I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy-Chapter 371

“Did you hear that, Lucy?” Ian asked as he tossed the swords back into his pocket dimension.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

“Of course!” Lucia immediately replied, already on her feet.

Though the darkness remained as thick as ever, her faintly glowing eyes locked directly onto Ian. “I can run today, too.”

“Then get ready to leave. Now.” Ian scooped up the blanket, crumpling it in his hand as he spoke.

No matter how urgent the situation, he had to grab the essentials—the blanket, water pouch, and storage box. Before he could even say anything, Lucia was already rolling up the wolf skin cloak to carry.

As Ian opened the lid of the storage box, a familiar sound interrupted.

Rumble...

The ground rumbled again, louder this time. Bits of debris fell from the ceiling, scattering across the floor. Ian’s brow furrowed as he shoved the blanket into the storage box.

How long did I sleep?

He had completely lost track of time. His magic felt replenished, heavily layered, but that was no reliable indicator. His accelerated magic recovery and the Meditation he’d started before drifting off made it impossible to gauge how long had passed.

“Go ahead. I’ll catch up after finishing a quick prep,” Lucia said as she handed over the cloak, along with the water pouch and blanket she had gathered.

Ian swiftly took them, stuffing everything into the storage box, before turning to her.

Lucia gestured to herself as she added, “It’ll only take a moment.”

It seemed she had loosened her equipment while resting. Watching her deftly tighten the straps, Ian nodded and pushed the storage box back into his pocket dimension.

“Wrap it up quickly and follow right away,” he said, turning sharply and heading out.

Thankfully, he had put on his gear last night. Otherwise, he’d have to march out in just his armor and bare feet again. Also, all the pain from before had completely disappeared—his body had almost fully recovered.

—It’s getting stronger.

Another tremor rippled through the ground, prompting a whisper from Yog.

Ian ignored it, focusing instead on the source of the vibrations. Irregular but steadily approaching, the tremors seemed to emanate from above and to the rear—most likely near the valley’s exit.

—I didn’t deliberately delay telling you this time, friend. I just woke up myself.

Yog’s leisurely tone carried on.

—And this place is far deeper than I thought. No wonder I couldn’t pick up the scents properly.

Though its tone was casual, the words reeked of excuses. Clearly, it was worried Ian might toss it back into the pocket dimension.

“Enough with the excuses. Just tell me what you’re sensing,” Ian said, his eyes locking onto the jagged outline of the cave’s entrance up ahead.

The outside was just as dark as it had been when they entered, with no way to estimate how much time had passed. It wasn’t surprising—this vast demonic realm had no distinction between day and night. The ever-present twilight was in its constant state.

—It feels like that thing from yesterday... and something else. There’s another scent. Strong. Very strong. For them to be so intermingled like this...

Yog’s sluggish whisper continued as the sound of Lucia’s footsteps drew closer from behind. Her pace was brisk, and though it had seemed possible earlier, it was now clear she could navigate the darkness effortlessly. Like Ian, her body had recovered significantly.

—They’re fighting each other. Definitely. Must be some kind of territorial dispute between creatures living on the border.

“Creatures living on the border?”

—The kind that can only survive in the most unstable parts of this realm. You’d find plenty of similar beings in the abyss, too. Oh, fascinating. It seems I knew that as well.

This thing just keeps realizing things whenever it feels like it, Ian thought with a faint snort.

Before he could dwell on it further, another tremor shook the ground. This time, it was so intense that both Ian and Lucia instinctively crouched, bracing themselves. A low, resonant boom reverberated through the cave like the toll of a heavy bell.

The sound resembled something enormous crashing down. There was no need to guess what it could be.

Bwoooom!

A familiar roar pierced through the cave entrance, this time higher-pitched and more frantic than before. Ian’s eyes narrowed sharply as he quickened his pace.

I wanted to leave quietly.

He would have preferred to stay hidden until the fight ended, but that wasn’t an option. His instincts screamed that remaining here would be a mistake. If the cave collapsed, there would be no escaping. Getting crushed to death was not how Ian intended to go.

