Hah.
Concerned.
Hah.
Free.
Every time I did this, my breath snorted like I was smoking a cigarette.
Drip.
Drops of sweat fell to the ground in the form of ice drops. My muscles were screaming, and my vision was blurring. But so what?
Step step.
One step, and then another. I focused on my breathing more than ever as I painfully moved forward. I was in front of the two connected sleds, holding on tightly to the rope so as not to let go.
Step step.
He dragged the sleds forward without pause. The reason was simple. The Troll summoner who was in charge of the sleighs had fallen.
«How is Milburn Naria?»
«...It won't last long.»
«I see... »
Squeeze.
My jaw clenched involuntarily as I remembered the battle from a while ago. It hadn't been that bad at first.
[You have launched gigantization.]
I used gigantization to block the road like a rock.
«Teirun Sheardiem.» The wizards used mana shields.
[Jun Arshen has released Light of Protection.]
[Periton Eriaboti has launched Divine Skin.]
[Benjamin Orman has released Damage Reduction.]
The priests helped me with various shields and power-ups, concentrating a mixture of divine magic in me. This strategy could be described as «all-inclusive». And the strategy had worked.
[All healing and recovery effects are reversed.]
Where a blow could become fatal, the enemy could no longer deal me a decisive blow. Taking advantage of that advantage, we bombarded the enemy with all the firepower we had. The skills were not enough, so we even used healing potions. While we gave them the best of modern medicine, we grabbed the enemy by the neck and threw him off the cliff every chance we got.
[The Whisper of Immortality status effect is active. In case of death, the character will be resurrected as Undead.
The deceased enemy soldiers became Undead and attacked their allies, and we continued our offensive by maintaining a strong formation.
«No doubt... it would have been a difficult opponent for you alone, Regal Vagos».
But once they entered the battle, things changed.
[Manua Repeles has launched Iron Fist.]
[Ricky Aymond has launched Walk of Punishment.]
[Puran Cullen has released Possession.]
There were about fifteen adventurers on Noark's side armed with high-ranking essences acquired from the eighth floor and above. The moment those guys entered the battle, the front line collapsed.
«Schuitz, Rayothers is out of mana!»
The mages that supplied me with mana shields were depleted one by one and, as if that were not enough, the enemies jumped above me towards the center of our squad formation. There were three paladins in the main tank line, two knights acting as secondary tanks, and a warrior from Team Three. The harmful melee, like Amelia and Ravien, did everything they could to collaborate and expel them, but even that was not enough.
«We must withdraw!»
The entire unit, including me, felt our imminent defeat. The fact was that they were much more powerful than we. If we continued and fought to the death, our opponents would also take considerable damage, but that was all he could say. Ultimately, it would end in the complete death of the group.
We have to give up killing all these bastards.
I immediately launched Plan B. The key to Plan B was Team Two summoner Milburn Naria. This woman was a long-range Nuker summoner who commanded three Ice Troll sorcerers.
[Milburn Naria has launched Cruel Command.]
[Milburn Naria has released Beast Training.]
[Milburn Naria has launched Latent Instinct.]
[Milburn Naria has released Stability.]
He has released power-ups to his summoned beasts as soon as I have given the order.
[Beast Summoned Pippi has cast Avalanche.]
[Beast Summoned Poppy has cast Avalanche.]
[Beast summoned Yeppi has cast Avalanche.]
The Ice Trolls, stacked with power-ups that made them a dozen times stronger, simultaneously used the same active, buying us time to retreat.
«¡Kyaaa!»
Naria was injured in the process. He had come forward with the Trolls to keep them within Stability's range, which tripled the range of the summoned beasts' abilities. She ended up being caught up. Fortunately, he had given orders to his summoned beasts even when wounded, and we had been able to retreat successfully. That's how we got to the present.
«Schuitz, are you okay...?»
"Don't talk to me".
After Naria lost consciousness, the entire unit dedicated themselves to carrying backpacks and food, but that only represented a sleigh.
Slide, slide.
I went uphill while pulling the other two. I would have to switch with the other warriors as soon as it got too difficult, but I still had strength left.
As I cleared my head and continued moving forward, Naria regained consciousness on the sleigh. «Ugh...» Covered with several layers of thick fur clothing filled with insulating stones, the first thing he said was: «I'm cold...».
«Hold on a little longer. That's because your body is in bad shape. You will feel better as soon as you heal».
«You think so..?»
¡Tose!
