I am dead, Kian thought. I am actually going to die right here. I can't even move my toes.
Lexi and Gareth caught up. They rushed past Kian, only coming to a stop once they were a few yards behind him.
They turned back to face the Phantom, letting Kian stand as their shield.
Gareth raised his fists, sweating profusely. "Thousand Strings! It heals too fast! We can't break it!"
Kian heard Gareth's voice from behind him but did not answer. He could not speak or even move, his muscles locked tight as if his blood had turned to ice. It was not a choice; his body had simply shut down in the face of the Phantom.
Lexi observed the Phantom.
"The strange Mana thread is thinner than it was back at their camp," Lexi said, her voice remaining perfectly steady. "No. It's as thin as a single strand of human hair now."
The Phantom roared. It raised all six of its huge, razor-sharp claws into the air. It leaned forward, bringing the devastating strike down directly toward Kian's head.
Why me? Kian screamed internally.
Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. The sheer physical pressure of the descending claws pushed the tall grass flat against the ground
A heavy gust of wind blasted his clothes, whipping dark hair wildly across his face. It smelled of dry dust and ozone.
Even as the air thrashed against him, his body remained a statue, locked in place by a biological fear he could not control.
The gigantic shadow of the skeletal hand completely eclipsed the afternoon sun. It plunged Kian into a localized, terrifying darkness.
Any veteran Adventurer would have flinched. A Tanker would have raised a shield. A Mage would have cast a barrier. A Thief would have dodged.
But Kian did absolutely nothing. His hands remained casually resting at his sides.
He did not even flinch. He stared directly into the abyss of the descending claws with an expression of pure apathy.
Mirelle gulped in absolute terror. The Earl on the hill gasped. Gareth braced for the impact. Lexi just observed calmly.
The claws came within one centimeter of Kian's face.
And then...
FSSSHHHHH-CRRRRRK. The hair-thin thread silently snapped.
Before the claws could touch Kian's hair...
KRR-SHHHHHH—FROOOOM.
The entire fifteen-meter Phantom instantly dissolved. It did not explode or leave a corpse.
It just completely turned into black smoke and blew away in the afternoon wind, leaving absolutely nothing behind.
The grassy plain fell entirely silent.
Mirelle slowly lowered her hands. Her jaw dropped open.
Gareth stood completely frozen, his eyes bulging out of his skull.
On the distant hill, Earl Sterling and his five hundred knights stared in complete, profound shock.
He didn't even move, Gareth panicked in his mind as he stared at Kian's back. He didn't swing a sword, chant a spell, or even attempt to dodge. He just stood there and erased a Calamity-class Phantom from existence with a completely invisible burst of Aura! What kind of unfathomable power is that?!
Mirelle looked at her master. He was just standing on the ground while looking at the empty air.
Amazing, Mirelle thought, her chest tight with awe. He let the Stone Giant get close enough to almost touch him just to show how weak it was. He really is strong.
Kian took a shaky, shallow breath. His heart was beating so fast it felt like a trapped bird battering against his lungs.
It disappeared, Kian thought, his brain desperately trying to analyze what happened. A summon error which triggered a time limit? Did the dark Mages mess up the magic circle? Who cares? I am alive. I am actually alive!
A few hundred meters away, the Lead Dark Mage collapsed completely against his heavy iron chains. His jaw dropped wide open. His bloodshot eyes bulged as he stared at the empty sky where his ultimate weapon had just vanished.
It dissolved, the Lead Dark Mage panicked, his lungs seizing in absolute horror as the realization hit him. Why did it dissolve? The tether. The Phantom leaned forward to strike. That tiny distance, probably one centimeter, pushed its physical mass past the absolute boundary of the crystal's transmission radius! It exceeded the distance limit! It unplugged itself!
He looked at the black-haired man standing completely unbothered in the grass. The Lead Dark Mage's hands began to shake violently against his restraints.
He didn't swing a sword, cast a barrier, or even try to dodge. He parked his carriage and stood about few centimeters outside the lethal radius. He just stood there and let the Phantom kill itself. How? How could a human calculate the exact transmission boundary of a forbidden, unstable crystal just by looking at a patch of dirt?
A cold sweat broke out across the Lead Dark Mage's forehead. His dark arrogance was entirely shattered.
I am looking at a true monster. He didn't just defeat us. It's not even a fight. He played a Calamity like a puppet on a short string because he knew exactly when it would snap.
Kian slowly turned his head.
