to Klein’s, was still enough to expediate their ascent. And as for Ames and Magpie?

They were already waiting out at the top.

When the three men finally crawled out of the steep tunnel, their clothes soaked and their bodies heavy from fatigue, the relative dampness and cold of the rest of the Blasphemed Tunnels was almost a blessing. Some ice cold Nuka Cola would’ve been amazing; even just ice water would do. But there was nothing there, and there had been nothing there within the underground cave as well though. Whether that meant it was time to call it quits or that their quarry was somewhere else in this subterranean network, however, was still up to debate.

Amulak would note, as the numbing exhaustion wore off, that something tight was still wrapped around his ankle. Without any steam stinging his eyes and obscuring his vision, it was clear what this material was: spidersilk, sticky and strong.
[sub][@Shovel][@Searat][@Psyker Landshark][@OwO][@Yankee][/sub][hr]
With a final glorious swing of his sword, Vator ended the remaining phantasm, cleaving its fat head off its shoulders. The rest of the body dissipated soon after, and the swordsman fell into the furry embrace of the bear underneath, who unceremoniously pushed him off and shifted back to Droko. Checking over their bodies for any broken or damaged equipment and finding none, the party headed back off to the wagon, where Man Joji sat. The merchant had obviously accrued some experience with roadside troubles, his countenance unflappable despite the supernatural chaos that the gyuki had wrought, and with a slow clap, he addressed the party, [b]"Well done indeed. A truly good show, and one that I hope is indicative of your future endeavors."[/b]

[b]"Yup,"[/b] Vator said eagerly, [b]"that's us! Always normal!"[/b]

Droko crossed her arms. [b]"Get back to scouting."

"No break?"

"100% looked like your DPS was shit. Didn't even bust out your skills, right?"[/b]

Bortz guffawed. [b]"Wow, V. What're you even saving SP for?"

"I mean,"[/b] the swordsman shrugged. [b]"Just forgot, y'know?"[/b]

The shaman narrowed her eyes. [b]"Get running."[/b]

Vator's puppy eyes weren't enough to get him the support of Bortz, and after a longing stare at Ari, he ran off again, leaving smouldering footprints in his wake. The remaining party kept apace with Man Joji's old steed, opting to walk in front rather than remain at the sides. Though the merchant had called this a relatively quiet road, caution rather than comfort may be the better choice after all. They were lucky enough, after all, that the breath attacks of the two gyuki never extended far enough to strike the wagon itself. A party composed largely of melee or mid-ranged physical fighters didn't exactly have any ways of crowd controlling or defending, beyond murder and martyrdom. As a comfortable rhythm of travel smoothed out the last tensions remaining from the battle, Bortz spoke up again, his eyes sliding over amiably towards Ari.

[b]"So, that thing was your Nuclei, ey? What's it do? Give you Matrix shit?"[/b]

[b]"Auto-evasion capabilities,"[/b] Droko supplied. It seemed she was bored enough with the quiet to join in this time. [b]"That's what he means by the Matrix."[/b]
[sub][@GreenGoat][/sub]