Chapter 732: Collateral

Ariel moved swiftly through the cave.

Among women, she wasn’t particularly petite. Her build was the long, slender type. But compared to Miss Muse—who was a full head taller than her—the sight of her carrying Miss Muse on her back made her feel a bit like a small pony hauling a heavy cart.

Even so, her movements were still extremely nimble. Her escape speed wasn’t affected in the slightest.

“The terrain is complex. That goes for the enemy too, so I have to use that—make as many false traces as possible.”

“And most importantly, I absolutely cannot enter a dead end.”

If they used their numerical advantage to push forward layer by layer, hiding would be completely useless. The moment she stepped into a dead end, she would be walking straight into their net.

So at a moment like this, every choice mattered.

While thinking, Ariel reached a fork.

At least five tunnels intersected here, deep darkness stretching beyond what the eye could see.

Ariel slowed slightly.

With a flick of her finger, five small warning magitech devices shot into the five entrances. After leaving some inconspicuous traces at each opening, they quickly hid themselves in the corners.

At the same time, several wisps of firelit glow ignited at a distance in the depths of the tunnels. From how the flames wavered, she quickly analyzed which passages had moving airflow—and which were so still that even the flames dimmed noticeably.

Ariel randomly chose one of the tunnels with airflow and plunged in without looking back.

The tunnel couldn’t be a dead end—but beyond that, she would analyze nothing, and she would choose nothing.

Rough terrain, wet mud, narrow passages...

The more you analyze and select, the more your choices become clues for the enemy to track.

Just like the hardest crimes to solve are often random killings with no motive.

In a situation like this, handing everything over to probability and luck was actually safer.

Those guys were known for not being particularly smart among demonkind—but the Flayers were clearly different from ordinary demonfolk. So she had to assume the worst in every scenario.

This was experience Ariel had accumulated through who knew how many life-and-death crises—experience that had saved her life more than once.

“It’s been over ten minutes since the explosion.”

“Those things should delay them about five.”

“If they compress my space like a net... after two—no, three more intersections, they’ll start running short on manpower for a while.”

Ariel quickly passed another crossing of tunnels.

Again, after choosing a passage with airflow, she randomly entered one.

“At this rate, in another half hour I should be able to shake them off temporarily... hm?”

Her expression suddenly tightened.

Had one of the warning devices at the entrance been triggered?

Faster than she’d expected.

But next they should be confused by the misleading traces she’d deliberately left behind. That would buy more time...

“Huh?”

A small sound of surprise escaped her lips.

Her tense expression turned into shock.

Because only one or two minutes later, another warning device had been triggered.

And this time, the triggered device was at the previous entrance she’d set not long ago.

They’d caught up?

That fast?

They hadn’t been misled at all by her feints—had someone on the enemy side simply charged straight through without caring?

Was her luck really that bad?

“No.”

A premonition of death rushed toward her.

A shrill howl pierced the tunnel, like the scream of a vicious ghost.

Ariel stomped both feet hard against the ground, carving two deep furrows that cut through solid stone. As she stabilized herself, she pivoted with the momentum and raised the Heavenly Flame Greatsword.

Clink!

A razor-sharp spear struck the blade dead center, bright sparks bursting out. The flash illuminated Ariel’s ugly expression—and behind her, more than a dozen terrifying figures in pursuit.

At the front, Kadosh accepted another spear from a subordinate and bared his teeth at Ariel.

There was no net.

No carpet search.

They hadn’t been fooled in the slightest by her traces and misdirection.

They were like hounds that had caught her scent—charging directly at her.

“So... all that misdirection I set up didn’t deceive them at all. It only slowed me down?” Ariel bared her teeth in self-mockery.

But why?

She knew she would never make the foolish mistake of leaving behind a scent.

If it wasn’t scent, then...

“It has to be some kind of locating method.”

Me?

Ariel glanced at her hands.

No.

She would never have been marked without noticing. And during any time she might’ve been marked, Teacher had been awake. There was no way some petty trick could slip past her.

Which meant—

“Miss Muse is the one being located?”

The warm breath from Miss Muse’s nose brushed repeatedly across Ariel’s neck, making it itch.

But after realizing this, Ariel didn’t even have the mood to notice that faint intimacy.

Because if that was the case, then this large-scale pursuit wasn’t primarily for her.

It was for Miss Muse.

She was the one being dragged in.

“This is bad...”

Clink!

Another spear was thrown. Ariel was forced to block again.

Sparks lit the tunnel once more as the enemy drew closer.

She deflected it successfully—but after blocking only two in succession, her hands were already trembling slightly.

The one in front was strong.

“Heh... human woman, why aren’t you running anymore?”

Kadosh approached slowly, his grin growing more savage.

He stroked the side of his face. It looked as if half of it had been scorched by flames—half his face in a horrifying charred state, cracked flesh leaking a foul stench.

He’d been closest to the earlier explosion, and naturally took the heaviest impact.

As for the unlucky one who’d been in the same spot beside him, that one was already dead.

But for Kadosh, this disfigurement was no different from death.

Because... because... with this face, how was he supposed to win Lady Enchantress’s favor now?

“Die!”

Kadosh was the # Nоvеlight # fastest. He charged first, the boning knife in his hand gleaming with a cold light as he brought it down in a vicious vertical slash at Ariel. Even before the blade fully fell, the ground had already been ripped open with cracks by the terrifying wind pressure.

Ariel blocked again.

Just as she’d said, Kadosh was powerful. Taking that hit head-on forced even her to sink slightly, lowering her center of gravity to bleed off the force.

But when the sparks lit the cave again, Ariel’s expression had already returned to complete calm.

Run?

In the current situation, running would be suicide.

With her position completely locked, running would do nothing but drain her stamina.

The reason they’d been deceived by her bombs earlier was probably because the locating range could only be precise within several dozen meters.

But within several dozen meters, in this labyrinth of tunnels, that was already precise enough to find her. No matter how many branches there were, she’d have nowhere to hide.

In fact, if the man in front of her weren’t blinded by rage, he could simply trail her like a hyena on the plains—unhurried, unpressured—waiting for his wounded prey to exhaust itself, bleed out, and collapse on its own.

Without lifting a finger.

No... that wasn’t quite right.

Even in her current predicament, there was still a thirty percent chance of escape.

But only if—