Chapter 125: Hesitation

But there was a problem.

Adam knew he was taking a huge risk burying himself underground. But his options were vastly limited.

With so little Spark left, even his shapeshifting had come undone. That combined attack from those two beasts had burned him in ways he never thought he could get hurt.

The pain was unbearable, but his head was far worse. The strain became too much to bear. So with the last of his Spark, he created a chamber deep underground and instantly passed out, too drained and in too much pain to stay conscious.

He didn’t know how long the chamber would hold with the weight it bore, but Adam did not have the luxury to care. He could only hope he woke up soon. As for the well-being of Aurelius, that was out of his hands.

The plan had been a bad idea from the very start, but he still agreed to it. Perhaps he believed he could handle it, or maybe he didn’t like seeing Aurelius that way. Whatever it was, the plan had nearly cost him his life.

Crack.

The tiny chamber cracked under the overwhelming pressure, but Adam showed no reaction. He was out cold, his burnt clothes clinging to his flesh like glue. His chest rose and fell ever so slightly.

Crack.

Another crack echoed, then another and another. Before long, the cracks spread rapidly, dirt falling all over Adam’s resting body. The collapsing process continued, but Adam showed no signs of waking.

Thud.

A stone the size of an adult fist fell on his head. Adam’s body showed the faintest of reactions. But he wasn’t awake; not yet. More and more stones and dirt continued falling on him, slowly burying him alive.

“Mm.”

Finally, Adam stirred.

His breathing slowly increased, his body jerking forward slightly.

“Mm.”

Another groan rumbled in his chest as his breathing became strained. His body continued to jerk and shudder, struggling to draw in breath. With one final jerk, he abruptly opened his eyes and gasped.

‘I..ca.. can’t breathe!’

Pain immediately shot through his body like lightning, reminding him of the injuries he bore. Adam opened his mouth in a soundless scream, choking from the lack of breathable air.

Dirt found its way into his mouth without hesitation, quickly filling in the little room that was left. He was half buried, in agony, severely burned, running out of air and dealing with a headache that felt like hammers trying to break their way out of his head.

‘No…!’

Adam’s eyes lit up as the Spark he recovered rose at his call. The nearly filled chamber rumbled as tremors ran through the ground, spreading for several meters in all directions.

Boom…!

***

Boom…!

Aurelius abruptly opened his eyes when a muffled boom came from the distance. His eyes snapped towards the direction the explosion came from.

“Adam.”

Without hesitation, he took off, his guards right beside him. It had been a few hours since he issued the search for Adam.

Henry had returned empty-handed at the time, but Aurelius refused to believe Adam had died, choosing to believe the monstrous boy had somehow escaped the attack.

“Over there!”

Henry pointed at the dust cloud just over in the distance, right at the spot Aurelius remembered Adam hurling him away. The three came to an abrupt stop, waving their hands to clear the dust away.

“Adam!”

Aurelius called as he looked around, his eyes darting through the dust. He suddenly turned his head to the right when he heard loud coughing.

“Adam!”

Aurelius rushed over without hesitation, almost stumbling on the uneven ground. The beast master saw Adam lying on his side while coughing and wheezing.

“Adam!”

Coming to kneel before Adam, Aurelius touched him, only for Adam to grimace in pain. The beast master’s eyes widened when he saw how badly he was burned. Without hesitation, he took out a serum and passed it to Adam.

“Here. Take this!”

With some difficulty, Adam looked at the vial and accepted it, his hand trembling as it did.

“His injuries look bad. He needs a healer ASAP!” Henry proposed from the side, looking on with a stern expression.

Adam gulped the contents in one go, falling on his side as relief washed through his body. He closed his eyes to allow the serum to do its job. But the headache remained, his head thumping like drums.

While Adam recovered, Derek stood up and looked around the place, soon finding the massive hole in the ground. He furrowed his brows and glanced at Adam.

“What is it, Derek?”

Henry asked and walked over to his partner. He saw the hole and then looked at Derek, waiting for a response.

“It’s nothing serious. I’m just wondering how the kid made the giant hole.” Derek said.

“Is that hardly an issue?” Henry asked as he looked back at his Young Lord, who was checking on the injured boy.

“That’s why I said nothing serious.” Derek sighed. “A hole of this size should not be possible for his level.”

“Huh?”

Henry turned and took a long look at the massive hole, his eyes widening as realisation dawned on him. The hole in the ground was more than ten meters deep and five meters wide. Such a scale should not be possible for a kid like that.

“The kid’s name is Adam, right?” Henry asked as he looked back at the recovering boy. “He can’t be that same Adam we’ve been hearing about, right?”

“It’s him.”

Derek said flatly and turned around, returning to the kids. It was time to leave this place. The chairman would be expecting a report.

“Young Lord,” Derek called as he stood beside Aurelius. “I think it’s time we leave this place. And your friend needs a healer to truly recover.”

“…”

Aurelius did not immediately answer. His gaze shifted from the stabilising Adam to the mountain in the distance, hesitation flashing in his eyes.

Derek noticed his gaze, realising this was the third time Aurelius had looked at that particular mountain.

“Do you need me to do a check on that mountain?” He asked.

Adam slowly opened his eyes when he heard that question. He looked at Aurelius, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

‘He’s still hung up on that gryphon?!’