Ch.15Blood Bag (4)

The first line of “Snow Country” came to mind as I passed through a long tunnel.

That thought occurred because everything I saw upon opening my eyes was pure white.

And quite fittingly, my consciousness had been submerged in numbness, as if having passed through a long tunnel.

Where am I?

I was certainly…

Rewinding my memories like a video, several scenes came to mind.

One arm was completely blown off then regenerated, and thanks to the Star Blade leader appearing and burning the Blood Knight, I managed to escape.

With Isla held in front of me, stealing the Blood Knight’s armor.

I stepped into a blizzard after passing through an exit like a long tunnel.

The problem was what happened afterward. My memory wasn’t clear. I couldn’t understand why I was in this state.

Though my body was certainly that of a monster, I couldn’t comprehend why such a powerful body had collapsed.

Bleeding was nothing more than a minor status effect for a homunculus, and my overflowing regenerative ability should always keep my body at 100% condition.

Yet here I was, lying down. While shaking my foggy head, I suddenly remembered Isla.

“Ah…!”

“She’s not there.”

When I urgently raised my upper body, thinking she might be trapped under me, I heard a voice. A youthful voice I was gradually becoming familiar with.

Only then did I see Isla.

A woman with drooping ears on both sides, resting her chin on her hand while staring at the campfire.

Instead of her usual cloak, she was wearing white armor made of leather.

“Before you collapsed, I nimbly slipped out, you know.”

Hearing those words, I dazedly sat up, and a cloak slid down from my back. Not mine, but Isla’s.

I removed the snow-white leopard-patterned cloak from my body and looked around.

A blizzard was raging. The whole world was dyed white, making it difficult to see clearly.

I didn’t know how much time had passed. As I slightly rolled my eyes, a translucent window appeared as if responding to my will.

[Play Time: 8,824 hours]

Seven hours, then. Not too bad. If only we weren’t being pursued.

I shook off the snow covering my shoulders, head, and entire body, then looked at Isla.

“How did…”

“You suddenly collapsed.”

Isla answered as if reading my mind before I could finish my question. I closed my mouth.

Me?

Despite appearances, my body is that of a monster.

With a Health stat of 20, I was at least five levels above an ordinary human, at a level where no comparable living being existed in nature.

I was at a level where the concept of endurance didn’t even apply. I could walk and run all day with energy to spare.

So I found it difficult to accept the fact that I had collapsed.

Could it be due to the Blood Knight’s attacks?

The fact that I couldn’t properly block his attacks and my own attacks didn’t work effectively seemed to be due to that Blood Knight’s abilities.

Perhaps an ability to manipulate blood flow, or exert some control over muscles.

It suddenly occurred to me that I might have fainted as a result of that.

And it didn’t sound like such an impossible story.

“You didn’t rest at all, did you?”

But Isla seemed to think differently from me.

“You didn’t sleep, didn’t rest, just kept staying awake.”

“…No, just because of something like that…”

As I was about to laugh in disbelief, Isla rarely showed a trace of emotion over her expressionless face.

It was close to anger. Or perhaps irritation.

One thing was certain—she was displeased with me.

Isla tapped the ground with her tail while warming herself by the campfire inside the round snow pit.

“Your mind wears out when you overwork yourself without proper rest. That’s why you fainted.”

Isla seemed quite convinced. I thought it was because she didn’t know much about Blood Knights.

“You don’t know how to take care of yourself, do you?”

On the other hand, I vaguely thought she might be right.

I hadn’t properly slept or rested. My brain had been begging for rest, but I thought it was merely for psychological reasons.

Partly because I didn’t fully understand how homunculi lived as a species, but it was also true that I felt a certain burden.

I was convinced that if my sister was in this world, she would need help. I believed that every moment I hesitated could put her in danger.

Even if that wasn’t the case, I felt there was no need to waste time here. Quickly, without hesitation. I only thought about putting what I needed to do into action.

Had that become stress and eaten away at my mental strength?

I looked at Isla, who had crossed her arms with an annoyed expression, then brushed off the snow that had settled on my shoulders.

Isla. A snow leopard beastkin and hunter from the New Continent. I didn’t know this woman well.

We were traveling together. It seemed like we could be called companions. If she felt the same way.

But when I thought about how much time we had actually spent together, I had some doubts.

We had only been together for 29 hours. We had just barely known each other for a day.

It was too short a time for any kind of intimacy to form.

Yet she was worried about me.

The reason was simple.

If I died, she would have to face the Blood Knight and the Star Blade captain, a powerful Star Contractor, alone.

She had no regenerative abilities and could die from a single blast of flame, and it would be a miracle if she could withstand even one attack from the Blood Knight.

My performance was a critical factor in her survival. What if I had collapsed during a fight?

The mere thought sent chills down my spine. Recognizing my mistake, I nodded.

Being an excellent top laner and a person with decency, I apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

Isla’s eyes widened momentarily. Probably a positive sign. I had to guess since her expressions weren’t very pronounced.

