35. fall, isolation (5)

On the first day, a search party was formed, including Christine, but they couldn’t go down the cliff. It was because it took much longer than planned to wipe out the monsters clinging to the cliff and ensure the safety of the surroundings.

Christine couldn’t sleep at all. There must be a lot more monsters lurking down there than the number of monsters she wiped out, so will the senior be safe or alive? If he was alive, wouldn’t he be overdoing it?

Christine spent the night awake. The next day, the marshal who summoned the search party tutted and kicked his tongue when he saw Christine’s sullen expression.

“Vice-captain, I warned you. I told you to stay fit.”

“…sorry.”

Christine bowed her head in disdain. Marquis shook his head excitedly and began to explain the outline of the operation.

The search party was mostly made up of volunteer members of the Raven Knights, except for the no-man’s-land soldiers who accompanied them to guide them along the way or terrain, including Paola, who had been appointed commander.

“It’s okay for me to say this after conceiving the plan, but going down the cliff is just suicidal.”

There was tension on the faces of the search team.

“Ironically, thanks to this anomaly, the number of monsters decreased and we were able to carry out such a strategy. Normally, I wouldn’t have dared to go looking for it.”

The wind rustles the uninhabited land. The Marquis turned his head toward the cliff.

“I’m saying don’t neglect the safety of your search party, simply buried in the fact that you’re looking for a missing person. It’s definitely not a situation where you can leisurely look around.”

The Marquis’ expression twisted horribly as he looked at the wasteland that stretched across the cliff. Then he turns his gaze back to the search party.

“Even if it sounds cruel and seems like an inhuman order, follow these words. Your safety always comes first. I have no intention of throwing away all my power to find a missing person who might be alive. And-“

The eyes of Christine and the Marquis met.

“If you find the missing people alive and you can’t rescue both of them, prioritize the rescue of Theodora Benning, leader of the Knights of the Ravens. If you find them dead, don’t try to collect them by force.”

To Christine, all those words struck her heart like a hammer. Paola, who was in charge of the search party, nodded.

“I will follow your orders.”

“Please make a cool decision.”

A tight rope hung down the cliff. The Marquis pulled the rope tight to see if it was fastened, then ordered the search party to descend.

“Good luck.”

“I will go down first.”

Paola voluntarily started descending on the rope first. He was followed by the guide’s soldier, Roberto, and other members. It was time for Christine to walk to the rope to follow them down. The Marquis held Christine by the shoulder.

“…What is it?”

“Vice-captain, please act rationally. I put you on the search team because I literally couldn’t help it. Don’t endanger the search team who went down together to search for the missing person because of you alone.”

Christine looked into the Marquis’ concerned eyes and nodded slowly.

“I will be careful.”

“… come back alive.”

After the Margrave’s words, Christine grabbed the rope and began to descend the cliff. Since the descent was decided by choosing a terrain with relatively stable ground, the search team had no choice but to start the search a little away from the site where the cliff collapsed. Like any other knight, the members helped Christine, who was accustomed to descending the cliff.

“That’s right, come down carefully, Vice-captain.”

Unlike Maxim’s wind, there was no magic to fly. Christine reached the bottom of the wilderness on a rope. The first place she stepped on was not the ground, but the rotting corpse of a demon. There was a squirt, and I felt rotten flesh dig a hole through my boots.

All of the search crew reached the bottom of the cliff with Christine at the end. High and low hills and deep dug land. There were more bizarre-looking rocks than I saw on the cliff. The soldier of no man’s land who led the search party said in a firm voice.

“First, let’s move to the site. Time is very limited, so it would be great if you could find even a small clue.”

“Hurry up.”

The soldier nodded at Paola’s prompting and hurried his steps.

To say that the journey was a thorny road was not enough. The monsters continued to attack the search party in groups. It was like fighting an endless guerrilla war in the wilderness. The Marquis was right. There was no time to look around and search.

“Was it this far from where the cliff collapsed?”

Paola said that as she pulled her mace from the smashed monster’s head. Remnants of the collapsed cliff were scattered in the field of search. The soldier serving as a guide carefully inspected the wreckage and peered into the collapsed cliff.

