EULE 33

Chapter 33

It was a foreboding wail. Though it echoed from quite a distance, Jaelyn and Nathan could hear it clearly.
It wasn’t the ordinary cry of an animal. It was a chilling, monstrous screech.

The sound slammed down as if to rip apart their eardrums, and Jaelyn clapped her hands over her ears. Her hair stood on end, her heart pounding so violently it felt like it would burst.

A long time ago, Jaelyn had heard a similar sound. The type had been different, but she knew exactly what kind of sound this was.

Her hands trembled as they pressed against her ears.
“This isn’t good.”
Nathan muttered, his face hardening.

At that moment, a soldier who had fled in fear of the monster suddenly burst through the steam, right in front of them.
“Ah! Damn it, you scared me!”
Nathan, already on edge from the monster’s cry, jumped and raised his voice at the soldier who had startled him.
“Where’s Adrian? What happened?”

But the soldier didn’t answer. Instead, he hauled up another soldier lying on the ground with an injured leg, and without a word, hurried off in the opposite direction from where he had come.

“What the—? Where are you going? Hey!”
Nathan called after them in confusion, but the soldiers had already vanished beyond the steam.

He stopped channeling magic into the array and shot to his feet.
“Why the hell are they set up to just run around however they please?”
Nathan snapped irritably, then cast a protective barrier around Jaelyn. A translucent, bluish dome of water surrounded her in a hemisphere.

“Jaelyn, stay here and wait for Adrian. I’ll go bring those soldiers back.”
Without waiting for her reply, Nathan ran off in the direction the soldiers had disappeared.

Alone in the suffocating, sightless steam, Jaelyn crouched. The monster’s desperate howls still rang out.
She was terrified. She didn’t want to be alone. Covering her ears tightly, she curled in on herself.

Time crawled by, unbearably slow.
Please, someone come quickly. Don’t leave me alone. Adrian, Nathan, anyone—it doesn’t matter who.

Then suddenly, something erupted from beneath the sand. It sprayed in every direction, scratching Jaelyn’s cheek.
“Ah… ah…”

It was a Kerakum.

Nathan’s barrier was useless. Kerakum were monsters that tunneled through sand, and barriers above ground couldn’t block them.

The creature lunged right up to Jaelyn, jaws gaping wide as it let out a horrid screech.

It was too close. Jaelyn’s pupils contracted in terror, her breath caught in her throat.

She thought she had grown stronger. She hadn’t. The monster was still horrifying, still enough to freeze her whole body in fear.

Jaelyn squeezed her eyes shut, shutting out sound, touch, everything.
It’s gone. It doesn’t exist. It’s vanished from my world.

“…Jae! Jaelyn!”

A sudden, strong grip shook her shoulders, and she snapped her eyes open.

The Kerakum that had been about to swallow her whole was gone. Filling her vision instead was Adrian.

Only then did she breathe again, gasping for air.
“Haah… haah…”
“Are you crazy? Just standing there like that?”

Her voice shook as it spilled from her lips.
“S-s-sorry… I’m sorry.”
“Where’s Nathan? Where did the soldiers go?”
“T-they… they ran toward Black Peak Cliff. So Nathan went after them…”

Jaelyn stammered worse than usual, then froze.

Over Adrian’s shoulder, she saw the face of another Kerakum. It had followed their presence.

Sensing the creature behind him, Adrian drew his sword in one smooth motion and spun.

Jaelyn couldn’t follow his movement with her eyes—only the Kerakum’s bisected corpse hitting the ground.

But that wasn’t the end. More Kerakum emerged one after another from the steam.

“Damn it, they’re swarming. Even more are coming.”
Adrian tightened his grip on his sword.
“Jaelyn, turn around and run. When you reach the cliff, climb as high as you can. Kerakum can’t climb vertical surfaces well!”

Hearing no response, he glanced back. Jaelyn was still standing there blank-eyed, her brief clarity gone again.

“You’re just getting in the way—move! Got it?”
He barked louder, sword raised.
“Snap out of it, Jaelyn! Answer me!”

Finally, she jolted awake.
“Y-yeah!”

Adrian summoned his magic. Crimson flames roared along his blade.
“Climb the cliff and stay hidden. Don’t let them sense you.”

He slashed, sending blazing fire into the Kerakum horde.

Dozens of bodies caught fire, shrieking in agony.
“Now! Go!”

Jaelyn spun and ran at full speed. Behind her, death-cries rose from the burning monsters.

She fled. Nothing had changed. She was still a coward, still terrified of monsters. Back then and now. All this time, and why was she still the same?

Not even looking ahead, she slammed into the cliff face and tumbled back. Scraped and bruised, she didn’t feel the pain. She scrambled to climb.

Luckily, the cliff was rugged, with protrusions to grip. But the higher she went, the harder it became. The cracks and ledges grew smaller.

When she could climb no further, she stopped, holding her breath.

Close by, explosions, footsteps, and monstrous screeches echoed together. Jaelyn shut her eyes and endured the hellish moment.

Time passed. Her arms screamed in pain, ready to give out.

One foot slipped, and she cried out.
“Wait! Jaelyn? Is that you?”

Nathan’s voice rang out, having heard her scream.
“Y-yeah!”

The steam had begun to thin, widening their view. Nathan spotted Jaelyn clinging to the cliff not far away.

She looked toward his voice. Through the mist, she saw Adrian, Nathan, and the soldiers gathered on a ledge large enough to hold them.

It wasn’t high from the ground, but high enough that they had to constantly fend off Kerakum trying to climb up their bodies.

“You okay?”
Nathan asked, parrying an attack.
“Ugh… n-no. I’m about to fall!”

Adrian spoke quickly.
“Switch with me.”

Moving closer, Adrian shouted up at Jaelyn.
“Can you jump to here?”
“I-I can’t!”
“You can. Even if you think you can’t, you have to.”

How? It was insane. She shook her head. The distance was too far for a single jump.

She was an ordinary human. Not tall and strong like Adrian, not gifted with power or agility.

But Adrian’s calm voice pressed on.
“Jaelyn, see that stone jutting out by your foot?”

She turned her eyes downward, careful not to look at the monsters. Yes, a rock stuck out just as he said.
“I… I see it.”
“Step on it and jump here.”
“B-but…”

She hesitated. Adrian cut her off firmly.
“You can do it. This ledge is lower—you’ll make it. Don’t look down. Don’t think you can’t. Just look at me and jump. I’ll catch you. Understood?”

“Okay… okay.”

No miracle had given her new strength. She was still unsure, still afraid of failing. But she didn’t want to give up without trying.

“On three, you jump.”
“O-okay!”
“One, two… three! Jump!”

Letting go of the cliff, Jaelyn pushed hard off the jutting rock. Her body soared through the air, Adrian’s face rushing closer—

She reached for him with both arms. But her body tilted backward. The crushing sensation of falling pressed down on her.
I’m falling!

She squeezed her eyes shut—

And Adrian’s hand seized her arm. His muscles bulged beneath his uniform as he hauled her up with sheer force.

Momentum dragged them both down, and she collapsed against him on the ground.

Still reeling from the near-fall, she lay sprawled on top of him. But his voice snapped her out of it.
“You’re heavy. Get off me.”
“S-sorry.”

She scrambled up quickly.
“Oh, Jaelyn. You made it. You okay?”
Nathan shot her a wink even as he fought.
“I-I’m fine.”
“Good. Then come help me. I can’t hold out alone here.”

Though Nathan grinned, the situation was deteriorating fast.