Chapter 83 - EPISODE 83 – RETURNEES (1) (2/2)

In any case, Cordelia was kind.

After thinking about Cordelia again, Jude proceeded with the conversation.

“I’m thinking of going inside a little more. The map of Endymion that we found does not show this place, but I think it is roughly connected in this way when viewed on a larger scale.”

Jude opened the map and talked, and Kaplan nodded with a very serious face, while Cordelia took a step back and began to look around.

Thinking was Jude’s role.

And in fact, Jude was thinking of several things at the same time.

One of them was the origin of the monsters from hell that began to appear in Endymion’s underground.

‘The most likely is a demon summoning.’

Over a thousand years had already passed since Endymion’s destruction.

It was hard to think that the demons who had destroyed Endymion in the past would still have remained here.

‘If they were summoned, was it the Devil’s Eye?’

The Devil’s Eye were the only demon followers who were active in the wild lands.

But then, there was something that was a little strange.

Why did they summon the demon in Endymion?

Wouldn’t it have been better to do the summoning in the main camp or the land of the attacking wild gods?

A considerable sacrifice was needed for demon summoning, and sacrifices didn’t just rise from the ground.

In a larger scale, it was a commodity that was scarce after all.

‘What I can think of is the distinct characteristics of Endymion.’

It was the land where the overlord of hell came down in the past. Maybe it was a land that had something advantageous for summoning demons.

‘The Devil’s Eye, the newly summoned demons, and Lena.’

Lena fought to the death in Raptor Canyon, not Endymion.

Maybe she had a big fight against the Devil’s Eye and the demons in Endymion’s underground?

As a result she wiped out the demons in Endymion, but she was also seriously injured and ended up losing her life.

It was quite a plausible hypothesis, but in the end, it was only a hypothesis.

He had to move to confirm the truth.

“Let’s begin again.”

They finished talking about the route while they were taking some rest.

“Go-go-go.”

“I’ll take the lead.”

Cordelia and Kaplan stood up from their spots and said, and Jude nodded his head.

Although Kaplan fainted in every battle, he was a man who had overcome many crises.

They were able to easily proceed while carefully not making any sounds.

Thus, thirty minutes passed.

Jude praised himself for his decision to join Kaplan.

Because Kaplan discovered a secret path that was hidden in the dead end.

“This way.”

Since it was a secret door frequented by the slender elves, it was a little hard for Kaplan, whose body was shaped like a keg, but it was not to the point where he couldn’t pass through it.

“It seems like a real secret passage. It’s like a drama theatre.”

As she whispered very small on Jude’s ear, Cordelia pointed at their feet.

There was a floor about seven meters down, and where the party was standing now was above the ceiling with holes on it.

Although it was a stone floor, it reminded Cordelia of the scaffolding that hang from the ceiling of the theatre.

‘I’ll keep going.’

It was the moment when Kaplan expressed his intention using a hand signal instead of speaking as he began to take a step.

‘

! <Silent>!’

Cordelia hurriedly reached out to Kaplan and cast two spells, while Jude held his breath and focused his consciousness on his hearing.

They had heard footsteps.

Jude and Cordelia had become more sensitive to things happening on the ground than before, perhaps due to the Earth Protection.

‘Monsters.’

It wasn’t one or two. There seemed to be about a dozen monsters like Lacto and Nazarus that were moving together.

It was more than they imagined.

Moreover, seeing the magic lights lit up everywhere, it was highly likely that they had been using this path for a long time.

‘Let’s wait.’

The group let them pass by. No matter how strong Jude and Cordelia were, that number was too much.

Cordelia nodded at Jude’s eye signal.

Kaplan couldn’t move because he was paralyzed, but thanks to that, he was able to stay still.

They stood still like that.

They waited for the monsters to pass by…

“Ceiling!”

A Nazarus suddenly shouted, and the Lactos wielded their whips at once.

It was right under their feet, so they didn’t even have time to react.

Craaaaash-!

The ceiling collapsed.

Jude hurriedly flew with Kaplan in his arms after Cordelia cast <Fly> magic.

It was impossible to go back the way they came from because of the Lacto’s whipping here and there.

Boom! Thud! Crash!

Debris fell and crashed onto the floor.

Because of that, some of the Nazaruses and Lactos were distracted as they avoided the falling rocks, and Jude and Cordelia used that opportunity.

“Run!”

An all-out battle was too much.

As soon as he touched the floor, Jude ran like a gale, and Cordelia repeatedly chanted spells right after casting <Haste> several times.

“<Grease>!”

“<Freeze>!”

“arth Wall>!”

She made the floor slippery.

She froze the air to make a thin wall of ice and made the floor rise to block the path.

However, all of these were just temporary measures.

The Lactos avoided the greased area by flying low, and then literally threw themselves to destroy the ice wall and the rising floor.

“Continue!”

But it was not without effect.

To widen the distance even a little, Cordelia continued to cast spells. Jude ran while carrying Kaplan as he checked the surroundings.

‘It’s a place on the map!’

It was in his memory.

So he could imagine the path they should take.

“arth Wall>! arth Wall>!”

She even mobilized the Spell’s Echo, and in an instant, four layers of stone walls were created.

Jude thought of an escape route, or to be exact, a route where they could get rid of those who were following them.

Because it was a path that forked into two, their pursuers would have to make a good choice.

But it was at that moment.

[This way!]

A sharp voice rang in their minds.

It was <Message> magic.

Who was it?

Where did it come from?

“Over there!”

Cordelia figured it out through her instincts.

Jude turned his gaze, and at that moment, a stone wall that was much larger than Cordelia’s rose from the floor.

Baaang!

The stone wall that rose with a terrifying speed then crashed into the ceiling.

A succession of clouds that came from somewhere covered the stone wall.

[Hurry!]

It was the <Message> magic once again.

“This way!”

Cordelia ran, and Jude erased the map from his head.

Her beastly instinct was also an intuition, but she was a wizard. Her ability to feel and understand magic was far superior than that of Jude.

Boooom!

Loud noises came from their backs. At the same time, they also heard the roars of the monsters.

They had to hurry.

Jude looked straight ahead, and Cordelia pulled on Jude’s shoulder. Like that, he threw himself straight at the wall on his side.

Swooosh-!

It wasn’t the noise of an impact.

Instead of crashing into the wall, Jude and Cordelia went past through the wall and crashed into the floor.

“Gaak!”

Kaplan squawked as he fell on his stomach, and while protecting Cordelia in a hurry, or to be exact, Jude hugged her and put her on top of himself. Having succeeded in protecting her, Jude breathed a sigh of relief.

And above such Jude’s chest, Cordelia raised her head and swallowed her breath.

She swiftly raised her upper body from Jude’s chest.

What happened?

No, he understood.

Therefore, with Cordelia still on his chest, Jude turned his head and looked at the same place as her.

The reason why Cordelia swallowed her breath.

The person who made her cheeks blush in excitement.

“Lena.”

A blonde woman with a gray hood over her head stood before their eyes.