NOVEL NEXT Chapter 102: Plasma
The Captain turned his eyes toward Elara.
He noticed the glow in her palm, a soft but powerful light, and he instantly made his guess.
To him, that had to be fire.
In a dungeon, fire was always welcome. Against Bluehide Beetles, it was the only true weapon.
His voice rose above the echoing sounds of crawling limbs.
"Come on, use your fire to take them out!" he shouted.
The ground shook with the weight of beetle hands dragging Marco farther away.
They slithered across the stone, dozens of pale-blue arms wrapping around him like living ropes.
Other tentacles spread in all directions, searching for more prey.
Their claws clicked against the ground, sharp and steady, like knives tapping on stone.
Elara's throat tightened.
She shook her head. "I can't," she said quietly.
The Captain turned to her with a glare.
His face twisted in anger. In his eyes, this was cowardice. How could you have a perfect affinity and leave your team-mates to die because you didn't want to use it?
But Elara saw otherwise.
It was plasma.
Plasma was hotter than fire.
Stronger than any flame in the squad.
But it came with a risk, Her body could withstand it beause she was divine, but no one else could.
If she let it out in the wrong way, the radiation would scorch her teammates. They would die before the beetles even touched them.
She couldn't let that happen.
Before he could yell again, a sudden wave of heat rolled over the group. Flames erupted in the darkness, dancing wildly.
The beetle arms clutching Marco lit up, their shells cracking and popping.
The air smelled of burning insects.
"Whoooo!!"
Marco's voice filled the cavern.
His whole body was burning. From head to toe, he was a torch in the dark. Fire licked his skin, but he didn't scream in pain.
Instead, he laughed as the flames rose higher. With a spin, he broke free of the crawling arms and flipped into the air.
He hovered just above the ground, covered in fire.
"Sneak attacks aren't cool!" Marco shouted.
Elara's eyes narrowed.
She had actually been worried about him. For a moment, she had thought he was about to be dragged off and eaten alive.
But of course, Marco wasn't helpless. He was an awakened fighter with his own strange gift.
People at GRIMMAW called him "The Human Fireball."
Unlike other flame users, he couldn't just throw fire with his hands.
He had to ignite his entire body before he could attack.
It was dangerous but also very effective.
He looked at Elara through the flames, grinning as if this was just another training session. "Were you worried about me?"
Elara didn't answer.
She turned her head away.
"Focus!" the Captain barked. His patience was thin, and his voice cut through the air like a whip.
He drew his baton from his belt.
The metal stick glowed as energy pulsed through it. "To get to the next floor, we have to charge through this swarm!"
He didn't wait.
He rushed forward, swinging the baton with full force. The strike connected with a group of beetle arms.
Sparks flashed, then a burst of electricity spread through them. The insects shook violently as the current roasted them.
"Fight!" the Captain roared.
The squad broke apart. Their formation fell apart as panic and fear took control.
Everyone attacked in their own way, forgetting the neat lines and rules they had been given.
Elara took a deep breath. She lifted her hands. Her gauntlets hummed as the energy inside built up.
She clenched her fists, then thrust one forward.
A beam of plasma shot out.
It wasn't like fire neither was it like lightning.
It was pure, searing heat.
The beam tore through the crawling arms, burning them away in an instant. Where it hit, the beetles disintegrated, turning to ash without even time to scream.
The plasma slammed into the wall at the end of the chamber. A crater formed, glowing faintly from the heat.
The chamber went quiet for half a heartbeat.
Marco stopped mid-flight, staring at the destruction.
His mouth dropped open.
"You can do that?!" he shouted. His flames flickered as his focus wavered. "That's hotter than my fire! Way hotter! Guess that means we're a match, you know, with—"
He didn't finish his sentence.
A massive beetle fist, built from dozens of crawling bodies merging together, swung through the air.
It slammed straight into Marco's chest. The impact shook the room. Marco's body shot across the chamber, smashing into the opposite wall.
Stone cracked, dust falling in chunks as he slid down.
Elara sighed. "Idiot."
The Captain didn't pause.
His voice rang out again. "Watch your armor! They can chew through it!"
Beetles were already crawling up his legs and arms, their mandibles cutting into the plating with sharp cracks.
Sparks flew as they bit through. He slammed his baton down, electrocuting the ones on his arm, but more replaced them instantly.
Others scrambled toward Elara.
They crawled over her boots and gauntlets, claws scratching at the metal.
She closed her eyes and let her body glow.
Plasma radiation spilled out around her like a shield.
The beetles screeched and their shells burned, cracking apart, their bodies collapsing into dust.
'This is convenient,' Elara thought as she threw another punch, blasting a group into nothing.
But her small victory ended quickly.
A scream filled the chamber.
Everyone turned.
A young woman stood only a few feet away.
She was another rookie, no older than Elara herself. Her weapon was gone, her hands flailing as beetles swarmed her body.
They climbed her legs, arms, and chest, clawing at every seam in her armor.
"Please! Help me!" she screamed. Her voice cracked, tears streaking down her cheeks.
She staggered, falling to her knees.
Elara raised her fist, plasma gathering at the tip. But she froze. If she released it, the blast would burn the woman alive along with the beetles.
The woman kept screaming.
"No! Please!" Her voice echoed in the cavern, full of terror.
The others rushed forward, Marco dragging himself out of the wall, flames flaring again.
But they were too far and too slow.
The woman's cries turned into choked gasps.
Her mouth opened one last time, but instead of words, beetles poured inside.
Her body convulsed.
The sound of chewing filled the chamber.
Her armor split apart and her skin vanished.
The beetles swarmed through her like a tide.
When Marco and Elara reached her, it was over.
The young woman's skeleton fell to the ground, armor clattering beside it.
Empty eye sockets stared up at them, the rest of her body completely gone.
This was what it meant to die…