Chapter 21: Relief
“Hayan-ah?”
“O-oppa.”
‘I had a feeling things would turn out this way…’
The scene before me was even more horrific than I had imagined.
Jung Hayan was smiling serenely while Park Hyaeyoung was writhing on the floor with her legs and arms cut off.
I felt the contents of my stomach rise up subconsciously, but I forced my nausea down.
I could see Jung Hayan’s eyes wavering.
When I had seen the wall made of mana, an even greater sense of apprehension than I had expected had overcome me.
‘What… should I do?’
I wasn’t sure how to react.
Before things spiralled even further out of control, wracking my brains to find a solution as quickly as I could, I couldn’t think of anything other than Jung Hayan.
‘Park Deokgu might not fare much better in this situation, but if only he were here instead.’
He couldn’t feel mana.
It had been a mistake to tell him to check the left path and come here on my own.
“Mmf… Mm!”
I was trapped in this situation of seeing what remained of Park Hyaeyoung’s form as she pleaded for help with her mouth blocked by some unidentifiable spell.
I had no clue how Jung Hayan had reacted to my appearance.
When I glanced at Jung Hayan, her expression looked as though her soul was escaping her.
She, too, was frozen by the sudden encounter.
In reality, I wasn’t much different from her. I was also caught between two options.
‘Is it fine if I run away?’
If not.
‘Would it be better to feign ignorance?’
I had to consider this issue carefully.
My body, feeling the sense of danger, was screaming at me to keep walking, but my brain betrayed that expectation.
I began to weigh the pros and cons.
I was sure that Jung Hayan definitely felt goodwill towards me.
In addition, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that her feelings had become excessive over time.
The motive behind her attempt to kill Park Hyaeyoung was also likely related to me.
Rather, it had to be related.
Maybe, before[1], there would have also been bad blood between her and Park Hyaeyoung, but based on her behaviour, there was currently only one answer to this whole thing.
If I hesitated in front of Jung Hayan here.
Perhaps her blade would turn on me.
I refused to scuffle with a crazy woman who slung around spells I didn’t know like it was nothing.
I’d been going around in circles for so long it almost felt unnatural.
In the end, I had no choice but to open my mouth carefully.
It was the most reasonable choice.
“Hyae-Hyaeyoung-ssi how… did this happen?”
“Eh?”
Please don’t waste the opportunity I’ve given you.
Please tell me the right answer.
I can’t help you any more than this.
“Why are her arms and legs… What happened?”
Don’t forget to cover your mouth with your hands. You can’t leave out the disbelieving expression.
It was then that Jung Hayan’s face brightened slightly. Contrary to her expectations, she seemed to think that the worst-case scenario she had imagined hadn’t arrived.
She must have thought that I didn’t know she was behind this.
The choice of what to say was very simple.
She should be able to find the answer easily.
“I’m also not sure about the details. Oppa… A-all of a sudden…”
Trembling hands and legs, quivering lips and a shaky voice.
She wasn’t frightened at all.
She just didn’t want to let me know that she was the culprit.
Perhaps it came from being unaccustomed to lying. Nevertheless, Jung Hayan continued to speak.
“When I opened my eyes, I saw that I had been separated from everyone, I-I don’t know how. When I came here, I found Hyaeyoung-ssi… L-like this.”
‘Not bad.’
It wasn’t a bad excuse. I took Jung Hayan’s hands into my own trembling fingers and pulled her into my arms.
“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“O-oppa.”
I was the one who had to worry about getting hurt.
My heart was pounding like crazy.
Not only was I constantly checking to see if she was casting any spells, I was also gripping tight onto my spear.
As I did so, Park Hyaeyoung was looking at Jung Hayan in horror.
“Mmf! Mmm! MMM! Mhm! Mm!”
I could hazard a guess as to what she was trying to say.
‘Run away.’
Or.
‘Save me.’
There was a high probability it was the latter, but unfortunately, there was nothing I could do.
To antagonise or disregard Jung Hayan here would be an act of suicide.
Her mind was definitely more worn out and fractured than I had assumed.
She liked me, but since her obsession had led to hostility and murder, I had no idea how she would react if I said I didn’t believe her.
Perhaps that anger would extend towards me.
I’d been handed a ticking bomb, but between someone who had useful talents and a piece of trash who wouldn’t amount to anything, who should I choose?
The answer was obvious.
Anyone with eyes would know that it was rational to side with Jung Hayan.
That wasn’t the only issue.
‘I can’t save her.’
I had no ability to save Park Hyaeyoung as she slowly died.
Even if she was really a useful card, I had no choice but to discard this hand.
I could empathise, but I was desperate, too.
“Mmm! Mmf! MMMMM! Mmmf!”
It was hard to turn away from someone who was desperately begging me to save her and not abandon her.
I rushed up to her and began to use my clothes to tie the wounds.
Jung Hayan made an expression as though she was frightened out of her wits but I was sure she knew.
‘Park Hyayeoung is dying. She’s likely going to die very soon.’
The bleeding was already too excessive. There were signs that she was slowly losing consciousness and her eyes were no longer focused.
