Episode 132: Rudbeckia, Who Doesn’t Want to Regret #2
Yohan panted heavily.
To be honest, he had already reached his limit.
His heart pounded violently, as if squeezing his brain, and his muscles ached as if they were being torn apart by a blade. But he couldn’t stop.
Huuuuk-!
He repeatedly used mana interference and distortion orbs to move at high speed.
Each time he cut through the air, the fierce resistance felt like it was tearing his skin apart, and as his fatigue accumulated, his vision grew blurry.
He cut through the wind. Every second was crucial.
He had no idea what the dark mages might do to Rudbeckia.
So Yohan had no time to catch his breath. He simply couldn’t afford to.
‘Stay calm. Not much time has passed yet.’
From the perspective of the dark mages, they had no reason to touch Rudbeckia just yet. Their target was clearly him. They would definitely be focusing all their attention on him.
There was a chance they might attack the escorts, but that wasn’t a concern. They weren’t divided into separate squads-the entire expeditionary force was gathered together.
So, for now, all he had to do was focus on finding her.
Saaaaa—
At that moment, the long, flowing wave of dark energy pointed downward. It was the dark energy he had linked to Rudbeckia for tracking.
Yohan looked down.
It was an open clearing teeming with demonic beasts.
The dark energy connected to her stretched downward and seeped into the ground. That could only mean one thing.
‘Underground.’
Now that he had pinpointed the location, Yohan slowly descended, gathering his mana.
Sensing his presence through mana, the demonic beasts drooled and raised their heads all at once.
-Kiiyaak!!
-Kiruruk!
The demonic beasts, consumed by madness, howled as if urging him to come down.
They were starving for blood and flesh.
Yohan didn’t blink an eye. He simply extended his hand. Instantly, mana condensed at a rapid rate.
A blue flash flickered at his fingertips. A razor-sharp mana blade shot out, cutting through the air.
Shaaak!
With a single motion, the demonic beasts were sliced apart, revealing clean-cut cross-sections.
Dark red blood splattered into the air. The severed heads rolled across the ground, their dying screams echoing.
The demonic beasts convulsed for a moment before going completely still.
The thick scent of blood and dark energy filled the air like a crimson mist.
-Krrraakh…
One of the demonic beasts writhed, still clinging to life. Yohan narrowed his eyes and compressed his mana once more.
An invisible force shattered the space.
The demonic beast’s body imploded from within, bursting into chunks of flesh.
Paak!
“…”
Having dealt with all the obstacles, Yohan silently stared at the ground where the dark energy was flowing.
The connection to Rudbeckia was strong, meaning she was deep underground.
He pointed his fingertips downward.
Wooong!
A blue radiance gathered and formed a sphere-a distortion orb, large enough for a person to pass through.
There was no need to worry about the ground collapsing.
He wasn’t causing fractures-just opening a passage.
Yohan plunged into the hole created by the distortion orb.
***
Rudbeckia kept moving.
She pressed her fingertips against the wall to steady herself as she walked forward.
It was still pitch black. She couldn’t see ahead, nor did she know where she was.
But she couldn’t stop.
Survival demanded that she keep going.
Waiting quietly to be rescued wasn’t an option.
If she stayed still, she would die from dark energy before anyone could reach her.
“I don’t even know if there’s an end to this.”
As she continued walking with her hand on the wall, she frowned.
The only sensation at her fingertips was the cold, damp surface.
The dark energy was so dense that she couldn’t even spot a single insect.
“Huuu.”
Her breath came out in a white mist.
Along with the oppressive dark energy, an unbearable chill crept into her body.
As time passed, her entire body started trembling violently.
“I have to endure…”
She hugged herself with her trembling hands.
Her body temperature was dropping rapidly, and the robe she had worn for the expedition was of little help.
“…I can’t just stay still.”
But her brief pause didn’t last long.
Thud.
Her foot wobbled, and she stumbled against the wall.
Her body felt heavy-As if parts of it had disappeared.
Unknowingly, she looked down at her trembling fingertips.
They had turned a pale, bluish hue.
It was cold.
A chilling frost seeped into her very bones. Her heart tightened, and her breaths grew shallower.
‘No…’
She tried to move her fingers, but they wouldn’t respond. Her eyelids grew heavier by the second.
‘I can’t… let this happen…!’
Her mind wavered.
She bit down on the tip of her finger.
The taste of blood spread through her mouth.
She couldn’t collapse here.
It wasn’t death that she feared.
After witnessing the end of the world and countless deaths with her own eyes, such things no longer terrified her.
What truly worried her was the thought of dying here and never seeing Yohan again.
She had yet to repay him.
She had yet to apologize.
She had yet to accept his feelings.
‘Get a hold of yourself.’
This life would be different.
She would never fall here.
Step. Step.
Rudbeckia clenched her teeth and forced herself forward.
Into the darkness, where not even a shadow could be seen.
Suppressing the fear and anxiety clawing at her, she kept walking.
Then, at last, she spotted a light.
A torch hung on the wall.
‘Doesn’t seem like an exit…’
Despite the long-awaited sight of light, Rudbeckia remained cautious. She had no idea where she was, but there was a high chance this was a lair of dark mages.
