27 – Mine (5)
I put on the clothes I had left behind. They were still damp, but it was better to have extra protective gear to escape.
There was a grumbling noise from behind by Tetis Libra.
“Ugh… isn’t this the wrong way up…?”
She couldn’t see well, so I helped her dress. Surprisingly, she seemed a bit clueless.
“I can do it myself.”
“I don’t have time.”
“…Ugh.”
Tetis Libra muttered under her breath.
“Behave like a child when you are a child.”
“Do you always see me that way?”
“Of course! Even if you’re of noble blood, you’re still a child! No need to pretend to be an adult!”
I fastened each button one by one. Though my face couldn’t be seen, I whispered towards where she would be.
“I appear older than you.”
“What…?”
“Just think of it that way.”
Click.
I buttoned up the last button. I lit the lighter I received and checked if anything had fallen off.
In the dim light, I saw her looking at me. A slightly flushed face. A hint of embarrassment.
She seemed quite embarrassed as she withdrew her hand.
“Sergeant.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“I trust you. Your shooting skills at night.”
“……. “
Tetis Libra clenched her rifle tightly.
“…As expected, it’s embarrassing to say whether I believe or follow. Is this the role of a commander?”
For the first time, Tetis Libra smiled at me.
“Alright. Dracan, come with me. I’ll make sure you won’t regret it.”
“Yes.”
I turned off the lighter. I put on the combat jacket I had left at the entrance.
Damp moisture. My body grew chilly again, as if crawling with goosebumps.
Thanks to that, my mind cleared up. I walked outside just like that.
The same silence. The sound of Tetis Libra’s limping footsteps echoed behind me.
I reached out my hand.
“Give me your hand.”
“…Ah, I can go on my own.”
“It’s easier if I hold it.”
“……. “
I held her hand and led the way. Though unseen, my body remembered every shape.
Something touched the tip of my toe. I found scattered clothes, stiff like bones.
“Sergeant.”
“…Begin.”
I tore a part of the clothes. I lightly wrapped it around the end of the rifle.
I peeled off some oil from the lighter and smeared it on the remains of the clothes.
The lighter recombined once again, and with a light movement of the flint, it spun once.
“……”
Next time, it will catch fire.
Let’s go.
Crackle!
Flames blazed up. The remaining debris on the ground and the clothes wrapped around the rifle began to burn.
Inside the mine, which suddenly brightened for a moment, things that were not visible before began to appear.
“That…thing?”
Tetis Libra stuttered, frozen in her sturdy rifle stance.
I couldn’t say anything either.
What was at the end of the light was an unbelievably large eye.
“……”
“……”
An eye trapped in writhing flesh stared at us. I didn’t know what it was, but I felt like we shouldn’t attack it.
If a simple eye was that big, what would the rest of the body be like? I moved cautiously to the side. Its gaze followed us.
It wasn’t an ordinary eye.
That giant eye seemed to be parasitizing the wall itself.
“…Move, Lieutenant.”
“That, yeah.”
We moved our feet slowly. We had to pass by the side of the giant pupil on a straight path.
A path that continued straight ahead. I continued to walk along the path, laying down the burning debris on the ground.
The sound of our footsteps echoed. We didn’t say anything in the silence. The giant eye disappeared from view-just as I thought so, it opened again on another black wall.
A staring gaze. Something incomprehensible beyond cognition.
I thought maybe we shouldn’t talk, so I kept going. The straight path started to slope slightly upward.
“…Drachan! Can you climb up?”
“I can.”
I put the gun in my mouth. It was somewhat uncomfortable, but my hands were free. Since it was originally only about my biting power, there was no problem with the rifle.
I stuck a knife into the wall to climb up the steep slope. I moved forward, carving out footholds on the ground that I could crawl up on one by one.
The speed was slow. I couldn’t help it. Tetis Libra asked me how the situation was, but I couldn’t say anything because of the gun in my mouth.
More than anything, that massive gaze kept following me.
Chills ran down my spine; I couldn’t look beside me. All I did was look up and keep moving.
The intensity of the flames wrapped around the barrel of the rifle gradually diminished. I had to leave this place before it all went out.
Finally, as I continued to walk diligently, I saw the end. The terrain became flat once again.
I grabbed Tethys Libra, which had followed me, and led her forward.
“Phew…”
I looked up at the flattened terrain along with Tethys Libra, whose stamina seemed a little depleted.
The ceiling was still high, but if you listened carefully, you could hear not our breathing, but another sound.
“I can hear something.”
“…What? I don’t hear anything.”
It was a sound so faint that only I could hear it. I followed the sound and moved my feet.
Still, there was the black wall. The eyes that had been following me appeared in front of me.
Beyond them, I heard something.
The sound of water.
A softly trickling sound of water.
I stretched my hand slightly. I met the giant eye.
“D-Drakan?!”
“Hush.”
The texture of the eye was soft. It seemed like I could dig in enough.
But…
To break the wall, I had to touch with my own hands this eye that had appeared from a black wall without any known structure.
What would happen then? How is this eye constantly appearing from the blank wall?
If I touched it…what would come after?
The flame held at the end of the rifle flickered uneasily. There was no time left.
I had to make a choice.
“I can hear something beyond this eye, Captain. It seems that water is leaking slightly.”
“…Are you saying we should excavate here?”
“I don’t know what will happen. So…”
I held the knife. It was better for me to do the digging rather than holding the gun.
