The blue devil was relentless.

She chased after them to the mountain pass, making Fang and Bastion break a sweat.

No human should be able to keep up with them, let alone surpass them.

Dioneras was desperate to make a plan, but he was there for his brains, not his muscles.

"Bastion, hold her back as long as you can." He ordered, turning his horse around. "Fang, bring her here."

He trusted the Beastman enough to take the Princess back even if he stayed behind.

They had the mission, and he was hellbent on delivering. The only one in their way was the paladin.

The wizard, who he thought would be more problematic ran away long ago. The wyverns he hoped would wipe away all resistance in a flash were dead.

The silver-maned wolf was out of breath too, but he could protect the girl. The two would still fit in the saddle, and he was willing to make that sacrifice.

The blue devil was on them, locked in a duel with the Ogre. Where did she get all that energy?

The pass looked as the name implied. A narrow road cut into the summit of the Cyreneian mountain range. It would only allow a single horse to cross it at a time.

Nobody could bypass the Ogre if he spread his limbs from one cliff to the other. But how long could Bastion hold off that mad woman? And what if she pushes through him?

Leaving someone behind to cover the rest was unacceptable so he would stay too.

Beyond the pass itself, there were chasms on both sides of the winding road. A dangerous terrain, not suitable for fight, unless they want to risk falling to their deaths.

Fang will have to deal with that. He brought the Princess to him, but seeing this, the paladin kicked herself off the ground.

She leaped over the dumbfounded Ogre, and if not for the steel buckler, she'd slice Dioneras in half.

The shield still blew into thousands of pieces, and it was only thanks to luck she didn't take his arm with it. Even the horse fell over, down into the chasm by the road.

Dio had to hold on for dear life, hanging off the edge, but this wasn't all.

The Beastman was about to push the reluctant Princess onto the saddle, and now she fell too.

The Goblin had to strain every muscle to catch her, hanging a hundred feet above their deaths.

The purple-haired girl was light for a human, but it was still a lot for a Goblin to handle.

When the blue devil realized what she had done her eyes went wide. She missed a beat, and that's all the Ogre needed to smash his enormous body against her. They flew off the edge together.

"That idiot," Dioneras yelled, turning his head away so he wouldn't have to witness their fall.

"Hold on," Fang shouted, grabbing his slipping arm, and pulling them both up in the last moment.

The Princess, would yell, scream, and claw at them all this time, but now she was eerie quiet.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Fuck, that was too close." Dioneras cursed out of breath. He refused to look down, staring at the Beastman instead. "Did the Ogre survive?"

He shook his head, though it was more of a 'no idea' than a 'no chance'. He only said four words.

"We have to move."

***

Lambert didn't know what to do now.

He disgraced himself by running away, not that he could do anything in that fight.

And now he couldn't return to Sanctuary either. After deserting, they wouldn't hesitate to execute him on the spot.

He continued towards the pass instead.

He didn't try to catch up with anyone, he only wanted to run.

Biding his time to catch his breath, it was almost night when he reached the summit.

There were obvious traces of a fight everywhere. He saw blood, scattered remnants of a shield, and even the huge falchion of the Guard.

It was all quiet, whatever happened here was over long ago.

Still, if he strained his ears, he could hear something other than the winds storming the cliffs.

It was the sound of someone struggling for air.

Like when the lungs filled up with fluids, making this eerie, bubbling sound he heard too many times.

He had to treat many ugly wounds but was good at it.

That's what his magic specialized in.

Even from hearing the distant sound, he could imagine what kind of wound the victim had.

He could also tell that it wasn't a human. The lungs were too large, the sound too deep.

But he was alive, and somewhere nearby.

With the wind and the echoes tricking his ears, finding them took a while in the setting darkness.

The Ogre lay at the bottom of a hundred-feet chasm and to his surprise, an armored figure laid on top of him.

Her helmet flew away, exposing her shoulder-length blue hair, and he had no doubts.

It was Cath, the paladin. Was she still alive?

If the Ogre survived that fall, and she landed on top of him, there was a chance. And then he could heal her.

For his magic, distance didn't matter. As long as he concentrated hard enough, he could heal a wound within seeing distance.

There was a problem though. That full plate that woman wore was resistant to magic.

He couldn't even see through it, let alone apply his healing. There was no way he'd climb the cliffs either, not in the dark, and while there was an Ogre with her.

But the beast didn't wear armor. He had no magic resistance. He could kill him if he had any offensive spell.

Or he could heal him, and in exchange for his life, have him bring the paladin closer.

That was a tough gamble, but what other choice did he have?

Either save the paladin and claim he did his best, or run forever for deserting in battle.

And the same was true for the Ogre. If he wanted to survive his punctured lungs, he better behave.