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Layla suppressed her urge to turn back immediately and headed toward the place where they had fallen. It was still dark, but since it was a path they had already taken once, she didn’t hesitate.

Roel, following behind her, chewed his lips nervously as he trailed her. Both of them deliberately avoided talking about Johnson.

“Captain…”

“That damn bastard.”

Unable to hold back, Layla cursed at the presence chasing them. Johnson’s presence had disappeared the moment that guy started chasing them. It was clear what had happened to him without needing to say it.

Though they had realized their comrade’s death, there was no time to hesitate. They didn’t want to let their comrade’s sacrifice be in vain.

However, there was one strange thing. Horizon, the Great Sage, was highly skilled in magic, so if he truly wanted to catch up to them, it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to appear right in front of them.

But Horizon wasn’t using magic and was simply chasing them leisurely, like a noble out for a hunt.

Was it an expression of confidence? It seemed like he was certain they couldn’t escape.

Layla and Roel soon arrived at the spot where they had fallen. Looking up, they could see moonlight streaming in from a distant, high place. They immediately pulled out a magic scroll from their pouch and tore it. This time, it wasn’t a levitation scroll but a flight scroll.

The flight scroll was a higher-tier magic scroll inscribed with the Fly spell, unlike the levitation scroll, which only allowed floating in the air. Flight magic was different—it not only allowed floating but also free movement through the sky.

As the flight scroll’s magic seeped into them, Layla and Roel quickly ascended toward the hole where the moonlight was visible. The advantage of flight magic was that as long as they had enough mana, they could control their speed.

As high-level Rangers, their mana utilization was excellent, allowing them to achieve considerable speed with flight magic. They remained wary of Horizon’s presence behind them as they hurled themselves toward the hole right in front of them.

“Damn it!”

Roel, unable to pass through the hole as if hitting a wall, couldn’t hold back his curse.

Roel reached out to the hole he couldn’t pass through. His hand seemed to be blocked by something, unable to reach outside. Feeling a rebound, he had a guess.

“Captain. It seems Horizon has restored the barrier.”

“That damn bastard. So that’s why he was chasing us slowly.”

Layla finally realized the reason behind Horizon’s leisurely actions.

Horizon, a master-level mage, had already repaired the barrier before meeting them. The barrier, which had been unstable before they entered, was now flawless.

The scrolls they had were no match for the barrier set up by such a powerful mage. In other words, they were trapped in this massive abyss.

‘Captain. Listen.’

Roel called Layla with a determined expression, resembling someone she knew.

Layla intuitively understood what Roel had decided. Her expression hardened.

‘Roel.’

‘Don’t say anything. Someone has to deliver this information, and only you can do it.’

‘If it’s about buying time, I’m better at it than you.’

‘No. To deceive Horizon and escape, you’re the right person. So I’ll buy the time.’

‘Roel!’

‘There’s no time to argue. So, live and go to the young master. If things go well, prepare plenty of drinks for me and Johnson.’

With a faint smile, Roel descended rapidly before Layla could stop him. He had already made up his mind and didn’t give her a chance to intervene.

Watching him disappear, Layla bit her lip hard enough to draw blood and flew straight to the altar. She could hear Roel and Horizon talking below but tried not to pay attention. She had to make the most of the opportunity he had given her.

Layla thought there was only one way to escape now.

Horizon had noticed the intruders and reinforced the barrier around the abyss. Though she hadn’t confirmed it, it was likely he had also repaired other parts of the barrier.

The only thing she could try was the hand-shaped statue she had seen earlier at the altar. Among the things she had found here, it was the most suspicious and the only one that had shown signs of movement.

Perhaps it was thanks to that hand-shaped statue that hundreds of Colossal Mechs had been moved.

As the altar grew closer and Roel’s combat sounds faded into the distance, Layla arrived at the altar. She saw the pool of blood staining the floor but tried not to think about it. She knew whose blood it was.

When she landed right in front of the altar, Roel’s presence disappeared. There was no more time to waste. Layla hurriedly grabbed the hand-shaped statue and moved it in the direction where it had shown signs of movement.

“What a pointless effort, child. Hoho.”

“…!”

