My eyes locked on two lights shining in the darkness. Part of my brain had sent orders to this body to leave immediately. But some were curious about what was behind the gap in the wall.
The feeling of horror was increasingly enveloping my whole body and making me completely numb. Cold sweat started pouring down profusely when my ears caught a growling sound inside the gap. I froze, too shocked and couldn't remember to move. Needless to say, Dimas was frightened too. This was the first time I'd seen his hands shaking like this. Though usually, he was not afraid to face anyone, even though his opponent was the Elvian army.
I forced myself free from the stiffness of my body, trying to move my legs little by little.
"Dimas! Dimas!" I screamed loudly, but the man ignored me. My hand grabbed Dimas' shoulder, then shook his body hard to wake him up.
"Uh, what?" he answered, looking confused. He was too fixated on a figure and ignored the other stuff.
"Let's get out of here quickly!"
The man was silent for a moment, still not recapping what I said. His mind was far away somewhere.
"What are you waiting for!?" my scream opened his eyes clearly. Now he realized the precarious situation that was currently happening.
Dimas and I ran across the vast expanse of plains. We rushed to the entrance located at the giant room corner. Honestly, I did not dare to look back. I kept my eyes on the small passageway we entered as I could. For some reason, my feet felt heavy, and time seemed to have slowed down. Our goal in front of our eyes seemed to be thousands of meters away.
*DRRRR!
A moment later, my hair stood on end, and my spine stiffened. I still didn't dare to look back, but I was sure my ears weren't mistaken. The rumbling walls echoed throughout the room, and rocks crashed down against the ground.
Suddenly the ground I stood on swayed for a moment, making my steps stumbled and almost fall if only Dimas didn't hold me.
"Thank you," I said in a half-kneeling position.
"Save it when we get out of here!" Dimas pulled my body up, then held my hand as he ran towards the door.
The incessant rumbling made the ceiling above us collapse. Rocks and dirt started falling and blocked our escape route. Dimas and I often had to look up to avoid the ruins. Dust and pebbles fell on our heads. I had to close my eyes and nose so that dust particles didn't enter my body.
Nevertheless, Dimas and I were trying to move forward. What was on my mind right now was to get out of this underground as soon as possible. After trying hard to close the distance while avoiding the ruins, the entrance finally appeared before my eyes. It was only a few meters away, and I could get out of here alive.
However, my wish never came true.
"Anggi! Watch out!!!"
I didn't know what happened, suddenly Dimas shouted loudly from behind my back. In the next eye blink, Dimas embraced me and threw our bodies far to the side. I didn't know what had happened. The sound of an explosion suddenly sounded loud right beside me.
Therefore, dust and dirt scattered everywhere, so I couldn't see anything. All I knew right now was that I was in Dimas' arms, who hugged me tightly on the ground. My arm was sore. Maybe it was scratched when Dimas threw our bodies before. Some parts of my body are a little numb. I was sure this was due to the explosion that came from nowhere.
Even though I still couldn't open my eyes, I could feel the rumbling that had stopped. The ground surface no longer shook.
A few moments later, I released myself from Dimas's embrace and tried to force my eyes open amidst the flying dust and dirt. The tiny particles get into my eyes and make me sore. I held my breath slowly, so it didn't also enter my respiratory tract.
As the flying dust had thinned, I could clearly see what was happening. The entrance initially in front of me, was shattered and covered with rubble and rocks. While we leaped behind a fairly large rock.
Which means there was no way out for us anymore.
"Oh no! The entrance!" I screamed loudly.
I turned to Dimas concerning the next step. But the man didn't budge. He sat on the ground, glaring upwards with a clear expression of fear. I dared to follow his look in the same direction.
That was when it hit me. The collapse of the exit wasn't something to be afraid of now. In the center of the vast courtyard stood a very tall monster. So high that the Tardigrada monster I previously fought was nothing compared to this. It was about thirty meters tall. The hairs on its head formed a circle as if to protect its face. Two big blue eyes glared at us. It had a short beak curved downwards and two pairs of folded wings. It would be as broad as this massive room if stretched out.
This shape … was very similar to the owl statue on the altar.
Yes, this was unmistakable. This monster was the embodiment of that statue.
"W-What are we going to do now?" I asked fearfully. My body won't stop shaking. "No way out. There's no way we can win against that."
"Anggi, use your Super Sense! Find another way out in this room," he said calmly. It seemed like he's gotten control of his fear, so his head could think coldly and think of something I didn't think of.
"Okay."
I immediately closed my eyes and activated my Super Sense. Sending echo waves around the room to get a visual view of the surroundings in my head. I could see the rubble lining the entrance, then the piles of dirt and rocks thick enough to make it impossible to walk through. Then the projection in my head spread across, passed under the Owl monster's feet, and arrived on the other side of the wall. I found there was a small gap that could reach the ground surface.
