Chapter 58: Escape
The reddish smoke fell slowly, like a theatrical curtain gradually revealing the extent of the chaos left by the Queen’s detonation. The acrid smell of burning and poison hung heavy in the air, mingled with the muffled groans of the hunters on the ground.
Isaac opened his eyes. His body was crushed to the ground, covered in ash and chitinous dust, his ears were ringing, his face was covered in bloody scratches, and his left arm was burning with a stabbing pain. He tried to stand up, his muscles trembling with the effort, but barely managed to get to his knees.
Around him, the other hunters lay shaken, disoriented and broken.
Erika was the first to regain consciousness clearly. Her hair was covered in dust, an open wound on her forehead trickled blood down her pale face, but she knelt down moaning in pain, looking around with an almost animal-like urgency.
Then her gaze fell on Maëlle.
- MAËLLE!" she screamed, immediately crawling towards the young mage.
Maëlle was slumped against a cracked column, her eyes closed, a trickle of blackish blood escaping from her half-open lips. Her body convulsed slightly, as if her spirit was still struggling to cling to life.
- MAËLLE, ANSWER ME! Erika shook her, panicked. She looked around, meeting Jonah’s dazed gaze. "Damn it, Jonah! Help me get her up! She’s barely breathing!"
Jonah struggled to his feet, holding his broken arm to his chest, stumbling awkwardly towards Erika in an attempt to support Maëlle. Rémi and Leïla were still staggering about, completely haggard.
Isaac didn’t move. His gaze was elsewhere, caught up in something bigger.
The mana crystals.