Paola followed the soldier and looked inside the cliff. There were piles of stones, and pitch black darkness. Sweat dripped from Paola’s hands. It was dangerous beyond this, years of experience had warned Paola.

“…I think we should do our best.”

The soldier said in a nervous voice.

“I guess so. Everyone tense up.”

The search party climbed the rubble and approached the collapsed cliff. Christine floated a light source in the air, illuminating the dark interior of the cliff. The light source slowly entered from the entrance, illuminating the gap in the collapsed cliff.

There were no monsters in the gap. The monsters that swarmed near the entrance had long since passed away at the hands of the search party. With the light Christine created at the forefront, the search party went deeper and deeper into the cliff. Then, Paola lowered her head and pulled something out of the rubble.

“You cut the sheath on purpose.”

Paola looked at the cut edge of the scabbard and said. Christine hardened her expression when she saw the scabbard Paola had handed her. It was Maxim’s sword.

“…why?”

“I don’t know. It could be that he left a signal, or what he was trying to use the cut scabbard for.”

Christine looked down at the scabbard in her hand with a grim expression and immediately retrieved it. The members of the Knights of the Ravens looked at Christine like that with pitiful eyes.

“You probably don’t know that it would be best if you stayed here.”

Paola began to clear away the strewn stones. It seemed to be a trick to check if something was underneath. And, Paola’s question was soon revealed.

“Look over there…!”

Someone’s screams were heard. The search party raises its head to where the cry came from.

“…crazy.”

Those were the words that came out of Paola’s mouth. They were looking up at the collapsed section of the cliff in the light. A very huge pupil was welcoming the search party with its mouth open.

“Did something like that exist?”

Paola’s words trembled.

“Are there monsters that can do that?”

“…The only monster that comes to mind right now is the Death Worm.”

A rock-piercing death worm? Paola couldn’t imagine that such a creature could exist.

“Sir Paola, this is…”

“Dangerous. I can understand why the captain and Maxim, who fell here, did not stay here.”

Paola looked back at the search party.

“I have to get out of this place first…”

Deed, etc.

The ground shook. The search team hardened their expressions and looked at each other’s faces.

“This vibration…”

“It’s not here…!”

With the soldiers at the forefront, the search party hurriedly began to slip through the cracks in the collapsed cliff. Scattered stones flowed down the slope under their feet.

“Vice-captain!”

Christine, who was standing there blankly, was urged by one of the members. Christine chased the search party, who started running out of the cliff. It was hard to breathe. It felt like my eyes were spinning. A sense of fear of the unknown consumed Christine. It was never a fear of the existence of monsters.

senior, senior

Christine’s steps quickened. The search party reached the edge of a collapsed cliff.

And what greeted them was the terrible cry of a monster that had never been heard before, as if tearing the eardrums.

—

The chirping of birds is always heard when the light comes breaking through the darkness. However, until a dim light came through the gap in the rock, the only sound heard in the no man’s land was the sound of monsters dying. Maxim tried to regain his vitality by folding and unfolding his leg joints, which had hardened like plaster.

A chill seeped into his bones. After a true night’s sleep, the morning air was very dry. Every time Maxim moved his creaky joints, there was a crackling sound.

It’s still a long way from no man’s land investigators to begin their investigation. They could have set up a separate search party to find him and Theodora, but Maxim did not want to gamble on an uncertain possibility.

If you use Theodora’s signal flare well, it won’t be difficult to be rescued.

It was doubtful whether the signal flares would be able to send the flames over the cliff, but I could hear the sound of the flares exploding.

The biggest problem was figuring out when to get out of this cave, where and how to set off that flare. Maxim touched the tip of his sword and shook his head. Theodora, who is incapacitated and seriously injured.

‘Standing in the middle of the wilderness is absurd.’

It’s obvious that it won’t last long. Facing the offensive of the attacking monsters, they will be relentlessly exploited for their weak points and eventually become prey.

If so, the most probable thing is…

Then, with a rustling sound, Theodora raised her head. She let out a dry cough and blinked her eyes.

