The giant tentacle roared past like a steam train.
Lynch clutched Miss Valente tightly in one arm while quickly whipping out his multi-segmented cane, attempting to snag the tentacle with its serrated hooks.
There was only one chance; whether they could catch this ride depended on this single moment...
However, the seemingly solid tentacle felt as if it were truly composed of green mist, lacking any physical substance. The multi-segmented whip passed through the vapor without resistance, leaving no mark at all.
Damn it, between the intangible and the real, don't mess up now; this would be incredibly embarrassing.
The veins on Lynch's forehead throbbed. He swung the whip again with lightning speed, this time targeting not the tentacle, but the corpse of the ghoul that had just passed over their heads, embedded at the very tip of the tentacle.
There were only two chances. The avatar of the evil god was shifting between states of reality, but I had just killed this corpse myself. If this doesn't latch on, then I accept my fate.
Bang.
The multi-segmented whip pierced the green mist without resistance and accurately coiled around the ghoul's corpse, the hooks digging firmly into the remains.
It worked!
The sensation transmitted through his hand finally allowed Lynch's suspended heart to drop: "Miss, we are departing... Oh my god, ah~~~"
"Ah~~~"
Their speed soared instantly, nearly dislocating his arm. The two were dragged into a position parallel to the ground, fluttering in the wind high in the air. Their two screams overlapped, dragging out long, lingering notes as they whistled through the corridor.
Racing at high speed through the enemy camp, the ghouls along the path had already been sent reeling by the tentacle. Even those not caught in the wake had no time to react, left only to watch as the pair screamed past.
It was hard to say whether the experience was terrifying or exhilarating. Lynch felt it was a bit like a rollercoaster from another world. Without a doubt, it was pulse-pounding, and his instinct was to scream at the top of his lungs.
Miss Valente, however, screamed even louder than him. The noblewoman had long since forgotten her aristocratic composure and decorum, clinging to Lynch like an octopus. The surging adrenaline left her face flushed as she shrieked, yet her eyes were wide open, filled with excitement, staring unblinkingly at Lynch's face.
Tail-whipping, drifting, damn it, we are going to hit the wall.
Bang. In the nick of time, a halo of light erupted from Miss Valente, and the two were slammed hard against the corridor wall by inertia, only to be bounced back by the shield's power, leaving their backs soaked in cold sweat.
"Ah~~ hahaha, ah~~~ here we go again."
Where would a denizen of this world, with such a impoverished spiritual life, have ever enjoyed the fun of a rollercoaster? The screaming never stopped. Lynch could see the surrounding scenery at first, but soon it went faster and faster, the walls of the corridor blurring into a single line, and the ghouls became fleeting flashes that he could not even clearly see.
Over a dozen seconds flashed by. The corridor, fraught with crises and filled with deadly enemies, was left behind with such ease.
After hitting the wall several times, the deep corridor suddenly vanished, and the space ahead opened up wide.
It was the very giant hall from the depths of the temple in his dream. In the center was a bottomless hole, and suspended above it hung an altar covered in dark brown scars.
The tentacle formed from mist had emerged from the depths of that hole, and at this moment, it was rapidly retracting inward.
Should they get off? Or charge all the way in?
He had walked the previous path in his dreams, so at least he had some psychological preparation. The situation inside the cave was unknown, and they could not rush in rashly. It was fine to ride the hitch until the final stop, but if they were dragged all the way into someone else's garage, they would be caught for fare evasion.
After a moment of hesitation, Lynch made a mental decision and let the multi-segmented whip revert into a cane.
As the connection loosened, the two bounced off the ground like stones skipping on water. Whether it was intentional or just natural bad luck, Lynch was always the one at the bottom. After three bounces, he felt every bone in his body groaning. It was only thanks to the instinctive reaction provided by Cat's Favor that he managed to absorb part of the impact; otherwise, he would have been shattered into thirteen pieces by now, and being even one piece short would be a miracle.
