Yohan gasped for air.
To be honest, he had already reached his limit.
His heart pounded loudly, as if squeezing his brain, and his muscles ached as if being torn apart by a knife. But he couldn’t stop.
Huuuuuu-!
He repeatedly used mana interference and distortion spheres to move at high speed.
Every time he cut through the air, a fierce resistance grazed his skin, almost as if it would tear it apart, and the more fatigue accumulated, the blurrier his vision became.
He cut through the wind. Time was running out. He didn’t know what the magic practitioners would do to Rudbeckia. So Yohan couldn’t afford to catch his breath. He simply couldn’t.
‘Calm down. Time hasn’t passed too much yet.’
From the magic practitioners’ perspective, there was no reason to target Rudbeckia yet. They were clearly after him. They were probably focusing all their attention on him.
It was possible they might target the guards, but that wasn’t something to worry about. They weren’t split into individual units, and the entire expeditionary force was gathered in one place.
So, for now, he just had to focus on finding her.
Saaaah-
At that moment, the mana, which had been flowing like a long wave, pointed downward. It was the mana connecting to Rudbeckia.
Yohan looked down.
It was the center of an open area teeming with monsters.
The mana connecting her was sinking deep into the ground, which could only mean one thing.
‘Underground.’
Having pinpointed the location, Yohan slowly descended while drawing up his mana. The monsters, sensing his presence through the mana, all looked up at him, drooling.
-Kiaaaah!!
-Kirrrk!
The monsters, seized by madness, howled at Yohan as if urging him to come down.
They were starving for blood and flesh. Yohan didn’t blink an eye, extending his hand. In an instant, mana rapidly condensed.
A blue flash glowed from his fingertips. A sharp blade of mana cut through the air and shot out.
Cha-aaack!
With a single gesture, the monsters were cut cleanly in half, revealing a smooth cross-section. Dark red blood scattered in the air. The severed heads of the monsters tumbled to the ground, and their dying screams rang out.
The monsters twitched in spasms before finally coming to a stop.
The air was filled with the stench and a blood-red fog of mana.
-Kruuack…
One monster, not yet dead, struggled. Yohan narrowed his eyes and compressed his mana once again. The intangible pressure shook the space.
The monster’s body exploded from the inside out, scattering into a mess of blood and gore.
Pah-ak-!
“…”
Having dealt with all the interfering monsters, Yohan silently looked at the ground where the mana was flowing in.
The thick mana thread connected to Rudbeckia seemed to reach deep underground.
He aimed his fingertips downward. Wooong! A cluster of blue light gathered and formed a sphere. A distortion sphere. It created an opening just big enough for one person to pass through.
He didn’t need to worry about the underground collapsing. He wasn’t creating cracks but opening a hole.
Yohan burrowed into the ground through the distortion sphere.
* * *
Rudbeckia didn’t stop. She walked forward, bracing herself against the wall with her fingertips to avoid falling.
The darkness was still overwhelming, so she couldn’t see ahead, and she had no idea where she was, but she kept moving.
There was no other way if she wanted to survive.
Waiting for a rescue wasn’t an option either.
Before that, she felt like she might die from the mana.
“I don’t know if there’s an end to this.”
Walking along the wall, Rudbeckia furrowed her brow.
The only thing she could feel with her fingertips was the cold, chilling surface of the wall.
The mana was so thick that not even a single insect could be found.
“Hh….”
As her lips parted, a white breath escaped.
The chilling mana that seemed to pierce her skin also brought a biting cold.
After some time, her whole body began to shake uncontrollably.
‘I have to hold on…’
Rudbeckia wrapped her trembling hands around her body. Her body temperature was dropping rapidly. The robe she had worn for the expedition wasn’t providing much help.
‘…I can’t stay still.’
But that rest didn’t last long.
Thud.
Her feet faltered, and she collided with the wall. Her body felt heavy. It was as if parts of her body had vanished, and her senses had dulled.
Unknowingly, she looked down at her trembling fingertips. The tips of her fingers had turned blue.
It was cold. The kind of cold that felt like it was freezing her bones. Her heart tightened, and her breath became shallow.
‘I can’t…’
She tried to move her fingers, but there was no strength in them. Her eyelids grew heavier by the second.
‘I can’t let this happen…!’
Her mind was fading in and out.
She bit down on her fingertips.
Blood spread inside her mouth.
She couldn’t let herself collapse like this.
She wasn’t afraid of death.
After having witnessed the end of the world and countless deaths with her own eyes, would she be afraid of such a thing now?
What truly frightened her was the thought that, if she died here, she would never see Yohan again.
She hadn’t repaid him yet.
She hadn’t apologized yet.
She hadn’t received his feelings yet.
‘Stay strong.’
This life would be different.
She would never fall here.
Step by step.
Rudbeckia gritted her teeth and took another step forward.
In the pitch-black darkness, she pressed forward, suppressing the anxiety and fear as best as she could.
And just when she thought she couldn’t take another step, she finally spotted a light.
It was a torch hanging on the wall.
‘This doesn’t seem like the exit.’
Despite the long-desired light, Rudbeckia judged coldly. She wasn’t sure exactly where this place was, but it was likely a den of magic practitioners.
‘…Let’s check it out anyway.’
