Chapter 28
No One Is Born a Hero (13)
I tightly clenched my palm covered in blood and dust, crawled to the top of the ravine, and stood on trembling legs.
This is where it begins.
“Over here!”
Boom!
Though it probably couldn’t hear me, I shouted loudly towards the Gigantic Arachne, using the same magic I had used on the smaller spider monsters to draw its attention.
With a loud explosion, one of its silvery legs was scorched black.
‘So this is all it does.’
As expected, magic alone can’t inflict significant damage.
But this was enough to achieve my intended purpose.
“Kyaaaaaak!!!”
The Gigantic Arachne roared in my direction.
It noticed me immediately despite the considerable distance. Compared to the barely visible mark on its skin, this was quite an achievement.
‘Or maybe…’
It could be controlled by Rimos Therion.
I remember the winged monsters that were flying up behind him.
And how he stood nobly amidst the monsters, strangely untouched.
No, he’s not important right now.
I must survive. I can’t give up my life here.
Amidst the churning feelings, I sharpened all my senses and used magic to jump.
I squeezed my body between the narrow crevices of the cliff, luring the Gigantic Arachne.
Kuguung!!
With each ferocious kick of the Gigantic Arachne, solid rocks crumbled and collapsed.
‘More, just a bit more.’
I sprinted along the top of the ravine, pushing my physical abilities to the limit. I used both hands to vault over protruding rocks.
Even breathing through both nose and mouth, my throat seemed to scream for lack of air.
When was the last time I ran like this?
I remember. Just a few days ago.
It was the day I regressed despite ending my life due to the curse.
I had wandered aimlessly through the corridors in a daze, running without a clear purpose.
Not knowing where I was heading… just living as if I couldn’t die.
“Ugh.”
Splash!
The next rock I stepped on was slippery with some unknown liquid. My foot, boldly placed, slid right off.
My ankle twisted, and my knee scraped against the rock, but.
“Huff…!”
There’s no time to stay down.
I bit my lip hard and stood up again, breaking the neck of the last remaining elixir bottle and pouring it into my mouth as if shaking it out. There wasn’t even time to pull out the wax stopper.
I had to keep running.
As soon as I moved my feet, the Gigantic Arachne’s house-sized leg swung through where my body had just been, a gust of wind chilling my back.
I almost pitched forward.
“Heurk…!”
I forced my buckling knees to hold with sheer willpower and ran again.
It’s a close call. Running with a bright light in front of me, the Gigantic Arachne’s attention was entirely focused on me.
I had doubted whether I could provoke it with just myself, but it’s following me properly. Very properly indeed!
“Huff, huk. Haah.”
At last, I entered the section I had intended.
A point where the gap between the ravine walls was too narrow for the Gigantic Arachne to enter.
If the Gigantic Arachne had slowly broken through from the outside as it originally would have, it could have entered without difficulty. But it was too tight for it to enter now, having hastily chased after me.
“Kieeeeek!!!”
Nevertheless, the Gigantic Arachne was forcing its way into that gap frighteningly persistently.
It folded its long legs and somehow crammed its body into the gap.
This was exactly what I wanted.
That’s right. Just like that…!
With its pursuit speed significantly slowed, I also caught my breath as I walked, almost crawling, to the narrowest end of the ravine.
Having turned about halfway, I could faintly see Ethan still battling the remaining monsters in the air. Though I had run quite far, the actual distance wasn’t that great.
By now, almost all of the monsters that had densely filled the sky had fallen.
‘He really is a monster.’
It’s not something I should say while luring a giant spider, but…
I couldn’t help but agree with Yan’s words, letting out a hollow laugh that turned into a cough as air entered my lungs awkwardly.
This place too was teeming with monsters everywhere, and objects that seemed to belong to the scouting parties who had fallen victim to them were strewn about haphazardly.
I felt a bit strange, but there was no time for other thoughts as the Gigantic Arachne had already passed through the narrow gap and was right at my heels.
“Huff, hah. Now, it’s the end.”
