Edward reached the bridge, with the two Bloodmaws running after him. This time he didn’t need to turn around to check on the Bloodmaws pursuing him, he was able to keep tabs on them with his aura senses. They were slowly gaining on him, but it wasn’t worrying yet, their speed difference wasn’t too important. They would need time to catch up to him, as he had been able to secure twenty meters of distance before they started to chase him down. That’s good, they are not that faster than me, at this rate I should be able to cross the bridge before they catch up to me.

As he trod on the bridge, he was able to see the remains of the pods that previously hosted all of the Bloodmaws. All of them were broken, and pieces were spread on the floor. A rare few were still standing but with a red light and a Bloodmaw corpse inside of them. Right now, there weren’t hundreds of Bloodmaws under the bridge, as they had dispersed inside the ruins, but there were still several dozens of them, with more incoming, attracted by the roars. All of them followed Edward's flight, running after him from under the bridge. Edward was a single spot pursued by a sea of red monsters under him.

I’m lucky those monsters are morons. As long as they run after me from under the bridge I’m not at risk. There is no set of stairs to climb up toward this side of the bridge. They will all end up stopped against the walls once I cross it. It would have been more worrisome if they actually run towards the stairs to climb up on the bridge, instead of running after me. Suddenly, roars sounded from where Edward was running to, monsters coming on the bridge, blocking his way forward. Edward’s face paled. That is what I was more worried about. There are just too many of them. I’m getting surrounded. But I can’t afford to stop, I would be turned into mincemeat with all of them catching up to me.

There are not too many monsters in front of me. I can still teleport past them. I don’t have any other choice anyway. Edward was cornered between two groups of Bloodmaws coming at him from each side of the bridge, and more of them waiting for him under it. Edward clenched his teeth and continued to charge in front of him, ignoring the Bloodmaws on his way that were becoming increasingly closer. In a few seconds, they were on him, the first one pouncing on him. Edward jumped too as if in a last desperate attempt to fight it. It was like a mantis trying to stop an excavator.

As the Bloodmaw was going to tear him apart, Edward teleported above it, using it as a launching pad to jump further away, flying above two other Bloodmaws behind the first one, avoiding this small group. The way was now clear in front of him. The other group of Bloodmaws chasing him didn’t have the time to stop their momentum and crashed with the group Edward had just avoided. One of them actually lost his balance from the shock and fell from the bridge. However, as it wasn’t that high, the fall wasn’t enough to kill it.

Edward landed awkwardly behind the monsters, quickly getting back up and continuing to run. On this side of the bridge, there were different rooms where he would be able to hide alongside the corridor. He had managed to cross the most dangerous part of the ruins. Hell yeah, that was awesome. I thought I would die for a moment there. My arms are actually still shaking. That Bloodmaw must have been completely befuddled. I actually stomped on it, aha, I did it myself, and yet I can barely believe it.

He used the time the monsters took to reorganize themselves to once again open up the distance with them, quickly gaining a forty meters lead. However, the monsters didn’t stop the chase, and once they found back their bearing, they immediately rushed back at him. They never give up, don’t they? You didn’t manage to catch me on the bridge, do you think you will manage to catch me now that I can teleport into empty rooms to escape? Speaking of which, Edward saw the door to one such room. Back then, they didn’t have the time to explore, so they only entered one of them to avoid a monster who had almost caught them. He neither had the time to explore this time, but since the monsters were already after him, he would need to use those rooms to confuse them and to gain a brief respite.

Edward checked with his aura perception, tension seeping out of his body once he realized that his aura was indeed able to pass through the walls. That meant that he should be able to teleport across. If his aura hadn’t been able to go through the walls, he didn’t know what he would have done. He had managed to open a good distance between him and the monsters pursuing him, but they would still slowly gain on him, catching him in the end. Moreover, with the myriad of Bloodmaws in those ruins, more would come after him, including from the front. That would mean a delay to avoid them, a delay that would prove fatal with the other monsters behind him. For such a long straight line, it was essential to have some ways to open up the distance with them.

