Episode 33: Total Mess

Have I ever run like this in my life?

I don’t think I’ve ever run this hard, even when I was with Bulldog Ajusshi.

Out of breath, I threw away my headgear.

What’s the point of wearing anything when I’ll be instantly crushed to death if I get trampled?

I should have practiced running more.

I was working my legs like crazy, regretting that.

There’s only one reason I’m running.

Kung kung kung kung kung!

It’s the house-sized Phantasm chasing right behind me.

It was all because of the Arachne.

Phantasms are extremely sensitive to Holy Magic.

I knew that well, but I never imagined it would react this sensitively.

,Gieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

An ear-splitting roar echoes.

If I had heard it up close, my eardrums would have definitely been torn.

Plus, the ground is shaking like crazy.

Being such a massive creature, it felt like the entire cave was experiencing an earthquake.

With each step it takes, the distance between us shrinks in an instant.

So, no matter how hard I run, I’m destined to be caught eventually.

Except for one thing.

If it weren’t for our team’s hidden card.

Just before the Arachne catches up.

,Horizon!

I had to shout the magic spell once again.

The ground beneath my feet disappeared, and my body was sucked into the shadows.

The Arachne barely missed me.

Inside the shadows.

A woman wearing a pure white mask appeared.

Horizon, from the Umbra Clan.

This was her true form, which she revealed instead of her face when manipulating shadows.

Horizon grabbed my arm and dove deep into the shadows.

The shadows were almost like water.

So, the moment we reached inside, Babiyen, who was waiting behind us, activated her explosion magic.

Kwaaaaaaang!

With the shock of the explosion, the shadows tangled, and Horizon and I were instantly blasted back to the surface.

Thanks to that, we reached a much farther distance than our previous diving location.

We’ve done this several times already.

As soon as I landed on the ground, Horizon seeped back into my shadow.

The Arachne found me again, unleashed its fury, and started chasing me again.

My legs, which had already been running for a while, screamed in pain, but I ran once more.

,Horizon! How much longer can we keep doing this!

,We can keep going, we can keep going!

Horizon answered from within the shadows in response to my shout.

She said she could keep going, but that’s impossible.

Unless her mana is infinite, her strength must be constantly depleting.

I noticed a while ago that Horizon was pushing herself too hard.

Damn it, how much further is there?

They said to just run straight, so I’ve been running, but I can’t gauge the distance.

Because all I can see is moss on the walls, it feels like I’m running in place no matter how much I run.

Did Kallen really clear the path properly?

Or was there nothing on this path from the beginning?

I don’t know.

I still can’t see Kallen’s group.

Questions keep filling my head.

At the end of it all, the question of why I’m even running arises.

Why am I doing this?

To survive?

Honestly, if I just wanted to survive, I could have charged at those criminals alone.

They would have killed me and left my body there.

After dying and resurrecting, I could have taken advantage of their carelessness and gone to the 1st World.

There’s a risk, but it wouldn’t be as dangerous as this.

So, why am I doing this?

The answer came sooner than I expected.

Because this other world is so fucking awful.

Because I didn’t want to accept and be taken advantage of in this shitty world.

Because I know how shitty it feels to experience something unfair.

So, I’m running.

What else can I do but die if I stop here anyway?

If I’m going to die either way, I’ll fight tooth and nail until the very end.

Holy Magic is activated in my body.

The Holy Magic that permeated my entire body forcibly healed me.

I haven’t reached the point where I can unconsciously activate Holy Magic like Lapiel yet.

I can’t expect that level of ability from a small sprout that has barely entered the germination stage.

However, through repeated resurrections in the past, my body has learned how to resurrect on its own.

So, even if my level hasn’t reached it, my body unconsciously knows how to use Holy Magic.

Remember.

Remember desperately because you’re on the verge of death.

Holy Magic is forcibly supplied to my body, which has been pushed to its limit.

The swollen muscles recover, and the ligaments that feel like they’re about to snap are forcibly held together.

While somehow stabilizing my lungs, it doesn’t stop supplying oxygen.

I can’t even feel my heart anymore, as if it’s already burst.

I can breathe freely.

My vision widens.

Maybe it’s a hallucination from the depleted stamina, but I felt a sense of exhilaration as if I was flying.

There’s something called Runner’s High.

It’s a phenomenon where chemical substances like endorphins are released in the brain, making you feel good and your body lighter.

