Chapter 218: True Monster (2/2)

With a high-pitch roar that made Arthur's ears tingle, the worm threw itself in his direction and the ice caved in underneath it. Arthur started running away with Ellen on his back and she was equally trembling.

The worm's slithering across the earth made it tremble as the ice began to break and the sand began to shift. Arthur's senses tingled fearing the incoming danger as he felt the monster behind him.

Suddenly, the air around them grew more humid and warmer. Arthur frowned and looked back to see fumes coming out of the worm's mouth as an orange fluid began emerging.

”This shit is spouting out lave?!” Arthur almost tripped over himself. ”Why is it living beneath the ice desert then?!”

However, his grumbling went unanswered. He felt Ellen's tiny fists clench to his body in fear. It seems she was scared Arthur would throw her away to run away since he, since Alexie, was a total stranger to her.

”Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you,” Arthur said but she was anything but calm. The thing is that he was the same.

His mind raced of possible solutions, including teleporting away. However, that would not only make things messier with Rayxin, Ellen would also become suspicious of him.

'I'm not in Jerano yet but I already have so much mess to deal with.'

His shadow grew longer as an orange hue appeared in front of him. Arthur's back felt as if a heater was strapped to his back and he knew that the worm has unleashed an attack.

Looking back, Arthur got to see the sky raining lava for the first time in his life. He would have loved to enjoy the view but he had to grit his teeth and use his skill.

He hugged Ellen in a tight embrace as the sand began drifting apart underneath them. They began sinking into the ground as if the sand was water.

The world turned dark beside them but Arthur kept using his skill to dive deeper underground. The sand's structure made it easy to manipulate but his mana was still draining at an alarming rate.

He could feel the worm making its way toward them and Arthur used his stealth rune on both of them. Given the circumstances, he doubted Ellen or Rayxin would know that he used the rune.

They were still diving deeper into the sand as the sand raced by. Arthur used his skill to keep the sand away lest they suffocate. Yet even with that, there was very little air.

The earth trembled again as Arthur felt the monster's presence go in a different direction from them. He didn't know if his Stealth rune was enough for that eyeless bastard or if it was simply going crazy, but they at least got it off their backs.

He had the mind to fly in the air but the lave rain made him change his mind. However, now that they were diving underground, Arthur realized that oxygen was becoming an issue.

He used his detection rune and found a cavity underneath the sand, separated from it by a mass of hard rocks. Arthur made the last-ditch for it and their feet rested on the rock.

”Are you okay?” Arthur asked as he expanded more mana to push the sand away.

Ellen, on the other hand, was breathing heavily. Arthur felt her blood cover his hand and used his other hand to touch her face. She was smoldering.

'Is the wound infected?' Arthur frowned. Fever was a serious symptom of an infection. However, there was also the possibility that it was mana deprivation.

Arthur realized she needs to rest. He didn't have the mana to break through the rocks.

'Ruki, go to the inside of this cave and break the rocks beneath us.' Arthur knew there was a possibility the cave might collapse but he didn't care at the moment.

'Yes, My Lord.' Ruki slipped away from his shadow and traveled into the cave. After a few seconds, Arthur could hear loud sounds accompanied by shaking coming from underneath him.

The rock underneath them cracked as the sand began to pour in. Arthur used the last of his mana to push the sand away and slip into the cave with Ellen still in his embrace.

Suddenly, the sand disappeared from underneath him and Arthur fell. He hugged Ellen and landed safely on the damp cave's floor as he felt the chilly frost covering it.

Arthur looked around and saw that he was in a tunnel. He placed Ellen down after taking out a blanket from his subspace and covered her.

As he lit a fire to keep her warm, Arthur looked at her breathing rapidly with a red face. Covered with the blanket, she looked like a giant burrito. Arthur sighed and sat beside her to rest as he wondered why his friend was in such a place.