Indolent Overlord

Chapter 6 part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord, obviously - Kugane Maruyama-sama does. Although the drawing above is how I picture Adalbert to look like, I also do not own it.   

Haa... Haa... Haa...

Left. Left. Right. Left. Straight. Right.

Jack Daniels huffed and puffed as he ran blindly through the woods, his helmet discarded long ago to ensure a better range of vision, but it was still too dark to see clearly after nightfall. One of his brothers in arms was behind him, equally as exhausted as they ran with all their might for even the slightest chance of survival.

"S-should... huff... should we stop? He can't be... huff... still chasing after... us, can... haa... can he?" Jack asked while wiping the sweat from his brows, his face flushed with exertion.

"No! Keep going!" Mike responded hysterically. He was breathing harshly as his eyes, clouded with paranoia and fear, swirled around non-stop, jumping from treetop to treetop.

No. It wasn't paranoia. Jack wished it was only paranoia. But there really was someone (something) hunting them like animals. As if they were all just a game to that beast.

There were originally 46 of them (no, it was 45. Alex was killed after shooting a rock at the skeleton). They had stuck together, naively thinking that it was better to have quantity against only 1 man (security in numbers and all that bullshit). But they miscalculated. That monster wasn't just 1 man. Rather, it wasn't human. Just like that skeleton mage.

1 by 1, they were all shot by that beast. They would've shrugged off their injuries, their lives more important than short-term pain, however, they didn't realize that the bolts had paralysis coated on them. They were slow-acting and excruciating (judging by the screams of despair).

And they were definitely on purpose. That beast was sadistic, cruel, and childish. Whenever someone gets hit by his bolts, the victim would be mercilessly pelted with darts and spells to steer them to a certain direction... only to fall prey into a trap.

Jack had witnessed the beast's cruelty. And he feared it.

One of his mates had fallen into a hole full of snakes. Others had met different endings - equally or more painful than the last. After that, they had all scattered like headless chickens.

He met up with Mike coincidentally after running non-stop. They were both too scared and jumpy to even remain at one location, hoping and praying to God that they would escape this cat and mouse game intact.

Without his permission, Jack's knees buckled, his body's exhaustion catching up with him. He was a Magic Caster, someone who was physically weak, not a warrior or any other job that required physical labor.

Mike looked ready to ditch him and run. In fact, he did just that.

Jack instantly felt betrayed. The hurt was then quickly replaced by a frost of fury. He and Mike were bunkmates, brothers in arms that drank, ate, and fought together. Yet, upon encountering a life-threatening danger, he was abandoned just like that?! He refused to accept dying alone! If he was going down, it would not be on his own!

He allowed his anger to control his actions, his already high-strung nerves causing him to react violently. His body, which should be too weak to even lift a finger, was pumped full of renewed adrenaline. He used his newly obtained energy to tackle Mike to the ground.

"L-let go! Let go! I d-don't want to die! I DON'T WANT TO DIEEE!" Mike punched without hold back, the thick gloves helped in breaking Jack's nose.

He howled in pain, releasing the fucker to instinctually grab his broken nose.