Hooo—
Mikhail exhaled slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. At the same time, he took a few quiet breaths in and out, centering his focus on the sword in his hands.
Adrian had offered to help, asking how long Mikhail needed to draw out his sword energy. Mikhail had said about five minutes should do, but for some reason, Adrian replied, “Got it. I’ll try to buy you around ten.” Then he picked up a branch from the bushes, asked Mikhail to light it with fire magic, and fashioned a makeshift torch for a distraction.
***
Another tree crashed to the ground behind him.
The monster barreled through the densely wooded forest like it was its own backyard, breaking apart every tree in sight with its full body as it chased after Adrian, who sprinted ahead with graceful agility. If Adrian used magic now, Mikhail—whose senses were already heightened from channeling mana—would almost certainly detect the shift in the mana flow. It was obvious the surrounding mana would all surge toward Adrian’s direction.
The monster surged through the forest, tearing it apart as it followed the flickering light of the torch in Adrian’s hand.
One of its black tentacles suddenly shot forward, trying to snatch Adrian’s ankle. He narrowly dodged it, but the sharp tip grazed the outer part of his leg.
It wasn’t a fatal wound, but a stream of hot blood trickled down from the line the tentacle had left behind.
Tch. Adrian clicked his tongue silently. While wearing a human shell like this, he couldn’t fight the creature without using magic.
Just as he leapt over a thick root in front of him—
Before his foot even touched the ground, a black tentacle lashed out, aiming for his ankle again. Adrian grimaced and thrust the torch in his hand toward it.
With a shrill, piercing shriek, the monster recoiled, pulling back its tentacle in an instant. That was a relief—but Adrian’s body slammed into the ground and rolled hard across it. His ankle must’ve snagged on a root.
“……!”
Crunch. A sudden jolt of pain forced a groan to rise in Adrian’s throat. His jaw trembled in midair, and to hold back the scream, he had no choice but to bite down on his lip. But there was no time to rest. Gritting through the pain, Adrian forced himself back onto his feet and staggered forward in the direction he’d been running. Behind him, he could feel the bloodthirsty presence of the monster, drawn by the scent of blood.
Meanwhile, Mikhail, eyes still closed, grew uneasy when no sound reached him for a moment. He bit his lip hard, trying to refocus on drawing out his sword energy, but the only thing he could hear was the rustling of grass and leaves. That was odd. He opened his mouth.
“……Adrian! Are you okay?”
At that moment, Adrian, sensing Mikhail’s mana flow falter for just a second, shouted back.
“Focus on your sword, idiot!”
Not here, you dumbass! Adrian yelled with a deeply furrowed brow. Pain was starting to flare from his ankle, but it was manageable. It wouldn’t kill him. He stumbled between the trees, barely keeping his balance as he ran. Only after spotting Mikhail in the center of the forest, where he was conjuring sword energy, did Adrian allow himself a crooked grin.
Seemed like all that mana training hadn’t gone to waste after all.
Tak! Tak! Tak!
The monster was still hot on his trail. Adrian waited until Mikhail seemed more or less ready—then abruptly veered off course.
“Coming in! Get ready!”
At his shout, Mikhail’s eyes snapped open. It was as if he’d been waiting for that exact moment. A pale white aura began to rise from the sword in his hands—Fellen Deeps’ blade. To think he’d managed to succeed in that short span… He really did have the makings of a hero. Though in truth, that energy would only last a few dozen seconds at best.
Mikhail drew in a sharp breath as he looked at Adrian stumbling out from the forest. The man was covered in leaves, as if he’d rolled through the woods, and from his leg… blood was trailing down.
Mikhail shut his eyes tight for a brief moment, banishing the chaos in his heart. Adrian had done all this to help him—he couldn’t afford to mess it up now. Forcing his composure back into place, Mikhail focused squarely on the space behind Adrian. Dozens of trees behind him were toppling in a line.
It’s coming!
Mikhail raised his sword slightly, ready to welcome the monster head-on. He glanced down at the sword now crackling with sword energy, marveling at its aura.
Come to think of it, he’d done this once before—in that lava cave…
KIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEK—!
Mikhail charged at the monster, which had burst through a tree with a crash! using its head. Whoosh—his sword slashed a glowing white line from the creature’s forehead down through its body in a single stroke. The blade, now wreathed in sword energy, sliced through the monster as effortlessly as cutting through pudding. At the same time, he cleaved through a tentacle flying toward him in a wide arc.
Thud—! A tremendous sound echoed as the monster collapsed to the ground. From the severed portion of its body, thick black smoke began to waft upward. The severed tentacle landed beside it with a dull flop. Mikhail confirmed the kill with his own eyes, his chest swelling and deflating as he took steady breaths. He was bracing himself in case the monster tried to rise again—but its remains lay still and unmoving, utterly lifeless.
