novelraw Chapter 97: Escape
Chapter 97: Escape
Its ribs were exposed beneath an old gray armor, its ash corruption spreading across the metal like a spiderweb. That creature was even taller than Mountain. On top of that, its massive heavy axe made it look even more intimidating.
Its face was hidden beneath a common knight’s helmet, but inside it, two white eyes glowed like mysterious flames. A spectral growl echoed as they stood before it.
"Let’s not waste time," Marco said.
He dashed toward the colossus and attempted to cut it in half with his sword; however, surprisingly, the giant was fast with its heavy axe and blocked Marco’s killing strike.
Azel didn’t fall behind. He fired two light arrows that pierced through the axe knight’s head, making it stagger in confusion. Marco seized the opportunity and, with a crescent swing, cut off its head.
At that exact moment, a rain of arrows struck.
’Shit!’
Before Monar could react to defend himself, Mitsuki used the same move as before and disintegrated the arrows in midair, but when he landed, his breathing became extremely heavy—he was still exhausted from his battle against Elyndor. Mana took time to regenerate, just like muscles bruised from overexertion.
"Mitsuki, are you okay?" the dark elf asked.
"I’m fine... I am. I’m just a bit tired."
Both of them turned their attention back to Azel and Marco, who had managed to subdue the axe knight. To be honest, its strength was overwhelming, but it lacked the combat skill expected of a heavily armored knight.
Mitsuki stepped forward toward the headless colossus lying on the ground, its body twitching faintly as it searched for its head. He aimed his shotgun and fired without hesitation.
A system notification appeared.
[ You have defeated an unnamed D-rank specter. ]
[ You will receive rewards. ]
Marco looked toward the distant houses.
"Now we just have those two left. They fight at range the whole time, so they must be a couple of weaklings like this idiot here."
"I injured one, but I don’t think it’s anything serious," Azel said. "It’ll regenerate soon enough. What should we do?"
Monar sighed.
"We’re all tired because of the dragon. While the enemies are watching us, taking a break is a bad idea. Lowering our guard guarantees death, so even if we’re exhausted, we’ll have to keep going."
’I’m really tired. I need to rest, but dying here isn’t something I want.’
Even if he had to collapse along the way, they had to keep moving until they got out of this damned hell.
"Then let’s go," Marco said.
Azel nodded, and together they looked down the path between streets and intersections filled with ruined houses stained by the curse of ash.
At the same time, Mitsuki glanced back at his system. There were notifications to check, but there was no time.
’Let’s keep going.’
From then on, the group resumed running at full speed. This time, they chose to move through the darkest paths between houses, such as alleys or narrow streets. From there, it seemed the archers couldn’t see them to shoot, making the route relatively safer.
They continued like that for several minutes, noticing how strangely desolate the place felt. Even though they all knew this place was anything but empty.
At times, strange eyes would appear, watching from the darkness, or the wailing screams of what Monar called the "anchor of the curse" could be heard. The atmosphere also grew heavier the further they went, as if the curse itself was trying to tell them to turn back.
’Ugh... This is too much for me. Even though my stamina has increased a lot, I still get exhausted way too fast,’ Mitsuki thought, scanning the streets. ’If this keeps up...’
There was no other choice—they had to keep going.
At a critical moment, when they had to cross one of the widest streets, they were spotted by the archers and attacked by a rain of arrows.
Too exhausted to react properly, Mitsuki propelled himself once more and destroyed the arrows, rejoining the group within the alleys. Then he kept running, but his exhaustion was now painfully obvious.
Mitsuki was about to collapse at any moment.
"Just hold on a little longer, Mitsuki. We’ll find a way to fix this," Monar said, lifting the group’s morale.
Running behind Monar, Azel still felt guilty about the current situation. While the dragon incident had indeed been his fault, what happened afterward wasn’t. In hindsight, anything could happen in Nemoria, no matter how illogical it seemed, so something like a magic circle with a teleportation spell was to be expected. Even the dragon’s attack, out of everything that could have happened to them, was the most ordinary.
Now they had to face the consequences of their decisions and move forward.
***
After nearly an hour of running, Mitsuki felt everything begin to spin. His body wavered, and he finally collapsed to his knees. Large amounts of sweat poured from his forehead, and his breathing was so irregular and heavy that anyone would think the boy might die right there.
Monar rushed to help him, but it was too late.
"Damn it... I can’t anymore... I... can’t..." Mitsuki complained.
His eyes closed, and he fell unconscious. The group looked at him in silence. Fortunately, they were in an alley, making it unlikely for monsters to find them. Besides, it was clear no one would abandon Mitsuki—he had proven to be extremely useful for their survival despite his shortcomings.
"This is getting complicated," Monar lamented, holding Mitsuki in his arms.
Marco stepped forward.
"I’ll carry him. You focus on covering our backs while we look for a place to rest. Everyone here needs rest—no matter how dangerous it is."
"I’ll stand guard," Azel added. "Let’s hurry."
They moved deeper into the darkness of the alleys in search of a place. While the archers lurked and other possible enemies crawled around like worms, the group slipped between houses until they found the perfect spot among the farthest alleys.
It was a large house. The roof was broken, as well as parts of some walls, but beyond that, there were rooms that seemed isolated from the rest. There, the group gathered to rest in a single room.
Azel remained at the entrance while Marco and Monar spoke. At the same time, Mitsuki sank into the realm of dreams—and memories.
There, he heard a woman’s voice...