CHAPTER 62 Let Me Out

Keith

Keith knew Henrietta was not fine.

Despite her monstrous Constitution and overly powerful Strength, she was unconsciously shivering and sweating at the same time. When they'd first arrived, her hands had gripped his sleeve so hard she'd warped the fabric.

He was lucky she hadn't outright broken his arm.

Still, no matter what he tried, she insisted that she was fine. And then she just stood there and took an attack, completely distracted.

He was reassured when they fought … when she fought the mole dogs. The thigh-high monsters with wicked spikes on their arms liked to dig under unsuspecting adventurers, but Henrietta managed to defeat them all in an instant and with her usual flair. However, Henrietta didn't harvest the bodies. She left them behind to rush back to the bright lights floating around Keith. She smiled again, but it was like she was proving to herself she could do it despite her obvious internal struggle.

"How about we take a break and drink some water," Keith suggested, rubbing her palm as he usually did. He liked to distract her, but this time, he did so because it seemed like it helped her focus on him. They'd walked far enough down the cave tunnels to turn a few corners but not reach a new batch of monsters.

Henrietta shook her head and let go of him. "We can't stop, we're almost to the next group."

Keith felt the absence of more than just her hand. They were losing their sense of teamwork as she sunk deeper into her own anxieties. "What's the next group?"

"I'm sure there'll be another soon," she assured him. She let go of his hand and walked ahead, but still within the range of the lights. Her fingers were gripped into fists so hard that they were turning white.

But he didn't know how to help her other than speeding through the dungeon as she wished. He cursed the fact that he couldn't teleport out of dungeons on his own. He should have brought an Escape Scroll, but there wasn't a herd of monsters in the dungeon he couldn't solo, let alone with Henrietta. The two of them could face it all in their sleep, so he hadn't brought one.

Just then, the stone where Henrietta stepped gave way, and the entire tunnel floor collapsed underneath them.

Keith cast, "[Feathered Fall]."

The spell hit all members in his party, slowing both of their descent into the pit trap. There were a few jagged rocks below that would have done a number on either had they landed wrong.

"Ria?" They both touched down at the same time, but Keith ran over to the young heroine as she collapsed into a sitting position, hugging her sword. A part of her shirt was cut by the blade, and a line of blood ran down from her collarbone. "Ria, I'm here; it's alright …"

"Let me out." Her voice broke, and something inside Keith broke with it, shattering his heart like jagged glass. "It's too dark."

The same [Dancing Lights] were still following them and illuminating the pit, but Keith didn't think Henrietta was talking about their surroundings.

"Listen, Ria," Keith tried to speak calmly. "I'm going to—"

She started crying, and Keith paused as her enchanted sword started glowing white … but not with holy energy. A flash of light filled the area, and Keith let out a surprised grunt as he blinked spots out of his eyes.

When he could see clearly again, Henrietta stood in the pit, sword in hand. "Let me out."

She swung her sword, and a sword slash of [Void Damage] hit the pit wall at an angle, wiping it and a portion of the ceiling higher up out of existence. She swung twice more haphazardly and opened huge rents in the terrain.

Keith resisted the urge to run. Demi and dragon spells were made out of mana and pure System energy. The energy of the universe. [Void Damage] was the antithesis of his entire magical stats makeup.

But Henrietta was still crying, the silent tears trailing down her cheeks as her eyes turned swollen and puffy. Her sword was humming as she tried to walk up the slope her cut had made in the wall. So Keith did the dumbest thing he'd ever done.

He activated his automata wings. Flying came naturally after hours of playing [Fireball] toss that morning.

He flew up behind Henrietta and tried to approach her slowly and with a running dialogue so as not to startle her.

"Ria, Ria, I just need you to close your eyes. Just close your eyes, and I'm going to fly us out of here. I'm going to pick you up now, alright?" He reached out and placed a hand as gently as he could on her shoulder.

She didn't react as he'd hoped, jumping and swinging her sword precariously in his direction. The Void energy cut through his [Mana Shield]. He didn't know any chaos magic or holy magic, so he was next to powerless as her sword sliced by his bicep. He thanked the gods it had only grazed him.

[You have been Critically Hit. You take 150 Void-based Damage. HP 250/400]

Keith leaned in and whispered into her ear, his hair falling forward and tickling her cheek. "Princess, wake up. I'm here to let you out."

"Keith?" Something he'd said caused her to pause long enough for him to scoop her into his arms. One of which burned with pain from his wound. He ignored it.

"I've got you," he whispered, making a decision. The automata wings weren't going to be enough; whatever this was, he needed to get her out of here as fast as possible. "By the Great Wyrm Who Breathes Air into the Sky, [Flight]," Keith spoke the high-tier spell aloud. His perk [Quick Chant] did not apply to the most powerful spells he knew. After he lifted off, he sunk fifty percent of his remaining mana into the [Flight] spell, propelling them up and through the tunnel at breakneck speeds.

He didn't know where the exit teleporter was on this level, and the tunnel system made it harder for him to just sense magic in the area. He would have to search the whole level or defeat the boss … It might be faster to fight the boss.

Keith could defeat the boss himself. And as long as Henrietta remained in her current state, he was sure he could get them out in record timing.

Anything that got between Henrietta and the portal out of here was going to have to die a very quick and final death.

He summoned [Air Blades] in advance. They trailed after him with the [Dancing Lights].

With an urgency he hadn't felt since his youth, Keith raced for the exit teleporter.