Chapter 21 Egh . . . Another Group?

"H-help . . ."

All our attention flickered to that gurgling voice and found that girl with violate hair sprawled on the ground. Her once pretty appearance was disheveled, and there were traces of vomit on her lips. She was clutching her stomach, and blood oozed from her hands and made a trail on the hard cold ground.

However, what was horrifying was her bloodshot eyes and the hundreds of veins pulsating hard against her skin. Her veins were protruding, wanting to come out from her flesh, mangling her appearance with thousands of dilated crawling purple like worms.

My face went white, and I froze on the spot.

"AarRGgh!" Jane screamed, and Soarsie gasped.

It was Luke who recovered first and hurried towards the girl.

"Jane! Cast heal on her. Now!" Luke shouted with a panic-stricken voice.

Jane snapped out from her horror stricken state before she nodded and stumbled against her foot as she ran towards the girl.

And with shaking hands, she cast [Heal].

A faint light enveloped the girl I believed was named Ruka.

I couldn't see her stats, but anyone with eyes would notice that she wasn't healing one bit.

"W-why isn't she healing?!" Jane panicked tears in her eyes.

"P-poison . . ." Ruka gasped before another round of vomit and blood spilled from her mouth.

Luke and Jane immediately stepped away. I wanted to laugh when Ruka's head bumped against the hard floor when Luke withdrew his hand from her shoulders lightning fast like he was afraid he would be contaminated by her vomit.

At this rate, Ruka might die from brain damage before the poison could claim her life.

I shook my head.

What's wrong with me? This was not the time for dark humor.

This was no time to be laughing and imagining someone's death either.

<+100 Evil points to Host for laughing at other's unfortunate fate. Keep it up and embrace your evilness!>

<You are one step to becoming an Evil Overlord, the greatest villain there is!>

I sighed.

"H-help . . . I-I . . . I don't want to die . . ." Ruka choked before her eyes rolled in the back of her head.

This escapade turned into a horror movie really fast.

Jane hugged Luke, crying and shaking on his shoulder as Ruka's body burst into white particles and disappeared into thin air.

Soarsie was too stunned to utter a word, and I was too shaken to breathe.

This cave . . . is dangerous!

Without an antidote to poison, we could easily lose our lives here!

I immediately grabbed Soarsie's hand and pulled her awake. "Let's get out of here!"

We didn't have any counter against this unexpected poison. And I was sure that Ruka didn't get it by just walking in the cave.

Those goblins might have used poison.

Maybe Jane would acquire some kind of a spell against it since she was a healer. But I wasn't going to wait here until she did.

However, before we could move another step towards the cave's exit, we heard a faint noise that could only be from a growling creature or something that was snarling across the floor.

We stood frozen on the spot without breathing, nor did blinking as the faint sound grew stronger and stronger, getting closer to us.

And what appeared before our eyes was a Crazed Wolf. But not just any Crazed Wolf. It was larger and bigger, more than half our height. The fur around the creature's neck, head, and shoulder was a burst of crimson color –– a mane of red collars gave it a most impressive stature.

And right now, that beast was standing between our only path towards the exit with baring teeth and flexing claws.

More so, someone took the time to bind a single braid on its fur with a wooden bone trinket as its clip. And I knew that the beast couldn't possibly do it by itself.

Then one thing was for sure . . . that beast was someone's pet.

[You have encountered a CRIMSON WOLF!]

You don't say.

I wanted to shout at the notification popping on my screen and on everyone's screen, I bet.

Based on its height alone and the ridiculous +10 000 HP bar on its head, I bet that it was stronger than us combined.

Its slit eyes narrowed, locking on us, followed by a loud growled on its chest.

RoOaAarRr!

"RUN!"

It didn't matter whose voice was that. I pulled Soarsie with me, and we sprinted along the winding passageway.

Though, I knew we couldn't possibly outrun it.

"Cross! Use your spell! The one where you teleport!" Luke shouted in my direction.

I lamented. If only I could. "It only applied to me."

"What?!" Luke's face was ashen before he gritted his teeth, and I never saw him became ugly when his face warped in a sneer.

"How useless can you be?!"

Wha––? It's not my fault! I was not the one dictating the spell that I should have!

"C-Cross . . ."

I looked over at Soarsie, who was huffing and wheezing. I had never seen her with a horror-stricken face before. Her eyes were wide, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

"D-don't leave me," she begged.

I gritted my teeth.

What did she think I was?

I was hurt that she would even think that way. We have been together for five years and to think that she should have known me by now.

I was a coward and indecisive and too kind for my own good. I admit. But I would never leave her in times like this.

I ignored my feelings and pulled her towards me. I carried her Princess style and increased my speed.

With my AGI, I was faster than the rest, and there was no point in holding or hiding my stats anymore if our lives were on the line.

I ignored Luke and Soarsie's astonished faces when I overtook Luke to the front.

Amidst the chase, my eyes caught a sword stuck on the stony wall. If I remembered correctly, it was Rofred's, and I didn't want to think about what happened to him.

Fortunately, there wasn't any goblin insight. Rofred's group might have managed to reduce the goblin's numbers, and the little cretins flee deeper into their hideout.

Or those goblins might have retreated first when they heard the Crimson Wolf's roar.

"H-help!" Panted Jane at the back. She was the slowest out of us, and she would surely die first.

I could save her, but . . . Soarsie was already heavy in my hand, and my STR wasn't really knight material.

"D-don't leave me!"

I refused to hear Jane's plea. No matter how kind I was, I had to think of myself and Soarsie first. And maybe the wolf would slow down as he gnawed on Jane's bones.

I shook my head.

This world really brought out something indescribable within me.

<+100 Evil Points rewarded to Host for being selfish for the first time!

Oh, shut up and think of a way for us to get out of here alive!

<Error!>

Damn it!

When I didn't need it, it kept blubbering. But if I do need it, it just disappears.

How I wish I could uninstall it.

<Error!>

"H-help me!" Jane shouted again and again. She was begging and begging for us not to leave her.

The Crimson Wolf's growl deafened her cries and pleas, who was so close to biting her neck off.

I didn't want to turn back. I really didn't want to. But my body betrayed me, and I looked over my shoulder.