Chapter 662: Escape, Shuri's Ordeal
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 662: Escape, Shuri's Ordeal
Beyond the door lay not the cave where they had first entered the tomb, but a specific point within the Caldran Snowy Plains.
The moment Jin stepped outside, he realized another desperate situation was already waiting for them.
I expected as much, but it seems quite a bit of time has passed out here.
The landscape of the Caldran Snowy Plains had been utterly transformed.
The snowfields, once knee-deep, were now stained completely black. Even the blizzard, once a stifling gray, had turned pitch-black, swirling with pure chaos.
Has the entire snowy plain been tainted by chaos?
No matter how far he extended his senses, he couldn't find a single spot that wasn't black.
The chaotic blizzard seethed with a palpable madness; it felt as though anyone untrained would lose their mind simply by being exposed to it.
Kieeeeeek! Ka-aaack!
The roars of Chaos Dragons shook the very sky.
Looking up, Jin saw them raining down black breath upon the earth like a heavy bombardment. On the ground, chaos-tainted knights and monsters—the kind usually only seen in the Black Sea—swarmed across the landscape.
[Jin, I can't create any more dimensional gates… You look exhausted, too. What should we do?]
Neru had been struggling just to stand since Jin found her. Opening a dimensional gate required either a massive amount of energy or the Claw of the Cat God, and they currently had neither.
"It's alright, Neru. I still have enough strength left to break through a siege of this level. And…"
Jin trailed off, closing his eyes to sharpen his senses. Amidst the chaos filling the plain, his perception caught other powers: Aura, mana, and demonic energy. They undoubtedly belonged to his comrades and allies.
"It seems there are people fighting to save us. If we regroup with them, we'll be able to escape without issue. I'll listen to what happened with you and Valeria once we've made it out."
[Really? Did you tell your comrades about this before entering the tomb?]
"Not just my comrades, but Zipple and Kinzelo, too. I formed a temporary alliance with them."
[Zipple and Kinzelo?!]
"They're useful friends to have at a time like this."
[Mya!]
Jin summoned Shuri, placing Neru on her back and securing the sealed Valeria.
The energies that weren't chaos-related were scattered rather than gathered. They were spread across the north, east, and west. Jin weighed whether he should signal his location to gather everyone in one spot.
It would be troublesome if we gathered only for Rosa or someone of her caliber to show up and block our escape.
The number of allies he could sense wasn't large. That meant the rescue parties consisted only of small, elite forces from each faction.
Therefore, Jin decided to make his presence known to the weakest group first. Naturally, the first people he had to find were his own from Tikan. Since Talaris was injured, the Tikan elites were likely the most vulnerable. Depending on the situation, it might be best for Jin to rescue them before merging with the other factions.
"To the east."
The most familiar energies were to the east.
As Shuri began to run, the eyes of all nearby monsters snapped toward them. Before Jin could even unleash his sword energy or magic, Shuri fired mana beams from her eyes, disintegrating the creatures without a trace.
[Myaaaaak!]
Fortunately, they didn't encounter any sentient chaos entities on their way east. Before they had been running for even fifteen minutes, Jin found his Tikan comrades fighting a desperate battle.
"Sir Valkas!"
Valkas, Amela, Rata, and Julian. The four of them had been tasked with searching the Caldran Snowy Plains.
"It's the Lord! Uncle Valkas, it's the Lord! Oh, and who's that cat-person? So cute!"
"My Lord! You've successfully rescued Valeria…!"
As Jin had feared, they were struggling. The corpses of chaos entities—monsters and what appeared to have once been knights—were piled so high around them they formed rivers and mountains of black.
"There's no time, Sir Valkas. Explain the situation."
"Five days have passed since you entered the tomb, my Lord. During that time, the Garden of Swords hasn't directly attacked Tikan or the other factions; they've simply contaminated the entirety of the Caldran Snowy Plains."
This was why they were struggling so much despite the absence of any special, high-ranking Transcendent Chaos Entities. They had been fighting an endless swarm of chaos for days.
"It's a relief there were no direct attacks outside the Garden of Swords. Are there any casualties?"
"None within the Barmul Alliance. It's likely the same for the other allies, though Zipple may have lost some bio-golems and artisans."
According to Valkas's report, no Transcendent Chaos Entities had appeared on the Barmul Alliance's front. Instead, monsters on the level of those with inner cores had been appearing throughout the plains for days.
"Once they realize I've escaped, Rosa might send higher-ranking beings. How did you plan to escape after finding me?"
"We planned to use the Guild Leader's dimensional gate."
"Good. Let's go!"
The moment Jin joined them, the atmosphere of the Tikan party shifted. It wasn't just because Jin's safety had been confirmed. Even though his stamina was nearly depleted, sweeping away ordinary chaos entities was no trouble for him.
Flame Orbs formed in both his hands, incinerating dozens of monsters every second. Even amidst the slaughter, he made sure to grant those who appeared to have been knights a death that was as painless as possible.
Kinzelo and Zipple were located to the northwest. With the entire party riding her, Shuri soon encountered the other factions.
The first they ran into were Zipple's Hedo and Sandra. The two had separated from the main Zipple force to search for Jin. Naturally, this was because Sandra had thrown a fit, insisting they would never find "her Jin" by searching so half-heartedly. The moment they arrived, she had dragged Hedo away to act independently.