“You’re right. If I were to die, you’d have a hard time surviving too, so of course you’d be on edge.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ll be more careful.”

Isla looked confused, but I thought it was because she hadn’t expected me to apologize so honestly.

And while we were on the subject, I added:

“And I’m saying this now because I don’t think I’ll have another chance to say it.”

Isla’s eyes followed me, and I met her gaze.

“We can part ways now.”

Her tail stopped moving, and her already stiff expression hardened further.

The emotion rising in her seemed to be moving from disbelief to irritation, but I didn’t mind.

“The Blood Knight is pursuing us. He’s a monster above monsters that even this body of mine can’t handle.”

And as if that weren’t enough, there wasn’t just one person chasing us.

“There’s also a Star Contractor. A real contractor who could face an entire army alone under the right conditions.”

In this world, there were beings called Transcendents. God-like entities that peered in from beyond the universe and bestowed power upon attractive and inspired humans they chose.

Yet not gods. Something god-like but not quite divine, with no regard for order or balance.

The pursuer was a contractor who had received power from one of them, “the Star.”

“I heard he was exiled for belonging to the main faction during the Imperial Civil War… I didn’t expect such a big shot to be in a place like this. Even I wouldn’t stand a chance if we fought.”

There were two monsters. Beings so formidable that one might wonder if they could mutually destroy each other if they fought.

“So you can run away. The Blood Knight is after me anyway, and with your skills, Isla, you could slip away from here unnoticed.”

She had allowed herself to be pursued several times because I, who wasn’t skilled at stealth, was being chased by the Blood Knight.

It would be strange if the monstrous knight who seemed to manipulate blood itself lost track of their blood bag.

“There’s no reason for you to die with me.”

With the cannibals, it was clear that I had gotten involved. The situation with the Blood Knight was similar in that I was involved, but there was a clear difference.

I could have somehow resolved the cannibal situation.

Even if the opponent was a powerful mage, and even if my kin were there.

I was experienced and knew my opponent well.

This time it wouldn’t be like that. There was a mix of enemies I didn’t know well and enemies I simply couldn’t face under current conditions.

Even I couldn’t guarantee a perfect victory. It meant any one of us could die.

I’ve only ever been responsible for my own life.

The fact that someone else’s life depended on my decisions weighed heavily on me.

It was burdensome and, to be honest, cumbersome.

Isla would certainly be helpful, but in this situation, I was more worried than appreciative of her help.

Even if things went well, it was right to prepare for the worst.

Isla rejected my complex feelings with a furrowed brow.

“No.”

“Isla.”

“I said no.”

Her tail sharply poked my face again. I didn’t dodge because there was no hostility, but Isla took it differently.

“What would you do alone without me?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. If we go together, we’ll all die.”

“I still refuse.”

I hadn’t even heard a proper reason. Isla stubbornly refused, as if the cool demeanor she had shown until now was a lie.

It was maddening for me.

I couldn’t just charge in saying, “Fine, let’s all die then.”

I had things to do. Quite a lot, actually.

I needed to find my sister, and if she was… really dead.

I had to avenge her. I also needed to find a way back, and if I couldn’t, I had to act as the protagonist.

It was uncertain if this world even had a protagonist. In the midst of all this, I couldn’t let the mastermind of the world roam freely.

For all of that, I had to stay alive.

I had to live tenaciously to gather strength and increase opportunities to gain experience.

So I wasn’t saying I would die now. I just felt that if Isla came with me, I wouldn’t be able to survive properly because I’d be worried about her.

If I was fine but Isla wasn’t, I might unconsciously prioritize her life and end up dying instead.

It seemed likely to happen even though we’d only exchanged a few words and known each other for just over a day.

“Why do you refuse?”

So I tried desperately to persuade her, but…

“Because it wouldn’t be fun otherwise.”

Isla blocked my words with an incomprehensible reason.

“And I need you too.”

What followed seemed to be her true feelings.

Though it was a prim answer, her true intentions were evident.

It also revealed that she had somewhat figured me out as a person.

She clearly knew that if she gave a practical reason, I wouldn’t be able to refuse.

So I tried several times to make excuses, pretexts, or reasons, but gave up.

If she was going to follow anyway, it would have been enough.

“And there’s no time for that anyway.”

Before I could understand what she meant, my superior body picked up a sound amidst the noise.

Through the roar of the blowing blizzard, I faintly sensed a presence.

A very slight presence following the crunching sound.

Heavy footsteps followed that sound, and there was a subtle warmth that could be vaguely felt.

Only then did I realize that I was standing in a forest.

Two presences, wary of each other, walking through the fierce gusts and snowflakes that even the forest couldn’t block, searching for us.

The Blood Knight and the Star Contractor I had been wary of.

I understood Isla’s words. Indeed, there was no time. Though I still believed Isla could escape on her own.

In this situation, there was no reason to insist on my opinion.

While gauging the gradually approaching presences, I spoke.

“Could you get my armor out from under the cloak?”

Only then did Isla move her tail, which had been held stiffly, from side to side.