Both Noah and Mary sprinted up the ancient stone staircase as though their lives depended on it. Because they did. Behind them, the two mysterious men pursued relentlessly.

They weren’t demons like Xavier. They were humans. That only made Noah even more confused.

’Who are they? Why are they here? Why are they trying to kill us?’

He couldn’t understand any of it.

’These two probably have nothing to do with the demons... But damn it! Why do I keep running into one disaster after another?’

Noah silently cursed his luck.

Wissshhh!!

Several arrows made entirely of compressed water shot toward them from behind.

"Mary! Down!"

Without hesitation, both of them threw themselves down. The water arrows whistled over their heads before crashing into the stone ceiling above the staircase.

BOOOM!!

Chunks of stone exploded outward.

"Noah! Run!"

Mary was already back on her feet.

Noah forced his exhausted body to move and followed her.

THUD!

CRASH!!

Massive fragments of broken rock crashed onto the staircase behind them, partially blocking the path.

The collapse slowed Boris and Albert for a moment.

Boris clicked his tongue.

"Albert! Use your brain when you attack! This passage isn’t wide enough. If you keep using large-scale spells, you’ll bring the whole place down!"

Albert grunted.

"...Yeah. Got it."

Taking advantage of the delay, Noah and Mary continued running.

Soon, the staircase finally ended.

The narrow passage leading toward the surface came into view. Without slowing down, they rushed into it.

"Fuu... Haa..."

Noah gasped heavily.

Every breath burned his lungs. His entire body screamed at him to stop. His muscles were trembling. His mana was nearly exhausted.

Yet he couldn’t afford to slow down.

Mary glanced at him with obvious worry. "Noah! Hang in there! We’re almost out!"

"...Yeah."

His blue eyes remained fixed on the faint light at the end of the tunnel.

Stomp.

Stomp.

Stomp.

’Just a little farther... Only a few more meters... We can make it...’

Suddenly, a translucent notification appeared before Noah’s eyes.

[A Reward is Available.]

[Would you like to claim it?]

Noah ignored it immediately.

’Not now. What if the reward causes another painful evolution? I can’t risk that while we’re running.’

Behind them, Boris and Albert were rapidly closing the distance.

"You two aren’t getting away!"

Noah and Mary burst through the massive metal doorway and entered the earthen tunnel that led back to the surface.

At that exact moment, Albert extended his hand. A gigantic sphere of compressed water, nearly the size of a human body, condensed before him.

The amount of mana inside it was terrifying. It shot forward like a cannonball.

Mary sensed the danger first.

"Noah!"

She threw herself at him without hesitation. Both of them tumbled aside. The enormous water sphere flew past the spot where they had been standing only a heartbeat earlier.

BOOOOOOMMMM!!!

The explosion shook the entire underground tunnel. The blast pulverized the surrounding earth. Cracks spread across the ceiling like a spider’s web. Dust and broken stone erupted in every direction.

Even though Noah and Mary had avoided a direct hit, the shockwave still slammed into them. Their bodies were hurled through the air before crashing violently against the earthen wall.

BANG!!

Noah felt every bone in his body rattle. Behind the thick cloud of dust, Boris cursed.

"Where did they go?!"

"The tunnel’s collapsing!"

Mary groaned as she pushed herself to her feet. Her body ached, but she ignored the pain.

"Noah!"

She rushed toward him.

Noah was in far worse condition. Blood stained his clothes. His breathing had become ragged.

His vision blurred every few seconds. "Come on!"

Mary wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders and helped him stand.

"Damn it..."

Noah gritted his teeth.

"My body won’t move..."

"You have to!"

Mary practically dragged him forward.

"We’re almost outside!"

Supporting most of his weight, she hurried toward the exit. Ahead of them, the tunnel sloped upward.

Only one last climb remained before they could escape.

BOOM!!

Another spell exploded.

BOOM!!

Albert continued firing powerful water spells into the tunnel. Each explosion made the underground passage tremble violently.

Large cracks spread across the ceiling. Chunks of earth continuously fell around them.

"We’re almost there, Noah!"

Hope appeared in Mary’s eyes. Only a few more steps, just a little more steps they needed.

They were now near hole which was upward. Dim moonlight came from it.

But just then Albert’s figure suddenly blurred. Using reinforcement magic, he burst forward with explosive speed.

In an instant, he closed the remaining distance. His massive greatsword thrust forward like a spear. Its target was Noah’s back.

Noah sensed the killing intent. His instincts reacted immediately.

’Ice Wall! form it.’

He tried to gather mana. A sharp pain exploded inside his mana core. Nothing happened. His mana had been completely depleted from last use he did while running.

There wasn’t enough left to create even a thin layer of ice. Noah’s eyes widened.

’No...!’

SLASH!!

The sound of flesh being pierced echoed through the tunnel. Hot blood splashed across Noah’s back.

But he felt no pain. Confused, he slowly turned around. His pupils shrank. "Ma... Mary...?"

Mary was standing directly behind him. Albert’s massive sword had pierced straight through her back before emerging from her chest.

Bright crimson blood flowed continuously from the wound.

"Cough..."

She coughed up another mouthful of blood. The droplets splattered across Noah’s chest. Time seemed to stop. Noah stared at her blankly. His mind refused to accept what he was seeing.

"Mary...!"

His voice trembled. Mary slowly raised both trembling hands. Instead of touching her own wound...

She gently placed them against Noah’s chest. Noah was bend forward. Since he was to tired.

"N-Noah..."

Before he could say another word, a powerful surge of mana erupted from her body.

BOOOOM!!

A tremendous gust of compressed wind exploded outward. It perfectly send him in direction of hole.

"Arghhh!"

Noah was launched upward with overwhelming force. His body shot through the vertical tunnel leading to the surface like an arrow released from a bow. he couldn’t believe how she was able to do it. This was very weird.

THUD!!

He crashed onto the grassy ground outside. His body rolled several times before coming to a stop. Everything hurt, yet he ignored it.

"Mary...!"

He desperately tried to crawl back toward the entrance.

RUMBLE!!

The ground shook violently. The entire underground tunnel finally gave way. With a deafening roar, the earth collapsed inward.

The entrance caved in completely. Tons of rock and soil buried the passage beneath them in an instant.

"No...!"

Noah reached out desperately.

"Mary!!"

The collapsing ground swallowed part of his body as well. His legs became trapped beneath the loose earth.

Blood continued flowing from countless wounds. His vision blurred. The world around him gradually faded into darkness.

Still reaching toward the buried entrance. Noah finally lost consciousness.

The gentle moon light covered his unconscious body.