“How much more time?”

  “It’ll be done the sooner you stop nagging me!” Baba growled.

  I took a step back and sighed. When she said she could break down the barrier, I had been imagining it was something that would take only a few seconds. Regrettably, I had been too na?ve. Five minutes had already passed, and all we had to do was wait in this underground tomb. Honestly, being underground like this didn’t bother me much. Perhaps it was built into my DNA as a devil. However, despite the massive underground byrinth under the elvish nations, elves weren’t great underground, and I could see the look of discomfort on Saria’s face.

  I could normally live with her discomfort, but we were also on borrowed time. Once they knew we had escaped and started looking for us, it would only be a matter of time before we’d be found out. With Baba having knocked everyone unconscious a short time before, there was no telling when there would be a switch of patrols and they’d know we were coming.

  We had escaped down the well, but without leaving someone behind there was nothing to cover the entrance. A careful search would show that the well cover had been disturbed. The outpost was rather small, and with an army at her disposal, Lucil would be able to quickly locate us. That’s assuming she didn’t just mobilize her entire army to create a barrier of faery eyes around the city. I didn’t know how many soldiers she brought, but even just a hundred would be enough to create a net that could catch anyone trying to sneak away. Such a thing couldn’t be maintained constantly, but they could still form one for a few hours at least. If the timing was bad, we’d have no chance to escape.

  Thus, our small group, while carrying heavy backpacks and supplies, had to crawl through a rather small tunnel that one needed to crouch and travel through one person at a time. When we reached the barrier, it was Baba who informed us to stop. Thankfully, she was the smallest member, or it would have been impossible to reposition ourselves so that she was in the front. Had I known she would need some time and direct access to the barrier to break it down, I definitely would have pnned things differently.

  Regrettably, we weren’t so fortunate that the barrier didn’t go into the Earth. It would have been nice if we could have just passed under it. Unfortunately, the only method that Baba had was to tear the whole thing down. They wouldn’t know where she knocked it down, at least immediately, so it’d give us time to escape into the desert. That was our only chance.

  Ten minutes ter though, and I was worried we wouldn’t have a chance. So, when I felt a sudden surge of magic, I nearly tripped over myself, even though I was already crouched into an uncomfortable position.

  “Well?”

  “It’s down!” she panted with just a pit of proud smugness in their voice. “They went out of their way to try to stop me. They must have known I was with you from the start and took the proper precautions, but who am I if not… hey!”

  “We need to get moving, go!” I shoved her forward.

  “S-stop! I need a break.”

  “Someone will carry you when we get out.” I hissed.

  I heard a groan behind me, as the person who would end up carrying her would undoubtedly be one of the guards, but I decided to not pay attention to who it was.

  “D-don’t touch me there!”

  “I wouldn’t be touching you there if you would move as I ask!” I hissed back.

  “Ow… don’t be so fast. It hurts.”

  “Shut up, you’re small. There should be no problem with fitting.”

  “There is! If you force it like this, I’ll break!”

  “That’s a risk I’m willing to take. I’m coming whether you’re ready or not.”

  “Ahh.”

  “Master, can you please stop assaulting the loli in front.” Ba’s voice spoke up.

  “Who taught you that word? That’s not a word I want to hear applied to this creature.”

  “Am I a dog now?”

  “You’re the one who uses it though…” Ba muttered.

  “I’m getting wet.” Baba decred.

  “We don’t which to know about your perversions.” Saria hissed.

  “No! I mean, I feel the water.”

  “Oh? You feel water?” Saria responded in irritation. “We’re in a well!”

  “Shh!” I hissed.

  “It’s just foolish to comment on…”

  “I said shut up! Nobody move!”

  Thankfully, everyone listened to me, and I steadily listened to the unground cavern that we were in. I could hear a very distant sound of dripping water. At first, it started extremely slow, but it started to grow faster and faster.

  “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Mom’s voice croaked from somewhere behind me. “Ah… my feet feel wet.”

  “What was the forecast for tonight?” I asked. “The weather!”

  “Boss? This pce is a desert. Droughts are common. They haven’t had rainfall in months.” Moar decred.

  “But when they do… it usually comes rapidly as a torrential downpour.” Ba finished.

  “And what happens to this waterway when it rains?” I asked in a dry voice.

  “I-it… it floods.”

  I took a breath, and then punched my fist into Baba’s butt. “Get moving!”

  “I said this wasn’t the ideal escape method!” Ba defended.

  “Not the time!” I shot back. “Move! Move!”

