Under the crushing weight of Falin's transformed body, Marcille's sled familiar inevitably left deep tracks across the ground—making it easy for the elves to locate her.
"Wait… An elf?"
But upon catching up and seeing Marcille, the pursuers hesitated.
They had assumed that the person fleeing with the Falin Dragon would be one of that man's companions—so why was it an elf?
"Xia——————!"
Izutsumi had already bristled with hostility before the elves arrived, just as Laios had instructed: Don't let the elves get near Marcille.
"She's a half-elf."
Misrun suddenly spoke. "The book must be in her hands."
"Give me the book."
He strode directly toward Marcille. "That's not something you should be holding."
"No!"
Marcille, flustered, raised her staff and pointed it at Misrun. "One more step and I'll attack!"
"What do you want? To become a pure-blooded elf? A man? Or to resurrect someone who's already died?"
Misrun kept walking toward her, emotionless. "The dungeon only needs your desire. All your pursuits will ultimately end in emptiness, bringing only massive change to this world…"
"Stop!"
Marcille shouted, and finally unleashed her magic.
A burst of explosive force engulfed the area around Misrun—but when the smoke cleared, he was no longer there.
Misrun had used teleportation to shift his position laterally, and was still striding toward her. "Hand over the book."
His emotionless, mechanical voice and steady approach crushed Marcille with immense pressure—it reminded her of the Winged Lion's Book itself.
Suddenly, Marcille realized… she and her companions might already have no choice left.
If things ended here, they would all be captured, labeled as criminals, and handed over to the Western elves for involvement with the dungeon.
Even if they managed to escape, they would live the rest of their lives as fugitives…
Falin would lose all hope of resurrection—reduced to nothing more than a chimera, she would truly die.
Such an outcome was unacceptable!
If she gave up the book now, then—
Everything would be over!
With that thought, Marcille gripped her staff again. But this time, instead of casting an attack spell—she issued a command to her sled familiar.
Obeying instantly, the sled familiar gathered everyone and hoisted them onto Falin Dragon's back—then dashed into the forest at breakneck speed.
"After them!!" Patadru shouted upon seeing Marcille flee. "Don't let her break the seal on the book! Catch her!!!"
"She made such a huge familiar—her mana should run out soon! Get her!"
The lycanthrope elf, Rision, instantly transformed, dropping to all fours and sprinting forward, while Misrun resumed his rapid spatial teleportation to close the distance.
"Marcille! Can't this sled go any faster?!"
Chilchack screamed from the back, his panic obvious. Though he never intended to get involved in combat, now he shakily pulled out his bow, as if preparing to fight off the chasing elves.
"No! Falin's too heavy!" Marcille was nearly in tears. "We can't get caught! If we're caught… Falin… everyone… everyone will be…"
The suffocating pressure of reality overwhelmed her—stripping away her ability to think, to choose, to act.
The pursuing elves felt like swords hanging over her head, and she forced the sled familiar to accelerate, draining her mana in the process. Her vision swam with dizziness, illusions beginning to appear before her eyes, further clouding her mind.
If they were caught…
She might survive long enough to one day see the outside world again. But her companions—their entire lives would be destroyed!
That couldn't happen! There had to be another way! There had to be!!!
Marcille's mind spun in confusion—until suddenly, Izutsumi pounced on her.
"Yah!"
Marcille fell under Izutsumi's weight. In the same moment, a magically transported blueprint slice swept past, severing her wrist where it crossed her neck.
"Aaaahhhhhh!!!"
Pain exploded through her body, blood gushing as she collapsed atop the sled familiar. Still, she tried to maintain control over the familiar with the last of her concentration.
"Marcille!" Chilchack and Senshi rushed to her side, and Senshi immediately tied off her arm to stop the bleeding.
There was no other choice now.
Marcille's spirit had reached its breaking point. The overwhelming pressure from every direction was crushing her thoughts.
And in the end, there was only one thing left that she could think of… only one thing.
Marcille buried her face in Falin Dragon's feathers and began to recite the chant.
At that moment, the Winged Lion's Book—held tight in her arms—opened its eye in response to her incantation.
The infinity symbol spun slowly within its pupil.
Elsewhere, Laios was speaking to Kabru.
"We… have no choice but to unseal the Winged Lion and let one of us become the dungeon master."
Laios stated this calmly, facing Kabru directly. "If we don't… we'll be handed over to the Western elves and spend the rest of our lives enduring interrogations about the dungeon."
"…"
Kabru listened to Laios's shocking words—but he couldn't deny them.
Right now, this was the best-case scenario for their group.
They had touched forbidden things: the dungeon and ancient magic. The elves would imprison them. And since the elves' concept of time was so alien, by the time they were released, they might already be frail, dying old men…
"Me, Senshi, Chilchack, Izutsumi… we'll likely be imprisoned for the rest of our lives."
Laios continued, "Marcille has a long lifespan, but as a criminal, she might be forced to join the Canary team and spend her years battling dungeon masters and other dangerous foes."
"I know this is selfish, but…"
Laios concluded, "The most basic instinct of life is self-preservation. None of us can accept that kind of ending."
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium