* * *
Kaindel pulled the sword from the ground, wiping off the viscous secretion clinging to the blade before addressing me.
“Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“Go to the campsite and bring the others.”
“Me?”
Daniel, who was walking towards us, questioned Kaindel’s choice with a surprised look.
His gaze shifted from me to Kaindel, puzzled by why he had been chosen over me.
I, too, was curious, so I silently observed Kaindel.
Keeping Daniel, who was more capable in a fight, would make more sense.
Is it because Daniel injured his ankle?
As I quietly pondered, Daniel nodded without further questioning.
Kaindel’s silent decisiveness seemed to be enough of an answer.
“Understood. I’ll be back soon.”
With a slight limp, Daniel quickly walked away, his black hair disappearing from sight.
I watched until he was out of view, then turned to Kaindel.
“Kaindel.”
“Shh. You’re hurt. Don’t talk, just stay still.”
“…How can you handle this alone?”
I pushed away his hand that gently brushed my back.
Even in the dim light, Kaindel had noticed my injury, evident from the blood staining his hand.
He must have felt it when he gripped my shoulder earlier.
Kaindel’s expression brightened as he looked down at me with concern.
“Well, what should we do?”
“Morhan might not be as strong as Mother, but he’s still a high-ranking monster. His regeneration is slower, but his speed is terrifying.”
“It’s fine. I’ve dealt with plenty of monsters like him before.”
“I’m not joking right now.”
“Neither am I.”
Even when Daniel and I fought together, getting close to Morhan was no easy feat.
Kaindel facing him alone seemed reckless.
No matter how skilled he was, being outnumbered by the tails and young monsters would be tough.
When I murmured his name as a warning, Kaindel chuckled lowly.
Soon, the smile faded slightly from his face.
“Why did you put yourself in danger? Is Daniel that important to you?”
“Daniel is a comrade. Besides, I trusted my speed.”
“This time, it’s about a comrade.”
“What?”
“Nothing. More importantly, Isa.”
Kaindel, keeping his eyes fixed on Morhan, who was now fully recovered, continued.
“Stay put while I handle this.”
“…”
“I have something to say later.”
With those words, Kaindel charged into the fray, slicing through the attacking tails as he advanced toward Morhan without hesitation.
Watching Kaindel move fluidly, wielding his sword with precision, I bit my lower lip.
Just standing by, watching Kaindel fight Morhan, made me uneasy.
I wanted to help somehow.
What should I do?
While racking my brain, I suddenly remembered the dagger in my possession.
Instinctively, I knew what I had to do.
“Kaindel! Duck!”
He immediately crouched, and at the same moment, I hurled the dagger at Morhan’s eye.
The dagger arced through the air, striking its target dead center in Morhan’s right eye.
Yes!
I silently celebrated as the dagger lodged itself in Morhan’s eye.
But the relief was short-lived.
Morhan, who had been writhing in pain, abruptly stopped.
Just as I began to question his sudden stillness, the grotesque sight of his tails twitching unnaturally came into view.
From the tips of his tails, eyeballs began to form, one by one.
…What is that?
A chill ran down my spine at the horrifying scene.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
I had acted, thinking blinding Morhan would aid Kaindel, but it had only made things worse.
Five enormous eyes, all wide open, locked onto me.
Morhan seemed to have realized I was the one who had blinded him.
The intense focus made it hard to breathe.
“…Ah.”
A primal fear took hold of me.
I tried to scoot back on the ground but couldn’t manage to escape.
Soon enough, the freed tails darted towards me with alarming speed.
The sheer pressure left me paralyzed, unable to dodge.
I felt like I had been in this kind of situation before.
I shook off the familiar, unwanted memories and stood up just in time to face the oncoming tails.
Grrng-!
Morhan’s roar tore through the air, making me grimace.
As I refocused on Kaindel and Morhan, the sight left me speechless.
Morhan’s tails, which had been aimed at me, were now stabbing into Kaindel’s side and thigh.
Meanwhile, Kaindel’s sword had pierced Morhan’s core.
I didn’t know what had happened in that brief moment, but it was clear Kaindel had taken the hits head-on to destroy Morhan’s core.
The ease with which he had previously handled the tails was gone.
As Morhan disintegrated into ashes, his lifeless body collapsed.
“…Kaindel.”
I stood frozen, watching the surreal scene, before rushing over.
The closer I got, the stronger the metallic scent of blood became—far worse than when I had injured my hand from a goblin’s axe.
I clenched my fists as I scanned Kaindel’s body, his eyes slowly opening and closing.
“You’re hurt.”
“Mm.”
“Why did you do it?”
“You almost died.”
His calm reply made it clear why he had lost his composure and gotten hurt.
It was because of me.
“Does that even matter? Now you’re the one who might die. Look at your condition, Kaindel.”
“Don’t talk too much. You’ll make it worse.”
“There’s so much blood. Owen’s not here, what do we do? Kaindel, what should I do?”
The wound was too deep.
I tried to stem the bleeding with my hands, but it was useless.
Even using my cloak didn’t help.
Seeing the blood pour through my fingers, my face twisted in distress.
Kaindel, however, gave me a mischievous smile.
“I feel good.”
“What?”
“I feel good that you’re only paying attention to me.”
“Now’s not the time for that…”
Just as I was about to scold him, Kaindel spoke again.
“Isa, if we become lovers…”
“…Yes?”
“What happens next?”
Kaindel chuckled softly, brushing my cheek.
“Will you stop pushing me away?”
Why ask that now?
I buried my forehead against his chest, holding back a sob disguised as a laugh.
The scent of blood was overpowering, but I didn’t care.
There were so many things I wanted to say to him.
I wanted to scold him for recklessly risking his life, to thank him for making a tough decision for my sake, to tell him to stop talking since he was hurt.
But only one question came out.
“Do you love me now, Kaindel?”
It was a strange question, especially with his life hanging by a thread, one I had asked him several times before.
This time, though, his answer was different.
“Yes.”
This time, of all times, the answer was different.
Kaindel placed his hand over mine.
“Seems like it, Isa.”
“Hah.”
The moment I heard his confirmation, my head spun.
My stomach churned, and a wave of nausea surged up.
The formless tension pressing down inside me melted away, and with it, my body relaxed.
Was it because I had lost too much blood?
My vision flickered.
I needed to tend to Kaindel’s wounds quickly, but my body wouldn’t move.
Maybe my actions earlier were pure survival instinct.
As the tension left me, I became acutely aware of every muscle ache.
I had to stay with Kaindel until I was sure he was okay, but I didn’t have the luxury.
I struggled to hold on to my slipping consciousness as an unknown darkness tried to pull me under.
“Kaindel!”
At that moment, I heard Sehir’s voice in the distance.
It seemed Daniel had finally brought the others.
Thank goodness.
Only then did I feel a sense of relief.
Without even a moment to respond to Kaindel’s confession, I lost consciousness.
Just before everything went black, I thought I saw white flakes falling from the sky.
The first snow.
Three years later, in the spring.
It felt like I had been dreaming for a long time.
I couldn’t recall exactly what the dream was about.
The heaviness pressing down on my eyelids began to fade.
If being pulled out of warm water felt like this, then perhaps that’s what I was experiencing.
The persistent, gentle touch of someone shaking my shoulder slowly brought my drifting mind back to its place. That gentle yet relentless touch stayed with me until I was fully awake.
As my focus sharpened, I looked up at the one who had woken me.
And there, through the dappled summer greenery bending in arcs, I saw familiar eyes.
“Did you sleep well?”
* * *
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