At this moment, I've ran out of strength to fight. My best chance now was to run away while keeping hold of the anti-gravity. Abandoning my position, my legs cry in fatigue as I looked toward the exit of this dungeon sub-area. There was a green line that aligned to the cross section of this dungeon area.
Crossing the green line, I picked up more speed while releasing the anti-gravity to free up my mental strain. Solely focusing on retreating, I carved destruction in my way, to use the environment against the monsters on my tail. *woosh!* projectiles fly by as burst of air and pressure assault my ears. The accuracy so high, I could be struck down on my back and defeated easily. The only conceivable reason I was still alive was caused by my quick thinking of laying obstacles.
It wasn't easy to get them off my trail even with the large distance between their target and them. Destroying the nearby environment to create obstacles had to be strategic, in time consumption, timing of execution and positioning. With [Demonic energy], I could roughly interfere with it's properties to not disintegrate the matter around it, and use it to form nets filled with the nearby ecosystem as blockades.
If I slip up, it wasn't a definite forfeit for my life, but a high chance was a high chance, risking it to fight again is foolish. Decrease in speed and the surroundings also need to be accounted for, I don't want to needlessly run into a tree and have it cause my eventual death.
One could say my vitality could not provide enough stamina, and my mental strength was severely depleted after my mana pool was almost used up. A retreat was the greatest option I could ask for, considering I drove myself that far into the dungeon. It was completely my fault. No matter how I looked at it, there was some strange interference. It isn't normal for a 6 year old to be lost in battle until the level 250 area.
If we assume it was a slow-acting drug or curse, it would be impossible to narrow it down... I'm only 6, why would I remember all the interactions in my life... Even so, I had limited contact with others. It was the hard work of being wary of everything, while not understanding anything. A rough but fortunate coincidence that came with my lack of knowledge.In this case, there was one easy suspect.
***
Reaching the outside of the dungeon, the gate forms an invincible barrier preventing the monsters chasing me from coming out. Seeing my pitiful state, the guards at the gate looked into darkness to see 2 ominous glows of gold. Tightening their grip on their issues spears, a multitude of magic artifacts covering the shaft of the spear activate with a "vm" humming sound.
The guard was covered in a leather tunic and pants, with plates of a shining hard silver substance covering the vital areas. Under the plates glowed a blue hue, presumably passive magical circles are etched there to aid the combat ability of the guards.
Below the leather armour was practical cloth that covered every patch of skin, some non-glowing magic circles were located there.
These guards had no helmet, however there was a blurry outline around the back of their head, blocking the flow of air and some light. It made their hair darker when viewed from the back as less light was reflected into our eyes.
Breathing in a deep breath of fresh air, they trusted their spears through the barrier with all their might. The spears themselves glowing a hue of gold, penetrates into the monsters flesh and armour. Their defences crumbled like glass, the pressure of the spear thrust blowing their body parts into every possible direction. Seeing as they were dealt with, my heart rate started to decrease. 20 metres away from the gate, a familiar lock of black hair shook in the distance. The wind rose to blow away my evaporated sweat.
I had removed the curse on my run here by flooding my veins with [demonic energy], it eroded every last bit of foreign mana away, destroying the formation. Or at least I think it was a curse, wiping it away brought mass fatigue into my limbs. The flow of excess adrenaline had stopped. Fortune had me almost reach the exit while I wiped away the curse, so I could escape. This was the time to test her reaction. It could go anyway and I would still be suspicious, but if her expressions were volatile, that dead giveaway would be much preferred.
***
"haa~haa~, I'm still alive. Thank god."
Her black locks of hair twitches as she expresses a look for concern.
"You... Are you okay?! Before we knew it, you had gone far away from us. Our supplies were limited and we had to retreat. Where's vegn, kevil and cheruv?! They were sent to look for you! " (Cress)
"A demon attack... I took down the demon, but those 3..."
Understanding the implication, Cress had a complicated look on her face. Her cheeks stiffened as various unknowns flash through her mind. What was she thinking about? Could the death of 3 comrades bring this kind of face? Do I need to do it too? Was I suppose to make such a complex expression? How troublesome. Is she acting depressed despite causing this?
Let's see if anything breaks if I stared intently at her.
"You!! How can you still be so calm after all of this?! Our leader... Kevil died and not to mention Vegn and Cherub too... " (Joen, party member)
"I'm calm?... I see, I guess I am~ calm. How I behave doesn't detract anything from this tragedy, what would be the point in me mourning?"
"Y-..."
"...." (Cress)
Her eyelids widened as tiers drip down her flush cheeks. Warm breaths escaped her lips as her irises began to flicker while she stared at me. Her knitted brows assumed a fierce look, but something told me that she wasn't angry. It was an expression of fear. What was she scared off? Did behaving out of the norm shake her this much? This norm... This common sense of griefing... I canno-... No I could understand it. I see, she was justified in being angry. I cannot erase my mistakes, doubts and suspicions. However it seemed that I had mistaken her despair for a mask. I can only make one move left.
Putting power into it, I bent my spine straight and twisted my hips. I bowed down towards her, hiding my own face. One can only describe it as fear as well, fear of isolation. If I don't fit into the norm, I'll just have to force it in and not get found out. Was this the right choice? That, I couldn't tell, for I don't have a foresight skill.
"I'm sorry for being insensitive, it won't happen again. So please forgive me."
Detecting a shift in tone, the acting leader of the party had a change of opinion. My voice shooed during the apology from pressure, anxiety, nervousness, not grief. However this was a happy miscalculation.
" Ah! Even after you avenge them, despite being a child... I find it hard to believe and question why you would lie... But it must have been tough trying to survive..." (Joen)
That... I could understand. The will to survive and the will to fight. They were both different things, yet sometimes they go intertwine. An uncontrollable surge of dampness flooded my eyelids. Ughh, where did all of this come from?