RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

The ground beneath them was no longer just shaking—it had gone completely mad!

It was as if a slumbering, ancient titan had been violently awoken and was letting out a furious roar.

The solid ground instantly transformed into a raging sea, heaving, collapsing, and tearing itself apart.

Massive chunks of earth were flung into the air by an unseen force, only to come crashing down. Sturdy trees groaned, a sound that set one’s teeth on edge, before snapping in half like brittle reeds. Countless fragments of rock rained down from the fractured cliff faces.

But the deadliest of all were the black maws that suddenly gaped open.

Bottomless fissures spread across the ground at an astonishing speed, widening as they went.

They devoured fallen trees, scattered cargo, and anything else that lost its footing.

The echo of earth and rock plunging into the Abyss sounded like the chewing of Hell, a bone-chilling noise.

"Damn it!"

Roland was thrown off balance by the violent tremors. He could only watch helplessly as a savage fissure, as wide as a carriage, lunged like a living creature toward the fallen Black Wind and the kneeling Teresa.

It was too close, too fast!

There was no time to think, no time to hesitate.

In an instant, the will to survive crushed all Fear.

"Teresa! Grab hold of me!"

Roland shouted to the silver-haired woman as his body erupted with astonishing Power, and he lunged toward Black Wind, who was closer to the fissure’s edge.

"Up!"

Roaring, Roland dug his fingers into Black Wind’s heavy saddle and mane. The muscles in his arms knotted and veins bulged on his skin. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The warhorse, previously unconscious, seemed to sense its master’s desperation. It let out a pained, struggling whinny, its hooves miraculously finding purchase a few times amidst the mud and tremors.

Using that faint burst of strength from the horse and his own explosive, raw Power, Roland managed to drag his heavy partner several feet back from the collapsing edge.

But that was all he could manage.

Black Wind collapsed again, more white foam frothing from its mouth and nostrils.

Meanwhile, the fissure was now perilously close, and it was still widening.

Large chunks of earth were crumbling from its edge.

Without even a moment to catch his breath, Roland spun around, rolled, and threw himself toward Teresa.

She was still lost in some unknown agony.

Her mind was clouded, and she was almost completely unresponsive to the cataclysm unfolding around her.

"Sorry about this!"

With a low grunt, Roland hooked his arms under Teresa’s, locking her cold, trembling body in a tight embrace and dragging her backward with all his might.

"Argh!"

Teresa let out an unconscious groan of pain.

The very instant Roland pulled Teresa from where she had been...

CRACK! RUMBLE!

The ground where they had just been, along with a huge section of earth, instantly crumbled and plunged into the bottomless Darkness of the Abyss below.

Splintered rocks flew past, grazing Roland’s cheek.

’The only way out is behind us!’

After a quick scan of his surroundings, Roland began dragging Teresa, his feet scrabbling for purchase on the constantly collapsing ground.

Scrambling on all fours, he made a desperate dash for the only place that seemed relatively stable: the entrance to the cave where the Demon stored its loot.

Rubble was raining down from the cave entrance amidst the tremors, but the structure itself seemed unusually sturdy and had yet to be torn apart.

Roland slammed his shoulder into a few rolling boulders to clear a path. Half-dragging, half-carrying Teresa, he used every ounce of his strength to shove Black Wind’s heavy body deeper into the cave.

"Get inside! Both of you, get inside!"

He roared hoarsely, racing against the crumbling earth.

Just as the battered figures of two humans and a horse tumbled into the relative safety of the cave...

"BOOM!!!"

Another earth-shattering crash resounded.

Accompanied by the grating screech of stone against stone, a boulder the size of a house broke free from above the entrance. It fell with immense force, crashing down on the last small patch of open ground just outside the cave. The impact kicked up a cloud of dust so thick it was like a dense fog.

The light was instantly extinguished.

In the depths of the cave, all that remained were the ragged gasps of the survivors, the faint, pained whinnies of Black Wind, and the ceaseless, rumbling roar of Destruction from the world outside.

’What in the world is happening... Is this the apocalypse?’

Roland shook out his aching arms, his body still coiled with tension.

The strange sound from the distance had vanished, but the rumbling of the earth outside the cave continued.

After what felt like an eternity, the ground’s trembling gradually subsided, and the tension that had gripped Roland finally began to ease.

"Whew..."

Letting out a long breath, Roland activated the white bone on his wrist. In an instant, a brilliant orb of light dispelled the cave’s Darkness.

He quickly turned to check on his companions in the newfound light.

Black Wind lay on the ground, the foam around its mouth and nose now dried. Its chest still rose and fell, however faintly.

Teresa was curled up in a corner, her silver hair plastered to her pale face by cold sweat, but she was still breathing.

Inside the leather pouch at his waist, Qiao’s stiff little body twitched faintly.

’They’re all just in a deep stupor, but their lives aren’t in immediate danger.’

Once he confirmed this, Roland immediately turned and strode toward the cave entrance, which was now sealed by the Giant Stone.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

After a few heavy strikes, his brow furrowed.

’Damn it, the way out is completely blocked. Whatever...’

Roland was never one to sit around and wait for death.

After a brief assessment of their predicament, he gave his head a hard shake, as if to cast off all useless anxiety and hesitation.

Then he turned back and, by the light of his [Light Technique], began to carefully survey the cave.

As the light advanced, the full scale of the cave’s interior gradually unfolded before his eyes.

Vast.

That was the only word that came to Roland’s mind.

This was no simple, shallow hole for a Demon to temporarily stash its ill-gotten gains.

The scene before him was more like a subterranean temple carved from the very heart of the mountain.

The main chamber of the cave was exceptionally spacious, its ceiling soaring far higher than the entrance.

The [Light Technique] floated in the center, yet it couldn’t fully illuminate the ceiling, only vaguely outlining the silhouette of a rugged, rocky dome.

The goods the Demon had hauled in earlier were piled haphazardly near the entrance, looking as insignificant as a child’s scattered toys in the vastness of the chamber.

’Are these... Spell Patterns?’

Roland frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on the intricate, complex lines covering the illuminated cave walls.

’Could it be that these Spell Patterns are the reason this cave wasn’t affected?’

He didn’t dwell on it, however. Instead, he cautiously ventured deeper into the cave.

After advancing a few dozen paces, the shape of the cave began to change.

The single, massive chamber gave way to a series of branching tunnels of various sizes, spreading out in different directions like the roots of a great tree.

Roland halted. The orb from his [Light Technique] hovered over his head, brightly illuminating the forking paths before him.

The tunnels varied in size; some were wide enough for several people to walk abreast, while others were so narrow that one could only squeeze through sideways.

They interlocked in a chaotic, irregular pattern, plunging into the deeper Darkness to form a complex, subterranean maze.

The tunnel walls still bore the marks of violent excavation or erosion, which were especially prominent at the entrances.

Just as he held his breath, concentrating on discerning the differences between the tunnels, he felt a faint, subtle sensation brush against his cheek.

A draft!

It was so faint as to be almost imperceptible, but it was unmistakably moving air.

It caressed his skin like a cool silken thread, carrying a hint of freshness that was completely different from the stale, stagnant air deeper in the cave.

Roland’s spirits lifted.

He immediately focused his Perception, listening intently while holding out a hand to carefully test the direction of the airflow at the entrance of each tunnel.

’There’s a draft... and it’s coming from different directions...’

Roland muttered to himself, a sharp glint in his eyes.

’This means... these tunnels aren’t dead ends! They probably connect to other exits... and maybe even lead back to the surface!’