“Sister—!”

“Milady—!”

Forlorn voices could be heard, crying out to the falling body.

Max the Guard, whose innate attribute was earth, immediately called forth his power. With veins popping, he instructed the earth to catch the boy, making his landing softer.

Without missing a beat, the guard immediately head towards the edge of the cliff, summoning all his power to somehow save the young lady.

“Gaaah—!!!”

With a roar, he made the earth swim, attempting to catch the young lady before she fell to her doom.

Unfortunately, he was a moment too late. By the time the earth was conjured into a flat, curving shape large enough to catch the girl, due to the speed and inertia of her fall, she simply rolled and bounced off from it.

“Shit!”

Max’s eyes reddened. He was too late, he thought. By the time he gained enough strength to conjure another horizontal earth wall, the girl had already disappeared among the sea of trees.

“We have to go back quickly! I must inform the master!” Max’s voice was hoarse. From his haggard look, one could tell that he had done all he could.

“Hurry!”

Quickly, the maids ushered the sobbing young lady and the barely conscious young master into the carriage.

“Hi-yah!”

Along the way back, Max continually abused the horses that was pulling the carriage, trying to make it back as fast as he could. He held a faint hope that the young lady would still be alive when they find her later.

“Emergency! There has been an emergency! Make way!” Seeing the mansion from afar, Max began to yell at the top of his lungs.

A trip that would have taken four hours to complete, was reduced to half its original duration. One could easily tell how exhausted both the guard and the horses were.

The gatekeeper immediately noticed the commotion. The voice was so loud that he did not even need to strain his ear. Hearing the familiar voice of his colleague, the gatekeeper did not hesitate to open the gates. He efficiently sent another person to inform the lord.

Upon noticing the emergency, the whole mansion reacted quickly. The servants steered clear of the carriage’s path, and those who were together with the master and madam prepared themselves for the worst.

The husband and wife pairing immediately headed towards the entrance, waiting for the carriage to stop.

Max who was in a hurry did not bother to pull the reins to stop the horses, but simply let go, making the other servants run around trying to catch them before they caused any harm.

Max jumped up from the carriage, landing roughly in front of the anxious couple. “There has been an emergency,” Max squeezed out. “Young lady Leila was—She was—“ His reddened eyes became even redder. Thinking of the unfortunate accident, he could not help but blame himself for his carelessness.

Before he could finish his sentence, the carriage door was thrown open. The two maids worked together to carry Julius, who had fallen unconscious during the ride. Meanwhile, Friar’s soft wails could be heard from within the carriage.

“Sister—Sister—“ the young girl called out in-between sobs.

The viscount’s eyes grew cold. The madam by his side had already started trembling, ready to faint at any moment. “Speak clearly; what happened?!”

“Young lady Leila, she, she, fell off the cliff!” Max, though he was so exhausted, immediately told the truth about the situation without cutting any corners.

The master and madam’s complexion paled. “Quick, send a team to find her! She might still be alive.”

The viscount placated his wife, sending her to rest first before making sure his children were attended to.

After all the tasks at home was finally sorted out, he donned his armour, ready to lead an expedition in search of his missing daughter.

.

.

.

“A human…? Urk—so much blood!”

“Wait… she’s still breathing—“

GROOOOAaARRRRRRR!

“This is bad… the monsters have caught the scent of her blood. They’ll definitely tear us apart; we need to get out of here!”