Chapter 135
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Chapter 135
I set aside my concerns about the "door" for now and discussed our plans moving forward with the three men.
"We find Diego, meet the Holy Maiden, destroy the Monster's progenitor, and then head to the Grand Sorcerer's Cabin. That's the route, right?"
Kaiden summarized everything we'd discussed so far and posed the question. Enoch and I both nodded in agreement.
"If we're going to confront Jenath, we absolutely must eliminate the Monster's progenitor."
Jenath could track our movements through the Monster's eyes. He said controlling the Monsters directly was difficult, but he might still know how to handle them.
Facing Jenath alone was already challenging enough—adding Monsters to the equation would be overwhelming.
So preventing the Monster's evolution and reducing their numbers was absolutely necessary.
"Right, let's first see what this Monster progenitor actually is before making any decisions. And let's figure out what the Holy Maiden knows."
For the first time since arriving on this Island months ago, I felt a glimmer of hope that escape was possible. If we advance according to our planned route and defeat Jenath, we might actually be able to escape.
We all nodded at Kaiden's summary. A brief silence settled over us.
Whoooosh—
Then, the sound of heavy rain pouring outside the Cave reached our ears.
"I wonder if Diego will be alright."
At my murmur, Rujeep let out a pained groan.
"It's my fault."
He continued muttering with a guilt-stricken expression.
Rujeep had spent the most time with Diego recently, walking the line between life and death, and since he'd been with him at the end, he seemed to feel an even greater sense of guilt.
"It's no one's fault. If there's blame to assign, it all falls on Jenath."
Even at my words, Rujeep's mood didn't seem to improve, but there was nothing I could do about it. I suspected he'd remain that way until we found Diego.
* * *
Whoooosh—
We'd decided to search for Diego early in the morning, but it was still raining.
I crouched at the Cave entrance, staring blankly at the heavy downpour. The rain cascading down like a torrential storm had completely broken the heat.
Our situation was too precarious to face Monsters in a rainy Forest. So I had to wait until the rain let up somewhat, but that would clearly delay Diego's rescue.
I decided to wait a bit longer, and if the rain continued, I'd push through the downpour anyway. If Diego was in danger, we couldn't afford to miss the golden window of opportunity for rescue.
"Flone Young Lady."
Rujeep appeared beside me at some point and called out to me. He handed me a palm leaf laden with palm fruit.
"We need to conserve the rations we found in the Bunker, so we'll make do with the palm fruit we gathered yesterday for breakfast. I apologize for the inconvenience."
Rujeep was in charge of gathering fruit, and it seemed he'd gone through considerable trouble to collect these fruits in this downpour. I noticed his hands were covered in wounds and thanked him.
"Thank you."
Rujeep scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression and fell silent. Behind us, Kaiden and Enoch were loudly bickering.
The main subject of their argument was that since the downpour was severe, they needed to safely carry Margaret while moving, and they were debating who would carry me.
I had feet of my own—why did they need to carry me?
Rather than jump in and deal with it, which would be tiresome, I ignored them and focused on chewing the palm fruit.
Rujeep, who had been quietly observing my profile, asked a rather cryptic question.
"Once you escape the Island, where will you return to, Young Lady?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Didn't you say you've lived different lives in different worlds?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then if the Island is destroyed and you must choose between two worlds, which world will you select, Young Lady?"
Rujeep's question seemed to offer two choices, but in reality, there was no choice at all. Jin-ju Lee in Korea was dead—how could I possibly choose? I had already decided to live Margaret's life.
But could I truly adapt well to it?
Margaret's memories and all the emotions she possessed remained within me. Yet they still felt unfamiliar, as though they didn't belong to me.
Regardless, I had to adapt—what else could I do?
I pressed my lips firmly together, my expression growing sullen.
I couldn't tell how Rujeep interpreted my expression, but he looked flustered and apologized to me.
"I apologize for asking such an impertinent question. Please forget it, Young Lady."
There was no need for him to apologize so profusely.
Puzzled, I lifted my head, only to notice that the surroundings had grown unnaturally quiet. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't heard Enoch and Kaiden bickering for some time.
