Chapter 123

A battle unfolded right before my eyes.

At first, I thought we had the upper hand, but everything changed when a terrifying woman wielding a flaming sword appeared, throwing the situation into chaos beyond what an ordinary person could anticipate.

And…

The Duke Ocleang had no intentions of just standing by and watching.

“Damn it… This won’t do… I need to escape while I can…”

If the Black Warriors were to win, that would be great, but if they lost, my life would end right here.

Later, I could rejoin them, but for now, avoiding danger was the priority.

“Damn it… Of all times, my horse had to die…”

The noble white steed, known for its exceptional lineage, had become a corpse. If only I could grab one of the horses ridden by the Black Warriors, but given my position, attempting to do so would risk my neck.

Realizing that all I could do was run away on foot…

I cautiously began to slip away to the back, keeping an eye out.

If I rushed, I might attract unwanted attention.

It was best to slip away as discreetly as possible without drawing any aggro…

One step.

Then another.

Moving quietly and cautiously, the Duke Ocleang surprised even himself with how silently he managed to retreat.

And then… at last, the moment his body was fully concealed by the underbrush…

– Thud!

The Duke began to run with all his might.

His hefty frame caused his belly to jiggle, but he ran with everything he had.

“Ugh… ugh… ugh… ugh…”

He barely took a few steps before panting heavily.

His already heavy legs felt like lead, and his lungs and heart, too small and feeble for his massive body, were already crying out in agony.

His heart raced as if it would explode, and sweat poured down his entire body.

Under normal circumstances, he would have collapsed immediately from such overwhelming exhaustion.

But despite the pain, the Duke pressed on, determined not to stop.

To survive…

To somehow escape this place and live…

*

– Crack, crack, crack!!!

“Ugh!”

Magellan narrowly managed to fend off the enemy’s attack.

With each strike aimed his way, droplets like red blood flew toward him, and his face, surrounded by gathered magical power for defense, grew increasingly rigid.

‘This isn’t good… I can defend myself, but the amount of magical power I’m losing is no joke.’

To block such a concentrated attack, he could only counter with a similar force.

But forcibly turning an ordinarily offensive technique into a defensive maneuver was the worst case scenario in terms of efficiency.

Especially considering the substance had acidic properties that dealt damage on contact, making it even harder to handle.

Then…

– Whoosh!

“!”

In an instant, a shadow darted swiftly behind the Black Warrior.

Elkana.

With her dagger packed full of magical power in hand, she swung it, the blade enveloped in a brilliant blue light as it struck from behind the Black Warrior.

And then…

– Thud!!!

“I got it!”

Elkana plunged her dagger deep into the warrior’s neck.

The strike slipped perfectly through the cracks of the black armor, piercing right through.

Following her instincts, she twisted the dagger to shred from within.

But…

“Uh?”

She felt a strange sensation during the process.

It was unlike anything she had felt when decapitating a human…

A bizarre yet foreign feeling.

Feeling an unsettling chill, Elkana withdrew the dagger.

“!?! Wh-what…?”

What she saw next was her dagger, half-melted.

It looked as if it had been dipped in acidic solution.

Her face hardened as she gazed at the dagger.

And then…

“!!”

“Elkana, watch out!”

From where she had pulled the dagger, a surge of red magical power burst forth.

Elkana hastily bent backward and rolled away.

– Sizzle!!!

With a hair’s breadth, she narrowly avoided the attack.

Watching the red stream pass by her chest, Elkana felt a rare appreciation for her almost perfectly flat body at that moment.

“Ugh… ugh… ugh…”

“Ugh…”

During the fierce battle, both of them had nearly died multiple times.

As they took a moment to catch their breath…

“What the hell was that thing… How did it survive a dagger to the neck…”

“Plus… look at this dagger… it can’t be…”

“Ugh…”

The dagger looked as if it had been melted by a mountain.

And just after, acidic liquid burst forth from the creature.

