Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Chapter 4 - Reunion
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The ground shook, and I was thrown into the air.
The spiders within the blast radius died instantly, their bodies melting away,
But Arachne, myself, and a handful of other spiders were, unfortunately, just outside the immediate kill zone.
The blue explosion was followed by a shockwave. It felt less like a concussive blast of heat and pressure, and more like a surge of pure energy.
Even a direct hit from a massive spaceship wouldn't have been this devastating. Every bone in my body, every internal organ, felt shattered.
Weightlessness.
I was flying.
Tumbling through the air, caught in the shockwave, I was flung a great distance before…
“Cough!”
Like a broken film reel,
My vision cut to a sea of green.
Leaves. And thick branches, impaling my body, drawing blood.
“Ah, ugh…!”
I was still alive.
But there had to be a reason why I, a mortal who should have been dead, still clung to life.
I felt a strange energy emanating from the hood. I didn't know how to describe it…
The closest word I could think of was,
[Unease].
“Ugggh! Aaaaagh!”
Something that felt less like pain and more like a violation surged through me. It was as if my severed life force had been crudely glued back together with super-powered adhesive.
“Heeek! Heeek…!”
Even breathing was a struggle. Suspended in the air, my limbs flailing, I drifted in and out of consciousness, plagued by hallucinations.
Snap-
The branches, unable to support my weight, finally broke.
My cursed body, hanging like a strange fruit, along with the hood, fell to the ground, and from within the shattered remains of my bones and muscles, a scream-
“Gasp- cough…”
…I couldn't scream.
I stuffed my fist into my mouth, stifling my cries. Even that felt like a luxury.
The screams of the weak were music to the ears of predators.
A male, the lowest creature in this planet’s ecosystem, couldn't afford to sing.
“Sob… gasp…”
I dragged my unresponsive arm across the ground,
And fumbled inside my clothes.
It was here somewhere.
Near my right thigh…
A syringe…
As soon as my fingers touched the cold, smooth object, I jabbed it into my thigh without hesitation.
I didn't bother looking for a vein. Based on [his] previous treatment, this was an intramuscular injection.
The only problem was finding the strength to push the plunger. Even piercing my skin with the needle was a struggle.
“Groan…!”
Push-
I finally managed to inject the yellow liquid. It flowed into my body, slowly spreading.
Slowly,
So slowly.
My mangled body began to heal.
Shattered bones and torn flesh knitted themselves back together.
Before, [he] had helped me,
But now, I had to save myself.
I was thirsty.
Even though I could move again, I wandered aimlessly through the forest.
I wondered if struggling on this planet even mattered. [His] death weighed heavily on me, filling me with despair.
He had been so much stronger than me,
His willpower unyielding.
And yet, even he hadn't escaped death.
I walked, haunted by the premonition that I, too, would meet the same end, no matter how hard I fought.
I had to find Amy.
Even with a bleak future, I couldn't deny my desire to live.
I had secured Amy’s head to my waist…
Perhaps the explosion had flung her elsewhere.
“Ah…”
I finally found Amy,
Impaled on a branch, 102 meters from where I had landed.
It was better than being smashed against a rock,
But I didn't have the strength to climb that high,
Or to throw a rock and break the branch.
I needed food and water.
I needed to find a river or a lake.
Fresh water. Boiling it would be ideal, but in my current state, any water would do.
Fortunately, there was a lake nearby.
I dragged myself towards it, half-crawling, half-stumbling.
I had never been so grateful for water.
When survival was threatened, even the smallest things became precious.
I was no exception.
Despite the despair and anxiety that consumed me, I rejoiced at the sight of the lake.
I crawled towards it, eager to plunge my face into the cool water. My throat and esophagus felt parched. How refreshing it would be…
But-
“…”
I,
Stopped just a few meters away.
Even though I could see the water, so close,
I couldn't approach.
A green form emerged from the blue surface.
She had beautiful eyes.
We stared at each other,
Saying nothing.
This wasn't the lake she had lived in.
It was different from my memories. Different trees grew around Aria’s lake.
“Juho.”
Her voice was exactly as I remembered. A voice that seemed to embody all the beauty in the world…
But now, it was laced with hostility.
“How is it out there?”
Her words dripped with mockery.
Her eyes were red-rimmed.
I couldn't even swallow. I was desperately dehydrated.
The syringe, while healing my injuries, seemed to have the side effect of intensifying my hunger and thirst.
“Aria…”
“What, are you thirsty?”
Aria scooped up some water and splashed it on the ground in front of me.
I wanted to lap it up,
But approaching her would lead to an inescapable fate.
“Come back. You won’t be hungry or thirsty here.”
She spoke calmly, offering me one last chance. She was being considerate.
If she had intended to force me back, she would have waited until I was desperate enough to drink from the lake.
I knew I couldn't overpower her. If she caught me, I would be dragged underwater without a fight.
“I’ll forgive everything. Your escape will be forgotten. Let’s return to our lake.”
I hadn't found any clues about escaping this planet,
And I had suffered terribly at the hands of the spiders.
[He], who had saved me, was dead,
And Arachne would undoubtedly find me again.
“…No.”
But I turned away from the lake.
Even in this world of despair and helplessness, I craved freedom.
Perhaps, one day, I would escape this planet and return to headquarters.
A near-impossible chance, but it was enough to keep me moving.
“No? Really?”
The world beyond the lake was filled with pain and uncertainty, but I couldn't bear the thought of passively awaiting death.
“You’re truly foolish, Juho. You don’t even know right from wrong. I thought you were smart, but you’re the most foolish male I’ve ever met.”
I knew.
Aria was right.
“A pathetic male, incapable of surviving on his own, pretending to be something he’s not.”
Her eyes, shimmering with a mixture of clarity and something darker, glared at me. It was probably quite an achievement to be hated so intensely by such a beautiful creature.
“Why? Do you want to return to the sky you came from? Is that why you’re wandering around? Juho, you really are an Идиот (Idiot).”
A new word.
I knew it wasn't a compliment.
Beautiful tears, like shimmering jewels, flowed from her eyes. Aria’s intense emotions manifested as glittering crystals.
“Juho, I’ll wait for you.”
Aria’s final words held an unsettling resolve.
Mermaid tears were more viscous than human tears. Aria tilted her head to let them flow freely, and the gesture seemed ominous.
“If you crawl back here on your own two tails, I’ll only take your legs. But if I have to drag you back to the lake-”
Her patience was wearing thin. Aria truly loved and cared for me.
“Then you’ll accept whatever I do to you. Understand?”
That’s what made her words so terrifying.
I turned and fled from the lake without looking back.
Even after running past dozens of trees,
I couldn't shake the feeling of Aria’s gaze on my back.