Once the surroundings grew silent, Edward once more checked with his aura to verify that no Bloodmaws had stayed behind. After being sure that the situation was as safe as it could be, he opened the door and descended the stairs to reach the library.

　　I`m so close now. I didn`t expect I would be able to sneak into the ruins on the first try. But I got lucky those Bloodmaws moved away. I have to make the most of this opportunity

　　Once at the bottom of the stairs and right at the entrance to the library, still bathed in red light, Edward hid behind the edging of the door. Or at least what was left of it after a Bloodmaw had charged right through it.

　　Shit, there are still a few monsters left inside! Would it have been too easy if I could simply go in and take the books I need? Those Bloodmaws don`t seem kind on leaving right now. One of them is even sleeping. With three of them inside there is no way I can fight them all, especially in a close space like that. And more of them can come at any time.

　　Okay, then a hit and run it is. I will have to be quick about it, I have one chance to pick the books I want, and then I will have to run. At least there shouldn`t be any Bloodmaws blocking the way out, they have all left to fight the wolves.

　　I can`t take too much time as the situation could change at any moment, but I have to choose the right books. Let`s see what are those books about, I need something that will seal those ruins or at least close the entrance. What do we have here? An introduction to magic. The Discovery of Yeni D黱ya by Aeghad, the renowned Explorer. A Research Paper on the most efficient way to explore new found worlds. The belief and cultures of the fairies.

　　Focus Edward, I can drop all the tomes about sociology and geography. The introduction to magic seems interesting, but I don`t think it will contain advanced magic powerful enough to seal something like the Bloodmaws, I should pick it up another time.

　　Edward continued to scan the books to see if he could find something more useful for his current objective.

　　Suddenly, he noticed that one of the Bloodmaw was walking lazily in his direction.

　　I have no time. This one, The usage of runes in formation, is the most relevant one I found until now. This will have to do. But this volume is stowed quite high, almost at the same height as the ceiling. I can`t reach it from here with a single teleportation, I will have to teleport a second time to get it.

　　The Bloodmaw was now close enough to see him, Edward teleported behind it, right in the middle of the library, and in front of the other two Bloodmaws, one of them still sleeping. For a fraction of a second, Edward and the Bloodmaw both locked eyes with each other.

　　At least Edward locked eyes with the several ocelli of the Bloodmaw, he was pretty sure he was losing the staring contest. The monster erupted in a furious roar, waking up the one next to him, and attracting others from deeper inside the ruins.

　　However, this gave Edward enough time to teleport once more, high up to the wall, near the book he wanted. He picked up the book he had spotted about runes and stored it inside his backpack. The monsters under him all gathered right below him, waiting for him to fall.

　　One of them even tried to jump to eat him alive. What the fuck!? This thing is jumping this high! It was only two meters away from catching me and I`m like six meters high.

　　Edward looked toward the entrance of the library, more Bloodmaws were coming.

　　I can`t stay here. It will only give them more time for their friends to come. I have an idea but I hope it works, it`s not the one I would have chosen if I had other options.

　　After one of the Bloodmaws fell back from its jump, Edward relinquished his holds, and let himself fall from the wall, right toward the waiting maws of the monsters under him. Just as he was about to get shred to pieces, he teleported sideways to avoid falling into their gullet.

　　However, as he preserved his momentum between teleportation, Edward still crashed to the floor. As his body was tougher since he became an Awaken, he managed to get back up with a grunt and only a few bruises instead of broken legs.

　　Damn, that hurt. I can`t believe this actually worked. That was completely bullocks, I could almost feel their hot breath on me, they were ready to turn me into minced meat. Can`t stop right now, though, I have to keep going.

　　Edward somehow broke into a run, the Bloodmaws hot on his heels. Luckily the other monsters outside were too far away to have heard the roars and they didn`t come back on their tracks to hunt him down.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

　　This time Edward hadn`t any lead on the Bloodmaws after him, and he hadn`t had the best start to begin his run, so he had to teleport as often as he could to avoid being caught up by the monsters after him.

　　Why am I always in a situation where I have to run away from monsters? Why can`t I have a simple solo fight against one of them, instead of having the whole pack chasing after me? Edward complained internally.

　　He quickly rushed outside the ruins, not having the time nor the opportunity to hide away from the Bloodmaws.

　　Once in the forest, he slalomed crazily between trees, using his teleportation to make the monsters after him lose visual contact. This seemed to work as the distance between them was increasing, the Bloodmaws needed time to adjust their trajectory to run after him as Edward wasn`t teleporting in a straight line. Comparatively, the Bloodmaws were slightly faster than Edward, but in this environment full of obstacles, and with the added random teleportation from Edward, he was able to slowly lose them.

