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Hamel stared at a dragon soaring high above the surface of the water.

The dragon also flashed its bright blue eyes toward Hamel in the water.

The next moment.

─Whoosh

Now, manipulating mana, he could sense it.

For an instant, the air around the creature wavered.

It looked as if it were compressing and sucking in the presence and vitality around it.

Like a whale swallowing seawater with its huge mouth.

It inhaled a handful of the surrounding airflow.

A blue light flickered at its throat.

“Ah.”

No matter how stunned Hamel was, he could not fail to recognize that.

The dragonkind’s signature technique, even depicted on the mural.

It was a breath attack.

“….”

Hamel opened his mouth, wanting to shout a warning, but he couldn’t.

His mouth was filled only with the icy water of the lake.

─Bubble bubble

Spitting out a mouthful of bubbles, Hamel realized and quickly scanned his surroundings.

Ono and Rena were sinking deep under the water.

It seemed they had lost consciousness from the earlier shock.

Hamel grabbed them both and began diving deeper into the water.

And after a moment.

─Krakagagagak

An overwhelming water pressure engulfed Hamel.

Hamel, clutching the two, was spun around mercilessly.

Despite the dizzying shocks, Hamel did not lose consciousness and gritted his teeth.

Because that was the only way to live.

Hamel continued downward, further and further.

─Shshshshshk

And it was the right choice.

When the bottom of the lake came into view.

When Hamel turned his head, he could see the lake’s frozen water right above him.

Through the transparent ice, the faint shape of the dragon was visible.

The creature circled the lake once and then suddenly flew off toward the mountain’s summit.

‘Now.’

Hamel quickly tied the two together with leather straps and began to swim.

He needed to find a spot where the ice was thin.

But the ice was transparent, making its thickness hard to judge.

─Thud thud

Hamel drew his sword and struck the ice with the pommel.

He struck it three or four times like that.

There was no time.

If he searched, he might find thinner spots.

But Ono and Rena’s faces had gone white and the foam at their mouths was becoming intermittent.

They had to get out right away.

─Bang bang

Then the sound of striking with the sword’s hilt changed.

Still, the ice didn’t seem thin, but this was worth attempting.

Hamel swiftly wrapped aura around the sword and swung at the ice.

─Krak

The blade sank deep into the ice.

The ice, which he expected to cleave in one stroke, was tougher than he thought.

A sword swung underwater was slow, and the ice frozen on the lake’s surface boasted enormous mass.

The solidity of the cohesive ice, neither shifting nor wavering, surpassed imagination.

Hamel grew anxious.

‘…Break.’

Hamel swung his sword like a madman.

Using aura without breathing twisted his insides, and blood burst from his hand gripping the sword.

Still, Hamel did not stop and continued swinging.

Then the ice began to crack little by little.

After a short while.

─Crack crack shatter

The ice on the surface shattered into fragments like glass.

Hamel immediately threw the two up to the surface.

By recoil, Hamel sank deeper into the water.

Kicking his limbs toward the surface, the mere few meters ahead seemed endlessly far.

Running low on oxygen, his head throbbed, and the water that had gone down his throat felt like it would soon overflow into his lungs.

His numb limbs felt like they were made of clay, not his own.

Yet, to survive.

And to save his comrades.

Hamel thrashed his arms and legs with all his strength.

And finally.

“Gasp!”

Bursting up to the surface, Hamel desperately inhaled air.

It tasted sweet.

He only realized today that air could taste this sweet.

Hamel greedily gulped down the air.

His vision, which had been fading from yellow to black, slowly began to return.

The hazy, languid mind gradually woke.

“Cough! Cough!”

Spitting out water, Hamel groped around and found the two.

Rena and Ono.

Their faces were as white as paper.

Hamel, hands trembling, touched their noses.

“…!”

They were alive.

Their breathing was weak, but both were breathing.

He had pulled them up before it was too late.

Looking closely, there were traces of vomited water on their mouths.

“Well done, everyone.”

Hamel smiled faintly and began to pull them along.

There was no time.

Even Hamel, who was conscious, began to lose sensation in his limbs.

The cold that had seeped into his bones no longer even felt cold.

He could only hope his nerves were not already necrotic.

At most ten minutes.

If they did not raise their body temperatures within that time, death would not be surprising.

Fortunately, where Hamel’s party surfaced was near the lakeshore.

Hamel staggered and dragged them toward some nearby rocks.

And then.

“…!”

Miraculously, there were dry twigs suitable for firewood near the rocks.

Hamel offered a short prayer of thanks and drew his sword, striking a rock.

A sharp sound rang out and sparks flew.

The sparks fell onto the bark of the wood.

Trembling, Hamel placed dry grass on the fallen embers.

He blew gently, and gray smoke began to rise.

‘It’s working.’

He had succeeded on the first try.

