Sofia was running with everything she had. Her chest was falling quickly up and down as she breathed the air.
Her muscles ached with each step she took, but she forced her body to continue running nonstop.
Ignoring her bleeding eye, she briefly shifted her gaze to Vera, whom she was carrying in her arms.
Her friend had passed out, so she was currently helpless. The mask that covered her face had been violently cracked, allowing a glimpse of her flawless skin.
"I am sorry," Sofia muttered, not slowing down her step.
She knew that she had doomed these first-year students, but there was not much of a choice.
It was either her and her friend or these strangers.
So the choice was more than obvious.
What had been done had been done, and there was no going back.
There was only one thing Sofia could do, reach the main camp and inform Elysia, the chairwoman, that an Epic beast tamer, who had succumbed to his beast's temptations, had suddenly appeared and begun attacking the students.
Sofia gritted her teeth in frustration.
The only two that had survived from her squad were she herself and Vera, whom she had miraculously managed to save from the jaws of the Epic beast the man had.
Her arms trembled slightly as she remembered the sight of the two great monsters and how fast they disintegrated her teammates.
Most of them she wasn't in a great relationship with, but still, her failure was more than evident.
How was she going to face her father, the emperor, now?
With such an evident failure, it was clear she was going to fall even more in his eyes.
Sofia gritted her teeth as she muttered,
"Stop distracting yourself. Focus on the current issue at hand—reaching the camp alive and alerting the teachers."
Elysia was currently there too, so no doubt she would be able to get rid of the two Epic beasts once she heard the news.
But the question remained, until Sofia managed to reach the camp, how many would die?
One thing was for certain, though, these first years she had used as bait were as good as dead.
So all Sofia could do now was run as fast as possible to make sure their deaths weren't meaningless.
*****
"Why am I trembling?" Lily asked as she was currently being carried by Roran.
She knew Roran's strength, as it was more efficient for him to run while carrying her.
That was the reason why Lily didn't protest or try to get out of his embrace.
She shifted her gaze to him before she spoke,
"What's happening?"
His expression didn't change, nor did he shift his attention from running at full speed.
When he spoke, his voice was cold and emotionless.
"We saw the princess, bloodied and clearly beat up. She was running away from something," he took a breath before continuing,
"So, whatever this is, it will most likely focus its attention on us now."
Lily was quiet, deep in thought.
'The princess was bloodied? She was running away from something? But she is not only royalty but also a fourth-year student from the most prestigious academy in the empire. What could possibly injure her to that extent?'
Suddenly, Lily shivered at the thought, realizing the gravity of the unexpected situation.
Not far behind was Zack, who was running full speed ahead. Glancing at his arm, he muttered,
"I'm shivering? Me, of all people? This only happens when I'm in the presence of my family… If something of similar power is chasing us, things will get really ugly."
And last was Zaroth. After seeing that his comrades were much faster than him, he realized that he would soon lose them.
He did the next best thing, he mounted Silverfang and commanded him to run full speed ahead.
'Luna!' he spoke in his mind.
'That thing that's chasing us, where—'
'It's slowly getting closer,' Luna interrupted him. 'This time, you might be forced to summon me.'
Zaroth gritted his teeth. Summoning Luna now would announce to his comrades that he possessed a mythical dragon.
Unlike the vampire he had encountered before, they would not be forced to keep that information a secret.
So the question was, could he trust them with that information?
No, he couldn't.
He knew that, just like him, Zack and Roran were concealing their true power, reluctant to reveal it to anybody else.
"Summoning you would be our last resort," Zaroth muttered under his breath as he commanded Silverfang to go faster.
'Focus,' Zaroth thought as he closed his eyes, beginning to feel his mana core.
He had gotten significantly stronger after the start of the hunting competition.
His skills with the fireball and his ability to wield a sword had increased dramatically.
The only thing he could do now was try to reach his peak for the inevitable battle that was approaching them.
After his squad increased their speed, he asked Luna again, 'What about now?'
'It's still getting closer. It seems the thing that's chasing you is not willing to let you go,' Luna replied.
Zaroth gritted his teeth in frustration.
Suddenly, a roar was heard in front of them. Shifting his glance, Zaroth saw a great bear—a Rare beast—standing before them with the intent to attack.
The next second, the pupils of the bear widened in horror. It turned and fled in fear, as if it sensed the thing chasing Zaroth's squad.
"This is bad," Zaroth muttered.
They were running with everything they had and still not getting farther away from the enemy.
This meant that sooner or later, they would be forced to stop due to exhaustion and fight while already overexerted.
The most logical thing was to fight now, while still at full strength.
Having made up his mind, Zaroth shouted,
"The thing chasing us is still behind us! At this rate, we'll be forced to stop and fight it exhausted, so I suggest we stop and fight it now, while we're still at full strength!"
His comrades heard him and began thinking of a possible way to avoid the fight, but they failed to find any solution.
"Lily," Roran spoke coldly as he set her down, looking into her eyes. "I might be forced to use that, so if that happens, you know what to do, right?"
Lily, trembling, could only slightly nod.
Zack stopped, his face grimacing as he thought,
'In the worst-case scenario, I'll have to use it—even if it means revealing it to my teammates. Whatever happens, I'll deal with the fallout after this mess is over.'
Zaroth commanded Silverfang to stop. Dismounting, he looked into the distance, where the danger was approaching.
As everyone got ready for battle, an uncomfortable silence fell over the field.
Then, the bushes rustled, and a man emerged from them.
His skin was dry and cracked, his eyes unfocused. He gazed at Zaroth's group before speaking casually with a menacing smile.
"Hello, nice to meet you."