Episode 29.

Immersed in the darkness of the deep, unknown cavern into which we had fallen, we ventured along a path that seemed to have no end or direction, all in search of a suitable place to detonate the bomb and finally escape the mine.

The blue light from Jean's index finger was the only thing guiding our steps, helping us avoid another mishap like the one we had experienced recently. Hector examined the map of all the mine's routes, trying to figure out where we were, using a pocket compass, but it spun its needle wildly in all directions.

Hector: 『 Tsk! Come on! 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 Problems with that? 』

Hector: 『 I don't know what's going on, sir. This thing can't seem to figure out which way is North. So, I can't tell which direction we're heading. 』

We walked blindly through the gloomy passage, which only descended further. However, Hector speculated that this would likely lead us to some tunnel adjacent to the massive pit of the mega-cavern. So, there was still a chance of getting out.

Honestly, I wasn't too sure about that. Ahead, you couldn't see a damn thing, just more and more rocks piled up, and the occasional crystalline mineral that, I imagine, were more of those diamonds we had seen, only much smaller, so tiny you'd almost miss them if it weren't for the glint they gave off when there was light.

Roef: 『 I hope you're not thinking of pulling another stunt, Laurent. 』

Laurent: 『 I know, idiot! I know! You don't have to tell me twice. 』

Hector: 『 Good to know, Laurent. 』

Laurent: 『 You too, Hector?! Such little trust you have in me? 』

Laurent may be strong and skilled in battle, but he's the lazy one of the crew. Never was he known for being very careful or responsible when it comes to tasks, making him seem quite clumsy and lazy since our days in the academy. I still remember all the silly things he's done, like the time he broke the chandelier at the Ascord orphanage he promised to hang or the time he tried to milk a cow and it turned out to be a bull.

Every time I recall those moments, I have less doubt he's a complete nincompoop, just another one among this team of clowns we are, except Hector; he's the most normal lad among us, and whom I trust the most, even more than Commander Rask himself. Hector is a very calm and studious fellow, always trying to keep his cool, a great analyst who always gets us out of all sorts of trouble, even when the situation changes completely, like now.

Don't know what we'd do without him. Though he is the youngest member of the team, we rely heavily on him, so much so that he's the only one of us who knows how to cook; in fact, he's so good at it that he once won a cook-off against one of the capital's finest chefs who only serves the high society, including the king.

Just the thought of those delicacies he prepared back then made my stomach roar in agony. Perhaps for a soldier like me, it was utterly shameless to show hunger, but we had been walking for so long that it wasn't surprising to see more than one of us looking tired. Still, I wouldn't be the one to speak up first and start complaining. Laurent's pace became extremely slow, falling behind. Without permission, he took off the bomb from his back and came to a complete stop.

Laurent: 『 Aaah!! I can't go on anymore! 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 What in the devil do you think you're doing, Laurent?! Pick that up and let's go. 』

Laurent: 『 I'm sorry, sir. But I refuse to keep carrying that thing. We've been down here for an eternity, and I've been the only one enduring it. So, I demand a well-deserved break! 』

(...)

Roef: 『 Are you serious? 』

Laurent: 『 Of course, I'm serious! 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 Well, well. After all these years together, I didn't think you'd seriously protest over something so trivial. I guess you're not who I thought you were. 』

Laurent: 『 Wait, what in blazes did you think of me all this time?! 』

Roef: 『 Look, Laurent. We don't have time for your complaints. The important thing now is to focus on completing the mission, nothing else. 』

Laurent: 『 Listen. I'm fed up with your damn attitude, Roef. You don't think about anything other than the missions they always give us, even when our damn lives are at stake. Can't you be a bit more considerate and think about that? 』

Roef: 『 ... Laurent... You really are an idiot. 』

Laurent: 『 Aaaah!? Hey, come back here! 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 *Sigh* Hector, could you carry the bomb? 』

Hector: 『 E-Em, yes, sir. 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 Jean, keep the light on. 』

Jean: 『 No problem. 』

I wasn't like Laurent. Allowing myself to be swayed by such absurd stimuli is something no soldier can afford, especially not one from special operations. If I were to be led purely by things like my emotional state, I would become someone who shows weakness, and in this world, you can't be weak.

