episode_0044

Chapter 44 – Deja Vu

The head rolled and hit my feet.

Ria’s face was horribly distorted, showing how agonizing the moment of death must have been. The fact that her eyes couldn’t even close conveyed a heartbreaking sorrow.

“Fuck…”

I shook off the current bewilderment, tension, and all other useless emotions with a string of curses.

Right now, survival is paramount.

“Everyone, run away!!!!”

“Ugh, aaaaaah!”

“I don’t want to die!!”

With the shouts, the team members who had come to their senses scattered in all directions, driven by their survival instincts.

I grabbed Deborah’s hand, which was still frozen stiff, and pulled her along.

“Deborah. Snap out of it! You’ll die if you stay like this.”

“But if it’s my magic…”

“Your magic won’t work! Shut up and follow me!”

It was absurd that she was talking about using magic when she was in such a panic.

Above all, illusion magic was meaningless against that creature.

To a creature already corrupted by demonic energy, suffering from endless bloodlust and madness, ordinary illusions would have no effect whatsoever.

I disregarded Deborah’s opinion, forcibly dragged her, and left the spot.

The Saber-toothed Tiger didn’t budge from its spot, even as we ran away.

‘Bastard. Is it trying to play with us?’

Its sense of smell was so excellent that it could accurately track prey from 5 kilometers away.

As long as we were on this mountain, there was no way to escape it.

‘What should I do?’

My mind spun rapidly. I repeatedly considered and discarded all sorts of possibilities. My heated brain screamed its limits, but it wouldn’t stop.

Aaaaaaaah!

Then, a familiar scream echoed.

It was Ga-il. The Saber-toothed Tiger had chased him first. Now, whose turn would it be next? The fact that I had to hope it went for Shane was utterly messed up.

Once my thoughts turned in another direction, this worry arose.

‘What about Abel?’

Abel would eventually come to this mountain too.

Because it would unfold into a competition for the Saber-toothed Tiger between him and Skadia.

Even if they met that creature now, it wasn’t likely they would win. Although there might be differences, they would end up being hunted, just like us.

I felt like I was trapped with walls on all sides.

As I tried to pick up speed in my haste, I suddenly noticed Deborah lagging behind.

When I turned my head back, I saw her soaked in sweat. Her breathing was ragged, as if she would gasp for air, and her legs trembled as if she would collapse at any moment.

When our eyes met, she gave an awkward smile on her face, riddled with fear, and shook her head.

“Haa… haa! I-I’m fine. I can still run.”

The fear that she might be abandoned.

That was etched on Deborah’s face.

I let out a long sigh.

‘At this rate, we’ll be caught soon.’

Her speed wouldn’t be enough, so I had to make a decision now.

I quickly reached a conclusion, took off my gravity ring, tossed it into sub-space, and then scooped Deborah into my arms.

“Ah…!”

“Hold on tight. I’m going to run at full speed.”

“Yes, yes!”

*Thump!*

As I kicked off the ground, my body shot forward, slicing through the air.

Even while holding Deborah, I was much faster than before. My body, free from all restraints, had become this strong.

Aaaaaaaah!

As I ran swiftly, another scream came from behind.

Shane had died.

Now, we were the target.

‘Can I escape this mountain like this?’

As I gauged the situation, I wasn’t confident.

More importantly, even if we escaped the mountain, there was no guarantee the creature would stop its pursuit.

Moreover, to make it completely give up the chase, I would have to get away so quickly that it was unimaginable.

It was just as we were going down a steep slope.

“Look out!”

Wide-eyed Deborah sent a warning.

With a chilling sensation down my spine, I threw myself without hesitation, and the Saber-toothed Tiger’s sharp claws barely grazed past me.

It spun its body once in the air and landed lightly on the ground.

─*Grrrrr!*

It sneered with a grin and growled.

That bastard dared to mock the lords of creation; if only I had the strength, I’d turn it into dog stew right now.

Even as I thought that, I turned my steps without hesitation and fled from the creature.

