IATAOTHKG | CHAPTER 107 – Novexa Novels

[CHAPTER 107]

“I’m sorry, Sir Hugentia.”

Rob shouted toward Gamri as he blasted away the monsters rushing in like a swarm of crimson ants with mana.

“Sir Humpofu! Left side!”

As Gamri swung his axe, the body of a monster resembling a scorpion as large as a fortress wall was split clean in two.

Splat!

Blood splashed all the way onto Rob’s face.

“Stay close and don’t lose focus.”

While dealing with the monsters flooding in from all sides at the front line, Caliph calmly instructed Meyna beside him.

“Yes.”

Meyna answered as calmly as she could, but sweat continuously seeped into the palm gripping her revolver.

The fourth day of joint training.

The first thing to attack the group heading toward the Thales Mountain Range was a horrifying stench.

Following the source of the stench led them to the middle of a desolate trade port, where the entrance to a gate had opened.

The group, each gripping their own weapon, charged into the dungeon all at once.

Meyna followed close behind Caliph.

Without even a moment to think that it was her first time, she threw herself through the gate.

The interior scenery, said to differ from dungeon to dungeon, was astonishing.

It was an endless yellow desert.

Under the blazing sun, there was not a single tree or blade of grass in sight.

The moment Caliph warned them to be cautious since it was a B-rank dungeon, the sandy ground in the distance began to turn a vivid red.

It was an ant swarm.

The bloody battle had already been raging for three full hours since then.

“Captain! My mana is draining way faster than usual!”

Rob shouted anxiously, muttering a curse under his breath.

“We’ll destroy the dungeon soon, so buy us a little more time.”

Caliph replied as he cut down two monsters at once.

“Understood, Captain.”

Gritting his teeth, Rob sprinted forward with Gamri, passing Caliph.

“Hyaaaah!”

Gamri let out a thunderous roar as he swung his axe wildly.

Rob joined the assault, emitting a pale green glow.

“I’m truly sorry for making you hear something like this, Sir Hugentia. But I can’t go back.”

It had only been two days ago.

When she had to reject his sudden yet desperate plea to come back.

“Meyna!”

Caliph shouted and wrapped his arms around Meyna, rolling to the side in an instant.

It was to save her, as she had failed to notice the monster lunging to attack.

Thankfully, the monster’s venomous stinger narrowly missed piercing Meyna’s chest and sliced through the air instead.

However, Caliph tumbled down the sand dune with Meyna still held tightly in his arms.

Sandstorms erupted all around them.

It was impossible to open her eyes.

Thud—!

With a dull impact, the two bodies slammed into the middle of the desert.

“C-Cough!”

Meyna coughed violently as she lay sprawled on the ground.

Sand poured into her eyes, nose, and mouth, into every possible opening.

She could neither open her eyes properly nor breathe.

She had promised herself over and over that she would at least not become a burden.

“Ugh… cough.”

It was pain that sheer willpower could not overcome.

“Stay with me.”

Caliph’s voice rang by her ear.

Like a ray of light encountered while wandering endless darkness, his words made her snap her eyes open.

“Are you all right?!”

Rob’s voice echoed from above.

Caliph raised his sword to signal that they were fine, then hesitated briefly.

“Meyna. Can you climb?”

As he asked while pointing at the endless slope, he seemed to give up even before hearing her answer and lowered his eyes.

Covered in sand, Meyna bit her lip so hard it felt like it would tear.

“Thank you for telling me that you need me. Truly… I don’t know how happy that made me. But Sir Hugentia, I can no longer return to Sir Lenox’s side, nor to the members of Guild 928. The place I belong now is beside Prince Biterion.”

That she was needed, and that she should come back.

Hearing Rob’s request filled Meyna with deep guilt, yet also moved her to tears.

It made her think that perhaps the time she had spent had not been entirely meaningless.

Only two days.

Just two days ago.

“Get on my back.”

“……”

The life of an Esper was far harsher than anything she had vaguely imagined.

Even as an SS-rank healing mage, she was still close to an ordinary person who could not properly control mana.

She had boldly set out for training and leapt into the dungeon without hesitation, yet failing to climb a single sand dune and becoming baggage was all she had managed to do.

“Meyna. Focus. Look at me.”

Just as Caliph grabbed her arm to pull her up, clearly unwilling to waste any more time—

Someone slid down from above, kicking up a tremendous sandstorm.

As the settling dust slowly cleared, the person revealed was Biterion.

“I will go up with the young lady. Please proceed and destroy the dungeon.”

Biterion spoke as he wrapped both hands protectively around Meyna’s shoulders.

Caliph stared for a moment at Meyna, who was almost cradled in Biterion’s arms.

It felt like losing something he had already lost, all over again, right before his eyes.

“Please take good care of Meyna.”

Leaving behind all the feelings he could convey, Caliph climbed the dune with animal-like speed.

With each step he took, it felt as though the entire sand dune wavered and collapsed in an illusion.

Growing smaller amid the endlessly swirling sand, he finally reached the summit.

It was the very spot where Caliph had thrown himself together with Meyna to protect her from the monster.

“Can you stand?”

Biterion asked, bending down to meet her gaze.

“Yes, Your Highness. Thank you.”

Meyna clenched her teeth and forced herself upright.

“I’ll release mana to harden the ground temporarily, so climb quickly. Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

Biterion took the lead.

Meyna roughly wiped away the dust clinging even to her eyelashes with the back of her hand.

With Meyna in front, Biterion released small amounts of his remaining mana, solidifying the sand beneath each step.

Meyna followed the path he created in silence.

By the time they reached the top, Caliph had just found the dungeon core.

Exhausted to the point of collapse, he gathered every last drop of strength and focused his mana as he swung his sword.

A wave swept past everyone’s bodies.

The vast desert began collapsing from all directions.

Caliph approached and pulled Meyna’s shoulder close, as if reclaiming what was his from Biterion.

“When you see the door, close your eyes. I’ll get you out.”

He said, gasping for breath.

In the center of the pale sky, a rectangular light flickered for an instant.

It seemed to be the door Caliph mentioned.

Meyna squeezed her eyes shut, determined not to cry.

At the same time as the terrifying screams of unseen monsters rang out, the dungeon was destroyed.

The B-rank dungeon at Hiscarn Trade Port, “Desert of the Starving.”

With Caliph’s final swing of the Empire’s treasured sword, “Lenox’s Wave,” the gate was safely sealed.

* * *

“Wow, that was brutally rough.”

Gamri clicked his tongue as he looked over the guild members sprawled nearby.

“Cough, cough!”

Narsitan spat curses while hacking violently at the air.

“Ah, damn it. Feels like every grain of sand made it straight into my lungs.”

Caliph, who had collapsed in the middle of the street and briefly closed his eyes, barely managed to raise his body, which felt like it would sink into the ground at any moment.

His gaze swept around, instantly finding Meyna.

A short distance away, she was trembling uncontrollably.

Her face, hair, her entire body were covered in dirt.

“Are you okay?”

Caliph approached Meyna and gently touched her cheek, trying to wipe her face clean.

Only then did he fail to realize that his own hand was in far worse shape.

Blood from the gash in his torn palm mixed with hardened grains of sand and smeared all over Meyna’s delicate face.

“I’m sorry.”

But the apology escaped Meyna’s lips first.

She squeezed her eyes shut, as if holding back tears, her reddened eyes trembling pitifully.

“I’m sorry…”

To you, Caliph.