Before I knew it, the sun had fully set, and dusk gave way to a deepening night. The creeping twilight and the gradually chilling air signaled that dawn was just around the corner.
Thud-thud-thud, thud-thud-thud!
The ground trembled beneath me. It felt as if the very earth was roaring, as if I were running straight through the epicenter of an earthquake. Yet, strangely, my heart remained calm. The thousands of vibrations shaking the ground, the dust kicking up in bursts here and there—all of it slowly faded into a distant haze.
In this strange sensation, as if my senses were drifting away, the only thing I could feel was the cold wind brushing against my cheek. The surrounding scenery flashed past me like a fast rewind.
Yes, I was simply running across a vast plain. My body and mind were weighed down like lead after running all day, but with every step pounding the earth, I felt as light as a feather, almost as if I could soar. It was a feeling so light I wanted to race across this endless plain without stopping.
As if in response, hot air and labored breaths came from behind me. I didn’t even need to look back to know how desperately they were chasing me. Occasionally, I heard shouts, but I ignored them completely and didn’t slow down.
After running day and night for several days straight, the results were impressive.
Normally, crossing two continents would take about two months—roughly eight weeks. But we had marched at full speed for just about two weeks and had already passed the point that would usually take four weeks to reach. In other words, we’d cut the time in half.
Maybe we’d even passed the halfway mark. Of course, there was still a long way to go…
How much time had passed?
Lost in thought, I slowly looked up. A cluster of twinkling stars filled the sky. A crescent moon hung alone, casting a soft silver glow, and a cold wind brushed past my ear once more. The desolate sound of the wind almost lulled me into unconsciousness, but I caught myself just in time.
I only realized I was slowing down after sprinting an extra four or five hundred meters. Honestly, I’d wanted to break free from the plains by dawn, but I had no choice but to stop here.
The presence I’d felt just behind me had grown distant. It was a clear sign I’d reached my limit.
I stopped first and caught my breath. Soon, I heard panting growing closer. The first to arrive was Goh Yeon-ju, her face pale as she carried Jeong Ha-yeon in her arms. Not long after, the rest of the clan members began to trickle in.
Cha So-rim, carrying Jegal Hae-sol, wore her usual stern expression, but her face was drained of color. I noticed the marks where she’d bitten her lips several times.
An Hyun staggered in, dropping An Sol—whom he’d been carrying—like a sack of potatoes, then collapsed himself. After catching his breath for a long moment, he finally spoke.
“Hyuh, hyung…”
“Yeah?”
“Why did you… sprint at the end…?”
“Ah, I don’t know… Sorry.”
An Hyun opened his mouth wide and dropped his head. He wasn’t the only one; most of them were bent over coughing or had simply flopped down completely.
The mages and priests were in somewhat better shape. Since their physical stats were low to begin with, we’d expected they wouldn’t keep up with the forced march. That’s why we had them carried or helped along by those with stronger bodies if they looked like they’d fall behind. No doubt, that put extra strain on the melee fighters.
Glancing at the distant light, I saw the formation was not just broken but utterly chaotic. After giving everyone a moment to rest, I approached Ha Seung-woo, who was patting Ha Seung-yoon’s back—Seung-yoon was panting, tongue lolling, drooling.
“Ha Seung-woo.”
“Huh? Oh, the immortal.”
“?”
“They say the more you get cursed, the longer you live. You should’ve heard how much he cursed you while running—ugh!”
Ha Seung-woo didn’t finish his sentence. Ha Seung-yoon suddenly clenched his fist and landed a precise blow to Ha Seung-woo’s solar plexus. Ha Seung-woo silently tumbled onto the grass. Turning away, I called out to An Sol, who was looking at An Hyun with apologetic eyes.
“An Sol.”
“Yes? Yes!”
“We’re camping here for the night. We’ll march again first thing in the morning. Get ready.”
“Ah, got it.”
Relief sighed from all around as I announced the end of the march. An Sol nodded reluctantly but brightened at the thought of resting and hurried off somewhere.
Soon, the camp grew noisy.
The melee fighters remained sprawled out, while the others moved quickly. Archers set up fences for minimal defense, mages lit campfires and pitched tents, and priests wandered about casting healing spells and preparing dinner.
As the camp took shape, a gentle voice suddenly called out.
“Hey, Su-hyun.”
I turned to see two large figures approaching like rolling waves. I gasped—oh, it was Im Han-na. I greeted her, glancing at her slightly sagging ample chest.
“Oh, hi. You look really exhausted.”
“Hey, what are you looking at?”
Im Han-na crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a sidelong glance, but then softened her expression and spoke quietly.
“Are we marching at this pace again tomorrow?”
“…Probably.”
“Watching everyone run today, most of them looked pretty drained. There’s even a joke going around that we might get to the southern continent before we do…”
“……”
Im Han-na trailed off cautiously, but I understood what she meant. I fell into quiet thought.
Honestly, I could understand their frustration. Except for the angels, I was the only one who knew the full story from start to finish. So it wasn’t surprising they couldn’t understand why I skipped all the usual send-off ceremonies and just kept pushing us to run nonstop, day and night.
But thanks to Satan, I’d developed a habit: whenever a major crisis hit, I instinctively assumed the worst-case scenario. Because that’s always what happened.
Back in the first round, whenever I thought, “Nah, that won’t happen,” Satan would exploit that weakness without fail. After getting burned repeatedly, it became second nature.
So this time, I assumed the worst: that the southern continent would reach the eastern continent before us. The moment I let my guard down, Satan would seize the opportunity. I even had a trump card ready to send the whole Plain of Hol directly into the fray—what couldn’t I handle?
