Crownblood: Novel's Untold Story-Chapter 26: The Grand Fallout

[Young Master, can you hear me?]

The voice was cold and calm... and tired.

The person speaking didn’t give a rat’s ass about the situation.

But still had to do their job.

"Rin!?"

I exclaimed, recognizing the voice from Cale’s memories.

"What are you doing?"

The knight frowned, taking a cautious step back.

But I didn’t pay him any attention.

_KREEE!

The swarm behind us was closing in.

[...Tch!]

My eyebrow twitched slightly.

’Did she just click her tongue?’

I shook my head.

’I must be imagining it.’

"Rin!? Is that you?" I called out again.

[Yes. It’s Rin. Your loyal shadow.]

The voice was flat, lifeless, like someone who had long stopped caring.

But to me, it felt like a godsent gift.

"Finally! What took you so long? You know I’m in a life-and-death situation here!"

[Is that so? Well, it takes time to recover from the lashes I received after a certain someone decided to run away.]

Her voice stayed emotionless.

[So, forgive me for any delay.]

’Damn. She’s angry.’

"Oye! Whatever you’re doing, do it quickly!" the knight barked, finally understanding something of the situation.

The swarm was almost upon us.

"Just buy me some time. We can definitely get out of here!" I said quickly.

"And how can I trust you?" The knight glared back.

"Do you have any other choice?" I replied, my voice colder than I intended.

"..."

The knight gritted his teeth, but sighed afterward.

Then carefully took Melissa off his back and handed her to me.

Then he grabbed my arm.

"I know you owe us nothing. In fact, it’s we who owe you for breaking us free from the monster’s influence. For that, I’m grateful."

He hesitated, eyes dark with resolve.

"I know it’s shameless of me to ask this... but please, at least save the Young Miss. If you promise to take her, I’ll gladly sacrifice myself as a distraction."

For a second, I didn’t say anything.

But despite the urgency of the situation, there was something I couldn’t help but ask.

"Why would you do that?"

Why would he sacrifice his life for the burden of a girl?

He could easily live if he just ditched her.

So Why?

"A knight’s duty is to protect his master... Even if it means dying for it." The knight replied.

’This guy...’

The swarm’s screeching filled the silence between us, a chorus of hunger closing in.

’Well, to each their own.’

Even someone as unruly as me has a code.

Respect everyone’s values in life.

Didn’t really matter if they were evil or good.

"Alright, I will take her out of here."

I moved my gaze away from the knight.

He let go of my arm in relief.

"Truly. Thank you."

"Hmm, don’t just give up on your life and stay close by. There might be a chance for you."

I said, my grip tightening around Melissa’s limp form.

"... Don’t worry, I don’t give up easily."

With that said, the knight summoned his sword and charged toward the swarm.

[Beacon]

He activated his skill as the red aura flared from his body.

Immediately, the swarm’s attention turned toward him.

"AHHHH!"

He drilled through the swarm, cutting a few and dodging mostly.

His main focus was taunting them all.

I activated [stealth], masking our presence as much as I could.

And that did the trick.

With the knight being the beacon of light, all the insects lunged at him like moths.

And slowly they got further and further away from us.

".."

[Young master, are you dead?]

I turned my focus toward the voice, which was warmer than before.

"No, but I-"

[Tch!]

".."

’T-This bitch!’

I barely suppressed my anger and spoke,

"Alright, I am sorry, okay. I will make it up to you when I return. So, please get me out of here."

[You sound desperate. Oh well! I do wish for you to come back, I can’t be the only one to get punished.]

’What a wonderful motivation,’

"I get it, alright. Now hurry up, also, there are two more people with me," I hissed.

[They have found the coordinates. But they can’t teleport more than two people.]

".."

I looked back at the small red light in the distance, which was getting farther and farther away.

My thoughts went back to when the knight first appeared before me.

And how he went from killing me to saving me.

’Seriously, life is such a folly.’

"Alright, do it," I said in a firm voice.

[Alright, is there any high cliff near you? High enough for you to fall for at least ten seconds.]

My heart dropped a little. "There is."

[Good, now you need to jump when the light appears around you.]

I edged closer to the cliff, looking down and gulping in silence.

’She is not trying to kill me. Right?’

"Are you sure about this?"

[According to mages here, your particles need to reach a minimal threshold frequency before they can tear them apart and blend them.]

".."

My face paled,

"The hell does that mean?"

[No idea. Some new technology, apparently.]

"Is it safe?"

[The last test subject survived with only one of his limbs missing. So yes, it is somewhat safe.]

".."

’Which part of it is safe!?’

Suddenly, a blue light started to flicker around me.

[Please jump in 5...]

"W-Wait! At least give me time to prepare!?"

[4...]

"Damn it!?"

I held Melissa tightly as I prepared to jump.

’It is going to be fine! It is going to be fine!’

The blue light intensified.

[3...2...]

I bent my knees, ready to launch, my heart drumming loudly.

[...1]

"AHHH!!"

Without thinking much, I forced my body to move and jumped.

First, the surface beneath my feet vanished.

For a second, I felt weightless as time seemed to slow down.

Then came the pull.

_RUSH!!!

Cold air brushed past my face as my body fell, leaving a trail of blue light.

"AHHHHHHH!"

I shouted, just to ensure myself that I was still alive.

My body became faster and faster.

The blue light intensified, enveloping both me and Melissa.

My body felt like it was splitting apart, yet I felt no pain.

Then, something strange happened,

Suddenly, all the noises ceased,

I was still falling, but there was no air.

’What is going on?’

Just to be careful, I didn’t move a single muscle.

Blue light is still flickering around us.

Slowly, my blurred vision cleared,

I caught sight of something flickering in the darkness around us.

I faintly made out the form of that something,

That thing was...

like...

"Huh!?"

I saw it, and it saw me.

Our eyes met. It was a giant...

smiling... world

My mind went blank as the blood started oozing out of my eyes.

’WHATISTHATWHATISTHATWHATISTHATPLEASEKILLMEPLEASEKILLMEPLEASEKILLMEKILLME!!’

[FOOL!! CLOSE YOUR EYES!!]

A familiar voice rang inside my head.

And just like that, I lost consciousness.