Chapter 62: It was better to die trying than to die without even daring to try

Vincent experienced something similar to Liliana. He stared at his right foot, which felt as though it were stepping on something.

"A stone?" Vincent asked quietly. "Just a stone?" he asked again, his tone disbelieving.

He picked it up briefly and examined it, making sure it was truly the object that had been calling to him all this time.

The object looked ordinary—gray, rough, no different from the other rocks scattered throughout the forest.

His hand moved to lift the stone once more to confirm it once and for all.

He swallowed hard, then looked at Liliana, who was now holding the damaged book.

Liliana and he were both holding useless items. If the academy students found out that someone as arrogant as him had been called by a river stone, he was certain he would become a laughingstock—even among his own pack.

"Damn it... it seems she and I really are destined by the Moon Goddess."

Vincent slipped the stone into his pocket without giving it any further thought. He truly did not consider it anything important.

Liliana, finished inspecting the book in her hands, walked toward Vincent.

"Let’s go back. I’ve already taken the item," Liliana said as she put the book into her backpack.

Vincent looked at Liliana’s brightly smiling face.

"Are you that happy with that damaged thing? Has Pack Draven never given you anything decent?" he asked, frowning.

"You don’t know anything," Liliana replied. "Come on, let’s go back. We still have to find Cassian."

"Tch..."

Vincent clicked his tongue in irritation and quickly walked out of the cave with Liliana.

But the moment they reached the cave entrance, both of them froze.

The river water that had receded earlier had now reached the mouth of the cave. And the current was extremely strong.

It was clear that if they tried to swim across the river and return to the other side, they would be swept away by the current.

Liliana and Vincent looked at each other.

In an instant, the river water began rising into the cave.

"Vincent... what should we do?"

Vincent did not answer right away. His eyes fixed on the flow of water entering the cave where they stood.

The water level kept rising. Yet even so, the water could not reach the center of the cave—the place where they had taken the treasures earlier.

"We retreat to the center of the cave first. It’s safe there. The current outside is far stronger than what’s in here. We could die if we try to fight it."

Liliana nodded and followed Vincent to the middle of the cave.

The water continued to rise rapidly with time. In just a few minutes, the entire cave—except for the central area where they had taken the valuable items—was submerged all the way to the ceiling.

Without realizing it, Liliana moved closer to Vincent and grasped his arm. Her instincts told her that staying by his side would keep her safe.

Vincent stared at the water in front of him that could not enter the center of the cave. It was as if they were being protected by a force that guarded the items around them.

"Wait until the water level drops. We’ll rest here for the night."

"Mm..." Liliana answered.

In the end, both of them stepped back and sat in the middle of the cave, watching the current that remained fierce even though the cave was almost completely filled with water.

Liliana took out a resin lamp from her bag as the surroundings grew dark.

"Sleep," Vincent said as he shifted into his wolf form. "This will take a long time. The water might not recede until morning."

"All right," Liliana replied, immediately transforming into a wolf as well, following Vincent.

Yet even after both of them had shifted into wolves, neither of them dared to sleep—not even when morning arrived.

Vincent finally rose from his position when he realized the water in front of them had not decreased at all; instead, the current felt even stronger.

He paced back and forth beside Liliana. He had never faced a problem like this before.

"Vincent..." Liliana called after a while.

"What is it?"

"Look at this."

Vincent immediately moved closer to Liliana and looked down at what she was pointing at.

His expression froze. Panic was clearly written on his face.

"Vincent, this barrier won’t be able to hold the pressure of this water any longer. We have to get out of here right now. Whether it kills us or not—at least we have to try."

Vincent clenched his teeth. His fingers tightly intertwined.

His decision yesterday to have Liliana retreat here had been wrong.

Completely wrong.

He swallowed slowly and stared at the crack in the corner of the barrier that was growing wider.

He tried to push his hand past the protective wall.

"Argh!"

Vincent cried out as his hand began to be pulled by the current.

Liliana moved quickly and pulled Vincent back into the protective space.

"Are you all right?"

Vincent shook his head in reply.

"This barrier keeps the water from coming in, but it doesn’t stop us from going out."

He took a deep breath.

"We have to get out now. Use our wolf forms. At least they’ll be much stronger than our human forms," Vincent said after a moment.

Liliana looked at him hesitantly, but finally gave in and nodded.

It was better to die trying than to die without even daring to try.

They both nodded quickly and shifted into wolves.

"Don’t stray too far from me. I won’t be able to help you if something happens while you’re far away."

Liliana nodded in understanding.

Splash!

Vincent plunged into the water, followed by Liliana.

The water pressure around them was still extremely high, forcing them not to keep their eyes open for long.

They held their breath and began moving their bodies against the current that tried to push them toward the bottom.

Their movements were very fast, even as wounds began to appear on their bodies.

"Liliana!" Vincent shouted in wolf speech the moment Liliana started being carried away by the fierce river current as they exited the cave.

Liliana shook her head.

Her body kept moving, trying to reach the surface.

Her vision grew slightly blurred. The wounds on her body multiplied even as her silver wolf power continuously tried to heal them.

But the river current was too strong.

Her movements grew weaker.

This time, Liliana felt that death was truly standing right before her.