Episode 125
We precariously avoided them and ran this way and that through the narrow alleys.
Just before being caught, at dangerous monts, Nise would raise his hand again to purify the evil spirits, but it was just a temporary asure.
It wasn't easy to run away from things that don't die without even being able to defend properly.
In the anti, I was scratched a few tis by the ones sticking close behind , trying to grab .
"Ugh!"
A health reduction penalty occurs every 10 minutes due to the evil spirit's attack.
'HP -205'
HP 441
"A-are you okay?"
At my low groan, Nise looked back with a worried face.
"I'm fine. But how much further do we have to go?"
My HP had dropped quite a lot, but I asked without letting it show.
"W-we're almost there!"
Just as he said, we rounded one more corner, and a dead end appeared.
The end of the alley was quite different from the slum scenes I had seen so far.
A large, white barrier was blocking the way.
I was, of course, dumbfounded at the sight of the wall, which looked so high its top couldn't be seen.
"Are you kidding? How do we..."
"ow!"
Just as I was about to ask how we were supposed to get over this high wall, Samsaek suddenly cried out sharply.
And as if to show us, it ran at full speed toward a corner at the bottom of the barrier.
"What..."
I thought its tiny head would crash right into the wall, but.
Surprisingly, Samsaek passed swoosh right through the wall and disappeared beyond it.
And in its place, a small hole appeared, one that a beast might use.
A cool breeze and light leaked in from it, as if it was connected to the outside.
[This Area's Exit Duration 00:00:30]
At the sa ti, a system window popped up.
'Crap. What kind of exit ti is only 30 seconds?!'
In this ridiculously urgent situation, I hurriedly looked at Nise.
"Nise! Go! Quickly!"
Fwhoooosh!
Nise, who had raised his hand to make the approaching evil spirits disappear once more, finally looked back at .
His face, having confird the exit, was just as urgent.
"L-Lady! You go first!"
"No way. Why would I trust you?"
It might have been his idea of courtesy, but I glared and shook my head.
If I listen to him and go first, and that bastard Nise doesn't follow, I'm the only one who gets screwed.
"You go first."
"B-but there's no ti..."
"Sa for , isn't it?"
If we're talking about not having ti, I was in the most pitiful state.
[This Area's Exit Duration 00:00:19]
"Hurry!"
Just as I was nervously nagging him about the ti, which had suddenly shrunk.
Nise, seeming to realize I wouldn't compromise one bit, trudged over with a sullen face.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to be planning to trick and stay here, as he silently bent down and started to crawl out.
"Y-you have to follow right behind . Okay?"
He kept looking back to remind .
I wouldn't have even bothered with this damn place if it weren't for the quest. A needless worry.
"Don't worry and just go. How else am I supposed to follow you?"
Only after my indifferent rebuke did Nise seem relieved, and he quickly crawled through the narrow passage.
Around the ti his legs completely disappeared beyond the light, I also quickly got on the ground.
And just as I was about to crawl into the passage.
Grab.
Sothing cold grabbed my ankle brutally.
"What...!"
Startled, I turned my head, and saw that a black, wrist-shaped form, perhaps one that hadn't completely disappeared, was holding my ankle.
"Eugh!"
I imdiately shuddered at the grueso chill digging into my bare skin and shook my foot wildly.
But it just wouldn't co off.
Moreover.
"Hungry..."
"Food..."
To make matters worse, the evil spirits that had disappeared from the other end of the alley, which had been in a lull, began to crawl out.
[This Area's Exit Duration 00:00:10]
It was now truly the ti where sothing bad would happen if I didn't crawl out imdiately.
"Anni...!"
In my panic, the mont I unconsciously tried to use a skill.
I froze and shut my mouth.
'...Liv.'
The system window called them 'evil spirits', but all these black figures were related to Liv.
It wouldn't be hard to shake off the thing on my ankle and leave if I attacked with the dagger.
But I had already eliminated quite a lot of them before finding Nise.
Recalling that, I couldn't bring myself to speak.
'HP -121'
HP 320
In the anti, my HP dropped, as if being grabbed by the ankle was also an attack.
Seeing that, I suddenly rembered the 'forced summon' I had forgotten about.
'Maybe... wouldn't it be better to just get forcibly summoned from here?'
That thought suddenly occurred to .
