Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

59. On The Run

"You may rest assured that this mountain will not collapse," Fuyumi said as she raised her head to see the spear, seemingly unconcerned about the situation.

Yuki and the twins, who were also staring up at the spear that was rapidly reaching them, seemed to be not the least bit interested than they had been before. I must admit, the strength of that spear was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. But I decided to simply sit back and let it approach us since no one seemed to be concerned about it.

Fuyumi rose to her feet and raised her hand in preparation for turning the counter the spear. The moment it started to slow down, I raised my brows and carefully watched what she was about to do. What the heck is going on...? Did she just use full-counter on that massive ass spear?! My jaw dropped as I stood there watching it make its way in the direction of the kings' palace.

"Now, they would understand what it's like to have a massive spear going towards their place," Fuyumi murmured, a sneer on her face as she lay down on the snow.

"I'm guessing they're in a state of panic right now," Yuki added, smiling as she made a snowman.

"But we can't afford to be too carefree, can we? In less than a week, my life force will no longer be able to keep up. I am not going to stand by and watch this mountain be destroyed the next time they attempt to strike us with those spears, so we must escape as soon as possible."

"Why are we even trying to escape in the first place?" Yuki asked, tilting her head to the side. "We simply need to get moving and figure out a way to put a stop to this. After that, Ivory will be able to return to the present-"

All of a sudden, a raven came flying towards us. Blood started to trickle from its body as it came to rest in front of us. Fuyumi sighed and knelt before the raven, which she was holding in her hands as she tried to heal it. The raven started to croak little noises amidst the injuries it was suffering from. Fuyumi suddenly closed her eyes as if she were listening to the raven. I turned my head to the side, confused since it seemed as if the two of them were speaking with each other.

"The kings have made the decision to personally seek you out, Ivory. This mountain wouldn't have a chance against the three of them working together," Fuyumi said after a brief period of stillness.

Enkai rose to his feet as he slung his katana over his shoulder, a sigh coming from him as he turned his gaze north. "The flat area next to this one should be an ideal location to confront the kings. But we won't be able to openly lure them there. We have to find a way to bring them there. I refuse to die without at the very least harming them in some way."

"I agree," Kasai muttered as he sat in the snow, hugging his katana with a smirk on his face. "I think the old guy deserves a good kick in the shins."

"I'd want to give Orca one final chance to see his evil daughter before she disappears. Hmm, might as well attempt to survive off his life energy in the midst of the combat," Fuyumi murmured as she glanced at her crimson claws, smirking like a fool. "I can almost see the expression on his face when he finally sees the youngster who has damaged his oh-so-amazing reputation."

Yuki sighed as she caressed the sheaths of her katanas with her index and middle fingers. "It would be fantastic if these blades could leave a lasting scar on Leon. That would be pleasing enough for me before I commit suicide."

I could feel the gaze of one or both of them on me, but I refused to look them in the eyes. Even though I wanted to join them in this struggle, I felt that it was not a battle in which I was destined to engage. To be honest, I have no idea where I am meant to go at this point. One thing I am certain of is that I have a task that must be completed. I have a strong feeling it has something to do with Kasai, but I'm not sure what it is.

When I turned to gaze at Kasai, he kicked the hilt of his katana upward, sending it flying into the air. He then grabbed the hilt with ease, making him seem cool. Once I've returned to the current time, I'll ask Blake to try to do something like that. Ah, there are so many things I want to accomplish when I go back, and I'm having trouble organizing my ideas! Oh, gosh. I lost my focus way too fast just because of Blake!

I took a deep breath as I approached Yuki with hesitation, afraid that she might be unable to provide me with a solution. She was the only one who prevented me from returning to the present time, so she should have a compelling motive for doing so. But just as I was going to reach out to help her, she collapsed on the ground, coughing continuously. I took a step back since I was aware that Yuki had only a limited amount of time left before her body gave up.

Enkai gave Yuki a little glass of elixir, who knelt by her. The latter gulped it in a matter of seconds, nearly shattering it with her firm hold on the glass. Fuyumi looked at me as though she didn't understand why I had taken a few steps back. I could see that Kasai was looking at me with the intent of approaching me. But since they were unable to physically touch me, they resorted to using their looks to prevent me from leaving.

"Ivory..." Yuki mumbled as she struggled to regain her breath after seeing me fight to catch mine. "You are placing an excessive amount of blame on yourself. This whole scenario was brought about by a curse that had been put upon me, and it was something I couldn't avoid even if I wanted to at the time. I tried my hardest, but I failed miserably. This curse has nothing to do with you, so please stop being so on edge..."

I clenched my fists and stared down at my hands. "Why are you keeping me here? We both know that I have fulfilled my purpose-"

"I want you to witness me confront Leon. This is the first time I'm going to battle him while I am conscious, and I want you to be there to see it so that you may be proud of what I've accomplished. As soon as I die, you will be sent back to the current time, so please...stay till the end..." Yuki said, almost begging me, as she raised her eyes to mine.

This moment felt...much more depressing than it should have been. I came to the realization that everything was weighing heavily on me to the point that I had lost sight of my true purpose in life. I'm here to see what happened to Artemia. I wanted to get to know Yuki, which is why I went out of my way to discover Yuki's sword in the middle of a mountain that was literally impossible to climb. Those compelled me to go back in time and find out for myself what happened. I'm not here to fight with them. Although I wish I could, those were not things that I must do...

Right. The plan had been for me to be on the field of battle with Freya and Dylan...and, of course, Blake. That is not the case with the four of them. Yuki, Fuyumi, Kasai, and Enkai, I mean. I covered my face with my hands as I laughed at my own silliness. Perhaps I became too preoccupied with the idea of fighting alongside Yuki to the point that I began to feel that this was my mission. The realization that there is no sense in contemplating what I should do has finally dawned on me. The reason for my existence here is right in front of me. All I have to do now is stand by...and observe.

