Chapter 6: A Friend to the Rescue
Chapter 6: A Friend to the Rescue
“LAST one! Eat this, fish face!” Mina leapt nimbly into the air and slit the throat of the final merman in a single swipe as she landed behind the beast.
Slowed by Louis’s spell, the merman could do nothing as its head was severed, collapsing in the fountain of blood gushing from its neck.
Mina glanced over the small cuts covering her body, shook the blood off her knife, and sheathed it at her waist behind her back. “Phew… Looks like we managed to clean them all up.”
They had sustained some minor wounds, but both Louis and Mina had ample Adventurer experience that helped them wipe out dozens of mermen without suffering serious injury. Taking on that many enemies with just a Minstrel and a Thief, and no Tank or Warrior, was a remarkable feat.
Hard to rejoice though… Mina sprinted over to the ledge and peered carefully down the gutter. A black hole extended from the bridge-like path she stood on to the opposite stone wall. Icy, damp air blew up from the endless expanse of darkness below. The lower dungeon levels dropped in temperature by a good ten degrees. Letting out a heavy sigh, she frowned. I can only hope both Elias and Aki are okay.
It’s my fault they even got caught up in all this. And with Aki just becoming an Adventurer, and this being her first real Quest, she only has limited battle experience. How could I let her first time be such a scary experience? She had to fend off an ambush in such narrow confines, what a prime example of an unprepared party!
Mina pressed her lips together so hard they turned white. She loved the thrill of tackling a challenge alone, and soloing quests tended to be way more effective, so she didn’t join parties unless the Quest absolutely required it. Aki was her first female Adventurer friend, and she put her in harm’s way right out the gate.
I wanted to become good friends with Aki and experience the joy of questing together… Tormented by her lack of power, Mina raked her fingers irritably through her bangs. She had to become stronger. Strong enough to protect not only herself but her party members, too. …I’m completely useless like this… I can’t believe I couldn’t even protect one friend.
Louis strapped his gittern to his back and stepped up to Mina with an understanding smile as she stared down the hole, torturing herself with regrets. “Mina, I understand how you feel, but Aki has the Hero Elias with her. The world’s greatest champion is protecting her—there’s no way they aren’t okay. You have nothing to worry about.”
“…Yeah, I know,” she mumbled, though agreeing with him aloud did nothing to suppress her worries.
Louis caught sight of her clenching her fist in front of her chest and debated on how to set her mind at ease. He eventually went with a light pat on her back. “I know I don’t have to say this to someone at your level, but the path we’re on is narrow and only goes in two directions. We may not stand a chance against more patrols if they flank us again. We need to get moving now.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” she sniped a little standoffishly, finding him annoying.
He shrugged. “For someone who looks indifferent to the world, you’re fairly stubborn. I’m all for strong women, but I’m not into pessimistic ladies who are forever paralyzed by their regrets.”
“Whatever!” Mina glowered at him. “It’s not like I care about your type! Why would you bring that up now?” she huffed and gave his chest a light shove.
A gentle smile spread across Louis’s face. He hadn’t expected her to react that way. “…Good. You’ve returned to your usual self.”
“Huh…?” She gaped at him.
Louis’s pretty lips curled into a smile that lit up his whole face. “You aren’t the indecisive type. We’ll probably meet up with them if we keep pressing forward, right? It’s unlike you not to come to that conclusion first. Aren’t you more likely to optimistically push ahead with the hopes of seeing them again?”
His cute little head tilt sent the blood rushing to her cheeks.
Sheesh. I seriously wish the guy who’s always clowning around wouldn’t suddenly be nice when it counts! A nobleman like Louis would never give a commoner like me the time of day… Yet he has to go and encourage me when I’m at my weakest. I’m going to misunderstand his intentions at this rate. I’ll start thinking he’s a bit interested in me too.
Mina purposefully sighed and averted her gaze from Louis, stopping her thoughts from wandering down that path.
“D-Don’t be dumb. I’m no different from…usual!”
He chuckled as though he saw right through her. “Are you now? Then I just misinterpreted it as you being all glum.”
“Wha—”
She was going to say: What made you think a thing like that? But Louis held up his index finger, cutting her off.
“Even I can tell how much you care for Aki and Elias. Normal Adventurers like us teaming up with the legendary Hero and his Right-hand has to either be the work of the Goddess or some kind of fate,” he said slowly, each of his words measured with the weight of what he was saying. “So let’s do everything in our power to protect them. What’s resting on their backs—the fate of the world—is too big for anyone to shoulder alone.”
Mina gave a big nod.
I’m lacking in power, but I want to be the first ally who comes running to their aid when they need it. I’ll become strong enough to bear that heavy burden along with them, because they are my precious friends!
Louis placed an encouraging hand on her head. She batted it away to hide her embarrassment, when all of a sudden, his playful expression froze on his pallid face.
“Louis? What’s wrong?” She looked questioningly at him.
Without a word, his gaze anchored on the path ahead. “We’re too late. Mina, a new batch of enemies has arrived.”
