Chapter 125: Hiding the next wave out (1/2)
”So you were Layn's...” Markus raised his eyes at the girl, trying to figure out the answer just from the expression she made.
”I was his girlfriend,” Irea replied without any hesitation. She then rolled her eyes before looking at the trio before her. ”I assume you guys are those friends from the... from his past that he sometimes spoke about, right?”
”You are quite well informed,” Markus scoffed before leaning his head and asking. ”How did you came up with this idea, though?”
”Isn't it obvious?” Irea opened her eyes wide as if the question just proved that Markus wasn't as intelligent as he appeared to be. ”This place is the end of the world. Absolutely no one comes here outside of weirdos like Layn,” she said before shrugging her arms and smiling. ”The only ones who could just happen to appear here are those who share Layn's traits, am I right?”
”Let her get some rest,” Yelna interrupted the two before Irea could get any more agitated. Even with Markus's healing applied right on the spot, her health was still pretty much at risk. ”But there is one thing you are mistaken about,” she added after a moment, breaking her own order. ”Not all three of us are Layn's friends. In fact, I believe only Markus deserves that title between the three of us,” Yelna claimed, averting her eyes to avoiding making contact with Irea's eyes.
”What does that mean?” Irea asked only to turn her head to the side a moment later. ”They are coming back. Come and hide with the rest of us,” she said, tilting her chin towards the shore.
A mere moment later, the calm surface of the lake started rippling. Then, the ripples turned into waters before a new wave of monsters began to emerge from the depths of the lake.
”Wait, the rest of us?” Markus asked, surprised by Irea's sudden revelation. ”There are more of you out here?” he specified his question, almost forgetting to keep on his healing spell on the girl.
'Not good, I can't get distracted light that,' Markus thought to himself, pouring his focus back into his job. Bit by bit, the open wounds all over the girl's body started to close down, leaving behind a set of ugly scars on the otherwise perfectly fair skin of the girl. 'If something were to happen to her because of my mishap, I wouldn't hear the end of it from him,' he thought, ignoring the incoming wave of the monsters.
Between the attack of a horde of frenzied or evolved beasts and Layn's wrath, Markus didn't need to think for long to decide which one scared him more.
”Markus!” Al shouted, proving that he wasn't just a silent observer of the situation. ”The earlier wave got demolished by that shockwave, but I don't think dealing with what's coming now will be as easy as it was before,” he said, tightening his grasp over the handle of his weapon.
'This situation... It sucks balls,' Al thought, observing the front of approaching monsters. 'I can't really do much talking,' he moved his eyes to the injured girl before rolling them back towards the monsters, 'and the only thing I'm good for here is fighting,'
Al put a wry smile on his face. ”Mostly because those two didn't fight almost at all,” he muttered the rest of his inner complaints. Then he took a step forward and placed himself between the approaching wave of magic beasts and the duo of his companions.
”It will only take a short time before they reach us!” he shouted to warn the two, too busy catering to that strange girl to notice the approaching wave. Moreover, Markus was still the only one who understood Irea's advice, thanks to his translation spell. Yelna's lack of reaction came solely from Markus' lack of action due to the unending trust she had in him.
Because if Markus wasn't bothered by the approaching monsters, why would she?
”Guys?” Al asked, noticing the lack of reaction of the two. ”They are getting closer, you know?” his voice started to falter under the complete no reaction of his teammates.
'I get that they want me to be their fucking bodyguard, but isn't it a little too much?' he thought, gripping his axe even tighter.