I'll Definitely Save You, Sister
Drip... drip... drip...
A damp liquid fell onto the crown of Roy’s head, where he was bound to a chair. It was blood, trickling down from the torn flesh-walls. “Ugh... where am I...”
Roy regained his senses and looked around. He was sitting all alone in a room surrounded by walls of flesh. He couldn’t understand the current situation at all. He had clearly been captured by Jojun and was on his way to meet his sister... but when he woke up, he was in this dark, gloomy room. And he was the only one there.
‘Is that... a chair?’
The empty chair, waiting for its occupant, looked ominous to Roy. It was placed directly opposite the one he was tied to. He had a sinking feeling that someone would be forced to sit there, face-to-face, to be tortured.
‘No way...’
Roy assumed the worst. Just the thought made his head feel like it was going to explode.
Just then, the curtain covering the entrance to the room was pulled back, and someone walked in.
“Oh? You’re already awake? Are you conscious?”
“Y-you... Eila...?”
“Hehe. It’s been a while since the Black Market, hasn’t it?”
The one who entered was Eila, the black-haired younger twin sister. As soon as Roy saw her, he desperately pleaded for help, hoping against hope.
“Y-yeah... Eila. It’s been a while... Look, c-could you untie these? Please... It’s urgent. I have to find my sister quickly...”
Roy babbled, begging Eila to remove the ropes and chains binding his arms. He wasn’t thinking straight. All he could think about was getting Eila’s help to escape this place and retrieve his sister, Helen.
“Hehe. I can’t do that. Master told me to keep a close eye on Roy-oppa. If I do, he said he’d give me a reward this evening. I’m so excited. Right? Roy-oppa? You’re excited too, right?”
“What...? A reward?”
“Yeah. Tonight, he’ll probably hold me and my sister. We’re always second best. Is it... because I’m a bit strange? No. That can’t be it. Master told me I’m normal.”
“W-what kind of... bullshit is that... No, more importantly... where is Bella?”
“Hm? My sister? She’s not here. Why are you looking for her again? Why? Don’t you like me?”
Only then did Roy’s mind snap to attention. He realized that Bella was nowhere to be seen. Eila, left alone, was dangerous. She was capable of any bizarre, twisted act. Without her sister Bella’s control, Eila was a genuine psychopath—a madwoman whose sanity flickered in and out. She even had a touch of paranoia, acting as a fanatic who obsessively recorded and observed the people in the camp. And Jojun had left Roy alone with such a madwoman, with the order not to kill him. Eila interpreted that as: as long as I don’t kill him, it’s fine.
“Hehe. Roy-oppa, listen? I decided to become Master’s loyal servant. He said he’d let me live if I did. He said he’d treat me well. He treats me well. He even gave me medicine. Master said it’s okay that my mind is a bit unstable! You’re the first person besides my sister to say something like that to me. Someone who doesn’t look at me like I’m a freak. You know, Roy-oppa, you used to look at me like I was a freak sometimes. Master respects me. I like Master. You... you’ll come to like Master too. But... he’s a kind person, right? You’ll like Master too, right?”
Eila, completely unhinged, leaned close to Roy’s face and poured out her thoughts without any filter. Seeing her unfocused eyes, Roy muttered.
“Y-you crazy bitch...”
Roy thought he didn’t have time to be doing this. He had to get out of here quickly. He had to go save his sister... His train of thought was cut short. Pain surged through him.
“AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!”
A sharp awl dug into Roy’s thigh. Eila twisted the tool she had driven into his leg, over and over, like a child mindlessly breaking a toy.
“What...? Crazy bitch...? You shouldn’t use such bad words to a lady like me. You shouldn’t. You shouldn’t. Why are you doing this? Why am I the bad one? I had no choice because I was following orders!!! What else was I supposed to do!! They said they’d kill me if I didn’t follow orders!!! What do you want me to do!!! It’s not my fault!!!”
“Ughhh...!!! S-stop!!!”
Roy gasped for air, overwhelmed by the agony. Eila, ignoring him, continued to stab and twist the awl into his thigh, throwing a hysterical fit.
“Then apologize quickly!!! Apologize for calling me a crazy bitch!!!!”
“Argh!! You crazy bitch!!! Because you guys betrayed us, my sister... AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!”
“Apologize. Apologize! Apologize!!!”
“UghhhhhhhAAAAAA!!!!! I-I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!!!”
Roy apologized to Eila, feeling as if he were vomiting blood. Because of Eila and Bella, his location had been revealed to Jojun, and he had lost his sister. He could never forgive Eila... but the one begging for forgiveness right now was not Eila, but himself. Roy felt extreme stress in this absurd situation. He was on the verge of losing his mind.
“Hehe... Yeah. I’m not a bad girl... right?”
“Y-yeah... E-Eila... You’re not a bad girl... Ugh...!!”
