Chapter 83 – Underground Waterway (5)

I forcefully swallowed the blood that surged up and shouted, but whether he couldn’t hear or was ignoring me, Somir was only slaughtering the monsters and delving deeper. I quickly grabbed Irian’s shoulder as she seemed to be debating whether to help Somir or stay put.

“Don’t go.”
“But that person…”
“Shut up and stay put! You can’t.”
“I’m a vanguard too. I can’t let him bear all the burden alone. The magistrate can also act as a vanguard, so…”
“That bastard charged in on his own! Irian, if you go in too… we won’t be able to retreat. Understand? Do you think I can abandon you and run away? If you don’t want to kill me, stay put.”
“……Okay.”

What a messed up situation. The barrier surrounding Somir, who was slaughtering monsters, was gradually fading. Sandra’s flames and lightning were at least killing the monsters that were swarming this way, but with my severe debuff, I couldn’t maintain the barrier any longer.

“Somir! Retreat! We’re at our limit!”
“Are you planning to die here!?”

At Sandra’s sharp shout, Somir finally glanced back at us, his eyes filled with conflict. After hesitating for a moment, he looked back and forth between the fading, hazy barrier and Sandra, who was firing off magic, then bit his lip and quickly started running towards us.

…This is infuriating. If this were a game, I’d throw him into those monsters, but I can’t just end a life, so I’ll release this anger after we escape.

“Sandra, cover that side. Vanguards, break through the front. We need to create an opening in the encirclement.”

It seemed like there was no end to the disgusting swarm of monsters. We had already killed dozens, but the encirclement was only getting tighter.

Sandra’s magic, with flames and lightning erupting from both hands, was continuously blasting towards the swarming, repulsive monsters, and deafening roars echoed one after another. It was hard to even open my eyes due to the fragments of rock hitting my face in the gale.

Sandra was barely holding off the approaching monsters, but there were already hundreds of them swarming here.

“Forward! Break through!”

Irian and Cha Hyewon reacted immediately to my command, quickly dispatching the monsters blocking our path and creating an opening. However, a sense of despair washed over me as I saw the countless monsters filling the gap again.

What should we do? Everywhere I looked, there were only monsters, and our group was too small.
Whether it was the effect of the debuff, my heart felt like it was being squeezed, and I felt like I was about to throw up.

I was barely managing to maintain the barrier and purification. Sandra was also drenched in sweat, barely managing to hold off the monsters swarming from all directions, and there were countless monsters in front of us.

“Yurian! What are we going to do!”
“…Break through. We’ll join up with Somir.”

I gritted my teeth and renewed my resolve. I couldn’t break down here. I couldn’t show weakness. If I broke down while Irian, Cha Hyewon, and Sandra were holding on, everything would collapse. Cha Hyewon and Irian were cutting down monsters and slowly moving forward.

“Haa, haa, where’s Somir?”

I clutched my aching chest and scanned through the monsters. Thanks to the higher ground here, I could see Somir clearly, fighting among the monsters.

Somir’s desperate struggle, rolling on the ground to avoid the monsters’ attacks, and attacking and dispatching the monsters that charged at him, was truly amazing. He was definitely a more powerful warrior than I had expected.

But… there were too many. There were far too many.
Even though Sandra was blasting away a dozen monsters with a single gesture, they kept swarming in, and even though Irian and Cha Hyewon were quickly cutting down the monsters charging at us, they kept coming.

“Sandra, stop them from swarming in! Just a few minutes, so destroy those damn bugs as much as you can so the encirclement doesn’t close! I’ll try to make a hole in the encirclement!”

Sandra nodded, her sweat-soaked lips moving constantly, and the lightning that shot out from her hands burned a dozen monsters. The red debuff window on my status screen was annoying, but… just once more. Let’s push it just once more.

I needed to prepare an attack magic that could create a large hole in the encirclement. I endured the throbbing in my chest and the pounding in my head and gathered divine power.

“Just a little further… *cough*!”

I had been forcefully swallowing the urge to throw up, but the moment I opened my mouth, I couldn’t hold it back and it burst out.

“…You, don’t push yourself anymore! It’s dangerous!”

I glanced sideways and saw that Sandra’s expression had hardened. Even a battle mage couldn’t remain indifferent in this situation. So, that woman also makes that kind of face when she’s desperate.

I should tell her I’m okay, but… the moment I opened my mouth, something surged up again and spilled out through my clenched teeth. The liquid dripping from my chin was falling in drops.

“…Damn it.”

My chest hurt… it hurt so much that I wanted to scream and roll on the floor. It felt like someone was grabbing my heart and squeezing it, and I gritted my teeth, but… I couldn’t push it any further. I really couldn’t do it anymore.

I clutched my chest, tried to calm my ragged breathing, and surveyed the situation.

In the distance, in the center of the densely packed monsters, I could see Somir wielding a shining sword, swinging it at an invisible speed. The monsters that touched the sword of light were instantly cut down, but many monsters still swarmed in like moths to a flame.

Looking to my side, I could hear Sandra’s ragged breathing. Her leather armor was rising and falling as she was drenched in sweat, blasting the approaching monsters with lightning. In front of us, Irian and Cha Hyewon’s sword strikes were flying towards the monsters that were breaking through Sandra’s magic, and a black shower of blood was erupting before my eyes.

