An Unsettling Premonition
"Hehe... It seems like it's almost done..."
Cerise sat perched on the edge of a chair in the empty lobby of the mercenary group's base, wearing an eerie smile. If I follow this book, everything is going smoothly!
A few days ago, she had received a mysterious book from an old man and studied the art of "playing hard to get" with all her might. According to the book, blindly showering someone with love wasn't enough. By pushing them away at the right moment and creating confusion, one could draw them back in and earn even greater affection. When she put the method into practice, the Commander had indeed looked terribly flustered. Pushing away her beloved Commander pained her deeply, but she was willing to endure even that agony for the sake of their glorious future.
"I wonder when the Commander will return..."
Because the Ska Mercenary Group had grown explosively in recent times, it was far more common for members to split up and handle requests individually rather than move as one. Commander Venice and Hans had gone off to explore the mysterious dungeon they had been commissioned to investigate. Cerise had finished her own request—slaying lower-tier 4-star monsters—in a single day and was now waiting for the Commander to return.
All of this growth... I owe it entirely to the Commander.
If the Commander had never come to lead the Ska Mercenary Group, if some other incompetent fool had taken the position instead... she would have already slaughtered everyone and taken her own life. She could never have imagined the glory and rapid growth she now felt.
"No."
If she had never met the Commander... If the Commander were to leave her...
The moment those dark, meaningless delusions surfaced, a wave of despair welled up from the depths of her heart, and Cerise thrashed against it. That will never happen. Yes. She would never allow such a thing to occur. No matter what happened... she would protect the Commander.
The rosy future she envisioned with the Commander... No matter how often she recalled it, she never grew tired of it. If anything, she felt herself becoming addicted.
"Hehe..."
Lost in blissful fantasy, Cerise failed to notice the passage of time.
Tap, tap, tap—!
Just as she was drowning in happiness so intense it felt as though her brain were melting, footsteps echoed from the direction of the training grounds. The distance was great enough that an ordinary person would never have noticed, but to Cerise the sound was crystal clear. She herself had been growing stronger with each passing day, to the point where she sometimes felt she was transcending humanity.
"Is that the Commander?"
She listened more carefully. It didn't sound like him. The Commander's footsteps were heavier, more dignified. These probably belonged to another mercenary. Though disappointed, Cerise rose to greet whoever had arrived.
Thud, thud, thud—!
"Hah... hah..."
"......Hans?"
"Vice-Commander Cerise...! Hah... hah..."
Hans came sprinting in, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat as though he were on the verge of collapse. He had left with the Commander for the mysterious dungeon request. So why was he back in such a panic...?
"What happened, Hans?"
Cerise asked, forcibly suppressing the anxiety that had begun to creep over her.
"Hah... hah... V-Vice-Commander...! The Commander...!"
Please. Tell me I'm just imagining things. Please tell me nothing happened.
"The Commander has been seriously injured...! We need to get to the infirmary right away...!"
".....Ah."
Why was it that ominous premonitions were never wrong? The words she had desperately hoped would never leave his mouth rang clearly in her ears. There was no chance she had misheard. Her body, having surpassed human limits, could perceive sounds with perfect accuracy and replay them multiple times within a single second.
Thud, thud, thud, thud—!
The instant she accepted the information as fact, Cerise broke into a full sprint toward the infirmary. She poured every last ounce of strength into her legs, running faster than anyone else possibly could.
Whoosh—!
-Whoa! What was that...!
-What just happened?
-Did I imagine it...?
To the untrained eyes of ordinary villagers, she was little more than a blur. Channeling every drop of her overflowing mana into her legs and feet, she pushed beyond her own limits. The result of her god-given talent combined with blood-soaked effort allowed her to cover the several kilometers from the base to the infirmary in under a minute.
Creak—
Squeak...
"Ska Mercenary Group Vice-Commander...?"
As she flung the door open, the familiar healer greeted her—the same one who had saved Commander Venice during the Nepenthes incident.
"Hah... hah... Where is the Commander...?!"
"This way, please."
When Cerise forced the question out despite the pain crushing her lungs, the healer’s expression hardened and she quickly led the way.
"Please... please be safe... Please..."
"......"