Even if the entrance alone caved in, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Escaping would mean burning through skill points, and he didn’t have many left to spare.

No interest in getting caught in a fight between giants. Better to slip away while they’re at it.

As Ian completed his plan, Lucia, who had caught up to him, spoke. “Why did it come back? It had left, hadn’t it?”

She was likely asking Yog. The fragment’s whisper came with a low chuckle.

—This is its territory. Even if it’s blinded by madness, its instincts won’t disappear. If anything, the madness has likely strengthened them. Perhaps it even drew in the others with its chaos. Unstable creatures are...

“Enough chatter. Run,” Ian cut them off, already sprinting toward the cave entrance. The ominous feeling pressing on him had only grown stronger.

Lucia fell silent and followed swiftly. As Ian burst out of the entrance, his gaze snapped upward to the left.

His eyes widened in shock.

Boom!

The moment he exited, a massive figure launched itself from a distant cliff, as if hurled into the air.

The creature’s body expelled a dense fog that mingled with violet hues, painting thick arcs through the air. Its unbalanced posture and flailing limbs revealed its instability. It was the enormous six-legged beast Ian had seen yesterday.

Bwoooooo!

But now, the beast was in far worse shape.

Nearly half of its violet-hued horns were broken, and more than half of its grotesquely scattered eyes had burst, oozing black ichor. Its deformation fully exposed its face, making it look even more monstrous.

—As I expected

The creature’s body, partially visible through the fog, bore deep, jagged wounds as if its bark-like flesh had been peeled away. Behind it, winged monsters resembling pterosaurs swarmed, trailing it like moths chasing a flame.

As the tension surged, Ian’s sharp eyes quickly identified the culprit responsible for the beast’s condition.

Screech!

Clinging to the massive beast’s long, arched neck was a large, ash-gray mass.

At first glance, it resembled a grotesque tumor, or perhaps the back of a giant desert spider. But it wasn’t a spider—its appearance was deceiving, with two unnaturally long and bent forelimbs protruding from each side, giving it that impression.

Its head, or where its head should have been, was an empty hollow. Jagged horns ran along its spine, and sharp, thorn-like protrusions jutted out from the backward-bending elbows of its limbs.

“Lu Entre, have mercy.”

The creature gripped the massive beast’s neck with four hook-like forelimbs and slightly shorter hind limbs. But it wasn’t this monstrosity that had sent the massive beast sprawling or made it howl in agony.

Boom!

On the beast’s side, another creature, equally grotesque, had slammed into it with its four enormous forelimbs crossed defensively, shoving it away.

As the giant beast tumbled and fell, the second creature’s forelimbs slowly unfolded to reveal its ash-gray body. Three large, crimson eyes gleamed from its torso, below which a faintly reddish glow emanated with each breath.

Boom, boom, boom.

The massive beast, which had briefly hovered in midair, came crashing down moments later, sprawling across the cliffs and steep slopes below.

Boom! Crack!

A shockwave mixed with violet fog rippled outward, collapsing parts of the cliff and spreading web-like fissures down its surface. The cracks quickly snaked toward where Ian and Lucia were standing.

“Shit—”

Dammit!

Ian spun around, scooping up Lucia without hesitation, and pushed off the ground.

Boom! Crack!

The cliff, its fissures now fully extended, shattered and collapsed. The shockwave must have delivered the final blow, bringing the fragile terrain down.

Thanks to this, Ian could simultaneously perceive the earth-shaking boulders tumbling down, the freshly conjured Wind Blades beginning to encase his entire body, Lucia's startled breaths in his arms, and the beasts tumbling and colliding chaotically down the slope.

He instinctively calculated how to move to avoid being buried alive by the landslide.

Crash! Boom! Thud!

Rocks pelted the ground like meteors around Ian as he sprinted down the slope. One slip or impact from falling debris would send him and Lucia into the rushing rubble, leaving no trace.

Dammit!

Ian’s Intuition, now verging on precognition, and his sharpened Concentration refused to let such a moment happen. Every detail of his surroundings felt vivid, almost painfully so. Even as he allowed instinct to guide his movements, his mind worked quickly to cast another spell.

Crack!

