Ch.99Revealed Truth (6)

While trapped in an unidentified maze fighting an old woman, Rachel realized one thing.

She could never catch the leader alone, no matter what.

No matter how nimbly she moved or tried to read her opponent’s moves with feints, when facing multiple opponents, limitations would eventually appear.

In the end, Rachel was defeated.

“Haah.”

Dry spores flowed from her mouth with each sigh.

Her skin, infested with fungi, was cracking like an old tree. It felt like her lungs were being torn apart. Her entire body emanated a powdery, stifling energy as if soaked in flour.

For someone alone, she had held out for a long time.

But in the cruel wilderness, how long you endured doesn’t matter. What matters is whether you survive or not.

Support probably wouldn’t come.

Since this seemed to be inside a barrier.

“God… damn it…”

Rachel cursed with her last strength.

It felt futile.

And because of that, it felt unfair.

Any other time would be one thing, but this time, wasn’t she dying in the most absurd way?

“Ugh, kuk, krugh.”

She wanted to get up and fight again, but she had reached her limit. Whether from the spores or not, she could feel her limbs stiffening.

Was this the end?

Just as she was thinking that.

[“Well, an impatient guest has appeared.”]

The old woman who had been talking with the Magic Kingdom’s wall while trying to finish Rachel stopped moving. The old woman’s gaze was directed elsewhere.

Rachel painfully pushed up her eyelids that kept trying to close.

And she saw it.

The face of a man who had somehow approached her.

“Hey, are you okay?”

It was in the Magic Kingdom’s language, but she understood it now. It was the phrase the man had said most often while they were learning each other’s languages.

The word “okay.”

Where else in the world would there be someone who said such words so frequently?

Rachel’s lips quivered.

Not. O. Kay.

“I can see that.”

Erich nodded and lifted Rachel up. At the same time, Rachel’s consciousness, which she had been desperately maintaining, reached its limit. As she was embraced by Erich, the tension drained from her body.

Though they were enemies by nationality, she knew he wasn’t her personal enemy.

Rachel lost consciousness with a sense of relief.

***

The old woman clicked her tongue and put a flute to her lips.

[“I’ve subdued one, now for the other two.”]

With a piping sound, mushrooms sprouted from the ground.

The mushrooms grew rapidly, quickly forming monstrous shapes. Four large dogs with their heads replaced by mushroom caps were created in an instant.

[“Young lady from the archives, you’ve come at a good time.”]

The old woman said.

[“Help this old one defeat those intruders. Then I’ll take you to the nest to meet the princess.”]

Princess?

Could there be someone above this old woman?

[“Alright.”]

Officer Adora nodded at the old woman’s words. She approached the monster old woman, drawing her sword.

And the next moment.

Clang!

The officer’s sword clashed with the old woman’s flute.

[“I think we can drop the act now.”]

[“So you knew all along.”]

This was inside a barrier. The monster who created this barrier wouldn’t have kidnapped the Valkyrie without understanding our situation. And Officer Adora would have predicted this as well.

There was no one being deceived, only those attempting to deceive in this brief deception.

After that, the officer’s sword and the old woman’s mycelium created intense sparks once more.

While they exchanged several blows, I defeated the dog monsters and aimed for the old woman’s back.

[“Earth, pulsate.”]

With the old woman’s spell, the ground began to shake.

The space changed. Walls appeared in empty spaces, and places where walls had been were completely cleared. The maze was writhing like a living creature.

An earthquake. I couldn’t maintain my balance.

I was forced to lie down. As the ground sloped, I had to roll. I tumbled around while trying to protect the Valkyrie as much as possible.

Eventually, a fungal partition separated me from the officer.

“Major!”

“Colonel!”

“Buy some time! I’ll try to get to your side!”

The old woman had already crossed over to my side. She was approaching me and the Valkyrie with a mouth split in a grin.

[“Now things will be a little less troublesome.”]

Divide and conquer.

That phrase came to mind.

I had observed that while the old woman was stronger than me, she was weaker than the combined strength of me and the Valkyrie, or me and the officer. Otherwise, she would have fought us all at once.

She’s intelligent and has powerful magic. A troublesome opponent.

I need to hold out.

I smiled wryly and opened my mouth.

[“Since we’re meeting for the first time, let’s introduce ourselves. I am Erich Lohnstein of Hazkhail Magic Kingdom. May I ask your name?”]

[“Niemi.”]

The old woman threw a mushroom at me.

I displayed quick thinking and ducked my head. Just as I was feeling relieved thinking I had avoided it, the mushroom bounced off the wall behind me and stuck to my back.

“Ugh!”

[“Got you.”]

“What the hell is…”

The sensation on my back felt alien. It was like having a massive tumor attached. The old woman cackled and said:

[“That mushroom is a special mycelium I made myself. In less than a minute, young man, you’ll die of respiratory distress.”]

