Chapter 448

“Ah… Oh, no way.”

Elias was silent for a moment, apparently caught off guard, but then he understood what I meant and burst out laughing.

“You want to do the same thing?”

“Wouldn’t that be better? I’m counting on you.”

“Ah, seriously…”

Elias kept chuckling. Apparently he had managed to lift himself a little, because his voice gradually began to come from slightly higher up.

“Sure. Just keep yourself protected, Luka.”

Whoosh—

A clear blue light seeped faintly through the gaps between the stones, carrying a trace of magic that was somehow both refreshing and chilling. I had always liked the feeling of his magic. The moment my mind relaxed, I wanted to close my eyes and fall asleep again. But I couldn’t, not after Elias had told me to stay awake.

The hope that we might be able to get out was enough to slowly bring my mind back to clarity. Little by little. Instead of falling asleep, I thought through the structure of the collapsed building with a somewhat clearer head.

Even the rubble covering Elias probably wasn’t directly exposed to the outside. If it were, moonlight should have been seeping through to where he was lying. Since it wasn’t, there had to be something else covering the floor above us, with a small amount of space in between. Part of the roof, for example.

“Eli. What does the floor above us look like?”

“Hmm… There seems to be enough room for me to crouch, but I can’t get a read on what’s blocking the space above me. The mana gets cut off. Probably the roof? Should I break that first?”

“Then how thick is the stone above us?”

I heard him feeling around between the gaps in the rubble. He sent out some mana, then measured the points where it spread and bent as he spoke.

“I don’t really have much experience measuring things with mana, so I’m not sure… But it’s going up quite a bit farther than I expected.”

Elias made a thoughtful sound as he focused on the measurement, then continued.

“Looks like at least thirty centimeters.”

“…….”

It shouldn’t have been the height of a beam, and it must have been even thicker before the collapse. Either way, it was quite thick. Wonderful. It was thick enough that trying to break through it by ourselves would be hopeless. Maybe, just as Elias said, we’d have to stay here until we were reduced to skeletons.

But that thickness was also what made it possible to try the plan. I stared into the darkness and simply waited. About five minutes later, Elias grumbled.

“…It’s hard to control.”

“I figured. Hang in there, Eli.”

I had to keep it as faint as possible, while still making the direction discernible, without provoking too strong a reaction, and keep it lingering there. It wouldn’t be easy. I wished I could do it in Elias’s place.

How much time had passed? Just as Elias, who had been awkwardly holding his position while leaking mana through, let out a deep breath from exhaustion, a strange sound came from nearby.

“Uhh…”

Thud—

Something stepped around above us. Squish. There was the sound of something muddy being pressed underfoot. I held my breath. If I could have seen Elias, we probably would have met each other’s eyes by now. A victim was walking across the stone covering us, stepping over what appeared to be the remains of the roof, trailing dripping mud as they made their way around the spot. As expected, there were people who had come with us but hadn’t been buried, or had gotten out soon after the collapse. The problem was that they no longer had any reason.

Thump—

Thump—…

The sound of clumps of mud hitting the prison roof continued. The sticky squelching came from the north, then slowly moved to the side. Footsteps overlapped at intervals, as though more Rampagers had gathered around us from a distance. The vitriol made it hard to breathe. Somewhere nearby, something was bubbling and boiling.

“Are you okay?”

Elias’s quiet voice came from beside me.

He was asking whether I could hold out. Of course I could. Why wouldn’t I be able to? I told him I was fine. The tension was razor-sharp. Silence stretched on. The only sound beneath the rubble was the faint flow of mana.

We waited for a long time. They didn’t leave. They just kept circling the area. The bubbling sound was gradually getting closer. It was still distant, perhaps because there was so much debris piled above us, but compared to before…

BOOM!

“…!”

“…Gasp.”

Though I could see nothing, I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut at the thunderous noise. A shudder ran through me from the impact.

Trying to calm my pounding heart, I spoke.

“This….”

“It’s part of the roof. Definitely. The stuff that was above us is gone.”

Elias whispered with certainty as he caught his breath beside me.

Far away, what appeared to be a ‘piece’ of the roof fell onto the stone above us. Even then, the stone didn’t break. Right. It had to be thick enough to support the debris above us even if part of the ceiling collapsed. We had known that from the start, but my heart still pounded at the thought of the structure supporting the prison’s third-floor wreckage giving way.

Still, there was nothing else we could do. Just like before, we had no choice but to lie there like corpses and wait. The growling and the sound of mud falling continued. I counted the seconds in my head. The bubbling sound was slowly getting closer, coming farther and farther down.

We waited for a long time again. It felt like an hour had passed. Maybe more. In the darkness, there was no way to tell the time. I could hear Elias breathing out as he carefully controlled his mana. We were still lying beneath the Rampagers. Every now and then, we heard them fighting among themselves. Whenever that happened, we had to hold our breath.

Another thirty minutes passed. Perhaps he was running out of strength, because Elias whispered between heavy breaths.

