33. fall, isolation (3)

It was Mantis who stood at the forefront. The huge scythe on its front paws came crashing down on Maxim with Theodora on his back. Maxim quickly lowered his head and cut off Mantis’ leg. It fell forward without a scream. The group of monsters in front split into two. The one who was turning to eat the fallen Mantis and the one who kept running towards Maxim.

“die.”

Maxim leaps high and catches the two remaining monsters. A monster of unknown name and species rolled on the ground with its head cut off, and Hexped, standing behind it, dedicated his life. Maxim cleanly slaughtered all the monsters and ran forward recklessly.

After that, a bloody festival took place with Mantis, whose legs were cut off, and the monsters that Maxim cut down. Mantis swung the scythe in his forepaw and took the monsters away even as his body was being bitten and his head was torn off.

Kirik, Kirik, Kirik, Kirik.

Maxim jumped up. The only way to find a way out is to get to the end of this f*cking passage. The sound of the death worm creaking and crawling was louder than the sound of the monsters eating and stabbing each other. The dim crack of light was getting closer. Maxim gave his last strength and made a great leap forward. The pile of stones under my feet bounced in all directions.

little bit more.

Geek.

Behind, something huge was crawling. The fighting spirit stopped. It seemed that he had been reduced to a bite of the huge thing behind his back.

The exit was ahead.

The hill of rubble is rapidly lowered.

Maxim suddenly threw himself down the ramp. Using the sword as a ride, Maxim slid down the downhill road. Flames spread to the sides of the boots, and dust rose. Maxim stumbled, but managed to keep his balance.

Do not look back.

Thinking that if he falls down now, he will die, Maxim glides down the ramp with desperate eyes.

wave angle.

The end was in front of Maxim. In front of that wilderness where collapsed cliffs were littered with rubble, Maxim staggered and landed. The field of vision expanded and the light entered the eyes all at once. At least I came out to a place where the surroundings were not blocked. Maxim’s stomach is conflicted and shaken.

Should I run more? Should I get off the cliff? Or should I just go back and fight? Since I came out to an open place, wouldn’t there be a chance to win even if I fought? But what about Theodora? If I fought with Theodora on my back, I would never be able to win.

Maxim widened his senses and sensed the threat, but the huge presence stayed where the cliff collapsed. Maxim straightened his sword and spun back.

“…”

Deep inside the collapsed cliff, it was lurking. It was a death worm, an ugly, huge monster that looked like a mix of earthworms and larvae, stained red. Thousands of pairs of jagged teeth lurked in its whirlpool-like mouth. Something resembling debris from a monster’s corpse was caught between its teeth.

For some reason, the Death Worm did not try to get out of the ruins of the collapsed cliff. Maxim couldn’t figure out how a monster with no eyes or nose could sense him.

hard.

The Death Worm was twisting its body. Little by little the precipice cut further along the stout body.

Maxim slowly began to move his steps. sideways slowly. without taking your eyes off it. Every time I took a step on the wasteland beneath my feet, I heard the sound of the sand crumbling. Then, the Death Worm started wriggling and pulling its body backwards. It disappears like a monster being sucked into that deep darkness of misery.

“…Whoa.”

The death worm has disappeared. Maxim sighed in relief and looked up at the cliff. Even looking up from the bottom, it was a very high cliff. Of course nothing was visible. In order to somehow send a rescue request to the investigators on top of the cliff, they would have to be near the place where the cliff collapsed, but they couldn’t act recklessly until Theodora regained consciousness.

Maxim looked at both sides of the cliff alternately, and decided to move to the left side based on where he fell. Funny enough, the march of demons who were trying to endlessly climb up the cliff seemed to be stopped when the cliff collapsed once. but,

Kruck.

Kiik.

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No matter how much the number of monsters has decreased, this is an uninhabited area. It was not an area where people were not allowed to set foot. Wherever Maxim turned his head, there were monsters. The monsters fighting each other, the monsters eating the corpses of dead monsters, and the monsters aiming for Maxim.