Finally, after what seemed like an endless marathon underground, a ray of natural light began to be visible. We had finally emerged from the long, narrow passage, arriving at what seemed to be a sort of vault connected to a few more tunnels.

The remarkable thing about the place was the high ceiling, which seemed torn, as if hundreds of scratches had passed over it, full of grooves and cracks that intersected in all possible directions and let enough sunlight through to finally see clearly.

It was quite hot; I felt the ground was soft and sank with every step I took. I wasn't sure if there was some kind of aquifer underneath or something similar, but there was a great deal of moisture in the air that we felt and caused us to sweat profusely.

Jean: 『 Wow! This place is huge! Isn't it incredible? 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 Hector, what is this place? 』

Hector: 『 I believe this is the last gallery, sir. The lowest part of the mine, where rainwater is stored, very close to the mountain's foundations. 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 And tell me, would this be a good place for our bomb? 』

Hector: 『 Well, perhaps, because of the location so far down where we are, we could create an earthquake that would collapse everything above. But I don't think the explosive has enough force to do something like that. 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 So, we would need much more firepower, eh? Lucky for us, we have our specialist in fires and explosions. 』

Jean: 『 … Hmm? 』

Jean may look very innocent with his childish and carefree face, but his talent for blowing everything up is something to fear. He possesses a unique ability to manipulate mana from almost anything and make it incinerate with tremendous impact force as if it were a huge volcano erupting. Moreover, it's something he can do from quite a distance; he only needs to see his target and focus on it, or with the help of one of his hand-drawn pictograms.

Hector: 『 Sir, I'm not sure if it's a good idea. After what happened in Ascord−』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 I know, Hector..., I know. But now, Jean's pyrokinesis is our only alternative if we want this to work. Besides, we don't need to worry about casualties here. 』

The Commander was right; this would be different from what happened months ago. Jean could unleash as much as he wanted on this occasion. So, we gathered and agreed that this would be the place for the bomb.

Jean took out from his bag a thick brush and dark red ink with which he drew a large pictogram on the glycerin mass. Now, he had to place it somewhere where it would cause enough impact to collapse the thick stone walls of the entire shaft. It was then that Hector instructed us to position it as close to the ceiling as possible.

Honestly, it seemed like a bad joke to lift such an amorphous and heavy explosive to the gallery's ceiling. Without exaggerating, I could estimate it was at least 10 meters high.

Laurent: 『 Is this a joke?! How do you suppose we get up there?! Fly?! 』

Hector is one of those very serious individuals whom you rarely see joking. Just by hearing him and seeing his face, there was no need to say that he meant business.

Jean: 『 What if I use a spell to throw it up there? 』

Roef: 『 And risk it exploding with us here? No thanks. 』

Hector: 『 Don't worry, Jean. It won't be necessary. On that wall, there are several speleothems that we can use to climb. 』

Laurent: 『 Speleo-what? 』

Hector: 『 The large spikes behind you. 』

Laurent: 『 Ah. 』

Hector: 『 Two people are more than enough. We just need to anchor it with the nails and rope we brought. 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 Well, you heard him. Roef, you have the gear in your bag, so go up with Laurent and secure the bomb. 』

Laurent: 『 Wait? You want me to carry that again, all the way up there? 』

Roef: 『 What? Is the little 'I work too hard' gentleman offended again? 』

Laurent: 『 Now I'm really going to kill y−! 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 Just climb up already, damn it! 』

The Commander finally lost his patience with us and unleashed his anger, making us jump (literally) towards the speleothems.

These were nothing more than the famous stalactites and stalagmites one can find in these types of caves, although these had a strange horizontal orientation. Now that I think about it, these are extremely rare. They weren't as elongated and sharp, but rather, they seemed like semi-crystalline square spikes that covered the entire wall and only that. They formed what almost looked like steps on which we could place our hands and feet to climb. The texture of each stalactite was almost smooth, but with enough edges to hold onto.

For every meter Laurent and I climbed, the wall seemed more abnormal to me. First of all, aren't these kinds of pointed formations supposed to only occur on the floors and ceilings of caves? I also noticed that the wall wasn't straight, but curved, with a concave angle that became more pronounced as we approached the ceiling.

