6 Years Old: Chapter 22 - Escape & Negligence
TL: Krrizis
Editor: Nahct and Wafflez
Author"s note: There are bloodshed and cruelty descriptions this time. It may not be a significant presentation, but please be careful if you dislike descriptions like this.
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「As expected of the capital, having wide roads is complicated, hmm..... ---」
「Hey! This isn’t the time to be saying such things, is it」
「Haaa. Where"s a good place to run~」
It"s the great escape play with four people. Escaping the warehouse, we frantically ran into the middle of a complicated, maze-like road.
To be honest, there was one more guard outside the room, but because sleep wasn"t effective on him, I dropped ice on top of his head and made him faint. Most likely, his neck bones weren"t fractured - hopefully.
While the four of us have escaped, Lily-san - who didn"t have much stamina - was falling behind a little. On the contrary, the fastest was Klaus-kun..... Nope, Maria-san. Demi-humans generally had an insufficient amount of magic powers, but this trait was compensated by their physical abilities. Even though our ages weren"t that different from each other, it didn"t affect how fast she sprinted. Perhaps I would need to adjust this as well?
「For the time being, I will have to struggle on until I meet up with Gilles and my household」
As to the victory conditions, either we have to meet up with Gilles or escape to my household, seeking shelter.
Since Gilles was on his way here, this was the easiest option. But perhaps, this would change and add an additional condition, repelling the human trafficking organisation. However, with Gilles being angry, he would destroy them arbitrarily.
Escaping to the estate was another option. Being pursued in this situation made it considerably difficult, but taking refuge at once would be a relief. Knowing Father"s position and capability, no fool would dare to pick a fight with him, and strangers that Father didn’t know would be repelled. After capturing and interrogating them, the move to crush the organisation would begin..... I suppose?
Well, I don"t know if they"ll be crushed; perhaps it may also be related to the n.o.bles? Slaves and pets are lifetime goods that establishes a n.o.ble..... Hmm, I guess it"s the cla.s.s of nouveau riche that covets it. I can also imagine it"s an adherence. As for me, as long as my security is ensured, that"s all that matters.
「I dare say, Gilles..... That"s my servant, he’s searching for me and his response is getting closer so he"ll be able to manage one way or another」
「Wait, you stupid bratssss!」
「No way!」
Again, the pursuers came. Whilst running, I converted my magic with the magic equation and fired at the men.
To be accurate, I aimed at the ground.
The men and the ground were soaked together with『Splash』and I used『Freeze』on that water. Immediately, the water there froze, so there was hardly any loss of magic. As the surface froze over with a crackle, the men trembled; my sorcery had flipped over my pursuers. Well, I had just frozen the ground so they were falling down.
Yet they were still chasing, so once again, I converted my magic, using a different sorcery this time.
「Just confining isn"t enough」
This time with my own power, using magic to produce ice, I made a wall out of ice. The sorcery called『Ice Wall』formed a box, making a wall in all four directions of the fallen men and a lid covering the top.
Though it probably won"t be broken so easily, they won"t be able to endure as they would die from suffocation. Even if their body temperatures won"t drop, I had given it some consideration..... Nope, since I froze them earlier, it"ll likely be a bit perilous, but you reap what you sow. I know nothing. Afterall, my life is precious.
They were confined perfectly and thus, the tactic to s.n.a.t.c.h away the pursuers physical strength and fighting power was secured.
Verifying that the men were neutralized, I turned back.
..... As expected, the high speed development of sorcery and invocating it continuously, as usual, was wearing me out. On top of running, my concentration was decreasing. It wasn’t too bad though ..... the two years of training with Gilles proved fruitful.
「---Haa, haaa, are you fine using that much magic?」
「---nnngh, I won"t say I"m fine, but it had to be done..... With these people, a lot of magic has to be used」
Or rather, please don"t talk so much to me, I"m a shut-in. Though we ran around to the garden, regardless of s.e.x and age, we were reasonably close.
Using magic and invocating it to apply healing magic for fatigue recovery whilst concentrating in the midst of sprinting was certainly not helping.
Gasping for breath and also breathing heavily, I - who had used my whole strength to sprint - was approached by Maria-san, who slowed down and drew closer to me.
「..... Climb on」
「Eh--」
「I, not like others, am stronger」
Declared so in a lisped voice to me, who looked perplexed, Maria-san turned her hand and guided me to her emptied back.
..... Is this really alright?
Unfortunately, she was also much more pet.i.te than me. For her to run, I held onto her neck as I drew closer to her back. Suddenly using my hand, my body was elevated and I was carried on her back. With ease, she carried me and ran.