The awkward figure of Maxim, carrying Theodora on his back and holding a knife in one hand, was, in a way, an easy prey. Of course, even if he wasn’t in the same posture as Maxim, as long as he stood still in this place, his limbs would be disintegrated by a group of monsters within tens of seconds.

“I can live.”

Maxim said so to bolster his courage. Actually, it didn’t help much. It was fortunate that it didn’t feel too heavy even with Theodora’s armor on.

“We will survive.”

However, the weight of carrying Theodora’s life was clearly on Maxim’s shoulders. Maxim twisted the knife around.

I have to kill them first before they fall into a hunting target and get swept away by a horde of monsters.

Maxim’s sunken eyes began to search for the weakest and easiest to hunt, just like the monsters. Arachne frantically devouring that fallen Hexped. Maxim adjusted his goals.

Maxim’s new model accelerates. Maxim, who kills as much as possible, becomes an iron arrow and halves Arachne into the head and stomach. Arachne’s head flew through the sky. Maxim sprinted, eagerly hoping that the following runners would devour the strewn corpse.

I don’t know if there is, but I needed a place to hide for a while, at least until Theodora woke up. Huge rocks were scattered everywhere, but not enough to be called a hiding place. I had to go at least as far as the rocky hill, which could only be reached by running for several minutes. Of course, I had to kill dozens or dozens of monsters lurking along the way.

Another way…!

At that time, Maxim’s eyes caught a glimpse of a cliff. There was a part that was dented as if it was being eroded between the corpses of countless monsters.

Maxim did not hesitate.

If you made a decision on the battlefield, you had to act quickly. I couldn’t stand still and wait for the rescue that might come at any time.

Kyaaa-!

Demons came running. I didn’t even have time to tell what kind of monster it was. Something resembling a dog, something resembling a snake, a mixture of a bird and a worm. Maxim swung the knife at random. I put aside all things such as techniques in a corner of my head and left it to my senses and body’s memory, and swung the sword as my arms guided my body.

Avoiding the flying teeth, leaving the claws to the defense of the armor, and being vigilant so that there are no monsters attacking Theodora from behind. It was rather desperation close to madness that supported Maxim, who had reached the brink of exhaustion. Conscious of only Theodora behind her back, she cut.

Tok, tok.

Wherever Maxim’s step reached, the corpse of a monster fell like fallen leaves. Other monsters made mayhem to eat the fallen monster’s corpse. Maxim left the mess behind and ran to the weakened part of the cliff. The dead body of the monster that was blocking the cliff collapsed with Maxim’s two knife strokes. A disgusting corpse smell wafts out.

Maxim threw down his knife first, then carried Theodora forward from his back and jumped into a small hole.

—

Arriving at the place where the cliff collapsed, Christine sent a signal flare into the sky and called all the 1st team under investigation. It was a signal flare to be fired only when the investigation achieved decisive results or when life was at stake, but now it was an emergency, so it was time to check personnel.

Then, the thing I feared the most happened.

“…senior…”

The leader of the Knights of the Raven, Theodora Benning, and her senior, Maxime Appart, were absent.

“Vice-captain.”

“Don’t hold onto it.”

Christine walked near the collapsed cliff. Knights and soldiers stopped Christine from behind. I could see the bottom of the black cliff below. The leader and seniors fell down there.

“…it’s dangerous. As you approach the cliff,”

Christine ignored their warnings and looked down at the base of the collapsed cliff. nothing was visible Just in case, Christine formed a light source in her hand and dropped it down. halo very slowly. It sank to the bottom, illuminating the inside of the cliff like a feather falling.

“please…”

Christine said in a desperate voice. The light source was getting closer to the floor. Christine stared at the floor with trembling eyes.

“…!”

The soldiers who were watching the floor next to Christine pointed at one place with their fingers at the same time.

“Vice-captain, over there!”

Christine looked where they pointed. The surface of the pile of stones illuminated by the light source, traces that looked like bloodstains were engraved on the stone. And behind it, Fenrir’s skin was cut off, armor was broken, and fragments of a scabbard that seemed to have been artificially cut were visible.

