...KWA-AAAK!
A sudden sonic boom from behind.
A hand rushing through the air.
Kim Jangcheol instinctively felt a bone-chilling sense of danger. Every sense screamed a warning.
And thanks to that, he realized.
'Huh?'
He glanced back, startled.
Aged Kimchi was reaching out his hand. Aimed at his face. Targeting his head. With an expression devoid of hesitation. With eyes filled with unshakable resolve.
'This bastard is really...'
Trying to kill me?
That's a bit much. I never wanted to end like this. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have raised Aged Kimchi to be this strong.
'D-Damn it!'
I can't just take it.
His heart rate surged. Adrenaline spiked violently. He tried to react. Tried to dodge, somehow.
But Aged Kimchi's hand had already filled his vision. In contrast, his own reaction was far, far too slow.
'It's over...'
So he thought.
FWOOOSH, Bam!
Aged Kimchi's hand swept past the top of his head. In that instant, a heavy cracking sound came from above.
Was it his skull?
No.
Moments later, as small fragments of stone smacked into the side of his face and shoulder, Kim Jangcheol finally grasped what had happened.
'D-Did he just... smash falling rocks?'
Aged Kimchi's hand pulled back. His head, still miraculously intact. In contrast, the chunk of stone shattered into pieces, scattering pitifully across the ground.
'...Did he just destroy falling rocks that were about to land on my head?'
Was that guess correct?
"Not being careful, are you?"
A sharp rebuke from Aged Kimchi flew his way. Kim Jangcheol was stunned. As he leapt up the stairs, three steps at a time, he shouted back.
"What the hell! You could've at least yelled 'watch out' or something! Or said 'falling rocks!' That would've worked too!"
"I didn't really expect you to dodge even if I did."
"That's an assumption!"
"Didn't you just fail to react to my hand anyway?"
"That's because you were too fast and silent, Sir Aged Kimchi!"
"Falling rocks were just as silent. They probably only made noise right before they hit your skull."
"I would've dodged before that!"
"Yeah, right."
Aged Kimchi's expression curled unmistakably into a smirk. It was unfair. But also, he had no comeback.
"....."
That really was close.
Because of the rocks?
Because of Aged Kimchi?
He didn't know.
His heart still pounded. The rough thudding echoed in his ears. He ran harder. Toward the surface. Toward the light ahead.
'Just a bit more!'
The final corner.
Just half a turn more—
"Uwaaaah!"
KWA-RRRRRUMBLE!
The stairs behind them crumbled with a deafening roar. He'd just stepped on them, barely two seconds ago. Now they collapsed into a pitch-black abyss.
Would anyone survive if they fell in there?
Like at the Cliff of the Dead, maybe a clothes-stripping glitch could save them... no, definitely not. That only worked in places you studied and practiced dozens of times.
'Faster!'
A huge cloud of dust rose from behind, threatening to engulf him whole.
Kim Jangcheol stepped on the last stair.
And leapt.
Then, light from the surface warmly embraced him as if welcoming his return. And—106 pairs of eyes focused on him.
Huh?
Stares?
"...He's out!"
Someone shouted.
A voice full of joy.
That voice made Kim Jangcheol forget to even pant as he looked up in surprise. Still half-sprawled on the carpet, he scanned the surroundings.
And he saw it.
"Waaaah!"
"It's true! You made it out!"
"You're safe!"
"Thank you, oh gods, thank you...!"
"......."
Everyone was cheering for him and Aged Kimchi.
So, who?
The 102 people who had gone ahead. And Zephyros, Baal, the servant Dyoll, even Reivaj.
All of them, in Richmond's unbelievably spacious bedroom. Gathered around the stair exit, shuffling their feet.
They were waiting for him to come out?
Praying for his safety?
Without even thinking of fleeing somewhere else?
"You maniacs!"
The moment he realized that people had waited and prayed for him,
What came out of Kim Jangcheol's mouth wasn't thanks—but a roar.
