Chapter 17
Episode 17
The landslides didn't stop because of the continuous torrential rain. Maria and Ero needed to be rescued from the mine, but it was impossible to do anything right away. The mud and boulders rolling down the mountain made it impossible to even approach the area.
"I'm sorry. It's my fault for making Maria do such a thing..."
Nora repeatedly bowed her head in front of Gunther, apologizing. She had initially been territorial towards Maria and Ero, but this incident was definitely not her fault.
"It's not your fault."
Gunther wasn't in a state of mind to discern Nora's intentions. He sent Nora back to the lodgings and ordered Solskjaer.
"Can't Stone do something?"
He meant, since Stone is a Spirit, couldn't he use some kind of ability to save Maria? Soon, Solskjaer headed out to bring Stone. A little later, Solskjaer appeared before Gunther, holding Stone in his arms.
"Mo tae."
Before Gunther could even speak, Stone shook his head, refusing.
"Why?"
"If I break the Magic Stone with my power, what happens?"
"Is it a real Magic Stone?"
"Ung."
Gunther's expression instantly twisted. So, Sorcerers had to mine the Magic Stone. Occasionally, ignorant miners would thoughtlessly start working on it. Just as a person has a heart, the Magic Stone was a vital point in the cave, so recklessly mining it would have created a strong barrier. Besides, Stone was a Spirit of this land, but he didn't yet have the ability to freely control the barrier.
"Because of the Magic Stone, you might die, or you might not."
Stone's baby-like face was quite serious. There were many kinds of Magic Stones in the world, and their functions were all different. So, no one knew what kind of energy the Red Magic Stone that Maria had mined would emit.
Gunther went to the window. He stared at the pouring rain, so heavy he couldn't see, and fell into thought.
"We can't wait for the rain to stop. It'll be too late."
Because Maria could be crushed to death by the pile of stones.
"Solskjaer, bring the tools."
"Great King!"
"I'm going to dig out all that dirt and stone."
Gunther knew very well that mobilizing the miners on a day like this was very dangerous, so he intended to go alone.
"I told you, you can't because of the Magic Stone!"
Stone shouted, frustrated with Gunther. Gunther could be in danger too.
"So, are you telling me to just watch Maria's grave?"
Gunther's lower lip trembled. He hadn't brought her all the way here for this. What would he have left if he lost Maria?
"Yes, Great King. I will help too."
Solskjaer agreed with Gunther's words with a determined face. Soon, Solskjaer went outside to get useful tools.
"I really can't!"
Stone crossed his arms and huffed. Soon, Stone emitted light and transformed into the form of an adult man.
"I can put up a barrier for about 30 minutes."
"30 minutes?"
It was a woefully inadequate amount of time. But Gunther worried that Stone might be in danger if he exceeded his abilities.
"Can you handle it? What if..."
"It will be difficult to transform into this form for a while."
He meant that if he used too much of his Spirit power, he would have to stay in the form of a child for a long time to build up his strength. Still, it was a relief that his life wasn't in danger. Finally, Solskjaer, who had gone to get the tools, returned. Gunther took a deep breath and grabbed the tools.
* * *
It was a place with scorching sunlight, the salty smell of the sea, and the loud cries of seagulls. Maria was walking on a vast white sandy beach.
'Where is this?'
The Stuart family's summer villa was in Lecce, but it had been confiscated when the family was destroyed. This definitely didn't seem like Lecce. Then she saw a small house on a hill by the sea. Maria involuntarily walked towards the house. The white house was neither too big nor too small, and it was very neat and pretty. White smoke was rising from the chimney, indicating that people lived there, and the delicious smell of stew permeated the air as she got closer.
'This smell?'
It was the stew she had eaten a lot as a child, made with meat, tomatoes, and matsutake mushrooms. Her mother, Emma, especially for her daughter who loved stew, would make it herself instead of having the maids do it.
'Could it be! Mother?'
Maria clutched the hem of her dress and ran towards the house. Seeing the white curtains fluttering outside the window, she was sure that the window was wide open. She approached the nearby window, looked inside the house, and covered her mouth with her hand.
'Oh my god! This can't be!'
"Honey, I hope our Maria is safe?"
Her mother, Emma, and father, James, were sitting across from each other at the table, eating.
"The Pope promised, didn't he? He said he entrusted Maria to someone trustworthy."
"Maria must think we're dead."
Emma finally shed tears. Watching the scene, Maria shouted as loud as she could.
"Mother! Father!"
