When I saw that Ghost I thought I was going to die. In front of was a figure that looked like a man, but his face was decrepit, and the little flesh left on it clearly exposed his bones. He was bald, and the few strands of hair he had looked fragile. I was less than half a ter away from it, and at that distance, where I could feel his icy breath, he could easily drain my life.
I could feel sothing coming out of my throat, and as disgusting as the Ghost was, I knew it wasn’t vomit. When I looked down, sothing was coming out of my mouth. It was transparent, but I could see a shape leaving my body and being absorbed by the spirit.
As my life force was being drained by that monster, I felt my body growing weaker and weaker, my legs shaking as if they would fail at any mont. At this rate I would be sucked dry until the bitter end.
I thought I was done for. But then a high-pitched voice echoed in my ears, "Crystal Wall!"
After those words were spoken, a transparent wall materialized, separating from the Ghost that was feeding on my energy. The Ghost tried to pass the Crystal Wall, but it was a useless effort, as if a normal human was trying to move a wall made of concrete.
As the Ghosts accumulated, I noticed the Crystal Wall wouldn’t move an inch. Our side was completely isolated by it. Maybe because they were ethereal beings Crystal Wall kept them away as if they were made of magic themselves.
"Rick!" The sa high-pitched voice that had conjured the spell called out to . Her golden hair fluttered in front of with her nervous erald eyes, "Are you all right?"
"Alicia," I said, my mind still dizzy, but I still could stand on my feet, "Yeah, I’m fine."
The frail girl who had been frozen in fear saved my life at the last second. I didn’t bla her for being scared of the monsters. It would have been better if she had helped earlier, but in the end she prevented my death.
"Thank goddess," Alicia said with a sad expression, "I-I’m sorry for not helping, I..."
"We can talk about that later. Let’s go back. The Wall won’t last forever," Sarah said, with Justine a few ters from us.
"I won’t let you escape, you little pieces of shit!" Derug was cursing us, but he also couldn’t pass through the barrier.
I looked at the creature. I rembered it from the book — just an annoying side villain — but seeing it in person was far more despicable than I rembered. This little demon had almost killed Sarah and , so I wouldn’t show it any rcy.
The monster was cursing with all it could, but I didn’t listen as my feet carried back the way we ca.
But it wasn’t over. We would be back to this mine, and when we did, I would end Derug’s life.
...
Fortunately, we managed to escape the cave without any Ghosts chasing us. By that ti, the Crystal Wall must have already been dispelled, so I assud Derug didn’t think it was necessary to pursue us outside the dungeon.
"Ah, ah. That was close," Justine said, panting as she collapsed onto the grass. She had carried Sarah in a hurry for most of the way, and the red-haired girl was now resting under a tree.
"And whose fault is that? It’s obvious he got angry because you talked about his height," Sarah said.
I was sitting on the ground, thinking about our current situation. Everything had seed fine, and we had made so progress, but now that Derug knew about us, he would probably strengthen the dungeon’s defenses along that path. ’So what should we do now?’
While I was lost in my thoughts, I noticed two little feet in front of . When I looked up, Alicia was standing there, looking miserable.
"Forgive , Rick," she said to .
"Ah, forget about it, Alicia. If it weren’t for you, I would have died back there, so in the end everything worked out."
"Of course it didn’t work out!" Alicia shouted at . "Because I hesitated, Sarah took my place and was attacked, and right after that, you were too. At the mont you needed the most... I was completely useless."
I could tell Alicia’s voice was reaching its limit. A little more and she would start crying.
"Listen carefully, Alicia. It was your first ti in a dungeon, so it’s normal to feel afraid. If you made a mistake—and thankfully nothing serious happened—just make sure you don’t make the sa mistake again."
"But—"
"Hey, Alicia," Sarah interrupted our conversation, calling the girl. "My legs are still a little weak. Could you co closer?"
Alicia did as Sarah asked and moved closer to her, but she was still standing while Sarah remained seated.
"Closer," Sarah asked Alicia, a smile on her face. I already had an idea of what was going to happen, but I don’t think Alicia had realized it yet.
Once again, Alicia did as Sarah said. The young girl leaned forward, ending up face to face with the Swordmaster. At that mont, Sarah flicked the princess’s forehead with her finger.
"Ouch!" The girl let out a painful sound, covering her forehead with both hands.
"That’s what you get for getting the wrong idea," Sarah said with an irritated expression. "Now you’re one of my party mbers. I might have taken your place back then, but I don’t regret it one bit, so don’t cry over it. And what I did for you, I would do for Rick and Justine as well. Like Rick said, accept your mistake and never make it again. But never forget one thing."
"And what is it?" Alicia asked in a frail voice.
"That we’ll always be on your side," Sarah said to her. "What else would we do, you idiot?"
Alicia looked surprised by Sarah’s words, staring at her with her mouth slightly open. Even after her mistake, Sarah didn’t see Alicia as any less worthy of being with us, and I shared the sa feeling.
Alicia then gave a small smile and said, "I’ll rember that."
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