A very urgent one.
"Are you all insane?! You should be running away—!"
At his sudden lion's roar, the cheers instantly died. In the silence, his voice continued.
"This place isn't safe yet!"
It was true.
The stairs he'd just escaped—those pillars were collapsing. And the underground chamber beneath? Most likely already destroyed.
And this mansion?
It stood directly above that collapsed space!
"Everyone move! You can't stay here! Go! This place is gonna collapse too! Follow me! Zephyros! Baal!"
Without a moment to breathe, he drove them forward.
If they stayed, they were done for.
"Sir Aged Kimchi! Please carry Young Master Reivaj!"
He hoisted the magically limp Richmond himself. And bolted. Toward the bedroom's exit. With full strength, he kicked it open.
KWAANG—!
The luxurious door, made of solid mahogany, shattered in a single blow. He felt Richmond twitch on his back.
Was he upset?
Well, who cares.
The mansion's going to collapse anyway!
"Run! Follow me!"
Perhaps they finally grasped the situation.
The people surged forward like a herd of wildebeests.
They raced down the long hallway.
Along the way, the mansion's maids and servants widened their eyes in shock as they saw this sudden flood of disheveled people following behind him.
Faces turned pale at the sight of Richmond, a mess, slung over his back.
Seeing that, Kim Jangcheol's mind suddenly kicked into high gear.
'Huh?'
This... might just work.
He might be able to get what he wanted while evacuating the others safely.
In other words, escape from Aged Kimchi. Shake him off so thoroughly that he could never follow again.
'It really... might work.'
Looking at the situation, he saw the angle.
It seemed possible.
Kim Jangcheol calculated in an instant. Estimate complete. Time elapsed: approximately 0.5 seconds.
With that decision, he turned and shouted toward the stunned servants and maids.
"Save meee—!"
A desperate cry mixed with sincerity, hope, urgency, and wild exaggeration!
The servants flinched.
Kim Jangcheol's shout continued like a combo attack.
"A monster that rips people to shreds and eats them is after us!"
"...!"
He ran past the servants and maids, yelling.
And at that moment—
Richmond, carried on his back, looked at the passing servants and maids with desperate eyes. And, soaked in fear and pleading, shouted with all his heart:
"Mm! Mmmpf! Mmmfmm! (You bastard! Let me go! Help meee!)"
".......!"
Richmond's mouth wasn't gagged or stuffed with cloth. On the surface, it looked completely normal. It was just that, due to a simple curse spell cast by Zephyros, he couldn't speak.
Of course, the servants and maids had no way of knowing that.
"...!"
Seeing Richmond, being carried on someone's back and desperately mumbling "mmf mmf", they thought:
'What the hell.'
'That guy Richmond, he's the kind of man who wouldn't bleed a drop even if you stabbed him with a needle.'
'No matter the situation, he's always cold—no, downright ruthless.'
'And yet… for him to be mumbling like that without even speaking properly...'
'Something seriously bad must've happened, right?'
'Definitely. Something's up!'
The dust-covered, disaster-like state of Kim Jangcheol and the people. The frantic group sprint of over a hundred people.
And Richmond delivering the dramatic final blow with his desperate mumbling(?).
That was enough.
Enough to make the mansion's servants and maids join the escape procession. Enough to spread fear and a sense of crisis throughout the mansion.
"Waaaah? Huh huh huh?"
"R-Run!"
"What is it! What's going on!"
"I don't know! But something must've happened if even Lord Richmond is fleeing like that! Just run!"
From the top floor of the mansion, the wave of escape spread rapidly. Screams and shouts. Frantic footsteps. Chaos bloomed in full.
Exactly what Kim Jangcheol wanted.
'...This is it!'
Instill fear.
Cause chaos.
Thanks to that, people could escape quickly and reach safety. And in that confusion, he could—just for a moment—deceive Aged Kimchi's attention!
'This is my last chance.'