He looked toward the distant hill and saw the noble's mansion. He saw Earl Sterling and the five hundred heavily armored knights staring right at him.
Far down the road, the captive dark Mages stopped walking. They stared at the empty sky in absolute, crushing despair.
Lord Elric slumped against his heavy iron chains, openly weeping. The ultimate Calamity, the weapon meant to conquer the territory, had been instantly erased by a single man.
Kian saw the knights raising their weapons in the air while shouting loudly. They were cheering. They were shouting praises to the black carriage with the silver crest.
Kian's internal panic instantly skyrocketed back to maximum capacity.
An army! Kian screamed internally. The Earl brought his entire army! They saw me standing near the Giant Stone Skeleton! They think I did something! They are going to drag me to the mansion, give me a heavy medal, and force me to take dangerous jobs! I have to get out of here right now!
Kian looked at the two black horses. They were still lying in the grass, entirely exhausted. They could not walk anymore.
Kian did not care. He needed to leave before the Earl rode down that hill.
So, Kian turned to Lexi and Gareth. He kept his face completely blank to hide his frantic terror behind his cold mask.
"The horses are done," Kian ordered flatly. He pointed at the heavy leather pulling harnesses. "Grab the straps and pull the carriage."
Gareth blinked. A former Level 7 Adventurer. He looked at the leather straps. He looked at Kian.
He wants me to pull his carriage like a beast of burden, Gareth realized. But after watching Thousand Strings casually erase a Calamity, Gareth felt no anger. He only felt sheer, terrifying respect. Yes. Yes, of course. I am alive because I am useful. I will pull the carriage.
Gareth immediately stepped forward and grabbed the thick leather straps meant for the right horse. Lexi silently grabbed the left straps and slipped them over her shoulders without a single complaint.
Without waiting, Kian walked straight past Mirelle, climbed into the back of the carriage, and firmly shut the heavy wooden door.
Mirelle stood alone in the tall grass.
She looked toward the hill. The five hundred knights were beginning to ride down the slope. Earl Sterling was riding at the front.
If she just stood there, they would reach her in about two minutes. She could pull back the rough brown hood of her peasant dress. The Earl would recognize the bright blue hair of the Imperial Princess. He would drop to his knees. He would wrap her in a warm cloak. She would be safe. She would have hot baths, soft feather beds, and an imperial escort back to her father. She would never have to sleep on a wooden bench again.
She looked at the black carriage.
If she climbed back onto that driver's seat, she was a peasant. She would wake up at dawn to boil water with a stick. She would scrub monster guts off heavy leather boots. She would brew tea for a lazy, complaining underworld boss. She would sleep on hard wood, eat dried roots, and occasionally encounter assassins, bandits, and wyverns on the road.
The math was incredibly simple. Her brain screamed the correct answer.
Thirty meters away, Gareth grabbed the heavy leather straps. He leaned his weight forward, but the carriage wheels were stuck in a shallow rut.
"I am a former Level 7 Adventurer," Gareth grunted, veins bulging on his thick neck as he pulled. "I am not a draft horse."
Without looking at Gareth, Lexi effortlessly pulled her side of the harness. The thick leather entirely taut over her small shoulders.
"Horses don't complain," Lexi stated flatly. She kicked Gareth sharply in the ankle. "Pull."
"Ow! Don't kick me! I'm pulling!"
Mirelle stared at them. The huge, terrifying Swordsman was currently arguing with a dead-eyed, pink-haired girl while they both acted as farm animals for a sleeping man.
Her logical mind completely shut down, leaving her unable to weigh the options. She could not understand the physical defect currently hijacking her brain.
A short, completely irrational laugh escaped her throat.
Her feet started to move.
She sprinted through the tall grass. The scratchy fabric of her dress whipped around her ankles. She caught up to the moving carriage, grabbed the iron handle, and threw herself up onto the driver's bench.
She slammed down onto the hard wood. Her chest heaved and her lungs burned from the sprint.
In front of her, the huge man yelped as the pink-haired, dead-eyed girl kicked his ankle again. They were actively bickering over pulling techniques.
Mirelle grabbed the useless, empty reins with her callused hands that would not stop shaking. A bright, breathless laugh tore out of her throat—a sound that was completely un-royal. It was just raw, absurd joy, and she could not stop it from spilling out.
"Faster," Mirelle ordered, grinning so hard her cheeks physically hurt.
As Lexi leaned into the straps, Gareth scrambled to match her pace. They pulled the black carriage down the road, leaving the knights entirely behind.