"Darling! Is it really you, Jin?! It's him, right, Hedo?!"
"It is indeed the 12th Flagbearer, Young Lady. So please, stop pulling on my clothes."
"See? I told you we had to move separately. Those idiots in the family probably still don't even know our Jin is back."
"You and I only just found out ourselves, Young Lady. And it's not that we found him; it's more like the 12th Flagbearer found us."
"Jin—!"
Sandra lunged forward, trying to hop onto Shuri and hug Jin, but he instinctively dodged. As a result, Sandra landed right on top of Valeria, who was tied to his back.
Clang!
The sound of a human head colliding with a block of ice rang out.
"Dammit! If I had been just a little faster, I could have been in his arms… Hah! So this woman is the very, very precious person who almost made my Darling disappear from this world? I want to smash her to—no, no, Sandra. First, I have to celebrate Jin's safe return!"
And so, Sandra also climbed onto Shuri's back. Shuri possessed the monstrous strength to level a mountain, so the weight wasn't an issue, but she occasionally twisted her neck as if the posture was uncomfortable. Hedo, being too large to ride, simply hung onto her side. It wasn't a dignified sight, but Hedo himself didn't seem to care.
"It seems you've succeeded, 12th Flagbearer."
"Indeed, Tower Keeper. I'll offer my thanks once we return. I have many questions about your sword. I imagine you feel the same."
"Jin, what about me?"
"Thank you too, Sandra."
"If you had said 'thank you very much,' I might have extended this ice-trapped woman's life by another two days. I'll be looking for every opportunity to take her out myself."
"I'm very grateful, then."
"Kyakyakya, as you should be!"
Jin, Valeria, Neru, Valkas, Amela, Rata, Julian, Sandra, and Hedo. Shuri, now carrying a total of nine people, dashed forward vigorously once more.
However, before they had gone much further, she was forced to take on even more passengers.
"Darling, what is that rag-like thing over there? It looks dead."
"That is a demon named Lanke Halovice, Sandra."
Lanke Halovice. Judging by his condition, he had become 'Berserk Lanke' but had collapsed from exhaustion after days of fighting inner-core-level chaos entities.
"Space is tight, so why don't we just leave him? Wait, no, if we put him on, Jin and I can be even closer! And I'll be further away from that ice block. Hedo!"
Swish!
Hedo snatched Lanke up and tossed him onto Shuri's back. Valkas roughly tied him down with some rope.
In that manner, the number of people riding or hanging onto Shuri continued to grow.
"Bubar Gaston? He's not even a combatant. Why did Kinzelo bring him?"
"Hedo!"
Swish!
"...Ainas Caligo? Ah, since Bubar is here, I suppose that's not surprising."
"Hedo!"
Swish!
They hung from her like clusters of fruit.
"That one looks like a shock troop commander of the White Wolf Tribe, though I don't know his name."
"Hedo!"
Swish!
By the time they neared Orgal, Shuri had about twenty people hanging off her like ripened fruit. Sandra, squished against Jin, looked like a flattened steamed bun, and Shuri was scowling as if she were truly fed up.
It was only upon facing Orgal that the people hanging onto Jin and Shuri realized why they had only encountered rank-and-file chaos entities until now.
Orgal, along with Zephyrin, was busy fighting Lionel, Stam, and several unnamed former Black Knights.
Orgal… he really is an incredible being. I didn't think that would be the end of Lionel back then, but he's already back. And all those corpses… they look like Transcendent Chaos Entities.
However, Orgal was clearly showing signs of fatigue. The moment he saw Jin, his face brightened, and he waved.
[Oh… I was just about at my limit, but you've appeared at the perfect moment. Jin Runcandel. It seems you've rescued your lover?]
"No, I'm the one who rescued Jin! You've got your facts wrong."
[It's for the best. Something truly uncontrollable was about to crawl out of the woodwork. Let's make our escape immediately.]
Orgal spoke as he parried Lionel's sword. Lionel, who had already lost an arm, was panting heavily.
[Do you think you can escape, demon!]
As soon as Lionel finished speaking, a Steel Gate opened between the group and Orgal. Simultaneously, a black gate of chaos opened on the opposite side.
"But Orgal, what about Zipple?"
[To think a Runcandel would suggest taking Zipple along. I think it's best to let those friends find their own way back.]
"Even if it's a temporary alliance, an alliance is an alliance. Shouldn't we at least inform them of our escape?"
"Darling, let's just go first! That person coming out of that gate over there looks incredibly strong!"
"Young Lady, Zipple is your family."
"Who cares? Jin is about to die!"
The one emerging from the gate of chaos was none other than Padler Runcandel.
Orgal shook his head as if to say, See? and Jin nodded.
[I'll fire a signal flare.]
"That would be best. Shuri, to the Steel Gate."
[Jin… Runcandel…]
Padler's dark voice echoed from the gate of chaos.
Just before he could fully emerge, Shuri, carrying her heavy load of passengers, successfully threw herself through the Steel Gate. Orgal and Zephyrin followed close behind, leaving Padler to stare hollowly at the portal through which they had vanished.