“There’s a chance that the traps in the dungeon were activated. You weren’t able to notice it though because we passed through a wall of mana.”
Jung Hayan had created the barrier.
“……”
“Considering the mana I felt near the entrance to the level below, there could be trap devices scattered around us. I hadn’t accounted for that.”
There were no such devices on the first floor. I could be sure of that.
“Maybe the trap was triggered in the process of me casting my spell. There’s a high possibility that the magic that’s blocking her mouth is some other unknown trap… Fortunately, I don’t feel any other mana around us, but…”
Jung Hayan had been the one to invoke the spell.
“Yes… You’re right…”
“MMM! mMm!”
I had already come up with a plan starring Jung Hayan.
The question was whether this bullsh*t would work on Kim Hyunsung.
That guy had already been here once, so he had to know that there were no traps on the first floor.
Talking nonsense would just earn his suspicion.
I had no idea whether I could help Park Hyaeyoung like this.
How would he react when he found Hyaeyoung-ssi?”
Caught in a trap?
There were no traps here to begin with, and he was well-aware of that.
Struck by a monster?
The cuts were too neat. Anyone who saw her would be able to tell that Park Hyaeyoung hadn’t been attacked by a monster.
The faint trace of mana around her body, as well as the mysterious magic still sealing her mouth, were definitely signs that Park Hyaeyoung was killed by something other than a monster.
Kim Hyunsung was definitely, definitely going to notice.
I kept trying to bind the wounds, but it was a far cry from actual first aid.
I had never learned basic haemostasis or first aid.
The most I could do was pretend to do something.
‘Damn it…’
In the end, I felt Park Hyaeyoung’s movements, as she jerked and squirmed, begin to weaken little by little.
‘Just don’t get discovered.’
Kim Hyunsung couldn’t be the one to find her.
The best method was for monsters to come across her first, but that was something I didn’t want to think about.
Above all.
‘I don’t want that.’
I was reluctant to let that happen.
You’d be right to think that this was the last shred of my conscience.
I could see her starting to gasp. She was struggling to breathe.
I quietly began to chant a spell.
“Lord. The power, to ward, with burning flames.”
Jung Hayan looked at me with an uneasy expression.
“Fire wall.”
It was magic that was invoked by drawing out mana that I didn’t have.
I was overcome by dizziness at that moment, but I bit down harshly on my lips to concentrate on maintaining my magic.
“O-oppa.”
“It would be hard to take her away from here. She’s already bled too much. If we all try to leave together, we’ll die. I can’t lose you too… So for now, we need to hurry and get out of here as soon as possible. We can’t take the body with us. At least, like this, we can send her off properly. Yeah, this is the right thing to do.”
Park Hyaeyoung was already on her last breath as the flames began to cling to her and swallow her up.
The surging flames seemed to resemble a rowdy party.
I stared blankly at the scene.
‘It was the best choice.’
It was the most logical decision.
Glancing at Jung Hayan’s face, I had a feeling that she was struggling to hold back a smile. Nausea rolled in my stomach, but she wasn’t the only one who had become a monster.
I was just like her.
For some reason, I felt ashamed.
I wanted to watch the fire a little longer, but it would be suicide to stay here.
Maybe because of the flames I had called, Jung Hayan’s magic wall was torn down.
As soon as I moved forward, I could see Park Deokgu waiting there.
“Where’s Hyaeyoung-ssi? Noonim isn’t hurt…”
When I shook my head wordlessly, he nodded as though he knew what had happened.
He had smiled slightly at finding Jung Hayan, but when I hinted that Park Hyaeyoung was dead, his face became stiff.
“What about the other monsters nearby?”
“I haven’t seen that many, so I think that Kim Hyunsung hyung-ssi might have led them away… He’s quick on his feet, so he can survive one way or another.”
“That’s good.”
That was truly a relief. The fact that he was so far away from us was a huge relief.
“By the way, w-what happened?”
“It’s a long explanation. I’ll explain it to you later. It’s a little hard to tell, and…”
“I-I understand, Hyung-nim.”
To Park Deokgu, it wouldn’t matter if I gave him a rough explanation.
I thought it would be better not to talk about Jung Hayan’s story if possible, and as I kept running, I saw some monsters rushing towards us.
“Hyung-nim, are you alright?”
“I’m out of mana.”
“Don’t strain yourself.”
Park Deokgu pushed them away from our group as we ran so that we were able to escape.
My lungs felt like they were going to burst.
Park Deokgu and Jung Hayan were no different. We all looked exhausted.
To be honest, I felt like I was going to pass out.
Still, I knew I couldn’t lose consciousness.
I had to see this through to the end.
Looking back with a slightly somber look on her face, Jung Hayan furtively spoke to me.
Only
“A-as expected… Y-you’re sad?”
Her expression was poor and held traces of anxiety.
Of course, I knew the correct answer to that question well.
“I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
The corners of Jung Hayan’s mouth rose at my words. She smiled widely.
“O-o-oppa.”
“I’m really glad you’re alright.”
I only half meant it.