Master Of Astral Summoner-Chapter 186: Break the Cage Before It Breaks Us

"Damn it, I need to pull Theo out of here—fast."

Shaan dragged Theo's body with all his strength, inching closer to the exit. Just as they almost made it out, the creature lunged and clamped its jaws onto Theo's shoe, holding him back inside the room.

'Argh, you damn monster! Let go of him!'

Shaan yanked Theo again and again until it finally lost its grip. While it kept tearing at Theo's shoe, Shaan rushed to the door and slammed it shut. He grabbed a wooden beam nearby and jammed it tightly against the door.

"Finally." Shaan let out a long sigh. "At least that should hold it off for a while."

"W-what… the hell is going on here?"

"Theo?" Shaan immediately rushed over to Theo. "Thank goodness you're awake."

"Hey, Weakling… where are we?" Theo looked around. "Did we get out of that place? Where's the monster that chased us?"

"We're back in the corridor," Shaan said with a firm nod. "Yeah, we got out. I locked that thing inside the room."

Theo stayed quiet for a moment, then smirked. "Heh… looks like you're stronger than I thought. You actually dragged me out of there. Good."

"I told you. I'm not as weak as you think, right?" Shaan smiled, then started walking. "Come on, we have to get out of here before that thing catches up to us. You can still walk, right?"

"Of course. I'm not a weak man." Theo slowly stood up and followed Shaan. "See, I'm fine with—uh, wait a second."

"What's wrong?"

"My shoe. Where's my shoe?" Theo looked confused. "Why is there only one on my foot?"

"Ah… about that." Shaan scratched his head. "That thing took it."

"W-wait, what?" Theo's eyes widened, his face tensing. "How could that happen?"

"I'll explain later," Shaan said as he kept moving. "That wooden beam won't hold it for long. We need to check every door before that thing breaks through."

"In that case, I don't need this anymore." Theo kicked off his remaining shoe and tossed it aside. "This just slows me down."

They quickly moved from one door to another. One… two… they checked each room, but they found no sign of Nalira or Chelsie. When they reached the third door, Shaan suddenly stopped. At a glance, Shaan felt certain the person locked inside the room might be Nalira. The long blonde hair matched her exactly. However, the figure kept her head lowered, so Shaan couldn't confirm it exactly.

"Nalira," Shaan called out to the figure in a loud voice. "Hey, Nalira. Wake up. It's me, Shaan."

The figure slowly raised her head, and unfortunately, Shaan's guess was wrong. It wasn't Nalira, but another participant just like them. Damn. He had been so optimistic earlier that it was Nalira. Slowly, His hope began to crumble, and doubt crept into his mind.

'Is it possible that I'll never meet—'

"…Shaan?" a faint voice called from another door. "Is that you?"

'Na-nalira'

Shaan froze. He recognized that voice immediately. Without waiting a moment, he immediately rushed toward the voice, which turned out to be coming from the fourth door, from where Shaan and Theo had been standing right now.

"Nalira, thank goodness you're okay," Shaan said with relief. "Where's Chelsie? Are you with her?"

Nalira shook her head. "…No. I'm not with her. I don't know where she is."

'Damn it… where are they keeping Chelsie?' 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Hey, weakling. Hurry up." Theo looked around. "Remember, we're running out of time."

"Ah, okay." Shaan nodded. "Nalira, I promise I'll get you out of here as soon as possible. Hang in there."

Shaan tried to open the cell door with all his might, but it wouldn't budge at all. He even kicked the door repeatedly, but to no avail. The door wouldn't open even a crack. Damn. How was he going to get Nalira out of here now?

"…Shann, enough. The door isn't going to open at all."

"No. There must be another way to open this door," Shaan kept turning the doorknob over and over. "Argh, damn it! Why won't it open?!"

"Hey, weakling. Look at that." Theo tapped Shaan's shoulder and pointed above the door. "See? This door looks different from ours. We need to shut off that light. Maybe that will open it."

"Good catch, Theo." Shaan nodded quickly and looked around. "There must be a lever or something. I just need to follow these cables, and maybe I can find the lever," he said with determination. "Wait here. I'll be back.

Shaan quickly followed the cable until it led him behind a pillar. Just as he expected, he found an iron lever connected to all the doors in the room.

"Yes… this is it." Shaan smiled in satisfaction. "I just need to pull this lever, and I can save Nalira."

He grabbed the lever and pulled with all his strength—but it didn't move at all. Thick rust covered its surface, making it hard to budge. No matter how many times he tried, it stayed stuck. He called Theo over, hoping this time they could move it.

"On the count of three, we'll both pull the lever with all our might," said Shaan, gripping the lever tightly. "Ready. I'll start counting from—"

"Ah, you're too slow."

Theo stepped in and yanked the lever down first. This time, it moved. A deep vibration rumbled through the entire room. The indicator lights above each door flickered, then turned red. Within seconds, every door swung open at once.

"Theo, that was a great—"

"Save it." Theo walked past him. "We don't have time to celebrate. Move. We need to get your friend before that thing comes back and kills us."

"O..okay, I get it."

They immediately walked back to the front of Nalira's cell and saw that Nalira was already standing there. Without waiting long, Shaan went straight up to Nalira and tried to find out how Chelsie was doing.

"Nalira."

"…Shaan?" Nalira turned around, seeing Shaan running toward her. "Thank goodness, you didn't—" Nalira's expression changed instantly when she saw Theo walking not far behind Shaan. "Why is that troublemaker with you?"

"Hey, watch your mouth. I'm not causing any trouble at all." Theo protested.

"Never mind that. Where is—"

"CRAASH!"