Chapter 3. Mint Hero.
As the light vanished, Hero Elraim was seized by overwhelming terror.
...I'm going to die.
In the pitch-black darkness, she froze like a statue, unable to move a muscle. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably. Was this how she died? So pointlessly? Without even putting up a fight? Ah, aaaah—.
The fairy bolted anyway. She ran blindly. Forcing the memory to surface, she dashed madly toward where the passage had been. Then her foot caught on something, and she pitched forward. But like a coiled spring, she sprang back up and ran again. She truly couldn't see a thing. All she heard was her ragged breathing, her pounding heartbeat, and the splashing of liquid underfoot.
She ran and ran. Then—thud—she slammed into a stone wall. Ack—. Her head went fuzzy for a moment. She staggered once, then groped along the wall and hurried onward. Please, please, please, please.
That's when she heard someone calling her.
"Hero! Hero—!"
Someone was still alive. But she didn't answer. Answering might let the demon find her. Sorry, but she planned to use the living as bait to escape. I have to survive. I have to survive. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. That was all she could think. She didn't want to die.
The hero groped along the wall like a madwoman, pressing on.
"Hero—!!"
Elraim figured the demon had deliberately spared that one. To toy with her. To watch her struggle. ...Or maybe it was grinning creepily right beside her even now.
"Hero, it's Bella. Where are you? Hero—!"
Ah—. Bella was alive too. But the hero stayed silent. The enemy was the demons. Vile, cruel bastards. The hero kept groping along the wall for ages when suddenly something yanked her arm.
"Aaaah—!"
The hero thrashed in panic, trying to shake it off.
"It's us! It's us—! Hero, Hero—! ...Get a grip, you fucking idiot—!!"
"Let go, let go, let me gooo—!!"
"The demon's dead. The demon's dead—!"
"No, no, no way."
She was convinced it was watching from somewhere. The hero finally wrenched her arm free and hurried off again. Then she felt the wall bend. A passage. F-Found it...! She plunged inside and picked up speed. Rain sounds grew louder. Faint light appeared. She bolted toward it like a maniac.
Shoooo—.
The rain poured in sheets. The fairy burst from the cave and face-planted into the muddy ground. Hah, hah, hah—. Relief flooded her chest. I'm alive. Her whole body shuddered. But she wasn't fully safe yet. Forcing herself up, she staggered on without looking back. Her legs trembled violently, barely holding her. Still, she kept going. Soaked to the bone, but she had to.
Once a safe distance from the cave, she collapsed again. And gasped for breath. Then suddenly, someone grabbed her shoulder. Ack—! She yelped and flopped onto the mud. Someone loomed over her, carrying something on their back. Ah, ah—. The shock sharpened her blurry vision. A human male stared down, covered head to toe in blood. Seeing him, the hero's strength drained away. She went limp with a dumb look on her face.
"He...ro..."
The one calling her was Healer Bella, slung on his back. She looked half out of it too. But the hero couldn't respond. She just lay there, letting the rain drench her.
...The rain kept pouring.
· · ·
Mmm—. The fairy finally cracked her eyes open. She was freezing, shivering uncontrollably. Instinctively, she curled up. Coming to her senses, she realized she was stripped to her underwear. The hero sat up groggily. Dawn still shrouded the forest in gloom. At least the rain had stopped. Ugh.
Bella lay beside her, stripped naked too, curled up like a grub against the cold. For a moment, the hero's mind blanked. Her memory cut off midway. ...But the terror from that cave yesterday still lived and breathed in her chest. Like a severe burn, it throbbed deep inside. It wouldn't fade from her memory anytime soon.
...W-Where's that man?
The fairy quickly scanned around. No sign of the human. Dread hit her suddenly. Then splashing footsteps approached from afar. Reflexively, she checked her surroundings for anything weapon-like. ...She grabbed a rock, at least. Then someone entered her view. The human male, Kang Ji-hyuk. He approached holding something.
...Naturally naked, his thick cock dangled heavily between his legs. Ack. The hero averted her eyes. Even she felt embarrassed staring openly at a male's dick.
"...You're awake."
Ji-hyuk strode up shamelessly despite being buck naked. He squatted in front of her and showed what he held. A limp snake. He'd already severed the head; just the body remained.
