In the dark corridor, there was a figure rushing forward and behind it were many monsters chasing.
Ruminas could only run away because her strength had not yet recovered after being drained by Beru, but these monsters were more tenacious than discs. She couldn't shake them off no matter how she turned left or right.
And most importantly, the giant parasitic snake would suddenly appear from time to time to block her way. Ruminas had no choice but to take another detour, making the distance even longer.
Ruminas gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with determination. She knew that if this continued, she would be cornered sooner or later. Her body had not yet fully recovered, but she could not keep running forever.
Just as she turned into another hallway, the giant parasitic snake suddenly appeared right in front of her. It opened its hideous mouth wide, its sharp teeth glinting in the darkness, ready to swallow her at any moment.
"Enough." Ruminas muttered, her eyes cold.
Instead of retreating, she rushed forward, quickly drawing the dagger from her waist and swinging her arm decisively. The dagger cut through the air, reflecting the faint light, and stabbed straight into the snake's eye.
"Kheeeeee—!!"
The snake roared in pain, twisting its massive body, creating terrifying sounds as it collided with the stone wall. Ruminas took this opportunity to immediately jump, somersaulting in the air before landing behind the monster.
"Serves you right!"
She said and ran away because the monsters behind had arrived.
But, once again Ruminas was blocked by another group of monsters, she just closed her eyes and took out her axe. The air began to gather inside it and then a strike was swung straight down to the ground causing the surroundings to shake.
After that blow, Ruminas' face turned pale again, her strength which had just recovered a little was almost completely depleted. The amount of energy in her body was now like drops of water in the desert.
"Most of the qi is gone, only the black and yellow qi remains but they can't be used… What bad luck."
With the little magic power left, she quickly activated the invisibility of her outfit and disappeared. She knew that among the monsters, there were some that had special abilities that allowed them to detect invisibility, so she had to get away from them as quickly as possible.
In the end, Ruminas agreed to move to a place without monsters, but it was only a matter of time before the monsters came here, so she ran with all her might.
"Just go straight through two corridors and then turn left one more corridor and you will reach the subway pick-up area, the train you need to take is right in the middle."
Ruminas felt like the road was not far anymore.
But then—
Boom!
A loud noise and rocks flying everywhere made Ruminas stop, cursing in her heart that the monster was chasing her again.
As expected, the parasitic snake found its way to her, Ruminas began to wonder if something was wrong with her that it could follow her so closely…
She started looking around.
The snake was blocking the shortest path, now if Ruminas turned to another direction it would take her double the time to reach the escape point and she had already wasted quite a bit of time and left the original route so if she continued to be late the other side might not be able to hold on.
"I have to find a way to get through it."
Ruminas is not without a way but she doesn't want to use it.
It was using the black qi in her body, because the yellow qi was too little so she wanted to store it more, so the black qi was the most abundant source of power in her body.
"If I stop in time, it will be fine, I just need to use it for a split second to get past this monster…" Ruminas thought to herself.
Then, she decided to take a risk.
Ruminas closed her eyes for a second to regulate her breathing. She didn't have much choice, but if she didn't act now, she would be cornered.
"Just a moment."
She muttered, then gently circulated the black aura in her body. A familiar cold feeling spread throughout her limbs, but she didn't let it invade her for too long.
Instantly, her eyes lit up with a magical light.
Boom!
The ground beneath Ruminas' feet cracked as she took a powerful step, launqing herself at an unimaginable speed. The air around her screamed as she shot forward like a black lightning bolt.
The giant parasitic snake reacted immediately, opening its mouth to swallow her.
But too slow.
Ruminas leaned over, brushing past the edge of the monster's sharp teeth. She felt its foul breath on her face, but she narrowly avoided its attack.
In that fleeting moment, she swung her arm, leaving a long cut on the snake's neck with a small blade hidden in her sleeve.
"Kheeeeee!!"
The shrill screech echoed through the hallway, but Ruminas was no longer standing there.
She passed.
But as soon as her feet touched the ground, her whole body froze.