Curious, I turned my head. There stood Enoch and Kaiden, both wearing remarkably solemn expressions as they looked at me. They must have heard our entire conversation.
'But why are they like that?'
"What's wrong?"
At my question, Enoch and Kaiden offered no response. Only Rujeep nodded knowingly, as though he understood what the two men were thinking.
'Then if the Island is destroyed and you must choose between two worlds, which world will you select, Young Lady?'
Was it because of Rujeep's question from moments ago? But I hadn't given any answer.
The three men seemed unwilling to satisfy my curiosity. So I simply set aside my questions and returned to eating the palm fruit, gazing out at the rain-soaked Forest.
And I reflected once more on the plans ahead.
If something happened to Diego, what would I do then?
Slither—
Silver Earthworm drew near and crawled up onto my thigh. Then it lifted its head slightly, looked at me, and flicked its tongue.
"Are you worried about Diego too?"
That was unlikely, but I recalled how Diego had adored Silver Earthworm. He had never hidden his affection, so Silver Earthworm seemed to have grown fond of him in return. Perhaps that's why it appeared concerned...
As I stroked Silver Earthworm's scales, the ground began to tremble.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—
"What is that sound?"
I gasped and scooped up Silver Earthworm, rising to my feet. The earth was shaking violently.
Crack—
In the torrential rain, the trembling ground split open with a terrifying sound. The earthquake triggered a landslide beside the Cave.
"Wh...?"
I stared blankly as the Cliff crumbled. Then Rujeep beside me urgently pulled me deeper into the Cave.
"Young Lady, it's dangerous!"
He positioned himself in front of me, shielding me with one arm, standing a safe distance from the Cave entrance.
The earth and rubble from the collapsed Cliff poured into the Cave entrance.
"Margaret!"
Enoch and Kaiden rushed toward me.
Rumble—!
Massive Rocks, along with debris, firmly blocked the Cave entrance. In an instant, darkness enveloped us.
We were trapped inside the Cave with no way out.
"What is happening?"
Kaiden stared at the blocked cave entrance, muttering in disbelief.
Fortunately, we had a campfire burning inside the cave, so we could still see each other.
"What do we do? Can we get out?"
I asked, watching Kaiden clear away the rock blocking the cave entrance and scrape at the pile of earth. He hurled the stone he'd been holding down with an irritated gesture.
"Damn it, we seem to be trapped."
At his words, I calmly pulled out a map and spread it across the ground. Then I traced the route from our current location to where the supplies we were heading for should be.
If there was a passage inside the cave leading to the outside, couldn't we escape that way? I gazed thoughtfully into the deeper recesses of the cave.
"What about using that magical device you have to blast through the entrance?"
Kaiden asked me. He was clearly referring to the flare gun. I retrieved it from my crossbody bag as he suggested.
"Wouldn't that be dangerous?"
"It seems better to try something than to remain trapped."
Unexpectedly, Rujeep supported Kaiden's suggestion and looked at me. I glanced between Rujeep and Kaiden, then turned my gaze to Enoch.
Understanding the meaning in my eyes, Enoch glanced briefly at the cave entrance.
"It is dangerous, certainly. But we should attempt it, shouldn't we?"
I nodded and loaded the flare, then pulled the hammer back.
"Everyone, step back."
At my words, Kaiden and Rujeep carried Silver Earthworm deeper into the cave, while Enoch remained beside me, ready to scoop me up and run at any moment.
I pulled the trigger.
Whoosh—
Red smoke trailed through the air, embedding itself in the pile of earth blocking the cave entrance.
Boom!
The earth exploded, rocks tumbled down in a cascade, and the ground trembled. Enoch quickly hoisted me onto his shoulder and rushed deep into the cave. The entrance was collapsing.
I had expected it, but we were indeed trapped even deeper now. I sank to the ground in despair.
"What was that sudden tremor?"
As I muttered so hopelessly, Rujeep gathered his backpack and sat beside me, answering.
"Didn't you say the island has been deteriorating from the long experiments? Could this be an aftereffect of that?"
It was a reasonable point. I sat quietly, staring blankly into the depths of the cave.
Where does this cave lead? In movies, caves connect to the sea or rivers sometimes.
"This seems to be the only path. Would you like to explore it?"
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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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