Chapter 87: We need to run!

Zephyr knitted his brows at Erick’s words.

He was grateful for everything Erick had done for him, but his feelings ended there, especially after Erick had left him behind at the Association. Now, Zephyr didn’t want to give himself more reasons to feel indebted to him. Even the trace of joy at Erick being his first friend had disappeared completely.

"If sharing your food is okay with you. But are the fish in the water really not edible?"

Erick paused before stepping forward, deliberately positioning himself between Zephyr and Lucien. A faint smile tugged at his lips when the two finally separated. He glanced down at the clear water, his golden eyes gleaming slightly as he watched the little fish swimming beneath the surface.

Then, he turned his gaze toward Zephyr.

"They are poisonous. I just checked."

Zephyr nodded, accepting his words.

Although he no longer held any particular fondness for Erick, he still trusted his judgment when it came to matters like this. Erick was the most experienced Esper in the group, so Zephyr had no reason to doubt his assessment.

Lucien, however, glared at Erick with clear displeasure.

Still, he and Zephyr followed Erick when the others gathered nearby.

Erick took several packages of dried fruits and canned food from his storage space and began handing them out to everyone.

When it was finally Lucien’s turn, Erick suddenly pulled his hand back with an exaggerated, regretful sound.

"Ah, I’m afraid that’s all I have. And you already ate three whole fruits by yourself earlier. Surely you’re not hungry, right?"

The smile at the corner of his lips made it painfully obvious that he was enjoying this.

Lucien rolled his eyes.

He hadn’t wanted to accept the food in the first place and had already been planning to refuse. He wasn’t hungry anyway, having eaten more than enough earlier. But Erick, this damn jerk, just had to provoke him. In the end, Lucien scoffed and cursed quietly.

"Childish!"

Zephyr had heard their conversation.

He shifted closer to Lucien.

"We can share."

Erick’s smile stiffened.

Lucien, however, simply smirked at Erick before gently pushing Zephyr’s hand away.

"No, it’s fine. I am not particularly hungry. You can eat. You need the energy to fight."

He added, casting a smug glance at Erick.

"But next time you find something as good as those fruits, remember to give it to me."

Zephyr blinked and nodded with a smile.

"Okay."

With that, he carefully opened the can of food and the packet of dried fruits in his hands and began eating. His movements were calm and graceful, almost as though he could see everything in front of him.

Jake and Oreon watched from the sidelines as they ate, realizing that their plan to separate Zephyr from Lucien was failing miserably.

Erick merely snorted and went to sit near a withered tree trunk.

He wasn’t the only one unhappy about Zephyr and Lucien sitting so close together. Eleven was equally dissatisfied, but there was little he could do about it.

In the end, he could only vent his frustration on his food, chewing with far more force than necessary.

They had barely finished eating when a desperate cry for help suddenly came from the direction they had come from.

There were two voices, one male and one female. Both sounded familiar, yet strangely hoarse, as though whoever was calling out had been running for their lives.

Erick’s expression turned annoyed, but he still reluctantly stood up. He had no particular desire to help whoever was in danger. If they died, that was their own problem. But with Zephyr behind him, he couldn’t bring himself to simply ignore them.

He forced himself to move.

Jake, Oreon, and the burly Esper quickly followed as they re-entered the withered trees.

It wasn’t long before two familiar running figures came into view.

Sylvia and Ryan, the two siblings who had fled earlier with Gilbert when everyone was in danger, were running at full speed. Their faces were pale, their clothes were soaked with sweat, and their breathing was ragged, as though something horrifying was right behind them.

Erick immediately looked past them and scanned the trees.

Nothing.

There wasn’t even a single monster in sight.

He raised a hand, signaling everyone behind him to stop.

Jake, Oreon, and the burly Esper immediately halted. But as Erick swept his gaze over them, he suddenly noticed something was wrong.

Someone was missing.

His expression changed slightly.

Ignoring the two Wales siblings for the moment, he turned toward the others.

