Free Web NovelVines attacked from the side.
"Right!"
Victoria shouted loudly.
Frederick immediately changed direction.
The vines grazed their backs and nailed into the wall, shattering the masonry.
"Front!"
Victoria shouted again.
Frederick ducked his head.
A vine streaked past over their heads.
Close, so close.
Frederick's breathing grew increasingly rapid.
He could feel his heart thundering in his ears, his lungs burning, and his legs going weak.
But he couldn't stop.
Stopping meant death.
"Your eyes are really sharp!"
Frederick said, gasping for breath.
"You see clearer than I do!"
"For a noble miss, Dynamic Vision is a basic skill!"
Victoria spoke at an extremely fast pace.
"Now, left!"
Like they were dancing, the two of them dodged and weaved through the siege of vines while fleeing forward.
"Stairs!"
Victoria shouted.
"There are stairs ahead!"
Frederick saw them too; it was the staircase leading to the second floor.
The dark oak gave off a dull luster under the gas lamps.
But—
"Are we going up?"
He asked.
"Isn't it more dangerous up there—"
"We have no choice!"
Victoria said.
"The vines behind are about to catch up!"
Frederick glanced back.
Indeed.
The vines were surging forward like a tide.
From the floor, from the walls, and from the ceiling.
They blocked the path behind and all exits in the hallway ahead.
Now, only the stairs were still clear.
"Fuck."
Frederick said.
"Fine!"
He charged up the stairs, his footsteps heavy, making the oak floorboards thud.
The vines pursued relentlessly.
They coiled up from the banister.
Attempting to grab Frederick's ankles.
Frederick stepped directly onto the banister, using the momentum to jump over an entire section of stairs, successfully escaping the vines' entanglement.
Next was the second floor.
The second-floor hallway was longer and deeper than the first.
The gas lamps on the walls were spaced far apart.
The light was dim.
Casting circles of warm yellow halos.
"Head toward the Central Balcony!"
A voice came from ahead.
It was Reinhardt.
He was pulling Charlotte along, running with a limp.
Charlotte looked terrified, her face pale, but she didn't stop her pace.
Frederick felt a wave of relief.
Good, at least Reinhardt and that red-haired girl were still alive.
"Is there an exit that way?"
Frederick shouted.
"That's the balcony!"
Reinhardt said.
"We can jump to the garden outside the main entrance!"
"Then hurry!"
The two groups sprinted toward the end of the hallway together.
Footsteps came from behind.
Very light, very slow, as if taking a stroll.
Victoria glanced back.
The woman in the long green dress was walking up the stairs.
Her movements were elegant and unhurried.
One hand rested lightly on the banister, the other held up her skirt, as if she were attending a ball.
But wherever she passed, vines grew wildly, walls cracked, and floorboards bulged.
"She's coming up too, right behind us!"
Victoria said.
Frederick grit his teeth.
He ran even faster.
The end of the hallway.
A massive floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside was the Central Balcony.
Further out was the garden in front of the main entrance.
Frederick immediately accelerated, charging toward the window.
"Hold on tight!"
He roared to Victoria.
Then, he slammed his shoulder hard into the glass.
Crash—
The glass shattered.
Shards sprayed under the moonlight like a brilliant display of fireworks.
Frederick burst out the window.
His body traced an arc through the air.
Moonlight, the night sky, and cold wind rushed at them.
He didn't stop on the balcony for even a second.
As soon as his toes touched the stone floor of the balcony,
he immediately leaped,
jumping down.
This was the second floor.
The height was about four meters.
But for a body strengthened by the Path of the Chariot—
it was absolutely nothing.
Victoria clung to his shoulder.
Feeling her body falling.
The wind howling in her ears.
Then—
Thud.
Frederick landed.
He bent his knees to cushion the impact,
but at the same time, he twisted his body,
letting his back face downward,
doing his best to use his own body as a cushion for Victoria.
His back slammed heavily into the snow.
Snow splashed up.
The impact made his lungs seize up.
He almost couldn't catch his breath.
But instead, he felt relieved,
because Victoria was lying on him, safe and sound.
"Are you okay?"
She asked.
"I'm fine."
Frederick coughed.
"Get up quickly."
"We have to keep running."
Almost at the same time,
Crash—
another sound of shattering ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ glass.
Reinhardt also burst through the window.
Carrying Charlotte, he also jumped directly over the balcony.
His landing was textbook.
Both feet landed at once.
Bending his knees to cushion the fall.
Rolling once while carrying Charlotte.
Then he stood up.
"Go!"
He shouted.
"Run toward the Main Gate!"
The four of them began to sprint.
Crossing the garden.
Beneath their feet was withered yellow grass covered in a thin layer of snow.
The Main Gate was ahead.
It was a heavy, black iron gate.
Also the gateway to freedom.
Frederick could see it.
Beyond the iron gate was the road.
The woods.
A place where they could escape.
Ten meters, five meters, three meters... closer, almost there.
Frederick's heart pounded wildly.
Almost—
Then.
The ground shook.
Frederick's footsteps faltered.
"Not good—"
Reinhardt shouted.
Vines burrowed out from underground.
Right in front of them.
Right before the iron gate.
One, ten, hundreds.
They grew wildly, intertwining and weaving together to form a wall—a green wall covered in barbs, completely sealing off the iron gate.
Frederick stopped in his tracks.
Almost crashing into it.
He looked up.
On the Central Balcony of the second floor,
the woman in the long green dress stood there.
One hand was raised slightly.
Palm facing down.
As if conducting a silent symphony.
She looked down at them,
smiling.
"Tired of running?"
She said.
Her voice was very gentle,
floating in the night wind.
Frederick looked at the wall of vines.
Looked at the completely sealed exit.
His heart sank to the bottom.
Close, so close.
If they had been a few seconds faster—
But there were no "ifs."
A bizarre sound came from behind.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
Like countless bones breaking.
Or countless pieces of wood being joined together.
Victoria turned her head.
Frederick turned his head too.
He saw the most absurd sight of his life.
This manor—it stood up.
That three-story building was entwined by countless vines and tree roots.
They were like muscles and bones, supporting the entire building and lifting it from the ground.
The roof became the head.
The windows became eyes.
The door became the mouth.
Vines formed the arms.
Tree roots formed the legs.
It was a giant.
A giant composed of plants and architecture.
It stood up.
It stood over ten meters tall,
casting a massive shadow under the moonlight.
On the Central Balcony of the second floor,
the woman in the long green dress stood there,
as if standing at the giant's heart.
She looked down at them,
a gentle smile on her face.
Frederick felt his legs starting to go weak.
What the hell kind of monster is this?
Is she even human?
Is Sequence V really this absurd?
No.
That's not right.
Little Pa is also a Sequence V.
She was also ridiculous in the Virtual Realm before.
But—
but power on this scale—
Frederick took a deep breath.
He forced himself to calm down.
Now was not the time for marveling.
He had to find a way.
He looked at Victoria.
Victoria's face was also pale,
but she was also thinking.
Her eyes were constantly moving, searching for a way out.
Reinhardt set Charlotte down.
Charlotte's legs had already given out,
and she slumped directly into the snow.
"Any ideas?"
Frederick retreated to Reinhardt's side and asked in a low voice.
Reinhardt shook his head. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"No way."
"I tried looking for her weakness just now."
"But all I fucking saw was a green light, as if an entire forest was flowing through her. She's completely invulnerable."
"This isn't something we can fight at our sequence level."
