My Servant Is An Elf-Knight From Another World

Chapter 30

There was another rumble echoing far off into the distance. It's aftershock rippling across both the building and ourselves. A tremor that was comparable to that of a mini-earthquake.

For my side, I thought it was a cause for concern. Ria, on the other hand, couldn't look less bothered even if she tried.

"What? Her sister is in the process of becoming a ravenous monster, I think a bit of wall smashing and furniture breaking is a bit warranted here. So long as it isn't my spine she's snapping into pieces, can't say I have any complaints."

She made a good point. Couldn't think of any rebuttal for that, except for the one, the big one, the one with white hair and pointed ears, currently hot on our heels like some kind of fantasy terminator.

"And if it's the Elf that's after us... well," she continued, breath growing heavy from fatigue. "Guess we better hurry then, huh?"

The Elf that was after was... yeah, I don't think I'll be able to get used to such a phrase. Not with Ash, at least. Yet there was still that part of me that wanted to rationalize it all... I mean, I have already seen her like this before, haven't I? Albeit, with a little more spring to her step.

What if she really was like this all along? She was made a knight for a reason, wasn't she? Loyal knight to the demon queen Terestra.

Then there was the other part, the part that wanted to derationalize the rational... I don't know, feelings are a complicated thing to sort out. I tossed it aside for now. Won't get any closure if I wasn't alive to receive any.

We continued, a step at a time, until...

"Homestretch," I whispered.

The exit to the building was like a beacon of hope in a sea of despair, the moonlight rays of the outside filtered through the shattered glass panels of the double doors. I felt my insides give a backflip just at the sight of it.

Walked again, a little faster in pace this time, eagerness trumping pain, relief replacing unease. I was barely leaning on Ria at this point, we were so nearly there.

Very nearly.

Then very nearly again.

Walked long enough to have reached the exit by then, yet it was just as far away as it was 30 paces ago.

We didn't move a single inch.

"Homestretch..." muttered Ria with a half-hearted sigh. "What a way with words you have."

I looked to her for clarification, which she simply followed up by floundering her fingers in a mystical manner.

"Magic...." she whispered in an exaggerated ominous tone.

I hate magic.

"I don't suppose you can - "

"No, I can't, it's a barrier, a big stretchy barrier," she interjected. "Didn't feel it when we first got here, meaning she only had it made recently. Clever illusion, actually. Could run an entire marathon and we still wouldn't have made a smidgen of progress towards it. Watch."

Ria stretched out her hand in front of us. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, nothing until she slowly swayed it around - that's when the wrinkling started. The rays of moonlight, the shattered double glass door, the path leading to it, the view of it forming ripples across her every movement.

Bye-bye beacon of hope. Hello again, sea of despair.

"Funny though," Ria said, withdrawing her arm back to her side. "Barrier like this, it's a very complex, very strenuous piece of magic. Surprise she'd go out of her way to create one that expands the entire building just for one stray away. She must really hate your guts."