Cerise prayed desperately to the world, to fate itself. Please let me see the Commander safe and sound. Please don't take away this last ray of light that has finally found me.
"He is inside."
"Please... please..."
Creak—
Even as she opened the door under the healer's guidance, Cerise did not stop praying. Please let me look my Commander in the eyes—the same Commander who has always been my unwavering support.
"Commander, you mustn't...!"
"Please open your eyes... Please...!"
"Kgh... Damn it... Damn it...!!"
The moment she stepped into the room, the mercenaries' screams and sobs assaulted her ears.
"..........."
Step. Step.
No. It can't be. This can't be happening. This mustn't happen...
The figure on the bed would greet her with that familiar warm expression, just like always. Clinging to that desperate hope, Cerise walked toward the bed surrounded by her comrades.
".....Ah."
Thud.
The instant she saw Venice's condition, her legs gave out and she collapsed on the spot. His complexion had gone beyond pale into a sickly purple, and blood-soaked bandages wrapped around wounds across his body. Anyone could tell he looked like someone whose life was about to end.
"C-Commander... sir..."
Even when she reached out with trembling hands, the warm hand that always clasped hers in return did not move. The gentle warmth that had always lurked beneath his expressionless face was nowhere to be seen. All that remained on the Commander's face now was the agony of someone teetering between life and death.
"Kgh... V-Vice-Commander... The Commander..."
"..........."
Cerise looked at Villon, who was sobbing beside her, with hollow eyes that spilled only tears.
"The place we went to... was a trap dungeon. An arrow suddenly shot out... and the Commander took it in my place..."
"It appears he was struck by an arrow laced with Vulture Spider venom. We did everything we could, but... from here on, it depends on the patient."
The healer continued in a somber tone.
Vulture Spider. A 4-star monster possessing a potent venom. Even the tiniest exposure could kill an ordinary person within seconds, and many renowned mercenaries had perished from it in the past. Even veterans who hunted monsters stronger than 4-star could die from just a few drops of that poison. And now that same venom had been driven deep into the Commander's body on an arrow.
Grab—
"You... You...!"
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...!"
Unable to contain her rising fury, Cerise seized Villon by the collar. If it weren't for you. If you had just been a little more careful, the Commander wouldn't... wouldn't be like this...!
"I'm sorry..."
"Forgive me... Vice-Commander... Commander..."
Yet she soon released him. This outburst was nothing more than meaningless anger, and it had been the Commander's own choice. To continue would be to disregard even that choice. Cerise sank back down and could only shed tears.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this... but you should probably prepare yourself."
".......Aaaaaah—!"
How could this happen? After I struggled so desperately, dragged through darkness, living in nothing but agony and pain... After all that suffering, the single ray of light that finally reached me... my final light in life... is being taken away so easily?
I finally found a goal of my own, not something forced on me by my father, and I gave it everything I had... Is even that not allowed?
"No... No... Commander...!"
Her screams, filled with despair and curses toward the world, scattered uselessly into the air.
"It's not impossible, but... you should still prepare yourselves."
The healer left after delivering only those cold words. Cerise knew it was cruel, yet she couldn't help it.
"No. No... The Commander will definitely..."
He will wake up. If it's the Commander, he will stand again and lead me forward, just like always. He will become the light that shines in the darkness, as he always has. He has to.
One day passed.
"Not yet... He will definitely come back."
Cerise stayed by Venice's side without sleep or food, refusing to abandon hope.
Two days.
"No... No... Don't give up. Yes... I won't give up..."
She embraced the Commander, who was growing weaker by the hour, and rationalized to herself.
Three days.
"Commander... sir."
"Surviving for three whole days is already extraordinary."
Watching his complexion grow even paler than before, Cerise felt herself wavering. A fierce storm threatened to snuff out the tiny flame of a candle.
Four days.
"................."
Four days without sleep or meals. Memories of her days with the Commander flooded her mind—the moment they first met, the first time they drank together, the magnificent sight of him fulfilling his promise to revive the Ska Mercenary Group, and how he had saved her from the Nepenthes like a hero from a fairy tale. She could only hold her hollow gaze and aching chest while tears streamed down her face.
And on the fifth day...
Just when everyone had given up, just when Cerise herself was about to break, something changed.