Chapter 377: No Way Out

Five minutes later.

The support squad had returned to an empty room within the mist.

Everyone’s faces were grim, and the atmosphere was so heavy it was almost suffocating.

No one spoke.

They had just attempted to fall back beforehand.

But the problems had quickly surfaced.

First, although the Susurrus Mist could shroud a sizable area—and within that area, Jack, holding the crystal fragment, could manipulate the mist to some degree, sense what was happening inside it, and disrupt the enemy’s perception.

The problem was that the mist could not move.

When they moved, the mist did not.

After all, this was only Lady Pandora’s experimental Wizardry Crystal; imperfections were unavoidable.

Moreover, they were not wizards, so their control over the wizardry channeled through the crystal was even weaker.

Maintaining the current effect was already no small feat.

The second problem was even more lethal.

They had just tried to step beyond the Susurrus Mist’s coverage.

But the moment they left that area, the Anomaly began to move—and its target was unmistakable: them, as they prepared to leave.

The skeletal big cat reacted almost the instant they stepped out of the mist!

If Jack had not sensed the disturbance in time, shouted a warning, and sent them retreating back into the mist as fast as possible...

The consequences would have been unthinkable.

Their speed could not match the Anomaly’s full pursuit. They would have been killed before they made it down two floors.

Even retreating briefly back into the mist’s range had been useless; the Anomaly still rapidly surged toward that position.

They had no choice but to abandon going downward, pull back some distance, circle around the Anomaly, and return to a spot closer to the center of the mist.

Which was where they were now.

“I suspect it’s that black fur, or the black vapor in the air...”

The squad leader frowned and offered his theory.

“Lady Pandora’s wizardry mist can interfere with that Anomaly’s perception, but once we leave the mist’s range, that interference fails.”

“And the black fur and black vapor spread across this building are like a net... the moment we step out of the mist, our position leaves a mark on that net.”

The theory made sense.

But even if they understood how the Anomaly was detecting them, they still had no way to solve it.

The mist could not move, and the black fur covered the entire building. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Other squad members had considered leaving via the building’s exterior.

At this height, they couldn’t simply jump down. But with their physical conditioning, even a completely vertical wall could be descended with care.

Fingers wedged into cracks, toes braced against window ledges, working downward step by step—slow but steady.

Yet the same problem remained.

The building’s exterior walls had already sprouted black fur.

The black fibers had spread from the windows onto the outer wall surfaces, dense and thick, like some mad climbing plant.

Once they left the mist’s coverage and moved onto the exterior wall, their presence would be discovered.

And in the open environment of the outer wall, both detection and pursuit would only be faster.

They could adapt to that environment; a Rank-3 Anomaly could as well.

That would only make them easier to run down.

In the narrow corridors, the Anomaly’s size was a limitation.

But on the open outer wall...

That would be its hunting ground.

In other words—they could run, but the Anomaly would simply catch and kill them before they escaped.

“Shit.”

The squad leader cursed under his breath, his voice thick with suppressed rage and despair.

For now, there was no getting away.

Then what about staying here, inside the mist?

At least inside the mist they were safe?

The answer was also no.

In fact, during their attempts, Betty had already communicated with Pandora.

The answer was clear: the Wizardry Crystal’s stored mana was limited, and it could not sustain Rank-3 wizardry for long.

And even at her fastest, Pandora would still need time to travel from the base.

The mist would most likely dissipate long before she arrived.

More critically, they couldn’t expect to play hide-and-seek with a powerful Rank-3 Anomaly for that long.

Don’t underestimate any Rank-3.

Even if it was only a mindless monster.

Pandora warned them that the Anomaly would likely soon realize the Susurrus Mist’s weakness, then come after them and kill them.

Wizardry without a wizard’s control was incomplete.

And this was only an experimental product—it couldn’t unleash the full might of the wizardry.

The squad leader leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

The dull pain in his severed arm came in waves, as though someone had lodged a blunt knife in the wound and twisted it every few seconds.

He forced the pain to the bottom of his consciousness and thought at full speed.

Run—couldn’t.

Hide—couldn’t.

Even reinforcements couldn’t arrive.

And he no longer even had a complete right arm.

Was this... truly a dead end?

Was there really no other way?

There was.

“With the resolve to lay down your lives—kill that Anomaly.”

When Betty relayed those words on Pandora’s behalf, everyone fell silent.

That was the message Pandora had sent.

Not advice, not encouragement—just the only option left.

When reinforcements couldn’t arrive in time, when every retreat was sealed off, only one path remained before them.

Everyone was silent.

Even Betty herself, as she repeated those words, felt a chill rise from the bottom of her heart, crawling along her spine all the way to the top of her head.

Through those cold words, she seemed to see Lady Pandora’s indifferent gaze.

That calm of someone who had seen through the essence of life and death and found it only natural.

At a time like this, if Lady Pandora herself were here, in the same situation, what would she do?

Clearly, she would have to rely on herself.

Only on herself.

What Lady Pandora said was undoubtedly correct.

But knowing the logic didn’t mean one could immediately charge forward in a surge of hot blood.

Even though Pandora had reminded them to prepare to fight to the death, Betty still could not escape her fear.

She lowered her head, her gaze falling on the screen of her Palmfiend.

The screen still displayed the latest message Pandora had just sent.

She bit her lip, murmuring over and over:

“Just... wait a little longer. Just a little longer.”

Perhaps, if they waited a little longer, one of the other Ladies would respond and come.

Lady Poppy was nearby, and her abilities were well-suited to travel. If she received the message, she should be able to arrive quickly...

Lady Ophelia was powerful; as long as she could get here, everything would be fine...

Thoughts churned endlessly in her mind, like a tangled mess of thread.

Betty’s thoughts tried to convince her:

Maybe what Lady Pandora said was wrong. Maybe there was another way.

But her reason kept telling her—

Lady Pandora was right.