Chapter 21. No One Is Born a Hero (7)
And sometimes, you have to jump in even when you know it’s a trap.
Grinning, I tightly clasped Limos Therion’s hand that I had been quietly holding.
“Of course. Let’s go.”
You seem to know something too, Limos Therion.
Then I can’t be the only one diving in alone. You’re coming with me.
When Therion widened his eyes in surprise, his pale purple eyes faintly shimmered under the dim moonlight.
I grabbed him and stepped into the cave with magic.
As soon as we landed on the floor with a slight miscalculation in the air, an intense magical force—something we hadn’t felt outside—crawled up our spines and sent chills down our necks.
An instinct told me that no sound made inside here would ever make it outside.
And then—
“Lady Edith…”
Boom!
The ground trembled, and the ceiling collapsed.
Startled by the deafening crack of shattering rock, I momentarily let go of Limos Therion’s hand, and in that instant, he gently pushed my shoulder. In the darkness, I thought I saw a faint smile on his lips.
“You always make things interesting.”
‘…Always?’
“Wait—!”
Before I could grab him again, the entrance to the cave collapsed.
At the same moment, a tingling sensation swept through the hand I had held with his. A slick, sticky magic crept across my entire body.
This unpleasant sensation was…
I wasn’t the only one the magic had touched.
“……!!”
The magic spread out and instantly collapsed the cave—or more precisely, the mimic disguised as a cave.
A mimic’s painful shriek echoed amid the crashing rubble.
Pushed by Limos Therion’s force, I landed on something soft and squishy.
I quickly conjured light magic and saw that I had fallen onto sticky, sweet-smelling slime.
The cave interior was filled with the stench of rot and sweetness, and several unrecognizable corpses lay scattered nearby.
I frowned at the sight of the bodies under the flickering light.
“Ugh.”
It wasn’t that I was suddenly shocked by the corpses.
But the cave’s total collapse had been beyond my expectations.
Limos Therion, that bastard…
I glanced once at the now completely sealed cave entrance, and just before I turned to search for any other surviving students—
“……!”
To make matters worse, a chain collapse began.
Boom, boom!!
The pounding, crushing sounds came in a series, shaking the ground beneath and sending shards of stone falling from all directions.
The light magic I had conjured earlier had already flickered out.
Think, Edith Crowell.
Should I cast a shield? Or try to escape outside?
No, I don’t even know the exact distance—I can’t calculate blindly.
What if another student gets caught in the magic…?
…Would it be better to just wait for the collapse to end?
‘Or maybe I should just die and come back—’
That’s when someone tackled me in the darkness and pulled me into their arms.
Then, skillfully dodging the falling rocks, they rolled us into a corner.
Crash!!
Several massive crashes rang out as the collapsing stones locked into place.
At last, the falling debris stopped, with the sound of dust drifting down as the finale.
…Amazingly, not a single piece of rubble had hit me during the massive cave-in.
How?
I slowly opened my eyes, which I had shut tightly in fear of being hit.
I was dumbfounded.
…Who just saved me?
Please let it be Camilla Ginevere. Please.
If she rescued me, I’d feel at peace.
Praying so, I lifted my eyes toward the dark shape above me.
But as if to ignore my desperate wish, the voice that came from above was—
“…Are you alive?”
A maddeningly familiar voice.
It was Ethan Behemoth.
“…Yes.”
Reality never goes the way you want.
Why is it him again…? No—maybe he’s better than Limos Therion.
Thinking it over, maybe that’s true. Besides, this isn’t even the first time I’ve ended up under him.
Though this time, he was holding me so tightly I had to tap his shoulder to get him to move.
“Would you mind getting off me?”
“Oh.”
Only then did he get up.
Thanks to him rolling over me, I didn’t have a single scratch.
My back ached a little from hitting the ground, but—
‘This is nothing.’
Better than I’d expected. As I stood up and dusted myself off, Ethan Behemoth did the same and asked,
“You alright?”