Eila smiled broadly and pulled the awl out as Roy apologized. Roy struggled to break free from the ropes and chains tied tightly around his hands and ankles, but it was useless. He wanted to use a skill, but he couldn’t do anything because Eila was staring at him, ready to stab him with the awl at the slightest sign of movement. Soon, Eila wrapped a bandage around Roy’s eyes, blocking his vision. Then, she told him to count. The condition was that if he could count up to ten thousand without stopping, she would let him go. Roy counted as hard as he could. But whenever he reached around three thousand, Eila would interrupt by stabbing his thigh or slicing his palm with a knife. Every time that happened, he had to start counting from the beginning. His sense of time began to unravel. He couldn’t tell how many hours he had been trapped here. His distorted perception made him feel as if he had been locked in this room for days.
Several more hours passed like that. Jojun and Helen still hadn’t visited the room. Only Eila’s maniacal laughter echoed through the air.
******
In one corner of the Crimson Zone, there was a treatment room where a few makeshift beds had been set up.
“Oh, you poor things...”
I called out to Aram and Juha, who were lying on the makeshift beds. Both of them looked gaunt and emaciated. In particular, Aram, who had taken the Dragon-Blood Knight’s sword head-on, even had her hair shorn off in patches.
“How are you both feeling... are you okay?”
“I’m not okay at all... I feel like I’m going to die. I can’t do anything for two weeks now. No... a month. I need to rest for a full month...”
Aram started complaining about dying the moment I opened my mouth. She had been acting like she was on her deathbed since the raid on the Black Market’s underground floor, and now she had completely committed to staying in bed. She had always hated working, but after raiding the Abyss with me, she had gone into full strike mode. At this rate, Aram might just become a parasite.
‘How do I solve this kid’s laziness...?’
Just then, Arum, who had finished treating her shoulder, came to see her sister who was suffering from her injuries.
“O-oh, sister...”
“What is it, Han Arum? What’s wrong with your arm?”
“I got hurt while fighting.”
“What? Who? Who did that? Is that bastard still alive?”
Seeing Aram flare up at the news that her sister was hurt, I came up with a clever plan. I stuck to Aram’s side like a sycophant and tattled on Nick.
“That guy... I killed him, but he’ll probably resurrect and come back soon.”
“What? No... what kind of bullshit resurrection is that? Isn’t that cheating? Is he Jesus or something...”
“Exactly. It’s incredibly unfair. He’ll probably even resurrect in a perfectly healthy new body, right?”
“Damn it... He crippled my sister’s arm... and he’s going to resurrect in a perfectly healthy body...?”
Aram was furious, calling it a balance-breaking disaster and asking what kind of bullshit situation this was. I kept whispering in her ear, fueling her anger and lying that if she didn’t kill that guy, Arum might be in danger.
“Haa... I wanted to rest... but I can’t.”
Aram had regained her motivation by accident. Just then, Arum, who had been watching her sister, winked at me. It seemed she had intentionally intervened to stop Han Aram from making excuses to rest. If her sister Aram rested, she might have to bear more of the burden herself. It was heartwarming to see such a strong sisterly bond. Aram, who would raise hell if anyone else bullied her sister despite bullying her to death herself, and Arum, who kept her eyes peeled to make sure her sister didn’t slack off—it was quite a sight.
“Ah, how is Juha? I heard she was very active.”
“Oh... I think I’ll be fine if I rest for about a day... sir.”
“You’re using that North Korean dialect again...”
“J-just let it slide! A-ah, no, let’s move on!”
“Yeah. Hehehe.”
I laughed and stroked Juha’s hair. If Juha hadn’t risked her life to buy me time, I might have lost Aram, Sora, and Juha all at once. If that had happened, I might have snapped and committed a global act of terrorism. After all, among the items I possessed were a few that could completely end what was left of humanity. Like the slime in the jar... or the Spore Queen that supposedly crawls out if you gather three hundred mushroom-men... Anyway, I was glad they were safe.
I told them to rest more and left the three of them behind. That’s when I ran into Sora, who was bringing food. She must have been nursing Aram and Juha. If it weren’t for them, Sora would have died for sure.
“Sora!”
“Oh, Jojun-oppa.”
“How’s your thigh?”
“It’s all healed. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Yeah. That’s a relief. You worked hard.”
“It’s nothing. I couldn’t even be of much help...”
“Forget it. It’s a miracle you didn’t die.”
I patted Sora on the shoulder, looking dejected, and told her to cheer up. Still, thanks to Sora reporting it quickly, reinforcements including Cheshire and Eila were able to rush to the scene, so it wasn’t like she did nothing. She wasn’t the type to be strong in combat to begin with. It was inevitable, as she had skills more suited for formation building and exploration.
After checking on all the injured personnel, I headed out to see the Dragon-Blood Knights, whom I hadn’t managed to turn into slaves yet. They said they were sturdy... I was looking forward to it.