Because I was stronger, and it would surely be faster this way.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“…Good. Draco. It’s time to brace yourself.”
Tetis Libra stuck closely behind me. Sitting down, she aimed her gun forward.
“Draco, I am Tetis Libra, the second daughter of the Libra family. If I die, make sure it’s known that our family died with me.”
“If the captain dies, I will die too.”
“Even if I die, you will survive. Don’t worry. I won’t abandon a loyal subordinate. Even if it means sacrificing my life, I will save you.”
She hesitated.
“…Can you trust me?”
Is it pride?
Is it self-esteem?
I don’t know which one it is. But I could certainly tell that she was a proper soldier.
A commander who cares for her subordinates and personally carries a gun. Come to think of it, she was always by my side during training as well.
If it was all talk, I would have disliked it. But I knew that she had suffered along with us.
She had shown something…
I had no choice but to trust her.
“The captain will not die.”
“What?”
I raised the knife.
“…I will protect you.”
And I struck it down.
The massive eye blinked. In an instant, the white sclera turned red.
The entire mine shook. The approaching presence stimulated my sharp senses.
They’re coming.
Something is coming.
I threw the rifle in front of her. The flame sliding on the ground illuminated the front.
The flame crawling from the end was a compound eye spider seen from the surface.
That massive swarm continued to push forward endlessly.
“…Para! Draco!”
Tetis Libra’s gun barrel emitted a flash. A shower of bullets.
As if proving that her night shooting scores were close to perfect, the compound eye spiders fell, shedding blood. Her quick reloading skills also played a significant role.
She was an excellent marksman. I turned my head immediately and gouged the flesh wall with a knife. Lacking tools, I simply stuck my hand inside later.
I felt something entering my mouth, but I didn’t pay attention. Now, clearing fragments of glass from my eyes was nothing special.
From Noble mtl dot com
Dig in.
Dig deeper.
Continuing to dig down.
“There are three magazines left! Drakan!”
“I’m digging!”
The sound of water was loud. But it was slightly to the right, not directly ahead.
I changed my digging position.
“Two magazines!”
“We’re almost there!”
Something clung to my right arm. An out-eye spider that I failed to fend off earlier.
I grabbed it tightly with my left hand and crushed it. Something stained my hand. With a stinging sensation, part of my skin melted away.
“One magazine!”
“We’re almost…!”
It became certain. Liquid started oozing from my fingertips. The sound of the flowing stream of water intensified for a moment.
Almost there. Really.
“Last one!”
Taang! Taang!
Tetis Libra threw a rifle away. I grabbed the pistol with my hand.
I held the knife in reverse grip. I fiercely pressed it against the hole where the water was seeping out.
Quarrr!!!!
Water gushed out. The bitter pain that had clung to my fingertips disappeared for a moment.
The floodgate opened. The terrain that had once collapsed began spreading endlessly.
The extinguished flames in the flowing water. Even my visibility was completely engulfed in darkness.
“Drakan! Get out!”
I heard Tetis Libra spit out the water in her mouth.
“Get out right now! Hurry! Don’t look back, just get ooouuuttt!!!”
Instead of responding, I grabbed Tetis Libra by the back of her neck.
“Huh?! I can’t swim anyway since my feet are injured…!”
I took a deep breath with all my might. My lung capacity is far greater than that of an average person. If I take in a large breath at once, I can easily endure being underwater for tens of minutes.
I entered the hole as it is, pushing through. The water pressure was strong, but somehow I managed to overcome it. After all, my body was much stronger than the water pressure.
I held her tight and swam. Tethys Libra thrashed about.
Up.
Up.
Continuing to struggle against overwhelming depths.
No end was in sight even after a while. Although my body clearly sensed that I was moving upwards, there was no sign of light.
An abyss with nothing visible. I briefly thought I had made a mistake by coming here but dismissed it with determination.
I must go up. Somehow. If there’s a way to survive…!
“Ugh… Ugh…”
A gurgling sound could be heard. Tethys Libra, who was thrashing around, made a bubbling noise from her mouth.
The limit.
I immediately turned my head and pulled her close.
I felt around her face and found her mouth. After forcefully embracing her while she made gurgling sounds, I kissed her with all my might.
From breath to breath.
Air flowing through our entire bodies.
Tethys Libra trembled. As I infused air into her, I continued moving upward.
Because of what I shared, it seemed I wouldn’t last much longer myself. I wanted to ask myself why I had done this when facing death.
…But.
Who wouldn’t want to abandon someone who tells you to go first at the risk of their own life?
Fortunately, light appeared. We were approaching the end in this empty place.
Faint moonlight. Its vagueness confirmed that we were not inside a mine.
“Huff!”
“Cough… Cough…”
We crawled out to the outside. Struggling through the water, we managed to set foot on the ground somehow.
The surroundings were full of trees. Tethys Libra, coughing up water, looked up at the wet sky.
“…Ah… Ah.”
She sobbed. Perhaps because the tension had waned, she leaned against me as if seeking comfort.
“Outside… We’re outside… Drachan… It’s outside…”
I chuckled. I held her tightly. My own pounding heart was gradually slowing down too.
It’s outside. Really.
I lost my gun, and I lost all the knives I used instead of the shovel, but…
I’m alive…
Isn’t that enough?
It’s not just one this time. It’s two.
That alone made me a little emotional.