Running down the hallway, Kim Jangcheol glanced around. Aged Kimchi, carrying Reivaj on his back, was already far ahead.
In contrast, Zephyros and Baal were running beside him.
He gave them a signal with his eyes.
'The window!'
Zephyros received the signal.
Even Baal nodded.
At that moment, they veered from their running path. And threw themselves out the open window.
TAAH!
Using the windowsill as a foothold, he leapt.
Now met by the open air four stories high. Richmond's gagged scream rose to soprano pitch on his back.
THUD!
He landed and immediately ran. Zephyros and Baal followed behind. They circled around to the back of the mansion. There, in the backyard, Asurat and Sirgi were waiting as planned.
"Kwak, kwaaak, kwakkk?"
Still in his suspiciously enormous pelican form, Asurat tilted his head and asked. But his pronunciation was a bit odd. Probably because his lower beak pouch was stuffed with chuno and crop seeds he had packed in advance.
Asurat asked "if everything is ready,"
Sirgi translated(?) his words.
Kim Jangcheol nodded.
"It's all ready. We need to leave right now. Can you do it?"
"Of courrshh!"
Asurat's eyes flashed with determination.
They all climbed onto his back.
But Asurat didn't take off immediately. He didn't even flap his wings.
Instead, he climbed onto Sirgi's back.
CHAK!
Asurat climbed onto the back of the suspiciously pink alpaca, Sirgi, and with Kim Jangcheol on his back, he shouted,
"Let's go! Launch formation!"
Before Aged Kimchi noticed.
Before he could run over.
"Run! Launch!"
"Pffff!"
Sirgi flared her lips.
And began to run.
Carrying Asurat on her back.
At first, slowly, enduring the weight of the group she carried. Gaining speed steadily with steady strides. Then, sprinting at full speed!
TUDUDUDUDUDU—!
"Prrr! Prhhh! Prrrr!"
Saliva flew from between her flapping lips. But no one cared. All that mattered was running with Asurat on her back, maintaining balance and gaining momentum.
"More! You can do it, Sirgi! Faster!"
"Prrrr!"
She accelerated.
The pelican Asurat, mounted on her back, narrowed his eyes with sharp focus.
And remembered. He believed he could do it. He recalled the days of training with Sirgi just for this moment.
'Yeah... I had wings, but I still couldn't fly on my own.'
His body was too heavy.
His head, even heavier.
The beak was the worst.
Even for a pelican, his proportions were absurdly top-heavy. Especially his beak, unnaturally large and completely unbalanced!
Because of that, flying was out of the question. He couldn't even run fast. Waddling was the best he could do. Soaring freely through the sky? That was a pipe dream.
But, with Sirgi... it was different.
'Like this!'
Tududu—!
Asurat carried everyone on his back.
And Sirgi carried Asurat on hers!
The moment Sirgi's sprint hit its peak speed—
"Now! Asurat!"
Kim Jangcheol shouted and yanked the feathers on the back of Asurat's head.
"...Kwak!"
Ouch, that hurt.
Startled, Asurat spread his wings wide.
They had enough speed now.
With his wings spread wide—
Finally, gravity's grip let them go.
…BOOOOOONG↗
Asurat's massive body lifted into the air. Clutching onto Sirgi with both feet like landing gear(?).
He soared toward the sky!
"Takeoff... success!"
"We're flyinggg!"
Kim Jangcheol pumped his fist. Baal shouted with glee like a child. Even the calm and composed Zephyros grinned wide for once.
With a proper takeoff, Asurat's wingbeats grew stronger. Sirgi, held in his feet and flying with them, gasped with joy at their success but also felt a tinge of bitter realization.
And while everyone celebrated their successful liftoff—
The merchant Richmond, tucked in among the cheering group, with his eyes glassy gave a sorrowful smile as he thought:
But why... why am I flying with these lunatics...
[T/L: I am not getting any support from webnovel platform, so please support me and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]