“Yes, thanks to you. But… how did you know I was here?”
“I just saw you.”
You just saw me? In that? Then what about the other students?
The cave must have been pretty spacious, as even after the collapse, the remaining area echoed with our voices.
There seemed to be airflow, so oxygen wasn’t lacking.
“Watch your step, the ground’s uneven. Oh, could you make some light?”
“Yes.”
At his request, I conjured a floating orb of light, and Ethan Behemoth came into view standing in front of a pile of rubble.
He scanned my face up and down, and once satisfied I wasn’t hurt, he turned back to the stone wall.
Then he muttered,
“There’s probably space left on the other side of the rubble. Most of the students should’ve survived. They’re skilled enough to protect themselves.”
Even in this situation, he was analyzing.
I’d been worried I might have to lead him if he panicked.
‘So this is what a hero looks like.’
Good.
You’re a hero.
“So… you’re saying there’s no one you’re worried about?”
“There is.”
“Who?”
“You.”
“Why?”
“Let’s not talk about it.”
Was that a silent protest? No—it’s not like I came here to die.
“…….”
Hmm.
…But what am I supposed to do about these subconscious thoughts?
I changed the topic.
“Just to be sure… You didn’t tell anyone to come into the cave, right?”
“No. In fact, I kept telling them not to come in, but one by one they kept entering. I had a hard time trying to protect them.”
He pointed somewhere with his eyes.
I moved the light orb to follow his gaze and saw horrifying beasts sprawled across the floor.
One, two, three, four… Just how many had he taken down? Including those lost in the collapse, the number was substantial.
I turned from the pile of monster corpses and looked at Ethan Behemoth.
“So it really was you.”
With strength like this, despite all the variables, Ethan Behemoth might be able to survive.
That is—if he had a few crucial pieces of information.
And right now, the person with that information is standing in front of him.
Me.
I took a deep breath and began.
“That thing—this cave—it’s not what it seems.”
“The cave? …Explain.”
Ethan Behemoth furrowed his brow.
…Will he believe me?
“Yes. Outside, we all heard your voice urging us to hurry inside. That’s why everyone entered.”
“How is that even possible…?”
Even if he doesn’t believe me, I have to say it. I took a breath and looked him straight in the eye.
“…I think this isn’t a cave at all. It’s a monster. A mimic. You know what that is, right?”
But not just any monster—a Gigantic class one.
“…This is a mimic?”
Yes, it’s a mimic. Just a very large one.
And an overwhelming expansion of visual input can obscure even what you think you know.
Mimics usually disguise themselves as small boxes, monsters that can take the shape of objects. But when they grow large enough, they can easily take the shape of more complex structures.
Like, say… a giant fir tree.
Or a cave.
‘It’ll be common knowledge five years from now, but right now…’
No one knows.
Who would imagine that these cave-shaped structures are actually enormous mimics?
After the Academy Annihilation Incident, massive and powerful monsters began appearing all over the place, and the Empire named these creatures Gigantics.
Of course, all of this was discovered after they caused massive casualties.
That’s why the academy professors and knights were taken down so easily.
That’s why I was sure the student strike force couldn’t possibly handle it.
‘They’re missing information.’
Without proper knowledge of the enemy, you can’t even use half your power. Unless you possess overwhelming strength.
But back then, neither Ethan Behemoth nor Camilla Ginevere was that powerful yet. And I hadn’t yet gained any advantage from regression.
And I wasn’t in any position to convey this information convincingly to them.
If I had tried to stop the academy’s annihilation prematurely, it would only have led to disaster.
But I went and told him anyway.
I spoke, then quietly looked up at him.
I couldn’t easily guess how he would react.
Under the glow of the light orb, Ethan Behemoth’s sculpted jaw shifted as he opened his mouth in thought.
And what he said next caught me off guard.
“I see. Then, Edith—do you also know what we should do?”
