Fall, Isolation (2)
“Vice Commander, the cleanup is complete.”
Christine had dealt with the monsters attempting to climb the cliff alongside the knights and soldiers of No Man’s Land. They had insisted she need not intervene and had rushed ahead to finish the task themselves.
“Well done,” Christine said in her gentle voice, and the knights and soldiers visibly relaxed. Her kindness and soft demeanor toward others had made her immensely popular among the troops, though she herself seemed indifferent to the fact.
In the midst of it all, Christine continued casting detection magic, steadily checking the condition of the ground and bedrock. The results were far from reassuring.
The bedrock has weakened considerably.
Between external impacts and weathering, the entire foundation was on the verge of cracking. Most of the areas she had passed through were in similar condition. In the worst case, the ground could collapse and cause a fall. Upon returning, she would have to advise the Commander to restrict the investigation zone. Continuing to survey near the cliff was far too dangerous.
A collapse of the cliff would mean a retreat of the front lines—an expansion of No Man’s Land and the monsters’ territory. The constant impact of massive monsters hurling themselves against the cliff, scraping at it with claws and teeth, seemed to have taken a severe toll.
Behemoth can subjugate other monsters.
The thought surfaced unbidden. Even as a graduate of the Magic Tower, where she had amassed vast knowledge, Christine had heard only fragments about Behemoth. And even those were little more than old tales and rumors. The King of Monsters, a creature from the age of myths—its very existence remained uncertain, shrouded in ambiguous speculation. The account from fifteen years ago, when its presence had supposedly been confirmed, had revealed little concrete information.
I wonder if the senior is all right.
Christine turned her anxious gaze westward, where Maxim was continuing his investigation. Today, her premonition felt especially grim. Her heart fluttered uneasily, as though warning of impending trouble.
“Vice Commander, it seems we should move to the next sector now.”
One of the soldiers approached and spoke. Christine nodded reluctantly. The sector assigned to her lay in the opposite direction from Maxim’s.
“Yes. If everyone is ready, then—”
Rumble.
A vibration, faint yet profound, rose from the deepest layers of the earth and echoed skyward like a heavy roar.
“...Surely not.”
Christine’s face went pale as she whipped her head toward the west. The epicenter was unmistakably in that direction. The source of the roar came from the very place she was staring at.
“Vice Commander, what is this...?”
The knights and soldiers asked in confusion. Christine did not move her head, still turned leftward.
“To the west.”
The words came out stiff, almost unfamiliar even to herself. The knights and soldiers quickly formed ranks and began running westward. Christine grabbed one knight and two soldiers.
“Hurry back to the assembly point. Return there and wait for the Margrave. Report that the cliff where the first team was stationed appears to have collapsed.”
“Understood.”
The knight nodded and led the soldiers toward the assembly point on the far side of the cliff. Christine watched them go for a moment, then sprinted after the others heading west. Her magically enhanced body quickly accelerated, allowing her to catch up with the knights.
Please. Please.
Christine murmured inwardly. Her green, verdant eyes trembled violently.
Be safe.
==
Maxim opened his eyes amid the rubble. The sun was still up. The muscles in his face twitched uncontrollably. He had not been buried beneath the rocks. Whatever the manner of his fall, he was alive.
Maxim staggered to his feet, exhaling slowly. A fit of coughing erupted from his throat. The moment he regained consciousness, a single name surfaced in his mind.
Theodora.
Forcing his throbbing neck to move, Maxim looked around. She was nowhere to be seen. He drew a slow breath, checking his condition. Breathing was difficult, but there was no sharp pain with each inhale. His ribs were intact.
Maxim gradually willed sensation back into his fingertips and flexed his muscles. Feeling returned, accompanied by pain, though not severe. He could probably stand if he tried. His spine, too... seemed unharmed. For now.
Carefully, he moved his arms. A sharp pain flared, but nothing was broken—only heavy bruising. “Damn it...”
Using his aching arm for support, Maxim pushed himself upright against the rubble. His legs were in better shape than his arms. His knees bent steadily. With a low groan, he rose to his feet. Debris rolled down beside him as he stood.
Maxim exhaled roughly and surveyed his surroundings. He needed to move toward the cliff face ahead. Rubble shifted beneath his feet. He reached for his waist. Fortunately, his sword still hung there. Drawing the blade from its scabbard, he pressed forward.
The area was dim, as though a roof had been drawn over it. The cliff had collapsed in a horseshoe shape, sealing both sides with sheer rock walls. Maxim advanced into the suffocating darkness ahead.
Theodora.
Then, a flash of white caught his eye. Maxim scrambled desperately over the rubble, slipping and colliding with stones, yet he paid them no heed.
“...Fenrir.”
The white shape was Fenrir. Maxim sheathed his sword and climbed toward the wolf’s body atop the pile of rocks. A sword remained buried in Fenrir’s neck.
Maxim’s gaze fell on the hand gripping the hilt, and a strangled voice escaped him.
