Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: 14. I Can't Hold Back Anymore. (2)
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When a fight breaks out between the goblins and the adventurers, that's my chance to slip away.
It might sound utterly despicable to anyone listening, but this was a hopeless battle from the start. Those weren't ordinary goblins—they were hobgoblins, elite specimens among their kind. Taking down even one required two or three adventurers piling on at once, and we didn't have the numbers for that.
Short-staffed as we were, everyone was in rough shape besides. Saving even one extra life was the priority.
“Uwaaaah!”
The spark that ignited the clash was an unnamed female adventurer bandaged from shoulder to chest. Her scream rallied the others behind her, and they charged in with heightened fervor.
Kraaaak-!
Excited by the noise or simply slobbering at the mouth, the hobgoblins bared their fangs. The two lurking behind the leader kicked off the ground first, lunging straight at the wounded adventurers.
Kwachik-
“Keok!”
Kruk-!
The hobgoblin swung its axe with a grotesque screech, exploding the lead adventurer's head. A gruesome, nightmarish sight for sure—but the others, hardened to such horrors, didn't flinch. They seized the opening and hacked at the beast.
Puk-
Kraaaa-!
Their blade sliced into its tadpole-like swollen gut, drawing a howl from the hobgoblin. They'd thrown everything they had into the strike, but it barely left a scratch—no real damage at all.
“Wh-what? I put everything into that...”
The adventurers panicked in confusion. They'd expected serious harm, if not a kill, but instead, they'd only enraged it further.
In the end, the holy water backfired like this...
The reason they couldn't muster any strength was obvious. All their energy had gone into healing their bodies—what strength they had left was a miracle. If only they'd brought potions or something, but now? Hope seemed utterly dashed.
Damn, we've lost all momentum. While they were distracted over there, I grabbed Nun Rachel's hand tight.
“P-Priest?”
“Nun Rachel, we're heading out now. No sounds—just follow me.”
“Huh? B-but those people...”
“Nun, you want to die then?”
“...”
At my blunt question—do you really want to die?—Nun Rachel went silent, eyes dropping. She still hadn't snapped out of it. We weren't equipped for this from the start. Saving lives was one thing; fighting was another.
The infirmary had become a warzone in seconds. Blood sprayed everywhere, horrific screams echoing in its wake.
I have to escape.
Forcing my eyes from the carnage, I dragged Nun Rachel along in a desperate sprint. My mind was consumed by one thought: get out fast.
Krrrararara-
Sensing our flight, the leader hobgoblin blocked the sole exit. It leered down at me, jagged yellow teeth on full display, mocking my every move.
Crazy...
That thing's target was clearly me. Blocking the only way out like that left us pinned. Every step it advanced forced us back one.
“P-Priest... what now?”
“...”
Fuck... seriously, what? No way through that brute came to mind. Up close, its massive bulk made slipping past impossible.
It hadn't looked this huge in the pixel art...
Not just hideous—enormous. The terror chilled me to the bone. Legs shaking, we retreated until the wall trapped us.
Krrruk- Kruk-
This fucking bastard...
It knew Nun Rachel and I were helpless. One arm swing would end us, yet it toyed with our fear—twisted expressions shifting as it spewed incomprehensible gutturals.
“Ugh... Nun Rachel, stay right behind me.”
Ah shit... screw it. No choice but to fight back somehow.
Chewing my lip raw in desperation, I thrust my hand forward.
Doubting it'd do much, but better than nothing.
“Eup...!”
Focusing hard, I scraped together what divine power remained. A faint glow sparked at my fingertips, blooming into a barrier around us in a flash.
“Shield!”
A thin spherical veil formed. Fleeting, but it stretched my lifeline a bit longer.
Haa... haa... Five minutes tops.
My divine power was spent. This was all it could muster—I had no clue how long it'd hold.
Just a desperate bid, praying for rescue in the interim.
Krruk- Kru-
Head shaking side to side, the hobgoblin lumbered closer. Inches away now, it lunged its clawed fist at me without hesitation.
Chijjit- Chit-
Kruk-!?
Sparks erupted on contact. Stung, it recoiled sharply.
Kru- Kru-
“Priest, l-let me channel some divine power...”
As I broke out in cold sweat, wracked with pain, Nun Rachel pressed her hand to my back, trickling her own faint divine power into me.
Too weak for holy water, but better than zero.
“Nun, when I signal, run alone.”
“Pardon?”
“It's after me. Don't worry—just go. Understand?”
“B-but...”
“Listen. One of us has to make it out alive. Right?”
Her eyes widened at the command to flee solo. Shaking her head, tears welling, she couldn't bear it.
“N-no way. Priest, without you... how could I go on? I-I'd rather die with you.”
“...”
Driving me insane. She always obeyed so well—why rebel now?
I wouldn't die if captured. I'd just become their plaything, enduring horrors too vile to imagine.
But Nun Rachel, a woman? Different story. I might scrape by; she'd end up monster chow.
I had survival odds even in chains. She had none.
“Please, I'm begging. Do as I say. Okay?”
“...”
No time for tantrums. Pleading desperately for her to flee alone, she finally yielded to my urgency, edging away.
Krruk- Krru-
Standard tactics failing, the hobgoblin hefted its crude axe. Hoisting it high overhead, it readied a crushing overhead strike on the barrier.
Haa... fuck, we're done...
That vine-woven hack-job axe looked deadlier than any halberd.
Direct hit? Barrier's toast. With scraps of divine power left, it'd shatter before 30 seconds, let alone five minutes.
Kraaaa-
Pajik- Chaenggrang-
No quarter given, it smashed down with raw power. A rupture echoed as the barrier shattered, light shards scattering into nothingness.
And the backlash...
“Keheok!”
...slammed into me full-force. Blood spewed as I pitched forward.
Huu... huu...
Pain everywhere. The barrier's collapse severed the divine power flow. Feedback hit its caster—me—blasting my brain with agony, blood gushing from every hole.
“Priest!”
Horrified at my blood-vomiting collapse, Nun Rachel rushed to haul me up.
This was her chance to run—but the head trauma silenced me.
“Ugh... u...”
As she propped me up, a dark shadow engulfed us. Its claw reached again. This was it—the end.
“Kraaaak krak”
Krruk-?! Kaat-!
The infernal hand froze mid-lunge. Then came the hobgoblin's agonized shrieks as it writhed.
Ugh... u... what...?
Through slitted, hazy eyes: a figure. Blurry at first—Sylvia, collapsed out cold moments ago, now mounted the hobgoblin, savaging its neck like a feral predator.
Kraaaa-! Kra-!
“Kuhuh... krrrarara”
The hobgoblin flailed wildly to dislodge her from its throat; Sylvia clung like death, unyielding.
A quick glance around: the rest lay dead, Sylvia's handiwork alone—corpses marred by savage bite marks.