“Should we stop now?”

“Stop.”

Elias let out a pained groan and lay back down on the floor.

Crash—!

“…!”

Again. A sharp gasp came from beside me, the sound of someone reeling from the shock. I had reacted the same way. Something that looked like a metal bar had fallen onto the stonework of the prison’s third floor. It seemed to be part of the cell bars.

I couldn’t hear any footsteps nearby. And there wasn’t a Rampager walking directly above us, yet this had still fallen. That meant whatever structure had been supporting those bars was no longer holding them up.

Why?

I breathed out, twisting the corner of my mouth. Elias must have reached the same conclusion, because he quickly whispered, “Your side has sunk lower, so it should be more obvious now. The roof debris is probably gone by now, or at least much weaker.”

“Yeah.”

The bubbling sound was getting closer and closer. Now it was right in front of me. I slowly tapped on the stone. Unlike before, the sound was duller.

“Eli, what about your side?”

“It’s different here too.”

Elias tapped part of the floor and answered. Then he spoke quietly.

“It has to be. We’ve been waiting here for almost two hours. No, three. And how long did it take for the building to collapse earlier?”

“Less than thirty minutes. That’s plenty. All right, Eli.”

I took a deep breath and continued.

“I’ll count.”

“Go ahead.”

Elias slowly drew a breath as well. I heard him lightly brace his hand against the floor.

“Three.”

I pulled my left knee toward my body and pushed against the stone, chanting the spell silently. If you remain in me and my words remain in you.

“Two.”

Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

“One.”

So do not fear, for I am with you.

BANG—!

Dust stings my eyes as it bursts into the air. Fresh air rushes in from outside. The moment I force my mana outward, light erupts. But it isn’t just the glow of mana. I can see lights piercing the pitch-black sky. Moonlight, countless stars overhead, and—

BANG—!!

A burst of blue mana that isn’t mine explodes right in front of me. I knock away the vitriol and loose bricks falling from above with my mana and squint. A large hand, bruised blue and covered in scrapes, reaches toward me. Elias is standing on the rubble that had been supporting the stone.

The moment I shove the stone away with magic and break it apart, he steps in front of me and sends the rocks flying far away. Even with the thickness of the stone remaining in front of us, I could have pushed the fragments away with a barrier once they broke apart. A helpless laugh escapes me at his thoughtfulness and reflexes. As I pull myself up and take his hand, Elias grins and pulls me to my feet.

“See? Everything works out when you trust Luka.”

‘Really…’

We made it out.

We escaped. We really did.

I can hardly believe it. I never knew the feeling of outside air against my face could be this welcome. I draw a deep breath of clean air. The space where we had been lying was long and narrow, almost like a coffin. I shake my head, sending the dust piled on my hair and face flying, and laugh.

“‘Everything works out when you trust me’… What kind of nonsense is that? As if.”

“Haha~ Look at this. It all melted.”

Elias points at the rubble we blasted away. It looks like a chunk of stone about five centimeters across now, but three hours ago, it had been a piece of masonry roughly thirty centimeters thick.

I need to retrace what happened earlier. How did the building collapse in the first place? Why did a three-story building that had stood for decades suddenly fall apart today? The cause would be obvious even to an ordinary passerby: vitriol and Rampagers.

The limestone flooring had been eaten away by the vitriol and turned uneven. As the flooring and beams melted and began to shake, the walls, already damaged by the vitriol, collapsed along with them. Most of the Rampagers had lost their reason and were either struggling to escape or charging at us, and in the process, they could no longer handle the building with the control they had before rampaging. Their mana—the Vitriol—had become at least dozens, and possibly thousands, of times stronger. I can hardly imagine how much force that must have put on the building.

It only takes seeing how some vitriol corrodes and burns through metal and clothing to understand that it can melt objects made of other materials as well. Every kind of vitriol has different properties, so not all of it is corrosive. But from experience, we know that such corrosive vitriol is widespread enough.

What do Rampagers who have lost their reason want above all else? Why had one of the patients attacked me on the day we first dealt with a high-risk Rampager?

Because I was a mage. Rampagers are drawn to mana. They want to absorb it. That was why Elias had taken on the role of luring them this time. He must have gone to considerable lengths to keep them from stepping directly onto the stonework.

And so, we were now standing on the ruins of the collapsed building, piled up like a sand dune. We were out. We weren’t inside anymore. Elias grinned, and I couldn’t help but laugh too. As I let out a few quiet chuckles, Elias brushed the dust from my face with his sleeve. The smile vanished from his face almost immediately. He wiped away the dried blood. The reality I’d tried so hard to push aside came rushing back. The joy of escaping didn’t last long. No. In several ways, it couldn’t.

I pulled my wand from its torn holster and thrust it forward.

Bang—!

I knocked away the vitriol flying toward us from behind Elias with mana. I hadn’t paid much attention to it while we were trapped in the darkness, but damn it, my left eye had stiffened with blood and would barely open. Even when I managed to open it, blood had gotten into my eye, making it impossible to focus.