　　Once his lead was big enough, Edward teleported high up behind a tree trunk, holding it with his arms and legs to avoid falling. The Bloodmaws rushed past him before turning around in hope of finding him back. However, Edward had already teleported once more, this time higher in the tree canopy, hiding him from sight. He was safe at last.

　　Edward took some time to rest, he had been really closed to death this time. He had to run away, while the Bloodmaws were right next to him.

　　I swear this life will get me to kill at some point. When was the last time I was in real danger on Earth?

　　But even though there is danger, this life has meaning to it. I feel alive here. Okay, I did take some risks but it is to save people. If that`s not a good reason, I don`t know what is.

　　Once the tension and the stresses of the run faded, Edward pondered about how to proceed from this point onward.

　　Getting a few more books is tempting since I`m right next to the ruins but this time it really is too dangerous to sneak back in the library. If I die right now, the book won`t make it to Agripin, and there will be no one able to read it either way, as it is written in Damkinan.

　　I should go back to the village first, and see what we can learn out of this tome. If it doesn`t contain what we need, I hope it will at least help me to get stronger. Seeing what happened today I don`t have the confidence I will manage to sneak into Oshle Tirion in a reliable way.

　　Edward noticed that the Bloodmaws were still around searching for him. He heaved a sigh.

　　I will have to leave the same way as when I arrived, teleporting between trees to avoid being spotted.

　　***

　　Edward was exhausted when he reached Agripin. He hadn`t had any more troubles on the way back, managing to avoid the Bloodmaws. However, he had been outside for the whole day and night, without much rest and sleep. He couldn`t waste time, as the Bloodmaws were getting closer and closer to the village. It wasn`t the first time that he did the trip to the ruins, and each time, he had to stay hidden longer, as the presence of the monsters grew.

　　Balin spotted him as he left Vipin Forest. Balin actually left his post, jumping directly from the wall, using a forward roll to dampen the impact. He ran to join him and escort him to the village.

　　"Are you alright? No injuries?" Balin asked worriedly.

　　"I`m fine, it got too close to my liking, but I managed to get out without injuries, I just have a few bruises." Edward answered, feeling the weight of fatigue on his shoulders.

　　"That`s great. So, does this mean you succeeded, you actually managed to find a way to seal the ruins?" Balin inquired, his hope rising.

　　"Well¬ exactly. I managed to find a tome about the usage of runes in magic. I don`t know yet if it will enable us to seal the ruins, I didn`t have the time to read it yet. How is it going from your side? You managed to reinforce Agripin`s defenses?"

　　Balin winced. "It`s going slower than I would like. Some of the villagers, mostly Carlson and his clique are complaining a lot. They are arguing that improving the defenses is costing them a lot, that they are not at fault and shouldn`t carry the financial burden."

　　Edward stopped surprised by the news. "Do they not understand that it is the only way to keep themselves safe? If the Bloodmaws manage to go inside the village we won`t be able to protect everyone."

　　"I know that very well," Balin answered in a dry tone. "But it seems they don`t. Some of them haven`t seen a living monster in their whole life, and they think the stories are exaggerated, with adventures and guards adorning the stories to get attention. I must say, that I myself haven`t seen those Bloodmaws yet, and knowing they are strong enough to match an Awaken, and seeing it by oneself are too different things."

　　Edward laughed without joy. "Oh, they are not the brightest, but I guarantee you that their strength makes up for it."

　　"You got me curious, and at the same time, I`m not in a hurry to meet one."

　　"They will reach Agripin soon enough, they are getting closer each time I`m traveling to Oshle Tirion."

　　"Did they follow you?" Balin asked worriedly.

　　"No, I managed to shake them off after leaving the ruins. Caspian was afraid than by fighting them, more of them would come out. However, it seems local monsters are already managing that feat without our help. I only managed to sneak inside the library, because of the distraction caused by a fight between dark wolves and Bloodmaws."

　　Edward sighed. "More Bloodmaws are coming out of the ruins each day. We have to stop it soon, otherwise, there will be too numerous to handle. I`m not sure I will even be able to reach the ruins anymore if there are too many of them. I can teleport only so often, it`s a trump card, not something that I can use continuously, I can`t avoid all of them at the same time if they go after me." Edward explained.

　　"I see&Yes, the sooner we settle this situation the better, but the situation might not be as grim as you think. Sometimes fatigue affect our mind, you should go get some rest. After that, we will see what the book you found can offer us. You did good today."