The dark blade shot by the Abyssal Creature was almost upon him, and he was still a handful of distance above the water's surface.
There was simply no way he could dodge the blade.
Remembering Arthur's words about the blade, Noah felt his scalp go numb. He might have twisted his body slightly and taken the blade into his body. He would be injured but at least alive.
However, Arthur had clearly told him not to let the dark blade touch his skin. He didn't know the reason, but he didn't dare take the blade head-on.
So, he made a swift decision and threw the only thing in his hand—the dagger Arthur gave him—toward the dark blade.
Fortunately, his accuracy was good, so the dagger hit the dark blade's edge, changing its trajectory slightly.
With another splash, his body dropped into the lake, and the dark blade struck a different part of the water's surface, raising a tall wave from the impact.
Noah didn't dare to immediately go above the water's surface, so he stayed underwater. His eyes quickly adapted to the burning sensation of the water hitting his eyelids, and he began to look around.
'Damnit!'
He quickly flapped his legs and swam downward, where he saw a human figure slowly drowning. The water around him was turning red, so he couldn't see clearly, but there was no way he would mistake his one and only friend.
He increased his speed and quickly reached Arthur. Without hesitation, he grabbed him and began to swim upwards.
The water pressure was making it difficult for him to rise, and even his lungs felt like they were on fire. He had suffered two direct blows from the insectoid, so his body wasn't in good condition, and now he even had to carry a man alongside him.
It was proving to be impossible, but he persisted.
'Why is he so heavy?' Noah struggled against the water hitting his face and thought, 'He dared to call himself awesome while being this heavy? Tsk!'
Then another thought occurred to him, 'He eats his delicious meals daily...no wonder; even I would become fat like that. Damnit! I need this guy to cook for me!'
Noah's thoughts ran wild as he tried his best to keep his consciousness from fading. Arthur was already unconscious, and if he lost consciousness too, they would be dead.
All of Arthur's hard work, all the risks he took to make sure both of them survived, would be meaningless. More than that, Noah didn't want to die, nor did he want Arthur to die.
'You already did your share of work. I'll do the rest, and then we're even,' Noah used his single hand to swim upwards, as he held Arthur with the other.
After struggling for a few seconds that felt like an eternity, he finally managed to break free from the water's surface and took a deep breath, trying to inhale as much air as he could.
He didn't forget about his friend and forced Arthur's face above the water surface too. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to make him breathe since he was unconscious.
All of a sudden, Arthur coughed up a mouthful of water, then once more. Just like that, he expelled all of the water from his body and began to breathe regularly again.
Nonetheless, he was still unconscious.
Noah could only look at Arthur with a dumbfounded expression, wondering if he was pretending to be unconscious. How did he do that?
As far as Noah knew, a human's body didn't allow such actions without any external help.
However, he pushed the matter to the back of his mind as they had more pressing issues at hand.
Taking one more deep breath, Noah put Arthur on his shoulder and began to swim north, opposite to where they had come from.
Out of the corner of his vision, he saw the insectoid still waiting for them on the shore.
'If you go east, I'll go west.'
It was tough swimming while carrying someone's body, especially when his own body was aching all over. But Noah had long come to love pain, so he endured it and swam as far as he could.
He could have gone the east way, where the land was near, but he wanted to be as far away as possible from that creature who almost killed the two of them.
'I just hope there aren't any fish here!'
If they suddenly met an aquatic Abyssal Creature after escaping the insectoid, it would be quite funny—but, of course, they wouldn't survive.
They weren't even in a condition to move properly, so how could they fight?
Fortunately for them, the duo didn't encounter any Abyssal Creatures and safely swam through the empty, serene lake.
'Just how far away is the shore?'
Noah grumbled to himself. It had been two hours already since he started swimming, and he still couldn't see the land. Heck, now he couldn't even see the eastern shore.
All around him was water, clear and flowing slowly, carried by the winds. His muscles were already giving out, and he could barely move his legs any further.
His shoulder had gone numb, and he couldn't feel it any longer, making him question if this effort was even worth it.
But he endured, the only thing he had done till now, and swam further.
Granted, their speed was slow, so Noah wasn't sure how much distance they had covered. He just knew the lake was vast, and the despair was once again sinking its claws into his mind.
However, he paid it no heed and continued.
Just as he was thinking of taking a rest, he saw something on the horizon. His eyes lit up as he felt adrenaline rush through his veins.
Finally, they had reached the land.
Noah didn't know how much further he had to swim to reach the shore, but he knew it was there, and that filled his heart with hope.
So, he ignored his exhaustion and let the adrenaline rush take over. His hands sliced through the water, bringing him closer to the shore.
Just a little more.
He kept telling himself and pushed himself to the limit. His lungs were burning, his muscles felt like they were on fire, and half of his body was already going numb.
However, he felt it. He couldn't see clearly because of his blurred vision, but he sensed it.
He had landed on solid ground.
His body dropped forward along with Arthur's, and he immediately lost consciousness, knowing they had survived.