ABFD CH 32🔒

“Tommy, don’t look back, just run!”

If she left this den of vile people as it was, others might fall victim to them again. It would be better to deal with them as much as possible before leaving.

What was the best way to inflict damage while shaking off the पीछuers?

Fire, of course.

“Fireball!”

The fireballs that flew from her fingertips struck both the pursuing men and the building in succession. Because it was a shabby wooden structure, their hideout was quickly engulfed in flames.

“Aaagh! Catch them!”

“Tommy, where are you going? You should come with me!”

At that moment—

The man called Ben, who had first guided them here, along with another, burst through the flames and rushed out. They were far too fast to be ordinary humans.

“Tommy, run! Wind Cutter!”

“Ugh—stop right there!”

The speed of those chasing them was no ordinary matter.

Even with their limbs sliced by Aileen’s attacks, they didn’t slow down at all. It seemed they too had drunk the Savior’s blood.

‘Have their bodies been enhanced like variants, or do they even have regenerative abilities?’

Though strengthened by the virus, they still retained human bodies, so they didn’t seem as powerful as true variant zombies.

Perhaps they were incomplete variants created as a second stage.

Aileen wanted to eliminate them properly before moving on.

But with someone to protect, she couldn’t fight freely. She couldn’t unleash her attack magic without worrying about the child getting hurt.

‘So this is how Tristan must have felt when he said he would protect me.’

He must have chosen to avoid confrontation many times because of her.

Was he safe right now?

Even in this urgent situation, useless thoughts kept surfacing. Shaking her head to clear them, Aileen pulled the lagging child closer.

“Tommy, which way is the Ariad Ruins?”

“This way!”

Fortunately, the ruins weren’t far from the hideout.

After running uphill until her breath reached her throat, the massive entrance of the ruins appeared before them.

It was almost strange that such a place existed so close to the city.

A towering white rocky mountain, as if carved by nature.

The naturally formed cliffs blended oddly with the artificial structures nearby, creating the mysterious atmosphere unique to ruins.

As Tommy had said, there were hardly any zombies nearby.

Moreover, the distance between them and their pursuers began to widen.

The closer they got to the ruins, the more obvious the discomfort on the pursuers’ faces became.

It seemed her guess was correct that their power was rooted in darkness like the variants.

“Huff… if we go in here, we’ll be safe, my lady.”

“Ah, this is it.”

From the moment they stepped into the entrance, a strange energy wrapped around her entire body.

It was very similar to divine power, yet subtly different. And it couldn’t quite be called mana either.

‘I thought this was just a setting in a story… but is there really some kind of energy here?’

There was definitely something.

It was said to be the resting place of the White Dragon Ariad. Perhaps the dragon’s power still lingered.

Or maybe the flow of divine power itself was abnormal.

It felt as if the ground beneath her feet swayed like a rope bridge.

Her legs moved uncontrollably, as if walking through flowing water.

Aileen forced herself to steady her body and looked at the child beside her.

“Tommy, are you okay?”

“Huh? Me? I’m fine! Maybe because you used recovery magic earlier, my legs feel really light!”

The child answered with a bright smile, seemingly thinking she meant the exhaustion from running.

Aileen observed him briefly. Aside from slightly heavy breathing, he seemed completely fine.

He didn’t appear to feel the strange energy at all.

‘Does it only affect those who use mana or divine power? Then what about them?’

Turning back, she saw the pursuers standing at a distance from the entrance, staring toward it with troubled expressions.

They hesitated, unable to step inside.

Clearly, they too were affected by the energy flowing through this place.

“W-Wait a moment, Tommy. Let’s rest for a bit.”

“My lady, are you alright? Your face…”

“I’m fine. Just feeling a little nauseous.”

Aileen sat where she could still see outside, catching her breath while keeping her eyes fixed on the men.

They seemed to be arguing among themselves.

“…can’t let them escape… sacrifices for food…”

“…but that place… too dangerous…”

From what she could gather, they were insisting on capturing them to use as food.

Listening closely, Aileen clenched her fists.

“You despicable bastards!”

After a moment, Ben seemed determined to enter alone, shaking off another man who tried to stop him.

The other man followed reluctantly, his face full of irritation.

Watching this, Tommy grabbed Aileen’s sleeve, pale with fear.

“M-My lady… they’re coming in. Let’s run!”

“It’s okay, Tommy. Why don’t you go inside and hide first? I’ll deal with them and come.”

Aileen hardened her expression, deciding it was time to end this.

The pressure the men felt from the ruins seemed significant.

The closer they came to the entrance, the more their faces twisted in pain.

Blood began to seep again from the wounds they had suffered earlier.

In that condition, they could barely even reach this place.

Was it really just to use them as food?

She didn’t want to believe it.

After confirming that Tommy had gone deeper inside to hide, Aileen slowly turned toward the entrance.

‘Fine. Come and try to take me. But you’ll be risking your lives too.’

She had already cast attack magic more than a dozen times while fleeing.

Normally, her mana should have been nearly depleted.

Yet strangely, the energy inside her felt overflowing, as if it would burst out at any moment.

As Aileen raised her hand and murmured, not only the power within her but even the surrounding air seemed to swirl violently in response.

“Fireball!”

At her incantation, fireballs of a completely different scale from before poured endlessly from her fingertips.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Aaaagh!”

The two men, just stepping into the entrance, were struck before they could even dodge, instantly engulfed in flames.

“Huh? How is this possible?”

Even Aileen herself was startled, examining her hands.

Not only the number but also the power of the fireballs was extraordinary.

‘This isn’t a level of magic I should be capable of… how?’

This was only the second time she had used fire magic on a person.

Compared to the time she used it on a mercenary in Orhen, the difference was overwhelming.

Zombies were naturally weak to fire, catching flames easily and burning fiercely.

She had once assumed it was because of the dark power animating them.

But living humans didn’t burn like that. They didn’t ignite easily, and the firepower was much weaker.

‘But now… it’s even stronger than when I used it on zombies.’

Even if they resembled variant zombies, that alone couldn’t explain this result.

The number of fireballs was also abnormal. Normally, due to mana limitations, she could fire at most two or three in succession.

This time, five were launched almost simultaneously.

Whether this was due to the strange energy of the ruins or the dark power within them, she couldn’t tell.

Watching the two men collapse in flames, Aileen turned away with a bitter expression.

Having to treat living people as enemies… a world where humans were becoming more dangerous than zombies… it felt utterly bleak.

She had only taken a few steps—

Grrrgh… Gweeeeh…

A familiar yet horrifying sound echoed behind her.

Turning quickly, she saw the men who had just been burned rising again as zombies.

‘They weren’t even bitten… how?’

The transformation was unbelievably fast.

It was as if they had turned into zombies the moment they died.

‘Is this caused by the mutation virus in the Savior’s blood? I thought they were just variant-like… I didn’t expect them to die and become zombies again.’

With a stunned expression, Aileen quickly unleashed blades of wind, severing their heads.

A surge of worry rushed over her.

Tristan’s voice echoed in her mind, saying he would not be in danger.

Surely nothing had happened to the knights at the Temple of Salvation.

But if they were all connected—

Considering they attacked as soon as the knights left, they must have already sent word to their main base.

Would Tristan and the others be safe in a place crawling with such aberrations?

‘He’ll be fine… he has to be. He’s the protagonist.’

Suppressing her rising anxiety, Aileen moved deeper into the ruins, searching for the child hiding somewhere within.