«I must get used to this.»
The words escaped my mouth with difficulty, heavier than I had expected...
I cast one last glance at Fry’s body,
which no longer moved,
his head severed, and the expression of shock frozen on his face...
It was still lingering in my mind.
I closed my eyes for a brief mont,
as if burying the scene in a distant corner of my mind,
where I wouldn’t have to see it again.
Killing...
It’s not like what’s written in stories,
nor like what appears in fantasies.
It’s far harder than I had imagined,
a strange feeling that stays lodged in your chest
even after everything is over.
«Ahhh...»
I exhaled slowly, then lifted my head.
I turned my gaze toward Zion,
who was breathing with extre difficulty, his chest rising and falling violently,
and the wound on his chest was still bleeding.
I didn’t hesitate.
I stepped toward him quickly,
and in a few monts, I was in front of him.
I opened the storage device swiftly,
and took out a high-level healing potion,
its faint light pulsing gently.
I extended it toward him without saying a word.
Zion lifted his head with effort, looked at for a few seconds, then extended his trembling hand and took the potion.
He opened the cap with his tired teeth,
and poured its contents all at once.
And in the next mont—
a warm light spread around his body, the wound on his chest gradually shrinking, and the bleeding slowed until it stopped.
Zion gasped deeply,
as if air had finally returned to his lungs after a long absence.
He rested his hand on the ground and looked at again.
"Thank you."
I felt a wonderful sensation upon hearing him thank ...
And how could I not feel it? After all, it was soone I considered a role model expressing gratitude to ; how could I not feel sothing extraordinary?
Not that the timing was appropriate—I tried to ignore the feeling quickly...
"You can thank later, but let’s help the others."
We both turned our gaze at the sa ti toward their location, and we were t with a grueso scene: half of them were lying on the ground, motionless...
I took a step forward toward them...
and upon reaching them, I heard the voices of so pleading for death from the pain they felt, their bodies split in half, their eyes filled with tears and blood surrounding their faces entirely...
"Please... kill ... I beg you to end my life."
His voice trembled from the intensity of the pain,
his eyes full of unbearable suffering...
I tried to move my body, but it wouldn’t obey,
I froze in place and couldn’t move...
I had to act... I had to free him from his suffering...
I repeated the sentences in my mind countless tis, but my body could not move from its place...
Clang -
Zion ended his life without hesitation, looked at for a mont, then averted his gaze...
"There are monts when death is a relief... when nothing remains in life but pain."
He didn’t wait for my response and moved toward the remaining survivors, giving them healing potions...
I remained standing... the ti felt long.
I thought that I needed to change my mindset, to adapt to this world,
but I knew it would be difficult; it would take so ti to adjust...
I turned toward the rest, distributing the healing potions...
We all gathered in one spot.
As I looked around, I realized the harsh truth...
only five of us remained,
though we had been ten before this mission.
A long silence fell...
Finally, soone broke the silence, his voice anxious
"What should we do? How will we tell the Bima Academy what happened here?"
Gina raised her eyebrow at Ayman and smiled sarcastically, replying
"Why are you so worried... isn’t it enough to just tell them the truth? Or have you lost your mind from the shock and can no longer think clearly about sothing so simple?"
Ayman shrugged, trying to hide his confusion and fear, but he didn’t fully succeed.
«It may seem simple to you... but for ... how am I supposed to tell them that half the team... died?»
Gina let out a short, loud laugh...
"«No need to overthink it... do you want us to tell them that we killed them ourselves or what?! So stop adding tension to what’s already there.»"
Ayman remained silent for a mont, then slowly nodded, still visibly tense, but beginning to accept the reality...
Zion stepped forward and said calmly
"Okay... let’s stop arguing for a mont and get out of here quickly before another group of monsters arrives."
Everyone nodded without exception. Zion continued
"That’s why we need to take our colleagues’ bodies with us before leaving. We don’t want to leave them here... right?"
Everyone fell silent for a brief mont, then we all nodded.
As I was about to leave, I heard a voice behind ...
Lina whispered softly
"Thank you... for saving ."
I smiled lightly at her, trying to hide any embarrassnt I felt.
«No need to thank ... I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who saved all of us, so I’m the one who should be thanking you.»
She looked at for a mont, her eyes shining with surprise and astonishnt.
I couldn’t help but wonder why she seed so shocked—did I perhaps say sothing wrong? No, that wasn’t it. I had spoken the truth.
Had it not been for her, I might have been dead; the number of monsters had exceeded what I expected...
Why did she feel such astonishnt? I couldn’t stop thinking about it...
I felt that if I didn’t ask, my curiosity would kill
"Why do you look so surprised? Did I say sothing wrong?"
Lina quickly shook her head, her expression shy, before saying
"This is the first ti I’ve heard you... say thank you to , so I was a little surprised."
That’s all there was to it.
I felt a slight disappointnt, quickly followed by a greater curiosity.
I was about to ask her another question,
but she moved away quickly, heading toward the rest of the team, apparently feeling shy.
I stood there, watching Lina’s back as she walked away,
and at that mont, I rembered the sa scene with my brother
when he felt shy in the sa way.
I unconsciously dug my nails into my palm,
as if an old mory had suddenly pressed on my chest.
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