I kicked off the ground as if squeezing out every ounce of my strength, not bothering to conserve my stamina.

Of course, that didn’t particularly close the distance.

“To the right!”

Another warning. I leapt to the left, following Deborah’s direction. Likewise, the Saber-toothed Tiger’s claws grazed past.

Only then did I realize.

‘I didn’t dodge it.’

More precisely, the Saber-toothed Tiger was deliberately adjusting its attacks so we could dodge, playing with us.

Eventually, being tossed around here and there, we fled from the Saber-toothed Tiger and reached the edge of a cliff. Below, a valley swollen with water from the rain formed a turbulent current.

Seeing that, a good idea came to mind.

“Deborah. I have a good idea.”

“What? W-What is it?”

“I can’t tell you that. But it’s something I can only do if you trust me first. Can you trust me?”

“If I trust you, can we live?”

“Yes. You’ll definitely live. What do you say?”

“…Then I’ll trust you.”

“Good. Hold on tight. Don’t let go.”

Having gained her agreement, I examined the cliff.

And the moment I found what I was looking for, I held Deborah tightly and threw myself off the cliff.

─*Aaaaaaah!*

Deborah’s scream echoed off the cliff face.

I protected my ears with magic so I wouldn’t go deaf from her scream, then pulled out an infinite thread and attached it to the cliff.

Then, running along the cliff, I web-swung and passed through a hole in the middle of the cliff.

Inside, there was a steep incline.

I held Deborah tightly to protect her from injury and tumbled wildly down the slope.

*Crash!*

At the same time, the roar of a collapsing wall hit my ears from behind.

*

In a space covered entirely in darkness, Deborah sat leaning against a wall, whimpering and crying.

“Hee-hee… I thought I was going to die. I really thought I was going to die!”

“I’m sorry. But we’re alive, aren’t we?”

“You should have told me beforehand! Do you know how scared I was?”

What if I had told her?

I don’t know for sure, but in the worst-case scenario, wouldn’t we have ended up as a meal for the Saber-toothed Tiger if we’d argued?

On second thought, it was definitely a good decision not to discuss it.

As I nodded my head, Deborah, who had still been wearing a sulky expression, suddenly looked at the ring on her hand and exclaimed.

“Ah! That’s right. I had this!”

Deborah, expressing regret that she hadn’t thought of it until now, hurriedly manipulated the ring.

When she turned the magic stone at its tip half a rotation, a magical light bloomed, then slowly began to flicker.

But then it weakly disappeared.

“Huh? Oh, why isn’t it working? A magic signal should definitely be connecting.”

Perhaps because things weren’t going well, Deborah frantically manipulated the ring again.

But for some reason, this time it didn’t even activate at all. As she continued to manipulate it, cracks eventually spread through the magic stone, and it shattered.

Hope vanished from her face.

“Ah, no. It’s broken!”

Deborah buried her face in her knees.

I had been quietly watching until then, but now I revealed my curiosity.

“What did you do?”

“…I sent a signal to Teacher-nim.”

“To the Lord of the Grey Magic Tower?”

“Yes. It’s a magical artifact he gave me to use when in danger, but… *sob!*”

Her disappointment was as great as her trust in her teacher, so she couldn’t easily calm down.

I patted Deborah’s shoulder.

“Snap out of it. We’re not dead yet.”

“……”

“We could still get out of here without anything happening. Why are you so scared? Cheer up.”

As I repeatedly comforted her, Deborah slowly raised her head.

“Ruan, are you alright? Aren’t you scared?”

“No, I’m not alright. I’m scared. But what can we do? For now, we just have to try everything we can.”

Emotions are contagious.

As if my calmness had spread to her, Deborah slowly stood up.

“But what do we do now? The entrance is blocked.”

“We have to go forward. Unless you intend to starve to death here.”

The cave entrance we entered had completely collapsed in the blink of an eye.

After barely enduring the fierce gravitational acceleration and entering the hole, a steep slope greeted us, rolling us around, and the moment I came to my senses, the surroundings were enveloped in darkness with a thunderous sound.

