Shadow Slave novel Chapter 1713

Swamps had a natural inclination to produce methane, which often remained trapped beneath the surface, forming voluminous bubbles of putrid gas. And those were only the swamps of the waking world, which were much safer than the marshes of the Dream Realm… well, at least they had been before the Dark Times.

In times of war, humanity had unleashed all kinds of weaponized horrors upon itself. So, today, there was no telling what kind of buried plagues could be released into the world if someone went around digging in the swamps of Europe or the Northern Quadrant.

The Dream Realm might have actually been safer, in that regard.

None of it mattered to Rain, though. What mattered for her was that methane was highly flammable.

And so, when the Huntsman shattered the liquor bottle, it ignited.

«Crap…»

Diving behind the tree, Rain pressed her body into the ground and covered her ears. In the next moment, she was momentarily blinded by a violent flash.

Then, she was assaulted by unbearable heat.

And then, the entire world shuddered.

«Ah?»

Rain was tossed into the air as the tree she had been hiding behind was obliterated.

That… was not supposed to happen. Marsh gas could ignite and burn, but not explode, and especially not so fiercely — at least not under an open sky.

Perhaps the flames somehow reached a huge pocket of trapped methane, or perhaps it had something to do with the pockets of gas sticking to the surface of the ice. Perhaps the entire swamp was anomalous, and the gas she had set aflame itself was unnatural.

In any case, the result of tossing the liquor bottle surpassed Rain's expectations.

By a lot.

Crashing into the ground, she felt the wind being knocked out of her and let out a suffocated groan. Rolling in a mess of limbs, Rain fell into shallow water and came to a halt.

«That… hurt.»

She was hurt and dazed.

But there was no time for such frivolous things as pain and disorientation.

Opening her eyes, Rain pushed air into her lungs, coughed on smoke, and slowly stood up.

The swamp around her had transformed, It had been a plain of pure white snow once. Then, It turned into a chaotic mess of broken ice and surging black water.

Now… It was a burning Inferno.

Ghostly flames danced on the surface of the glistening black water, and the air was full of smoke. The snow had melted, and the shards of ice were swiftly disappearing in the scorching heat. Everywhere Rain looked, darkness was intertwined with a fiery glow, and shadows undulated as they danced among the flames.

Rain was assaulted both by chilling cold and terrible heat. Her shirt was soaked in icy swamp water and sweat at the same time, which was a terrible combination. The ash she had smeared on herself to mask her scent had been washed away.

The cut on her side was pulsing with pain. That wound would have to be disinfected… a lot…

«Ah…»

She let out a long sigh.

At the same time, her sword hissed as it left the scabbard.

Gripping the black hilt with both hands, Rain took a step forward and left the shallow water behind, returning to the soil of the small island.

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