The Dragon’s Ambush and a Leap of Faith

“A vibration?”

Rachel was visibly startled when Miriam spoke.

‘A vibration? Where could it be coming from?’

The surroundings remained utterly still, with no unusual sounds to be heard. Rachel glanced at Vera beside her, only to see a bewildered expression on her face, clearly as puzzled as Rachel about the ‘vibration’ Miriam had just mentioned.

‘It seems my own senses aren’t at fault, so the issue must lie with Miriam,’ Rachel mused. ‘Could it be that I pushed her too hard earlier, causing her to become overly stressed and hallucinate?’

A pang of guilt struck Rachel. Taking two steps forward, she intended to offer a few comforting words, hoping to calm Miriam.

Before Rachel could utter a sound, Miriam stumbled back two steps, her voice trembling, her wide eyes filled with an expression of sheer terror.

“Something, something is approaching! Those are its footsteps! It’s getting closer!”

“Miriam? What are you talking about?”

Rachel couldn’t help but ask, but Miriam abruptly lunged forward, seizing Rachel’s hand.

“My Lady! We must leave this place! It—”

Boom!

A violent explosion cut Miriam short. A massive shockwave surged from one side, causing the entire rock face to collapse, revealing a colossal entity lurking behind the fallen wall!

“Wh-what is this!?”

“A dragon!?”

Rachel and Vera froze in disbelief, unable to trust their own eyes.

Standing before the three of them was a black dragon-human, a monstrous hybrid possessing both human and draconic features. Its immense body was covered in hard scales, its hands and feet tipped with sharp claws, and a pair of wings and a long tail sprouted from its back. Its serpentine, golden vertical pupils constantly shifted, scanning the three individuals before it. With every breath, sparks of fire flickered from the corners of its mouth, starkly visible in the oppressive darkness.

It was as if a creature from ancient myths had stepped into their reality, emanating an aura of dread that seemed to transcend time itself. Before it, Rachel and her companions felt utterly insignificant, like mere insects awaiting their doom.

Thump!

With another dull thud, the dragon-human swung its razor-sharp claws at a speed too swift for the eye to follow! Rachel, facing the creature head-on, had no time to react. Fortunately, Vera, with lightning-fast reflexes, yanked Rachel aside, saving her from the grim fate of being torn in half.

Miriam, on the other hand, had anticipated the danger. Ducking low, she scrambled on all fours to the dragon-human’s feet, then bolted towards its rear.

“Run behind it!”

Vera instantly grasped Miriam’s strategy. This monster had literally torn through the mountain to ambush them. Rather than confront the dragon-human in this constricted passage, it was far wiser to flee into the wider, dark tunnel it had just created, where a slim chance of survival might exist.

Without hesitation, Vera hoisted Rachel onto her shoulder, simultaneously twisting her body to evade the dragon-human’s second claw strike, and plunged into the dark, expansive passage behind the creature.

Almost simultaneously, a resounding draconic roar echoed through the air. The dragon-human’s immense body pivoted with astonishing agility, turning on the spot, and immediately gave chase!

“Miriam!!! Explain to me why a dragon burst out of this mine!”

“I don’t know, My Lady!” Miriam wailed, on the verge of tears. “If I had known, I would never have come here in the first place!”

“How could you not know!?” Rachel retorted, furious. “You were the only one of us three who heard it coming!”

“That’s because I have good hearing! It’s not a crime to have good hearing, is it?!”

“Um, Lady Rachel…”

Just as Rachel and Miriam were in the midst of their heated exchange, Vera, who was carrying Rachel, spoke up softly.

“What is it?!”

Rachel continued to shout.

“Lady Rachel, there’s no way forward…”

“Huh?!”

The trio came to an abrupt halt. By the faint glow of their light, Rachel could discern that the passage, forcibly excavated by the dragon-human, abruptly ended, bending ninety degrees downwards into a perfectly vertical hole in the ground. Due to the dim light, Rachel couldn’t gauge the depth of the chasm at all.

“That dragon-human actually climbed up from here, it’s truly a monster…”

“Never mind if it’s a monster or not! Just think about where we’re going to escape!”

Miriam stomped her feet in agitation, momentarily forgetting to address Rachel with her usual respect.

“That dragon-human will be upon us any second!”

Behind them, heavy footsteps continuously resounded, signaling the dragon-human’s relentless approach. Rachel suddenly understood. Preoccupied with escape, she hadn’t considered why the dragon-human hadn’t pursued them more quickly, despite its movements suggesting considerable speed.

It now seemed that the dragon-human had anticipated their current predicament, leisurely trailing behind them like a seasoned hunter, with Rachel and her companions as unwitting prey who had willingly stumbled into a trap.

“My Lady!”

“My Lady!”

Miriam and Vera’s urgent cries snapped Rachel back to reality. In the oppressive darkness, Rachel met Miriam’s and Vera’s gazes. Their eyes, filled with a mixture of fear and resolve, were fixed on her, awaiting her decision.

Before them lay a chasm of unknown depth; a leap might result in a minor injury or complete annihilation. Behind them, the menacing dragon-human loomed, its eyes glinting. A desperate fight might offer a faint flicker of hope.

The choices were stark, and the outcomes equally so: life or death.

Rachel was suddenly overwhelmed by a pressure she had never before experienced—the crushing weight of responsibility. Her single decision would no longer merely affect her own survival but would determine the fate of all three of them.

From the day Rachel realized she had transmigrated into a noble, she had vaguely sensed that she might face a situation like this. Yet, she had never imagined this agonizing dilemma would arrive so abruptly, leaving her utterly unprepared.

Under Miriam’s and Vera’s anxious gazes, Rachel drew a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.

Behind them, the dragon-human’s footsteps grew ever closer; Rachel could even hear its excited, low growl.

Moments later, Rachel’s eyes snapped open, her gaze devoid of any hesitation.

“We’re going down!”

Rachel declared in a firm voice.

“Down?” Miriam instantly panicked. “But what if—”

“There is no ‘what if.’ Only by jumping down can we survive.”

Rachel cut Miriam off, her expression resolute.

“Miriam, and Vera, this is an order.”

As she spoke, Rachel unceremoniously seized Vera’s and Miriam’s hands, then lunged forward.

“Wait, ah—!!”

Unprepared, Miriam stumbled as Rachel pulled her, and together with Rachel and Vera, she plunged into the abyssal darkness of the hole.