“I’ll just buy some time. Lucia and Professor Ophelia are definitely on their way. There’s no need for us to take risks. I will protect you, Merlin.”
Merlin stared fixedly at the red scar on the magical beast’s back. The creature’s soft flesh was exposed to the air—it was the opportunity Lucia had left behind.
Merlin quickly pulled out every potion she had that could boost physical abilities and shoved them all into Machina’s hands.
Machina didn’t hesitate in this life-or-death moment. She tilted her slender neck back and downed the multicolored liquids in one go.
She didn’t even knit her brows. She didn’t care what kind of violent reaction the mixed effects would cause in her body; she simply wiped the remaining liquid from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.
It wasn’t the first time, anyway. Even if there were side effects, they were better than dying here.
“Spread out!”
With a low shout, the two rolled to opposite sides.
The explosive sound of air being torn apart rang in their ears as the beast’s massive, scythe-like forelimb slammed into the ground, sending stone fragments flying.
Fortunately, its hind leg had been injured by Lucia. Its massive body, dragging that mangled limb, was dull and clumsy when turning, but within such a narrow space, the death radius of its frantic swinging remained suffocating.
While running, Merlin threw several magic crystals toward the beast’s wound, but her aim was off.
The crystals shattered the moment they touched the scales, sending up a puff of smoke. To the thick-skinned beast, however, this was nothing more than a mosquito bite. Aside from making its roar even more violent, it accomplished nothing.
But this was the limit of what Merlin could do.
And…
During the several narrow escapes that followed, Merlin keenly sensed a feeling of dissonance.
At first, Machina would seize openings to chant spells and counterattack. The ice spears dancing at her fingertips had once been her sharpest fangs.
But gradually, those fangs disappeared. Machina stopped using any offensive magic, instead deploying ice shields for defense amidst the relentless waves of attacks.
Furthermore, those shields were getting thinner and thinner.
“Machina!”
Accompanied by a crisp shattering sound, the ice shield that should have been indestructible actually exploded into spiderweb-like cracks under the heavy blow of the scythe.
In that instant, Machina’s movements stiffened.
‘This is bad…’
Without time to think, Merlin slammed a crystal toward the beast’s crimson eye and then lunged at Machina with all her strength.
The two bodies tangled together and rolled across the stone-strewn ground. The blade, carrying a fishy wind, shaved past the top of Merlin’s head, severing a few strands of her blue hair which floated slowly to the ground.
“Ha… ha…”
The two crashed clumsily into a corner.
Ignoring the pain, Merlin propped herself up and looked at Machina in her arms.
The girl who always directed a sour face toward Merlin was now as pale as a sheet of paper, her forehead covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.
“Are you… out of mana?”
Machina kept her head lowered, her sweat-soaked bangs obscuring her eyes.
She bit her bloodless lip hard until she tasted the metallic tang of rust. Only then did she squeeze out a single word with utter reluctance.
“…Yeah.”
“How is that possible? Weren’t you full of life when you were hitting me earlier?”
Merlin’s tone was anxious and helpless.
“I’m out… I’m just out,” Machina said, her voice raspy and irritable.
A scene flashed through Merlin’s mind.
Back when they were still in the cave. That catastrophic mudslide that had lasted for half an hour.
In that freshly blasted, extremely loose cave, how had the two of them remained unharmed under the impact?
“Was it because of me?” Merlin’s voice began to tremble.
“It wasn’t!” Machina snapped her head up to glare at Merlin. “I only did it for myself… If that cave collapsed, wouldn’t I have been disqualified too?”
Merlin ignored her harsh words and stared into those dodging eyes, speaking one word at a time.
“It’s because you were using ice magic the entire time in the cave to prevent a collapse, right?”
In the cave, Merlin had been too busy bickering with her to notice.
In fact, while they were in the cavern, Machina had drained her own mana potions while Merlin had her back turned to bathe, all while supporting the cave to prevent it from collapsing.
Merlin hadn’t noticed Machina’s face growing paler at all.
Machina fell silent.
The beast’s roar approached again, and the two were forced to start running side by side once more.
Debris crunched under their feet. While fleeing, Machina stubbornly turned her head away, showing Merlin only her profile.
“…Even if you weren’t there, I would have had to do that to keep myself from being knocked out. It was just for myself.”
“Then… I was the one who woke up the beast. I’m sorry.”
“Ha…” Machina panted lightly, but her pace didn’t falter. “You… you’re not being stubborn at a time like this. To be honest, after making such a huge commotion, it’s not surprising the sleeping beast woke up. Besides, this year some beasts can break through the labyrinth’s restrictions and leave without warning.”
“Sorry.”
“I’m at fault too. When my mana was almost gone, I thought about escaping the cave quickly because I didn’t have enough mana to support the weight of the rocks anymore… I didn’t expect that beast…”
Machina didn’t finish her sentence before another narrow, sliding dodge was required.
Merlin followed behind her, looking at the back of the person who had exhausted her mana yet still tried to stand in front.
A massive sense of powerlessness washed over her heart.
She couldn’t help but remember the night they had parted, and the words Machina had left behind as she turned to walk away.
“You are neither as strong as I am, nor are you reliable.”
When she had first heard those words, she felt nothing but fury and resentment.
But now, on the line between life and death, they were being proven true with agonizing clarity.
When the cave was collapsing, Machina was the one supporting it.
When they were falling, Machina was the one holding her and deploying a shield.
Even now in the labyrinth, Machina was the one keeping the enemy at bay.
Yes, Merlin could say that her power had been given to Machina and that was why she was so weak now, but that didn’t change her current feeling of uselessness.
Merlin hated being protected by Machina, and she hated being defeated by her, because it felt like those words were actually coming true.
Merlin looked at the few magic crystals in her hand. She could only stay on the fringes and throw these insignificant toys, trying to draw the creature’s attention.
She couldn’t even find an opportunity to pile up a large number of crystals to detonate on a vital spot because she was too weak to get close.
Right… she was the one who gave the crystal core to Machina.
‘But am I just supposed to watch like this?’
Merlin hated this feeling!
‘Can I really only rely on her protection?’
*Sigh…*
Merlin gripped the crystals in her hand tightly.
“Watch out on the left!”
Machina’s voice interrupted her thoughts. Merlin instinctively lunged to the right, and the rock where she had just been standing was instantly pulverized into dust.
She couldn’t get distracted anymore, and she couldn’t just keep relying on Machina.
Because Merlin had already noticed another anomaly about her.