Part Thirty-Six

“Haaah…..haaaah……haaaah…. Did we….lose them?”

“I have no idea. I can’t see or sense them, but they’re likely somewhere nearby.”

“Okay….just….let me…catch my….breath.”

Tch, we were only running for a few minutes and she’s already out breath? This doesn’t bode well for us. Her stamina's worse than mine was back when this started. I know that the stats you prioritize get stronger faster, but I kinda thought stamina was essential to everyone. Makes me wonder a little.

I couldn’t give you an exact estimate, likely due to my weak senses regarding mana, but I figured she had roughly two and a half times the mana pool I did. For the record, both Alicia and Cameron had slightly larger pools than me, even though I was stronger on the whole. I admit, I did have a bit of a complex about that.

Because of this, I’d thought that she was a high D-Rank or even a C-Rank. But upon seeing her completely out of breath, I had to change my mind. Even Alicia, who had the lowest stamina of our group, wouldn’t have been reduced to this state after a sprint like that.

If she is a lower Rank than I thought, what kind of mana pool could she have when she reaches my level? And why do I feel this odd urge to force her to train?

“REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!!!”

At that moment, something screamed in the air far above us. I didn’t even hesitate. I scooped Kalia up and started running. Moments passed, then an enormous fireball struck where we’d been. If I hadn’t reacted, we would’ve been turned into ash.

“Wh-what was that!?”

“Shut up or you’ll bite your tongue off!”

A second and third fireball followed the first, forcing me to use evasive maneuvers. Each blast tore through the foliage and scorched the earth where they struck. Left with no other choice, I activated Beast of the Nightmare, squeezing out the last of my mana. The extra burst of speed allowed me to escape the fourth and fifth fireballs. At this rate, it’ll burn down the whole damn forest!

Even though I could hear the damn thing, I still couldn’t see or sense it. Whatever was attacking us was flying far out of the range of Survival Instinct. I knew the Skill had its flaws, but I’d never imagined carpet-bombing to be one of them. It wasn’t even warning me of the danger.

“REEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH!!!”

Damn, I felt that! I-I don’t know what its doing, but I’m getting out of here! I’d been holding back out of consideration for Kalia, but the threat of whatever it was doing now forced my hand. I threw her over my shoulder in the hopes it would make it easier to run, something she obviously didn’t appreciate.

Holy fuck, what is that!? A pillar of flame struck the ground. Whatever was after us was determined to kill us, as this was certainly overkill. The flames were hot enough to begin melting the ground and the trees nearby caught on fire from the heat. The sight was so horrifying that Kalia passed out again. I wasn’t going to complain as it became easier to manage her weight.

The only thing that saved us was that the flames didn’t spread all that far from the point of impact. If they had, there was no conceivable way I could’ve avoided the blast. As it was, I could feel my skin blister from the heat.

“Reeeeh! Reeeeh. Reeeeeh….”

The pillar had completely disintegrated every single tree nearby, creating a rather large clearing. I could see a tiny dot far above me, slowly gaining distance. Whatever had attacked us had either given up or run out of the energy it needed to attack. Or it thought it got us.

Ugh, this is one of those times I wish I had Farsight or at least something similar. I’d love to know what that thing was, if only so I could prepare for it later. Something with that level of firepower has to be a Mid-boss, which means it’ll have to die eventually. But why would it run away? Even if it ran out of mana, it still could’ve landed and attacked. Unless it couldn’t?

“Awoooooooo…..”

“Oh fuck.” Really, again?

***

The repeated explosions had attracted a few nearby wolves, but they weren’t a problem. No, the real problem was that I still had no idea how to get out of the damn forest. If whatever that thing was came back, I’d be hard pressed to avoid that pillar attack a second time. And my only companion was still unconscious. I had to desperately resist the urge to smack her awake, if only because I wanted to pass out as well.

Ugh, my back is covered in burns. Burns are my least favorite kind of injury, mostly because the pain stays with you for hours afterwards. With cuts and bruises it only lasts for a few minutes. I’m just glad I don’t have any metal armor or it would’ve been a whole lot worse. It’s just weird that my hair or clothes didn’t singe. Must be because of the magic responsible or something.

Everything’s gone completely wrong today, one after another. And I still have no idea about who planted the vial that started this. Finnél comes to mind, but so do a half dozen people. I could see Braddock doing this, he’s certainly driven enough to eliminate a supposed threat, but it doesn’t quite fit. I’d like a real motive before I commit to any one suspect. And there the fact that this attractant is quite strange. I’ve never seen anything like it, but there’s a whole lot I’ve never seen.

If I could just get one hint, I’d at least have a direction to investigate. The attractant is my only clue so far, but it’s pretty much a dead-end. Unless the culprit screws up in the dumbest way imaginable, I doubt it’ll help me figure anything out. Too bad I don’t have a fingerprint kit. Wait, would that even work?

I’d plugged the vial up after discovering what it was, so it had stopped attracting monsters as far as I could tell. In all honesty, I had no clue what to do with the damn thing. Part of me was tempted to keep it, if for nothing else than gathering monsters that I could slaughter, but I also felt that it was highly dangerous. Look at what had just happened.

If I did keep it, there were numerous ways I could use it. But at the same time, it could also backfire spectacularly. Say, for instance, that the culprit somehow knew that I still had some of it. Then there was a chance that the whole incident could be pinned on me. It was essentially a double-edged sword. For the time being, I elected to return it to where I’d found it. I had a bigger problem anyway. Who could I trust?