Laurent: 『 At least, this wall isn't too hard to climb. Do you think we can use one of these spikes to tie the bomb? 』

Roef: 『 Finally, you say something useful. Not a bad idea. But it has to be the biggest and tallest of all these. 』

Laurent: 『 Hmm... Well, I believe I have the perfect pick for it. Hehe. Follow me. 』

Roef: 『 You better hope that last part wasn't a jest, or I'll break your balls! 』

We climbed a few more meters until we reached a part where one could almost stand, or at least crawl without much risk of slipping and falling. There was a giant stalactite-shaped pillar that reminded me of a coastal lighthouse. I took out the things from my bag, and Laurent arranged the bomb on the rocky pillar so that I could anchor the nails.

One by one, I began to carefully hammer the stone to embed the long pieces of metal that would serve to secure the rope for tying. I made a frame with four of them around the explosive, and while Laurent was already starting to tie the knot, I proceeded to hammer one more behind the stalactite to make the final tie.

("Grrrrrr!")

Roef: 『 Seriously, Laurent? 』

Laurent: 『 What did I do now? 』

("Grrrrrr!")

Roef: 『 That. Couldn't you control your stomach for at least two minutes? 』

Laurent: 『 Excuse me?! As far as I'm concerned, that was your stomach, not mine. 』

Roef: 『 Oh, sure. Now I'm the hungry one, right? 』

Laurent: 『 Well, we're the only two up here. It's clear that growl was yours. 』

("Grrrrrrrrrr!!")

Laurent: 『 See?! 』

For every three strikes I made with the hammer, that strange noise sounded again. Not only that, I could also feel strange vibrations beneath my feet, like a purring, a very hoarse and rough one that disgusted me. Then I looked down, and with the palm of my hand, I touched the wall. This time it didn't feel like before, firm and rocky; now it seemed much softer and tender, almost as if...

Laurent: 『 Come on, don't be shy to deny it. 』

Roef: 『 I already told you it was--! 』

("GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!")

Cmdr. Rask: 『 What--?! 』

...As if it were alive.

Laurent: 『 What the heck is thi- AAAAAAA?! 』

Everything started to move. Suddenly, we felt the wall rise and turn, revealing an enormous, scaly head, which roared furiously and made a racket throughout the cavern.

The sudden movement and the incessant vibrations caused Laurent and me to fall. In the air, I could see yellow, crystalline eyes, filled with anger and wrath, instilling fear in me. My sense of danger flared up completely, as I knew that thing was lethal.

Cmdr. Rask: 『 WATCH OUT! 』

I heard the Commander's warning, which made me react and realize that we were falling towards the lower spikes we had climbed, risking being impaled. Luckily, we managed to adjust our bodies in time in the air and avoid the pointy parts. We tried to grab onto them, but the constant shaking of the beast made it very difficult.

Laurent: 『 HECTOR!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING?!! 』

Hector: 『 A VITROTESTA!!! 』

Laurent: 『 WHAT THE HELL IS A VITROTESTA?! 』

Hector: 『 A DAMNED MABEASTS!!! 』

Hector shouted to be heard, as the deafening roars of the beast were so loud that they caused tremendous pain in our eardrums.

The cave seemed to be starting to collapse, and small stones were falling on our heads. Jean, Hector, and the Commander moved away from the mabeast while Laurent and I swung uncontrollably on what was then the shell.

We had to find a way to get down, but it was getting harder and harder to hold on. The vitrotesta shook more and more violently, trying to get rid of us. Apparently, it didn't like being touched at all.

Laurent: 『 ROEF!!! DO SOMETHING ALREADY!!! 』

Roef: 『 AND WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IN THIS STATE?! 』

We clung as best we could, hanging like pendulums swinging from one place to another. The mabeast grew desperate and began to thrash against the walls, causing an even greater collapse within the cave. Large chunks of stone fell onto our three companions below, forcing them to quickly dodge.

