The Paper User: Exiled for a ‘Trash Skill,’ Awakens True Power and Rises with Two Unique Skills ,Volume 2 - Chapter 31

Chapter: Crisis

A few minutes later, the evenly matched battle shifted.

The number of followers, nearly twice that of the adventurers, had dwindled, now fewer than those still fighting.

“Rugal! Take him down!”

Melt’s words spurred the adventurers to charge at Rugal.

At that moment, a hemispherical magical barrier appeared around him.

The adventurers’ swords bounced off with a high-pitched clang.

“It seems this is as far as you go.”

Rugal fixed his gaze on Melt.

“Melt. This time, I will acknowledge defeat.”

“This time?!”

Melt raised an eyebrow and advanced.

“There won’t be a next time for you. You’ll die here.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Rugal produced a black cylinder from his chest and pressed a button.

A tremendous explosion shook the area. The fissure I had sealed with paper collapsed, unleashing a torrent of water that soaked the ground.

“Now you cannot escape.”

“What are you doing?!”

Melt’s voice trembled in shock.

“This way, you won’t be able to flee either!”

“Indeed… everyone else will likely die.”

Rugal smashed a small vial onto the ground, releasing a yellow-green powder that drew a magical circle.

“This powder was given to me by Lord Zeldia. It creates a teleportation circle. With this, I alone can exit.”

“Lord Rugal!”

The followers rushed to the spherical barrier.

“What will happen to us?”

“Do not worry. Once Lord Dolls is resurrected, you will be revived. Fight to the end without fear.”

Rugal turned his gaze back to Melt.

“We’ve lost many followers, but if I can eliminate the leader and main force of the Flame Dragon Guild, the outcome is not entirely unfavorable.”

“Rugal!”

Melt bristled his orange tail and struck the magical wall with his dagger. The red blade scratched the semi-transparent surface.

“Heh. If you strike it a hundred times, it might break,” Rugal said with amusement.

“Everyone, break this wall!”

“Too late!”

Rugal spoke the words to activate the teleportation circle.

In an instant, he vanished, and the hemispherical barrier dissipated.

“Damn it!”

Melt gritted his teeth.

“Melt, the water’s rising!”

Greg ran to Melt.

“The rear passage is already submerged. There’s no escape route left!”

“…We’ll deal with the followers first. Escape can wait.”

Melt attacked the nearest followers.

Minutes later, we had defeated most of the followers.

But the water kept rising, soaking the adventurers’ knees.

This is bad. The earlier explosion cracked the walls, letting water leak from multiple spots. Even if we seal one with sticky paper, another will leak.

Melt and the others tried to remove rocks blocking the fissure. Adventurers swung axes and swords to break them.

“We won’t make it this way,” muttered Kinako.

“The water rises faster. At this rate, everyone will drown.”

“Uwaaah!”

Dazzle screamed.

“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to! Ugh…”

“Damn… are we dying because of the Flame Dragon Guild?”

Alber glared at Melt, who was smashing rocks.

“We shouldn’t have accepted this quest.”

Next to him, Camilla chattered her teeth, pale and terrified.

I scanned the area.

Was there another escape route?

Looking up, I saw a section of the wall several dozen meters above had crumbled, forming a hole.

That hole… I couldn’t see how far it went. Maybe we could escape through it.

I ran to Melt, still breaking rocks.

“Melt! There’s a hole above!”

“A hole?”

Melt followed my pointing finger.

“…It’s there, but how do we reach it? Even with ropes, there’s no time. Impossible.”

“I’ll handle it!”

I calculated the distance between my position and the hole. Using paper that could materialize quickly and hold weight…

Thousands of sheets appeared, forming a white spiral staircase.

“Ah…”

Melt’s jaw dropped as she stared up at the spiral stairs.

The surrounding adventurers also gaped in astonishment.

“Everyone, climb the stairs!”

Hearing my voice, Melt snapped back to focus.

“A-Alright! Everyone, get up the stairs!”

The adventurers hurriedly ascended the spiral staircase.

Greg went first, entering the hole.

Seconds later, his voice echoed from above:

“It’s narrow, but we can move forward.”

Hope returned to the adventurers’ faces.

“Good! One at a time, everyone enter the hole!”

Melt shouted, and the adventurers followed.

I looked down from the top of the staircase.

The water level had risen, submerging more than half the spiral. Many adventurers and followers lay drowned beneath.

That was close.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and exhaled.

“Yakumo!”

Almine reached out from the hole.

“Quick, we have to go. The water’s rising fast.”

“Got it.”

I grabbed her hand.

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