Escape - Chapter 50.1

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“Wait! Just a moment!”

The descending sword stopped abruptly at the urgent cry. Adeline furrowed her brow as the sharply honed blade froze mid-air.

“You’re….” Recognition sparked, followed by disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“P-Please, just… stop.” With hands raised in surrender, the one who’d stepped into the fray was none other than the tavern’s server—the one who’d pointed Adeline towards Leon. The same man who, amidst the chaos, had calmly served onion soup with unwavering professionalism.

“I followed you. I know her. I swear, I never thought you’d attack them.”

Stammering, the server crouched beside the injured woman, quickly pouring something into her mouth. A crimson liquid, like blood. Still anxious, he pulled various items from his pockets, scattering them over her wounds.

The gash, extending from her right shoulder to her left thigh, was clearly life-threatening. Without immediate attention, she might die.

“Gah… Hah…!” Gasping raggedly, the woman clutched the server’s shoulder. Her trembling words were difficult to understand, but a few key phrases cut through.

“…Something… is wrong….” Terror filled her eyes, a primal fear she couldn’t articulate.

“…Must… leave… now….” Her gaze drifted past the server, settling on Adeline, who stood silhouetted against the light, her expression cold. The silver-grey longsword dripped with blood. Had she always looked so terrifying?

Adeline was a soldier. Momentarily stunned by the unexpected turn of events, perhaps, but not one to crumble. If anything, such situations sharpened her focus. She’d seen comrades die before. Despite increased tobacco rations and improved traps, the mortality rate for new recruits remained stubbornly at ten percent annually. Among them were friends, acquaintances, faces she barely knew. Had she succumbed to grief each time, she wouldn’t have survived the Labyrinth.

“Move.”

“W-What?”

“I have to finish this. I don’t know how you did it, but I can’t have her healing and turning invisible again.”

“But… there’s no need to… kill her.”

A cruel, emotionless smile touched Adeline’s pale face. “Why? She isn’t even real.” The server felt a chill. As he scrambled to his feet, a curved blade, its edge an S-shape, flashed from his sleeve.

“That’s strange.” Adeline mused. Why was this woman, a stranger to the roster, so strong?

“You seem more familiar with a sword than a soup ladle. Why are you working in a tavern?” Her question hung in the air as she struck, a swift, decisive arc of steel. The server parried the blow with his blade while simultaneously drawing a scroll with his other hand. Clang! The impact sent his weapon flying, the blade grazing his chin. A hair’s breadth from decapitation.

“Kh…”

“Who are you?” The tip of Adeline’s sword pressed against his throat, silent and deadly. Thud. The scroll tumbled from his nerveless fingers.

“The server who brought me food was right-handed.” A trickle of blood, cold against his skin, traced a path down his neck.

Deborah and Ahab, by profession, weren’t suited for direct confrontation with warriors like Adeline. No, that wasn’t quite right. She was less a warrior and more a hunter, relentlessly tracking her prey.

“My, my… impressive. You even remember which hand a random stranger uses.” Ahab quipped, glancing past Adeline at the dark figure standing behind her. The missing logout button confirmed this man was the Serpent’s Master, but he couldn’t place the strangely familiar woman. Someone this strong, he should have encountered her before. And she was undeniably beautiful, a face one wouldn’t forget. Then, a recent viral video flashed through his mind.

“Ah, could you be the one from that video?” A twitch of her eyebrow confirmed his suspicion. The dragon attack suggested the rumors of her entering Leon were false. Damn it. He shouldn’t have bothered stealing the desk clerk’s face. It only served to further antagonize Leon.

Ahab was a thief. Within Escape, he could steal anything: skills, voices, even the faces of players he killed. When Deborah had asked for help acquiring the monster’s face, he’d thought the Serpent’s Master would be the only real challenge. But this… Deborah hadn’t even been defeated by the monster, but by some unknown human.

“If you just let us go, we promise never to bother you again. Couldn’t you just look the other way, just this once?” Ahab’s playful smile froze. The cause lay just over his shoulder. Adeline instinctively turned. Ahab’s strained voice reached her.