Once again, I sighed as I looked down at my hands, still feeling frustrated by my current state of impotence. But knowing what Yuki thinks has made me feel a whole lot better. I'm still not sure what the other three think of me at the moment, but I still believe that if Yuki wants me to live to witness the end of this age, then I should heed her wishes. Also, the last time I saw Yuki fight Leon, she was not herself. The sight of her battling him with everything she has might be the most amazing thing I could possibly see in this time period.

"All right, I'll stay..." I said while standing behind them to follow.

After hearing what I said, their faces lit up. Now, we will devise an elaborate scheme that will fool the three kings into thinking that we are trying to escape. I mean, the three of them will do it. When Yuki finished his three-dimensional model of this location and the field about a kilometer distant, we all gathered around him in a circle to watch. I raised my brows in admiration because of how intricate and gorgeous it was. But the most astonishing aspect of it is that Yuki was able to fit all of that within a circle with a radius of at least one meter.

"Everyone, please pay attention. Leon is likely to assume that we are attempting to flee from them since the mountain's barrier and Fuyumi's power will not be effective for lengthy periods of time. They would believe that we are just trying to escape as we sprint through the hills. Knowing Leon, he would never catch on to what we were up to since he believes I am incapable of deceiving him in any way. After that, we'll meet them on the field, where we'll make them think they've cornered us, and then we'll proceed with our own battles," Yuki explained as she hovered over the model to show us where we were going on our journey.

"Yuki," I called, and all four of them turned to face me. "With regard to your memories..."

Yuki smiled and nodded. "I'll unleash the old magic when I've inflicted some harm to Leon's body. However, I need someone to conceal and secure my katana in a location where others will not find them."

Following that, there was a minute of quiet. Almost everyone was probably aware that the person who volunteers must not die until I come across them again later on. I took a good look around at every one since it seemed like they were all thinking about it. I expected Yuki to attempt to persuade them to do it, but she remained silent and waited for someone to take the initiative. Oh? It seems like Yuki has finally undergone some sort of change.

"I'll take care of it," Kasai said, his gaze fixed on Yuki.

"Are you certain about that? You are not just forcing yourself to-"

Kasai sighed as he fixed his gaze on me. "It's something I'm pushing myself to do. Even if it will take some time until I accompany the three of you, my faith in Ivory that I will be liberated in the near future is strong."

I smiled and nodded. "I'm going to do it. That's a promise, believe me."

"All right, that's settled."

"But-"

"Don't worry, Yuki. I'm well aware of what I'm doing," Kasai assured her with a melancholic grin on his lips.

Then a few animals approached Fuyumi and began to converse with her. It seemed as though the kings were already on their way to find us and hunt us down. I mean, them. Following that discussion, we began making preparations to evacuate the mountain. Kasai needed to transform into his panther form in order for me to be able to ride on his back. Yuki has poured more of her life power into me in order to prevent me from passing through Kasai like a ghost. Although it was a little tough for me to keep my grip on him since he was moving at such a fast pace! This jerk!

I could definitely sense the kings' presence from the moment we left the mountain and began our circuitous route around the area to deceive the kings. To prevent the kings from locating us too fast, the four of them had to tone down their presence. Even though Eagle is able to fly, I believe that we will be able to outrun them. Maybe not, but I feel like the twins can handle it on their own. Besides, they are their parents! The four of them are well aware of how the kings would react, so I had no reason to doubt them any longer.

We are the ones on the run for the first time since I arrived in this country. Throughout this whole period, the opposite camp was always the first to withdraw. Even though it is obvious that these four are capable of handling themselves, it is quite an unexpected turn of events. They came to a complete halt all of a sudden. It seemed like there was something in front of me, so I looked around, only to find the pond that I used to like.

"What brought us to a halt?" Fuyumi asked, raising her brows to the sky.

I took a quick look around, afraid that our pursuers would appear at any moment. "Is something wrong...?"

"Eagle is somewhere around here," Enkai said as he drew his sword. "Do not move from where you are."

"Yuki may be kidnapped by the old man at any moment. Fuyumi, do you think you'll be able to find him down with the plants?" Kasai asked with his low voice.

Because of how low his voice sounded, I was astonished to hear him talk, but I pretended it didn't bother me at all. Instead of thinking about such things, I looked up at the sky to see whether Eagle was anywhere up there. I recognized him from the image we had seen when we first entered the game, so I made an effort to distinguish him from the rest of the birds. Who knows, he may be up there somewhere...

"He isn't up in the sky, Ivory," Kasai spoke once again, which made me jump.

When Enkai saw how I reacted, he locked his gaze on me. "Are you okay? Why are you so nervous?" he asked with furrowed brows.

I shook my head. "Please don't mind me. I was just...never mind."

"Stay quiet. I'm getting close to identifying his whereabouts..." Fuyumi whispered as she closed her eyes, trying to communicate with the plants. "He's someplace in this vicinity."

And then I sensed a figure approaching from behind me, so I grabbed Kasai's ear and forced him to walk forward. If he hadn't done so, he would have been harmed by Eagle's claws, which were quite sharp. I heaved a sigh of relief as I clutched my chest, relieved to see that no one had been wounded. There was a strong impression that Eagle had been lurking in the forest, generating illusions of his presence in order to trick us into believing that he was still there. But the truth is, he has been planning to strike from behind the scenes.

"Yuki, what do you think we should do now?" Enkai inquired as he stood in front of us to defend us from Eagle.

"We are going to run."

"What...?"

"We must outrun him for as long as we are able to do so. Fighting in such a confined location would be very difficult for all of us."