“Vice-captain, the captain…”

“…alive.”

Christine said firmly.

“Someone forcibly grabbed only the joints and broke the armor. The scabbard is neatly cut.”

Christine raised her head.

“I have to report to the Marquis. Hurry to the meeting point…!”

Christine jumped up from her seat. Knights and soldiers hurriedly followed Christine, who began to run at speed.

Christine reached the convergence point of the second group, pouring all the mana called mana into the body strengthening and running. Christine ran at such a speed that the knights could only catch up with their full power. At the confluence of the second group, the knight Christine sent earlier was talking to the Marquis with a serious expression on her face.

“… Marquis Master…!”

Christine let out a heavy breath and called the Marquis. The Marquis turned his head with a frown, then looked at Christine’s expression and put on a puzzled expression.

“…Vice-captain. What’s going on?”

“The number of people… two. It seems that he was caught up in a cliff collapse and fell and became isolated.”

At Christine’s words, the Marquis’s puzzled expression hardened. It was the realization that the situation turned out to be much more serious than expected.

“If it’s those two.”

“This is Theodora Benning, the leader of the Knights of the Ravens, and Maxime Appart, the member.”

The Marquis clicked his tongue with a tsk. She immediately called the soldiers together. Two groups of soldiers rushed in.

“Prepare for the overnight stay.”

“Yes, I understand.”

At the words of the Marquis, they started running to prepare for the night without saying anything. The Marquis immediately looked back at Christine and asked.

“Could you report the situation?”

“How far have you heard?”

“All I know is that the cliff partly collapsed with a roar.”

Christine began to explain the situation, gradually clearing the mess in her head.

“After the cliff collapsed, a group of people were gathered using flares to determine if there were any missing or injured.”

Marquis nodded as if he was listening.

“And as a result of checking the number of people, I found that the leader and member Maxim were missing. First of all, I couldn’t believe that the captain didn’t fire a signal flare.”

“And?”

“Then… I went near the collapsed cliff and checked under the cliff. I used magic to shine a light on it, but I could see faint traces of blood, and when I looked down more carefully, there were pieces of broken armor and a severed sword sheath.”

The Marquis frowned.

“…means it could still be alive.”

“I’m sure he’ll be alive. Obviously.”

Christine said sternly.

“…For this to happen 3 days before returning to the capital.”

Marquee Baek gritted it.

“Vice-captain, I want you to know this first.”

“What is it?”

“You can’t send soldiers or knights down there at will. Even if they were sent down, only a very small number of elites would be put into the search team.”

Christine nodded with a pale face.

“The search itself cannot be prolonged. You must leave at least an hour before sunset. And…”

The Marquis looked at Christine.

“You, too, will probably join the search team.”

“This is what I hoped for.”

The Marquis let out a long sigh.

“Damn it.”

At the end of her gaze, the long wilderness of no man’s land spread out.

—

It was dark.

Theodora suddenly realized that she herself had closed her eyes. A disgusting smell wafted through the air, like rotting blood and flesh. Did you die and go to hell? The pain felt in every corner of his body was excruciating. Theodora let out a heavy breath and opened her eyes with difficulty. My eyelids fluttered and trembled.

Even when I opened my eyes, I could only see darkness. Her pupils dilated, collecting light. Slowly, the landscape reflected in the eyes is a low ceiling. The ceiling was rough, as if made of stone. No, it actually seemed to be a ceiling made of stone.

The next thing I felt was the sharp pain in my right leg. I tried to move my leg, but it was as if it was tied somewhere, and it didn’t move. It was as if the armor on his legs had been ripped off as he saw the occasional cold air.

And then.

Theodora could see Maxim looking at her with worried eyes. And only then was Theodora able to recall what had happened. Cliffs, collapses, falls. Maxim looked down at Theodora and asked in a worried, yet unnerved voice.

“Woke up?”

“Maxim…we now…”

Theodora, pale, realized the situation they were in.