Cmdr. Rask: 『 WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE, NOW! 』

Hector: 『 BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MISSION, SIR?! 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 FORGET ABOUT IT AND FIND A WAY OUT, QUICKLY! 』

With all the debris falling, it was difficult for Hector and Jean to locate an exit. All the large tunnels that seemed to connect to the main gallery were already blocked. Laurent couldn't hold on any longer and let go of the shell. Fortunately for him, he managed to slide a bit and jumped to the ground, rolling to cushion the impact. It took him a while to get up, but he seemed to be alright.

Nor could I endure any longer, my fingers were completely numb, and I ended up slipping. I had nowhere to slide, heading for a dry impact against the ground from high up. Once again, I felt time slow down in the air. With nothing else to do, I just gritted my teeth to try to brace for the impact, and then...

Jean: 『 ROEF!!! LONG PASS!!! 』

Jean threw one of his climbing axes from where he was with great calculation and precision, making me stretch to catch it. Without thinking, I jammed the chipped blade as best I could into the scales of the mabeast's enormous leg, causing a slight scratch that ended up breaking the tool.

That managed to cushion my fall and I emerged almost unscathed, although extremely sore on the ground. I lay dangerously close to the mabeast, specifically, besides its huge claws that rose above me and began to kick constantly. I rolled like a log to avoid being trampled and struggled to get up to move away as much as I could.

Cmdr. Rask: 『 ON YOUR FEET, ROEF, COME ON!! 』

I caught up with the group at the entrance of one of the few tunnels that had not yet collapsed, venturing into who knows where to escape, but this one began to collapse as well, so we hurried to run downhill to avoid getting trapped.

Thus, unexpectedly, we arrived at the heart of the mine, at the entrance to the mountain's mega-cave, where all the Tesotl soldiers were desperately fleeing from the collapse.

Mounds of rock and mineral were falling everywhere, already flooding the enormous mana pit, crushing everyone inside the mine, and causing total chaos.

We ran over the tracks until we finally emerged from the mountain, arriving where all the enemy machines and tents were. However, all of these began to disappear.

The ground began to split, and huge cracks appeared everywhere, growing larger and larger until they swallowed everything in their path.

Now we had to jump and avoid falling into a dark abyss that expanded uncontrollably. It was like going from one roof to another, but as we progressed, we were running out of footholds.

Just a few meters from leaving the extensive rocky foundation in front of the mega cavern, a huge crater finally formed, through which we saw everything being swallowed, from the tents to the soldiers, all sucked into the dark void that suddenly appeared.

It seemed that we were finally safe, until, from the same gigantic hole, emerged the enraged scaly silhouette of the mabeast, tearing through the earth's crust with its pointed shell and ascending with the help of its sharp claws.

How could such a creature even do that? With its enormous weight and the protrusions of its shell, it was incredible that it didn't get stuck in the crater. As it surfaced, the crater grew larger. It was simply inexplicable to me how it managed to come from so far below the ground and now it's here, walking as if nothing on the surface, knocking down everything in its path.

I took in air as best I could while sitting on the little remaining grass on the deformed terrain, watching as the mabeast walked so slowly that I could confidently say it resembled a huge and abominable turtle.

Then I realized that with every step it took, the grass and trees it crushed were replaced by almost transparent yellow stalactites, thinner and sharper than the mabeast's shell. They almost looked like thorny bushes made of crystal. But we were already too tired to want to examine those "tracks" in detail.

Cmdr. Rask: 『 This is not good. 』

Laurent: 『 What thing, sir? The fact that we woke up a huge mabeast or that there's now a huge crater where the town used to be? 』

Panting and lying on the ground, Laurent responded ironically to the Commander. Neither of us could respond because we were out of breath, but he was certainly earning a good punch for his arrogance.

Jean supported Hector on his shoulder to help him stand. It seemed he had hurt his ankle due to a bad jump.

Jean: 『 Are you alright, mate? 』

Hector: 『 I'm fine, don't worry. I can still... Oh, no. 』

As soon as Hector lifted his gaze and beheld the stride of the mabeast, he was alarmed by its trajectory, and rightly so. Now he understood, it was heading South.

Roef: 『 Sir, does that go towards...? 』

Cmdr. Rask: 『 Indeed, Roef... It's headed towards the base. 』