Dungeon Break
The road to the shelter.
The people who'd been running alongside us had scattered in every direction, leaving only a handful nearby. That, too, was a hallmark of a dungeon break — of a Bomb-type, specifically.
"Noona, over there!"
"Tch!"
I pointed to the sky on our right as we ran, and Se-a clicked her tongue. A Bomb didn't open just one gate per district. At least two would appear — sometimes dozens. That was why the people running with us had peeled off naturally, each toward a different escape.
"This way!"
On the boulevard we'd been tearing down, a black bull stood upright on two legs, bringing an axe down in a crushing swing. The blade split the pavement like tofu, sending fragments flying in every direction. It had to be a monster from the gate I'd just spotted. Luckily, it had its back to us. We ducked into an alley as fast as we could.
"Hah... Let's walk from here. You okay?"
"A little tired. But you're worse off than I am, Noona."
The alley was barely wide enough for two people to pass, so we walked instead of ran. Partly because we were exhausted, and partly because a space this tight was actually safer. The monsters pouring out were mostly massive bull-types, which meant we weren't likely to face a pack of them in a place this cramped. For the record, the gates that had opened were D-Class. Without an awakened ability or inherited power, you couldn't even put up a fight against that grade.
"I'm sorry. If you'd had a different Escort Officer — someone with an awakened ability..."
"What are you talking about?"
I gripped Se-a's hand tight as she sank into self-reproach.
"I'm still alive because you're here. If anything, you're the one who got hurt because of me..."
The fabric over her forearm was torn, blood seeping through. When I laid my hand over the wound, a yellow light bloomed and the injury began to close. It didn't erase the blood she'd already shed, though. Dark red stains mottled her clothes here and there. Ironically, it was Se-a's injuries that had taught me how to heal. Protecting me was what had gotten her hurt. This was the only thing I could do for her.
It's my fault. Because I'm weak...
We couldn't avoid the monsters entirely on the way here. We'd already run into them three times, and Se-a had stepped up and taken every one of them down. She was incredible — dropping monsters without even an awakened ability. But she hadn't had it easy. She was fighting on nothing but the strength she'd inherited from her mother, so every engagement dragged on. And if we ran into two or more at once, running was the only option.
And she has to fight while protecting dead weight like me.
If she hadn't been trying to protect me — standing there like an idiot behind her — she could have gotten away a long time ago. Every injury she'd taken was because of me.
"Why the long face? Did somebody die?"
"...It's not like that."
"It's okay. If anything, I'm grateful you're here, Dan-woo."
She took my face in both hands and lifted my head. When our eyes met, she smiled like an angel.
"Why are you grateful? Why... why would you be grateful to me?"
My voice rose a little. Even now, she was thinking of me, being considerate. Even though she had to be exhausted, she was smiling for me. She put me first, ahead of herself. For the first time, I hated her for it. I was angry.
"Of course I'm grateful. Thanks to you, I can fight without worrying about getting hurt, right?"
"That's a stretch... You think I don't know that if I weren't here, you wouldn't get hurt in the first place?"
"Haa... So that's why you're so upset. You've been thinking about that?"
She slowly pulled me into her arms. She patted my back and spoke in a gentle voice.
"I love you, Dan-woo. I love you so, so much that I couldn't live without you."
"...I feel the same. That's why you getting hurt..."
"That's why."
She cut me off mid-sentence. That firm voice left me with nothing to say. The hand that had been gently patting my back stopped, and instead she pulled me in with fierce strength.
I couldn't find the words. She wasn't just saying it. She had actually sacrificed herself to protect me. The weight behind those words was different.
She held me for a moment, then let go when a bull's bellow echoed from far off.
"Let's get to the shelter first. It won't take long from here."
I nodded and took her hand again. We walked the alley slowly, checking every corner and fork with care before moving on. By some stroke of luck, we didn't run into any more monsters, and we'd just stepped out onto the main road that led straight to the shelter when an impact slammed into my back.
"Guh!?"
I tumbled twice across the ground before I finally stopped. My elbows and knees burned from scraping the pavement, but I didn't have the luxury of caring about that. If I'd taken a hit that hard, what had happened to Se-a, who'd been right behind me? That was the only thing that mattered.
"Wh-where...?"
But Se-a wasn't in the alley where I'd been standing. I frantically scanned the area and found her on the opposite side from where I'd been thrown — lying on the ground, blood pooling beneath her.
"No... Noona? Se-a!"
I rushed to her side. A massive gash ran diagonally across her back, from her right shoulder down to her left hip. I stretched out both hands, trying desperately to heal the wound.
"Don't... Run, Dan-woo...!"
"What are you saying?! You're bleeding this much...!"
Even now, she was trying to send me away first. I couldn't understand it. Didn't she love me? Didn't she feel the same way I did? If I were the one lying there wounded like this...
Ah...
The moment I thought it, I understood. In a situation where danger could come from anywhere, if I were the one who'd been hurt — I would try to send Se-a somewhere safe, even if it was just her. Just like she was doing now.
