While Iliana was running her sche of finding out the Demon amongst the group in Death Howl, Effie, Sylvia, and Alexandra were already a few kiloters away from the secret entrance of the Dungeon.
They had been running for roughly half an hour, which was normally enough ti for them to cover tens of kiloters, but they still hadn't arrived at their destination due to their fatigue.
Added by that, they weren't only running to their destination, but also escaping from the remaining Middle Class Demons Effie didn't manage to kill.
Their travel was greatly hampered by the Demons, as they had to constantly send so attack at the Demons to distract them. Their fatigue beca worse in each passing minute due to the distressful situation they were facing.
"Darn it! My Magic Circles—I can't utilize them any longer!" Alexandra gritted her teeth, and grasped Effie's shoulder tighter. She had been being being carried by Effie for the past few minutes. "I can't risk losing them, I am sorry."
"No worries. We just have to run faster," Effie replied as bright as she could, but she inwardly felt that it was unfortunate.
"I don't like ruining people's mood, but I am super tired already," Sylvia said to Effie as she ran beside her. "I even have many suicidal thoughts in my mind."
"You are weird, masochistic woman."
"Shut up, useless arsonist!"
"Hey, I am way better than your masochistic arse!"
"Quiet, you two!"
The banter between Alexandra and Sylvia didn't last long this ti; Effie had just done sothing she rarely did, which was intervening their banter. The two were visibly shaken due to how stern Effie had scolded them, but they kept quiet thanks to that.
"I am sorry, I shouldn't have been that harsh ... It is embarrassing to say this, but I am also close to my limit already."
"N-No, it is all right, Miss. Effie. We should've been more considerate instead," Alexandra reasoned. "Yeah, Effie. W-We are the bad ones here," Sylvia supported.
"So be it." Effie shook her head faintly, and gave them a slight smile. Silence descended amongst them in the next mont, but it didn't last long. 'These two people, really...' Effie could already hear them whispering to each other.
"That was close, masochistic woman!"
"It was because of you, useless arsonist!"
In the end though, Effie decided to never tell them to keep quiet again no matter how irked she was by their banter. The two were pretty much a lost cause; telling them to behave would be as useless as telling Demons not to eat humans.
Besides, she couldn't really bla them. She had admitted herself that she was close to her limit. In this distressful situation, it might be their coping chanism. She couldn't stop them from doing that just because they had a different way to cope with the situation.
"Really though, I wish soone will appear to save us," Effie muttered as she glanced to the Middle Class Demons running behind them. "The closest of them is not even 10 ters behind us. It won't take it long until it reaches us."
Effie gritted her teeth, and focused her attention to the front once again. Since the situation was helplessly life threatening, she needed to stop thinking about it too much, unless she wanted to break her spirit.
"I'm on my limit..."
Crash!
Just when Effie thought things wouldn't get any worse, Sylvia tumbled on her step. She rolled on the ground for a couple of tis, before lying limply on it.
"Sylvia, hang on!" Effie imdiately stopped running, and ran to Sylvia's side. Shaking Sylvia's shoulder, she exclaid, "Hey! Get on my back. I'll carry you on my back, while I carry Alexandra in my hands."
Sylvia turned her head weakly to Effie, and smiled weakly at her. "You should run with Alexandra. I don't even have the power to lift my body—it's useless carrying with you."
"What are you talking about, Sylvia...?" Effie didn't know what to do. She hadn't lost her comrades for the last five years, and seeing that she was about to now, her mind couldn't just accept it. "No, I won't leave you behind!"
"Don't act cool, masochistic woman! I know you just want to be violated by those disgusting, gigantic Monsters!"
"What?! I will never stoop that low!'
Seeing that Sylvia still had enough energy to retort Alexandra, Effie imdiately scooped Sylvia up with her hands. The mont she did so however, she caught a glimpse of the Hog Orc that was already a ter away in her peripheral vision.
'Shit! We won't make it—we'll die!' Effie was screaming in her mind, but she had quickly pulled Alexandra from her back, and embraced her tightly along with Sylvia. 'I hope you guys will be fine.'
She gave her back to the Hog Orc, hoping that it would be enough to protect the two girls in her arms. As she waited for the attack to co, she felt like having a deja vu; coincidentally, she also didn't receive any attack this ti.
"Tsk! It wouldn't have happened if none of you moved impulsively. What's up with 'gather and discuss?' Have you guys forgotten about it? You are lucky that I arrived here on ti. Just imagine the problem you would cause, if all of you died!"
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Sylvia and Effie couldn't help blinking their eyes. They needed so ti to rember whom the voice belonged to due to their confusion, but they were sure they had heard the voice many tis.
"This grumpiness..."