"Gotta eat something. Can't make a fire, so raw it is... You okay with that?"
"No thanks. I'm not eating it."
"You have to. Something. This isn't the time to be picky. You know how bad our situation is, Hero."
He shook Bella awake. She woke with a grimace. Blinking hazily at her waker.
"Get up and eat this."
"...Huh? Ah, aaaah—!"
Bella bolted up at the sight of the dangling dead snake. Then spotted the big, long snake-like thing in Ji-hyuk's crotch and startled again. Ack—. She whipped her head away. Realizing she was naked too, she clamped her legs shut and covered her breasts with both hands.
But Ji-hyuk shook the dead snake indifferently.
"No time for modesty. Shit situation."
"...O-Okay..."
"You eat this too. Gotta fuel up. Look how much stamina we burned yesterday."
"B-But I can't eat that."
Bella shook her head in genuine horror at the snake. Ji-hyuk looked exasperated.
"Rain killed foraging chances. This was pure luck."
Bella averted her eyes, mumbling incoherently. Finally, the hero stepped up.
"Fine. ...Let's eat."
Ji-hyuk ripped off the skin, gutted it, and sliced it into three with his dagger. He rinsed it in a puddle. The hero took hers and forced it down. Squishy and gross, but as he said, eat now or never. Seeing the hero eat, Bella squeezed her eyes shut and chewed the raw meat too. Urp—. The weird taste nearly made her puke, but she swallowed somehow. The three stuffed the snake meat down and finished their meal.
The surroundings brightened slightly. But the cold lingered. Hah, hah—. Bella clutched her opposite arms, huddling tight. Naked made it worse. Wet clothes were out.
"Let's move."
Ji-hyuk suggested walking. The hero nodded. Bella had no choice but to follow. They trudged on, carrying their wet clothes. Only weapon: Ji-hyuk's dagger. ...Pray no monsters.
All three deliberately avoided mentioning the witch's cave. Horrific memory. But the hero couldn't fathom how all three escaped unscathed. Demons weren't that merciful.
"Curious what happened?"
Leading Ji-hyuk asked as if reading her mind. Bella, walking beside the hero, glanced at her. She stared at his back.
"...You know?"
"Yeah."
"How? ...Pitch black."
"Up to when the light died. Groped out after."
Ah—. The hero felt ashamed. Remembering her pathetic panic. She'd ditched them. No choice, but shame lingered.
"How'd... you do it?"
"Told you then... Don't remember?"
"...No."
From light's end to escape, no memory of his words. Just blind survival thrashing.
"Killed it."
"...Killed?"
Unbelievable. How kill a demon?
"How...? Nothing visible."
"Right before light vanished, I struck from behind. It got cocky."
"...Really? For real? You actually killed it?"
"That's why we're fine."
Hard to believe. But impossible not to. They lived unscathed. Live demon wouldn't let them.
...Luck? Bullshit.
"So what now? Go back?"
"Hell no. Not going. No way."
The hero recoiled. Bella looked ready to freak.
"Me neither. Never. Absolutely not."
Ji-hyuk chuckled dryly.
"Gotta head back then. Just this dagger, so it'll suck."
He flashed it. Nearly lost if not thigh-strapped.
"Whatever. Just go."
Better than returning. ...Couldn't anyway. No fire to dry clothes even.
"Got it."
They walked. Wet shoes blistered feet. Healer Bella tired fast. They rested on moss. She wrung her shoes. Toes numb from cold. No way to keep going. Better dry off today.
Wish a fire mage—.
Ji-hyuk regretted it. Would've eased suffering. He dug a deep wide pit. Lined thick with wrung moss. Spread clothes; women lay on top. He pressed skin-to-skin beside Bella. Covered with layers of big banana-like leaves. Bella first shied at stranger's bare skin, but warmth won; she clung closer. Brutal cold killed shame. Their hot breaths slowly warmed the pit. Exhausted women slept. Ji-hyuk didn't. Rain hid monsters, but exceptions exist. ...Saved them, good enough. Most died, but Hero Elraim lived. Worth the hassle. Future A-rank powerhouse. Too valuable to lose. ...How'd past loops handle this? Curious. ...No way to know now. Whatever, saved is saved. Ji-hyuk framed the ordeal positively.