A sharp pain erupted from within.
"The black qi… is biting back!?"
Ruminas immediately clenched her teeth, quickly suppressing the black aura that was raging in her body. She stopped just in time, but even a moment of losing control was enough to make her feel like she was being cut by a thousand blades.
"Cough…!"
She fell to her knees for a second, but immediately forced herself to stand up. There was no time to rest.
With rapid breathing, Ruminas continued running towards the subway area. She didn't know if the other side was still holding out, but she had to get there as quickly as possible.
Ruminas ran away, ignoring everything around her, but then she suddenly felt a cold breeze pass by her. It was obvious that there couldn't be any wind in here, so she immediately realized that there might be another existence here.
"NPC huh…?" Ruminas was most inclined towards this possibility.
And then, she saw a red umbrella appear in front of her, blocking the road, and the cold air was coming from it.
"Of course…"
Just when Ruminas was at a loss, trouble came from behind. The wound she gave the snake seemed to have angered it even more, it charged forward like crazy. Regardless of the narrow corridor, it destroyed everything, behind it were a bunch of monsters crowding up.
Ruminas gritted her teeth.
The situation was already dangerous so she ignored the umbrella and just kept running straight.
But just as she ran past the umbrella, Ruminas's leg was suddenly pulled back by a hand that appeared from inside the umbrella. It held so tightly that no matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't escape.
"You're an NPC, right? Can we get out of here first and then talk!?" Ruminas' voice contained urgency and impatience.
"Take me with you…" A female voice came from inside the umbrella.
Ruminas immediately picked up the umbrella and continued running, the other hand also withdrew from her leg but another pair of hands grabbed her neck, it didn't use any force but still held very tightly, as if if Ruminas dared to throw the umbrella away, it would immediately break her neck.
Ruminas gritted her teeth slightly, but continued running, not daring to waste another second. She could clearly feel the strange presence inside the umbrella.
The hands that were squeezing her neck did not use force to strangle her, but it was like a silent warning. If she dared to throw this umbrella away, the consequences would be dire.
She didn't have time to think much. Behind her, the parasitic snake was still madly chasing, dragging a chaotic pack of monsters with it. The ground shook under their weight, making the entire corridor seem to tremble.
Ruminas focused on the front. She saw the last turn. Once she passed it, she would reach the subway area. In her carelessness, she let her umbrella hit the wall.
Immediately, the cold hand on her neck suddenly tightened, causing her to almost suffocate on the spot.
"Sorry, sorry!" she said.
But, Ruminas was stopped. It wasn't because she wanted to stop, but because her body couldn't move anymore.
"Damn… What is this?!"
A qill ran down her spine. Her entire body felt as if it was bound by an invisible force, unable to move forward or back.
At this moment, the parasitic snake behind her was so close that its disgusting breath was fanning over her back. If she didn't escape immediately, it would swallow her whole.
"I told you I was sorry!" Ruminas shouted, trying to break free from the bonds.
The umbrella in her hand shook slightly, then slowly opened.
Cup!
A pale hand reached out from within the umbrella, lightly touqing Ruminas' forehead. In that moment, a strange image flooded her mind—
An old train, shrouded in darkness. Faceless passengers sat silently, not moving. A woman in a black kimono, holding a red umbrella, stood right in front of her.
And then—
All the passengers turned their heads to look at Ruminas. Immediately, she felt a shiver run through her body.
"Be careful" The voice rang out again but this time it was from all the surrounding passengers with a cold attitude, this was clearly a warning!
Ruminas clenched her fists.
She didn't know who this woman was, but if she didn't get out now, she would die for sure.
"...Okay. I understand."
As soon as she finished speaking, she was brought back to reality and her body was immediately released, but the hand on her neck did not disappear, and this time Ruminas felt its coldness even more clearly.
But without any time to hesitate, Ruminas immediately jumped from her position, just in time for the parasitic snake to rush over, swallowing the air where she had just been standing.
She kept running.
Behind her back, the red umbrella shook slightly, as if it was smiling.