As the excitent of the battle faded, the aftermath hit.
My knees buckled and I collapsed onto the ground. Cold sweat ran down my face as I panted heavily.
Even the sensation of pain was faint.
Perhaps it was thanks to the analgesic still circulating in my system, or maybe my brain had grown accustod to the overwhelming pain.
Every muscle in my body scread in agony.
I could barely move a finger.
My vision blurred for a mont and, before I knew it, I was sprawled on the ground.
Only then did my body begin to relax as if it finally found peace.
It was at that mont that I sensed several people approaching .
"Senior Ian!"
"Ian Oppa!"
It was Celine and Seria.
They had been originally flung away by the Corpse Giant's head slam on the ground.
However, they didn't seem to be seriously injured, as no pain was reflected in their voices. They were just a bit out of breath from rushing over towards .
I was relieved.
It was enough for to face death alone.
There was no need for my companions to endure such terrible pain.
I was desperately trying to hold onto my fading consciousness.
If I couldn't hold on now, I couldn't guarantee my life.
Gasping, I asked Celine and Seria.
"...Where is the Saintess?"
"S-She's coming! She’ll be here soon! Wh-What should I do…?"
Seria nervously fidgeted, while Celine's face turned pale upon seeing how dire my condition was.
If I saw a childhood friend coughing up blood like that, I’d react the sa way.
Moreover, I had long since lost focus in my eyes.
Anyone could tell from my vacant, unfocused gaze.
That my mind and body had already reached their limit.
Celine, fumbling at my torn arms, eventually began to sob.
"I-Ian, Oppa... y-you're not going to die, right? You have to stay conscious… j-just a bit longer…."
"Don’t... Kugh! D-Don't worry."
I tried to reassure Celine, forcing a semblance of calmness.
But my attempt was marred by the fact that I coughed up blood midway.
Seeing the sudden gush of blood, her face grew even paler.
She didn't look convinced by my words at all.
"S-Should I carry you and run? That way we can et the Saintess a bit sooner!"
"Don't. If I get any more jostled...Kugh. I-I might really die."
I ant it.
In my current state, even the slightest jolt could be fatal.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I was one of the most fragile beings on earth right now.
In the end, Celine and Seria could only pace anxiously.
The only fortunate thing was the Saintess arriving shortly after.
Her breathing was heavy from running without pause.
Her light pink eyes went blank when she saw .
With trembling hands, she carefully examined my injuries.
"O'Lord…"
Her voice was filled with lant.
At that mont, her hands began to glow with a pure white light.
Soon, the highly concentrated holy power surged into my body.
Only then did my ragged breathing start to ease. The warmth of it made lower my head in exhaustion.
Honestly, I didn't know if I would be healed completely.
But with the Saintess having rushed over, I could at least avoid death.
After all, wasn't she known to be able to save anyone as long as they weren't already dead?
While I worried about potential side effects or lasting disabilities, for now, I had no choice but to trust the Saintess.
So I finally let myself relax and tried to close my eyes.
If it weren’t for the anxious voice of soone urging on.
"...Once the ergency treatnt is done, we need to imdiately get out of here."
It seed my long day wasn't over yet.
My eyelids, which had been slowly closing, fluttered open.
With a look of desperation, I followed the source of the voice.
There stood Yuren, a handso androgynous man with jade-colored hair.
He looked extrely anxious.
“Sister, are you done yet? We need to hurry…”
“The Corpse Giant has already been defeated by Senior Ian.”
At the voice, Yuren's eyes glanced sideways.
There, Seria was speaking her mind with a sowhat cold tone.
“Do we really need to rush? As you can see, Senior Ian’s condition is critical. If we act hastily and—”
“....Defeated? Who?”
Seria's brow furrowed slightly.
She looked as if Yuren had made an ill-tid joke.
“The Corpse Giant…”
“No.”
However, even Seria's repeated words didn't sway Yuren.
Instead, he rubbed his face in frustration.
“No, it can’t be defeated… It’s not that kind of monster.”
I was montarily stunned by his words.
Can't be defeated?
A question that inadvertently ca to my mind escaped from my throat.