I can feel my brain going crazy.

You’re struggling to survive in your own way, aren’t you.

You magnificent endorphin sack!

When I get back, I’ll feed you food that’s good for the brain!

Kukung!

In the meantime, the distance between me and the Arachne shrinks once again.

No matter how hard I run, there’s no way I can shake off the Arachne.

,Horizon!

This time again, I call her at the last possible moment and jump into the shadows.

That was repeated more than ten times.

Before I knew it, Horizon’s arm, which was pulling me, was trembling.

I could also see blood flowing from behind the mask.

It was proof that she had used too much mana.

However, there was no time to worry about that.

My lungs and legs had already reached their limits a long time ago.

I felt a pain as if nails were being hammered into my lungs.

My mind was hazy, and my legs were constantly screaming.

Perhaps because I had overused Holy Magic, blood was now dripping from my nose as well.

Far away, Babiyen was looking at me with eyes as if she were looking at a madman.

I realized once again how battered I looked.

But she knew there was nothing she could do, so she bit her lip tightly without saying a word.

But I can’t stop.

If the Arachne doesn’t see me, it will immediately return to the hatchery.

If that happens, all the efforts we’ve made so far will be meaningless.

,A little, further!

Horizon shouted, her eyes flashing behind the mask.

A little further to the exit.

Those words made me somehow muster even more strength.

I plant my feet on the ground and stretch out.

I feel like I’ve instinctively learned a comfortable running posture.

As I ran like crazy again, I could see the end of the cave path.

Light was coming in from beyond the exit.

As soon as I saw that, I took one last powerful step.

Kukung!

My body floats up.

It seems this path was a hill.

Accordingly, I could see Kallen’s group in the distance.

I could also see people I hadn’t seen before next to them.

All of them looked disheveled, wearing torn rags and holding chipped swords.

Those swords were covered in blood that had accumulated for a long time, making them closer to clumps of germs.

If you were cut by one of those even once, you would get sick and die slowly.

And with such a sword, Kallen’s neck is severed.

The cleanly severed neck flies through the air and crashes to the ground.

,Kalleeeen!

A woman, Miren’s scream echoes.

She had already been captured by the criminals, and her clothes were being torn off.

Bandal’s axe was broken and rolling on the floor.

Pingle was nowhere to be seen.

He might already be dead.

This is right before the exit.

I could see the exit in the distance, where several slovenly criminals were standing.

Why are they out here right before the exit?

Originally, they should have joined us and driven the criminals away with the Arachne.

I don’t know what situation has occurred.

All they conveyed was just one thing, the signal of the bead.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaang!

Along with my body floating in the air, the Arachne soared into the air, smashing the path.

The criminals belatedly look at the Arachne and can’t hide their shock.

,Why is the Arachne here!?

,It definitely shouldn’t be coming this way!

They had faces that didn’t understand why the Arachne, which should have been killing Pioneers elsewhere, was here.

Was there a plan that the Arachne wouldn’t come this way?

I don’t know about that.

The Arachne came here and arrived to punish these cunning criminals.

,Gieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

The Arachne’s roar spread throughout the cave.

The red eyes of the creature that had found new prey flashed all at once.

And it first swung its legs mercilessly at me, who was flying in the air.

It must be annoyed that I lured it all the way here.

My body is floating in the air.

The shadows are too far away, so Horizon can’t do anything either.

Looking at the legs coming right in front of me, I thought.

Well, I’m fucked.

At that moment, I saw a familiar face in front of me.

Horizon, who had sprung from the shadows, was rushing to push me away.

,Ha, Rua-ssi!

As soon as I saw that, my eyes widened.

You idiot.

The legs flew faster than Horizon could push me away.

I wanted to stop her somehow, but it was too late.

Damn it.

The flying legs violently struck our bodies.

Jjeok!

Bones shattered completely, ribs caved in, and pierced the lungs.

,Harua! Horizon!

From below, Babiyen, who had sprung from the shadows on the ground, screamed in shock.

Above them, we, who had been flung away, collided with the wall and rolled to the ground.

Soon after, the impact of the fall was followed by successive shocks to the skull.

My brain shook, and blood burst from the inside.

In an instant, my vision was dyed in darkness, and my mind became faint.

Horizon also crashed miserably in the same state.

Her fingertips, which had tried to save me until the very end, trembled.

