70
My Villains Chapter 70
19. Escape (3)
Kuwaaaaao!
"Q"
With a thunderous roar, the cave shakes finely.
It's truly a roar that makes your knees weak. Just hearing that cry, you can imagine how enormous the underground lord must be.
The existence of the underground lord constantly whipped us, and thanks to that, I was running down the cave without rest while carrying Ellen on my back.
Woowoong.
In the distance, a shining magic circle appears. Is this already the fifth trap?
Ellen carefully examined the magic trap and said,
"Water, noon, run.... What is it?"
"Water? Hmm."
The second trap we encountered had 'earth, noon, fly' inscribed on it, and when we activated the magic circle, it teleported us to a nest of 'Lesser Sandworms'.
In fact, I barely felt the teleportation - I blinked once and found myself stuck in some cave. It was a new experience in the midst of the commotion.
The third trap had 'water, night, stand' inscribed on it, and when triggered, a powerful cold gust of wind swept through. The fourth was 'earth, dawn, run', which summoned a pack of 'Red Hounds' that attacked us.
While I was pondering over the past traps, Ellen, who had been contemplating for a moment, spoke in a calm tone.
"It's probably not an attack spell. There's no 'stand' character string."
"And?"
"Well... I'm not sure, but for now, a monster will probably appear-"
Tz tz tz tz
A faint friction sound. It was the sound of the underground lord's body scraping against the cave.
It was approaching us faster and faster. There's no time to waste.
"Ellen, prepare the spell!"
As I heard Ellen whispering the spell in my ear, I overlaid the Blood Blade on Hrunting and activated the trap.
With a strange sound like rolling marbles on a silver tray, the magic circle rippled and then spat out a huge boulder.
With a heavy thud, the boulder fell to the ground, and lumpy arms and legs suddenly protruded from it.
"...A turtle?"
What appeared was not a boulder but a turtle's shell. And not just an ordinary shell, but one as large as a decent-sized SUV, covered in sharp protrusions.
While I was momentarily dumbfounded, something dark and grimy shot out from the shell and lunged at us at lightning speed.
Swoosh.
"Hup!"
I reflexively threw my body to the side, dodging the black object. Then, that object bounced back like a rubber band and returned to its original position.
Grrrr!
The identity of the black object was none other than the turtle's head. It had momentarily extended its neck, attacking like a snake.
The monster that appeared was a 'Wolf Turtle' with a hard jaw, rough skin, thick limbs, and a tail.
It growled with its neck lowered, occasionally clashing its jaws to make a threatening metallic sound.
Damn, it's incredibly big. By far the largest monster I've encountered so far.
But being surprised is one thing, and what's important now is breaking through it. I readjusted my grip on Hrunting with both hands, all my nerves on edge.
At the same time, the Wolf Turtle launched another attack. Its mouth, larger than my entire torso, opened wide and charged, a sight that sent chills down my spine.
"Ugh!"
I leaped to the side to avoid its attack while simultaneously swinging Hrunting with all my might.
But even Hrunting, emitting a red glow, was insufficient to cut through the monster's neck, only managing to dig in about half a span. If it had been an ordinary sword instead of Hrunting, it probably wouldn't have even scratched the skin.
Kweeeeek!
But that alone seemed to cause considerable pain to the creature. The Wolf Turtle let out a strange cry, like an old man's scream, and quickly retracted its neck.
"Uh oh?" As a result, I, who had my sword stuck in its neck, was dragged along with it.
"Oof!"
Just before colliding with the Wolf Turtle's shell, I quickly twisted my body and planted my feet on the hard protrusions.
Kwee, kwee!
The Wolf Turtle tried desperately to hide its head inside its shell, but Hrunting, stuck in its nape, was caught on the shell.
I firmly grasped the handle and began to suck its blood. Every time the Blood Blade rippled greedily, blood gushed from the Wolf Turtle's wound.
At that moment, Ellen completed her spell.
"Ostende te, quod papillon!"
Wow, even while I was thrashing about like a madman, she managed to cast magic while being carried. That's some otherworldly concentration.
Responding to her tinkling voice, a white butterfly emerged from Ellen's fingertips. It was a new spell learned as her level increased, a 1.5 rank ice-type skill called 'Frost Butterfly'.
"Durand-am eom!"
At Ellen's command, the butterfly flapped its wings vigorously.
Every time its white wings fluttered, sparkling ice shards scattered in all directions. The frost butterfly then began to blow cold air into the Wolf Turtle's shell.
Kweeeeek!
The Wolf Turtle struggled desperately, but it couldn't shake off me and the frost butterfly.
I held onto the shell and Hrunting tightly, endlessly sucking its blood, while the frost butterfly danced through the air, evading its attacks.
Keeee.
The Wolf Turtle gradually became sluggish. It managed to smash the frost butterfly with a desperate swing of its tail, but ultimately failed to shake me off. The giant turtle finally met its death, covered in frost all over its body.
Ugh- This turtle bastard is really tough. After enduring its struggles, there's not a spot that doesn't ache - my grip, arms, legs, everything.
"'Run' seems to be the character string that means summoning a monster."
"Looks like it. Phew, if another one like this appears-"
Before I could finish my sentence, a heavy rumbling sound came from behind.