Good, that’s one less thing to worry about. As the monsters were still some distance away from him, he didn’t teleport into this room and instead continued to run. He would keep his teleportation as a trump card, using it as the most opportune time. However, he was soon forced to use it, not because the Bloodmaws had already caught up with him, but because others were coming from the front. I swear those ruins are a fucking death trap. Narrow corridors, with monsters charging at you from all directions. And we were supposed to explore them with only an awaken and a bunch of quiescent people. Don’t make me laugh.

Edward teleported to one of the rooms on the side to avoid being stuck between a rock and a hard place. He didn’t take the time to look around him, but he was instantly struck by the sight in front of him. He was in a storage area, several shelves full of jars containing different pieces of flesh. They weren’t unlike formol jars, but instead of containing full specimens, they contained bits and pieces. He could see different kinds of eyes floating in liquid, some reminding him of the ocelli of the Bloodmaws. What kind of sick place is this? He had almost crashed against a jar shelf, not able to stop his momentum. Seeing those parts of flesh on display, just in front of his face was really disgusting.

He was snapped out of his thoughts, as the Bloodmaws had caught up to him while he was distracted. Outside the room, they impacted the stone door with a loud dull sound, the door shaking from the shock. Edward spread his aura, sensing another open space after the wall of this room. He didn’t lose more time and teleported into the next room. This one was less horrific, it was more like a laboratory, currently empty and kept in good condition. There were several desks with a layer of ceramic on top, preventing different substances from reacting with it. All the desks were covered by several lines of runes.

Edward continued to the next wall, expanding his aura, but this time there was no other room available to teleport to, only stone was extending from the wall. Shit, this room would have been good to hide in if the Bloodmaws didn’t know I was there. But right now, I can’t stay there, once they managed to destroy the door, I would be a sitting duck. I have to escape before they block the exit. He projected his aura through the wall towards the corridor, the beasts were piled up together against the door to the room Edward had been in earlier. As he was monitoring them, they managed to destroy the door and part of the wall with it, enlarging the entry enough for them to go inside.

They may lack intelligence, but they certainly don’t lack brute force. I should better avoid getting hit by them. While the Bloodmaws were rushing into the adjacent room, wondering where Edward had gone, the latter teleported back into the corridor and resume his run without being hindered by them. All of the beasts hadn’t been able to enter the room, the ones staying in the corridor roared with anger when they spotted him before rushing after him, the others following after them. Start of round two, Edward is still at the head of the pack, disdaining the angry protestations from the losers chasing after him. He thought to himself.

He had already run for the majority of the corridor’s length. He soon barged into the dome room, where he had initially found the set of daggers, the Bloodmaws still on his heels. The different columns on the side of the area helped him to lose some of the monsters chasing him. He quickly found the tilted path towards the exit, choosing to teleport in front of it, rather than slalom between the columns to reach it. I would have preferred to have lost the Bloodmaws chasing me by now. It’s all a straight line starting from here. At least, it’s the final stretch before the library. Then I can teleport behind the closed door, and run for my liberty. But seeing how they destroyed that room’s door in a few seconds to reach me, I doubt that will stop them.

Wait, isn’t it actually bad? Will they continue to run after me, once I’m outside of the ruins. Edward felt bad at this thought, in his plan, he had always thought about crossing the ruins, but he had never considered that the monsters could continue to chase him even when he would be outside. Not the time, Edward, just go out of there first. He ran as fast as he could, the columns used as obstacles managed to slow the beasts a little, but Edward didn’t have as big as a lead on them as he would have liked.

The tilted floor ended, and Edward was back in the statue’s aisle, he quickly dashed by them, not getting the time to glance at them. The monsters were running after him, toppling down the statues on their path. Edward couldn’t see them, but he was able to sense them with his aura. Shit, those statues were absolutely dashing. Another thing to add to my guilty list of the things that happened in those ruins.

A few moments later he was back in the library, the same gloomy red being the only source of lighting. The different decorations on the wall took this red color as well. The sight of an entire room, bathed in red light, with the decorations turning more into a haunting than a peaceful forest, was already daunting enough. But the sight, of the different corpses, spread here and there, sometimes in different pieces, and knowing that a whole group of people had been slaughtered here gave another level of horror to this room. Edward almost paused for an instant before pulling himself together. The beasts were almost on him, and he didn’t have a second to spare if he didn’t want to end like the rest of his comrades in this expedition.