“It’s a pilgrim! Stop him—!”
Crack!
I dashed through the passage, crushing the skulls of any Imperial soldiers that appeared. My stats continued to increase with every five kills, but it wasn’t making much of a difference in this situation.
‘At this rate, I should arrive within an hour…’
I ran with all my might, but my mind was still in turmoil.
“Bjorn… when is Erwen coming back?”
Even Ainar was worried, so I could only imagine how I felt.
“…….”
Had sothing happened to her?
Was she injured? Or worse…
My heart ached with worry.
But there was nothing I could do.
I just had to trust that she would return, and keep running.
「Character has slain four hundred and five Imperial soldiers.」
「All stats increased by 1.」
「Character has slain four hundred and ten Imperial soldiers.」
「All stats increased by 1.」
「Character has slain four hundred and fifteen Imperial soldiers.」
「All stats increased by 1…」
「….」
Ti passed.
‘30 minutes.’
The estimated arrival ti kept decreasing, and my worry for Erwen grew.
And then…
Thud.
I stopped running.
“I told you, pilgrim.”
“…….”
“There’s only one way for you to escape this cave alive.”
He was standing in front of us, blocking our path.
______________________
There was sothing I didn’t understand.
He hadn’t been chasing us from behind. How had he managed to get in front of us?
We had even increased our speed with the stat boosts.
‘…He caught up to us?’
It didn’t make sense.
But I had more pressing matters to attend to.
“Ainar, get ready to fight.”
Ainar nodded and gently placed Bersil’s body on the ground.
“…Rest in peace, mage.”
Dreadfear smirked at us.
“Fools.”
What? I hadn’t run away because I thought I could win.
‘I have a chance with my current stats.’
I lowered my stance, my shield raised.
It was a aningless gesture.
A cheap iron shield wouldn’t protect from his Aura-enhanced blade.
“…….”
A tense silence followed.
And then he spoke.
“My offer still stands.”
Was he insane?
He was still obsessed with that ridiculous idea.
But he seed willing to talk, so I took the opportunity to ask a question that had been bothering .
“…What happened to Erwen?”
It was a question I had been carrying in my heart for hours.
He answered curtly,
“That female pilgrim is dead.”
“Bullshit.”
“You refuse to listen to your inner voice.”
Damn it, I shouldn’t have asked.
He was a boss monster obsessed with betrayal. I couldn't trust his words.
“Faith cannot change the truth. No matter how righteous you believe yourselves to be, you are nothing but filthy traitors—”
I didn't need to hear any more.
“Ainar!”
I shouted and charged forward.
As soon as I closed the distance, he drew his sword and attacked.
Therefore…
Ttadat.
I dodged, stepping back before entering his attack range.
Ainar took advantage of the opening and charged at him.
And…
“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!”
She swung her greatsword down with all her might.
He dodged, twisting his body to the side.
Kwang!
Her sword slamd into the ground.
But it wasn't a complete failure.
Hit and run.
Disrupt his stance and create an opening.
That was the essence of close combat.
Ttadat.
As he dodged Ainar's attack, I threw my shield at his face.
It wouldn't do much damage... but it would montarily blind him.
Ttadat.
I took advantage of the opening and swung my mace.
But he reacted.
“……!”
He blocked my attack with his sword.
If our weapons collided, my mace would be shattered.
So…
I twisted my body and changed the trajectory of my attack.
Whoosh!
My mace missed him, slicing through the air.
And at that mont...
Puk-!
Ainar's greatsword pierced his shoulder.
'Okay, we've scored the first hit.'
But I wasn't satisfied.
There was no reason to retreat now.
Battle was a ga of numbers.
Attack.
Defend.
Dodge.
You had to choose one of the three in a split second, and your next move depended on your opponent's choice.
That's why we were limiting his options.
Ttadat.
He was on the defensive now, focusing on blocking and dodging.
He couldn't afford to attack.
But even his defense wasn't perfect.
'Left.'
I knew he would dodge to the left.
Thud-!
Our coordinated attacks forced him to make mistakes, creating even bigger openings.
We could predict his next move, and he was losing his options.
It was a vicious cycle.
But...
"..."
I couldn't let my guard down.
He could still use his Aura.
And there were always unexpected variables in battle.
Like this.
Whizz!
I feinted an attack and then changed the trajectory of my mace... but the outco was different this ti.
"...!"
He had anticipated my move and followed my mace with his sword.
I twisted my body again to avoid losing my weapon, creating an opening.
Thud-!
He kicked in the stomach. It wasn't a serious injury, but...
He had also wasted a turn attacking .
Puk-!
Ainar's greatsword pierced his thigh.
And at the sa ti...
Puk-!
His sword pierced my stomach.
'Damn it, that hurts.'
I hadn't expected him to be so aggressive.
Ainar didn't even ask if I was okay.
She just kept attacking.
"Haaa!"
I quickly recovered and rejoined the fight.
It wasn't like the bleeding would stop if I retreated.
The important thing wasn't how much I was injured.
It was whether I could kill him before he killed .
If defeating him ant escaping this place, I didn't care about my injuries.
"Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!"
The battle continued.
It wasn't easy, even though our stats had increased significantly, and we were two against one.
Our nurical advantage didn't last long.
"For the Empire...!"