«...Yes, I'm sure of it.»
There was no response. Judging by the sound of his breathing, it seemed like he had lost consciousness again.
Boom.
It was like a cannonball hit my heart, a feeling so suffocating that I felt like I was going to lose it.
What do you mean?
I hoped this woman didn't die. That was the truth. But I knew all too well that, despite my best wishes, that outcome was impossible in reality.
No, this woman is probably the one who knows this best...
His body was cold as ice. Death was slowly approaching.
«Home...» Just then, I heard his voice behind me again. «I want to... go home...»
I gritted my teeth and forced a lie in response to his faint murmur. «You will go home. I'm sure».
«Do you... Believe it?»
«Yeah. If you can hold on».
Naria remained silent after that. Only much later did he speak again. «Mr. Schuitz... Please leave me here».
«What are you talking about?»
«That will be... better for all of you. So... is this place...»
I didn't answer, but not because I didn't understand what he was saying. The Whisper of Immortality was a terrible effect that, upon death, resurrected you as an Undead several times stronger than your original self. He wanted to help us by staying in the enemy's path.
There was silence.
«Please answer me».
With that, I ended up accepting it. Continuing the hypocrisy was not going to help this woman.
Yeah, so instead...
Aprieta.
I clenched my fists and barely managed to separate my lips. «Okay. I will respect your wishes. Is there anyone in town you want to message?».
It took him a long time to answer. «...No. Can't».
«How can I not?».
«I do not deserve...». His voice was trembling, and his words incoherent. This was a behavioral change often seen just before a person died. «Ahh... I'm so sorry... I didn't want to... cheat... I didn't want to either... Yes I... instead...!»
Scissors.
Naria started to cry.
I didn't dig deeper, thinking that this woman must have her own burdens to bear. I just listened wordlessly to her sorrows as they came out of her, continuing my march forward for who knows how long until...
«Please let me go down now...» His pronunciation was clearer now.
«Damn.» Hearing this, the warrior next to me cursed.
The paladin closed his eyes and made the sign of the cross. «May the warm light embrace your soul». As someone who had witnessed countless deaths, he had realized that the last embers of her were fading.
«Miss Naria... You did a good job». Her team leader Akurava straightened her messy hair. He carefully lifted Naria's body and began to lower it.
«Gracias, Srta. Akurava ...»
«Thanks to me? That's right...» Akurava bit her lip as if she was physically biting something. She then left Naria's body on the fur clothing that the other members of our squad had spread on the ground for her.
«...Go. Don't look at me like that». Despite Naria's words, it was difficult for us to leave. «It's not safe. I'm fine, so... Go».
Joder.
Squeeze.
Something hot filled my chest, but my head knew I had to face the facts.
«Schuitz, she's right. We have to go now».
I forced myself to take a step and started walking again, dragging the sled.
«I... am not afraid...». Naria closed her eyes weakly. «I'm going home now...». The further he walked, the more distant his murmur became. «My real house... that smells like coffee... in the morning...».
Damn sea.
«Well, now I'm regretting it. There's no way the archbishop would have really tried to kill me. Hahaha...»
I finally discovered the nature of that discomfort.
***
With twenty-four survivors, the unit of what were originally thirty people advanced forward, carrying with us a discomfort that was difficult to shake even when our lives were at stake.
«What Miss Naria said before...»
«Home... must be that place, right?».
The adventurers experienced a wide variety of things during their countless years in the labyrinth. Many of them knew, of course, what the fervent final wish of a dying evil spirit sounded like.
«So Miss Naria was an evil spirit...?»
«Shh! Shut up. We still don't know for sure».
Suspicion spread among the crew. Some were angry at the question itself.
«Are you all crazy? They hurt her trying to save us and she tried to help us even when she was dying. He chose a lonely death for us. Evil spirit? Even if it is, what does that matter?»
This was a bad sign.
«No, we were just... It's weird! Why would an evil spirit do that for us...?»
«Damn, bastard! If you really don't know, I'll show it to you myself, personally!»
What shit.
«Stop!» Before a crack could form between the crew, Kaislan intervened with a scream. «Have you gone crazy? We have to continue as a unit».
I didn't bother to stop his rant. This incident was making me realize that leading a group sometimes required total mastery.
«If anyone utters another useless word, I will be the first to carry out his prompt execution under the kingdom's martial law! Understood?»
It was a forceful order that was closer to a desperate attempt to heal an open wound than anything else. It seemed to make everyone come to their senses and pay attention again. Well, not all.