‘…Let’s check it out.’
There was no other choice.
Moving as quietly as possible, Rudbeckia made her way toward the torch.
Beyond it stood a massive iron gate, its bars tightly packed together.
‘Could this be the way out?’
There was nothing beyond the gate, but it was the only possible path forward.
She couldn’t turn back now.
Rudbeckia gathered her mana.
The dark energy still filled the air, but perhaps because she had gotten closer to the outside, she could now use magic.
She conjured a blade of wind.
Whoosh!
A gust swirled around her fingertips, then condensed into a razor-sharp edge.
Clang!
But the gate didn’t even budge.
Her disrupted mana played a role, but the iron bars were simply too sturdy to cut through easily.
‘Damn it…’
Still, Rudbeckia didn’t give up.
Clang!
Wind blades clashed against metal, sending sparks flying.
The screech of grinding metal echoed through the chamber.
‘It’s working.’
The cuts were faint, but they were there.
It would take time, but she could do this.
Clang! Clang!
The noise was loud. Too loud.
Even as she continued slicing through the bars, Rudbeckia remained on high alert.
If someone came, she’d be in trouble.
Clang!
And then—
“GRAAAAHHH!”
A deafening roar erupted behind her.
A chill ran down Rudbeckia’s spine.
Like prey caught in the gaze of a predator, her body froze.
‘What… is that?’
Slowly, she turned her head.
A hulking man, well over two meters tall, stood there, swaying on his feet.
Clang…
The sound of her wind blade striking the gate rang out, and the man’s gaze locked onto her.
He bellowed.
“TOO NOISYYYYY!”
“Eek—!”
His voice thundered through the chamber, shaking the air itself.
Rudbeckia clutched her ears, nearly deafened.
Only after his roar subsided did she dare look again.
“Grrr…”
The figure before her was no longer human.
Beneath his cracked skin, black veins pulsed ominously. Sinister markings glowed across his body.
Swish… swish…
His muscles bulged grotesquely.
Then, suddenly—
His skin split open from his shoulders to his neck, revealing a row of new, gleaming eyes.
Snap!
His fingers elongated into deadly claws.
Rudbeckia instinctively stepped back.
The bloodlust pouring from him felt like it was slicing into her skin.
‘A beastification…!’
She had felt the destruction of a world at the hands of dark mages before, so she knew instinctively.
The creature before her was one of them—a dark mage cursed with beastification.
“Graaaah…!”
Thud—!
The creature staggered forward, its writhing eyes all over its body locking onto Rudbeckia. There was an unmistakable intent to kill in its movements and gaze.
Rudbeckia quickly extended her hand.
“Espera de Llamas!”
The mana gathered in her palm, forming a sphere of fire. She launched it immediately.
Boom—!
The massive fireball shot forward and collided with the creature, exploding on impact. However, because of the surrounding dark energy, its purity was low. It wasn’t even half as powerful as usual!
“Graaaah—!”
Instead of stopping it, the attack only made the creature angrier.
“Damn it…!”
What should she do? Rudbeckia bit her lip. Should she try slipping past its side? No, too risky. Her physical abilities weren’t strong enough—she would definitely get caught.
But aside from that, there was no other way out. Behind her, a thick iron gate blocked the path, and the walls surrounding her were rough and impassable.
Thud—!
The beastified man stepped forward.
The ground shook.
Her heart pounded wildly in response.
Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump.
She had to make a decision fast if she wanted to escape. But no matter how she looked at it, no clear option presented itself.
Thud—!
The massive shadow cast by the torchlight drew closer and closer.
‘Move!’
Gritting her teeth, Rudbeckia forced her trembling body to channel her mana.
“Ventana de Hielo!”
A blue light flickered at her fingertips, and a barrage of ice spears shot forward. Their sharp, honed tips streaked through the air, aimed straight at the creature.
Shkkk—!
But they weren’t strong enough to pierce its flesh.
“Grooar—!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The beast howled and slammed the ground. Its sheer weight sent tremors through the earth, making it feel as if the entire space was shaking.
Rudbeckia’s breathing turned ragged. No matter how she thought about it, she saw no way out. She was out of stamina, and she couldn’t use high-level magic in her current state.
‘Yohan…!’
With no other choice, she clenched her eyes shut and desperately called out his name in her heart.
“Graaaah!”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The creature finally reached her.
Its massive hand reached out, claws bared. Its teeth clacked together as if ready to tear her apart.
Just as its fingers were about to make contact—
Rumble—!
The ceiling cracked apart.
A blinding flash of light filled the space, followed by an earth-shattering roar.
Boom—!
Something fell from above.
The beastified man had no time to react before it was crushed beneath the impact.
“What just…?”
Rudbeckia blinked, stunned. The dust and debris obscured her vision, making it difficult to understand what had just happened.
Grkk…
The creature twitched, struggling under the massive weight pinning it down.
As the dust settled, a familiar silhouette emerged.
“Rudbeckia.”
And then, she heard a voice she knew all too well.
“Yohan…!”
The person revealed as the dust cleared was none other than Yohan—the one she had desperately called out for.