Ch.114A Life-or-Death Race

~ ~ ~ Third-Person Perspective ~ ~ ~

“Will! Wake up! Will!”

Will collapsed while receiving treatment after protecting Phyllis from the dark elf’s second ambush.

Though they had been briefed beforehand about his skills and their side effects, the symptoms Will was showing now were completely different from ordinary mana depletion.

Typically, mana depletion only causes extreme fatigue or a comatose state without direct physical damage or abnormalities.

But Will’s right arm, which had been stabbed by the dark elf’s weapon, was gradually turning black.

Jessica initially thought it was poison and tried using the detoxification spell Antidote, but his condition didn’t improve at all.

There was only one possibility they could think of.

“It’s black mana… a lethal dose of black mana is accumulating in his body, making him weaker.”

“What…! Could it be that weapon from earlier!?”

The dark elf’s dagger that had been embedded in Will’s arm had changed color from black to silver, and the ominous black mana that had been emanating from the blade had completely disappeared.

It was obvious to anyone that all of it had entered Will’s body.

‘If I had been stabbed by that dagger…!’

Only then did Phyllis recall a scene buried deep in her memories.

The dark elves who had attacked the Willow Sanctuary—the female who appeared to be their leader definitely had an identical dagger.

That dagger was a tool to inject black mana into elves’ bodies to transform them into dark elves.

From the beginning, or at least from the moment the dark elf drew that dagger, they had been targeting only Phyllis.

“So Will is… going to die because of me… in my place…!”

“Calm down, Phyllis. There’s still a way to save Will.”

“What way!? If there’s anything I can do, tell me!”

“Well, right now, you’re the only one who can save Will’s life.”

Jessica grabbed Phyllis by both shoulders, looked straight into her eyes, and spoke deliberately.

“To save someone dying from black mana, we need to get them inside the Great Barrier while they’re still alive. But even if we all moved together in the middle of the night, it would take at least 4-5 hours to reach Atelier.”

“4-5 hours? But that’s—”

“Yes. Too late. So our only option is for someone to ride Ancestor with Will at full speed.”

A horse running at full speed can reach over 60 km/h, and exceptional racehorses can exceed 70 km/h.

Ancestor could maintain that speed for hours, making it possible to cover the 20 km distance to Atelier in 15-20 minutes.

Even accounting for time lost navigating terrain or avoiding monsters, they could arrive within 30 minutes.

“Normally, riding at full speed in the middle of the night would be impossible. Even with a lantern, you can’t see properly ahead. But with Phyllis’s Night Vision ability…”

“It might be possible. No, I will definitely accomplish it.”

This was no time to debate possibilities.

Though not an expert rider, Phyllis had some experience riding horses, and even if there were better riders, they wouldn’t be able to see through the darkness of night.

Above all, since Will was in mortal danger because of her, Phyllis believed she had to save him even at the cost of her own life.

“Seti, Mina. Remove all the bags from Ancestor and secure Will to the harness. He needs to be firmly fastened so he won’t fall off during a rough ride.”

“Okay.”

“Leave it to me!”

“Phyllis, could you come over here? I’ll show you the route from here to Atelier.”

“Understood.”

While Seti and Mina secured Will to Ancestor’s back, Phyllis received directions to Atelier from Jessica.

Once they left the campsite and passed through an area dense with rocky hills of various sizes, it would be almost a straight path to Atelier. The city lights would be visible after traveling a short distance, so there was no risk of getting lost.

After receiving the instructions, Phyllis mounted Ancestor and looked back at Will, who was firmly secured behind her.

Wrapped in a blanket and tightly bound with ropes, he looked almost like a corpse being transported, but this was the only way to prevent him from falling during the journey.

“When you reach Atelier, take Will directly to the clinic. We’ll depart as soon as the sun rises, so let’s meet at the clinic around noon.”

“Phyllis… please. Save Will.”

“Yes, I will, even if it costs me my life.”

If it weren’t the middle of the night, both Jessica and Seti would have wanted to ride themselves to save the man they loved.

Carrying their desperate hopes, failure was not an option.

Now that she was actually mounted on Ancestor, the significantly elevated view caused some anxiety, but Phyllis lightly patted her cheeks, stroked Ancestor’s neck, and spoke in a solemn voice.

“Ancestor, please. Entrust your body to me just for tonight to save your precious master’s life.”

“Prrrr…”

“I’m not a skilled rider, nor have I ever worked with you before. I don’t presume to control you as I wish. Consider me merely a guide on your back. Getting your master, Will, safely to the western city depends on you.”