"Where is Zephyr?"

Jake and the others froze.

They immediately turned around.

Where had Zephyr gone?!

He should have been right behind them. They had clearly seen him stand up when they rushed after Erick!

Oreon was the first to speak.

"We only saw him stand up. Perhaps he didn’t follow us in the end?"

The burly Esper glanced toward the Wales siblings before speaking calmly.

"If he isn’t here, then he should still be with the Guides near the stream. It’s better that way. We all left, so at least one Esper should have stayed behind to protect them. Let’s deal with this first and then go back."

Jake and Oreon immediately agreed, suddenly realizing how careless they had been. Leaving the Guides unprotected was something no Esper should do during a dungeon raid.

Erick’s annoyance only deepened.

He tried to suppress the unpleasant premonition rising in his chest.

Leaving Zephyr behind with Lucien had been a mistake.

He should have kept an eye on him.

He should have brought him along.

Damn it.

Cursing inwardly, Erick rushed toward the approaching siblings and stopped them.

"What’s going on with you two? Didn’t you run away faster than the wind earlier? With what face are you back shouting for help?"

Sylvia was the first to respond, paying no attention to the sarcasm in Erick’s words.

Her voice came out broken and hoarse, barely more than a whisper after shouting and running for what seemed like hours.

"G-Gilbert... is dead!"

Her words stunned Jake, Oreon, and the burly Esper.

Gilbert might have been weaker than Erick, but he was still an S-Rank Esper. Even if he couldn’t fight a group of S-Rank monsters alone, he was more than capable of escaping them. They had seen it themselves when he fled earlier after provoking the Lizard monsters. In fact, they had even planned to track him down and hand him over to the Esper Bureau of Crime for deliberately putting everyone in danger once they had finished clearing the dungeon.

So how had Gilbert died?

Only Erick remained indifferent.

If anything, Erick thought it was a good thing Gilbert, that piece of shit, was dead.

Otherwise, he would have had to get his hands dirty if Gilbert had made it back.

Sylvia’s legs finally gave out beneath her, and she collapsed to her knees. Her muscles trembled uncontrollably from exhaustion. Although she could fly, she had already exhausted nearly all her mana just trying to survive. In the end, she and Ryan had been forced to run.

Ryan wasn’t in much better condition. Still, he forced himself to steady his breathing and looked at Erick and the others with panic in his eyes.

"Hurry! We need to run! We have to hide!"

His voice was frantic.

In their panic, the two Wales siblings did not even seem to care how the hell Erick and the others were still alive. After Gilbert had deliberately provoked those huge Lizard monsters, they should have been dead or badly injured by now. Yet, somehow, they had survived and were completely fine.

Then, as though the thought had suddenly occurred to him, Ryan shouted.

"There’s a Demon chasing us! A Demon with bat-like wings! He says he wants to know who killed the Demon Servant, Slar!"

Unlike Oreon and the burly Esper, who were still puzzled by Ryan’s words, Erick and Jake immediately understood what Ryan meant.

They had seen a Demon with bat-like wings before. The one that Zephyr had killed!

Immediately, their hearts sank, and their eyes contracted with alarm.

Erick did not wait for Ryan or Sylvia to explain further. He immediately turned around and sprinted back toward the stream.

"Run! I can’t fight that Demon! Even all of us together can’t! We need Zephyr’s help!"

Jake didn’t hesitate either and followed closely behind him.

Oreon and the burly Esper had no time to question what was going on. Seeing the solemn expressions on Erick and Jake’s faces was enough to tell them that the situation was far more serious than they had realized.

They quickly helped Sylvia and Ryan keep moving and rushed after Erick and Jake, desperately making their way back toward the stream.

Yet, when they finally reached the stream, the person they had desperately hoped to find was nowhere in sight.

Only Eleven and the two pale A-Rank female Guides they had left behind earlier remained by the water, anxiously waiting for their return.

Even Lucien O’Connell was nowhere to be found.