Chapter 163: Survival (4)

There was no real need to fight. I wouldn’t gain anything by winning, but when I realized I’d never sliced through slime before, I found myself already moving towards it.

As expected, the slime had regenerative abilities that made it practically immune to physical attacks.

It didn’t split, but whether I cut it in half or sliced it horizontally, it just rejoined and returned to its original form. Fighting the slime with a sword was like trying to cut water.

It wasn’t a matter of skill; no matter how many times I sliced it, it just reformed. To deal with this, I had no choice but to use fire.

I worried that it might be resistant to fire despite its appearance, but as soon as the flames touched it, the slime started to shrink rapidly.

‘Weak to fire, huh? I wonder if it’s weak to ice too?’

Marina had mentioned preparing for the possibility of the slimes being taken over, so they might freeze instantly when touched by ice, but I had no way to test that theory right now.

As I turned away from the shrunken slime, I checked the map. Jessica and Euclid had stopped moving and remained stationary for a while.

Glancing at the sky, I saw it wasn’t dark yet, but the sunset glow indicated evening was approaching.

It was a good time to set up camp, so I started looking for a suitable spot close to both of them.

‘This place is too exposed… But a spot surrounded by bushes would make it hard to light a fire.’

After wandering around for a while, consulting the map, I found a small clearing partially surrounded by bushes.

I used my Baldo to clear some of the vegetation, set up my tent in the center of the clearing, and lit a fire not far from it.

By the time I finished, the sky had already darkened, probably because I’d spent so much time finding a good spot to hide.

‘I’m a bit late, but now that I’ve set up camp, there’s not much else to do…’

I’d memorized the locations with plenty of food, so for the next four days, I just needed to occasionally forage and keep an eye on Jessica and Euclid.

I tossed a branch into the crackling campfire and sat down nearby, watching the flames. As I prepared my meal by the fire, it felt almost like a camping trip, and I felt my tension ease for a moment.

-Ian—!!!

As if scolding me for relaxing, Marina’s voice suddenly blared from the magical device she’d given me, then abruptly cut off.

It didn’t seem like an accidental call, and sensing something was wrong, I quickly unfolded the map. What I saw made me drop the jerky I was holding in shock.

“What the hell is this?!”

The lights indicating the students’ positions on the map flickered on and off before disappearing completely.

I frantically tried to contact Marina using the magical device, but of course, there was no response. In a panic, I rushed out of my camp and looked around.

‘I can’t wait for communications to come back. I need to move quickly, but where should I go first?’

The enemy’s target was me, but cutting off communications and erasing the students’ signals meant they were after the students, not me.

The most likely targets were Jessica, my fiancée, and Euclid, my friend and a prince of this country.

Which one was the enemy after? Jessica? Euclid? Or both?

I knew I had to move immediately, but my feet wouldn’t budge. In the end, I decided to head towards Jessica, who was alone.

It wasn’t just because of my feelings for her. Euclid had Nana, a skilled swordswoman who had reached the level of Swordmaster. She could probably buy some time.

I moved forward, using my Baldo to burn through trees and bushes blocking my path.

The dry vegetation caught fire quickly, lighting up the sky with red flames. This would at least let Marina know where I was.

After burning through trees and bushes indiscriminately, I spotted a faint ember that looked like it could go out any second.

“Jessica!!”

I called out her name anxiously, but of course, there was no answer.

When I reached Jessica’s camp, I found her tent completely flattened as if crushed by an enormous weight. The strange slime covering it made it clear who was responsible.

Praying that Jessica wasn’t inside, I followed the only clue I had – the trail left by the slime.

It wasn’t long before I spotted Jessica, half-swallowed by a slime.

“Ian!!”

I immediately drew Wolffang, channeling the friction-generated flames into my strike. Just like before, the slime’s body instantly shriveled and fell limply to the ground.

Freed from the slime, Jessica shouted at me as she tried to wipe off the sticky residue.

“I was just getting ready to sleep when that thing suddenly attacked me…!! Is this monster part of the enemy’s attack?!”