「Th-thank you」
「Ok」
Where does such power dwell in this pet.i.te body? It would have taken a toll on her as I rode on her back, and yet, she dashed away just like Lily-san. Although I felt apologetic, entrusting my body to her shaking back, I put aside my mood.
..... Gilles was, in the j.a.panese expression, about a distance of 500 metres away. It"s complicated, but we couldn"t readily advance straight. Well, it"s that sort of place. For the present, meeting with Gilles takes precedent.
「--Ha, I feel a bit at ease」
Because I had stopped expending energy whilst moving, I still had some reserved strength. Casting healing magic, to recover everyone"s fatigue as they made a dash, definitely lightened the burden. Furthermore, for Maria-san who was carrying me, her body was made a little lighter with wind sorcery.
The three who ran, who suddenly noticed their fatigue beginning to fade, were surprised but acknowledging my deed, they gave me a well-meaning thumbs up. Gradually, the time to chat disappeared. However, thanks to Maria-san, I still had some allowance.
「-- Stop, d.a.m.n brats! That"s as far as you go!」
「--Geh」
By the time I realized, the pursuers from before had gained on us. There"s a bend in the road, but there were pursuers there too. This is bad - I thought, and consenting it personally as an emergency measure, I quickly gathered my magic, with high speed, into the magic equation.
As much as possible, today"s priority was to not cause harm to people when using sorcery.
「Keep going!」
In order to escape, we cannot afford to slow down. Therefore, we can only push our way through. This isn"t j.a.pan and it isn"t a peaceful world. One has to defend one"s own body by one"s self.
「『Lightning』」
As I was riding on Maria"s back, it was easier to control my magic equation. Nevertheless, the sorcery was still difficult to control; as much as possible, I needed to restrain the power used so as to prevent unnecessary killings. Consequently, with the abundance of magic, having high basic powers would backfire.
From the sky, a single lightning bolt appeared and pierced the pursuers in front of us directly.
There was an unpleasant smell of burnt flesh. All that remained from that single move was carbonized skin. The men let out a shriek ripping from their throats and pierced our ear drums. To those agonising voices, I felt increasingly guilty.
Reflexively grimacing, I turned my face away; Maria-san and Lily-san screamed. Still, the pursuers from before were still moving.
I did not mean to cause a fatal wound. It was a severe burn, inevitably inflicted, but enough to keep them alive. Taking this situation in consideration, it really backfired.
d.a.m.n, my cheeks stiffened and a man from the pursuers knocked Maria-san off her feet and sent me flying. With animal strength, in the heated moment, Maria-san"s body, which was. .h.i.t with that power, made an unpleasant crack sound, and I was flung into a wall. Having been thrown, the wind was knocked out of me.
Throbbing and ringing, the pain coursed through my whole body. Fortunately, my lungs weren"t smashed but..... See here, my ribs seemed to be fractured. Unless it pierced my lungs. No, it"s okay to kill now.
Klaus-kun was also sent flying, Lily-san was rolled over and kicked, I was recovering from the shock from the strike. For Lily-san to be kicked hard by that pursuer bloke.
The body of young Maria-san rolled over easily and sank in that place limply. Groaning in pain, I couldn"t do anything for that girl.
The man from the pursuers, who had carbonised skin falling off of him, caught a hold of me by the collars. Arriving with a resentful mind, his eyes were bloodshot and held a glint that could kill someone - he had that expression.
「..... Only you f.u.c.ker, I"ll kill ya..... !」
Ah, am I going to die. The pain and fatigue made my thoughts sloppy, but that was an expected result.
..... Father and Mother, Gilles, I"m certain they"ll be p.i.s.sed. Why didn"t I wait patiently?
..... Gilles, please, save me.
No matter how much I pray, the result is inevitable though. As I"m about to be killed, I can only apologise.
「Die!」
His hatred delivered, filled with disparagement, the other party used his hands to wring my neck that had already been seized by the collar..... That was what I thought.
The sound of the wind severing.
And then, plop. Something had made a falling sound.
For the second time, I heard shrieks.
That wasn"t me; before my very eyes, the shrieks had jumped out of the man"s mouth.
The clothes that had been seized by that hand, with force, slackened. I, who had no strength left to stand, felt myself collapsing on my back when I felt someone had caught me.
My head was dizzy with pain; slowly I raised my eyes..... and I saw the usual smile as always.
「It"s going to be alright already, Liz-sama」
Smiling calmly, Gilles stroked my head. At that moment, my consciousness receded, not knowing whether it was because of relief or if Gilles had used sorcery. Visibly was a man who was smeared in blood, an arm missing. Even that was inconsequential.
..... Because Gilles had came, all was well.
Coming to that conclusion in my consciousness, I sank into the deep darkness.
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