Miri and Anne ran as fast as they could as the chimeragon was quickly chasing from behind, roaring and snarling and baaing and hissing from its various animal heads. They passed through multiple rooms and corridors, turning one corner after another to try to lose the beast.

  During the chase, the chimeragon would try to fire a couple of magical projectiles out of its mouth to try to hit them and possibly slow them down. Each head was capable of firing a projectile of a different type out of their mouths—the dragon head was able to shoot out fireballs, the lion head was able to shoot out lightning bolts, and the goat head was able to shoot out ice blasts.

  While these magical projectiles were quite a nuisance, both Miri and Anne were able to avoid them by the skin of their teeth as they ran, each using their own unique method of doing so. Miri was able to use Traversing Wind to teleport away from the projectiles while Anne was able to use Protective Ward to block the projectiles.

  They’d prefer not to use those spells too often though as they used up a lot of mana and they don’t have the luxury of slowing down just to drink mana potions. And good luck trying to drink while running at full speed, you’d just run the risk of choking and coughing and end up only swallowing just a portion of it. Not exactly a very effective tactic.

  So far, the two women were able to keep the creature away at a safe distance. However, no matter how fast they tried to run, the chimeragon seemed to always be just a bit faster, not letting up on its pursuit. Sooner or later, the two adventurers are going to be out of breath and the creature is going to catch up to them.

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  The chase soon led them to a large, derelict library. While running across a pathway surrounded by old, abandoned bookshelves, Anne accidentally tripped and fell, giving just enough time for the chimeragon to approach.

  “Anne!” Miri yelled, turning to check on her companion.

  The beast lunged towards the cleric, its sharp claws extended outward. However, right as it was about to attack, Anne put up a Protective Ward just in time to block the attack. As a result, the creature collided with the surface of the ward before recoiling back, becoming slightly stunned. At the same time, the force of the collision was so powerful that it left a web of cracks on the ward itself, indicating that its defense was weakening and that it might not be able to take another hit.

  Realizing that, Miri quickly grabbed Anne and used Traversing Wind to teleport the two of them away from the beast, right as it was about to lunge at them with another swing of its massive, deadly lion claws. With a swirl of light-green wind around them, Miri and Anne reappeared about twenty meters away from the chimeragon, both of which were facing each other inside the large library.

  After taking a brief moment to drink a mana potion, Miri scanned around her to see if there’s any exit she and Anne could take. Behind her, there were two wooden doors, one on the left and one on the right.

  After making a quick decision in the heat of the moment, Miri grabbed Anne’s hand and pulled her to the right exit. However, before they were able to reach it, the chimeragon’s dragon-head shot a large fireball at that exit, engulfing the door in flames and preventing it from being accessed. Miri and Anne then quickly turned to the left exit, but the chimeragon’s goat-head was able to shoot out a beam of ice at that door, sealing it shut with a thick layer of encrusted ice, preventing it from being accessed as well.

  With both exits sealed off, Miri and Anne were now truly trapped and cornered—forced to face the large, dangerous beast in front of them.