Just as the old woman said, it felt like my lungs were being squeezed tight.

Die of respiratory distress?

But isn’t it just magic anyway?

If I eliminate the caster, it should resolve itself.

Just as I was about to take out a magic stone from my pocket:

[“Oh yes, that mushroom also rapidly depletes magic power, so be careful.”]

The old woman added with a chilling smile.

***

The mushroom maze created by Niemi was like an ant lion’s pit. It was specialized for drawing in victims, draining their strength, and eliminating them one by one.

Although there was the mishap of two first-class Mages from the Magic Kingdom breaking through the barrier and entering at once, this was still within a manageable range.

[“In the end, when separated, there’s nothing left.”]

This way, she could trap them in narrow spaces one by one and subdue them.

Before Niemi’s eyes, Erich was now covered in spores. Despite Niemi not launching any further attacks, Erich’s breathing continued to grow more labored.

[“Just accept defeat and embrace death. Then I’ll at least make it painless for you.”]

[“…Shut up.”]

[“I was trying to show some mercy as a fellow practitioner of magic… young people these days don’t know how to respect their elders.”]

[“I said, shut up.”]

Erich’s breath was fading.

Although she had used a poisonous mushroom, mere skin contact couldn’t properly deliver the toxin. The reason Erich was short of breath was because the specific mana contained in the mushroom was squeezing his lungs.

A skilled magician could immediately normalize that mana, but it was nearly impossible for most. To use magic, one needed to regulate breathing and concentrate to purify mana, but the very source—the lungs—was under attack.

In fact, Niemi was secretly surprised.

For an ordinary person, the oxygen in their lungs would be rapidly squeezed out, killing them within seconds. Even with the best resistance, the limit would be 2 minutes.

Yet this magician had been continuing the fight and holding out for over 5 minutes.

[“What a pity.”]

If the Demon King’s army had such talent, the forces of the Elect might not have been defeated that day. At least in terms of mana manipulation skills, he was far superior to that person.

Niemi, who had already gained some understanding of the Magic Kingdom’s system through previous encounters, clicked her tongue.

[“Now I see that Hazkhail is a group of fools with no eye for talent. Not only did they give a magician of this caliber merely a first-class qualification, but they also had him fighting on the front lines.”]

[“Huff, who’s calling who, huff, a monster…”]

[“How can I not call someone a monster when they’ve survived ten times longer than an ordinary person would have? But I can see you’re finally starting to crumble now, young man. Can you feel your eyelids half-closed?”]

Hold on.

That was all that filled Erich’s mind.

He minimized his attacks while focusing all his efforts on internal mana purification. Nevertheless, the situation was desperate.

And then, he saw someone peering over the tall wall.

It was Officer Adora.

“Huk, huff… Major!”

Adora had climbed up the mushroom pillar nearly 10 meters tall using her sword and dagger. There were monster interferences along the way, making it difficult. Still, reaching the top in about 5 minutes was remarkably fast.

Adora’s urgent eyes reflected the collapsing Erich.

“…Major.”

With a thud, Erich collapsed as well.

Seeing her benefactor in such a miserable state in just a matter of minutes, Adora momentarily felt her mind go blank.

He was the man who had freed her from a lifetime of pain.

She had thought she was getting to know him little by little, and that things were okay.

At the very least, he had declared he would take responsibility and ensure she didn’t die until they escaped this deserted island.

As the distinguished daughter of the Giford military family, Adora had always lived by her parents’ teaching to take responsibility for her words, and she considered it truth.

That responsibility was now turning into rage.

[“You bitch.”]

[“It’s Niemi.”]

The behavioral pattern of isolating and killing one by one was apparent. In this state, even Adora herself might be picked off. But today, she wasn’t herself. It was hard to maintain cold rationality.

Niemi gave a chilling smile.

Because Adora’s charging figure resembled herself from the past, when she had faced the Holy Cross Order alone to secure a retreat route for the defeated legion.

[“I’ll teach you properly that you can’t do anything alone!”]

[“Look who’s talking!”]

Tap-tap-tap!

Light boot steps raced across the top of the maze.

A shadow fell over Niemi’s head. Immediately after, a hand axe was forcefully driven into her head. With that external force, Niemi collapsed and stuck out her tongue.

[“Aiyoo!”]

Tap.

A fox beastkin landed gracefully in front of Adora who had just come down.

Speak of the devil.

“I, like a dog… no, like a fox, have arrived!”

Just after saying “bitch,” a real canine appeared.

And the bright atmosphere instantly vanished.

The fox sisters took out different tools and gritted their teeth. The two foxes spoke simultaneously.

[“Was it you who hurt our darling?”]