Chapter 13: They were even bigger idiots than I thought.
It was darkness.
An empty void, where I felt something tightening around me.
This mustâve been what happened after being swallowed by <Nation Devourer>âassimilated into the shadows.
Those monsters were supposed to be the Evil Godâs minions, but no one really knew where they came from.
Maybe they crawled out of a place like this.
...But thatâs not the point right now.
"âHey."
"Whatâs up, Rina?"
I glared up at the blond bastard, Yous, who was clinging to me like a damn limpet.
"The hell are you doing here!?"
Damn it, the height difference made me look like a kid! Weâre the same age, you ass!
I wanted to complain about unfair growth spurts, but that wasnât the issue right now.
"Well, you noticed something and moved, didnât you?"
"Yeah, didnât have time to warn anyone."
"Then my body just moved on its own."
"What kind of human reflex is that!?"
I was shocked, but...
Now that I thought about it, I wasnât any better.
Right after the leader got swallowed, Yous called out to meâbut Iâd already started moving before he even finished.
Same thing.
Weâd been together so long that we acted before the other could even think.
What the hell? Thatâs kinda creepy!
"âStill, seems like it saved us."
"How so?"
"This thingâs trying to digest us. But itâs failing."
When it swallowed the leader, it was the sameâthis thingâs built to handle one person at a time.
But Yous barged in and got us both swallowed whole, so now itâs glitching.
"Meaning weâve got some time to spare."
"So we figure out what to do with it?"
"âNo."
For some reason, Yous rejected my words.
"Hah? Itâs chaos out there! And who knows how long this âtimeâ even lasts?"
"Itâs. Fine. Theyâll definitely come save us."
"...Hell of a confidence you got there."
So what, we just sit tight and wait for rescue?
If that actually worked, itâd be a damn relief.
"Thatâs why we should use this time wisely."
âSuddenly, Yousâs voice shifted.
No longer the reassuring tone he used to calm me downânow it was serious.
Darker. Quiet, but full of resolve.
"Here, no oneâs watching. Not even the god who blessed you can see inside the Evil Godâs shadow."
"âYou mean..."
It was also a voice seeking an answer.
To the question that had been buried deep inside me all this time.
"âLetâs finish that conversation from back then, Rina."
Back then.
I didnât need him to explainâI knew exactly what he meant.
The first time I used my Alternative Skill.
Well, technically, the first awakening was in the flower field under the night sky, but the first time I consciously activated it was during my B-rank promotion.
The exact moment Iâd just been reminiscing about.
Back then, this bastard told me:
"You donât have to answer yet."
âThatâs what he said.
About how Iâm cursed to bring misfortune to others.
How that makes me want to push everyone away.
But he told me to shelve itâthat I didnât need to decide yet.
What a joke.
And yet, after that, I kept causing trouble, making people happy, giving them trials...
But I never lost anyone.
If someone had died, I wouldâve had to face it then.
It was an irresponsible way to thinkâ
But I got away with it.
Because I kept protecting them.
I kept postponing it.
And now, Yous was saying weâd settle it here.
What the hell had I even told him that night?
Had I reached a conclusion back then?
But I was drunkâno rationality left in me.
It was probably just spur-of-the-moment nonsense.
This wasnât the same.
"âI..."
I tried to force the words out, failed, and bit my tongue.
Stuck. Yous waited silently, but nothing came.
Damn it.
Even if I thought Iâd moved forward, Iâm still like this, huh?
...No.
There was one thing I couldnât say back thenâone thing only the current me could say.
"...Iâm scared."
Yeah, scared.
A stupidly simple, painfully pure emotionâjust fear.
"Iâm scared of hurting someone. Scared of the things Iâll cause. And most of allâ"
I looked up.
"âIâm scared of losing you."
To my surprise, the words slipped out of my mouth almost effortlessly.
âŚWhat the hell? Was it always this easy to say?
If Iâd realized sooner, I wouldnât have struggled for so damn long.
Right now, Iâm just⌠glad heâs holding me.
Glad his warmth is proof that weâre still alive.
But stronger than that relief is the fear clawing at my chest.
Pathetic. I sound like some lovesick girl.
Iâm twentyâhell, if you count my past life, Iâm practically an old lady by now.
âŚWait, since when do I even think of myself like that?
Itâs like Iâm being forced to admit how far Iâve come from who I used to be.
"Then itâs simple."
Yous tightened his embrace, his gaze lifting toward the void above us.
Whatâs he looking at? I squinted but saw nothingâjust haze, thick as the fog in my own heart.
But of course he could see it. His eyes were always sharper than anyone elseâs.
"I know a way to wipe that fear away."
"âŚHow?"
"Itâsâ"
A knowing smile curled on his lips.
And thenâ
ââââAnd thenâ
"âLeader! They got swallowedâ!"
"Calm down! I know! Theyâre not dead yet, so stop panicking!"
The leaderâs shout cut through the partyâs chaos. Whether to reassure them or herself, she clung to the certainty that Yous and Rina still lived.
"The Shadow Serpent stopped moving after eating them. That means it canât digest them! Iâve been inside that thingâIâd know!"