“No way…”
Following his lead, she directed her gaze down the straight path to where ten more mermen shuffled closer like sharks circling their prey. Chatting for a long time in the same place turned them into an easy target.
It’s all my fault! A pit formed in her stomach and a small cry escaped the back of her throat. Cold sweat trickled down her cheek.
“Louis, I’m so sorry! This is my fault!” Not taking her regret-stricken eyes off the enemy, she gripped Louis’s sleeve.
In their top condition, she and Louis could’ve taken care of ten mermen on their own. But they had suffered numerous injuries and battle fatigue from the last fight. With no Priest around to use Recovery spells on them, they couldn’t heal up.
Was it possible for them to take on that many mermen without Elias and Aki around?
Mina swiftly drew her knife from its sheath at her back and held it in front of her. The sweat covering her hands forced her to readjust her grip or risk the knife slipping.
What can we do? How do we cut our way through?
“Mina.” A single drop of sweat fell from Louis’s forehead. He kept his gaze on the mermen, not once glancing her way. He quietly continued, “I’ll stop them with my Lunar Magic. Take that time to turn back down the path we came and run—”
“N-No way am I gonna do that!” Mina shouted, shaking her head so hard her hair whipped her face. “Like hell am I gonna leave you behind and run away! Don’t say something so ridiculous!” Being stricken by overwhelming passion choked her up.
She couldn’t leave her friends behind to save herself. She couldn’t leave Louis—he was an important friend to her too.
No, that’s not all he is to me… I’m gradually starting to harbor feelings for him, ones that go beyond friendship. I’m drawn to his openness and calming disposition. It’s kind of sad really, considering I always thought I’d want nothing to do with an eccentric guy like him.
Mina tightened her grip on the knife as she came to terms with the situation. Being wishy-washy with her feelings was the reason they ended up in this mess. Louis predicted this would happen, which was why he had recommended they keep moving before more monsters showed up.
So I’m going to… She bent her knees and assumed a close-combat stance. She fixed her eyes on the nearest group of monsters, baiting them to attack her. Protect Louis, myself, and everything important to me!
“Louis!” She glanced up at him and held his gaze. “I’m going to fight as long as we stand a chance! Please fight with me!”
Neither should have to become bait for the other to escape. They couldn’t lose or die here. After all, they were the esteemed Hero Elias’s party members!
Mina exhaled, then launched off the ground toward the mermen.
“Get down!” came a sharp man’s voice that thundered off the stone walls.
“What?!” Befuddled by that commanding voice, she tried to turn around, but was forcefully pulled to the ground by Louis.
A fraction of a second later, light from a powerful Lunar spell exploded from the direction of the man’s voice. The bright light was blinding. The amount of light emitted by a Lunar Magic spell increased with its difficulty level, and the more powerful the spell, the greater the light it emitted. Which meant—that blinding light is coming from a high-tier spell!
Protected underneath Louis, Mina lifted her head from the ground and strained her eyes to see the source of light. In the center of the torrent of light that was so dazzling it couldn’t be looked at directly, an unfamiliar man with black hair held his hands out in front of him. He was drawing complex magic circles with flawless execution.
“O comets that illuminate the darkness, slam down relentlessly!”
Mina heard Louis gasp above her when he heard the man chant that spell. “I don’t believe it… the most powerful spell…? Only a handful of people in the whole world can use that!”
As if to confirm Louis’s astonishment, the man’s lips turned up in a confident smile as he basked in the flood of light belonging to the most powerful of spells. In a sonorous voice he loudly wove the final words of his incantation, “Run through my enemies and stifle their spirits. Now, go!”
He waved his hands to erase the numerous magic circles floating in the air before him as he finished his spell. Countless balls of fiery light appeared and torpedoed toward the mermen with a tremendous roar. The balls skewered the mermen, burning them alive.
The white flash finally died down, giving Mina the chance to gingerly open her eyes and assess the situation. Before her not even the cinders of the dead mermen were left. They had been literally obliterated from the face of the planet.
…Am I seeing this right? Did he just wipe them out in a single hit?
Louis got to his feet first then helped her up. She stood there dumbly staring at their savior. Who was he? He had come to their rescue, but she’d never seen him before. He launched off such a powerful spell in a matter of seconds, so he had to be an expert Mage.
The black-haired Mage rolled his shoulders to release the tension, then strolled over to the dumbfounded Mina and Louis. Intelligence brimmed in his almond-shaped purple eyes that stood out all the more against his flawlessly black hair. He was tall, muscularly slender, and manly. As she was captivated by his good looks, he held up his right hand and greeted her with a charming, impish smirk.
“Yo. That was a close call. Anyone hurt?”
“Ah, uh…” His casual greeting threw off her tension, rendering her incapable of a proper thanks.
Louis stepped up to him first. “We made it out of that alive thanks to you. You appear to be a renowned Mage. May I ask your name?” Seeing how he threw in a smile, he seemed to have some idea of who their mystery savior was.
“I’m Leo Gaines,” the black-haired man answered with a magnanimous grin. “I’m searching for some friends. Maybe you guys can help me out?”