"There is a small hole that can lead us up to the surface," I said to Dimas.
"Good work!" replied the man with a tone of joy.
"But there's a problem."
"What?"
"That hole… is high above the ground. We have to climb to get there. And also… it's on the other side behind that monster," I explained while gulping. We were both silent for a few moments.
There was the opportunity, but the obstacles were so big. I wanted to know if this would work. If only we failed … we would definitely die here.
Never for a moment did I think I would win against a monster this big. The fear and terror given were too great compared to the Tarantula or Tardigrada monsters. I thought the Tardigrada monster was large enough, but the monster in front of me was really something. My legs felt numb every time I looked at them. It was as if the energy from my body continued to reduce every second.
"How are we going to pass through it?" I asked in a frightened tone.
"I'll try to distract its eyes while you climb up there! Once you get to the top, protect me while climbing with your Esze," he said with a face that didn't seem to flinch in the slightest.
His composure was excellent. Now he was not the same as he was a few moments ago. It was as if he had thought carefully of the decisions he made and some of the possibilities.
"Isn't that very dangerous? Is it better if I get the diversion role? I might be able to last longer with my Esze."
Dimas immediately turned to me with an annoyed expression. "Are you looking down on me? You think I won't be able to last long against that monster?"
"That's not it. I'm just worried about you!"
"In fact, if I go up first, I can't help anything when you climb up!"
He got the point! Why didn't I think that far ahead? The man had thought about it before me.
Even so, I still couldn't stop worrying about him.
"I'll count to three. I will run over there and distract it. Then you go to the opposite and immediately head for the exit. Understand?" Dimas expressed his plan in a serious tone.
"Got it," I replied with a slight nod.
"If it goes well, this shouldn't take long."
"You be careful!"
"You too. Okay, I'll start counting to three." Dimas stared intently at the owl monster that had been motionless. But I knew that actually, he was watching around. "One, two, three!!"
Dimas immediately dashed out from behind the rock. He ran across the plain opposite the exit. The monster owl's eyes immediately followed his movements. Slowly it moved its legs and began to spread its four wings. Its screams shrilled across the room and created a deafening echo.
Needless to say, I, who has sharper senses than humans, was in pain half to death. My body almost collapsed. I desperately tried to stay on my feet. My hand held the stone ruins that served as a shelter from the monsters' surveillance.
I threw my eyes at Dimas, who had run away. Not wanting to waste the one chance he gave me, I immediately ran towards the exit. Of course, after making sure the owl monster's attention was diverted. It stepped slowly toward Dimas. Every step It made, made my heart goosebumps imagining if it managed to overthrow my best friend.
I shook my head. Trying to get rid of bad prejudice and put trust in Dimas. After a while, I arrived at the wall near the exit. The small hole was so high, maybe about seven meters above me. Wasting no time, I climbed over the wall and tried to find a less steep route. Sticking rocks and tree roots helped me climb up. Pretty good route but not very smooth. Several times I almost fell because of the broken tree roots when I used them to pull myself up.
*BRUAKKK!
Suddenly a roar sounded loud from the middle of the room. Suddenly I stopped my movement and glanced at the source of the sound. Dust flew as the monster's head hit the ground. At first, I thought Dimas had succeeded in slamming the monster's body, but my common sense denied it. No matter how strong Dimas is, there's no way he can slam a monster many times his size. After all, the owl's two legs remained where it stood.
A moment later, the monster straightened its hunched body again. In its beak, there are ruins of rock and soil. Then it spitted it forward. From beside the thick flying dust, Dimas jumped out. Both hands held a short sword that had become a loyal buddy of his journey so far. He forcefully swung his weapon toward the monster owl's left leg.
*GROOAAR!!
The monster groaned in pain. Its screams were shrill in all directions and hurt my ears. I wanted to cover my ears, but I didn't when I realized that my hands had been used to hold the tree roots. My ears still hurt, but I forced myself to keep climbing up.
While climbing, I stole glances at Dimas, who was fighting monsters. Dimas nimbly dodged the attack at the last moment. The owl used its hard beak to attack. It was inconceivable that the attack would hit someone's body. It would indeed be destroyed. After dodging, Dimas attacked back at the monster's feet.
If it continued like this, maybe Dimas would win. But a moment later, that thought became a stupid daydream. The monster changed its attack pattern. He spread all four wings, flew, and flapped his wings hard. A strong wind flew dust and soil in front of it. Dimas seemed to be staying in the face of the strong wind. He was stuck where he stood.
A moment later, the thing I feared the most happened. The owl collected a spherical wind current in its beak. Then it unleashed the attack forward, right at its opponent, where my best friend was.
"Dimaaaaaaaaaaaassssss...!"