Haa… Only after confirming that Mikhail had taken down the monster did Adrian finally exhale the breath he’d been holding. It was only then that he remembered he’d gotten hurt just trying to play along with the guy’s stubbornness.
Heat pulsed from his ankle, and blood continued to drip from the wound left by the tentacle, painting red splotches on the ground. He was about to ease himself down to sit—but instead just let his body collapse and sprawled out flat on the forest floor.
“Adrian!”
Hearing the noise behind him, Mikhail turned and shouted. Watching Adrian fall felt like his heart had dropped straight to the earth.
“…Yeah.”
I’m not dead. Quit freaking out already.
Adrian mumbled weakly, still lying down.
All I got for my trouble was a busted ankle, he thought bitterly. He tried moving his foot a few times, then frowned. Ugh, probably fractured too.
He could’ve healed himself in seconds with magic—but that wasn’t an option right now. From nearby, he could feel Mikhail’s hands trembling as they hovered over him. The torch had rolled off somewhere and was now lying far off on the ground. Mikhail rushed over, grabbed it, and quickly examined the wound near Adrian’s leg.
He must’ve been more shaken than he let on. Mikhail let out a tight breath when he saw how deep the wound really was. He brought his blood-slicked palm up to eye level. The color—deep crimson—matched the shade of his own irises.
“You okay? …! Wait, this is blood!”
But the one receiving all that concern, Adrian, just scowled as if he had a headache.
“…Mikhail. Did you forget what I told you earlier? I said keep your voice down in the forest.”
“How the hell is that important right now?! You can’t even stand—you’re lying on the damn ground! We need to get you back to town and find a healer—”
“Stop being so dramatic.”
Adrian’s firm voice cut through Mikhail’s frantic rambling, snapping him back to his senses. It was almost strange how, despite the pain, Adrian didn’t even let out a groan. With a detached expression, he offered an excuse for his condition.
“It just looks worse because it’s dark. It’s not even that—”
“Oh, really?”
Mikhail raised his blood-stained palm right up to Adrian’s face.
“You sure about that? You don’t even realize how bad it is. Look at this. Just from the blood alone—see?!”
His palm was soaked in thick, wet blood. Adrian stared at the smear of his own blood spread across Mikhail’s hand. Huh. Guess I did lose quite a bit, he thought. Speechless for a moment, he finally muttered,
“…Fine. Give me a second.”
He slowly pushed himself up from where he’d collapsed. With his injured ankle, standing properly wasn’t easy.
He knew he should probably give Mikhail some peace of mind—but Adrian had something more pressing on his mind. Shff. Thud. His limp was obvious, each step awkward and unsteady.
“Don’t move. Where do you think you’re going like that?”
“I need to check it.”
Adrian grimaced every time his injured foot touched the ground, but still hobbled toward the monster’s remains. Mikhail watched him for a second, sighed, then muttered,
“Wait here. I’ll bring it to you.”
Mikhail quickly walked past Adrian and approached the remains on the ground. When they’d first felled it, thick black smoke had poured from the wound—but now, only faint, wispy trails of smoke rose into the air.
“You know not to touch it, right?”
Adrian’s voice rang out from behind. He was still trying to make his way over, stubborn as ever.
“Obviously. Huh?”
Mikhail knelt beside the remains and muttered to himself.
“What? What is it—oh, come on…”
Adrian finally caught up and clicked his tongue. There was nothing left—only a faint black stain on the ground, like the creature had completely vaporized into smoke without a trace.
***
Despite his complaints, Adrian once again found himself unable to win against Mikhail’s stubbornness—so he ended up getting carried on his back. Unexpectedly, it was actually comfortable and secure. With his leg injured, it would’ve taken ages if he’d tried to walk back on his own.
“This is kinda nice.”
“…I get it, so stop whispering right next to my ear.”
“Well, I can’t speak loudly. The villagers are probably all asleep by now, right?”
Adrian grumbled in a sulky voice.
Too close. Mikhail flinched at the sound, a shiver running down his spine, and the tips of his ears turned bright red.
Adrian, noticing the color creeping up Mikhail’s ear, stared blankly before speaking.
“…Want me to walk instead?”
“No. Just—be quiet.”
Mikhail swallowed a breath, then focused solely on walking.
As soon as the two entered the inn building, they ran into Kyle. He’d been waiting in the lobby, holding an item he’d forgotten to hand over earlier. After knocking on Adrian and Mikhail’s door and realizing they weren’t inside, he’d decided to wait for them on the sofa.
“…What the hell happened to you two?”
Shit. Only then did Adrian realize what a mess they looked like. Covered in leaves, riddled with minor scrapes—and on top of that, he was being carried piggyback.
“……”
The three young men stood in the hallway, staring at each other in silence for a long, awkward moment.
