"Good, then take it out. Actually, let's get them inside first."
Blondie nodded. "I'll take Flavia. You take Ben."
Without hesitation, he crouched and picked up the tangerine-haired woman, carrying her towards the cave's entrance.
I just stood there for a second, mouth slightly open.
'Son of a… you expect me to carry this giant?'
I turned to Ben's unconscious form, lying sprawled out on the ground like a collapsed wall of muscle. His breathing was slow but steady, face smeared with blood and dirt from the earlier beating.
I clicked my tongue.
"Man… fuck you," I muttered under my breath as I crouched down.
Lifting him was surprisingly easier than expected. I had assumed he'd weigh as much as a boulder, but something about his build—maybe his aether composition—made him lighter than his sheer size suggested.
'Still heavy as hell, though.'
Grumbling, I trudged toward the cave, following Blondie's lead.
At least things hadn't turned into a complete bloodbath. Yet.
…
Inside, the cave had an odd stillness to it. The air was damp but not musty, the walls rough with jagged formations that glistened faintly under the dim light.
Blondie had already placed Flavia down and was rummaging through his backpack. His fingers moved quickly, searching for something. I placed Ben near the wall and stretched my arms, rolling my shoulders.
A moment later, Blondie pulled out an artifact.
It was a star-shaped object with a green orb embedded in the center, metallic with a dull gray color. The edges looked slightly worn, but the craftsmanship was sturdy—almost industrial.
The moment he pressed it against Flavia's hand, his voice was firm.
"Flavia, put your aether in."
Despite her pain, she nodded. Her twisted expression softened slightly as she focused, and the artifact hummed to life.
A green hue spread from the orb, a soft glow pulsing outward as her body absorbed the energy. The tension in her shoulders eased.
'Interesting.'
Blondie then moved toward Ben, pressing another artifact against his chest. But this time, he activated it himself, his aether seeping into the device.
Same effect. The green glow spread, though slower this time.
I frowned.
"Why did you make Flavia use her own aether, but for him, you poured yours?"
Blondie glanced up, a little surprised by the question.
"It's because she was awake. If I had used my aether on her, her body would've involuntarily rejected it."
I nodded. "So, since he's unconscious, his body isn't resisting."
"Exactly."
That was… pretty useful information.
I hummed to myself, but I didn't miss the way Blondie kept glancing at my arm.
Right.
My wound had already healed.
Not even a scar remained.
His paranoia was almost palpable. His fingers twitched, his jaw clenched slightly, like he wanted to say something but was holding himself back.
I sighed.
"Don't worry," I said, chuckling. "I'm not some kind of monster. I just have my own secrets, and I'd rather not disclose them."
I could've lied, said it was some artifact or healing magic. But I had no idea how healing artifacts worked, and if I bullshitted my way through it, I might just end up making him more suspicious.
Better to own the mystery than to fumble a weak excuse.
Blondie seemed to accept that. His shoulders eased, though his curiosity remained.
'Good. He respected boundaries.'
I glanced toward Flavia. She was clutching the artifact tightly, brows furrowed as she continued to pour her aether into it. Though her condition was improving, she still looked terrible.
'Now, I feel bad.'
[ System: Host, is your humanity coming back? ]
[ (°ロ°)!!! ]
'Nobody has ever been more human than me.'
[ System: Press X for doubt. ]
[ ಠ_ಠ ]
'Bitch.'
I sighed. Hallucinating system messages again.
I definitely needed therapy.
I pushed those thoughts aside and approached Flavia. The moment I sat beside her, she instinctively tensed.
She tried to subtly shift away.
I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry. I took things too far."
Her eyes widened slightly.
I bowed my head, as much as I could while sitting. She was shocked by the sudden apology.
'She definitely thought I was a bad guy.'
She parted her lips, probably about to say something, but I cut her off.
"Focus on healing yourself first."
I gave her a small smile and got up, stepping away before she could respond.
Blondie was still tending to Ben, his face set with concentration. The healing was working—but slowly.
Agonizingly slow.
Leaving them to it, I moved toward the cave entrance.
…
The moment I stepped outside, the air felt… different.
A cold gust swept through the canyon, sharper than before. The night sky stretched endlessly above, but there were no stars. Only darkness.
And then—
I looked toward the town.
The so-called abandoned town.
Something was off.
Maybe it was my constant exposure to battles, maybe I'd developed some kind of innate danger sense, but every instinct in my body screamed the same thing—
This place is wrong.
Not just abandoned. Wrong.
Like something was watching.
And then I remembered—
System's warning.
It had spoken earlier.
It never speaks unless it's harassing me. But this time, it had been serious.
"Do not turn back."
I swallowed. My gaze drifted back toward the town.
Then—
A flicker of movement.
Something shifted near the town's gate.
I froze.
Near one of the wooden pillars, just beneath the old, ragtag sign, a silhouette stood.
At first, I thought it was just a shadow. But no—it was there.
A figure.
Shrouded in pitch-black darkness, its features obscured.
But it was staring at me.
Intensely.
I could feel it.
A slow, creeping sensation crawled up my spine, sinking into my bones. The air around me felt heavier, thicker.
And then—
It smiled.
A grin that stretched far too wide, ear to ear.
A mouth that was too white.
The contrast was unsettling—pure darkness, yet those teeth gleamed like polished bone.
My breath hitched.
A wave of nausea rolled through me.
Something inside me stirred.
[ Chaos Embryonic Core is saturating. ]
My heart slammed against my ribs.
'What the fuck?'
I could feel something crawling inside me.
Something moving.
Shifting.
Eating.
The thing at the gate didn't move.
It just… smiled.
I took a slow step back.
It didn't follow.
But somehow, I knew—
It wasn't because it couldn't.
It was because it didn't need to.
Not yet.
The cold wind howled through the canyon, and for the first time that night, I realized—
The temperature hadn't changed.
I was just shaking.