Chapter 86: Onward

Maura spoke hoarsely:

"Do you... want to die?"

Peace shook his head.

"Not particularly. Nope. Why do you ask?"

Yulis stared at Maura with his mouth agape...

"It worked...? Wait— that’s not the issue! Seriously, now’s not the time to be messing around, Peace."

The tips of her ears still red, Maura pulled down her shirt, then tried to sit up, only to fall back. Peace barely managed to catch her head before it struck the floor.

’She must feel fine, but she’s certainly not!’

He gently set her head down, scooting away as Maura shot him a piercing glare.

’Ah! My bad, my bad!’

Groaning, Maura looked around, squinting.

"What’s going on?"

"Oh no..."

With an aloof expression, Peace pointed to himself.

"Do you re—"

Maura rolled her head to the side, looking at Volkar and Ralph. Cutting him off, she said:

"I didn’t forget anything. I’m asking what happened while I was out. And why do I feel... so energized?"

Peace whistled quietly.

"Must have been a good nap."

Yulis sighed, then motioned for the two to be quiet as the patrol began passing through the main corridor, their rhythmic footsteps keeping pace with Peace’s heartbeat.

Once they’d passed, Peace flashed a thumbs-up.

Nodding back, Yulis said:

"As you can see, we won. Barely. Now, we have to get to the path leading to the lower floor..." Pointing off into the darkness, Yulis added, "wherever that is. Unfortunately, there’s one last group. As you can probably tell, we can’t fight them. However, according to him, they won’t follow us if we reach the stairs, making that our only shot at escaping."

Glancing at Ralph and Volkar once again, Maura said:

"How in the world do you expect us to make it there?"

’Ah...’

Peace narrowed his eyes as he studied Maura’s expression.

It was crystal clear she only cared about bringing one of the two unconscious men along: Ralph. Her gaze kept returning to the makeshift sled and its occupant, a tinge of disgust in her eyes.

Peace let out a solemn sigh.

"I carry Ralph, you drag Volkar... That one has volunteered to be a distraction."

Maura closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I see... where’s my bag?"

Quietly, Yulis set it on the ground next to her.

She immediately began to sift through it, pulling out an expensive-looking potion, its light orange glow clinging to the inside of the glass vial a mark of its potency.

Peace reached out to stop her as she brought it to her mouth.

"Wait, it hasn’t been long—"

"I don’t care."

’Ah...’

In one go, Maura downed the potion.

Immediately, her muscles tensed, and her entire body began convulsing in pain.

’I get Healers don’t suffer the debuff to the same degree, but damn, she’s tough.’

Still, Peace was concerned. He’d injected her with a stimulant mere moments before she decided to consume a potion.

Not exactly the healthiest combination.

’She’s fine... I guess.’

After half a minute of barely containing her screams, Maura took a deep breath and sat up as if nothing had happened.

She calmly asked:

"My axe?"

’She’s weirder than me...’

Peace replied awkwardly:

"It’s gone."

Looking a little sad, Maura began sifting through her bag again.

"I see..."

This time, she pulled out a large hammer. The same hammer she’d first been wielding when they met back in the Dark Forest.

But...

’Why didn’t she use that against the Earth Golems?!’

Maybe her axe would still be intact if she had!

The question was rhetorical, of course. The answer was simple: the axe was stronger.

’She must have bought it recently, too... and was probably still getting used to it.’

Peace forced himself to stand, shifting most of his weight onto his left leg.

"We don’t have much time left to waste... We should get going next time they pass. Maura, if you would."

Wasting no time, Maura shuffled over to Peace, then knelt and touched his left forearm. She began channeling her Resonance into him.

’Based on the pale blue light... it’s from a Dusk Treant?’

Not that it mattered. Most low-tier Healing Resonances were similar. The only distinction here was that hers targeted surface-level injuries, meaning it could do very little for his right shoulder or knee.

’But at least she can heal my forearm...’

Although that wound was mostly closed already.

But if it were fully healed, that would make gripping the sword much easier.

’I still doubt I’d be able to swing it with one hand.’

Let alone while carrying Ralph.

As a soothing warmth spread through his forearm, easing the pain, Maura looked up and met his crimson eyes. Her slight blush, which had faded after she consumed the potion, reappeared.

She said:

"Just so you know... I haven’t forgiven you."

Peace coughed lightly.

"Uhh... It was an accident?"

Yulis rolled his eyes.

"Like hell. Don’t believe that. You should have seen the lewd look in his eyes."

Maura took a half-step back, her expression twisting as she struggled to find the words to curse Peace out.

Peace shook his head.

"Let’s not, kid."

Yulis froze mid-step, then whispered:

"Hey, don’t call me kid!"

Peace held a finger to his lips and pointed to the corridor.

"Shh..."

The patrol’s footsteps were drawing closer. This time, they were moving from left to right.

As gracefully as his body would allow, Peace grabbed Ralph by the edge of his armor with his right hand, gripping the Temple Knight’s sword with his left.

Taking the cue, Maura grabbed the rope attached to the makeshift sled carrying Volkar.

Yulis, on the other hand, tossed Ralph’s sword to Maura.

’I would’ve kept it...’

But he understood why Yulis had given it to her.

Yulis then threw her Ralph’s subspace bag, which Maura caught and slung over her shoulder.

"They’ve crossed... sixty seconds."

As they waited for the Temple Knight patrol to move as far from the main corridor as possible, Peace felt his nerves skyrocket.