Heir Of The Supreme
Chapter 50: Moonlit Devil (5)

Chapter 50: Moonlit Devil (5)

After plummeting through the darkness for several moments, the black-haired woman lost hope of making it out alive.

From the speed she was travelling, if she ended up hitting the ground, it would most likely kill her on impact or at least heavily injure her.

Not to mention the woman on her shoulder.

Just as she began to succumb to reality’s grimness, the woman began to hear a rustling sound echo through the dark expanse.

Although she couldn’t see properly in the dark, she already knew what it was.

Water.

As the sound grew louder, the woman felt a cold blow knock the wind out of her.

Since she was carrying the princess on her back, she fell almost vertically.

Which was why, when the water hit her, she felt the pain shoot up through her feet.

However, the damage wasn’t too severe as she had enhanced her body with mana.

It would still impact her running speed, though.

Feeling the icy liquid envelop her, the woman fought against the current to keep both her and her ’passenger’ afloat.

Needless to say, it was much more challenging than simply keeping just herself out of the water.

However, somehow, she managed.

As soon as she broke through the water’s surface, the black-haired woman felt a soothing sensation ripple across her body.

Her burning wounds were numbed under the frigid cold water, somewhat easing her agony.

The woman gave into the force of the momentous current, allowing it to carry her along.

If she couldn’t run properly, this was the next best thing.

As long as she could distance herself from the creature, even a raging river, or whatever it was, was welcome.

Given the darkness of her location, the woman couldn’t see just how long or wide the river was.

Much less the underground cavern itself.

But she felt it was far more extensive than she could ever imagine.

It was a surprise that no one had known about such a place beforehand.

Maybe the ground beneath the cave entrance was particularly thin?

Well, whatever it was, it wasn’t the woman’s concern at the moment.

The only thing she needed to focus on was getting out alive.

After many minutes of being pulled around by the water, the woman saw a small light ahead.

Initially thinking it was her eyes playing tricks on her, the woman didn’t make much of it.

However, as the woman got closer, she soon realized it was no figment of her imagination.

No...

There was really something there.

Focusing her eyes on the light source, the woman noticed something else.

Land.

There was a patch of solid ground before her that the river seemingly snaked around.

Without the light’s illumination, she would have completely missed it.

Not only that, but she soon realized that she was on one of the outermost edges of the river.

Realizing that this was her chance to pull herself out of the frigid water, the woman desperately swam diagonally, aiming to reach the outermost edge of the river.

However, she couldn’t manage to pull herself out just yet.

The strong current wouldn’t let her.

Instead, the woman simply waited, letting the river pull her forward... Just a bit longer.

Soon, the moment of opportunity arrived as she reached the patch of land next to the light source.

Without wasting another second, the woman used this chance to finally make her move.

As soon as the river bent, the woman utilized her momentum to crash into the riverside.

Before the raging tide could sweep her away, she forced the upper half of her body onto the dry expanse of land.

Lifting her one remaining arm, she tossed Cecelia’s body over the edge before using her arm to climb out herself.

When she no longer felt the cold water pushing her, the woman collapsed in exhaustion.

"Hah... Hah..."

She seriously regretted her decision to bring the princess with her.

But in the end... It worked out.

The Kelonian woman was still alive and had the target of their mission with her as well.

However, she didn’t let herself grow complacent.

Who knew how far behind the creature was?

It had surely fallen with them, so it was most certainly in the river somewhere.

...This was no time to rest.

Realizing this, the woman forcefully pulled herself back up to her feet.

"I need... To... Keep moving..."

Cold and exhausted, the woman struggled to fight her impulses to lie down and rest.

But staying behind was not an option.

Reaching down, the black-haired woman picked up Cecelia’s body and slung the girl over her shoulder.

At this point, the Kelonian woman was almost in disbelief that the girl was still asleep.

Although she was forcefully knocked out, the girl had gone through far too much to simply stay asleep.

However, the woman didn’t express any complaints about this.

If the girl was unconscious, she would be easier to transport.

As she took a step forward, the woman grimaced.

She was most definitely sure that she had at least broken a bone or two in her legs.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed forward, trying to ignore the agony.

In an attempt to distract herself, the black-haired woman took the chance to study her surroundings.

As she did, the bright light she’d seen earlier soon caught her eye.

Given that it was still night outside, she initially thought it was moonlight that had somehow seeped down from above.

Maybe she could somehow utilize that opening to climb out of the cave.

However, looking closely, the woman soon realized that wasn’t the case.

There was no opening in the ceiling for any form of light to come down.

Instead, the light seemed to originate from some kind of glowing plant-like object.

"Bio-luminescent moss."

Having her minute hopes of escape crushed, the woman pursed her lips.

She needed to find another way out.

However, the area before her seemingly expanded endlessly, with no promise of a way back to the surface.

Just as she thought this, a sudden noise rang out behind her.

(BANG)

It was then...

Her sixth sense went into overdrive once more.

The woman didn’t need to turn around to know what had happened.

Yet, she instinctively did so regardless.

As the grizzly sight of the grey-skinned abomination reflected itself in her eyes, the woman screamed in terror.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

The monster had already caught her, and there was no escape.

No... She never escaped to begin with.

All this time, she was dancing in the palm of the monster’s hand as the creature took perverse glee in her suffering.

Unknowns and Magical Creatures were supposed to be mindless beings that simply acted on their desires.

So, how could one manipulate her so thoroughly?

While none of this made sense to the woman, she knew one thing.

She couldn’t run, nor could she hide.

As if proclaiming their game of cat and mouse was finally over, the creature lifted its clawed hand into the air and brought it down sharply.

...And that was the last thing the black-haired woman ever saw.

Like a puppet that had its strings cut, the woman fell to the ground lifelessly.

Along with her, the princess’s sleeping body also fell from her embrace.

Shifting its gaze away from the deceased black-haired woman, the creature focused its malicious gaze on the sleeping girl.