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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our ‌‌‌team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our ‌‌‌‌official site: valirscans.org
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21. The ‌‌‌‌Poison Gas Was Potent
I jolted awake suddenly—not by choice, but by a deafening roar that shattered the sky itself.
The ground trembled ‌‌‌violently, and I snapped my eyes open in alarm.
"What's happening?"
Kaiden reacted the same way, ‌‌‌lurching upright. Still disoriented, I splashed my face with what ‌little water I had and scanned our surroundings.
The cave entrance was obscured by massive leaves, and the darkness of the night still clung to everything.
Rujeep, who had been dozing awkwardly near the ‌‌entrance, was now frantically looking around with bleary eyes.
Silver Earthworm, who had been sleeping by my pillow, stirred sluggishly and crawled up my arm, coiling around my shoulder.
"What on earth was that sound?"
I instinctively reached for my bag, pulled out a flare round, and loaded it into the chamber as I turned to Kaiden with the question.
"I'm not sure..."
"Could it be a Monster?"
Rujeep frowned tiredly and yawned. He was still half-asleep, clearly not fully grasping the situation. Though to be fair, neither was I.
Kaiden furrowed his ‌‌brow and ran ‌‌his hand through ‌‌‌his ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌hair. He pushed aside the leaves blocking the cave entrance and peered outside.
"Where did the Crown Prince and the Imperial Guard captain go?" ‌
At his ‌question, I suddenly realized that Enoch ‌‌and Diego, who had been standing watch, were nowhere to be seen.
"Can you sense what's happening with magic? Could you use a tracking spell or something?"
At my question, he fell silent in thought before extending his hand toward me.
"I'll try. Let me borrow your hand."
I offered him my ring-adorned hand. As our hands clasped, the emerald stone set into the ring glowed green, and a bluish magical circle materialized beneath ‌‌‌‌where he sat.
Soon, Kaiden's bangs fluttered in the breeze as the magical circle slowly seeped into the cave floor and vanished.
"Both the Crown Prince and the Imperial Guard captain are nearby... but why are they in different locations?"
"If they're separated, that's... ominous."
They went out on watch together, so why would they be ‌‌‌in different places? It felt unsettling.
At my response, ‌‌Kaiden stared ‌‌intently at the ‌‌‌leaf-covered cave entrance.
SCREEEECH!
In that moment, a massive roar echoed from the sky, followed by—
BOOM— BOOOOM—!
The sound of something exploding and collapsing shook the earth and heavens.
"Shouldn't we go check it out?"
Rujeep asked us tensely.
"Come ‌on, Rujeep. Let's go take a look. ‌Margaret, you stay here—it's too dangerous."
Kaiden pushed me down onto a seat. I shook my head, gripped the flare round in my hand, and shouldered my bag.
"I'm coming with you."
"It's dangerous."
"Magical artifacts are more useful than daggers anyway. And you'll need my mana too."
It was a fair point, and Kaiden had nothing to say against it. He looked at me for a moment, clearly wanting to argue further, then sighed.
"Then stay right beside me."
"I'm coming as well." ‌‌‌
Rujeep, who had been crouching near the cave entrance preparing to move out, added his voice.
"Don't get in the way."
Rujeep clamped ‌‌‌‌his mouth shut at Kaiden's relentless rebuke. His face was ‌full of displeasure, but finding no grounds to argue back, he ultimately remained quiet.
We brushed aside the leaves obscuring the cave entrance. Outside ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌the cave was pitch-dark. The moonlight had ‌vanished behind the thicket, making everything feel even darker.
Standing at the cave ‌‌‌‌entrance, I watched Kaiden's back while surveying our surroundings when I suddenly noticed characters carved into the cave entrance.
Alea
Alea. This ‌‌‌must be Anata's handwriting. Jenath mentioned that Anata had been studying languages.
Why would she use the word Alea?
And why carve the word Alea in a place like this?
Based on my observations so far—the flare, the cabin, the cliff—it seemed the word Alea was carved wherever Jenath's hand had touched.
Did that mean this cave was also a place where Jenath stayed? Or was it a cave created for experimentation?