  Normally, I would have been gd over such a rainfall at this time. It would perfectly hideout escape. It arrived at such a perfect time that it could be considered a gift from the gods. The rain would hide out footprints and make it impossible for the soldiers to mount a quick response to the shield dropping. The timing was so wonderful that they’d probably wonder if it was Baba that would have conjured this storm.

  Yet, the gods that had allowed such a thing were cruel and ironic. We were in the one pce where such a storm would be deadly. This was a waterway designed to collect water for that well. This entire tunnel slowly slopped upward, which was one of the reasons it was hard to navigate.

  After a good rain, water would collect in a drainage basin which would conveniently flow into this pathway, eventually collecting at the bottom of that well. The way back was likely already filled with water, and it would be rising quickly from here on out. I knew just how fast water could rise underground. It was the cause of many cave deaths.

  Baba moved forward as quickly as possible while the rest of us pressed closely to her back. It wasn’t long before our feet were sloshing through the water rather than on the hard ground. The water was also flowing downhill against us, making it even harder to move forward. Our feet were wet, and the water was ice cold. Each step forward felt like an eternity, and soon I started to hear the relentless noise of rain falling.

  “Sweetie!” I heard mom cry out.

  “How deep is it back there?”

  “It’s up to my chest…”

  Because the pathway was tilted more, the person at the back was getting hit with the most water. I stifled a curse. If I knew things would have come to this, I would have been in the one in the back. Instead, my mother had been facing the worst of this, only able to wait patiently for all of us to move forward as the water rose higher and higher.

  As for why Mother was in the st pce, and not Captain Moar, once we had entered the well and saw the size of the tunnel we must crouch through, Mother was afraid to be upfront. Her rge chest might slow her down, so she opted to be in the back just in case. I didn’t anticipate a problem and thought that if things truly did end up bad and we walked into a group of soldiers, Mother, at least, would have a chance to slip away unseen. Such a thought seemed like a mistake given the new circumstances.

  “Come on! Come on!” There was no humor in my voice anymore, and Baba didn’t bother to retort to my prodding as even she was aware of how dangerous the situation was.

  I saw a fsh of light in the distance, but the water was near to my chest. I had no choice but to keep pushing forward, to keep hoping we’d make it.

  There was a great deal of muttering, compining, and hardship, but eventually Baba was about to emerge from the hole into the desert beyond. As soon as she stumbled out, there was a small surge of water racing at us. It might as well have been a river. It struck Baba and she flew back. If her luck had been bad, it would have had enough force to suck her down into the well and drown her. However, I blocked the entrance, as such a sudden influx could threaten everyone behind me. This wasn’t a safe pce to be during this storm.

  The water was falling so quickly that it had basically bcked out all light. I could barely make out more than a couple of feet in front of me. When Baba smmed back into me, I managed to maintain my feet. Grabbing the side of the well entrance, I tossed Baba out of the basin. Whether she made a cry or said anything, I could hear her with the sound of the roaring water.

  I reached into the well and immediately grabbed the hand of the next person in line, pulling them through the current with all of my strength. Saria came out and I simirly pulled her to the entrance. The next one was Ba, and then the guards. I brought our Captain Moar and then I grabbed the guard’s hand, there was another surge of water. This time, I wasn’t in a position to grab the entrance. I was suddenly smmed against the rock outcropping and my grip on the guard was lost.

  As soon as I steadied myself again, I looked for the waterway entrance, only to see it almost filled. There were only a few inches left on top, and that was quickly being filled by an aggressive input of water from the storm around us. As for the guard, let alone my mother, I saw neither of them. With a scream, I grabbed Captain Moar and spun him around. I began to dig through his bag, ruining countless supplies to the rain as I found a rope and pulled it out.

  It was dark and cold, even colder than it was underground. We were all filthy and sore after forcing our bodies through a small pass. Captain Moar seemed to immediately know what was thinking, but if he wanted to protest, he couldn’t due to the roaring around us. I tied the rope around my waist, and then verbally showed him that if I tugged once, he let out sck, and if I tugged twice, he’d pull it in. I tossed the rest of the rope to him as Ba walked up. Her expression was extremely dreadful, but like Moar, she didn’t try to stop me.

  Taking time only to make two deep breaths, I leaped into the water. The current was strong, and I was immediately sucked into the murky depths of the tunnel we had just escaped. In some ways, it was easier to move with the water. First off, the water was pushing me in the direction I wanted to go. Secondly, I could swim vertically, and for that purpose where my legs could be behind me, there was plenty of room.

