Chapter 13
The moment she saw the upraised palm, Moran exhaled roughly.
“Gasp, huff…”
Inside the palm, a saw blade whirled. The blade was caked thick with dark red blood and chunks of flesh from who knows where.
Shaking uncontrollably, Moran glanced at the floor the monster had smashed. It was deeply gouged, matching the blade’s edge exactly.
—Missed.
“……!”
At the monster’s regretful tone, Moran sucked in a sharp breath for a split second.
In the pitch-black space, those madness-glinting eyes flickered back toward her.
Their gazes locked, and Moran trembled more violently than ever. Her legs buckled uselessly.
She pushed against the floor with her hands, desperate to put even a little distance between them, but her body wouldn’t obey.
—Ah, ah, ah!
Suddenly, an odd sound came from under the monster’s nose.
A mouth that definitely hadn’t been there began to form, and with a whirring buzz, drill-like pointed teeth emerged.
—Here I come, here I come!
Its lips split into a grin stretching ear to ear, thrilled beyond measure.
Gushing blood from the torn skin soaked the floor. Terror consumed Moran from head to toe.
“Sc…”
Scary.
Scary, scary, scary, scary!
No one facing a monster like that could keep their wits about them.
Swallowed by fear, Moran couldn’t think straight.
Her whole body drenched in sweat from the dread. She could barely breathe.
No one to save her.
Cleta and Werner weren’t by her side now. Hoping for a coincidence was futile.
Holloway, who’d been beside her, stood up. The monster paid him no mind.
No matter what Holloway did, its gaze stayed fixed on Moran alone.
In that case…
“…It’ll be fine, right? Since you’re a kid… If you block the front well, the monsters won’t attack me.”
At death’s crossroads, Moran’s breathing grew ragged.
Those deranged eyes made it crystal clear she planned to abandon Holloway.
Unaware of the words spilling from her lips, Moran bit them until they bled.
And Evelyn, the one she’d so confidently lectured, was gone.
No one to witness her ugly side.
Evelyn hadn’t come to save her either. Holloway had been ditched by her too.
Holloway felt no disappointment toward Moran.
He’d never expected anything, so it was only natural. He’d seen that human ugliness plenty—enough to be sick of it.
Boringly so.
Terrified, Moran grabbed Holloway’s hand in a vise grip. Her unfocused eyes turned to him.
Wanting to live is just a natural human urge.
Rationalizing to herself, Moran tried to escape the spot.
Her grip on Holloway’s hand tightened even more.
Her hand wouldn’t budge to shove him away, but as the monster stepped closer, Moran squeezed her eyes shut and was about to push him—just then.
Suddenly, a white sheet draped over the tagger’s head.
Flustered, the tagger flailed its hands in the air and yelled.
—What? Can’t see!
—It’s all dark!
At the unexpected cry, Moran snapped her eyes open. There stood Evelyn, bold as brass.
“…Sis?”
Surprised by the unexpected arrival, Holloway called out to Evelyn without thinking.
He’d figured she’d bolted for good.
Answering him, Evelyn scooped Holloway up in a flash and held him.
“Shh.”
“Sis!”
“I said shh!”
He never listens, dammit!
Muttering, Evelyn kicked at Moran, who was quaking in terror.
“Not coming?”
“I-I’m coming…!”
Startled, Moran tried to stand, but her limp legs wouldn’t cooperate.
She stumbled, but Evelyn didn’t wait.
Forcing strength into her unresponsive legs, Moran hurried after to not lose her.
While the monster’s vision was briefly blocked, Evelyn and Moran scrambled to hide.
All the while, Moran glanced back and forth between Holloway and Evelyn.
Did she… see me trying to ditch Holloway?
What now? What if she tells someone?
Moran dreaded losing her reputation.
The fear that Evelyn had glimpsed her hidden side sparked a terror different from the monster’s.
After ducking into a room far from the tagger and catching her breath, Moran licked her dry lips and smiled brightly, as if nothing had happened.
“Thanks, Miss Evelyn. You didn’t abandon us—you came back to save us. I thought you wouldn’t, since it was pretty dangerous, right?”
Evelyn, catching her breath with Holloway in her arms, was floored by Moran’s words.
They weren’t outright mean.
But it felt exactly like she was saying Evelyn’s lateness had let things spiral this bad.
Or am I reading too much into it?
Am I hearing it twisted because I’m such a messed-up person?
She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but the vibe left her feeling oddly foul.
“Still, please hold back on the impulsive stuff next time. I’m worried others might misunderstand and think badly of you, Miss Evelyn.”
“No…”
She was dumbfounded.
Who cared about others’ opinions, but impulsive…!
When Moran was the one who’d grabbed Holloway and stormed out!
In the end, Evelyn snapped.
“Ah, this is pissing me off!”
Moran had a real knack for riling people up with polite words.
Blowing up here would make Evelyn the villain, but she was the type who didn’t give a damn about that.
“Looks like in Moran’s head, I’m already the bad guy. Fine, then—I’ll act like it and use you as bait to bail. Happy?”
“Miss Evelyn, that’s not what I meant at all. Why twist it to make me feel bad?”
Isn’t that exactly why you said it that way?
“What’s going on here?”