A few seconds later, which felt like minutes, Ian thrust his magic-charged right arm forward. At the center of the slope, an angled wall of ice rose—a Glacier Wall amplified by chaos power.

The barrier shot upward with incredible speed, but to Ian, it felt frustratingly slow. It rose, creating a new incline, and Ian lunged toward it with all his strength.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Maintaining his downhill momentum, Ian ran up the icy surface, defying gravity. His fur-lined boots, designed for the Northern winters and reinforced with spiked soles, gave him the grip he needed to climb without slipping.

Just a little more... just a little!

Ian's sprint outpaced the completion of the Glacier Wall.

Reaching the slanted edge of the still-forming barrier, Ian launched himself upward with all his strength, his boots crushing the brittle, still-freezing rim. At the same time, he cast Whirling Barrier, pouring chaos power into the spell.

Boom! Crash!

The landslide struck the Glacier Wall moments later, tearing through it.

Even the thick Glacier Wall, amplified by chaos power, couldn’t withstand the force of the landslide. With the added propulsion from the Wind Blades, Ian soared upward, barely avoiding the tidal wave of rock that surged beneath his feet.

Whoosh—Fwoom!

The storm-like vortex around Ian caught the debris in its grasp, hurling him higher into the air. It wasn’t a technique he used often, given the danger of the landing, but this wasn’t a situation where he could afford caution.

—I didn’t think you’d make it out of this one. Pretty impressive, my friend.

Yog’s slow, almost indifferent whisper reached Ian as he glanced down at the landslide that had swallowed the slope and obliterated the cliffside.

The cave they had been sheltering in was entirely gone, reduced to nothing but rubble.

Bwoooooo!

Ian tightened his grip around Lucia with his left arm, extending his right hand.

From his palm erupted a powerful Whirlwind, parting the wall of dust and debris like a crashing wave. His descent slowed for a moment—just enough to regain balance.

Zing—

A golden hexagon blossomed over his left hand, enveloping Lucia in its protection. Repositioning her securely in his arms, Ian twisted his body in mid-air. The slope, torn apart as if a herd of bulls had charged through it, loomed closer at an angle.

Scrape—Shhhh!

Ian’s barrier scraped against the ground as they slid down, grinding to a halt. He gritted his teeth, keeping his left arm steady as it endured the pressure, threatening to snap it.

Thunk!

With a final exertion, Ian swung his arm, using the force to spin and land on the ground.

Skid—Crack!

His body slid backward before coming to a stop. His trembling knees and ankles bore the full impact of the landing, but he didn’t falter.

Gritting his teeth, Ian carefully lowered Lucia to the ground.

“Are you okay?” Ian asked.

Lucia, standing unsteadily on her feet, raised her head. “Yes, aside from my nose hurting and my stomach churning.”

Her dazed expression was understandable. It was likely the first time she had experienced something akin to a rollercoaster ride—complete with a free fall.

Damn, that was close.

Ian felt the same. His nerves were still on edge, and the lingering tension left his body faintly aching. As always in such situations, he doubted he could ever pull off the same feat again.

The tremors and roaring chaos gradually subsided. It seemed the landslide had settled in the valley below. Perhaps this was how the valley had been formed in the first place.

Screech! Screech!

Ian turned to look through the dense cloud of dust that hung like a thick fog.

He couldn’t see a thing, but the cacophony of roars, crashes, and the occasional flash of light beyond the haze was unmistakable. Above it all, countless winged monsters swarmed in the sky.

And beyond that chaos lay the path leading out of the valley.

“Let’s stay out of sight and keep quiet. Until they settle things,” Ian muttered under his breath, cursing inwardly. Even if they couldn’t avoid a fight entirely, it would be better to face just one opponent than to be caught between the two.

—That might not be as easy as you think.

Yog’s whisper came just as Ian paused, half-turning to glance back.

Whooooom!

The massive beast suddenly burst through the dust cloud, leaping like a whale breaching the ocean’s surface. Its immense bulk soared upward in a display of impossible agility for its size.

Of all things, again?

The moment Ian realized the creature was tilting in their direction, his brow furrowed deeply.