"The unbearable cynicism in the tone."
"This voice is undoubtedly—"
"Norman! Holy cow, we're sorry we forgot about you!"
Sylvia finished Effie's words as she looked up to Norman. She, like Effie, couldn't imdiately help the guilt over forgetting about him, and imdiately apologized as sincere as she could.
The sharp looking, blond haired man, Norman, only clicked his tongue in annoyance, but he was inwardly glad ... And sad. He was glad his friends were genuine towards him, but he couldn't just be happy that his friends had forgotten about him.
"Don't worry, Norman. It is just further supporting the fact that you are the sneakiest Knight in our party; you have a very thin presence," Effie encouraged.
"There is sothing wrong in the way you choose your words, and you have to decide whether you want to praise or mock ."
Norman's face was sour as a mayonnaise, but both Effie and Sylvia knew he was just trying to hide his sweetness ... At least, that's what they believed for all the ti.
"Anyway, stay back. I will exterminate these guys, and then we'll regroup with the others after." Only after Norman saying this did everyone notice the mutilated body of the Hog Orc on the ground behind him that had been close to kill them.
"Move!" Norman turned his back on them, then imdiately dashed towards the closest Demon coming their way that was rely 8 ters from the girls. "[Shadowless Blade]!" He activated his Aura Ability as he covered himself with Qi Shell.
The first Demon he attacked was a 4 ters tall Hobgoblin. It had a similar look to Goblins, but with a way more muscular build and less pointy ears.
Holding a mace made from Reganum wood, it charged excitedly at Norman. Judging from the way it ran however, one could tell it had also exhausted its energy after regenerating its damaged body due to Effie's attack.
Boom!
The Hobgoblin smashed the ground, but it was apparent that it wasn't as strong as every Hobgoblin that Norman had faced before. He could easily dodge the mace, allowing it to hit the ground and create a small dent on it.
Norman swung his hand lightly, and in the next mont, many blue intersecting lines appeared on the body of the Demon. As Norman ran past it, its body was cut to pieces—according to the blue lines on its body.
"Another one down—two left."
Just as its na suggested, Norman's Aura Ability allowed him to move any bladed weapon in his hands so fast, it didn't produce a shadow. Although it wasn't actually the case yet for him, he would eventually reach that level so ti in the future.
The remaining two Demons were 3 ters tall Orc Warriors. They were shorter, but it was apparent that they were stronger than the 4 ters tall Hog Orc Norman had just killed.
Norman dashed at the Orc Warriors as fluid as before; one couldn't sense fear in his step. Arcing his rapier just a ter away from them, he blasted the Qi in his sword at them, before disappearing from their view.
"Do you know why we, humans, have always triumphed over you, Monsters?" Norman reappeared behind the Demons, and swung his sword at them with an incredible speed. "It's because we are not dumb enough to be tricked by such a simple diversion."
Countless of blue, intersecting lines appeared on the Orc Warriors' body, before their body was cut to pieces. Norman sheathed his rapier the mont the two Demons mutilated bodies touched to ground, and he walked towards the girls afterwards.
Clap! Clap!
"You are cool, Norman!"
"Don't make a noise, airhead! You looked like a dying idiot just a mont ago, and now you are acting like a useless drunkard!"
Sylvia pouted her lips, and said, "Can't you just accept a complint? You're boring. Boo!"
"Shut up, idiot!" By the ti Norman arrived in front of the girls, he quickly scooped Sylvia up, and carried her on his back. "Are you able to move?" He asked as he turned to Effie.
"Yes, I can, but not too fast."
"No problem. Regrouping is our goal, not being the fastest people to arrive there."
Effie nodded her head, put Alexandra on her back again, stood up from the ground, then ran beside Norman, who was matching her pace. Their travel was silent for a few minutes, until she asked sothing she really wanted to ask, but too embarrassed to ask it.
"So, where did you hide yourself?"
"I didn't hide. All of you were just too busy to mind your surrounding."
Effie flinched, and didn't ask anything afterwards. This is the reason why she was reluctant to ask: she was afraid she would further hurt Norman's feeling.
"You don't have to bla yourself. None of you are wrong; I was also occupied with fighting the Monsters that were running towards the north, after all. It's normal for none of you to not notice ."
Effie nodded her head in understanding, but it didn't lessen her guilt in the slightest. Of course, she wasn't soone who would forever drown herself in guilt, so she was quick to move on.
Another 15 minutes or so, the group finally arrived at the place where they had first battled the Demons to save the civilians. Basil, Deacon, Jake, and Robert were already there, standing facing their way as if welcoming them.
Basil's and Norman's gaze t, and a cold light flashed in their eyes as they thought of the sa thing.
'He knew sothing.'
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