The dry grass that had smoked suddenly burst into flames.

All that remained was to transfer the fire to the logs.

Hamel split the logs into smaller pieces and placed them on the flame.

The fire shrank as the dry grass burned out.

But it had fully transferred the flame to the logs.

─Crackle

Once the logs caught, Hamel frantically threw in everything flammable around him.

He quickly dragged his companions and lay them by the fire.

The task was completed in an instant.

And that was Hamel’s limit.

─Thud

Hamel collapsed by the fire like a puppet with cut strings.

The internal injuries from colliding with the dragon and from forcibly using aura.

Considering the hypothermia and frostbite, it was a miracle he had moved at all until now.

‘I can’t fall asleep like this…’

Hamel blinked to fight off the overwhelming drowsiness.

There was still work to be done.

If only he could finish even that much…

But sadly, that was as far as he got.

Hamel finally lost consciousness with a soft thud and closed his eyes.

---

─Awooooooo

The howling of wolves echoed from a faraway place.

As if welcoming the coming night…

‘…Is it night?’

Hamel snapped awake.

What he had worried about until the brink of sleep had become reality.

He could see twinkling stars and a faint moon in the sky.

The deep blue sky and the faint starlight indicated night had only just fallen, but it brought little comfort.

Hamel quickly stifled the smoldering logs with dirt.

The campfire died silently in an instant.

Darkness settled around them and silence followed.

Had they timed it right?

Just as he held that faint hope.

─Ruff ruff!

─Grrr

The sounds of chimera came from the ruins in the distance.

The sounds grew closer.

They were clearly heading this way.

“…Are we too late?”

They had tried to put it out as quickly as possible, but some of them had already seen the firelight.

One became two, two became five.

Once there are more than five, it’s beyond turning back.

They would soon swarm like a pack of dogs and pursue them.

‘That’s why we tried to hide the light as much as possible.’

Hamel blamed himself for failing to finish and roused his companions.

“Wake up. Mr. Ono. Miss Rena.”

“…What is it?”

“Where are we, priest?”

Only then did the two, coming to their senses, look dazed.

Hamel helped them up and said.

“First, we’ll talk as we run. Chimera are coming.”

“What? But there’s no way they can cross the lake…”

Rena, flustered, turned her head to look at the lake.

She couldn’t help trailing off.

The thin sheet of ice that had covered the lake earlier was gone.

In its place, an ice mass stretched across the lake along the dragon’s breath, frozen solid.

“They’re coming soon.”

“….”

Rena and Ono nodded as if they’d finally grasped the situation.

Hamel started running ahead.

They needed to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the chimera.

Perhaps the beasts wouldn’t chase them all the way up the mountain.

And it didn’t take long to realize that was wishful thinking.

─Pat pat pat pat

The three of them dashed swiftly through the darkness.

Still, the distance to the chimera closed in an instant.

“The chimera are on our tail. Prepare yourselves.”

“Yes.”

Hamel slowed just slightly at his words and slipped to the rear of the party.

The next moment, Rena used a spell.

“Slip.”

“Kiiiiik?”

A chimera with a leopard’s body and head and an eagle’s wings faltered for a moment, flapping and rising into the air.

And in that moment, its fate was decided.

─Sunder

As if predicted, Hamel’s sword flew true and cut the creature’s neck.

Even though aura had been applied, Hamel judged it too shallow to sever the head completely, so he did not press his luck and turned to run again.

From the half-detached neck, the chimera gurgled and spewed blood with a choking sound.

But no matter how great the chimera’s regenerative power, it was still a living creature.

The chimera collapsed after only a few more steps.

‘The problem is…’

─Krrrrrrik

That countless chimera were trampling over such corpses and chasing after them regardless.

Just as Hamel frowned, there was welcome news.

“Priest! Over there…!”

“At the base of the mountain!”

They could see the mountain’s foothills beginning to appear.

The rendezvous point they had discussed earlier.

If Daniel and Rupert joined them, they could finally breathe easier.

But…

“What the… why…”

Ono couldn’t finish the sentence.

Even upon reaching the mountain’s base, there was no sign of the two.

Hamel paused for a moment.

The others slowed and stopped as well.

“We’ll make our stand here.”

There was no point in running any further.

The chimera pursuing them had closed to right before their noses.

Then it was better to fight here and wait for their allies.

Pooling their strength would allow them to create other options.

Nod

Ono and Rena agreed and drew their weapons.

The ground trembled.

Chimera the size of houses approached right up to them.

The party steeled themselves.

Rena, intending to strike first, quickly drew up her mana.

“Burn…”

Just as she was about to cast the spell.

─Screech

Two streaks of light that appeared from somewhere struck down the necks of the chimera charging at the front.

Hamel saw two people emerge from the forest and called their names happily.

“Sir Rupert, Sir Daniel.”