Quick Escape, Dealing with Pursuers

"Rumble."

Accompanied by footsteps that shook the earth like an earthquake, the swarm of ants marched in an orderly fashion toward the path leading to the surface.

Any obstacles in their path were ruthlessly flattened and shredded by the swarm of Killer Ants.

Countless shards of rock were sent flying, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

The dust billowed outward, blanketing the surrounding area.

Liber and Lefiya stared blankly at the scene, unable to react for a long moment.

The advancing swarm was like an ocean composed of monsters.

It submerged everything in its path, leaving behind nothing but the traces of its rampage.

The Killer Ant crawling at the very front of the swarm seemed to sense the presence of Liber and Lefiya.

Its antennae twitched incessantly, and after snapping its sharp, deformed mandibles a few times, it let out a bizarre hiss.

Immediately after, the Killer Ants beside it seemed to receive a signal; they began to twitch their antennae just as it had, and the ants at the vanguard collectively let out the same eerie sound.

The two, who had been somewhat dazed, heard the strange hissing erupting from the monsters ahead.

Seeing the group of monsters staring at them with murderous intent, mandibles clicking like scythes, they snapped back to reality.

The two turned simultaneously and began to run toward the path leading to the surface.

After they had run only a few steps, Liber noticed that Lefiya's speed had begun to drop.

He reached out his hand, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Pardon me."

Liber then slowed his pace and moved behind Lefiya.

He reached for her thighs and exerted a sudden burst of strength.

"Eek!"

Lefiya cried out in alarm, only to find herself scooped up into Liber's arms, supported by his two arms.

Previously, being slung over his shoulder had been a jarring, uncomfortable experience that had lasted for ages.

Now, being carried in a bridal style and feeling the intimate contact with a member of the opposite sex, the young girl's heart suddenly began to race.

Her body, previously tense with fear, instantly stiffened.

Within a few short seconds, her face turned bright red.

After picking up Lefiya, Liber did not spare any more attention for her.

As he sprinted forward, he cast the [Levitation] magic on both himself and Lefiya.

He began to dash with long, powerful strides, his steps growing larger and larger until he covered over ten meters with a single stride; eventually, he simply lifted his feet off the ground entirely, flying just above the surface.

"Liber, you... were you able to fly all this time?"

Lefiya, who was leaning against his chest and listening to the heartbeat beside her ear, felt increasingly nervous and shy.

Seeing Liber, who had been running, suddenly leave the ground and fly forward rapidly, her face was filled with shock and confusion.

"I can," Liber replied calmly. "It's just that it consumes a significant amount of magic power."

"I had been considering that I needed to reserve some magic power in the Dungeon to deal with emergencies, so I didn't use magic to fly directly."

"But given the current situation, there is no way we can handle this, so running away is the only option. I won't be saving my magic power anymore."

Liber explained as he flew while holding Lefiya.

The two were flying faster and faster, putting a considerable distance between themselves and the swarm behind them.

Liber felt a sense of relief, thinking he would shake off the monsters and then walk the rest of the way to the surface.

However, he heard another sharp insectoid screech from behind.

Maintaining his forward flight, he turned his head to look at the pursuing swarm.

He saw that in the middle of the swarm behind him, a massive, abnormal individual—one that looked like a magnified and reinforced version of the others—was watching its prey flee further and further away.

It seemed dissatisfied, shifting its body, twitching its thick antennae, and letting out another hoarse roar.

Several monsters, which looked like mutated Killer Ants, had been flying around it.

They suddenly hovered in mid-air, waving their forelimbs to trace patterns in the air before tapping their antennae against one another.

After a collective pause, one of them suddenly broke away from the flight formation, surged ahead of the swarm, and began to close in on Liber and Lefiya at high speed.

Seeing this, Liber immediately adjusted his posture and began to increase his magic consumption to boost his flight speed.

He cursed inwardly, thinking that his bad premonitions always seemed to come true.

He watched as the bizarrely shaped Killer Ant flapped its transparent, thin wings rapidly.

"Buzz, buzz." As the high-frequency sound of wings grew closer, Lefiya pushed her shyness to the back of her mind, pursed her lips, and tried hard to think of a countermeasure.

Seeing that Lefiya was no longer nervously crying out as she had before, but instead appeared to be thinking earnestly, Liber felt a sudden sense of gratification in this critical moment.

Just then, a gust of wind struck from behind his head, and he abruptly flew upward to increase the distance from the ground.

"Swoosh."

As he dodged the attack from behind, a pool of dark red liquid splattered onto the ground.

The spot where it landed hissed with the sound of bubbling corrosion, sending thick red smoke curling into the air.

Liber glanced at the monster that had launched the assault from behind.

It was an abnormal specimen, narrow-bodied and winged, resembling a Killer Ant, yet it lacked the massive mandibles typical of its kind.

Dark red liquid clung to its much smaller mandibles, dripping onto the ground and sizzling with corrosive bubbles.

After its attack, the abnormal creature paused in mid-air as if to catch its breath, then resumed its flight, pursuing Liber and his companion.

Man and monster raced as if locked in a competition.

The flying monster gradually widened the gap between itself and the swarm behind it.

As Liber continued to fly, the silhouettes of the swarm trailing him grew smaller and smaller until they vanished from sight, leaving only the single abnormal specimen still hot on his heels.

Once the swarm was completely out of view, ripples suddenly appeared in the space behind Liber.

He launched the salvaged arrows he had stored in his inventory.

Some, reduced to mere wooden shafts, spun through the air toward the pursuing monster, shattering into splinters before they could even reach their target.

Most of what he fired were broken or damaged arrows; some were just metal tips, others just wooden shafts.

The monster dodged whatever objects managed to get close enough to pose a threat.

For the few intact arrows that were on target, the creature blocked them with the sharp, hooked claws of its forelimbs.

Liber poured the junk from his inventory onto the monster without reservation, disrupting its movement.

Seizing the opportunity, he slowed his pace and descended to the ground, releasing his grip to let Lefiya stand steady before nodding at her.

"I'll see if I can take care of that one behind us; it's troublesome to have it constantly on our tail. Get your magic ready, and strike the moment you see an opening."

Liber said with a grave expression, "We need to be quick; the Killer Ant swarm will catch up soon."

Lefiya's small face was equally solemn as she nodded and began her incantations.

Liber turned around, watching the abnormal specimen as it continued to weave through the flying debris.

He drew his two swords from his inventory, but instead of gripping them, he imbued them with magic, causing the large and small blades to hover at his sides.

He watched as the thinning barrage of projectiles ceased to have any effect on the monster.

Seeing the creature closing in rapidly, Liber remained motionless, while the Greatsword hovering beside him slowly shifted to a horizontal position, its tip pointed directly at the monster.

In a flash, it shot forward, thrusting toward the incoming beast.