Chef in the Apocalypse

Chapter 167: Life Warden

’Life Warden?’

Jayce’s mind raced at 100 miles per hour, the intuition that had been screaming at him stopped altogether, leaving him with only the sound of his loudly beating heart to echo in his ears.

’F*ck… Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse.’ He thought inwardly, trying to come up with his next move.

“A-Ah yes. So you are a druid? This city makes a lot more sense now, you’ve done an amazing job.” Jayce said, flatteringly.

“Yes yes, we have lovely sla— residents here.” Leah said, her smile still present. She had almost called her subjects slaves unintentionally, or was it intentional?

She walked forward slowly, to which Jayce responded by backtracking with Lianna still within his arms. “While we’re asking questions, I have one for you.” She said casually, choosing to ignore his movements.

“Oh, please fire away.” Jayce responded, his eyes slowly checking the surroundings.

“Did you happen to see a large tree around? Similar to the one that we’re in now?” Leah asked, maintaining her gaze on Jayce.

’F*ck! I knew it.’ Jayce had confirmed his earlier theory with that question alone. He felt a sudden danger behind him, yet he was able to react in time. He dove to his left, dodging the vines which thrust toward him in an attempt to tie him down.

Lianna began to chant her buffs, casting a green glow around herself and Jayce. He summoned the Bloodfang Dagger and gently pushed Lianna aside.

“Look out for the vines.” He cautioned, pushing off the ground with great force towards Leah.

Leah clicked her tongue with annoyance and with a wave of her arm she sent vines to attack Jayce once more. The brown vines whipped towards him like angry pythons, wanting to wrap around and constrict him to death.

Jayce had expected as much, so he struck out with the Bloodfang Dagger, slicing them in two with relative ease. His gaze was locked onto Leah, waiting for her next move as he quickly approached, yet a confident smile formed on her face.

Suddenly he lost his footing, feeling the ground beneath him turn into a bog, limiting his movements. He faltered, trying to pull out his feet which were being pulled into the viscous substance like quicksand.

“You have good instincts, but you’re mine now.” Leah said, no longer hiding the vicious look on her face.

“How dare you strut in here all high and mighty after killing my sister.” Her voice changed with these words, as if they were overlapping with Leah’s original voice. It was dripping with fury and anger.

Another set of vines shot out at Jayce who was currently immobile within the bog. Jayce whispered something under his breath before a bright light began to shine from his hands. He raised his arms and sent the bright light towards Leah who stepped back in fright.

The bright light gave her a sense of danger, forcing her to retreat a few steps. As soon as it landed on the ground in front of her it exploded, sending raging flames in all directions. The flames attached themselves to her vines and nature-covered dress.

“W-What!?” She called out in a panic. Seeing the dagger in his hands, Leah had expected that the man in front of her was an Assassin, or at least another melee class. She had not expected the rain of fire which threatened to burn her alive.

“You Bastard!” Leah yelled out. In the next moment, a water dragon flew from one side of the room, extinguishing the flames which had threatened to destroy the entire ecosystem within the room.

Jayce’s head turned, looking at their new foe, yet what he saw only made his blood run cold. The man who had originally captured Lianna had appeared, yet he looked a lot different. There was a set of vines which attached to his neck, seemingly entering his spinal column.

His face was cold and lifeless, unlike the one they had seen just a few minutes before.

Lianna’s mouth was open in shock, however her eyes had never left Jayce this entire time. ’Did he just shoot a fireball?’ she thought inwardly, feeling her whole world tremble. Yet she shook her head in the next moment, now was not the time for such thoughts.

She gathered up her courage and ran towards the new foe, producing a bolt of mana and firing at him. “I’ll deal with this guy, you take care of that… thing.” Lianna yelled out to Jayce.

She was not sure what was going on, but although that woman looked like her long lost sister, she was most definitely not. However, Lianna had a blind faith that Jayce would find a way to deal with whatever had happened to her.

Jayce nodded. He had rarely seen Lianna go on the offensive, merely sticking to healing and providing buffs for the party, however that did not mean she didn’t know how to. He had ensured that she was capable of defending herself in case they ever got separated.

With that big gap in levels between her and the new foe, he did not have to worry about her unless something changed. Yet he decided to err on the side of caution, lest they make a mistake.

Straightening his back, Jayce let out a small smile and said softly.

“Domain.”

The familiar dark flames flew out from within him, attaching itself to everything in its surroundings. The bleak glow and ghastly light that they emitted turned the interior from a bright and vibrant ecosystem into a nightmarish landscape.

Leah saw the hellfire disperse throughout the room and instantly panicked. She could not dodge the flames, being struck precisely no matter how she moved, yet there was no pain. She blinked a few times in confusion, not understanding the purpose of such a thing.

Yet in the next moment she felt her strength being sapped, as if the flames were leeches, sucking on her lifeblood.

“Y-You. What have you done?”

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