“…But I destroyed its core?”
Yuren sighed deeply.
He crossed his arms and parted his lips as if to explain sothing.
"The thing is..."
But Yuren's kind-explanation was abruptly cut off.
Fog began to settle over the battlefield.
It happened in an instant.
Thick smoke billowed up, turning the view into a white haze. The ominous sign visibly alard Seria and Celine.
I imdiately turned to Seria and requested.
“...Take Da Irene and run away imdiately. Right away!”
Da Irene was hit squarely by the Corpse Giant.
She wouldn't be able to move for a while.
Though Seria looked bewildered, she quickly nodded and hurried off sowhere.
The Saintess bit her lip.
“Just a little, just a little more and…”
“Sister, you must hurry… It’s going to rise again soon!”
Celine, too, was tense from the unsettling atmosphere.
She swallowed hard and asked,
"R-Rise again…?"
"If it loses its core, it needs to find a new one."
Heh, I let out a despondent laugh.
Undying bastard.
For a mont, I could understand the '' from the future.
Why we can't defeat it.
Why we had to run.
The answer was finally becoming clear.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOO-!
Staggering, the corpses began to rise.
They were the corpses that made up the Corpse Giant’s body.
The infinitely regenerating body of the Corpse Giant was composed of hundreds, or even thousands of corpses.
So of them lted away as soon as they detached from it , but there were still corpses that maintained their form.
Those were now standing on the ground again with their lifeless legs.
A muffled curse slipped from Yuren's lips.
"...Bloody hell."
It was clear even at a glance that we couldn't handle the sheer number of them by ourselves.
Although the Yurdina family’s soldiers and the Rinella family’s mage corps were present, there must have been a good reason for Yuren’s urgency to flee.
The Saintess seed to have finally finished the ergency treatnt.
"...It's done! Yuren, can you carry Ian?"
"Let's leave imdiately."
Without another word, Yuren hoisted onto his back and started to run. Naturally, Celine carried the Saintess and followed suit.
It was then that I, still in a daze, managed to speak.
"We need to stop them. There are still territory residents who haven't evacuated yet…!"
"Thanks to you destroying it, we’ve bought so ti. At least for a while, the corpses will only wander around this area... You've done a great job."
Yuren tried to reassure as he continued to sprint.
The space compressed, and the scenery whizzed by. Every ti that happened, it felt like a burning thirst surged within .
"If we include the Yurdina family’s private soldiers...!"
"It's no use. Those things keep regenerating."
They were truly an unbeatable enemy.
Yet, I couldn't give up and kept scanning our surroundings.
There had to be a way.
It was rare for the Corpse Giant to be in such a weakened state. If that Evil God's Underling revived, who knew what havoc it would wreak next.
At least as many forces as today would need to be deployed.
Just then, a horrifying screech reached my ears.
Kieeeeeeekkkkk
"Get lost!"
It was a corpse rushing at us with terrifying speed.
Its gait moving on four legs was extrely fast. This corpse was qualitatively different from the slow-moving ones.
But Yuren, seemingly used to it, simply kicked the corpse away.
The corpse rolled on the ground, screeching again, and Yuren took off running again.
But it didn't happen just once or twice.
The corpses were peculiarly fixated on and Yuren.
At least seventy percent of them seed to be chasing us.
I asked in a panic,
"Why are they acting like this?!"
"Because you took down the Corpse Giant! That mory remains with them!"
In other words, they wanted revenge.
It was an absurd situation, given that they were already dead bodies.
Even so, I couldn't afford to laugh.
The oncoming corpses’ montum was extrely fierce.
Yuren, carrying , couldn’t use his hands. Naturally, there was a limit to how many he could fend off.
As a result, his ankle was eventually bitten by a corpse that had fallen to the ground.
Yuren gritted his teeth, trying to hold on, but in that brief mont, the corpse’s arms wrapped around his leg.
Yuren fell, and I rolled on the ground once again.
We were in a situation where we were forced into an unexpected escape.
Despite having just defeated the enemy, I an.
I couldn't help but wry bitterly at the absurdity of it all.
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