“…….”
It was the moment Anakin stared at Lucien with startled eyes.
As they stepped further into the cave, the rows of candles inside began to ignite one by one.
“What is this?”
The pitch-black cave was now brightly lit even without Anakin’s magic.
The damp, moisture-laden air wrapped unpleasantly around them.
“There’s something inside. It feels like an artifact……”
Lucien licked his lips and approached the depths.
As they walked inward, a biting chill seeped into their skin.
“Ugh…… Is this frost magic?”
The air was as cold as a snow-capped mountain in the north.
Her fingertips tingled, and she felt her senses going numb.
“Anakin. Are you very cold?”
When Lucien, who had been leading the way, turned back to Anakin who was falling behind, she forced a smile as if she were fine.
“No. I can endure it.”
She was casting heating magic, but the effect was minimal.
Seeing as the magical energy was this potent, it meant the end was drawing near.
It was a gateway that had to be endured.
She hated being a burden more than death itself.
Anakin’s expression shifted instantly, and she moved her feet.
Her red eyes were filled with fierce determination.
Though she was exhausted from the long battle and in poor condition, she was holding on through sheer willpower.
Sometimes, a person needs courage and reckless challenge—even if it seems foolish and stubborn.
If one can shine for even a single moment before falling, there are naturally no regrets.
The moment of fighting was simply enjoyable, and every time she grew stronger, a thrill surged within her.
Anakin, too, was an inescapable warrior at heart.
“I think the end is in sight.”
“There’s something over there.”
Lucien pointed toward the deepest part of the cave.
Where he gestured, there stood a massive door.
In front of the grand entrance, a humanoid statue serving as a guardian stood firmly on watch.
“What should we do?”
The aura it radiated was extraordinary; it looked incredibly powerful.
At that moment, the guardian turned its head toward them.
Ssssh.
The moment she Roqued eyes with the guardian, Anakin was frozen in place.
“What……”
The guardian’s eyes glowed blue.
It was a threatening presence, but the spear-wielding guardian did not attack; it remained still, guarding the door.
“Lucien?”
Anakin hurriedly called out to Lucien, who had been silent for a while.
He stood there staring blankly into space, like someone whose soul had been snatched away.
“Lucien! It’s dangerous right now!”
When Anakin shook Lucien’s shoulder, he finally looked at her with unfocused pupils.
“You……”
His gaze held a chilling, eerie energy, much like the blue-eyed guardian.
Only then did Anakin realize that Lucien was being mind-controlled by the guardian.
‘What do I do?’
As Anakin stepped back with a panicked face, Lucien slowly turned his head and approached her.
“Lucien……”
To have to face him.
The very idea of fighting the person who had protected her until a moment ago brought up a sense of repulsion and discomfort.
Both were in a mess physically and drained of energy.
There was no guarantee of who would win—but in the first place, the structure of the fight didn’t make sense.
How could she attack Lucien?
At that moment, Lucien lunged at Anakin first.
Fortunately, the statue had closed its eyes; it seemed it couldn’t move while manipulating a mind.
The chill grew stronger.
White frost spilled from her mouth as she exhaled.
Anakin was busy blocking Lucien’s attacks, biting her lip.
Every one of his strikes was lethal.
“Lucien! Wake up, please!”
How could they put a trap like this here?
Feeling that she couldn’t go on like this, Anakin bound his body.
Vines stretching from Anakin’s fingertips fettered Lucien’s limbs.
“Lucien!”
He didn’t seem to hear her as he broke the binds with mana.
Lucien was a monster.
Perhaps because he inherited the blood of the Elders, his combat sense was exceptional, and a thick murderous intent—unthinkable for a mere trainee—emanated from his blue mana.
Anakin could maintain an advantage over ordinary enemies, but the moment she met someone similar or special, she became rapidly disadvantaged.
Even though Anakin was born with blessed talent, her combat sense and physical abilities lagged far behind others.
Unless she pushed through with overwhelming skill, it was still difficult for her to win.
As Anakin staggered from Lucien’s mana explosion, he mercilessly rained down attacks, looking for an opening.
“Gah!”
A long wound appeared on Anakin’s shoulder.
It was painful, but she calmly deployed a shield.
Clang!
The sound of the shield colliding with a mana blade rang out.
Looking into Lucien’s vacant eyes, Anakin swallowed hard.
