Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers - Chapter 99



98 – Truth Revealed (6)

While trapped in the maze of unknowns and fighting the old woman, Rachel realized one thing.

Alone, she wouldn’t be able to take down the boss, no matter what.

No matter how nimbly she moved or tried to predict the opponent’s moves by leaving paint markers, one-on-many would always have its limits.

Rachel was ultimately defeated.

“Haa.”

Each exhale released dry spores from her mouth.

Her fungus-ridden skin cracked like old, dry wood. Her lungs felt like they were tearing. A floury, dusty heaviness permeated her entire being.

She’d lasted a long time, considering she was alone.

But in this brutal wilderness, how long you endure doesn’t matter. All that matters is whether you survive or not.

Reinforcements… weren’t coming, it seemed.

Because this place felt like it was inside a barrier.

“Je, girall…….”

With her last bit of strength, Rachel spat out a curse.

It felt empty.

And because of that, it felt unfair.

Maybe other times it wouldn’t matter, but this time, wasn’t she dying ridiculously?

“Ugh, kuk, kuek.”

She wanted to rise and fight again, but it was her limit. Her limbs felt like they were stiffening, perhaps because of the spores.

Was this the end?

It was around that time.

[“Well now, an impatient guest has arrived.”]

The old woman, who had been talking with the Mage Kingdom general while trying to finish Rachel off, stopped moving. The old woman’s gaze was directed elsewhere.

Rachel strained to push up her constantly closing eyelids.

And, she saw.

The face of the man approaching her, now so close.

“Hey, you okay?”

Though it’s Madokian, she understands it now. It was the thing he said the most, while they learned each other’s languages.

That word, “okay.”

Where else in the world would someone say it so often?

Rachel’s lips moved soundlessly.

N-no, o-kay.

“Doesn’t look like it.”

Erich nodded and helped Rachel up. At the same moment, Rachel’s consciousness, held together by sheer force of will, reached its limit. The tension left her as she was held by Erich.

An enemy, but not a foe, she knew.

Rachel, relieved, lost consciousness.

*

The old woman clucked her tongue and put a flute to her lips.

[“One down, two to go.”]

*Pee-lee-lee,* the sound echoed, and mushrooms burst from the ground.

The mushrooms grew rapidly, quickly forming grotesque shapes. Four large dogs with mushroom caps replacing their heads were instantly created.

[“Young Librarian, you’ve timed this well.”]

The old woman said.

[“Help this old one defeat the intruder. Then I’ll take you to the Nest and let you meet the Princess.”]

Princess?

Surely, there’s someone above that crone?

[“Indeed.”]

Commander Adora nodded at the crone’s words. She pressed forward, moving towards the old hag demon.

And the next instant:

Clang!

The commander’s sword clashed with the crone’s flute.

[“The charade has run its course.”]

[“So, you were aware.”]

This is inside the barrier. There’s no way the demon who created this barrier wouldn’t have grasped our situation before kidnapping Valkyrie. And no way Commander Adora wouldn’t have predicted that.

The short deception, where there were only deceivers and no deceived, came to an end.

The commander’s sword and the crone’s mycelia once again created intense sparks.

While the two exchanged blows, I defeated the dog monsters and aimed for the crone’s back.

[“Earth, pulsate!”]

With the crone’s incantation, the earth began to tremble.

The space shifted. Walls were erected in previously empty spaces, and where walls once stood, there was now a clean void. A maze was writhing like a living thing.

An earthquake. I can’t keep my balance.

I inevitably fell prone. The ground sloped, and I had to roll. Protecting Valkyrie as much as possible, I was pushed this way and that.

Eventually, a mushroom partition separated me from the commander.

“Commander!”

“Chief!”

“Stall for time! I’m heading your way!”

The crone had already crossed over towards me. She was walking towards Valkyrie and me, grinning wide enough to split her face.

[“Now things will be a little less bothersome.”]

Divide and conquer.

That phrase popped into my head.

I could tell at a glance that the crone was stronger than me, but weaker than Valkyrie, or me and the Chief combined. If not, she would have tried to fight us all at once.

She knows how to use her head, and her magic is formidable too. A troublesome opponent.

I have to hold out.

I grinned wryly and opened my mouth.

[“We’ve just met, let’s start with introductions. I’m Erich Ronstein from the Magical Kingdom of Hazkael. May I ask your name?”]

[“Niemi.”]

The crone threw a mushroom at Nya.

I showed a burst of quick thinking and ducked. I was relieved, thinking I’d dodged it, but a moment later the mushroom, ricocheting off the wall behind me, stuck directly to my back.

“Ugh!”

[“Got you.”]

“What the hell…”

The sensation on my back is alien. It’s like a huge tumor has sprouted there. The crone cackled.