She wasn’t going to control Ancestor. She would simply be the eyes to help navigate through the night swamplands.

Whether this earnest plea reached Ancestor was unclear, but the horse showed no signs of refusing to run or trying to throw Phyllis off.

Phyllis swallowed hard, gripped the reins firmly, and called out:

“Hya!”

“Neeeigh~!!”

Without needing reins or spurs, Ancestor took off at Phyllis’s voice alone.

It was a steady yet powerful start, without any dramatic rearing or sudden acceleration.

Only after the heavy hoofbeats grew fainter and eventually inaudible did Jessica collapse, finally releasing her held-back tears.

“Hic…!”

“Jessica…”

“Seti, what should we do? Will…!”

The cool, composed leader who had handled the crisis was gone.

The red-haired sorceress left behind was just a woman worried about her loved one.

Knowing how humans overexposed to black mana meet their end, she couldn’t help but tremble with anxiety and fear.

“It’s okay. If it’s Phyllis, she’ll definitely succeed.”

“That’s right. No monster could catch up to Ancestor running at full speed.”

“I want to believe that too. I do believe it, but…”

Even with symptoms of excessive black mana accumulation, one could survive if quickly transported inside the Great Barrier.

This had been proven through several precedents in the past.

However, those precedents only involved natural cases where people exceeded their time limits due to unavoidable schedule delays.

There were no known cases of someone having a lethal dose of black mana directly injected into their body.

“We don’t know exactly what kind of weapon the dark elf used, or how much black mana flowed into Will’s body… not knowing anything makes me so anxious…”

“Alright then. Let’s pack up and depart too.”

“…Huh?”

“We wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway, worrying like this, right? It’s better to leave as soon as possible so we can reunite with a healthy Will sooner.”

Without Ancestor and relying on lantern light, their marching speed would be much slower, but they would still reach the western city much faster than if they waited until morning to depart.

Mina decided to endure the difficult march to ease Jessica’s anxiety even a little.

“We can’t do that.”

But that decision was opposed by Seti, Will’s other lover.

Seti was just as worried about Will and just as eager to see him safe as soon as possible.

Despite this, she clearly objected to Mina’s suggestion of a night march.

“Even if we move quickly, it won’t help Phyllis and Will. We need to leave after daybreak.”

“It might not help, but isn’t it better than staying here worrying about Will all night? You must be worried about him too, Seti.”

“Yes. I want to run after Phyllis right now too. But we can’t.”

“Why are you so against it? Is there something bothering you?”

“Because we can’t be certain this place is safe yet.”

Jessica and Mina felt a chill run down their spines at Seti’s words.

The attack failed, so I’ll retreat. The next time we meet will be your funeral day.

Wasn’t it because they had lowered their guard, deceived by the enemy’s words, that this disaster had occurred?

“Dark elves hidden in darkness might not be visible, but Jessica’s barrier magic can detect them. However, we lose even that protection while we’re moving with our luggage.”

Seti had noticed the dark elf approaching Phyllis because she detected the smell of metal and the faint sound of footsteps on leaves.

But if she hadn’t been aware that an intruder was approaching, would she have been able to react so sensitively to those subtle signs?

If they assumed there were more dark elves targeting their party, traveling on foot outside the Repellation Field in the middle of the night would be far too dangerous.

“Wait, doesn’t that mean Phyllis is in the most danger?”

“Even I couldn’t catch up to Ancestor at full speed. It would be even more impossible for a dark elf. Phyllis and Will will be fine.”

“…I understand. Let’s stay here tonight and move after sunrise.”

“Hmm~ If even Jessica says so, I guess we have no choice… but will it really be okay?”

“I think my mind was too scattered earlier. Without knowing the structure of the dark elves’ stealth techniques, moving rashly is certainly dangerous, and since many swamp creatures are nocturnal, night marching itself carries high risks.”

Will’s life was now in the hands of Phyllis, Ancestor, and the healers at the Atelier clinic.

What she could do now was ensure everyone else survived to reunite safely.

Jessica reminded herself that taking the best course of action amid numerous uncertainties was the proper attitude for a party leader.

“First, let’s dispose of the dark elf’s body, and take down all the tents except Phyllis’s. Then we’ll take turns keeping watch, and pack up the remaining luggage before the Repellation Field’s effect ends, then depart.”

“Got it. While I dig the grave, you two dismantle the tents.”

With their tasks decided, it was time to get to work.

The three of them began their duties in silence, praying for the safety of Phyllis and Will who had departed for Atelier.