‘He really intends to kill me. I don’t know how many times I’ve faced death today.’
“If it was going to be like this, why did you even save me?!”
At Anakin’s pained scream, Lucien’s casting—which had been about to finish her—faltered for a moment.
‘Is there a reaction?’
Anakin continued to shout desperately.
“Falling from the cliff—have you forgotten you saved me?!”
“…….”
“Asking me to be on your team…… that was you!”
Now that Anakin’s voice was breaking into a sob, the hand Lucien was using to cast magic began to tremble.
His mind was screaming to attack, but his body was stubbornly refusing.
Noticing Lucien’s strange state, Anakin took the opportunity to quickly overpower him.
She bound him with thread-like mana restraints and raised her right hand to cast an offensive spell.
But…… as expected, she hesitated.
She knew she shouldn’t, but her hand shook at the thought of attacking the bound Lucien.
“No, why……”
It was maddeningly frustrating.
She knew it wouldn’t kill him, so why wouldn’t the attack trigger?
At that moment, the restrained Lucien forced his mouth open.
“Hur… ry.”
“…….”
Was it thanks to those words?
Anakin launched a wide-range fire explosion at him.
KABOOM!
The sparks quickly died down, and Lucien lost consciousness, collapsing.
Anakin walked over and pulled Lucien into her arms.
“I’m sorry……”
Surprisingly, once Lucien fell unconscious, the guardian blocking the door crumbled into dust and vanished.
“So this was the trap……”
The firmly closed massive door groaned open.
Rumble.
Anakin swallowed hard and laid the unconscious Lucien in a corner.
“I’ll go get the artifact first. Just wait a little longer.”
In terms of time, this would likely be the last artifact.
The time limit was drawing near.
Anakin retrieved the artifact from the pedestal without much trouble.
To think the last artifact was obtained by sacrificing a comrade.
It felt disgusting, but she couldn’t abandon an artifact that was being given to her.
Anakin stared coldly at the three artifacts she now possessed and then hoisted Lucien onto her back.
It was time to take him and escape the cave.
However, her pathetic physical strength…… never helped her.
It was too much for the slender, muscle-less Anakin to carry the large-framed Lucien.
“Ugh……”
She didn’t even have the mana left to cast levitation magic, so she had to carry him through pure physical effort.
After several grueling struggles, she finally made it to the midway point.
Lute and Kayla were waiting there.
They, too, seemed to have encountered an extraordinary trap, as their condition was worse than before.
“Anakin.”
Lute approached, frowning at the sweat-drenched Anakin, and pointed to the unconscious Lucien.
“I’ll carry him.”
“Huff…… thank you.”
It would have been terrible if Lute hadn’t been there.
Kayla supported the staggering Anakin.
“It seems you’ve obtained the artifact.”
“……Lucien did.”
Seeing Anakin’s poor expression, Kayla seemed to understand and didn’t ask further.
“Let’s get out of the cave quickly. Time is running out.”
Anakin nodded at Kayla’s words.
Now, they had to run toward the starting point at full speed.
It was just as they were finally exiting the canyon.
Anakin squinted at the sunlight she hadn’t seen in a while.
“By any chance, have you seen any of the other teams?”
Anakin asked Kayla.
Kayla shook her head.
“……No.”
“I wonder how many everyone else has.”
Anakin’s side had three, and Lute and Kayla’s side had five in total.
Neither seemed like a small amount.
“You two go ahead. I’ll follow with this guy,” Lute said.
“……Really?”
As Anakin asked with wide eyes, Lute nodded.
“Just go, quickly.”
“…….”
Lucien was on her team.
Lute had no reason to look after him…….
“Thank you. Really……”
Even as she left, Anakin looked back at Lute several times.
‘I’ll never forget this kindness, Lute.’
With that, Kayla and Anakin ran quickly toward the starting point.
While passing through a field of grass, Kayla asked:
“Lady Anakin, you asked if I’d seen other teams earlier, right?”
“……Yes.”
At her question, Anakin turned to look at Kayla.
She was staring straight ahead with an expressionless face.
“Actually, I have seen one. It was Lady Lana and Lord Henry.”
“……Excuse me?”
As Anakin narrowed her eyes, Kayla looked back at her with a sad expression and said:
“Do you really believe that we broke through all five traps?”
