ALL NOVEL Chapter 44 - The only way forward
How much time had passed?
Where were Egret and the others now? What if the enemy soldiers weren’t able to slow them down and they ended up facing the Queen faster than she anticipated…?
… That had to be avoided.
‘If I couldn’t stop the “Orb.” If I need to prevent it from being used…There is only one way forward.’
The moment she realised that, Ellie began the process without hesitation.
“I’m sorry, Wiskeref. I wish we could have parted ways more peacefully…”
Murmuring this in her heart, she began a different procedure.
Interfering with the control system of the magic power reactor, she altered the control values, creating a bottleneck in the flow of magic power. She restarted the halted magic collection and set the collection speed to its maximum.
… A situation where magic could hardly flow, yet a massive amount of magic was accumulating.
The magic reactor started to make a strange noise.
It seemed the “foreign entity” lacked any advanced self-judgement ability. As long as Ellie didn’t interfere with it, it wouldn’t interfere with her either..
Whatever its plan was, if it intended to use magic, that plan would fall apart as soon as the magic stopped flowing.
…Even if that flow was blocked physically.
As the magic power flowing into the reactor reached its critical point and overflowed… control became impossible.
In that moment, without finishing the shutdown process, Ellie ripped the cable from the connector and turned on her heel. The intense shock from forcibly pulling the cable out seared into her head, but she suppressed the pain and sprinted toward the exit with all her strength.
An abnormal vibration, a sound she had never heard before. Ignoring them, she ran desperately for the exit.
… But
“I’m really sorry, Letty… I won’t be able to see you again.”
What flashed in her mind was the face of her beloved master. A sensation that felt like even that was being blown away.
Ellie, who had been running to get as far from the magic reactor as possible, was swallowed by the Mana Explosion—a dazzling torrent of light.
—-At the same time, in the throne room—-
How many times had she dodged?
How many times had she managed to land a hit?
Her weary mind pondered such questions.
Even with her mind clouded by fatigue, she reacted to every movement she sensed and dodged.
She had finally managed to land another blow.
Her grip faltered on her dagger, and she had to readjust her hold. She then jumped as high as she could.
She no longer even had the time to catch her breath. Her lungs burned, and she could hear her own ragged breathing.
But despite all that her legs still moved.
She told herself that, and jumped sideways.
She heard the familiar sound of destruction and felt sharp fragments cut into her flesh.
Not yet.
Not yet, not yet, not yet!
She kept telling herself that.
She couldn’t die here. She couldn’t let this happen.
Because there were people waiting for her.
Just as that thought crossed her mind,
There was a massive, otherworldly explosion.
A violent sound accompanied by a shockwave that felt like being struck by multiple lightning bolts.
“… Ellie…?”
For some reason, she thought of her.
For a moment, her movements stopped.
The monster wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.
She snapped back to reality, looked at the monster, and felt a different kind of confusion.
The monster had stopped moving.
“A, A, A, AAAAAA!!!”
It suddenly clawed at its throat and arched its back, letting out a scream.
Its movements were like those of someone drowning…
“Suffocating…? No, but… it’s close… this is…”
It must be Ellie. Ellie must have done it.
But if that sound was the price she paid…
… It seems she doesn’t have time to worry about such things…
The source of Ellie’s suffering. It must be her, since she had given Ellie such a hard time.
She took a deep breath as she met the monster’s glaring eyes.
“Yes, it’s me… I’ll put you out of your misery.”
She deliberately provoked that monster who was once the Queen.
If Ellie had done this, then she, as her master, couldn’t give up either.
With renewed determination, she readied her dagger.
The monster leaped at her, screaming.
Due to its suffering, it was no longer as fast as before.
Nevertheless, it was still agile and its claws were still deadly.
With extreme caution and as much boldness as she could muster, she ducked to avoid its claws and swung her dagger.
A heavy clang echoed as her powerful, weighted strike landed on the monster’s right knee.
It stumbled and staggered.
This was it.
She then had a sudden intuition.
Following her instinct, she slid in and attacked.
The monster, having regained its balance, didn’t immediately notice her approach.
She swung her dagger at its unprotected side.
As she dodged, she struck its exposed side with the back of her dagger. Even a short sword is still a steel rod, hitting its rib cage while its body is twisted, especially on its already injured side.
“GYAAAAA!!! A, A, IYAAAAA!!”
The shriek that followed was likely a scream of agony. Clearly, it writhed in pain, shaking its head.
“URAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
It tried to release a bolt of lightning in anger.
She couldn’t stop it, but…
“Too slow”
The bolt, fired without aiming properly, was easily avoided by Egret, who could sense the magic.
The lightning, fired without a proper energy supply, only served to further weaken the monster.
“GUAU!!!! GUAAAA!!!
WARAWAHAAAAAAA!!!!”
For a brief moment, a human-like voice could be heard.
But it didn’t deserve any sympathy.
She stepped forward once more.
Dodging the monster’s flailing arms, she struck its arms, elbows, shoulders, and any other exposed area, weakening its movements.
*Clang*
A dull sound came from inside.
She must have finally broken a bone.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
IT HURTS!!!!!! NOOOO!!!!!!”
It seemed to have regained its senses from the pain.
Its voice was becoming more human-like.
“Sorry, but it’s time for you to rest.”
Egret wasn’t in the condition to take any gambles, If she showed any mercy, she didn’t know if it would end up recovering.
There was no room for hopeful guesses with this creature.
She struck its arms, legs, waist, knees, and shoulders relentlessly, denying it any chance of counterattack.
When it stumbled, she swung her dagger and aimed for its neck.
*Thud* Something pierced deep.
Her dagger was embedded in the monster’s neck.
Even though its magical energy was fading, its exoskeleton was still alive.
*Thwack!*
She struck the flat of her blade with her palm, driving it deeper.
“Farewell.”
With the dagger still lodged in its neck, she drew it across in a swift motion.
A red fountain of Blood, smelling of iron, spurted forth.