Layla reflexively threw a throwing dagger and leaped behind the altar.

*Ting ting*

Unfortunately, the dagger bounced off Horizon’s translucent defensive magic.

“It’s rare to see three well-trained Rangers at once.”

“You damn bastard.”

“Regardless, you lack manners. Though I suppose expecting manners from Rangers who do dirty work is my own greed.”

“Why did you, a Sage, betray the Academy and side with the Resistance? What are you lacking?”

Layla tried to buy time while figuring out how to activate the hand-shaped statue. She had just realized that simply moving the statue wasn’t the trigger, so she needed another method.

“Trying to buy time, I see. But I’ll humor you. Out of respect for your comrades’ sacrifice.”

Horizon stroked his beard with a benevolent expression, but Layla’s eyes sparked with anger. She had been holding back, but this comment was too much.

“Don’t mention Johnson and Roel. You disgusting traitor.”

“Traitor… It might seem that way to you, but I’ve never betrayed anyone. It’s undignified. After all, I was the one who created the Resistance, so the term ‘traitor’ doesn’t suit me.”

“What’s your goal? Why are you doing this?”

“Even in this situation, you’re trying to gather information. You truly are a first-rate Ranger. But there’s no need to tell you, who’s about to die. It was quite an entertaining game, but it’s getting tiresome.”

Layla felt her body stiffen and immediately rolled away. Without any warning, an explosion occurred where she had just been standing. If she had been even a moment slower, she would have been blown to pieces without being able to do anything.

Layla could feel cold sweat running down her back.

“You’re definitely better than the previous two. You’re the first to escape my magic through instinct.”

“…”

Horizon didn’t stop his magical attacks while speaking, and Layla narrowly avoided them. This was only possible because Horizon was holding back.

If he had been serious about killing her, there would have been no way to stop him. The gap between Layla and Horizon was clear.

Layla found it increasingly difficult to dodge Horizon’s magic. She managed through instinct and experience, but her limits were soon reached.

A single moment of mistiming caused an explosion to graze her leg. She managed to roll away, preventing her leg from being blown off, but it was impossible to continue evading like before.

Gasping for breath, Layla gritted her teeth and glared at Horizon.

“Pity. It’s over now.”

“Shut up.”

“Such a rough mouth. Well, good. Now you can join your comrades and rest in peace.”

Layla glared at Horizon until the end. She knew it was over, but she didn’t want to show fear or close her eyes in front of him. This was her last bit of pride.

“Then, farewell.”

*Boom! Boom!*

“Captain!”

“Do something!”

“You, you guys?!”

Before Horizon’s explosion magic could fully activate, Johnson and Roel appeared, tearing explosion scrolls against his magic barrier. Layla was overjoyed to see them alive and looked at where they had appeared.

These crazy bastards.

Layla felt her chest tighten as she looked at Johnson and Roel.

Their condition was far from good. Johnson had a deep wound in his abdomen, and Roel’s arms were in tatters. They were severely injured, but their eyes showed they were still alive.

Layla understood what their eyes were saying and immediately threw herself at the hand-shaped statue. She didn’t know the exact method, but she intuitively grabbed it in a clasping manner and manipulated it with her mana.

“You damn bugs!”

Horizon’s previously relaxed demeanor changed completely. Layla realized this was the correct way to use the statue.

A magic circle began to form around the statue. Though she wasn’t well-versed in magic, she could tell it was a teleportation circle.

“Then, Captain. I’ll go first. See you later!”

“Don’t forget the promised drinks!”

Horizon, enraged, unleashed a barrage of magic. The first explosion was blocked by Roel, and the second by Johnson.

Layla could only watch as they were blown apart before her eyes as the teleportation began.

Her emotions surged, and she wanted to charge at Horizon immediately, but she held back. If she let her desire for revenge blind her now, she would only die a dog’s death.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Horizon, furious, cast a third explosion spell.

As the surrounding mana condensed and the explosion was about to hit Layla’s abdomen, the teleportation magic activated. With a bright light, the teleportation began, and Layla disappeared.

All that remained were the corpses of Johnson and Roel, blown apart by the explosion, and Horizon, trembling with rage.

 

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