[“That mushroom is a special mycelial culture I made myself. In less than a minute, the young man will die of respiratory failure.”]

Just as the crone said, my lungs felt like they were seizing up.

Dying from suffocation?

What’s the difference, it’s still magic anyway.

Just get rid of the caster and it should automatically be undone.

That’s when I tried to pull a mana stone from my pouch.

[“Oh, right, that mushroom also drains mana rapidly, so be careful.”]

The old woman added with a soft smile.

*

Niemi’s mushroom maze is like an antlion’s pit. It’s designed to draw in the victims, wear them down, and then eliminate them one by one.

Even though two first-class mages from the Magic Kingdom managed to break through the barrier and enter in one fell swoop, it was still within a manageable range.

[“In the end, separated, you’re nothing.”]

Like this, you just trap them one by one in a narrow space and subdue them.

Before Niemi’s eyes was Erich, already covered in spores. Even though Niemi hadn’t attacked him in any other way, Erich’s breathing grew increasingly labored.

[“Just give up and accept death. Then at least I’ll let you go peacefully.”]

[“…Shut up.”]

[“I was going to show some mercy as someone who walks the same path of magic… These youngsters these days don’t know how to respect their elders.”]

[“I said, shut up.”]

Erich’s breath was fading.

Although she used poisonous mushrooms, mere skin contact wouldn’t properly transmit the poison. The reason Erich was gasping for air was because a specific mana contained within the mushrooms was constricting his lungs.

A skilled mage could normalize that mana immediately, but that was usually impossible. To use magic, you need to regulate your breathing, concentrate, and purify your mana, but the source of that – your lungs – are being attacked.

Actually, Niemi was inwardly surprised.

It was an attack that would have squeezed the oxygen out of a normal person’s lungs in seconds, killing them. Even the best would barely last two minutes.

But this mage was enduring, continuing the battle for over five minutes.

[“A pity.”]

If the demon lord’s army had someone like this, maybe the vanguard wouldn’t have been routed that day. At the very least, his skill in manipulating mana far surpassed that man’s.

Niemi clicked his tongue, already somewhat familiar with the mages’ system after dealing with the Magic Kingdom.

[“Turns out, Hazkayl is a damn group of idiots with no eye for talent. Not only do they only give a mage like this a measly Class 1 qualification, they stick him on the front lines to fight.”]

[“Hrrk, who are you, hrrk, calling a monster…”]

[“How can I not call you a monster when you’ve survived ten times longer than any ordinary person could have? But I can see you starting to crumble. Young man, can you feel your eyelids half-closed?” ]

Endure.

Erich’s mind was consumed by only that.

He minimized his attacks and focused all his efforts on purifying his internal mana. Even so, the situation was desperate.

And then, he saw someone peer over the top of the tall wall.

It was Major Adora.

“Huk, hurrk… Major!”

Adora used her jindo and dagger to climb the nearly 10-meter-tall mushroom pillar. It wasn’t easy with the monsters constantly interfering. The fact that she made it to the top in just over five minutes was incredibly fast.

Adora’s anxious eyes reflected the collapsing Erich.

“…Major.”

With a thud, Erich also fell.

Adora’s mind went blank for a moment, confronted with the gruesome sight of the man who had become her savior just a few minutes prior.

The man who had freed her from a lifetime of suffering.

I thought I was starting to understand things, that it was okay.

At least, I swore I’d take responsibility to keep them alive until we got off this deserted island.

As the cherished daughter of the military powerhouse Gipfel, Adora had always lived by her parents’ words – that she should be responsible for what she said, and she considered it gospel.

That responsibility was now about to erupt into rage.

[“You fucking b*tch.”]

[“Niemie, you are!”]

A pattern of isolating and killing us one by one is emerging. If things continue like this, even Adora herself might get picked off. But today, she wasn’t herself. It was hard to maintain a cold rationality.

Niemie gave a chilling smile.

Adora’s image, charging forward, was the spitting image of herself in the past, facing the Holy Crusaders alone to secure the retreat route of a routed legion.

[“This old geezer will teach you that you can’t do anything alone!”]

[“Look who’s talking!”]

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Light combat boot sounds raced across the maze.

A shadow fell over Niemie’s head. Immediately, a hand axe smashed down on her head with all its might. Niemie crumpled from the force, sticking her tongue out.

[“Ouch!”]

From noble mtl dot com

Thud.

The fox beastkin landed lightly in front of Adora, who had just come down.

Speak of the devil.

“This body makes a doggone… no, a foxy entrance!”

No sooner had I called her a fucking b*tch than a real canine appeared.

And, the bright atmosphere vanished in an instant.

The fox sisters ground their teeth, pulling out different tools. The two foxes spoke at the same time.

[“You the one who touched our man?”]