Lanert's words still swirled in his mind as he found himself forced back into his chains. This was deeply unpleasant. Was escaping from this place truly so problematic, or was it a risk he had to take?
After all, he had been serious when he told Lanert he had nothing to lose. Right now, no one here would care about him or stop him.
Even if he went to Lanert and said, "Let's escape," he needed a plan because the problem was immense.
Lanert had his own choices and goals; he wasn't working for Touya's sake. After a long deliberation, Touya formulated a plan. As agreed, they met at night. Slipping free of the chains was, once again, a liberating feeling. Lanert shifted slightly and said:
"First, we cannot afford distractions. You see... the curse bound to my soul through my awareness prevents me from attacking any living being. Furthermore, if my awareness essence depletes completely, I'll be defenseless if they turn on me. Therefore, if a fight breaks out, our only focus every second we're unnoticed must be to escape. I cannot guarantee your survival during that window, but you can rely on me for smaller threats ahead."
Knowing this curse, which felt like an arrow to his heart, likely meant they would truly die, Touya let out a soft sigh. "At least I can kill. I have no awareness, but I'm tough as nails? I guess."
Lanert smiled sheepishly. "There's a creature about two kilometers ahead. I can sense it—don't ask how. I think it's a feature of my high-tier nature. But here's the thing: I don't know how powerful it is. If it's strong enough, its arrival will create the perfect diversion for us. Keep your ears open."
Touya raised an eyebrow slightly. "How could one creature possibly alarm this entire army enough to distract them? Forget it, let's think of something else."
Lanert smiled, his tone warm. "The head knight, the boss, possesses an offensive-class awareness. My job is to stay by his side to keep him alive, to protect him. He personally kills every creature in every incident to expand his awareness pool. This means you'll be coming with me. We'll stage a bluff. You'll stay back while I make a 'miscalculated' move. Even against a small creature, if he takes damage, gets wounded, he'll be weakened, creating an opportunity for the future."
Touya gave a strange, acknowledging look. "Okay. I'll stay sharp."
Lanert nodded and guided him back into the chains.
---
The bleak hours of early morning had passed, yielding to the encroaching night's darkness. Touya had managed to scarf down a few unappetizing things—onion-like roots he could eat without his stomach turning. He was, after all, a street kid, accustomed to eating things others wouldn't touch.
And then, a sound like a bomb blast erupted. It was so piercing Touya had to cover his ears.
He stopped his slight fidgeting and stood up, thinking about how to get free from his chains. The bluff he and Lanert had planned had failed; he was still chained.
Suddenly, a soldier burst into the room, unlocked everyone's chains, and handed out clubs. These individuals, unfortunately, were the ones with awareness. Touya was still shackled, the only difference being that the chains were no longer anchored to anything. He could now move, albeit while dragging the heavy links. He hurried outside, his eyes widening, his hands flying to his mouth.
The creature Lanert had mentioned looked to be at least a Tier 4 major entity. It resembled a troll, wielding a club made of ice. Half its face was burned away, a twisted, festering wound with disgusting veins writhing like worms around it. It stood nearly 8-9 meters tall, with only half its teeth remaining. Its four arms flailed savagely in all directions. Its icy-cold, dark blue skin seemed to freeze over until no wound remained visible. With every swing of its club, people were sent flying, their brains scattering across the ground, their blood melting the pure white snow.
In a word, it was horrifying.
He caught a glimpse of Lanert for a second. Lanert looked back at him, smiled slightly, and shifted. Beside him was the man called the Boss, fighting the creature that attacked everything with a long, serpentine sword, trying to pierce it. Without Lanert, the Boss would have been dead already. Lanert saved him from every attack at the precise moment, the blows always passing harmlessly through the Boss.
Touya shifted slightly, trying to escape, but bumped into a man and fell. His scrawny body trembled, frozen with fear like the ice troll.
The man who caused his fall had a head wound and was bleeding out. Touya climbed on top of him, wrapped his chains around him, and began to strangle him. The man pulled a knife and, before Touya could react, stabbed him in the abdomen.
Touya was stunned, but it was too late. The man had already been strangled to death.
He struggled to lift himself from the ground and decided to push forward. Then, a woman, a combatant for the ice giant, stood up to face it. Her physique was voluptuous. She raised her staff and began channeling her awareness into it.
Then she stopped because a commotion came from the left. She turned, likely thinking it was a rescue team. Then, quickly, she pointed her staff skyward—their escape couldn't depend on chance; she could signal 'We are here!' The fireball grew larger, and Touya immediately ran to stop her. He tried to choose his words carefully but acted hastily.
"Look, no, stop! You'll draw the others! Before I ended up here, I was harmed by several creatures, and when I tried to run, I was pushed down a mountain. The other creatures make this noise, destroying everything to get here! If we don't kill that big bastard, we can't fight them all!"
The woman was taken aback, faced with two choices.
Touya says directly
" quickly! That creature is ice-based, right?! Melt it with fire! That works on trolls, doesn't it? We can defeat the others!"
The woman unleashed the fire.
It struck the troll directly on the head. But the troll took no damage. The woman looked at Touya with regret, then lunged at him with a motion meant to choke him. But both Touya and the beautiful woman felt themselves freeze for an instant. Yes, the mountain troll was looking at them.
It was staring directly at them.
A few seconds later, the mountain troll took the beautiful woman's head into its mouth, scattering her brains, before turning its attack on the others. Touya finally managed to escape. The woman wasn't so lucky.
Touya fled quickly, hiding in every hole he could find. In one of these hiding spots, he saw Lanert.
---
Lanert moved with slight, dance-like grace in his defensive art, protecting the Boss. Finally, the mountain troll stopped before them and stared. The Boss swore, proclaiming he would kill it.
The troll reached for the Boss, trying to grasp him effortlessly. Of course, its hand passed right through him.
The troll looked surprised. It thrust a finger directly into the center of the Boss's abdomen. The Boss seemed unharmed. The mountain troll's finger phased right through him, causing no injury.
And then, the troll's finger became coated in blood. The Boss coughed up blood, his organs spilling out.
Lanert looked at the Boss, his eyes wide open, with a happy expression.
"See you in hell."
The mountain troll, seeming amused, jumped, swallowed the Boss in one piece, and fixed its gaze on Lanert.
Lanert would try to escape quickly, to reach Touya and get away from this disaster. But at that moment, the mountain troll was watching him. Could he do anything about it?
He was going to find out.