At the worst possible moment, Werner appeared, and Moran actually welcomed him.
“Sir Werner! You’re safe!”
Acting like nothing happened, it was hard to believe this was the same Moran who’d tried to use Holloway as bait.
Holloway sneaked a glance at Evelyn.
Her face was a mess of pure irritation.
❖ ❖ ❖
Honestly?
Moran’s character hadn’t changed. She still pursued justice and valued life—same as ever.
The core was unchanged, but maybe it was the human-to-human dynamic.
Why the hell am I so fired up?
And as if to scream that Moran was the game’s protagonist, the sub-male lead popped up the second I shot back harshly—I wanted to applaud.
“What kind of talk is that, Miss Evelyn?”
“Mind your own business.”
I cut him off flat.
Werner’s brows twitched in displeasure. At the same time, a quest success window appeared.
‘Werner Hasioth’ has joined. Gather companions (2/2)
Sub-quest <Friends, Gather ‘Round!> Success!
The sword’s location is under the bed in your current cabin.
“We need to escape together—planning to keep being this contrary?”
Werner tried to reason nicely, but his voice already dripped pity toward me.
Ignoring him completely, I set Holloway down and peered under the bed. There was a longsword.
I dropped flat to the floor.
“What are you doing now? I’m talking to you…”
“Who are you for me to listen?”
Sure, the Werner family’s title outranked ours, but our family’s prestige and wealth blew theirs away, so I could mouth off like this.
Paying Werner no heed, I crawled under the bed and stretched my arm out.
Grabbing the sword, I wriggled back out and stood.
Acquired ‘Sword’!
Sharp Sword
Trait: Sharp.
Seriously, that’s the description forever?
“…A sword?”
Werner’s eyes went wide in surprise.
In the game’s lore, demons hid weapons around because one-sided slaughters were no fun.
So, he probably wouldn’t think it was game-related.
I drew the sword. Worried it’d be too heavy to use, but nah.
Luckily, the hilt fit my hand perfectly, and it was light enough for me to swing.
Yes!
Weapon get.
Better quality than expected—satisfying.
The scabbard had a strap to sling cross-body like a backpack, so I shouldered it and secured it tight.
Werner and Cleta had held onto their swords through the storm, so they had basics—no need to share mine.
“Miss Evelyn.”
When I didn’t respond, Werner called again.
“Miss Evelyn!”
“Yeah, I’m listening. Worried I’ll use someone as bait and run? Fine, I’ll stick with Holloway.”
“And you think you can protect this kid?”
“Of course. I hate Moran sooo much, I’ll protect everyone but her!”
I yelled it out, sticking my tongue out playfully.
Werner looked baffled at the childish jab, but Holloway hugged my arm tight and wouldn’t let go.
“Miss Evelyn, you—!”
“Stop, Sir Werner.”
Moran held him back. Shaking her head no, she looked so forlorn.
Pity welled up—she seemed too pathetic to be the same Moran who’d run her annoying mouth earlier.
“Miss Evelyn was just trying to survive.”
Just say I ran to save my skin, why don’t you.
Whatever anyone said, I didn’t bother defending myself. Holloway tugged my hand.
“You don’t have to say anything?”
“Say what?”
Holloway clammed up without adding more.
“What do you mean, trying to survive?”
“Miss Evelyn didn’t do anything.”
Then, glancing between me and Werner, she continued.
“Just… Pridel died. Alhulf got hurt bad too.”
Making it sound like I did something to those two whiny crybabies Alhulf—when I didn’t.
It wasn’t just me; Werner frowned, hearing it that way.
“You used him as bait?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I answered carelessly. Sub-quest was done anyway.
There might be co-op quests, but none yet.
First, find the goal before the tagger catches us.
As I headed out, Werner grabbed my arm, stopping me.
“Where are you going? It’s dangerous to split up.”
“What if I use you two as bait and run? Let go.”
“Like that’s new? I brought you in expecting it.”
Werner dragged a hand down his face.
“…And I feel guilty for dragging you against your will.”
Werner was basically a guy with a strong sense of responsibility.
Holloway grabbed my hand and pointed at Moran like an innocent kid.
“Yeah! She said earlier, monsters don’t target kids, so it’s fine to leave me! But Sis protected me.”
Surprised by the unexpected reveal, I looked at Moran.
That she’d tried to use Holloway as bait was quite the shock.
Moran’s face went ashen as she avoided my gaze.
“Sis.”
Holloway looked up with a ‘Did good, right?’ face.
It was kinda novel—Holloway interfering when he usually stayed out of conflicts.
I just patted his head.
Werner glanced between me and Moran, then pretended not to notice.
“Let’s head upstairs for now. It’s dangerous here.”
…I can’t go there.
He probably wasn’t making an issue of it to avoid fanning team discord.
Werner prioritized safety.
Trust between us was already shattered, though.
Whatever—I just need to escape myself, so no biggie.
Finding the gate helps me, helps them.
“You take Holloway up first, then. I have something to find.”
“One sword doesn’t mean you can beat monsters.”
“Not trying to beat them.”
I need the goal point to decide up or down!
Co-op Quest Triggered!
Excluding Holloway, the three of you team up to lift the cup on the desk and chat steadily for ten minutes.
Oh, for fuck’s sake…