“Theodora!”
Theodora had not released the sword. Maxim’s heart lurched at the thought that she might have been crushed beneath the falling rocks, but only her right leg appeared to be pinned. He called out to her, sprawled across Fenrir’s body.
“Theodora.”
He checked her pulse and held his fingers beneath her nose. She was breathing, but unconscious. Maxim cleared the stones crushing her right leg. When he channeled a small amount of mana, pain shot through his arm.
“Ghh...!”
He rolled the large rock aside. Theodora’s right leg came into view, and Maxim ground his teeth. The armor was completely crushed.
Broken.
He could tell without closer inspection. The fracture was severe enough to make walking through the pain nearly impossible. At present, her right leg was little more than a useless slab of meat, incapable of supporting her weight.
There was no way to wake her immediately.
“Damn it.”
Maxim retrieved Theodora’s sword first. Then he detached his own scabbard from his waist and cut it into pieces suitable for a splint. He roughly skinned a section of Fenrir’s hide with his blade and used it to bind the splint to her leg.
Examining the joints of the armor encasing her right leg, he found gaps at the crushed shin and knee. Forcing the pieces apart, he tore the armor away.
“...Theodora.”
The break was worse than he had feared. Her ankle was twisted at an unnatural angle, and her shin had swollen badly. Maxim secured the leg with strips of Fenrir’s hide and the cut scabbard, immobilizing it as best he could. The emergency treatment, crude though it was, was complete.
“This will hurt... but bear with it a little longer.”
He lifted Theodora carefully and laid her against the cliff wall. Waiting here was the best course of action. The collapse would surely have been noticed from above. All they could do was remain in place and hope the knights who had sensed the disturbance would find them.
Attempting to move elsewhere on their own would only invite greater danger.
“What in the world is going on...”
Maxim sighed and sat beside Theodora, leaning against the wall to conserve his strength. Even if monsters were drawn here by the scent of blood, he could hold them off at the cost of his life—for a few hours, at least. He did not know whether magic existed that could grant flight, but if Christine arrived, rescue might come sooner.
Just as Maxim steadied his breathing and leaned back to rest, a sound reached him.
Click.
His pupils trembled. It was a dreadful scraping noise, as though something were burrowing directly into his ears.
Click.
It sounded like an insect gnawing through stone.
Click.
Maxim slowly, very slowly, raised his head. At first, he could not comprehend what he was seeing—a massive, pitch-black hole had opened in the cliff face.
“...Don’t be ridiculous.”
Crash.
The sound of rubble collapsing came from behind him. Maxim turned, his face drained of color. Monsters. Several had already been drawn by the noise of the collapse and the scent of Fenrir’s blood. But the creatures at the entrance were not what mattered most to him now.
Maxim quickly hoisted Theodora onto his back. She hung limply against him. Supporting her leg with his left hand and gripping his sword in his right, he stared at the gaping hole.
Was the weakened bedrock caused by that hole?
He swallowed hard. He knew of monsters that burrowed through the ground. The Deathworm, the reaper of the desert sands, occasionally appeared in arid regions. But he had never heard of one capable of tunneling through solid rock like this.
Click. Click. Click.
The gnawing grew louder, closer. Yet the presence emanating from beyond the hole was unmistakable—an intense, monstrous aura. If a Deathworm could bore through stone rather than sand, such a presence was only natural. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that he sensed only one, he could not say. Its size would be monstrous, no doubt.
Maxim imagined facing the creature again. The footing was narrow and unstable, and this was its lair. Without using aura, victory was far from guaranteed. If he did use it...
Sweat beaded on his palms. He glanced toward the entrance. If he unleashed his aura and slew the monster lurking beyond, he, Theodora, and Fenrir’s corpse would all become monster fodder together.
Kraaaah—!
A roar echoed from the entrance. Maxim looked over. Six, maybe seven monsters. There was no choice. Fighting the Deathworm here would almost certainly mean death.
He tightened his grip on Theodora. Like her, he had nearly died from a single broken bone. Click. Click. Click.
Maxim steadied his pounding heart.
Stay calm. The decision I make now will determine whether Theodora lives or dies.
If only he could wake her, he might consider fighting the monster emerging from the hole. But Theodora showed no sign of stirring.
Click, click, click, click.
The sound of stone being gnawed grew steadily nearer. Maxim staggered forward.
Click, click, click, click. Click.
The noise swelled, piercing straight through his mind. His steps quickened.
Rumble.
Rock grated behind him. Without turning, Maxim knew the creature had emerged. There was no time to worry about footing now. His feet kicked up dust as he ran.
Kreeeeek.
Maxim raised his sword horizontally with one hand. Kraaaah—!
Maxim and the monster recognized each other. He prayed with all his heart to whatever faceless god might listen.
Heavens, it does not matter that You have never helped me before. But just this once—please, just this once—let me return Theodora safely.
At that moment, the cliff shuddered violently once more, and the two sides, each fighting desperately for survival, collided.