In any case, I'd rescued Nise, so the Male Lead outside would take care of the rest.
I was a bit worried about Liv, who was connected to the cursed doll, but that was also a problem Nise could solve.
Seeing him purify the evil spirits so easily with one hand, he could probably dismantle a magic tool used by warlocks just as easily.
Thinking that, it felt like everything was solved.
Except for my existence.
"Even if I get out... there's just a mountain of things I'll have to explain."
Recalling Kassel, who had insistently questioned about being the Solenian princess, I beca even more certain.
'Right. The pink-haired woman will be processed as having tragically died here after saving the Saintess's brother!'
And I'll remain just the Apothecary.
The more I thought about it, the more it seed like a flawless plan.
[This Area's Exit Duration 00:00:05]
'HP -99'
HP 221
Once I reached that conclusion, I felt willing to accept the remaining duration and HP.
"Hungry... I'll eat...!"
The evil spirits that had co right up to weren't particularly scary.
"Yeah, eat up. Eat."
I shrugged and plopped down next to the exit.
It didn't even hurt much when they attacked , and this whole charade would be over soon anyway.
'But, the forced summon... it will work, right?'
I suddenly rembered that the chat and inventory windows didn't work here.
A sense of foreboding rose, but I quickly shook it off.
Surely the forced summon wouldn't fail too.
Wouldn't that be a ga over right there?
'If that happens, it's actually better for .'
Because that would be no different from an escape.
As I was laughing gleefully at that thought, silently watching the system window announcing the remaining ti and the evil spirits' hands reaching for .
[This Area's Exit Duration 00:00:03]
Kra-jick!
With the sound of sothing breaking, a blade suddenly shot out next to my face.
"Ack!"
I, of course, scread in shock.
In that ti, the blade that had shot out from the crack in the wall pulled back out, and then shot through the wall again.
Kra-jick, Kra-ack...!
As the blade moved back and forth rapidly, as if to break the wall, a part of the cracked wall couldn't hold and soon collapsed with a 'Kwa-rururu!'.
Because of that, the narrow entrance beca quite large.
And through that gap, soone's large arm ca swoosh in, fumbling around as if searching for sothing.
It was only natural that the hand would seize , as I was frozen in front of it, stunned.
I didn't even have ti to avoid it.
Because the hand fumbling at my back imdiately wrapped around my waist and yanked whoosh through the widened hole.
"Wait! Ugh...!"
I was helplessly dragged outside.
'What on earth is happening?'
When I ca to my senses, I was standing in a place flooded with bright sunlight.
My eyes stung.
It was only natural, having just co from a dark place where twilight had fallen.
Around the ti I barely regained my flickering vision, the first thing I saw was.
A pair of bright red eyes, churning like a raging storm.
"Are you crazy? Are you dying to die?"
The man, holding my waist tightly with one arm and raising Lumiekar high with all his strength in the other.
He glared at as if he would kill and spat fiercely.
"If you sent that bastard out first, you should have followed right behind. What the hell...!"
"Uh..."
Just as I was blankly looking around at the suddenly changed surroundings.
Swoosh!
The man roughly swung the sword he was holding high.
Seeing that ferocious montum, I had no doubt he was trying to cut .
So my eyes automatically squeezed shut.
But. Stab!
"Kieeeeek...!"
With the faint cry of a monster, a cold sharpness touched my ankle.
Because of that, I reflexively snapped my eyes open and looked down at my ankle.
The tip of the winding sword was skewering the black, hand-shaped form that was holding my ankle, and was lodged in the ground.
The part of the evil spirit pierced by the sword soon crumbled like dust and disappeared.
Instead, as if to show its trace, the skin on my ankle was stained a darkish black, in the shape of a hand.
"Your whole body is a tattered rag, Sari Song."
The gloomy mumble resounded above my head again.
'Sari Song...?'
The mont I flinched in surprise at the familiar yet unfamiliar na and raised my head.
[This Area's Exit Duration 00:00:01]
[This Area's Exit Duration 00:00:00]
Finally, the exit's duration ran out.
Only then did I grasp the whole situation.
With just one second to spare.
I had been forcibly dragged out of the eyeball monster's mouth by 'soone'.
That soone was, of course, the damn.
Crown Prince Kassel Ludwig
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