While Anas was being crushed as he awaited his end, Naivy suffered terribly as she searched for a way to save him, trapped by her own helplessness.
Whatever she did, Anas's end would remain the same—or perhaps she too would die, or at the very least suffer grave injury.
And yet, despite that, she wanted Anas to survive, so that loneliness would not become her companion again in this cruel world.
She did not want to lose what she had gained with such difficulty.
'W-Why? Why is it that every time I gain something, I lose it? Every time I feel hope, the world snuffs it out? Every time…'
Even as she spoke inwardly, the words froze in her throat, refusing to come out.
One drop, two, three...
Tears began to pour down.
Her emotions had reached the brim of the cup, and this final blow was the drop that made it overflow.
She had had enough of this world.
Her feelings clashed inside her like crashing waves in a raging sea.
At one moment, anger toward the world engulfed her. At another, hatred toward herself for being selfish in wanting Anas to survive...
All this accumulated madness had to find a way out. The more pressure builds... the nearer the explosion.
Suddenly, a burning sensation began to spread through Naivy's chest.
As though a live ember were burning inside her, and little by little that ember became a blazing flame.
Naivy raised her fist and clutched her chest over her heart, gripping so tightly her nails nearly tore through her dress.
She screamed, but no sound emerged from her throat.
Saliva dripped from her mouth as her brows knit together and her teeth clenched hard, her eyes narrowed in pain.
Without giving her any chance to recover, a flood of scenes from a strange bloody nightmare began pouring into her mind. From all those fragments, all she understood was that she had succeeded in something.
Then the burning pain inside her intensified, as though someone had poured oil upon the fire and made it blaze hotter.
Suddenly, every emotion vanished at once.
Nothing remained except one small flame that burned stubbornly and refused to disappear:
'Save Anas.'
When that thought overwhelmed her mind, a strange sensation began coursing through her limbs. It was as though something inside her had awakened and was trying to escape her through its violent surge across her body.
Naivy gasped deeply like a drowning person desperate for air.
The feeling was like severe, rapid blood loss.
She pressed harder against her chest, seized by a fierce urge to keep whatever was escaping her inside—but she did not know how.
For a moment, she surrendered to the sensation.
At first, it was difficult.
But soon it became easier when she thought that whatever was leaving her should remain inside her, like her own blood. So she imagined that thing flowing within her instead of escaping.
The sensation of bleeding began to fade slowly, and at the same time warmth spread through every part of her body.
Sweat drenched most of her face, and breathing became unbearably difficult.
At last, when she gained control over that feeling, strands of light burst suddenly from her body, forming a sword of pure radiance floating before her.
Before she could think, the sword shot forward in a flash and pierced straight through the centipede's head as easily as a knife through butter.
The centipede convulsed violently, then collapsed like a lifeless corpse.
Naivy's eyes widened as she stared at it. All the pain vanished as suddenly as it had come, leaving behind only overwhelming exhaustion.
But the sense of accomplishment was astonishing.
Truly astonishing.
'I-I helped Anas? I saved Anas? I saved Anas! I finally did something useful... finally...'
Soon the girl's inner cheers faded, and her consciousness began to blur as though the world were spinning around her.
At that moment, every emotion inside her disappeared completely.
Then a sudden clarity filled her mind.
The girl gave a weak, happy, satisfied smile—
And everything turned into... darkness.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
When Anas saw Naivy smiling as she collapsed, he understood there was a connection between her and the sword that had just appeared.
'What is happening here? Must disasters always come one after another? Damn it!'
Anas cursed as he tried to stand, but his body refused to obey him.
Every rib, every muscle, every part of him was filled with unbearable pain so intense he wanted to clench his jaw—but even his jaw muscles lacked the strength to move fully.
All Anas could move were his right hand and his eyes.
Damn that insect! Weren't its legs and jaws enough weapons already? Did it have to possess venom too?
In truth, dark thoughts had begun flooding in, and his mind started burning.
'What if something attacks us while we're in our weakest state?'
The mere thought sent chills racing through his body, forcing him to push those thoughts away before worse things happened.
But...
Was this really how he thought?
Why had he started thinking like fools?
Whether he thought about it or not, would that determine whether events happened?
"How... ridiculous."
A faint laugh escaped him, more like a dry cough than laughter.
'When we stand at the top, we never think of danger. We never think of the moment we fall. We believe the world is fair, that everything is in our hands. And when we fall... heh... we begin believing in nonsense—luck, bad omens, and all that rubbish. How contradictory we are.'
Anas laughed bitterly again.
He laughed at himself.
He laughed at the world.
He laughed at everything these cursed events had become since this disaster began.
And eventually he even laughed at his own mockery of himself.
Yet despite all his dark thoughts, something warm remained in his chest, refusing to die.
No—not hope.
Something else.
A familiar voice flowed through his mind, ringing like a bell in silence.
'Hehe~ Looks like you forgot that you're no longer carrying the burden of two lives alone. Don't think I intend to die easily after finally being able to speak with you. It's only been three days.'
Anas sighed inwardly in exhaustion.
"And how exactly does that help me—"
"You idiot!" Priscilla interrupted sharply, and he fell silent.
"My existence means you are not struggling alone. Not suffering alone. Always—always remember this: no matter what you endure, no matter what you feel, no matter how beautiful it is, no matter how terrible..."
She paused, letting her words sink deep into his mind.
'...there is someone who feels all of that with you.'
A warm sensation spread through Anas's body, as though he were sitting beside a marvelous fireplace.
But soon her mocking tone returned.
"By the way, you owe me for not speaking to me for a day and a half even though you keep using what I gave you all the time. You're cruel!"
Despite her words, the warmth spread further, making the pain retreat somewhat from his body.
It seemed Priscilla was not giving him emotions—she was accelerating his body's healing ability.
Anas smiled.
But that smile turned into a frown when he began trying to crawl, using his one arm that moved only with difficulty.
Yet compared to the agony he had once felt in the tunnel, this pain was nothing.
He endured it and kept dragging himself toward Naivy.
Across the centipede's corpse.
Across shattered rubble.
Fortunately, ruins surrounded them everywhere.
Wait—'fortunately'?
That was deeply irritating.
No matter.
What mattered was that he kept dragging himself until he reached the unconscious girl.
Then he bit onto her dress near the collar and began pulling her with immense difficulty.
Jaw muscles straining to grip the fabric.
One nearly paralyzed arm dragging them forward...
His condition was pitiful.
'It seems your thinness is useful after all.'
He kept pulling her, inch by inch, drenched in rivers of sweat, dust, and blood.
His shoulder began hurting with every movement, and his suffering increased with each passing second.
But at last, he reached a pit leading into one of the ruined houses.
A distance no more than ten meters had seemed like an endless road in his condition.
But in the end, he was human.
And humans are known for breaking their limits.
At last he reached the pit, let his body roll inside, then slowly and carefully pulled Naivy after him.
When he stopped, his arm spasmed violently and a throbbing pain began pulsing through it.
Despite the agony, at least now—
They were safe from danger.
For now...