“How long has it been?”

Theodora’s voice was locked.

“It’s just before sunrise.”

Theodora let out a long breath and moved her body around, just as Maxim had done, loosening her frozen joints. Maxim, meanwhile, was looking at Theodora’s right leg, which did not move. The swelling seemed to have subsided compared to yesterday.

“…How are your legs?”

Theodora glanced down at her legs and nodded that it was okay.

“I think I can walk.”

“Don’t overdo it. It’s not in a state that anyone can see.”

“How are you going to get out of here if you don’t overdo it?”

Theodora responded and moved her injured leg little by little. Quite anguish would ensue, but Theodora did not bat an eye.

“Okay, I can move.”

“…When you go out, be sure to visit the medical officer first.”

“Should I go out for that?”

Maxim looked at Theodora, who pretended to be normal. Theodora looked into Maxim’s eyes and sighed.

“Let’s get out alive.”

Theodora clenched her fists and spoke in a strong tone.

“Your leg isn’t cut off, it’s just a broken bone, Maxim. You’d better think about how to escape than worry about my injuries right now.”

Maxim looked into Theodora’s determined eyes. There seemed to be no need to worry.

“…Around noon, let’s get out of this cave.”

Maxim put the knife on his lap and said. Theodora nodded at Maxim’s judgment and agreed. She squeezed the pocket of her waistband tightly.

“It must be the key to how you use this signal flare.”

“Yeah, so, I’m going back to those ruins.”

Theodora’s eyebrows curled.

“Let’s go back to the place where the death worm lurks?”

“Other monsters won’t appear. I think it would be much more likely to survive if I gambled there.”

Theodora saw Maxim’s sword. There were blood stains, and the blade was very damaged. It wasn’t the damage caused by cutting the flesh of the monster, but the damage caused by colliding with a cliff or sticking a sword into a stone wall. If I had to fight a bloody battle with the monsters, I didn’t think I would be able to last that long.

“…I guess so.”

“If that death worm appears, I have no choice but to fight it.”

Maxim trembled and shrugged his shoulders. When Theodora gave her an unreliable look, Maxim said in a firm voice.

“Theodora, I do not intend to die here.”

“I know.”

Theodora quietly closed her eyes. Before going into battle, it was to circulate mana in advance and establish a combat posture. Maxim followed Theodora and closed his eyes. I couldn’t circulate mana as much as she did, but I wanted to find a sense of composure.

My heart was pounding. Maxim couldn’t help but recall the image of the huge insect lurking in the darkness.

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No matter how much time passed, Maxim opened his eyes as the bright sun penetrated the cracks in the cave. Theodora was tying Fenrir’s skin tight around her leg.

“…let’s go.”

“yes.”

Maxim raised his sword. Then, he kicked the corpse of the monster blocking the entrance of the cave and stepped outside. Theodora followed Maxim out of the cave with a staggering gait. Maxim watched the precarious step anxiously.

“Because I’m fine… uh…”

Deed, etc.

the ground shook Facing Maxim, Theodora’s eyes shook together.

how? What if?

The parched land of the no-man’s land cracked. It was like the tearing of the skin of a shedding snake. Fragments of the ground splattered in all directions. Something huge was shaking in the ground.

“crazy…!”

Kwagwagwang…

Burying Maxim’s astonished cry, its body was exposed along with the dust. The arched body was a part of it. Its body exposed in the sunlight was reddish-brown. Debris tumbles from bumps on its surface.

Then, a huge head with no eyes was revealed. Its head looks like it has been cut off the middle of its body. The death worm slowly turned its head to Maxim and Theodora. A hole, a pit of despair with thousands of thorns spinning round and round, opened before them. Its mouth, like a pitch-black abyss, repeatedly relaxes and contracts to breathe repulsively.

And around them, monsters began to gather one by one.

was waiting

how the hell

Maxim stood back to back with Theodora. her leg. Now, with her legs, she would never be able to deal with such a gigantic monster.

I had to make a decision.

The number of monsters flocking in was not very large.

At this moment, everything else has become irrelevant.

Maxim’s heartbeat began to beat loudly.