Which meant that all she could do was watch out for signs that an enemy was approaching, keep her distance, and flee. She was on edge because she was keenly aware of this fact, and it sapped her mental strength even more than normal.
Her original plan was to make it to the outside, which meant she would escape with a ‘Flight’ spell. But once she flew above the trees, she saw a gigantic flying creature in the sky which seemed to be searching for something, so she abandoned that plan.
After she confirmed the presence of the giant bat, she could not find it in herself to try and turn it into a contest of speed. That was because even though ‘Invisibility’ could fool visual senses, it could not deceive the special sensory organs of a bat.
After confirming her surroundings were safe, Arche once more flew up at a snail’s pace.
She was proceeding as slowly as possible with her ‘Flight’ spell because she wanted to observe her surroundings. If she went at full speed, she would not be able to react quickly enough even if she were on alert and spotted a threat, and that would mean she would be leaping into the mouth of any monsters which pursued her. In order to avoid this, she deliberately lowered her speed.
Finally, Arche felt the layer of magic energy surrounding her growing thin. Her flight spell was about to run out.
She slowly descended to the ground.
The question now was what should she do. Casting ‘Flight’ again would not be a problem. She could feel that she had enough mana for it. However, ‘Darkvision’ was also a crucial spell, and she also had to reserve enough mana for defensive spells in case of combat.
The 3rd tier spell ‘Flight’ was one of the highest-ranked spells Arche knew how to use. Which also meant that it was one of the most draining spells she had. If possible, she wanted to avoid using it.
Ignoring the present circumstances, even she did not know how long it would take to get out of this forest without the use of spells that would stave off her fatigue. And without the ability to fly, she could not even confirm her current location.
On the way here, Arche had occasionally risen above the forest canopy and used the big tree beside the coliseum as a landmark. If she stayed in the forest, she could not spot the big tree, and she was not able to climb trees either.
“—Where can I rest…”
Arche mumbled to herself.
If she restored her mana through sleep, she could use ‘Flight’ more often, and movement under the sun would be safer. This was particularly true for the forest, where the monsters tended to come up at night.
It might be better for her to curl up somewhere and wait for day to break, rather than force herself to carry on in the dark forest.
But Arche had no idea where the safe places were.
If Imina were here, she would probably know. And if Roberdyck or Hekkeran were around, she could rest easily even in dangerous areas. However, her reliable companions were not with her.
“Imina, Roberdyck—”
Arche curled up beside a huge tree, and thought of her comrades.
“—Liars.”
There had been no word from them after so long.
As expected, they had not been able to escape.
No, that was something she had known from the beginning. There was no way they could beat the ridiculous entity known as Ainz. Even so, was she a fool for holding on to the faint hope of seeing them again?
Arche sat on the ground, leaned her back on the great tree, and closed her eyes. She knew it was dangerous, but she still wanted to close her eyes.
As the memory of the three of them came to mind, she squeezed her eyelids shut.
The icy-cool sensation of the wood against her head was very comfortable. It was only after she had rested for a while that she realized just how tired she had been. Her stress turned into emotional exhaustion, and it rose without stopping.
“—Haaaaa…”
She let her head rest against the tree.
And then she opened her eyes wide.
‘Darkvision’ painted the world of night in fresh, bright colors, but she had no explanation for what she saw in her field of vision.
Someone was watching Arche.
It was like nothing Arche had ever seen before, and her eyes seemed transfixed on the sight of the beautiful girl.
She was dressed in a velvet-soft ball gown dyed in the darkest shade of black, a garment that seemed thoroughly unsuited for her present environment. Her skin was as pale as wax. A single hand stroked her long, platinum hair, which seemed about to brush across Arche’s face.
Though she was a noble daughter, Arche had never seen a girl this beautiful before. If she were to show up at a formal dance, men would flock to her like moths to a flame, purely on the virtue of her beauty. Her crimson pupils radiated an irresistible charm that seemed to draw Arche’s soul into them.
But Arche immediately returned to her senses. There was no way someone like that would be in a place like this. Especially not someone with both feet on the tree trunk, standing parallel to the ground in utter defiance of gravity.
It was obvious that this was a pursuer sent by Ainz. Still, it was not completely impossible that she might have been a resident in the forest for a long time.
“Tag. You’re it.”
Her fleeting hopes had been utterly dashed.
“—A pursuer.”
Arche leapt away to open up a gap, targeting the girl with her staff. The girl seemed disinterested in Arche, and neatly walked down the tree trunk and onto the floor.
“It won’t be fun if you don’t run~”
“—if I defeat you here, I can flee more safely.”
Even as she said this, Arche smiled bitterly in her heart. There was no way she could beat any pursuer sent by Ainz, a being who existed outside the bounds of common sense.
Knowing this, the reason why she said so was to gauge the other party’s reaction.
“Then, by all means, although I can only play with you for a while.”
Her attitude said that she completely understood the difference in power between the two of them. Which was to say, if she fought Arche, she would not be playing around at all.
“—「Flight」!”