Elias was already supporting me. When my arm started to slip toward the ground below, he grabbed it and yanked me back upright before shielding us from the vitriol coming from behind. He turned toward me and shouted.

“Luka, this isn’t going to work. We need to get out of here, now…!”

Amid the noise, Elias’s eyes suddenly fixed on something over my head. His eyes widened. His face went pale as he whispered, “If I let go, can you stand?”

“No. I still can’t feel my right leg.”

“Damn it.”

Elias stared blankly behind me, his lips moving faintly. There was no way I couldn’t understand why. The reality we’d have to face the moment we escaped the building was now standing directly before us.

Splat—…

“AAAAAAARGH—!”

A voice thick with mud pierced my ears from every direction. Elias ran his tongue over his lips, hoisted me into his arms, and jumped down beneath the rubble.

Crash! Rumble—!

Iron bars and chunks of the collapsed floors rolled down after him. The shriek of incoming vitriol sent a chill through me. I thrust out my wand and tried to block the black tendril aimed at the back of Elias’s head. I tried.

Thud—

‘…Damn it.’

I gritted my teeth and swung my wand again.

BANG—!

This time, I finally heard the solid impact I was looking for. But I couldn’t keep covering attacks in this state. Elias was right. I was too slow. It was obvious that not only my speech, but all of my cognitive functions had deteriorated.

THUD—!

Then….

A barrier of mana slammed into place a hundred meters ahead of the Rampagers chasing Elias, forming a semicircle between us. Dozens of streams of vitriol struck the barrier with deafening force. If my reflexes were too slow to counterattack, then I could simply defend with a barrier instead. At the same time, I squeezed the cores of Leo and Mecklenburg and sent them a signal. There was no response.

Elias ran like mad, cutting through the wind, and called out, “Luka, do you think it’ll come back if you practice walking a little?”

“…Sorry. I don’t know.”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course you don’t. Still, we’re out, so that’s what matters, right?”

Elias nodded as though trying to convince himself. His face was dazed, yet the corners of his mouth slowly lifted. Then, breathing heavily, he said, “Now that we’re out, let’s try breaking the coordinate system. If someone inserted it here, then we should be able to break it somehow.”

“Yeah. Let’s try.”

“Luka. Are you sleepy?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“And your head isn’t bleeding anymore, right?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry. It doesn’t seem to be bleeding that badly.”

“Hahaha…”

Elias suddenly burst out laughing.

I knew he wasn’t laughing because this was funny. It wasn’t the hollow laugh of someone overwhelmed by the situation, either. Nor was he savoring some hope ahead of time. I couldn’t read the expression on his face. Yet he laughed as though he were feeling some kind of release, despite there being no reason for him to feel that way. Almost like he’d lost his mind.

“Because of this.”

He opened his mouth between ragged breaths, and I looked at my friend.

“It really feels like we’ve become preys.”

Sweat trickled down Elias’s chin as he smiled. The story he had told me about the dead pheasant overlapped with the scene before my eyes. He was right. There was no denying it. Right now, in a world where the only mages left were the two of us, we had become prey for the Rampagers.

“All right. Let’s stop here.”

Elias stamped his foot and quickly slowed down before carefully setting me down. A road sign rattled and swayed in the wind with a creaking sound.

Chiemgau. We had reached the road where the five victims had fled back when we were actually in Munich. A sign with the numbers for the warp coordinates was still attached to the wall. But at this point, it was nothing more than an illusion.

Elias pulled the half-broken wand from his waist and waved it. The shape of a staff began to form, only to disappear again. He cursed, shoved the wand back into his belt, and pressed a hand to his chest. He was gathering mana directly into his body. If he didn’t have a staff, then he would just have to use his body instead.

Elias spread his fingers and said, “I’ll count this time. Three.”

If you remain in me and my words remain in you.

I chanted the spell silently again.

BOOM—!

With a sharp crack through the air, blue flames shot up from the staff in my hand.

“Two.”

Elias counted while staring firmly into my eyes. The light of mana flickered wildly in his blue irises, but the force in his gaze did not waver in the slightest.

“One.”

BOOOOM—!!

The moment I slammed the staff into the ground, a deafening roar tore through my ears, making me wince. Light spread outward in every direction. The light around where we stood, at the center of it all, gradually faded.

“…….”

“The coordinate system…”

The street was still right there before my eyes. Nothing had changed. The first thing that flashed through my mind was shock. No—it didn’t last long. The strange laugh I’d heard from Elias while we were running, and the instinctive thought that had accompanied it, rose up and swallowed the shock. I couldn’t even bring myself to meet his eyes, yet I forced myself to look up at Elias.

“Eli.”

“…….”

The screams grew closer, like a tsunami rolling toward us. Roars hungry for prey swallowed the world. I looked at the horde of Rampagers charging toward us, intent on tearing us apart, and at my friend standing with his back to them.

“We need to find another way.”