OP Absorption
Chapter 50: Location

Chapter 50: Location

"Please... stop," Arachne whispered again, her voice barely audible.

Fin pushed himself to his feet, the wounds from their battle already healing as her stolen power coursed through him. The poison had almost completely dissipated from his system.

"Stop?" He let out a harsh laugh. "After you tried to kill me? After you shot me in the back with poison?"

She fell to her knees, her extra limbs drooping lifelessly. "The Queen... I was following orders."

He circled her slowly, twirling his staff. "Ah yes, your Queen. Let’s talk about her."

He reached down and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. The contact intensified the drain, causing her to whimper. Her skin had taken on an ashen pallor.

"Where is she?"

Her jaw clenched, defiance flashing through her fear. "I won’t... betray my Queen."

Fin tightened his grip, the silver lines on his arm pulsing brighter. "Let me explain your situation clearly. Right now, I’m taking your energy at a controlled rate. But I can accelerate it."

To demonstrate, he focused his will on the connection between them. The drain intensified immediately, causing her to cry out in pain. Her body convulsed as more of her life force was siphoned away.

"Wait!" she gasped when he eased back. "Please!"

"Where is the Queen?" He asked again, his voice dangerously soft. "And more importantly, where’s the exit to this dungeon?"

Arachne trembled under his grip. "They’re... they’re the same place."

That caught Fin’s attention. "Explain."

"The Queen resides in a sub-domain," she said, her words coming in short, pained bursts. "A pocket within this pocket. It’s where... where the dungeon’s heart lies."

"And how do we get there?"

She hesitated, her loyalty warring with her survival instinct. He increased the drain again, just slightly. A warning.

"There’s a gateway!" she blurted out. "A portal hidden in a waterfall."

"A waterfall?" He asked, his grip loosening slightly on Arachne’s chin. "What waterfall?"

She swallowed hard, relief washing over her face as the drain eased. "Eastern section. There’s a cavern system behind a waterfall. The gateway is deep inside—three massive rocks in the central chamber. The middle one is the entrance to the Queen’s domain."

He narrowed his eyes, scanning her face for deception. "And how exactly do we activate this gateway?"

"You need..." She hesitated, then sighed in defeat. "You need my mana signature. The domain will recognize me."

"So I have to bring you with me?" He groaned, releasing her chin and stepping back. "Dammit."

She slumped forward, catching herself with trembling hands. Her breathing was ragged, her once-fluid movements now jerky and weak.

"You’ve taken so much of my energy already. I can barely move."

"Not my problem," he replied coldly, though he did ease the drain further, maintaining just enough connection to keep her weakened. "You tried to kill me, remember?"

He paced in a small circle, thinking through his options. His team was waiting for him to find an exit. This portal might be their only way out. But bringing an enemy with him—especially one as dangerous as her—was risky.

"Here’s how this will work," he finally said, turning back to her. "You’re going to lead me to this waterfall. Any tricks, any attempts to signal your spider friends, and I’ll drain you dry. Understand?"

She nodded weakly, hatred burning in her six eyes.

"Can you stand?" he asked.

She pushed herself up shakily, swaying on her feet. "I need... I need some of my energy back. Just enough to walk."

He considered this. She was right—in her current state, she would slow them down significantly. But giving her back power was dangerous.

"Fine," he said after a moment. "But just enough to walk."

He concentrated on the connection, reversing the flow slightly. A trickle of energy passed back into her—not much, just enough to restore basic mobility.

She straightened slightly, her limbs becoming more responsive. "That’s... better."

"Don’t get used to it," he warned. "Now move. My team’s waiting."

As they began their trek toward the eastern section, he kept a watchful eye on his captive.

"So what exactly are you?" he asked after they’d been walking in silence for several minutes. "You’re clearly not just a regular dungeon monster."

She glanced at him sidelong, her multiple eyes blinking in sequence. "We are the Children of the Queen. Her chosen ones."

"Yeah, you mentioned that," he said impatiently. "But what does that mean? You look almost human, except for the extra eyes and limbs."

"We were once like you," she said quietly. "Long ago. The Queen... changed us. Elevated us."

"Changed you? How?"

"None of your business, human."

"Whatever then." He drained her a bit, just to get back at her for that reply and she looked at him, wanting to rip him apart but she knew better than to try that.

Every few minutes, her eyes darted to the sides, seeking escape routes, only to return forward in resignation.

"Don’t even think about it," he warned without turning around. "I can feel your energy fluctuating when you’re planning something."

She hissed softly. "You know nothing about what I’m thinking."

"I know enough." He tapped his forearm where the connection still pulsed beneath his skin. "This connection works both ways. I get more than just power from you."

It wasn’t entirely true—he couldn’t read her thoughts—but the subtle shifts in her energy signature did give him insights into her emotional state. Right now, it radiated hatred, overlaid with desperate calculation.

Their uneasy journey had lasted nearly thirty minutes when a distant sound caught Fin’s attention—the unmistakable clash of combat. He quickened his pace, following the noise through a tangle of vegetation.

"Stay close," he ordered Arachne. "Try to run, and I drain you completely."

She glared at him but complied.

They emerged into a partial clearing where a familiar figure was locked in combat with what looked like a large, mutated insect—something between a mantis and a scorpion, its chitinous body glistening with toxic secretions.

Susan.

Her shield flashed as she dodged a scything foreleg, countering with a strike that glanced off the monster’s armored hide. Blood streaked her left arm, evidence that the fight wasn’t going entirely in her favor.

Beyond her, Fin spotted the rest of the team. Gary stood braced behind a rocky outcropping, firing carefully aimed shots from his crossbow. Lucas remained further back, consulting some kind of device that glowed faintly blue. Mary circled to the creature’s flank, her sword at the ready. Joe provided covering fire with thrown knives.

And Hana—Hana stood slightly apart from the others, her expression unreadable.

"Found them."