I Became A Side Character Fated To Suffer-Chapter 49:We Can’t Win

"Let’s stop fighting and go after him," Elderic muttered sharply, his eyes cutting toward Eleanor with urgency.

Without waiting for her to even give a reply, both he and Eleanor shot forward. Their figures tore through the air like streaks of light, heading straight toward the mouth of the cave.

The entrance loomed ahead of them, looking dark, silent, and ominous. For a brief second, everything felt completely wrong.

They were just about to step inside when a figure burst out of the darkness like a cannonball.

"RUN!"

Eleanor and Elderic froze mid-step, looking totally baffled.

They turned around and saw Reed sprinting toward them like a man chased by death itself. His eyes were wide with terror, his breathing was ragged, and he didn’t even bother to explain himself before he jumped out past them.

Then, they looked back at the cave. A faint glow with a steady pulse shone from deep within, and a rising heat made the very air distort.

"WHAT—"

Elderic’s words died halfway in his throat. His instincts suddenly screamed at him.

"JUMP!"

The moment the word left his mouth, both of them moved. They didn’t think and they didn’t hesitate for a second before they leaped away.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The world behind them exploded. A cataclysmic blast tore through the cave as a beam of condensed fire, pure, violent, and suffocating, shot outward like a dragon’s breath.

The mountain shook and the rocks vaporized instantly. The ground cracked open as the beam carved a burning path across everything in its way.

Elderic and Eleanor were blasted forward by the massive shockwave, their bodies shooting through the air at a terrifying speed. Wind howled past their ears and debris rained down around them like meteors.

Mid-air, Eleanor’s eyes snapped toward Reed. There he was, still running and trying to escape. Her expression darkened with sudden fury.

"YOU!"

With a flick of her hand, she summoned a Flame Shower. Dozens of blazing projectiles formed instantly, streaking toward Reed like a meteor barrage.

Reed felt the heat and the killing intent behind him. He twisted mid-run, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Are you serious right now?!" he yelled.

He tried to dodge, but Eleanor was much faster. She closed the distance in a flash, grabbed him roughly by the collar, and slammed him straight into the ground.

BOOM!

Dust exploded outward and a crater formed beneath them. Before Reed could even groan in pain, Elderic landed beside them with a heavy thud, stabilizing himself with one knee pressed into the earth.

Moments later, all three of them stood at the foot of the mountain. Behind them, the cave continued to collapse, and fire still raged within like a living inferno trying to claw its way out.

Eleanor tightened her grip on Reed’s shirt, her eyes blazing with anger.

"Just what the hell is going on?!" she shouted.

Reed didn’t answer immediately because his chest was rising and falling rapidly. His hands were trembling.

Then, slowly, he raised his arm and pointed upward.

"There’s... something inside..." his voice came out strained and thin. "It’s a Chimera."

Eleanor frowned at him.

"A Chimera what?"

For a split second, there was total silence.

Then, a massive ROAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR! tore through the sky. The sound wasn’t just loud, it felt ancient. It was a roar that carried weight, authority, and something undeniably draconic.

The air itself trembled and the ground beneath them cracked.

CRASH!

A massive figure descended from above, slamming into the ground with overwhelming force. The impact sent a shockwave rippling outward that flattened trees and kicked up a storm of dust and debris.

Through the rising cloud, a silhouette emerged. It was huge, with flames flickering across its body and scales gleaming beneath torn flesh.

Multiple limbs shifted unnaturally, looking as if several different creatures had been stitched into one single abomination.

Reed staggered back slightly, his voice barely steady.

"...I told you to run."

The dust hadn’t even settled when the creature moved. A low, guttural growl rolled out from the smoke, thick and suffocating, sounding like something breathing for the first time in centuries.

The silhouette stepped forward, taking a slow, heavy step that cracked the ground beneath it.

Then, its full form emerged. It was a grotesque fusion of nightmares.

A massive draconic head crowned its upper body, with molten cracks running across its scales like flowing lava.

Beneath it, a second head twisted sideways with wolf-like fangs exposed, its drool hissing as it hit the heated ground.

Its torso was a distorted mass of muscle and stitched flesh, looking as if different creatures had been forcefully merged into one existence.

It had six arms. Two were scaled and clawed, two were fur-covered and sinewy, and the last pair didn’t look stable at all, twitching unnaturally like they didn’t belong there.

On its back, it had torn wings that were half-burnt and half-regrown, leaking fire onto the earth.

Eleanor’s breath hitched in her throat.

"...What the hell is that?"

Elderic didn’t answer her. His eyes had already changed, glowing with intensity.

"Move."

The word dropped cold and hard. The next second, he vanished.

BOOM!

The ground shattered where he had been standing. Elderic reappeared mid-air above the Chimera, with mana surging violently around his sword.

"Mystic—" The air warped and compressed around the blade. "—BLAST!"

A massive sphere of condensed mana erupted from the sword, screaming downward with destructive force.

The Chimera looked up and actually smiled with an inhuman, twisted grin. It opened its draconic mouth and simply bit the attack.

CRUNCH!

"Whaaat?!" Elderic shouted in total shock.

The mana blast detonated point-blank, but the creature tore through it, ripped it apart, and devoured the energy.

The explosion swallowed both figures and then—

BOOOOOOM!

Elderic’s body shot out of the smoke like a broken projectile, smashing into the mountainside with a deafening crash.

"What?" Eleanor gasped.

She moved instantly. Flames ignited around her, wild and furious, as her aura exploded outward. Her rage finally overtook her hesitation. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"You disgusting freak!" she screamed. She thrust her hand forward.

"Burn. FLAME SHOWER!"

Hundreds of blazing projectiles rained down, covering the Chimera entirely in a storm of fire. The forest lit up and the ground began to melt.

The air sizzled as if it were burning itself. For a moment, nothing was visible but the orange glow of the flames.

Eleanor’s chest heaved and her eyes trembled with effort.

"...Did it—"

A shadow moved within the fire. Her instincts screamed and she tried to turn around, but it was already too late.

A massive claw came swinging at her.

SLAM!

Her body was smashed into the ground with brutal force. The impact sent a shockwave that ripped apart the surrounding earth.

Thankfully, at the last moment, she created a small fire explosion that shoved her away, but she was still badly injured.

"—KHH!"

Blood spilled from her lips and her vision began to blur. The weight of the creature’s presence was overwhelming and she couldn’t breathe.

The Chimera loomed above her, its multiple eyes staring down with something far worse than rage. It looked at her with curiosity, as if she were nothing more than prey it hadn’t decided how to kill yet.

"Get... off..." she wheezed.

Flames erupted from her hands again, but they were weaker and unstable.

A second strike came, faster and much crueler than the first.

BOOOOM!

Her body was sent flying across the battlefield, crashing and rolling before finally stopping in a broken skid.

A heavy, crushing silence followed.

Elderic coughed, forcing himself out of the rubble with blood dripping down his forehead. His arm was shaking uncontrollably.

Eleanor struggled to stand, her flames flickering weakly as her breathing came in uneven gasps. She raised her hand one last time.

SWISH!

A beam of fire shot up toward the beast, but the Chimera just opened its wide maws and swallowed the fire whole.

Then, it snorted flames from its nostrils in a mockery of her power.

Both of them looked up at it in despair.

A low rumble escaped its throat, almost as if it were telling them: I am disappointed.

Elderic clenched his jaw and shook his head.

"...We can’t win."