Damn it, I was almost there.

I got too caught up in the exhilaration of the end and ran as hard as I could, and this is what happened.

I wanted to save Horizon, but my body wouldn’t move.

Beyond my fading mind, I faced death, hearing the sounds of the Arachne rampaging in the distance.

＊＊＊

The weekly Phantasm, Arachne.

As soon as she arrived at the exit, she slaughtered all the prey in sight.

,Quickly, quickly stop the Arachne!

,How the hell are we supposed to stop this, you bastard!

,Run, run away!

The criminals descended into chaos.

Some of them had some experience with swords, but they were no match for the Arachne.

,The plan is all fucked up!

,Ssibaal, we shouldn’t have trusted those Black Dawn bastards!

Some were shouting incomprehensible things and jumping out of the exit.

They were hoping to go to the 1st World and rest in peace rather than die a dog’s death here.

In the situation where the criminals were rolling around in a mess.

A woman with red hair was standing there.

Babiyen Astria.

The daughter of the Astria Barony and a disciple of the Crimson Monarch.

But now, she was an unfortunate woman who had even been kicked out of the barony.

Babiyen pushed through the chaos and hurried forward.

And when she finally arrived, she could see the man and the girl who had become a mess.

Lapiel’s disciple, the No-Named Transcender.

That’s all she knew about the man.

The crazy man, who seemed to have something wrong with his brain, was collapsed, covered in blood.

Next to him, Horizon, whom she had just met, was lying down in the same state.

She could tell at a glance.

They had already stopped breathing.

Babiyen’s eyes shook violently.

Even when she first heard the plan he had made, she was somehow detached from this situation.

To be exact, she had no sense of reality.

She had been like that ever since she was abandoned by the Crimson Monarch, kicked out of the barony, and left to fend for herself on the streets.

Is this really reality?

There’s no way this is reality.

She had been unknowingly denying it all along.

So, even until the plan was executed, she felt like she was in a dream.

That is, until the man in front of her ran with his legs shattered and performed acrobatics.

When he first entered the shadows, the man still seemed to have strength.

But from some point on, he became more and more of a mess.

His eyes were bloodshot, his breath was ragged, and his whole body was covered in sweat.

His legs were trembling, and his back looked like it would break at any moment.

That’s going to kill him if he’s not careful.

The man was becoming a wreck to the point where she thought that.

But even so, he ran like crazy.

His struggle to survive was clearly visible in Babiyen’s eyes.

The way he even used Holy Magic to heal his body and run was.

It was such a terrible ordeal that she couldn’t even put it into words.

Babiyen had been watching that scene from within the shadows all along.

As she watched his desperate efforts with her own eyes, she couldn’t deny that this situation was reality.

This is reality.

All of this is reality.

In addition, she now owed her life to that man.

This is the plan that the man made.

The role of the Arachne’s bait.

The role of a firefly that had to keep running while using Holy Magic.

Yet, why did he make this plan?

To save everyone, including himself.

The man said.

,Since the Arachne is tied to one place, the Pioneers who are left in the cave will be able to escape to the exit.

Criminals, avengers, Arachne.

In the worst situation, a combination of three.

He said that he would save not only his own life but also the lives of others.

Words that he had uttered so lightly.

But she now knew how heavy the meaning of those words was.

Saving someone meant that you had to suffer that much yourself.

For some reason, Babiyen’s hand holding the staff tightened.

Looking at that man, she regained her desperate feelings.

A life that had been abandoned by the Crimson Monarch, abandoned by the barony, and turned into a mayfly.

Even though it was such a life, she couldn’t stand by and watch the man who was trying to live so desperately.

I will live.

I will definitely survive and return from here.

I will live with that man.

Babiyen’s firm resolution spread from her mind to her entire body.

It was only a little while ago that she had made such a resolution.

The man who had breathed the will to live into her was lying there in such a miserable state.

When Babiyen looked behind her, she saw the Arachne rampaging.

Criminals were being slaughtered under the Arachne’s feet.

They couldn’t handle the Arachne.

,……Ah.

Babiyen staggered.

Then, she gripped her staff tightly once again.

,That’s right.

Her eyes lit up again.

In front of the exit, she aimed her staff at the disgusting criminals.

Those bastards were screaming that they would block the exit even in this situation.

,I’ll burn them all to ashes.

This is the severe punishment I will give them.