Despite having pierced the enemy’s flesh… even penetrating the neck, they hadn’t inflicted any harm, and it nearly put them in danger instead.

Even in a world of magic, this situation was fundamentally nonsensical.

The two, caught in confusion and doubt, heard…

“Focus! They aren’t human!”

“Eh?”

“What… what did you say?”

Franklin’s voice came from behind them.

Immediately after… they began to see it.

Something slowly disintegrating, emerging from within the Black Warrior’s armor…

A translucent, glowing entity with four eyes, oozing a sticky liquid.

Seeing it ooze red magical power like blood from its entire being, the faces of the two turned pale.

“Th-that… is…”

“…a slug…? No way…”

It seemed to be crawling out from the black armor like a shell.

Resembling a massive slug, almost the size of giant crocodile, it swiftly recovered the part that had just been hit by Elkana’s attack and glared at them.

And then…

– Zoom!!!

“!!!”

In an instant, it stretched its neck and charged at them.

This movement was entirely different from the previously composed Black Warrior, sending them into shock.

“Damn it!!!”

In a panic, Elkana withdrew her dagger and threw it.

– Whoosh!

The creature quickly twisted its body and evaded it effortlessly.

However… they had anticipated this to some extent.

In fact, for Elkana, its evasion meant an unexpected advantage.

And…

“Ugh!!!”

Taking advantage of the gap created as it twisted, Magellan swung his sword fiercely.

– Thud!!

With magical energy embedded in Calaborg, having been preoccupied with defense moments ago, Magellan did not miss this opportunity and struck while he could.

The creature’s body was severely damaged by his attack.

But…

“!!”

“What the hell… is it an immortal?”

The creature’s wounds healed rapidly.

Despite it being a deep injury, it quickly mended just like Elkana’s previous attack.

And…

The cost of that ineffective strike was beginning to add up significantly.

“Shit…”

The slug began to wrap itself around Magellan’s body.

Since his posture was already compromised from the recent attack attempt, he had no means to evade it now.

Being engulfed by that acidic entity meant certain death.

“Magellan!!!”

Elkana shouted, panic in her voice as she threw her dagger.

However, just like before, the creature utterly ignored her attack, swiftly tightening its grip on Magellan.

As if it knew there was no need to dodge…

And then…

– Thud!!!

“No… no way…”

That creature completely enveloped Magellan.

A profound despair began to settle in Elkana’s heart.

“Th-this… this can’t be… Magellan… how… how could you…”

Witnessing the death of her beloved, whom she had barely managed to protect, Elkana felt her strength drain away.

“Ugh… ah…”

She collapsed to the ground.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, falling thick and heavy.

Though she saw it with her own eyes, it was a scene she could hardly believe.

The horrific nightmare unfolded before her, paralyzing her mind from forming any thoughts.

But then…

– Crackle… crackle…

“Uh?”

A blue light suddenly emerged.

The entity that had engulfed Magellan began to be pushed away, the glowing force starting to flow from within its body.

And…

– Thud!

Through the opening, a figure emerged…

The man she thought she would never see again.

Magellan.

“Ugh… ugh… ugh… Damn… I almost died there…”

His armor was half-melted and marked by burns, but seeing him barely holding on to life filled Elkana with a joy and relief akin to being pulled from hell to heaven.

“Magellan? Are… are you okay? Is… is your body hurt?”

Ignoring the remaining acidic solution, Elkana focused intently on checking his body.

“Elkana, if you get too close…”

Though she’d also suffered burns, she was too wrapped up in checking him to even care about her own pain.

“I’m so relieved… really… so relieved…”

“…Elkana…”

Magellan felt a bit embarrassed seeing her shed tears of joy.

At that moment…

“This isn’t the time for that! We need to take that thing down!”

“!”

A familiar voice broke through their thoughts.

With Auriel’s words having reached them, they directed their attention back to the slug.