‘No… Why did it end up like this?’
‘We finally won… didn’t we? Irene… Irene, don’t scare me like this…’
Irene had been swallowed whole—by that massive shadow-covered creature that looked like a monstrous crocodile?
‘Why did you save me?’
‘You’re the one who should’ve lived… I’m just a useless, defective doll.’
That silver flash of light—only now did Lilisah realize how dazzling it truly had been.
She was trash, a failure.
Every day before she met Irene had been exactly that—worthless. It wasn’t until Irene appeared that Lilisah came to understand what it meant to be cared for, to be needed. It was such a simple thing… but it had made her happy.
And now, it was all gone—because of her.
Irene was dead. Right before her eyes. Swallowed by a monster while trying to protect her.
The light faded from Lilisah’s eyes. She crumpled to her knees like a broken doll, her mismatched pupils wide and dry. Not a single tear fell.
Shouldn’t she be crying? Shouldn’t she be heartbroken? Then why… did everything just feel so empty?
“Hehehe… So? How does it feel—watching your comrade die, knowing there’s nothing you can do?” The magical creature’s narrowed eyes gleamed with malice.
“I’ve been lurking around here for a while, just waiting for the moment you’d let your guard down.”
“This look of despair on your face… It’s just too entertaining!”
The only thing it regretted was swallowing her too fast. Didn’t even get to savor the taste. Girls were supposed to be soft and sweet, weren’t they?
It had been ages since it last ate a human girl—ever since it was sealed in this dark, godforsaken place.
No, wait. It didn’t used to eat humans. Who’d eat their own kind, anyway? But that was so long ago. It had already forgotten it was once human.
In recent decades, fewer and fewer adventurers had dared to enter this city in search of treasure.
If it had known earlier, it should’ve let some humans escape with a bit of loot—spread the word. Then more idiots would’ve come in to die.
“Oh? You’re standing back up? Hah, humans really are cold-hearted. Instead of mourning others, they always put themselves first. I’ll give you some time to run, if you’d like. Otherwise, it’ll be—”
Before the creature could finish its sentence, Lilisah’s fist slammed into its face, cutting off its smug monologue.
But with no magic left, her blow lacked strength. She had thrown everything she had into that punch… and it didn’t even make the beast flinch.
“Huh. Interesting. You’re completely out of stamina, yet you chose revenge over escape?”
The creature raised a forepaw and brought it down hard—like swatting a fly—sending Lilisah’s body flying through the alley and crashing into the wall on the opposite side of the street.
That impact—it was confident her bones were all shattered. And yet—
“Oi… even if you’re a doll, getting back up after that is just cheating.”
Lilisah crawled out from the rubble, her limbs trembling. The wall behind her had crumbled into broken bricks. Her magic reserves were practically gone. She couldn’t even walk properly. But still—she didn’t retreat.
“Irene’s not dead! I’m going to save her…”
Yes. She had to save her. She had to hurry. Her vision was blurring. Her consciousness was slipping. But the desperate will to save Irene kept burning, drawing out every last scrap of strength from within her.
At some point, Irene had become… the most important person in her heart.
She was the one person Lilisah could never lose. She was willing to stake her life on it—she was supposed to die here anyway. Whether she could save Irene or not didn’t matter.
She would give it everything.
“Irene? Oh, you mean the girl I ate?” The creature sneered. “If she means that much to you, then—”
The magical beast crawled forward a couple of steps, opened its giant maw, and said, “Then let me send you to meet her!”
Lilisah could see the searing fire beginning to build in the creature’s throat. Her body could barely stand, let alone move, but the desperate urge to save Irene still drove her to launch an attack that was bound to be futile.
‘Is this really the end?’
‘If it self-destructs, there’s no way to save Miss Irene.’
‘But I don’t want to give up…’
If her regret during the earlier retreat was just a small pang of sorrow, then now it had become an overwhelming wave of frustration.
Just as the flames were about to burst forth, the magical beast suddenly let out a shriek and collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony.
Lilisah froze in confusion at the sight. In the next moment, her pupils shrank sharply—because something was ejected from the creature’s mouth.
“Miss Irene?!”
Lilisah rushed to catch Irene, who had been spit out.
Irene looked down at herself in disgust, covered in a layer of sticky goo. Just as she’d suspected, the corrosive fluids of otherworldly monsters could only dissolve a beautiful girl’s clothes—they were harmless to the skin.
“So gross. It stinks.”
Covering her nose, Irene glanced at Lilisah. “Looks like neither of us has room to judge the other.”
Lilisah was drenched in the foul-smelling blood of the magical creature, while Irene was dripping with a suspiciously sticky substance. The liquid had excellent corrosive properties—just not effective against Irene’s body.
“Miss Irene!!!”
Lilisah burst into tears.
“Hey, now’s not the time for cuddling! And with this awful smell? No way I’m in the mood for it!”
“Y-You’re okay?” Lilisah sobbed, her tears flowing uncontrollably.
She had truly believed that Irene was dead, almost completely consumed by despair. The emotional whiplash from hopelessness to relief left her utterly overwhelmed.
Irene took out a scroll and said, “Before I got swallowed, I used a ‘Holy Light Shield’ scroll.”
If she remembered right, that scroll had been written by Rosweisse. Thinking of her former companion stirred mixed feelings in Irene’s heart.
Their relationship had long since broken down. Rosweisse had even come to dislike her. Yet in the end, it was Rosweisse’s scroll that saved her life?
Suppressing the swirl of complicated emotions, Irene grabbed Lilisah’s hand and turned to run. Though she had thrown out a few abnormal status scrolls inside the creature’s stomach, their effects wouldn’t last long. Once the stomachache passed, the magical beast would almost certainly come after them again.
What were they waiting for if not to run now?
However—something was wrong with Lilisah. Irene noticed it after just a few steps. Her breathing was heavy, and her stride sluggish.
“Lilisah?”
“Miss Irene, you go on ahead. I’ve run out of mana… I can’t move anymore…”
Lilisah was panting, nearly stumbling to the ground, but fortunately, Irene caught her just in time. Now her entire body was leaning against Irene, heavier than it had ever felt before.
“How do I replenish magic power? I… I have some mana potions—would that work?”
Lilisah shook her head, her cheeks flushed red.
“I… I don’t know how to replenish it either, but mana potions definitely don’t work. I’ve already tried drinking one before.”
“Irene, forget about me. Run, or that thing’s going to catch up…”
“If I were the kind of person who’d leave you behind and run, I wouldn’t have come back to save you in the first place! Besides…” Irene’s face showed her rising anxiety.
“How am I supposed to escape on my own?”
She was running out of scrolls—once she used them up, it would be the end of her. Irene’s body was only slightly stronger than a normal person’s, and she couldn’t run fast. There was no way she could outrun the magical beast on her own.
“You mean you’ve never replenished your magic power before?”
At Irene’s question, Lilisah shook her head blankly.
Irene frowned. This is bad.
Most likely, only Lilisah’s master—Froya—could help restore her magic once it was depleted. But if Irene abandoned Lilisah here, she herself wouldn’t be able to escape either. And more importantly, she could never bring herself to do that.
What should I do…?
“Irene… my body’s really hot… something feels wrong… can you… can you stay a little farther away from me?”