Farewell to the hero! chapter 59

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Our only weapon was the dagger.

However, piercing Morhan’s tough hide and breaking its core with just a dagger seemed impossible.

Considering the dagger’s short reach, we would undoubtedly fall victim to its other tails, which could change length at will, long before we even touched its core.

Hmm.

I strained my exhausted mind, still reeling from all the running.

At this rate, the best we could do was to flee while Daniel delivered a critical blow to Morhan to distract it.

Even that would be extremely risky.

Even if we managed to escape, I could already foresee a future where Morhan, recovered and enraged, would soon catch up to us.

“Daniel, listen.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“I don’t think Morhan is a poison-type monster.”

I removed my hand from over my wound and showed it to him.

Daniel’s brow furrowed deeply.

“You’re injured?”

“Yes, a bit.”

“I’ll stop the bleeding immediately.”

Daniel tore off a part of his shirt sleeve and wrapped it around my wound.

But since the cut was so deep, the white cloth turned crimson the moment it touched my skin.

Blood seeped through, staining the makIsaft bandage.

I glanced at the blood dripping down my arm and continued talking.

“Anyway, back to the point: Mother was a poison-type, so any tree or stone she touched would rot and crumble. But Morhan doesn’t seem to have that poison attribute, as it hasn’t damaged the surrounding terrain.”

To illustrate my point, I gestured toward the piles of rocks that Morhan’s tails had left behind.

If it had been Mother instead of Morhan, those rocks would have rotted to dust by now.

The fact that these piles remain intact suggests we could physically block Morhan.

“If Morhan bites into something solid like that, maybe we can buy some time before the rock breaks.”

I tapped a boulder nearby for emphasis.

The idea was to create a scenario where Morhan’s movement would be hindered, giving us a chance to aim for its core, not its tails.

Daniel’s gaze lowered as he mulled over my suggestion.

Then he raised his head, his black eyes glinting with renewed determination.

“Do you have a plan?”

“A plan… Not exactly.”

“Then?”

His questioning eyes fixed on me.

“Well, there’s no solid plan, but I think we should try what we did before.”

I shrugged, aware of how irresponsible my words sounded.

“I’ll act as bait. Daniel, you go for Morhan’s core in the meantime. If you can, cut down some of the tails too.”

When Daniel’s sword almost severed one of its tails, the creature’s reaction had been engraved in my mind.

This was still a gamble, but it seemed that if one of Morhan’s tails was injured, it couldn’t move that tail.

To immobilize its core, we would need to compromise the tails’ condition.

“It’s too dangerous. You’re already hurt.”

“It’s not like we can make it back to camp in this state anyway.”

I gave Daniel a faint smile as he looked at me with concern.

“If it’s just you, you could make it out on your own. Morhan’s interest in us has waned by now.”

“And what about you?”

“Most likely, I’d die.”

Despite talking about his own death, Daniel didn’t hesitate for a second. I suppressed a laugh.

“That’s why I’m not going.”

I declared it firmly.

With Daniel’s sprained ankle, he had no chance of surviving alone.

Even if I somehow made it out alone, I’d be left with an unbearable sense of guilt.

That was something I just couldn’t live with.

“Whether we live or die, we do it together.”

I lifted the corners of my mouth, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

“We’re comrades, after all.”

As I added a final note, Daniel’s expression momentarily stiffened.

After a pause, he blinked, then let out a soft chuckle, echoing my sentiment without words.

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Once Daniel knew what he had to do, he charged toward Morhan.

While he went after its tails, I planned to lure the rest of them away.

I dodged the attacking tails as best I could, gradually closing the distance between myself and Morhan’s original position.

Moving wasn’t as easy as before, but I gritted my teeth and pushed on.

Yet with my now significantly slower pace, completely evading the tails was impossible.

“Ugh!”

Eventually, one tail caught my leg, tripping me and sending me tumbling.

The fresh pain from an old scrape flared up as I fell along the slope on the way to our meeting spot.

I furrowed my brows at the intense sting.

I still had to make it to the agreed location.

Feeling uneasy about the disruption to our plan, I brushed off the dirt and started to get up when I spotted Daniel.

“…Huh.”

The sight of Daniel’s back, with his black hair in front of me, made me freeze.

I double-checked our surroundings.

This wasn’t the rendezvous point, so why was Daniel here when he was supposed to be dealing with Morhan’s core?

There wasn’t much time to think.

If Daniel was here, that meant Morhan was here too.

When I saw Morhan facing Daniel, I realized our plan had fallen apart.

Given our limited preparation time, I should have anticipated more flaws.

I chastised myself for not planning more meticulously.

Just then, as I was biting the inside of my cheek in frustration, one of Morhan’s tails took advantage of Daniel’s momentary lapse in attention, aiming to strike his back.

The tail shot downwards, targeting his chest.

There was no way I could reach him in time.

“Daniel!”

I shouted, panic overtaking my voice.

At that exact moment, someone behind me hurled a longsword.

The sword sliced through the air and impaled the tail about to strike Daniel, pinning it to the ground.

“Foolish.”

Then, that someone wrapped their arm around my shoulder.

The firm pressure on my wounded shoulder made the pain flare up again.

“If you shout, the monster’s attention turns to you, Isa. Even if everyone else dies, you’re the one who has to survive.”

Just as I grimaced at the sharp ache, a familiar voice murmured in my ear.

My head snapped up in surprise, meeting Kaindel’s gaze.

With his tousled blond hair and that faint, almost unsettling smirk, he didn’t even try to mask his displeasure.

I stared at Kaindel, caught off guard by his prickly demeanor, and opened my mouth a beat late.

“When did you get here?”

“Bow your head.”

Instead of answering, Kaindel gave an unexpected command.

Confused, I did as he said, bowing my head just in time for a tail to whip past, grazing my hair.

Had I stayed put, it would have been a fatal blow.

I took a shaky breath, realizing how close I’d come to death.

I hadn’t even known that tail was aimed at me, so I hadn’t thought to dodge.

Realizing just how close I’d come made my heart pound.

“Thank you.” I lowered my voice, barely managing to get the words out, and Kaindel’s grin widened.

His half-closed eyes looked like those of a satisfied predator.

“Oh, no need for thanks,” he replied playfully, as if our past squabbles had never happened.

He seemed completely at ease.

Had I been the only one dwelling on it all this time?

I felt a bit embarrassed.

Clearing my throat, I shifted the topic.

“By the way, how did you know to come?”

“I was on my way back after scouting the area when I sensed something odd.”

Finally, it made sense why Kaindel was here.

He must’ve been with Sehir when he noticed something amiss and came to check it out.

If Kaindel hadn’t been around, things could have gone very wrong, so I was grateful he’d been nearby.

With a relieved sigh, I focused my gaze on the tail that was still struggling to free itself from Kaindel’s sword.

Morhan was visibly agitated, just as I had expected when his tail was injured.

The eyes that gleamed with raw hunger now flickered nervously over something as trivial as a wounded tail.

His vertically slit pupils contracted sharply.

It seemed Morhan’s weak spot really was his tail.

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