But that was not the most serious problem. The most serious problem now was... this damn inertia; it was not like what was depicted in the stories~~~
All of Lynch's knowledge was merely paper talk. Only after experiencing it personally did he realize how ridiculous the scenes of jumping off trains in movies were. On the flat ground, the two simply could not stop, and he could not even control his body to swing the whip for self-rescue. They kept skipping like stones, heading straight toward the hole emitting a dark green, eerie light.
"Bang, bang, whoosh..."
Their figures were out of control. Helpless, they were sent by inertia directly over the giant hole, finally losing the support of the ground and plummeting downward. Below, green gas swirled, smelling of rot, and it was bottomless.
It's over.
The thought had barely surfaced when he heard Miss Valente's scream: "Hold me tight, Lynch, don't let go no matter what."
What about the honorifics? Lynch thought this in his mind, but his body was honest, quickly hugging the noblewoman in his arms tightly. They had already been holding each other like this the whole way; there was no distinction of gender anymore. Just hold on tight, and that was that.
"Too tight, I cannot move my hands."
Miss Valente struggled to free her right hand. With a flip of her palm, the bracelet on her wrist flashed with a faint light. A few feathers appeared out of thin air in her palm, then ignited without fire, instantly turning into a pile of ash. At the same time, she uttered several ancient syllables in an eerie tone.
It was not a language, but the meaning was self-evident.
【Secret Art, Feather Fall.】
The ashes seemed to be drawn by some power, circling slowly around their bodies. The two felt as if they had lost all weight, floating and drifting in the resistance of the air, sinking slowly downward.
Up, down, left, right, there was only the void. There were no enemies. Only then did Lynch realize that since being sent into Zur Baha Sahr, this was the first time they had a chance to breathe. His tightly wound heartstrings finally relaxed, and for the first time, he felt other sensations.
"Phew, saved. What is this? It is like a mage's spell. Hmm? Are you alright? Your face does not look right, why is it so red?"
【Pfft.】
"You, are, squeezing, me, I, cannot, breathe!"
Her watery eyes suddenly turned fierce, and her voice sounded as if it were squeezed through her teeth, enunciated word by word. After giving a fierce, angry glare at the bewildered Lynch, Miss Valente could not be bothered to deal with such a foolish question and retorted ungraciously:
"This is a secret art. If you have a spellcasting constitution, you can try to learn some."
"So it is that useful? I will try to learn it when I get back."
"It also depends on luck, because secret arts are not suitable for the dull-witted."
"Why does it feel like you are scolding me?"
"How could that be? Aren't you not dull-witted at all?" The noblewoman bit her lip and gave him a secret side-eye, the corners of her mouth curling up, as she pressed her palm against Lynch's back. "Do not let go, just bear with it."
A piercing pain and itching swept through his body again. His whole body was aching, yet he did not dare to increase his strength, fearing he would squeeze the noblewoman until she could not breathe again.
Soon, the pain in his body had eased significantly, but unexpectedly, a burning sensation came from his stomach, as if he were as hungry as if he hadn't eaten for half a month. Just as Lynch showed a painful expression, a small blue pill appeared in Miss Valente's palm, and she raised her hand to stuff it into his mouth.
"Swallow."
Lynch swallowed without a second thought: "What is this? It is a bit bitter. Huh, I am not hungry anymore."
"Portable food, one pill lasts a day. Many academic masters like to use it to save time on eating. It works very well in combination with my rapid healing."
"So convenient? I will prepare some later. Since it can be used as daily food, it shouldn't be too expensive, right?"
"Hmm, though it is not exactly cheap, it is one pound per pill and... hey, hey, do not let go, hee hee."
The laughter had just begun when it came to an abrupt end. No matter how reluctant one might be, the journey would eventually reach its end. As they drifted downward, a large black shadow emerged from the green light below.
They had reached the ground.
The two looked at each other, their spirits tensing up once more.
Rate on N.U.
