Chapter 53: A Near Death Escape!
Chapter 53
’Damn it! How the hell is Sir Tom so strong? Th...this is absurd. He completely overpowered that beast like it was nothing! But how?
Isn’t he just a B ranker?’ Aria thought in disbelief, her eyes trembling as she stared at the B-ranked Reaver who was casually striding toward the group, a calm smile painted across his face.
"You sure do live up to your name. Sir Tom, the strongest B-ranked Reaver in the whole of the Arcad continent. No wonder you’re so close to breaking through to A rank." Kael chuckled with awe hidden in his tone.
"And now that the fight is over, stop freaking cuddling me. I can feel something poking at me." Erin grumbled furiously, shoving Kael away from her body.
"Ouch. That was rude." Kael scoffed, turning aside in annoyance while squeezing his legs together tightly for... obvious reasons.
"How are you all holding up?" Tom asked with a carefree smile, ruffling his own hair while fresh blood still dripped down from the corner of his mouth.
"Yo... your mouth." Rina pointed out, her expression tightening.
Tom raised an eyebrow, touched his lips with his finger, and wiped away the crimson. "Oh, this? Well, it’s just a small price I had to pay to defeat that ugly monster." He flashed a wide grin and gave a thumbs up.
"Price? What price?" Kael asked with suspicion, narrowing his eyes.
"Don’t worry about that. What matters is getting out of here before the dungeon closes. If it does, we’re doomed." Tom replied quickly, his tone sharpening with urgency.
"What even happens when a dungeon closes?" Kael pressed, finally steady enough to get to his feet.
"Beats me. I’ve never been stuck inside one before. But hey, if you really want to find out, you can stay behind." Tom crouched down beside the two unconscious bodies on the ground. His expression shifted.
’These two are in bad shape... but him...’ Tom’s gaze lingered on Zen, unconscious and barely clinging to life. ’He’s in far worse condition. If he doesn’t get help soon, he might not make it.
Thank goodness I wrapped that fight up quickly before my essence ran out. Damn it, who would’ve thought I’d get caught in a portal break on my way here? It’s like someone was deliberately trying to stop me from arriving. If I’d been a minute later, these kids would be corpses by now.’
"Why did you even get here so late? I thought the clan should’ve been notified of the rank shift sooner." Rina asked, suspicion gleaming in her eyes.
"I can’t answer that right now. What matters is time—and these two don’t have much of it left. We need to move." Tom’s voice turned firm as he hoisted Zen’s limp body over his shoulder. Kael followed suit, pulling Jace onto his back.
"Let’s go." Tom ordered. Without hesitation, he bolted for the dungeon gate, the others sprinting closely behind him.
The moment he stepped through the door, something slipped from Zen’s grasp. The lantern slid from his hand, hitting the floor with a small metallic clang only to dissipate instantly, fading into thin air as though it had never existed in the first place.
The others had just managed to make it through when the room behind them began to collapse violently. The walls trembled, the ceiling cracked apart, and the ground split open with deafening roars.
’Shit! We’re going to be late!’ Tom thought grimly, his face hardening as they all pushed themselves to run faster.
The dungeon itself seemed alive, hungry—its walls peeling away like rotting flesh, chunks of stone crashing down, while the ground beneath their feet tore apart like the gaping maw of some monstrous beast.
The tearing crept closer, only a single metre behind them now, snapping and swallowing everything in its path as they dashed desperately toward the glowing gate only seven metres away.
Every second felt like an eternity, every footstep a battle against death itself.
"So this is what happens after a dungeon boss dies." Kael mumbled as he looked around with wide eyes. "Fascinating."
"Yeah. Keep fascinating your death, fool." Erin scolded as she kept running with all the sheer determination she could muster, her boots striking the ground as though her life depended on it.
Slowly, the gate was now four metres away, but they didn’t slow down their pace. Their hearts thundered as they kept running while the cracking ground chased after them like an unstoppable predator. Kael held up the rear, sweat dripping down his face, when the crack suddenly caught up to him.
The ground opened up beneath his foot and he suddenly lost balance.
"AHHH!" he shouted as his body lurched forward, about to fall deep into the gaping rupture that looked almost like a wormhole swallowing everything in its path.
"Damn it. Flame Veil!" Tom roared as he leapt into the air with Zen’s limp body secured on his back. With incredible force, he kicked against the ceiling of the hallway, shattering a few loose stones, and then blitzed forward at full speed.
"Keep running, the rest of you!" he ordered with authority that brooked no argument as he dove straight into the sinking ground, catching Kael’s hand at the last possible moment.
And then, as if an invisible platform materialized beneath his feet, Tom pushed off it with explosive strength and landed a single foot away from the yawning pit.
Without hesitation, he bolted forward, still clutching Kael’s hand tightly as though he were a child about to cross a dangerous road. The B-ranker’s sheer power turned what seemed impossible into reality.
The closer they drew to the portal, the closer death loomed. The ground behind them split apart with deafening cracks, swallowing chunks of stone and dust into its depths.
Finally, the first to hurl herself into the portal was Aria, followed by Rina, and then Erin, their forms vanishing into distorted waves of light.
They warped out of the dungeon, leaving Tom, Zen slung over his shoulder, Kael being dragged, and Jace clinging to Kael’s other side.
"Almost there!" Tom yelled as his entire body strained under the weight of carrying so many lives at once. With one final push, a burst of flames erupted from his feet, propelling him forward like a blazing comet.
He launched them all into the portal just in time as the dungeon behind collapsed into ruin, its walls, ceiling, and floors shattering into nothingness.
But in the end, one thing was certain. The Reavers were safe. Outside, the portal flickered weakly for a moment before finally winking out of existence.
HUFF!
HUFF!
HUFF!
They all panted as if they had run a marathon, nearly collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. Beads of sweat cascaded down their faces, but their lips curled into smiles of relief. They had escaped. Against all odds, they were alive.
"Come on. You can all rest as much as you want when we get back to the clan." Tom said, finally releasing Kael’s hand. He exhaled deeply and began walking forward, his steady figure leading the way. The others exchanged looks before following suit, every step heavy yet filled with unspoken gratitude.