Now, only the immediate surroundings were illuminated, relying on the small light Deborah had summoned.

Deborah looked at the endlessly spreading darkness beyond the light, wearing a gloomy expression.

“What if something comes out?”

“What do you mean, ‘what do we do’? We’ll have to beat it up. What could possibly come out that’s worse than that crazy Saber-toothed Tiger?”

“Still…”

“Then what, should we just wait here until rescue comes? Is that even possible? Who’s going to check inside the cliff? If you don’t want to, you can stay here. I’ll go alone.”

I uttered something similar to a mother’s usual line to a whining child in a department store, then turned my back and pretended to walk into the cave.

Startled, Deborah hurriedly chased after me and clutched my left arm.

“W-Wait a moment! Wait for me.”

“Why did you suddenly feel like going?”

“T-That, I don’t like it, but… it’s more terrifying to be alone. Don’t leave me behind.”

Deborah relied entirely on me, like a cub following its mother.

It was bewildering how the person who had been calmly leading all the team members just moments ago had vanished.

‘Well, I understand, but.’

If I hadn’t always assumed the worst-case scenario, I would have lost my mind like the others the moment Ria’s neck was torn off.

The sensation of it hitting my feet still vividly remained.

‘Anyway, that’s unexpected.’

As I briefly recalled past memories, I slowly lowered my head at the pressure on my arm.

I hadn’t known because she always wore a robe, but Deborah had surprisingly large breasts. To put it simply, they seemed like they would completely fill my hand if I squeezed them.

After briefly enjoying the sensation, I shook my arm, thinking this wasn’t the time for such things.

“More than that, move back a bit. It’s uncomfortable to fight when you’re this close.”

“Ah! I-I’m sorry!”

As if only then realizing what she was doing, Deborah backed away with an apology.

Her cheeks were red like ripe apples.

“If you understand, that’s enough. Then leave what’s ahead to me. I’ll block whatever comes out.”

“Yes! I’ll only trust Ruan!”

Having restored Deborah’s spirits, I relied on the light and slowly advanced deeper into the cave.

Suddenly, the words I had just heard came to mind.

‘Trusting…’

Ever since I raped Alisa, I had given up on building trusting relationships with anyone.

Because the greater the expectation, the greater the shock when that trust is betrayed. The reaction someone precious would show if they found out I was a rapist was too terrifying.

What about Deborah?

If this woman, who now followed obediently behind me, relying on me, found out the truth, would she feel betrayed and show disgust?

Because I couldn’t know that, I couldn’t comfort her in her fear or sympathize with her sadness.

“Huu…”

I let out a long sigh.

In the midst of such complicated thoughts, we reached a place that wasn’t the cave.

“What is this place…?”

“I don’t know. But I know one thing: the chance of escaping outside has increased. Surely, the cave isn’t the only entrance, so there must be another exit.”

“Do you think so? Let’s move quickly!”

In fact, I knew where this place was.

If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have done the crazy thing of jumping off the cliff with such certainty.

The only problem was that this wasn’t information I had obtained through gameplay.

Since this place was half-unimplemented, what I knew was merely a hypothesis.

At the time, a user who showed an excessive obsession with strange things spent years digging into this place, and as a result, discovered that it was a temple and altar dedicated to the Moon Goddess, who was said to exist in another dimension.

So, the name given to it was the Sanctuary of the Moon.

One might think it’s too shoddy for the time invested, but what he did to uncover this information was absurd.

He meticulously restored murals faded by time, and even had to interpret the language of another world, which had a distinctly different linguistic system from Earth.

Rather, the fact that he accomplished that proved this user was a genius.

Anyway, back to the present, from now on, Deborah and I had to clear a dungeon that had never been conquered before, just the two of us.

Of course, despite my tension, there might be no threats at all, just like in a game.

However, my instinct, an unknown intuition, told me that great danger was lurking ahead.

‘Coming here might have been a mistake.’