On the Run
1447 Words
Facing the darkness less than ten metres away from him.
The businessman, whose liver and guts were broken, cried out on the ground like a bird with a broken wing.
With the fruit crates he had been carrying in his hands falling to the ground, he himself fell to the ground, as helpless as a toddler who has not yet learnt to walk.
It's not hard to blame him.
Over the past ten years of his life, Gaine had seen robbers, encountered armies, and experienced the exploitation of bad lords himself.
But he had never encountered anything that could not be described in words.
A chaotic black fog that seemed to have self-awareness, devouring everything in front of him, the depths of the black abyss were filthy, desolate and dense.
Where was this something that a normal person could encounter?
If I have to say, when I was a child, I listened to the village elders tell myths and stories, and only in them was there this kind of existence that made people tremble.
This was something very literate, illogical, and inhuman!
"Ah ......"
"Help ......"
"I ...... save ......"
In desperation, Gaines twisted his head with all his strength and sent a fear-filled plea for help to his companion behind him.
"......"
No one spoke.
What responded to Gaines was the same desperate gaze of the other two travellers who were also unable to take a step, the same as the apprentice lad.
Like Gaines, who had collapsed on the ground and was closest to the black mist, they were also too stunned to move a single inch.
But in the deepest part of Gaine's pupils, there was still a bit of light that would move.
That was the lamp further back, which was flying away.
As well as the three figures that were following them, running wildly with their legs pulled out.
Held by Nessus, Ronald and Thomson, chasing after the only light, were running wildly deeper into the Black Mountains.
And farther on, in the direction from which they had come before.
The culprit that had caused the fire in the camp to go out had appeared.
It was the same thick black fog that was churning forward!
"Finished ......"
"Well!"
The last despair could not be spat out in time before Gaines was completely swallowed by the darkness surging in front of him. Along with several other people and lights, they disappeared into this thick fog that was impenetrable to the n***d eye.
--
"Can you explain now, if you can?"
On the other end, the three people who were pulling their legs towards the mountain were desperately fleeing into the distance.
Unlike Thomson, who could only barely manage to escape, Ronald's mind still had room to ask Nessus at his side.
"......"
After a few breaths of silence, the traveller, who was rapidly driving ahead by the light, slowly responded:
"Mr Ronald, what are you talking about?"
"At this time we can only run for our lives, how can a small merchant like me know what this thing is."
"......"
"Then let's escape first."
Looking at Nessus' unwillingness to answer himself positively, Ronald was a little puzzled.
He could be sure that he hadn't misunderstood the meaning of Nessus' words before, so why was this 'merchant', who had suffered a similar incident before, unwilling to share information at this moment?
No matter which way you look at it, everyone looking for a way out together is the optimal solution.
It doesn't make sense ......
"Ah!"
Not waiting for Ronald to think of another way to test Nessus, Thomson, who was following to the side, suddenly just stumbled.
The middle-aged man with thirty years old and grey sideburns fell hard to the ground just like that.
And Nessus, who had raised his lamp to lead the way, moved forward as usual, looking like he had absolutely no intention of staying behind to wait for the man to climb up.
"Tsk-"
"Don't fall again."
Frowning and shaking his head, Ronald still reached out and pulled Thomson to his feet before quickening his pace to follow Nessus in front.
Being so delayed, Ronald didn't have the chance to ask again.
Toughly following Nessus, the three of them then lined up in this dark night and continued to advance towards the mountains.
However, this kind of advance, it was really difficult to get rid of the black mist behind them.
Although the light was poor, the thick and deep black fog was still incredibly imposing at night, and just by glancing behind them, one could feel the great oppression of having nowhere to escape.
This situation lasted for about a quarter of an hour-
A new change finally appeared.
Because Ronald was always aware of the distance between the three and the black mist, he glanced behind him every so often.
In a certain moment of turning back.
He clearly felt that the spread of the black mist behind him began to slow down!
If it was the speed of an adult jogging in the beginning, then it was now the way it was when an ordinary person was taking a walk.
Was this considered good news?
Subconsciously, Ronald looked at his wrist.
A wedge-shaped tablet from the Two Rivers Valley and with a relationship with the gods existed was hidden in it.
He could be sure that some kind of power existed in this thing.
However, because of the blank knowledge about it, right now, he had absolutely no way to use the power in it, except for passive abilities like avoiding rain.
Otherwise, one might be able to do something with it.
Forget it-
Shaking his head, Ronald dispelled this thought of trusting his life's safety to something else.
He trusted his own thinking more than the stone slab that he couldn't figure out the bottom of.
There was no environment or time to toss around The Divine Mallet of Rain and Mist right now.
With that, Ronald shouted towards Nessus in front:
"Nessus, the black fog behind us is slowing down."
"......"
Hearing Ronald's shout, the figure of Nessus at the forefront visibly lurched, and the lamp held up in his hand also stalled in place as his master ground to a halt.
Gazing back into the darkness behind him, Nessus nodded through the night.
"It is indeed slowing down, but there is no intention of stopping."
"We still need to keep moving forward ......"
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"
He was about to confer with Ronald when a cry of sad remorse came from just ahead of them.
While the two stopped where they were, the completely stunned Thomson didn't stop.
Topping the panic by more than ten metres, he suddenly fell to his knees and let out a mournful cry, his arms knocking against his body in turn, as if the earth was boiling his hands.
"......"
The sudden movement immediately attracted Ronald and Nessus.
A glance was exchanged before they carefully leaned towards Thomson.
Soon, the thing that caused Thomson to make such a gesture was reflected in their eyes.
Through the bushes in front of him, a mansion of considerable size was situated on the dark ground, only a hundred metres away.
Through the light of the flickering fire in the windows of the ground floor, it could be confirmed that there were 'people' living there.
It must be that Thomson saw this kind of 'hope' in the depths of the night in despair, and that's why he completely collapsed.
With that, Nessus handed the lamp in his hand to Ronald, and then helped Thomson, who was kneeling on the ground:
"Thomson, it's not your fault."
"I've seen you take care of your own apprentice, this is in no way your responsibility."
Hearing such consolation, Thomson wrapped his hands tightly around Nessus' arm, his face snotty and full of grief. And Nessus just watched the other man choke on his sobs in silence, not caring that he was caught with his clothes deformed.
He didn't say another word -
In contrast, Thomson, who was still emotionally broken, was continuing to wail.
"Ah ......"
"I ...... can't believe I left that kid behind!"
"When I took Miguel away, I promised to make him a great businessman."
"I ...... I really did promise!"
After the deepest fear, the cheerful merchant's brain, though not yet clear, barely realised what had befallen him before, and what he had lost.
The apprentice that he had brought out from the village and nurtured like a child.
Just now, he had just been mercilessly abandoned by himself.
That was the real reason for him to reveal such a miserable state!
- Writer