  I swam for a few seconds, but it wasn’t long before I came to the end of my rope. I tugged, allowing them to give me more sck. Then, I tugged again, asking for even more. As I moved down the corridor, my visibility was zero, so I used my hands in a desperate attempt to feel for their presence. Of course, I might have said I was searching for either the guard or my mother, it was pretty clear who I was aiming for.

  My arms moved around frantically in the current, but I didn’t run into anything. Just as I was about to lose hope, my hand brushed against something that felt like hair. Desperately, I gave another tug on the rope, but when there was no more let out, I realized that I was at the end of it. With a curse, I grabbed the rope around my body and started pushing it down. It was tight, but not so tight that I wasn’t able to jimmy it over my hips.

  I had never been so happy to be such a thin and scrawny devil, as the rope slipped down over my hips. I was afraid I’d slip right out, but I spread my legs at the st moment and the roped snagged on the end of my feet, tightening once again. With the added length, I reached out again and managed to feel a form. How did I know it was my mother and not the soldier? I had been feeling up high rather than down low. His armor would have assuredly left him lower in the water. I’m sorry, but I can’t save you. You’ve been a loyal bodyguard. Rest in peace.

  As soon as I had a solid grip on her, I tugged the rope twice, and then it steadily began to pull back. Our exit from the cave was tediously slow, and I felt like my lungs were about to explode by the time I was pulled back out. Breaking the surface with a desperate gasp, I wasn’t able to escape the pull of the water, which was now nearly the size of a small river.

  I was pulled over to the shore and dragged onto the muddy nd. Captain Moar grabbed my mother and pulled her out of the water too. He didn’t comment on the missing guard. That was the st of the men he had brought on this journey. We were down another soldier, but when it came down to it, no one would question the choice I had made.

  As soon as I freed my legs from my restraint, I leaped upon my mother. She was ice cold, and her chest wasn’t moving. I felt for a pulse, and I couldn’t find one. I immediately began performing CPR. I wasn’t sure if healing magic could be used for something like drowning, but at that second, I didn’t even think to ask. Instead, I gave breath into my Mother’s lungs. After thirty seconds, she coughed out water, and only then did my heart feel like it was no longer being clenched in someone’s fist.

  Stumbling back into the mud and falling on my ass, I was gd it was dark and rainy. No one could see just how panicked I had been. I had always managed to maintain a cool and calm demeanor, but I had nearly lost it there for a second.

  Mother was alive, but it was pretty clear she wasn’t in a good situation. If my Mother had been alright, she would have done something silly like try to kiss me while I was giving her CPR. It spoke to the seriousness of the situation that all of us were completely silent.

  It was still raining, but the downpour had lightened up a bit. Now it was only just a heavy rain. It was still nearly pitch bck, and we were all soaked and freezing. We were also down a person. He had been washed down the well. It was good it was sealed up, as a dead body wouldn’t make the water potable. Then it occurred to me that this water might have swept all kinds of dead things into that well, which was probably why it had been sealed up in the first pce.

  “We need to get going,” I spoke in a voice loud enough that everyone who was paying attention was able to hear me.

  This was a horrible way to start this journey. We didn’t just lose a bodyguard, but all of the supplies on him as well. My mother was barely conscious, and if we didn’t find her a warm, comfortable pce, it was possible she could become ill. Baba was also exhausted, and we were all bruised and aching. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue, but we were pnning on braving a desert! If we even attempted such a thing in this state, weren’t we asking to become food?

  In the end, we didn’t have a choice. We had to keep moving forward. Packing up everything that we had assembled, we started our trek away from the outpost. We weren’t heading directly toward the Faery nds. My sister would be expecting us to head in that direction. That’s why we decided to head alongside the outer part of the desert for a day before turning inward. Hopefully, that would be enough time for us to recover as well.

  Simply keeping everyone from facing hypothermia had been a challenge. We were all wet and frozen, and there would be no relief until the morning. We did our best, but ultimately our only choice was to power through it. Ten minutes ter, the rain was gone as if it was never there, and all we had to deal with was the cutting chill of the icy wind.

  We managed to escape the outpost without being seen, but by the time daylight hit, we were barely walking. Both Baba and my mother needed to be carried. I gave my mother to Moar, and somehow, I had ended up being coopted to carry the little loli. I supposed she was lighter. Compared to my mother’s heavy assets, I’d be preferring to carry someone smaller.

  However, as the day warmed, we could only colpse. This had been a miserable start to our escape, and what was even worse was that come light, I could see a group approaching us on horseback. That group was none other than Lucil. After everything, we weren’t even able to shake her.

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  If you're like to read: https://whatsawhizzerwebnovels.com/ensved/ The rest of the volume is here.