Imperial soldiers kept appearing, swarming us like moths to a fla.
They made the fight more difficult, but there was an advantage.
Slash!
Weapon refills.
I grabbed a new weapon from a fallen soldier as soon as my mace was broken.
Sword, hamr, mace...
It didn't matter.
As long as it was long enough to swing.
Klang-!
Arm, leg, torso, shoulder, eye, ear.
The more I was injured, the worse his condition beca.
Whiiiish-!
His Aura-enhanced sword lost its montum, his movents becoming sluggish.
His Aura itself had also weakened.
One of his arms was dangling uselessly, and his left leg, pierced twice by Ainar, was barely functioning.
'Soon...'
We were going to win.
He would collapse before we did.
I swung my hamr at his temple.
「Centurion Dreadfear's HP is below 15%.」
And then...
An explosion erupted from his body, sending flying into a wall.
I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, but I quickly got up and looked at him.
"Damn it."
I couldn't help but curse.
「Centurion Dreadfear has cast [Eternal Nightmare].」
「All HP restored.」
He had instantly healed all his injuries.
He walked towards and said,
"My offer..."
"..."
"...still stands."
Bullshit.
I asked him,
"Are your parents..."
"..."
"...parrots?"
He didn't answer.
He just stabbed in the stomach.
"...This damn ga..."
And then everything went black.
______________________
「Character's HP is below 5%.」
「[Narcolepsy] activated.」
「Natural Regeneration greatly increased.」
「Character enters [Unconscious] state.」
______________________
Darkness.
I felt like I was floating on a river.
Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror.
How were we supposed to defeat him?
The answer was simple.
It was impossible.
I had thought we could win with our boosted stats, but it was a trap.
He wasn't ant to be defeated.
Which ant...
'I was wrong.'
My judgnt had been wrong.
I should have run away and tried to escape the cave.
'It was a ga of tag from the beginning.'
The stat boosts were just a handicap.
Fighting him head-on was never the right answer.
Therefore...
"Huff... Huff..."
I was paying the price for my mistake.
「Character's HP is above 15%.」
「[Unconscious] state changed to [Paralysis].」
「Natural Regeneration bonus slightly decreased.」
When I opened my eyes, I was being carried by Ainar.
"Catch them...!"
I could hear the soldiers' shouts behind us.
Ainar was running, dodging their attacks.
"Bjorn...? You're awake...?"
"..."
"Are you... okay?! Can you hear ?!"
I forced my mouth open.
"I'm... fine... Explain the situation..."
"Ah, o-okay..."
Ainar explained as she ran.
"After you... collapsed... the entire cave flashed... and he stopped moving... I took advantage of the opportunity and ran..."
He stopped moving?
Was it the altar's effect?
I didn't know.
It was a hidden piece I had never encountered before, and there were no system logs to explain it.
"How long... was I unconscious?"
"I-I don't know... about five minutes...?"
Five minutes.
"A-Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm... fine... Just paralyzed..."
What was my current state?
I thought for a mont, and then I rembered.
'[Narcolepsy].'
A passive skill that activated when my HP dropped below 5%.
It changed to [Paralysis] at 15% and then gradually healed until the status effect was removed at 30%.
'So I have a skill too...'
Not just Bersil and Erwen, but I also had a starting skill.
It was a passive skill, so I hadn't noticed it before.
'Then Ainar must have one too...'
I wondered what her skill was.
But I didn't have ti to think about it.
"L-Left..."
"Huh?"
"Left... is the way..."
"Ah..."
I gave Ainar directions as I organized my thoughts.
And then I heard a distinct sound.
"Huff... Huff..."
It wasn't just the sound of exhaustion.
"Ainar... are you okay?"
"...I'm... fine..."
She didn't look fine at all.
"Just... a few injuries... because I couldn't use my hands... Don't worry about it..."
That's when I realized sothing.
Ainar couldn't use her hands because she was carrying .
Then how had she been fighting the soldiers?
Had she just been lucky enough to avoid them?
I soon found out.
"...Filthy pilgrims!"
A group of soldiers appeared in front of us.
Ainar's choice was simple.
She didn't stop.
She charged at them.
Puk-!
Swords and spears pierced her body, but she endured, avoiding the vital points.
And the result?
Shoulder.
Arm.
Leg.
She was injured in three places, but she managed to break through their lines.
The soldiers regrouped and continued their pursuit, and Ainar's breathing beca even more ragged.
"Huff... Huff..."
I watched her from her back, speechless.
And then she asked,
"Bjorn... are you... hurt?"
"...Stop."
This was too reckless.
She would collapse soon, and even if we reached our destination, how would we heal her injuries?
We didn't have any potions.
It would be wiser to put down and wait for [Narcolepsy] to wear off.
But...
"I... can't..."
Ainar refused to listen.
"Why...?"
"I... saw the future... when you collapsed..."
"...The future?"
"It was the sa when the mage died... I thought it was just a hallucination... but I think it's my ability..."
What had she seen?
I asked her several tis, but she didn't answer.
"I... can't stop... So trust ."
"..."
"I... won't fall..."
She muttered her last words, her voice filled with determination, and then she continued running.
Step, step.
She didn't stop, even when she saw the soldiers in front of us.
She just kept running.
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