While the better part of me wanted to believe that the mercenaries on the assignment with me wouldn’t jeopardize themselves or their comrades, I couldn’t help but be doubtful. Fact of the matter was that someone had tried to kill me. Maybe not directly, but it was as potentially lethal as a knife to the throat or poison in my food. I would need to be careful in all of my dealings from now on.

At least I think I can rule out Kalia, unless I’ve completely misread her. She seems too soft to pull something that could get others killed, even if she had a reason to kill me. She seemed genuinely upset at Mark’s death, but she could also be a good actor. Damnit, I just don’t know! I need a motive before I can make a judgment, otherwise I’m just being paranoid. I could even drive away others who would help if I accuse them.

I’ll admit it, everything was shit. Just shit. Guess I’ll take a break until she wakes up. I could use the rest.

[???’s POV]

Deeper in the forest, something resembling a charred corpse was walking. It was Number 22, who until quite recently was tailing Michael along with Numbers 20 and 21. As for why he appeared to be a charred corpse, well that was due to the monster that had attacked Michael.

The three pawns had been waiting for just the right opportunity to ambush Michael. They figured that weakened and wounded prey would be easier to deal with than healthy prey. And the bonus of being able to bring another target with them was just the icing on the cake. But then fire started to rain down on them.

“….”

He was in too much pain to really think. All he had left was the basic impulse to try and return to the fort. But he was at least better off than the other two, as they’d been completely destroyed by that final attack. 22 was only slightly better off though, as he’d been further back to provide assistance if it was needed. Thus he only suffered full body burns due to the flames and heat.

Personally, he wasn’t all that glad that he’d survived. That last attack was a notorious Fire Magic Ritual called [Funeral Pyre]. This spell was infamous for its intensity. It was potent enough to kill a B-Rank Titan, a race famed for their durability and resistances, when cast by a mere D-Rank mage. It was also one of the most easily cast offensive Rituals, requiring only a catalyst and engraving to use.

And based on the size of the pillar, it was no D-Rank monster that cast it. If it decided to, it could cast it again, but this time aimed at the fortress. Most of the mercenaries would die and the survivors would be easily picked off by the rest of the monsters.

Which was why he was so eager to return. If he told Finnél, then they were sure to escape at the first opportunity. This Dungeon was incredibly dangerous and was certain to become worse sooner rather than later.

“Grrrrrrrr….”

And perhaps that’s why he had the misfortune to have another run-in. A pitch-black wolf was slowly making its way towards him. A deep, rumbling growl filled the air, signaling the wolf's malice to all. This sent a shiver of dread down 22's spine, as he knew what monster this was. It wasn’t just feared, it was reviled for its heinousness and sadism. He swore that the beast's snout peeled back in a sneer, so happy to have found a new toy to break.

In a way, he really was the unluckiest of the three. He evaded being burnt to death only to run into something much worse.

[Kalia’s POV]

Death was all around. Corpses, or really the remains of corpses, filled the streets. Creatures straight out of nightmares were committing senseless slaughter.

No, not again! Why, why!?

It was the same dream, or perhaps a memory, of a night of madness, of death, of chaos, that she’d seen nearly every night for the past four months.

Fear propelled her down streets filled with death. She’d been running for what seemed to be an eternity, dodging horrors left and right. Her mind had gone blank long ago, wiped clean except for the urge to survive.

No, no! I don’t want to see it again! I can’t take it!

The her in the dream rounded a corner, only to come to a stop. Monsters and humans filled the street, but unlike elsewhere, there was no life to them. They moved like mindless puppets, with no will of their own.

Except for the one leading them. A terrible giant, with the most horrific eyes. As it turned to face her, she felt as if something was being drained from her. Something irreplaceable to her very identity, her very being. Whatever it was doing, she wanted no part of it. She turned around, pulling her attention from it and bolted.

But as she fled, she could feel that mysterious power again, ripping away at her mind. Tearing, shredding, trying to usurp control of her body from her. And it was the phantom pain of that memory that awoke her.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!”

She bolted straight up, fear urging her to flee. However, she wasn’t in the ruins of a city, but in a forest. And she wasn’t alone. Michael was sitting nearby, cleaning his sword.

“Er, you okay? That was a pretty loud scream.”

“I-I'm fine. ………Um, what happened?”

“You don’t remember? We were attacked by a monster and you passed out. It’s been about ten minutes since then.” I did?

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Figured you could use the rest. I know I needed it myself.”

He was being pretty blasé about it, but they easily could’ve both been killed by that last blast. The sight, combined with her terror and the general stress of the situation, had snapped her consciousness like a frayed thread. She would’ve understood if he’d abandoned her after that. Guarding an unconscious person couldn’t have been easy.

And yet, he looked as if it had all been nothing. Like this was the expected result.

What’s he thinking? We’re here, in an extremely precarious situation, and he acts like it’s any other day. Is he that used to being in danger? Even though I’m pushing myself to near hysteria to just make it through, he’s fine? What kind of mentality do you need to achieve that? And how am I suppose-.

“You know, I can’t say I know what’s on your mind, but I do know that sometimes talking about it to someone unrelated to the issue can ease your worries. If you bottle it up, it just snowballs into a bigger issue later on. Someone I’ve come to trust in a relatively short period of time told me that. It’s good advice if I’ve ever heard it.”

“E-errr….?”

“You don’t have to answer, or even think about it, but we should really get moving. Sitting around here stuck in our own thoughts is just going to hasten our demise. I fully intend to survive this, and well, I intend to drag as many others out with me as possible.”

“…”

“So let’s get moving.”

“…….okay.”