“I don’t know…”

I wasn’t sure if the enemy had already taken control of all the magical beasts or if this was just a coincidence.

One thing was certain: they were already here, and even Marina’s magical devices with teleportation magic might not be safe.

In the original story, there were several instances of magic that could alter the coordinates of teleportation spells stored in magical devices.

“Stay behind me for now. We’re heading to Euclid.”

Trying to recall the direction Euclid had been in, I ran through the dark forest, relying on my instincts.

However, Jessica couldn’t keep up with my pace, probably exhausted from fighting the slime earlier. I had no choice but to carry her on my back.

“W-wait…!!”

Jessica tried to get down, embarrassed, but this was no time for such trivial protests.

For all we knew, Euclid and Nana might be under attack at this very moment.

“I’m going to run fast. Keep your mouth shut unless you want to bite your tongue!!”

“Eeeek!!”

——

“Haa…!!”

In my twenty-nine years of life, I’d experienced countless defeats, but never had I fought a battle as hopeless as this one.

That… thing, if you could even call it human, was as heavy as a black mountain yet light as the wind, and it seeped into me like water.

Honestly, it was a miracle I’d managed to keep my head and fight this long.

Every instinct in my body screamed that even a moment’s distraction would cost me my life.

But even knowing I had no chance of winning, running away wasn’t an option.

Behind me was someone more precious than my own life, trembling as they watched this battle.

For the sake of that person who had suffered a lifetime of abuse from a cruel mother, I couldn’t back down here.

“You’ve held out well with your limited skills. It’s impressive, even considering this puppet is only intermediate level.”

I had no idea what nonsense he was spouting, but I was grateful for even this brief moment to catch my breath.

Desperate to prolong this precious time, I frantically tried to keep him talking.

“What’s your goal? Why are you after him?”

“Oh? You knew about that too? But I’m afraid you’re slightly mistaken. Our target this time is you guys… or more precisely, you.”

As he said this, he pointed his finger, naturally, at His Highness Euclid standing behind me.

Suddenly singled out, His Highness’s face turned even paler than before as he shouted at the man.

“W-what are you talking about? With my faction disbanded, I have no value to…”

The man interrupted His Highness’s trembling words with a strange, cackling laugh.

“Are you pretending not to know? Or do you really not know? You know very well what’s inside you.”

“…!!”

Only a handful of people, including myself, knew about what was inside His Highness.

How did this man know? More importantly, what was he planning to do?

My hands had been shaking non-stop since I first crossed swords with him, but now they trembled for a different reason as I considered what might happen after our defeat.

“I-I’ll kill you…!! I swear I’ll kill you!!!”

“Kahahaha!! What a splendid roar!! Is it loyalty to your master?! Or is it sympathy?! Either way, it’s touching!!”

Throwing caution to the wind, I channeled all my energy manipulation into one final charge. But the man easily blocked my all-out attack.

No matter how many times I tried to rush him again, the result was the same. He didn’t even flinch, casually deflecting my sword as if humoring a child’s tantrum.

When I realized that even my greatest strength, my raw power, was useless against him, my face contorted in despair.

Noticing my aura crumble, the man turned his gaze from me to His Highness without bothering to attack.

The sword slipped from my hand as if it had a will of its own.

My will to fight had completely shattered. My body and mind had realized we stood no chance against this man.

“Your Highness!!”

But I couldn’t just hand His Highness over to this man without a fight.

My job wasn’t to defeat this monster, but to protect His Highness. I called out to him, turning my back to grab him and run away for as long as I could.

But the man was suddenly right in front of me, as if he’d been there all along.

“It’s useless.”

With those final words, he turned his back on me and slowly walked towards His Highness.

I tried to grab his pant leg, desperately attempting to buy time, but I couldn’t slow his steps at all.

Just as I was about to despair, thinking it would all end here without me accomplishing anything…

“Baldo!!!”

A familiar voice, more reassuring than anything at this moment, rang out as a red blade rushed towards the man.