"S-so⌠what do we do?"
Sonaria gripped her staff, poised to act despite her limited combat skills. A mageâs instincts, but useless here.
"Options: attack now, or analyze for weaknesses."
"âŚWeâre not equipped for this."
"The two who are got eaten, genius."
This was an A-rank partyâthe pinnacle of adventurers. No one here was a fool. If anything, they were quicker thinkers than most.
But in raw analytical prowess? No one matched Rina and Yuse.
Yousâs intuition bordered on preternatural. Rina, for all her brashness, dissected problems with surgical precision. The leader knew Rinaâs noble upbringing played a part, but there was something else lurking beneathâsomething even she couldnât define.
"Timeâs running outâŚ"
The <Nation Devourer> had defied Rinaâs predictions. Legends spoke of its shifting form, but this felt different. Would such a drastic change leave no records? Worse, it had moved after absorbing their skills. Nothing shouldâve survived that.
Is it nearing S-rank?
If soâthe next call would carry consequences. The leader knew. And so, without hesitation, she made her choice.
Butâ
âââA single idiot moved faster.
"ââO Infernal Flameââ!"
Before the leader could speak, Anna finished her incantation. A firestorm erupted from her palms.
"Anna!?"
She mustâve started chanting the moment they were swallowed. No hesitation. No room for doubt.
"Leader! Whatâs there to debate!? Theyâre trapped in there!"
"R-right! All unitsâprepare to attack! Weâre getting them out, risks be damned!"
âââWithout their strategists, brute force was their only option. The leader had stalled to steady the party.
Anna hadnât.
Their choices werenât at oddsâjust their resolve.
"âŚIâll admit, I donât understand what Rina and Yuse carry."
Annaâs voice was eerily calm as she began another chant. True masters needed no silence to focusâher mind was already a blade.
"But I know theyâre different. And I donât care. Theyâre my best friends."
"AnnaâŚ"
"They took a leap forward together. Maybe Rina didnât think it through, but Yuse? He chose this. That takes guts."
A single sentence laid bare how she saw themâand how fiercely she trusted them. The party listened, weapons ready.
"Then itâs our turn now!"
Her next spell ignited.
"ââO Blade of Windââ!"
A cyclone of razor-edged air tore through the darkness.
"If Rinaâs cursed luck is the problem, weâll be her safety net! If someone gets hurt because of it, weâll protect them! Alone, she might fail one dayâbut!"
Her glare sharpened.
Her heart burned.
"Sheâs not alone. As long as weâre hereâno one lets Rina bear that weight again!"
That was an absurdly simple resolution.
A statement that might seem like pure fantasyâand yet.
"If that good fortune would hurt Lina herself, then Iâll protect her no matter what! So that Lina can keep smiling forever⌠so she can stay with Yuuth forever!!"
And thenâ
"ââAlternative Skill!"
She activated her trump card here and now.
"ââYou all heard her. Any objections to Annaâs words? âŚNone? Good! Then from this moment on, weâ!"
With a booming voice, the leader declared with a radiant smile.
"âare resolved to stand by and protect Linalia and Yuuslid, no matter what!"
And in an instant, the situation began to shift.
ââThe words from above reached us loud and clear.
Annaâs voice, the leaderâs declaration, the faces of our comrades worrying over usâ
All of it got through.
"âŚTch, what a buncha damn idiots. Thatâs beyond just empty dreams."
"Whatâs wrong with being idiots? You donât hate fun idiots, do you?"
"Sâpose not."
ââRight after, a violent tremor shook the shadows.
"Whoaâ?!"
"Anna really went all out, huhâŚ"
In terms of sheer destructive power, Annaâs Alternative Skill was undeniably the strongest in the party.
And now it had pierced straight through the shadowsâthe writhing agony of <Nation Devourer>âs emotions surged into us.
Or ratherâ
"Quit hugging me like youâre annoyed, dammit!"
"Well, letting go in this mess would be worse, wouldnât it?"
"Yeah, but still⌠Iâve got my own feelings and stuff to deal with hereâŚ"
Grumbling.
"Then let me say this instead."
"W-what now?"
Before I knew it, he pulled his face closer to mine.
The hell?!
"ââYouâve never once listened to how I feel, have you?"
"âŚâŚHah?"
"You think you dragged me into this against my will. That itâs your fault I ended up like this."
âŚY-yeah.
Thatâs exactly it.
If it werenât for me, this guy wouldnât have gotten tangled up in my mess, wouldnât be on the verge of dying like this.
Yousâs a geniusâwith skills like his, he couldâve made it anywhere.
Thatâs what Iâd always thought.
But thenâ
"Then hear me out. Isnât that part of your responsibility too?"
He pressed in, relentless.
Ah, damn it allâ
"âŚâŚâŚâŚYeah."
This time, I couldnât refuse.
Couldnât even run away.
"âŚNnâ"
ââHis arms around me tightened just a little more.
And before I could stop itâa frail, trembling sigh escaped me, tinged with just the faintest hint of happiness and nerves.
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