Chapter 40
“Kyaaah!”
Luna screamed as she ran, the mud clinging to her falling off with every desperate step. Maybe it was her all-out effort or the delay caused by the squad leader struggling to pick up speed, but the distance between them slowly widened.
“Where is this place?!”
All around her was a dark, unfamiliar forest path.
Running blindly along a pitch-black road she didn’t know was sheer terror itself.
“What do I do now?!”
The torn sack had been pure luck. Not wanting to be dragged away, her eyes wide open, she even traced the magical runes floating in the air.
She only remembered the wind symbol flickering like a star and the illusionary words. She had never gestured like a wizard, nor felt any mystical sensation. Yet suddenly, the net-like bag split as if cut by a blade of cold wind.
Rather than marveling, she ran blindly, thinking that running was the only way to survive. Even then, the squad leader’s voice, still shouting crude words to stop her, drew nearer.
Now she had only one magic stone left.
How could she survive?
Luna gasped, her face almost tearful, her lungs burning for air. She couldn’t stop, yet her legs grew heavier with each breath.
The cruelly beautiful moonlight poured down. She ran frantically along the faintly lit path, until finally, her foot twisted.
“Kyaaah!”
Her body, losing balance, tumbled down the sloping forest floor, hitting a tree with a thud after one or two rolls.
“Ugh!”
She groaned, grateful that her mind was still clear. Thick bushes had prevented a worse accident.
When she tried to stand, she couldn’t. She had twisted one ankle badly, a sharp pain stabbing through her like a needle.
Her whole body felt shattered, and fear nearly stopped her breath. Tears poured down, shaking her shoulders like reeds in the wind.
“Where do you think you’re rolling off to? Why run and make such a fuss?”
She heard the squad leader’s voice, pushing aside every dense bush as he approached.
Gasp! Luna held her breath.
Wiping the tears from her chin, she grabbed whatever she could reach—a damp stone fragment.
She quickly clutched both the magic stone and the stone fragment in her pocket, curling up as much as possible, silently hoping he wouldn’t find her.
Crack! The sound of a broken twig came from directly ahead. It was useless.
“There you are. Looks like you can’t move now, huh?”
Luna’s eyes widened, locking on the gold teeth shining even in the darkness. She could tell even without seeing him clearly. The man was wearing a horrifying smile.
“…”
She took a deep breath and quickly adjusted her posture, ready to spring at any moment.
Even though a dull ache spread throughout her body, she gritted her teeth and endured it. Then she carefully waited for him to come closer.
Just a little more… a little longer…
“Not moving, huh? Did you hurt your leg? I was about to break it myself—good, this saves me some trouble.”
The squad leader relaxed, confident that Luna couldn’t escape. He pressed down on the twigs with force, emphasizing his threat.
A snake slithered up, its disgusting tongue flicking close to Luna’s nose as it bent its body.
Thunk!!
Luna’s head, kept calm and ready, struck the crow’s beak extending to her feet.
“Ugh! You crazy girl!”
“Don’t come any closer!”
Crash!
Ziiiing!
“Ugh!”
Everything happened in an instant.
The crow was struck on its lower jaw so hard its beak twisted. Yet the sturdy squad leader, unfazed, reached out to grab Luna.
She screamed and struggled violently, trying not to be caught by the snake, pushing and flailing. Then the stone fragment and magic stone in her hand exploded near his temple.
The stone left a small scratch, and the magic stone’s discharge flowed over him.
Watching the snake tremble as if paralyzed, Luna repeatedly kicked the man’s chest with her good foot.
The thin, staring eyes that glanced at her made her nauseous.
When he slowed down noticeably, she crawled desperately, getting away from him. Nothing else had ever scared her this much; she gasped for breath, her lungs burning.
Luna walked through the dense forest without looking back, her injured foot still carrying her. She couldn’t run, but she could walk. She had to keep moving.
She forced herself to ignore the pain, driven by the need to escape that man. Anywhere was better than being near the snake.
Boom!
Nearby, the ground shook with vibrations, followed by successive explosions.
Luna braced herself against a tree, trembling. If she fell now, it would truly be the end. The dense forest was so dark she couldn’t tell where the explosions were coming from.
Already overwhelmed, her mind went blank. Only the instinct to run surged through her.
She exhaled heavily, using the thick trees to inch forward.
“You were praised, yet you don’t know your place.”
“Gah!!”
A low, seething voice followed.
Luna’s body stiffened, as if frozen with ice. She slapped her thighs to keep moving, making sure never to turn her head.
She forced her injured leg to move with the best speed she could muster.
The squad leader was aptly named—his proximity could not be countered with just one magic stone. She could hear his heavy breathing drawing closer.
“No, no, nooo!”
Her heart pumped frantically, the sound deafening in her ears. If she were caught, the furious snake wouldn’t let her go. He would break her leg—or worse.
Her injured leg faltered; her steps slowed. Her vision blurred and cleared repeatedly, tears streaming uncontrollably.
As darkness so thick that moonlight couldn’t penetrate enveloped her, she could no longer feel even the smallest twigs.
She had no choice but to keep moving. In the midnight forest, she didn’t want to be eaten by the snake.
Luna took another step.
“…?”
She realized too late that there was no ground beneath her—she had already fallen into the void.
“Kyaaah!!”
A long, thin scream echoed. Her hair fluttered from a high cliff as her arms and legs flailed like flags.
She brushed past sparse branches during her rapid fall, eyes closing instinctively.
Snap! Crackle! Thud!
“Ughh!”
Her back collided with something tough, and she groaned.
The thick vines caught her body, halting her fall miraculously. Each hit split some of the weaker vines, but a cluster held her awkwardly in place.
Luna drew in a deep breath, lifting her heavy eyelids. The world was upside down.
“Ugh!”
Below her stretched a dizzying, sheer drop that seemed endless.
She had miraculously caught herself in the vines, but the thin stems couldn’t hold much. Any wrong move and they’d snap. Darkness pressed in. Her only thought was a desperate will to live.
But she didn’t know what to do. If the vines had been just a bit stronger…!
“You’re really insane! What were you thinking, falling off a cliff?! Just die already!!”
On the hill above, a harsh scream rang through the forest, sending shivers down her spine.
Please, just assume I’m dead… That relentless snake isn’t planning to climb down here, is it?
Luna, her vision swimming with tears, felt blood rush to her head, dizzying her.
Roll.
The squad leader must be mad. He prowled near the cliff as if to retrieve a corpse, sending rocks tumbling down.
“Don’t come. Don’t climb down.”
Luna bit her teeth, trembling. Eyes tightly shut, she checked the vines again.
The precarious vines were delicate, easily snapping under any pressure. If a large rock fell on her, it would truly be over.
“Hnnn… I don’t want to die. Please… please… pleeease!!”
Luna cried out in utter desperation, tears streaming down her face.