Kugung!
An enormous sound coming from very close by.
I felt chills run down my spine and started running without even looking back.
The ground shook as if there was an earthquake, which slowed me down a bit, but I managed to keep my balance and increase my speed.
"...Hup,"
Ellen's breath is felt through my back. Her arms around my neck momentarily stiffened, then began to tremble. She must have looked back.
"Phoenix, faster, faster."
Instead of speaking, I desperately moved my legs. In the midst of this, I spotted a vertical shaft ahead and shouted.
"Ellen, Spirit of Dance!"
As soon as those words left my mouth, Ellen began to chant, and I threw myself into the vertical shaft without hesitation.
"Ventum, Av-em!"
A wind imbued with will swirled around, supporting Ellen and me.
Ellen must have consumed a massive amount of magic to empower the spirit. But the result was merely slowing our fall speed a little.
It probably means Ellen's magic power and proficiency are still lacking...
Tz tz tz tz
At that moment, as an enormous presence was felt above the vertical shaft, I unconsciously tilted my head upward.
Groooo.
A pair of eyes glinted in the deep darkness.
Vermilion eyeballs as big as a human torso, slowly widening vertical pupils, a stench like something rotting, the sound of scales brushing against dirt...
The Underground Lord, the strongest predator of the cave, was looking down at us.
"Huh... Huh..."
Ellen, upon looking up at it, fell into a state of panic for a moment.
The Underground Lord was such a threatening existence that just making eye contact was enough to blow one's mind away, and as a result, the Spirit of Dance that was supporting us disappeared.
The fall continued.
"Ughk!"
I screamed without realizing, but fortunately, the vertical shaft was almost ending.
Thud!
As soon as I managed to land, I started running forward as if bouncing.
Drrrrr!
The enormous presence of the Underground Lord was sufficiently conveyed even without seeing it.
The horizontal tunnel following the vertical shaft was incomparably wider and higher than before. As a result, the thunderous sounds caused by the Underground Lord echoed fiercely.
My jaw trembles unconsciously. Gritting my teeth, I ran into the darkness and discovered the sixth magic trap.
"Ellen! Trap ahead!"
"Ah..."
"Snap out of it, you!"
Ellen, shaking her head slightly, spoke in a trembling voice.
"Sky, night, fly?"
"Sky?"
Damn, 'sky' is a character string I haven't seen before...!
But nevermind the character string, the symbol that appeared in the middle is unbelievably ominous.
Many of the traps we've passed so far had symbols that were ambiguous in meaning.
A dog-shaped symbol that looked like a hand, a wind-shaped symbol that looked like a flower, a symbol that could be either a snake or an earthworm...
But the symbol visible now left little room for confusion. A human body, a beast's head, a pair of horns on the forehead, membranous wings resembling those of a bat... It was the typical image of a demon.
"Damn, what is-"
I turned back, grinding my teeth.
Kuwaooo!
Just then, an enormous roar that made my skin tingle was heard. It seemed to break even the last bit of fighting spirit.
A demon in front, the Underground Lord behind.
Even the weakest demon-type monster is only manageable at late level 20s.
Ugh, we'll die for sure if caught by the Underground Lord anyway. So rather...
"Phoenix, come closer."
"What?"
"Hurry!"
Urged by Ellen, I approached the magic trap. Then she started muttering something to herself.
"This, this is too blatant to be a trap. If it were a real trap, they would have hidden it so no one could notice. At this level, it wouldn't have been difficult to mix in some invisibility..."
"Ellen, we don't have time for this now!"
"There are too many unnecessary magical formulas for it to be a trap. Both revealing clues through character strings and engraving symbols in the middle..."
Boom, boom, boom!
I turned back at the sound shaking the ground. And at that moment, I almost stopped breathing.
The Underground Lord, which had been crawling like a giant snake, was slowly spreading its legs that had been tightly pressed against its body. The light emitted from the magic trap scattered, glinting off its sharp legs.
The Underground Lord was a beast that looked like a giant snake with centipede legs attached.
What came into view was just a huge head and part of the body, three pairs of blade-like legs, and dark red, glistening scales.
But even with just that, it boasted a form more terrifying than any legendary monster.
"Yes, the reason this magical formula is included is to change the activation method. Then?"
"Ellen, no more,"
Just as I was about to activate the trap with a resigned heart, Ellen reached out first.
The magic flowing from her white hand clung to the magic circle. I braced myself, but the trap didn't activate.
"This is?"
Ellen muttered incomprehensible words and waved her hand. Then, the character string engraved in the lower left corner of the magic circle flickered and changed. Ellen recited the character string as if cheering.
"Sky, noon, fly!"
"What?"
"Look at that!"
Ellen pointed at the symbol in the center of the magic circle. The demon's form scattered and took on a new shape.
Patztztztz.
The newly emerged symbol was an intuitive shape that anyone could understand at a glance.
"...The sun?"
"Phoenix, jump!"
Swoosh!
With Ellen's shout and a vicious sound of tearing air, I instinctively threw my body.
Just before the Underground Lord's blade-like legs could pierce us, my hand touched the magic circle where the sun symbol had appeared.
Bang!
With a thunderous sound of the ground being shattered, Ellen and I were enveloped in strange magical power.