From the start, the rescue force was formed as an elite unit of about five thousand to maximize marching speed. And so far, no one had fallen behind. Though they grumbled, they kept up.
If I slowed down now just because it was tough, I felt Satan would exploit that weakness. That’s why I kept pushing this brutal forced march.
“I get what you want, but we have to keep going.”
“Then we might burn out before we even arrive…”
“Of course, I’m keeping stamina management in mind. Just not until right before we get there.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. By the way, how’s the situation on the northern continent?”
“……”
I changed the subject abruptly to signal I didn’t want to discuss it further. Im Han-na caught on and gave a bitter smile before continuing.
“They contacted us yesterday. Still the same.”
“The same?”
“Yeah. For some reason, when we approach, they retreat. When we stay put, they creep forward. It’s just this back-and-forth.”
“Advance, retreat…”
I figured as much. Im Han-na shrugged, but I had a pretty good idea why.
The western continent was currently playing the bait role. They’d originally planned a surprise attack to capture Mule like last time, but the angels caught wind of it and foiled their plans. So now, they were just trying to draw as much attention as possible.
I hoped they didn’t know the rescue force had already been on the move for quite some time.
Just then, the call that dinner was ready came, and Im Han-na and I headed over together. The priests looked on sympathetically as the melee fighters trudged over, ladling generous portions of hot stew.
After eating their fill, the melee fighters all headed straight for their tents as if by unspoken agreement. They whispered about what hellish forced march tomorrow might bring, then quietly sobbed themselves to sleep.
The mages and priests finished cleaning up and took turns standing watch. Knowing how hard the melee fighters had it during the march, no one complained about taking on the unpleasant tasks.
I didn’t go to bed right away. Though I was melee myself, I hadn’t missed a single watch since leaving Dana. Partly to set an example, but also to be ready for any surprise attacks from monster packs.
Sitting comfortably by the blazing campfire, I pulled out a cigarette and a map. Honestly, I didn’t know the route to the eastern continent in detail. I only took the map out occasionally to get a rough sense of direction, but I didn’t trust it much. There had been so little contact that it couldn’t be accurate.
Still, it didn’t really matter. The shortest path between two points is a straight line, after all. As long as I kept my bearings, I’d be fine. We’d made it this far, so I needed to familiarize myself with the next region.
“Let’s see…”
Let’s say this place is the overlapping zone between the Eastern Continent and the Northern Continent. That means the moment we leave the grasslands, we’ll be entering Eastern Continent territory…
Crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch.
It was then. While I was busy tracing the map and figuring out our route, I suddenly sensed someone slowly approaching. If it was just someone coming to ask us to slow down the march again, I wasn’t exactly thrilled.
Thinking that, I immediately turned my gaze and spoke up.
“Who’s there?”
At that moment, the sound of dry grass crunching abruptly stopped. A faint shadow hesitated in the direction I was looking.
But soon enough, they cautiously stepped forward and entered the circle of light cast by the campfire.
The first thing that caught my eye was a pair of translucent black thigh-high stockings, stretched tight over well-toned, healthy-looking thighs.
Swallowing the saliva that had pooled for purely physiological reasons, I slowly raised my gaze.
And then, the moment I confirmed the identity of the visitor who had come at this late hour—
“…Oh.”
I realized my expectations had been completely off.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Hello, this is Royujin, who unexpectedly took a break yesterday without any notice or comment. First off, I want to sincerely apologize. (__)
The reason is personal. It’s related to family matters—not illness, nor a celebration or funeral.
Well… it’s a bit embarrassing to say…
I almost got kicked out of the house. Haha.
Actually, we had a family gathering scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. The plan was made on Saturday, and I agreed to attend. Since my parents and older brother all work, it’s usually hard to find a time that works for everyone, so my dad seemed pretty hopeful this time.
But that day, after pulling an all-nighter writing, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep in the morning—around 9 a.m. So I couldn’t wake up by 11. My dad tried to wake me up forcibly, but I ended up snapping at him without realizing it. I told them to just go without me since I probably couldn’t make it. Then suddenly, he exploded in anger…
Thankfully, my mom and brother stepped in and calmed things down, so I survived (?), but honestly, at the time, I didn’t really understand why he got so mad and spoke so harshly.
“If you’re going to live like that, then quit writing right now.”
“If you want to do whatever you want, then go live on your own.”
Those two lines still echo in my mind and make my heart race. I quietly lowered my head, but then I got choked up and replied, “Okay, I’ll leave,” and almost broke the computer in the process… ;;
Later, my mom told me that they’ve been quite unhappy with my lifestyle for a while. I think I’d heard bits and pieces before, but it seems they’d been holding it in until it finally exploded this time…
Honestly, it’s not like I want to stay up late writing on purpose… I just don’t understand why they can’t see that. Sigh. When they left for work today, they didn’t even say goodbye or acknowledge me, and that’s been bothering me too.
It’s a bit sad, but well, I don’t know what will happen from here or what I should do. Sigh sigh sigh sigh.
Oh, and separate from this, I fully accept any criticism about my attitude from readers. There’s no need to overly defend me.
That said, I do ask that you keep it respectful. There’s a person behind every monitor and phone screen. Imagine how hurtful it is to be called names like “you bastard” or “you piece of trash” face-to-face. So please, feel free to share your thoughts, but avoid sarcasm, insults, or personal attacks.
I admit I’ve made mistakes too, and I’ll keep comments open as a way to keep myself in check. But if I see comments that cross the line, I will delete them and blacklist the user. So please think twice before posting.
It’s already 5:26 a.m.
Wishing all my readers a lively Tuesday.
Sincerely,
Royujin