Damn it, was it right to push through and join up with him? If we joined up with someone of that skill… could we break through?

“Join up… *blegh*.”

It had been rising up since a while ago, but this time I couldn’t hold it back and threw up violently. The color was bright red… did I throw up blood?

“Yurian!”
“Hey! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Don’t make a fuss, and focus.”

My whole body was trembling as my divine power started to run out. …This is the limit. I can’t hold on. What should I do?

If I released the barrier and purification, the women would fall into a state of poisoning. They all had high base stats, so they wouldn’t be immediately incapacitated, but their combat power would inevitably weaken, and it was obvious that the poisoning would worsen over time.

What is it? What’s causing the poisoning? I’m fine… no, Somir seems fine too, judging by how he’s fighting. Why are only the women showing symptoms of poisoning… Ah!

‘Damn it! How could I have forgotten this… I should have been more thoroughly prepared.’

It finally dawned on me.
The nest of these monsters was nothing more than a breeding ground for captured human-like females, and a poisonous cloud was formed to make the women’s minds hazy and maintain a constant ovulation period. It was a poisonous cloud that only affected women, making them crave reproduction more and more as they became more poisoned.

In short, it was maintaining a constant state of estrus where conception was possible at any time.

‘……Damn it, what kind of poison is this, it’s more like an aphrodisiac or a lust potion. This isn’t some kind of ero game.’

Because I had been maintaining the barrier and purification, I had simply passed through the outer areas where the poison was weaker. If I hadn’t used the barrier and purification, everyone would have quickly adapted to the mild symptoms of poisoning, as they were all high-stat holders, but being poisoned in the area with the strongest toxicity like this would make it hard to adapt, even if they didn’t collapse immediately.

The magic I used to block the stench had come back to bite me like this.

“Kkyaaaa!”

A monster with eyes full of white film, a wrinkled face, a mouth with spiky teeth moving in all directions, and a hellish scream charged at me, and its head was instantly cut off and rolled in front of me.

There was no time. I had to make a quick decision. What if I released the barrier and purification and gathered my remaining strength to cast an attack or buff magic? Irian and Cha Hyewon, the vanguards, and Sandra, the rear guard, would be poisoned.

Poisoning in the middle of a monster onslaught. Cha Hyewon, Irian, and Sandra wouldn’t be easily defeated even if they were poisoned. They would struggle, but they would endure and slaughter the monsters.

But… how long could they do that? What if all three of them, with their combat power rapidly decreasing after a war of attrition against the endless swarm of monsters, were captured by the monsters?

‘If we join up with Somir, the vanguard will be stronger, and we can retreat without taking damage. Should I save him… risking danger?’

What if my prediction that we could escape from the monsters without taking much damage was wrong?
Just like the current situation where we were getting our asses kicked in the dungeon we confidently entered, what if my prediction was wrong and something happened to Cha Hyewon and Irian? …I couldn’t risk their safety. And I couldn’t maintain both the barrier on Somir and the magic that blocked the poison at the same time.

What should I do…?

My 고민 was short. Somir? He was just a guy I met for the first time today. Besides, he didn’t think about his companions and just charged in on his own like he ate something wrong. Our girls were more important than some male character who was just trolling.

“Retreat.”
“What about that person!”
“We’re abandoning him. Don’t worry about that side and slowly move back.”

I even removed the protection I had given him. The living must live, and it was a waste of divine power to use it for someone who was going to die.

“If we leave him like that, he’ll definitely die! We have to help…”
“Let him die.”
“Yurian?”
“You guys are more precious to me. He has to take responsibility for charging into the monsters on his own.”

I gestured to Irian, who was looking back, to look forward. She was somehow managing to cut down monsters while looking back. Sandra, who had been biting her lip, also glanced at my face for a moment and then slowly started to retreat.

“Cha Hyewon. Slowly move back.”

Fortunately, Cha Hyewon obediently followed my instructions and started to retreat with Irian. Thanks to the aggro that was drawn to Somir, who was raging in the distance, the number of monsters heading towards us decreased, and we quickly retreated after Sandra’s pillar of fire swept across the front, with her mana fully charged.

Fortunately, Sandra’s wide-range magic drew the monsters’ attention for a moment, allowing us to escape their detection range.

“Uwaaa!! Where did they go! Sandra! Magistrate! Uwaaak!!”

Somir’s screams, which had been going on for a while, suddenly stopped. The faces of the group, who were quickly retracing their steps through the passage, were hardened. …Damn it. This feels awful.

“He’s probably dead, right?”

I was furious at Irian’s gloomy appearance. What a mess because of one idiot? I, as well as Irian and Cha Hyewon, were almost in danger.

“Who cares. If he didn’t die there, I would have killed him.”

I barely managed to hold back my rising anger and spat out the words as if I was chewing them, and Irian’s wide eyes turned towards me. …What? Why is she so surprised? Was my language too harsh?

“Yurian! Are you, are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay. Why?”
“There’s blood, blood on your mouth. Your face is pale.”
“……Really?”

Suddenly, my legs gave out, and the world turned upside down.