But there was no other way.
Rudbeckia moved slowly, trying not to make any noise, and headed towards the torch-lit area.
Inside, a massive and tightly spaced iron cage was set up.
‘Is this the way out?’
There was nothing across from the iron cage, but this was the only place she could go. She couldn’t go back now.
Rudbeckia gathered her magical power. Although there was still a heavy presence of dark magic, she was able to use her magic since she was closer to the outside now.
She created a blade using wind magic.
Whoosh!
Her magic gathered at her fingertips, creating a gust of wind that quickly formed into a blade and rushed forward.
Clang-!
But the iron cage didn’t budge. It was hard to cut through since Rudbeckia’s mana was dispersed, but also because the cage was incredibly sturdy.
‘Damn…’
Still, Rudbeckia didn’t give up.
Clang- Clang!
The wind blade clashed against the iron bars, sending sparks flying. The sound of metal grinding echoed through the space.
‘It’s working.’
It was cutting, though only a little. It would take time, but it was possible.
Clang, clang, clang-!
The noise was quite loud. While cutting through the cage, Rudbeckia kept scanning her surroundings. It would be bad if someone showed up.
Clang, clang-!
It was at that moment, while Rudbeckia was cutting through the bars, that a roar suddenly echoed from behind her.
“Kaaaah!”
Rudbeckia felt a chill run down her spine. It was as if she had become a prey animal, frozen in fear after meeting a predator. Her body stiffened.
‘What’s that?’
Slowly, Rudbeckia turned her head. A man, easily over two meters tall, was standing unsteadily.
Clang…
As the wind blade continued to cut through the bars, the man looked directly at Rudbeckia and shouted.
“Shut uuuup!”
“Hiiick-!”
The roar seemed to shake the entire space. Rudbeckia urgently covered her ears, feeling as if her eardrums might burst.
It wasn’t until the roar ended that she looked back at the man.
“Grrr…”
The man wasn’t human. Dark veins squirmed beneath his torn skin, and ominous markings appeared all over his body.
Swish, swish…
His muscles swelled grotesquely as they moved. Then, suddenly, the skin from his shoulders to his neck split open, and new eyes emerged from the gap.
Pah-!
Clawed fingers split apart, sharpening into deadly points. Rudbeckia instinctively stepped back. The killing intent felt as if it were shredding her skin.
‘Beastification…!’
Having experienced the ruined world at the hands of magic practitioners, Rudbeckia instinctively knew. The man was one of the magic practitioners cursed with beastification.
“Grrr…!”
Thud-!
The man staggered as he took a step forward. Eyes squirmed all over his body, and each of those eyes was locked onto Rudbeckia. His movements and gaze were filled with unmistakable intent to kill.
Rudbeckia hastily stretched out her hand.
“Espera de Lamas!”
The magical energy gathered in her palm, forming a sphere of flames. She shot it forward.
BOOM-!
The large fireball flew forward, colliding with the man and exploding. Due to the dark magic, the purity of the spell wasn’t very high. Its power was less than half of what it usually would be!
“Kaaaah-!”
The reverse effect only fueled the man’s anger more.
‘Damn…!’
What should she do? Rudbeckia clenched her lips. Should she try to slip past him? No, that’s too risky. With ordinary physical ability, she would surely be caught.
But there was no space to escape except beside him. Behind her, there was a thick iron cage, and on the sides, she was surrounded by a rough stone wall.
Thud-!
The beastified man took another step forward, and the ground trembled beneath him. Her heartbeat raced in time with his movements.
Thump, thump, thump.
If she was going to run, she had to make a decision quickly. But no clear decision was coming to her.
Thud-!
The huge shadow cast by the torch was getting closer.
‘Move!’
Rudbeckia gritted her teeth. Her body trembled, but she gathered magic at her fingertips.
“Ventana de Gelo!”
A blue light swirled from her fingers, and ice bars shot forward. The sharp tips of the ice spears rushed toward the man.
Pah-pah-pah-!
But they were not enough to pierce his skin.
“Kooorrr-!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The man roared and stomped his foot, shaking the ground. The sound of his heavy steps echoed through the air. It was as if the very ground was shaking from his weight.
Rudbeckia’s breath grew ragged. No matter how she thought about it, there was no way out. She couldn’t use proper magic, and her stamina was running low.
‘Yohan…!’
With no other option, she shut her eyes tightly and silently called out to Yohan in her mind.
“Kooorrr-!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Finally, the man had come right up to Rudbeckia. His huge hand reached out. His teeth clicked together as if preparing to tear her apart.
Just as his fingers were about to reach her, the ceiling cracked open. A blinding flash of light filled the space, followed by a deafening roar.
RUMBLE-!
BOOM-!
Something fell from the ceiling. Before the beastified man could react, he was crushed by it.
“What… what’s going on…?”
Rudbeckia blinked in shock. She tried to look around, but the dust in the air made it hard to see.
Grrrr…
The man, trapped beneath the debris, squirmed as he struggled.
As the dust settled, a familiar silhouette appeared.
“Rudbeckia.”
And then, a familiar voice reached her ears.
“Yohan…!”
As the dust cleared, the figure revealed itself to be Yohan, the very person Rudbeckia had desperately called out for in her heart.