"I'm fine now... Hah...! It's not enough to kill me."
She pushed my healing hands away and forced herself to her feet. Half the wound was still open. Blood streamed down and pattered onto the ground.
"Fine? How is this fine? You're bleeding everywhere!"
"This isn't the time. The monster's still nearby. We have to get to the shelter."
She grabbed the hand I'd been using to heal her back and started running toward the shelter. There wasn't a soul on the street. All that remained were shattered buildings, broken windows, gouged pavement — and what had once been people.
"Urgh!?"
"Don't look! Keep your eyes forward!"
The sight was so horrific I nearly threw up, and Se-a shouted at me. She was still bleeding from her back, but she didn't slow down, so I did as she said. Looking wouldn't change anything. The least I could do was listen and not add to her burden.
"We're almost there! Just hold on a little long—!"
We were so close to the shelter I could almost see it when Se-a suddenly turned to look at me. She let go of my hand and shoved me with everything she had.
"Huh?"
The world stretched thin as I flew away from her, every frame dragging like a film run at half speed. Why had she pushed me? Why now? In that dilated instant the only thing I could still move were my eyes, and I rolled them toward her face. Se-a was smiling at me — a smile so sad it hollowed me out. Her yellow eyes found mine...
BOOM.
She vanished from my sight.
"Guh!?"
Time snapped back to normal and I hit the ground rolling. I bounced several times before I finally stopped. I somehow got my shaking body under control and planted my hands on the ground with everything I had. My arms and legs gave out more than once. I slammed my face into the pavement and still forced myself up. And what I saw when I lifted my head was a nightmare.
"No... Why... Why the hell...!"
Where we'd been standing, the black bull loomed with its massive axe. Far from it, Se-a lay crumpled on the ground. She writhed, trying desperately to get up, failing every time. But she wouldn't give up. There was no light left in her unfocused eyes, but I could still feel a will that refused to go out.
R... Run... away...
The distance was too far to hear her voice. No — even if I'd been right next to her, I wouldn't have heard it. Blood was running down her forehead. She was coughing it up from her mouth. But I could read her lips perfectly.
My breath caught in my throat.
"Hah! Hah...! Hh—!"
The monster opened its huge maw and roared, but I couldn't hear it. My throat tightened. My breathing turned ragged. The composure I'd been forcing myself to hold onto started to crack.
I have to run... I have to run? Se-a did that to herself to save me. That's why. That's why I have to run. If I play the hero here and get myself killed, her sacrifice won't mean anything!
I piled on every reason I could find, trying to deny the feeling surging up from below. I locked down the legs that wanted to run to her and forced myself to look away.
The most precious thing I have is Se-a! Listen to her! So I'm just supposed to abandon her? After she did that for me? No. Get a grip. If I charge in like an idiot, I could throw her sacrifice away for nothing.
I felt like my mind was splitting in two. The two thoughts inside me fought without giving an inch. And through it all, I couldn't tear my eyes off Se-a. In the distance, the monster was smiling a vile smile as it walked toward her. It was enjoying this. That much was obvious.
It's not too late! Run over there right now and heal her! Get a grip! You actually think that's possible? You think that monster's just going to sit there and wait until she's fully healed?!
I have to go to her. I have to run. The two thoughts wouldn't resolve into one. The one thing I knew for certain was that either way, Se-a's chances of surviving were slim. Of course they were. Even if I went to her, there was nothing I could do.
I almost gave up when that hopeless truth sank in. And then another thought hit me.
Could I live a life without Se-a?
Could I go on being happy the way I had been? Would time make me forget? And even if I did forget... could I ever be happy?
"No. There's no way, is there...?"
It was never a question of whether to go to her or not. It was a question of whether I could live without her. And the answer was no. If that was the case, I'd rather die at her side. Once the thought settled, it was simple. All I had to do was run to her.
"You fucking idiot. Seriously."
I felt like a fool for agonizing over something so simple. The instant I started running toward her, a black pool spread across the ground and dark hands reached up from it.
"Ugh!? What the hell is this! I—I can't get free...!"
The hands gripping my body wouldn't let me take another step. I tried to pry them off with the one hand I still had free, but the black hands didn't budge. All I could do was stare, helpless, as the monster closed in.
"No. No, no, no!"
Four meters. Three. Two. One step at a time. The monster was right in front of her now. It raised the massive axe in its hands.
"STOP!! Don't you fucking dare! Let me go!! Please!!"
For a second, I thought the monster looked at me and smiled.
Go ahead and talk big. You're a worthless piece of shit who can't do a thing.
You don't even have the power to protect anyone, but you ran your mouth about it anyway. A vain, empty little man.
No matter how much you struggle, the woman you wanted to protect is going to die.
"NO!!!"
The axe came down anyway.
Incomplete Guardian Shield
An otherworldly voice rang out — and a yellow barrier bloomed into existence.