After pondering about what to do, I decided to not take the risk of getting within the dangerous proximity of a raging monster. It was too dangerous, especially since I didn't have any weapons to defend myself, nor a torch to light my way enough to run without stumbling on anything on the way.
As for the torch that I had brought along with me, I had left it at the teleportation circle area as some kind of beacon and to light the crude path that I had fallen off from earlier.
In any way, approaching the monster after hearing its screech is definitely not a good idea. The cries of that monster meant that the battle was in its climax which also meant that someone as weak as me could not intervene, no matter which side was winning.
In this scenario, the best way for victory, or at least a reasonable outcome, is to utilize time and patience. I could not use my strength, I could not use my senses, and I could not use my mind. It was all about finding the right timing and opportunity!
So, I waited… Although my curiosity was begging for me to take a peek, I refrained from doing it.
Thus, I waited and waited, and silently listened to all kinds of noises reverberate through the cave as time passed by more and more.
It didn't take too long before I heard a noise that made me somewhat uncomfortable. It was the tone of silence…
Although at that moment, I was supposed to be elated, I felt strangely uncomfortable. It was eerily silent compared to before, supposedly meaning the battle might have come to an end, and that one of them had come out as the ultimate victor.
But who does the victory belong to?
If it's the human, then that means that a potential enemy will certainly come my way, which was threatening for me, but also not too bad, considering that he has his body and magic abilities exhausted.
If it's the monster… Although there is the chance that it might not come my way, if it does, we'd be in big big trouble!
After all, if the monster's the victor, that means that it was able to overwhelm an adult capable of using powerful magic! How would we even be able to fend off against that?
A human when exhausted is too vulnerable, but a monster centipede that has thick armor as a body, even if it's exhausted and injured, our fluffy hands could not even tickle it!
After thinking for a while, I felt that dealing with the monster wasn't what was making me feel uncomfortable. Giving it some thought, I felt that the sense of discomfort was not because of fear or worry. It's more like an instinct that could sense my incoming doom!
Perhaps it's because of the amount of times I almost died and the fact that I've already died once, but like… I could feel death approaching closer and closer, at this very instance!
Not at some future time point when the outcome of the battle is clear, but right now, any second now!
'Run!' It's like something ticked inside my mind. Something triggered me to move.
Although I wasn't sure if this discomfort I felt instinctively was just an imagination or something that was caused by traumatic factors, I still listened to it. Other than going back to the area where the two had been fighting, which might be severely dangerous to do in the first few five minutes after the climax of their battle, there was nothing else to do but to return to my people.
Hence, I decided to go with the option to go back to my people, and did so in haste, so I could satisfy that strange uncomfortable feeling while I was on it.
Running my way back to where my people were, nothing seemed to be happening out of order. That was so until I had almost reached the end of the path that I was in…
*Boom!
The sound of an explosion came once again after the long-awaited silence. As if it had been cumulating throughout the time of silence, the sound of the explosion was many times louder than all of the explosions from earlier combined!
'Did the guy just release his most powerful spell?' I wondered but then something flashed in my mind. I could not help but think.
'Wait… but such a huge attack in a narrow cave?... That's a suicidal attack! This tunnel is going to collapse!'
I gasped and tried running faster and faster, but I was already running as fast as I could. I feared not making it out of the narrow pathway in time, and thus I gave all my attention and effort in running. Because of this, I forgot that there was another thing other than the pathway caving in that I had to take into account.
'The blast!'
The aftermath of that large explosion came right when it was already too late for me to think about protecting myself against it. It struck me stronger than a heavy wind. It flung my body from the ground and caused me to fly out towards where my people lay waiting.
My body fell on the hard ground with a heavy thud!
*Cough* *Cough*
Although I didn't seem too injured, I was suffocating. It seemed that the blast had affected my lungs a little…
"Leader!"
Every single one of my people came running to me while I was lying with my face on the ground. The blast had already passed, so it was safe for them to come towards me, however, the place might crumble soon. There was no time to waste in checking my condition!
"We need to run, now! This place is about to crumble down! Cough! Cough!" I warned everyone immediately and saw as their expressions changed.
"Sutow, or maybe two or three more of you big guys. Cough! Can you lift me and carry me together?" I requested while looking at Sutow, Brolee, and the few others who had a big and adult-like bodies.
My request was heartily accepted.