«...Try», someone murmured, ending the silence. The owner of the voice was Futa Rickerburn, Team Two's close-range damage dealer who served as scout.
«...Try?»
«Don't you all know that? We are already finished!»
«¡You...!»
«¡P-Por favor, pare, ¡Sir Kaislan!»
Kaislan immediately raised his sword, but was stopped by the knights around him.
Rickerburn's voice became even louder at that moment. «Haven't you seen those people before? They are much stronger than us! And there are more! What difference does it make to run? Anyway, they'll catch up with us soon».
«...Let go of me. It's an order». The knights holding him sighed and retreated at Kaislan's order.
Geez, at this rate, we will see bloodshed on the team.
«Kaislan, move». I had no choice but to stop the sleigh and head downtown, where the commotion was.
Aprieta.
I stomped and grabbed the guy by the neck.
«¡Uf!»
«What are you trying to say? It's all useless, so you're going to give up and die? Is that what you really want? If so, I can kill you before them».
¡Tos!
The guy I grabbed choked, but the defiant fire in his gaze lingered. «Try, if you can». I was surprised by his look. He didn't really care if he lived or died.
«...What?» I unconsciously loosened my grip and he dropped back to the ground.
«What difference does it make if we miraculously get rid of those bastards?», he shouted, with a sound that bordered on the lament of despair. «Can you imagine a future of laughter and jokes in the city? Do you really think there is such a future for us?».
I have to shut this idiot up, even if it means killing him.
The idea comes a second too late: he has already blurted out everything he didn't want him to say out loud. «Don't you know why the main unit didn't come to save us? They abandoned us. It wasn't because something happened either, that was his plan from the beginning!».
«...What are you talking about? What do you mean that was his plan from the beginning?»
«Nonsense! The palace has no reason to get rid of all these people!»
«Yes! I thought so too! Because each of us is accomplished and influential! But that was the trap!»
«...Trap?»
It was too late to fix this. I just sighed and decided to watch the train wreck unfold.
«I, Futa Rickerburn, belong to the Duchy of Kealunus! I ended up owed the duke a huge debt, so I did his dirty work as his hitman! When I finally got fed up and told him I wanted to retire, the last thing he asked me for was this expedition! Don't you see it? They threw me in the trash! There were too many eyes to kill me himself, so he was kind enough to give me a title before throwing me away!». He looked at the faces of the people around him and laughed. «Hahaha! Looks like I'm not the only one who's been screwed. Don't you all have similar stories?».
He finished speaking, and for a moment, a silence heavier than he had ever experienced settled over the unity. It was like the calm that precedes the storm.
«Did the company abandon me...? N-No. Impossible. They said they would forgive me for embezzlement if I did this job...», someone murmured in a panic. As a result, all eyes turned to his neighbors.
Are you in the same boat? they seemed to ask their looks.
It was the team leaders who received the most attention. They were the ones with the most prestige of all. Everyone probably wanted them to show their faces and say that it was impossible for it to be like that.
«...Maybe they really abandoned us», Akurava said. The reality was cruel. «I, Titana Akurava, continually raised questions about a possible dimensional collapse of the palace and demanded strict management of the portal. Maybe that got me into his bad books».
The second to speak was James Calla, deputy commander of the Sierra Teeth Clan. «Recently, I noticed that the clan commander seemed to be trying to undermine my authority more frequently. But only for that...»
«Hah... If I had to choose something, I would say that my case is similar to Calla's. I'm not interested in my family title, but perhaps my older brother felt threatened. That's why I also enlisted in the army when I was young...», Kaislan said.
Finally, Jun's confession. «I was the Inquisitor of the Church of Tovera. Our mission was to persecute and execute members of the Karui cult who lived in the city... But I became disillusioned and resigned when I saw that political opponents who had nothing to do with Karui were falsely accused and executed. It turns out that there are quite a few bishops who want their secrets hidden».
Every time one of the team leaders spoke, the faces of the unit became more and more desperate. But it seemed that they had not lost hope yet, because they redirected their attention towards a new goal.
«Schuitz, and you?».
«Not only were you recommended by the marquis himself, but you got the position of leader of this expedition».
«Are you really like us?»
The crew turned to me.
Well, there's no reason to hide it now.
After thinking about it for a moment, I spoke. There was no need to give a detailed explanation like those before me. One sentence was enough.
«...I'm Bjorn Yandel.»