Then the ground ‌trembled again.
I nearly ‌‌lost my balance in that moment of carelessness, but Kaiden caught me by the waist and steadied me.
"I have no idea what's happening."
I couldn't hide my bewilderment as I straightened myself and muttered. Then I loaded a flare and aimed it skyward.
"I ‌‌don't know where everyone is, but I need to send a signal."
"That seems rather dangerous."
Rujeep spoke anxiously, scanning the surroundings. I calmly countered his concern.
"Our position will be exposed, but with the barrier in place, the monsters won't be able to see us. If no one comes after the signal, then we'll have no choice but to venture ‌‌‌outside the barrier ourselves."
Kaiden nodded in agreement. ‌‌
I aimed the flare skyward, brought down the hammer, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Whoosh.
Red smoke rose into the sky, leaving a long tail behind it.
Boom! Crack!
Soon brilliant red sparks adorned the black ‌‌sky.
But as time passed, the forest remained silent.
'I'll have no choice but to venture outside the barrier.'
As I cautiously approached the barrier with that thought, something changed.
There had ‌‌been enough moonlight to distinguish our surroundings, but now everything became pitch-black. It felt as though a shadow had fallen ‌‌‌directly above my head.
"What the hell is that?"
Startled by Kaiden's ‌‌quiet curse, I looked up ‌‌and met a pair of enormous, golden eyes.
The massive head of an Anaconda loomed above the cave.
It was entirely different in size from the Anacondas we'd encountered on the South Island. It ‌‌was easily three times larger than those creatures.
It would be fair ‌‌to call it a dragon rather than an Anaconda. ‌
For a moment, I was overwhelmed by its presence and couldn't breathe.
The golden eyes seemed to be searching for something, directed ‌downward toward the barrier. Fortunately, it didn't appear to see us standing within the barrier.
'Could Jenath be watching through ‌‌‌‌it?'
Kaiden carefully took my hand.
"Margaret, I need to borrow ‌‌some of your mana."
He whispered softly, ‌‌sat down, and began drawing a magic circle on the ground with a twig. A soft glow emanated from the barrier—he was reinforcing it with magic.
Screech! ‌‌‌
At the piercing cry that echoed from somewhere, the Anaconda—which had been staring fixedly toward the Barrier—turned its massive head with sluggish ‌‌‌‌movements.
At the end ‌‌‌of the Anaconda's gaze lay a silver serpent, so diminutively small in comparison that it seemed almost insignificant.
"What? When on earth did she get there...!"
She was definitely on my shoulder just moments ago! As I lunged toward Silver Earthworm, Kaiden seized my wrist.
"No. It's dangerous."
I glanced at ‌‌‌Kaiden once before turning ‌‌‌‌‌my gaze back to Silver Earthworm in panic.
That's when I saw another Anaconda emerge from ‌‌‌the distant thicket, its head rising and rearing skyward.
Enoch and Diego—whose whereabouts had been unknown—were there.
Diego hung limply, his clothing caught on the Anaconda's razor-sharp fangs, while Enoch struggled to climb up the ‌‌creature's muscular body, treading upon its silvery scales.
"What the hell is this situation?"
"Can't you do ‌‌‌something with magic?"
"If I cast a spell powerful enough to ‌‌‌‌eliminate all of them, you might collapse. You've already expended ‌‌‌‌considerable mana."
Kaiden was right—I had indeed consumed a great deal of mana moments ago. Creating the Barrier and then expending additional mana to maintain and reinforce ‌it had drained me considerably.
Boom! Boom!
Another thunderous sound erupted from somewhere else.
It seemed there were more Monsters. ‌‌‌‌Time was slipping away. I turned to Kaiden and spoke.
"Kaiden. Do you trust me?"
"What?"
"Stay here and maintain the Barrier while watching over the Bishop and Silver Earthworm. Trust me and wait."
Leaving those words behind, I slipped out beyond the Barrier.
"What?! Margaret!"
Ignoring Kaiden's cry of protest, I pushed off the sloped ground and climbed toward the top of the Cave.

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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