But they didn't seem to hear her voice. Maria cried out as hard as she could, feeling frustrated.
"Mother, Father! I'm here. Maria is here."
Maria stretched out her hands towards them and sobbed. Her parents were right next to her, but they didn't recognize her. James and Emma prayed for Maria. The parents' hearts, desperately wishing for their child's well-being while shedding tears, deeply touched her.
"Hng... sob!"
Maria sobbed and suddenly opened her eyes. Until a moment ago, she had been standing in front of the house on the hill by the sea, where the bright sunlight was pouring down. Not only that, but she had been seeing her beloved parents, but she didn't know why she was isolated in darkness again.
'It was a dream.'
It was too vivid to be a dream. She could still feel the texture of the sandy beach and the smell of the stew her mother made lingering at the tip of her nose. She wished it wasn't a dream... Maria hurriedly wiped away the tears that had soaked her cheeks.
'That's right. I came to the cave. To mine the Magic Stone.'
In a place where everything was dark, the red light emitted by the Magic Stone felt like a light of life. Fortunately, she wasn't completely buried in the stones and dirt. Maria held the Magic Stone that had fallen beside her in her hand. Then she saw Ero, who had lost consciousness and collapsed next to her.
'Ero!'
Maria shook Ero wildly to wake him up. Then she realized that his breathing was gradually slowing down. At this rate, he would soon stop breathing. She didn't know what was going on. They had been buried together in the cave, but she was breathing and fine, while Ero was half-dead.
'What should I do in this situation?'
She was at a loss as to what to do first and how to handle the situation. She was paralyzed by the fear that Ero might die at any moment. But then. A dull sound echoed from the cave entrance. The noise was loud, as if they were digging dirt and breaking stones. She could occasionally hear the murmurs of men.
"Maria!"
Someone was calling her name repeatedly, breaking through the blocked entrance.
"!?"
"Maria, answer with any sound!"
It was Gunther's voice. Maria quickly crawled towards the entrance. The cave ceiling was so low that it was difficult to straighten her body, but it was manageable to crawl.
"Ah... eugh!"
Maria shouted as loudly as she could. Then the sound of tools being swung outside became even more intense.
"Hold on! You can't die without my permission!"
Maria burst into tears at Gunther's voice. She never thought his voice would be so welcome. At that moment, the pile of dirt blocking the entrance collapsed, creating a hole about the size of a fist. At the same time, the humid air from outside the cave rushed in.
'Ero... danger.'
Maria had to somehow convey that Ero was in danger. But Gunther was overwhelmed that Maria was alive and talking.
"Great King, I'll do the rest."
Solskjaer reached out to Gunther, asking for the tools. Because Gunther's hands were already covered in blood, with the skin peeled off.
"I don't need it! Ughaaaa!"
Instead, he dug out the dirt and stones like a madman. Every time he swung the tool, the Red Dragon drawn on his back moved violently, completely soaked. Not only was the blood vessel on his forehead about to burst, but the muscles in his arms were bulging as much as possible.
Solskjaer also dug out the dirt beside him. Then Nora and the female workers ran over with tools of their own.
"We'll help too."
"It's dangerous. Go back to the lodgings!"
Despite Solskjaer's orders, they ignored him and picked out the dirt and stones. But as the 30 minutes that Stone had promised had passed, the torrential rain and landslides that had stopped for a while showed signs of starting again.
Maria also dug out the dirt with her bare hands from the inside.
'Ero might die.'
She dug out the dirt until her fingernails were crushed, fearing that her breath might stop. Finally, a hole was made that was big enough for one person to escape through.
"Ah... eugh!"
As Maria cried out, a man's hand with blood vessels popping out suddenly reached in. As soon as Maria grabbed his hand, her body was swept out as if a tree root was being pulled out from deep underground. In the moment when cold air rushed into her throat, Gunther snatched Maria and hugged her tightly in his arms.
"E... Ero!"
But Maria kept pointing into the cave, shouting for Ero to be saved.
"Great King, I'll go in."
This time, Solskjaer stepped forward.
"There's no time. The landslide has already started."
Rumble, crash! At the same time as Gunther's words fell, a pile of dirt rolled down from the distant mountaintop.
"Great King! Please save Ero too!"
Nora and the female workers bowed their heads in front of Gunther, begging. Even in the midst of all this, Gunther didn't let Maria out of his arms. Maria struggled, frustrated with Gunther, trying to go back into the cave herself.
"E... Ero!"
"Solskjaer!"
At Gunther's command, Solskjaer quickly entered the cave.