OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 261: Surrounded

Chapter 261: Surrounded

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"RUN!"

Elijah ignored Arthur's panicking state and rushed ahead, his body tearing through the nearing flames.

He could now see, so he no longer had any use for his lucky soon-to-be classmate.

The flames followed after them, which prompted the stunned Arthur to run as well.

Booming steps continued to chase as the trunks of those beings began to rumble the earth. Truuumpet!

Truuumpet!

"Ughhh..."

Elijah felt like his ears were about to pop as their roars constantly rang inside his head, never stopping.

Arthur, who appeared to be struggling as well, barely caught up to Elijah and managed to stutter out:

"E-Elephants, they're elephants!"

'No shit!'

Elijah continued forward, his pulse racing as he finally exited the circle of roaring flames.

Arthur followed, almost stumbling over fallen debris, his terror echoing in his every frantic action.

The thunderous steps of the elephants grew louder behind them, creating a cacophony of earth-shaking booms.

Truuumpet! Truuumpet!

'Just why did he want me to burn the forest?!'

The sound reverberated, almost suffocating Elijah's thoughts.

"Dammit..."

After a little while of their desperate charge into the unknown, they stumbled upon a blue- haired young girl with bright gray eyes.

Her visage, which was unlike most her age, appeared some distance away in the front.

She had a well-toned body with obvious muscles protruding out of her uniform's sleeves. "Sofia, with us!"

Elijah immediately noticed her and signaled for her to follow as they went to the left.

Sofia nodded, while Arthur's eyes widened upon seeing her, appearing to have fallen in love at first sight.

"Elijah! What's happening?"

She breathed out while joining him, her voice quivering ever so slightly.

"I don't know! Those elephants like fire I guess!"

The ground quaked beneath their feet as the group hurtled through the forest, their terror fueling every step.

"No, they're mammoths; they've got tusks..."

The towering trees loomed above, their branches reaching skyward, attempting to touch the heavens.

"But aren't they extinct?!"

Yet, they were no match for the colossal mammoths that moved through the forest, treating the mighty trunks like mere twigs beneath their feet.

"Nothing is anymore."

"Whatever, this isn't the time for that!"

Elijah's heart thundered in his chest as he glanced back.

Panic was etched in his expression as he finally saw the mammoths approaching from all directions.

These creatures, like living mountains, moved with calm, their backs stable and their massive bodies dwarfing everything in their path.

"What are you..."

Sofia's words paused as followed Elijah's gaze and looked up.

Her breath hitched as she caught sight of the mammoths' forms, their tusks scraping against the canopies, sending branches cascading down like rain.

Her wide eyes darted around in an attempt to find a way between the encroaching mammoths.

And since she wasn't looking ahead, her feet stumbled on a rock, causing her to fall forward...

But Elijah caught her just before she crashed onto the ground and pulled her up. "C'mon, you can't be losing focus now!"

Truuumpet!

Truuumpet!

"We have to keep moving!"

Elijah yelled above the tumultuous sounds and led the way through the dense underbrush, pushing forward with returning calm.

Then suddenly, someone else appeared in his field of view.

'Rat bastard.'

Max, a hot head with fiery red hair and gold eyes, approached.

His slightly muscular body was drowning in sweat.

"Run the other way, you idiots!"

There was another that appeared, following closely behind him.

It was Aria.

Her usual twin-tailed hairstyle wasn't present as her gold locks cascaded down her fragile

back.

The Reaper saw her red eyes widen in surprise as she spotted him.

"Elijah, you're here!"

Unlike usual, he didn't suck up to the girl, or talk to her.

Instead, he turned around and ran away from the duo.

"Where are you going?!"

Her screams resounded behind him, but he didn't dare stop, and neither did Sofia.

Arthur was the same, but he looked to be in the worst state out of the lot.

He was still reeling from the shock of enraging the beasts, so his emotional turmoil didn't

help in his struggle to keep up.

Then, out of nowhere, he was pushed out of the way as Max ran forward, showing off his

athletic process while nearing Elijah.

"You caused the fire, didn't you?! Ha?! you reaper bastard?!"

A pitiful Arthur was stepped over by Aria as she joined the group.

"Shut up, you loud monkey!"

"Don't fight!"

Their heads snapped at Elijah in surprise, never expecting him to fight back.

"Ha? Did you grow some balls when you got kicked out? That fucker Emir do something you?"

Aria was about to curse Max, but at Emir's mention, she lashed out:

"Don't talk about him that way!"

Yet her anger didn't hold a candle to Elijah's raging inferno:

"DON'T YOU DARE! SAY THAT AGAIN AND I'll FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Sofia, who finally had enough, roared:

"QUIET!"

|| ||

"..."

And they did.

"I need you all to focus... we won't pass this test otherwise."

She took the mantle as their leader while finally shutting them up, as Elijah failed to do so.

"G-Guys! W-Wait for me! ...P-Please!"

They didn't slow down.

But somehow... Arthur still managed to catch up.

As they ran, the forest seemed to close in around them, the massive trees becoming a

hindrance rather than protection.

A few mammoths behind them had their tusks scrape against the sky as they uprooted the

trees, sending them flying.

That sight caused a shiver to run through all their spines.

They had to run; they had to escape!

But then... their hope was squashed to nothingness.

In the beginning, Elijah and Arthur were running North, escaping from the South.

They then ran West with Sofia fleeing from both of these directions.

Yet as Max and Aria joined, they bolted Eastward since it was their only way out of the

mammoths' encirclement.

Now, however, a woman's silhouette showed itself in front of them.

She possessed Asian features-eyes of amber, dirty-blond hair, slender build, and honey-

toned skin.

There was no doubt about it...

That was Ava.

And she came from the East.

They were trapped.

"Fuck..."

Elijah stopped in his tracks and looked around...

He didn't know what to do.

Sofia tapped his shoulder and went ahead to welcome the new arrival.

Ava, her breaths coming in short gasps, stumbled into her.

"W-Why aren't you guys running?"

"It's 'cause we're surrounded."

Ava's eyes widened with disbelief as she noticed the spectacle around them.

"Damn, just how did Daddy allow this?!"

She exclaimed, her voice tinged with fear, unlike Sofia's relatively calm demeanor.

Elijah spared a fleeting glance at Ava, his heart sinking at the realization of their predicament. "We don't have a way out, but we can stall for time and survive-"

Max stepped before Elijah, cutting him off with a face that showed irritation to the extreme:

"Ha! Who are you to call the shots?"

Tsk!

The Reaper had enough.

He snapped.

There was no need for a build-up...

Max had insulted Emir.

That was enough for Elijah to reach his boiling point.

This only took him over the edge.

Their impending deaths no longer mattered to him.

His mind no longer took in his surroundings. Whatever happened next...

He didn't care for it anymore.

"Die."

In under a second, his hands darted to his sides, fingers wrapping around the hilt of his dual

daggers.

With practiced ease, he drew the blades, catching the glint of firelight as they arced through

the air.

His movements were a blur as he lunged forward and slashed at the young master's legs.