Bang!!
I picked up a longsword from the ground and magically drove it into the ravine, using a strong shockwave to collapse the ravine around the embedded sword.
The explosive spells I had planted along the ravine I had run across detonated in a chain reaction.
Kwagwagwang!!!
It was a method I had only kept in mind, thinking I might be able to use it after seeing a cave collapse.
Namely… to subdue the Gigantic Arachne wedged between the narrow ravine by burying it with falling rock fragments as the ravine collapsed.
“Kup.”
Perhaps because I had recklessly scraped together magic power, black blood burst from my dry throat.
I spat out what had pooled in my mouth, wiped my mouth vigorously with my sleeve, and watched the ravine collapse.
Kwang.
‘It’s being buried!’
The ravine that had towered on both sides began to collapse simultaneously.
“Kiaaaaaaak!!!”
The Gigantic Arachne made a bizarre cry like boiling water as it was crushed under the pile of rocks.
“G-good!”
It was a success!
Clenching my fist in joy, I strained my throat to shout. My throat stung, and a terribly hoarse voice burst out.
It’s a success. Even if it’s the Gigantic Arachne, it won’t be able to escape from in there.
No matter how much it struggles…?
Kung.
“……?!”
Kuguung.
…The collapse isn’t ending.
The power of the magic was greater than I had anticipated.
Due to the continuous vibrations applied to the ravine, the inside was already riddled with cracks.
Deep fissures quickly spread even to my position, which I had thought was safe.
“Ha.”
I turned to run while gasping, but my knees buckled first.
Already completely exhausted, there was no way I could escape the danger zone with this stamina.
Cracks had already spread to dozens of meters in front of me, and the cliff crumbled with each step I took.
What should I do? Ask Ethan Behemoth for help…!
That’s when I heard a faint voice from below.
“Please help me!!”
A member of the scouting party, who seemed to have been hiding in a small cave bored into the wall, was lying with his upper body leaning against the slanted wall of the ravine, looking at me desperately.
He seemed to have found a safe spot amidst the collapse, but the problem was the small spider monster that had climbed up over him and was baring its teeth towards his face.
He was barely avoiding having his face skin torn off by holding back the spider monster’s legs with both arms.
However, he seemed to be at his limit, trembling, and it looked like he would soon fall victim if someone didn’t save him.
‘…Ah.’
It was a familiar face.
…I don’t remember the name, but. This knight becomes a hero who saves a kingdom on the brink of destruction in the future.
Tens of thousands of lives depend on this knight’s life.
Compared to him, I am….
…Ethan, who seemed to have noticed the situation here amidst the loud noise of the collapsing ravine, was seen running towards this place with a chillingly grim expression like the Grim Reaper.
His whole body was black and red with his own blood and that of monsters.
I shouted towards him, tearing my voice.
“Ethan, save that knight!!”
Yes. It’s okay if I die, isn’t it?
Ethan glanced towards the knight.
Then he turned his head back towards me.
No. Don’t. Save him instead of me.
He is more…!
Ethan Behemoth, without hesitation, drew his sword and threw it towards him.
Puk!
The spider monster’s head was precisely pierced.
Then Ethan threw himself, tightly embracing me and rolling to protect me from the falling piles of rocks.
It was exactly the same movement as when he saved me in the cave.
Kuguung!!
At that moment, the cliff collapsed completely.
Because he had twisted his body to put me underneath him, debris showered down on his back as we fell endlessly downward.
Desperately, I drew on my remaining magic power to put a barrier above his body and below mine.
“Kuk…!”
“…Haah. Edith Crowell….”
“I told you to save him…! Why didn’t you listen…!”
When I weakly punched his chest, he buried his face, mottled with blood, in my shoulder.
So I couldn’t see his eyes. His expression.
“To choose who to save.”
His voice was faint, as if he was about to faint after drinking so many monster cores.
He didn’t look like the war-maniac Ethan Behemoth I knew.
“How could I do that?”
…Leaving those words, he dropped his head.
🥀
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