Noe walked onto the stone platform with heavy steps and stood before Cold Cry. She kept her head down at first, hesitated for a moment, then finally gathered the courage to look up, meeting a pair of cold eyes. She was just about to speak.
"No." Cold Cry didn't even give Noe a chance to speak.
"I... I haven't even said anything yet."
"I know what you're going to say. In any case, those two cannot stay here."
It was exactly as Noe had thought; Cold Cry would never take them in. If he had truly wanted to, he would have agreed when Kimura suggested it. To him, more people meant more unpredictable variables — less reliable than being alone.
"The two of them are injured. If they go out now, they will definitely be eaten by demons."
"Before coming here, who didn't arrive with the resolve to face that possibility? If we take them in, what if two more come begging you to shelter them? What if ten come?"
Noe was left speechless by his retort. "I... I didn't think that far ahead."
Cold Cry looked out at the two people waiting in the open space. Yuka flashed an intentionally friendly smile.
Cold Cry saw right through her — that woman was being hypocritical. She didn't dare approach herself, yet she had manipulated the simple-hearted Noe into pleading on her behalf.
If it weren't for the fact that Yuka had tried her hardest to push Noe out of danger at the very last moment when they were besieged by four demons, he would never have considered letting them stay at all.
"You saw the strength of that Jumping Demon. We don't know how many special demons like it are on this mountain, but I doubt there's only one. Do you think you have the strength to deal with several of them? You don't even dare to kill demons — and yet you want to protect others?"
Noe lowered her head, unable to say a word. Having eaten others' food, one's mouth is soft; having taken others' things, one's hands are weak. As someone who still needed protection herself, pleading for the two of them was simply inviting humiliation.
"If they die outside, it is because their strength is insufficient. At most, they will resent us in their hearts for being cold-blooded and refusing to help. But if they die while with us, that responsibility falls on you — on your failure to protect them. Are you certain you have the ability to carry that? If you can endure the endless guilt and regret that would follow, then let them stay."
Noe couldn't help but shiver. This was something she had never considered. She had only wanted to simply plead for the two of them, never thinking about what would come after.
Cold Cry's words completely extinguished her desire to plead for them.
He was right. Allowing these two to stay was the same as them entrusting their lives to her — and she couldn't bear that weight.
Even so, she already had her answer. Accepting that the two were genuinely not suited to remain here, she turned and walked back down from the platform.
Better to suffer for a moment than to suffer for a lifetime.
Watching Noe's sad, dejected figure retreating, Cold Cry felt his resolve soften. He thought to himself — how can there be such a guileless girl in this world? Unable to bear seeing her caught in that silent misery, he called after her: "Tell them I can take them to the Wisteria barrier at the foot of the mountain. But if they want to follow us through the Final Selection, don't even think about it."
Hearing this, Noe was suddenly overjoyed. That's a perfect idea! Why didn't I think of it? Send them out of the mountain — this way, they wouldn't have to die, and neither she nor Cold Cry would have to carry a heavy burden. There was simply no better solution than this.
"Cold Cry, how are you so clever? You really are too smart!" With that, she turned and ran eagerly toward the two waiting in the open space.
Seeing Noe's bright, jubilant expression, Yuka and Akino assumed it was settled and broke into relieved smiles. When Noe explained that she could escort them down but they couldn't remain, the smiles vanished from their faces instantly.
They had wanted to stay because they hoped to use these two's strengths to survive the Final Selection. Clearly, that boy was not easy to fool — he had seen through their intentions at a glance.
After enduring half a night of slaughter, to simply slink away down the mountain felt deeply humiliating. But without these two to protect them, staying behind meant only one thing: being eaten by demons.
Yuka moved to ask Noe to plead for them again, but Akino stopped her with a hand on her arm.
He shook his head. He saw things more clearly than Yuka. With their current strength, staying would only make them a liability.
Those demons had been terrifyingly powerful. Even if that boy was strong, facing a siege by several at once would push him to his limits. At that point, he would barely be able to protect himself — let alone two others.
The fact that he was willing to escort them to safety was already far more than they had any right to expect. Asking for more would be pushing their luck.
Time passed minute by minute. After the brutal slaughter of the first half of the night, the second half seemed to pass without major incident. Occasionally, a scream pierced the forest somewhere in the distance, quickly swallowed by silence.
By dawn, no more demons had appeared. The night had survived.
The sky gradually brightened, and the air was thick with the damp, heavy smell of blood.
Cold Cry opened his eyes from meditation. In an environment this tense, maintaining Total Concentration Breathing, Constant felt almost effortless by now — a grim testament to the night they had endured.
The two girls had talked through the entire night and seemed to have become close. Now, with dawn breaking, both understood that the moment of parting had come.
Noe and Yuka walked ahead holding hands, Akino followed in the middle, and Cold Cry brought up the rear — all the way to the Wisteria boundary at the mountain's edge, where demons could not follow.
A long drag mark scored the earth nearby, trailing off into the trees. It wasn't difficult to imagine what had happened there the night before.
Yuka recalled that the first scream she'd heard last night had seemed to come from this very direction. Three male contestants had taken shelter here. She had thought it would be the safest spot — but clearly, it hadn't been.
"Alright, Noe. This is as far as we go. It's safe here; no more demons will come past this point."
"Mm~"
The two held hands, reluctant to let go, like old friends parting after a long journey.
"Noe, please be careful. We'll be waiting for you at the foot of the mountain."
Noe nodded vigorously.
Their farewells finished, Cold Cry did not retrace the path they had come by. Instead, he turned toward another route — the direction Kimura and the others had taken the night before.
As he passed Yuka and Akino, he turned his head and looked at them — then let his gaze drop briefly to the packs in their arms. He said nothing, and walked on.
Noe waved once more at Yuka and hurried after him.
"Did he notice?" Akino asked quietly, watching the two figures grow smaller in the distance.
"Probably. That boy's eyes are far too sharp. He's both cautious and intelligent." Yuka paused. "Noe is lucky to have him."
"Have you decided?"
"I decided before I ever set foot on this mountain. My family was killed by demons. If I'm still alive, I want it to mean something."
"Then let's go."
"You don't have to stay with me."
Akino smiled gently. "I want to."
---
Noe quickened her pace to fall into step beside Cold Cry, tilted her head up at him, and said happily, "Thank you, Cold Cry."
"Thank me? For what — saving their lives?"
He glanced sideways at her and scoffed. "Don't bother. As long as you don't drag me down, that's thanks enough."
Noe knew perfectly well he was just being prickly. She stuck her tongue out at him and pulled a deliberately silly face.