Ch.89Saving Ayuri

# 89. Saving Ayuri

‘Yuri. Yuri.’

I was navigating the mountain path under Danya’s guidance, avoiding detection by the Albs. Without her exceptional senses and knowledge of the local geography, I would have encountered the Albs long ago.

‘I talked big earlier, but it’s definitely best if we can avoid fighting altogether.’

Out of breath, I leaned against a tree to catch my breath and assess our current position. It seemed we had covered a little more than half the distance.

“Meow! Nya-nya-meow!”

[Hang in there! Everything will be fine!]

“I hope so. It should be. Thank you, Danya.”

Even if this was just my paranoia, even if it turned out to be a wasted effort.

I was hoping nothing had happened to Yuri. I wanted to see her completely fine, casually asking me, “Why did you come all the way here when you should be at the base? Did you miss me that much?” with that innocent face of hers.

And then I’d give that bouncy butt of hers a good smack.

After a brief rest, I started running again.

Still no signal from her.

**

“Well, I’m screwed…”

The heat of excitement that had been burning in my head suddenly cooled. I thought I was following my brother’s instructions well, sticking to his plan, but when I came to my senses, I realized I’d gone in too deep.

I tried to turn back, but the Albs wouldn’t let me go easily now. Word must have spread, because while some ran away when they saw me, more and more were seeking revenge for their comrades, pursuing me relentlessly.

“Ah… Brother’s going to kill me…”

There wasn’t a spot on me that wasn’t bleeding. Grazed by arrows, cut by ice shards, and torn by sharp rocks and tree roots as I tumbled around in panic.

More than the physical pain, I feared my brother’s scolding. I could endure the pain, but his scolding would hurt my heart much more. It was scary.

‘Why am I like this? Is it because of the skill…?’

I regretted it now, but that didn’t solve the problem. The flare gun had unfortunately been hit by an arrow and broken, and I had no spare.

I tried to find my way back, but I’d fled so frantically that I couldn’t properly gauge where I was.

Perhaps, ironically, I was the one being herded now.

‘Hiding isn’t an option, is it? No matter how well I hide, they’ll smell my blood.’

The scent of blood from my body threatened to make my head hot again.

“Ah, fuck this.”

I nicked my leg slightly with the axe blade. It snapped me back to clarity. But fresh blood flowed.

It was a rare moment of rest, but staying still seemed dangerous.

Just standing up made my whole body throb with pain. I even felt slightly dizzy. I must have lost quite a bit of blood.

“I miss you, brother.”

Even if you scold me…

“There she is!”

“That crazy human must be exhausted by now!”

“She’s lost a lot of blood! Don’t rush, just keep the pressure on!”

“Ah…”

This isn’t good.

I rummaged through my inventory. Of all the health potions I had, only one remained.

‘Well… better than nothing.’

I took the last health potion, drank about two sips, and splashed the rest all over my body. As always, it stung much worse than the antiseptic I used as a child.

Still, it was fortunate that the pain was worth the effect. It stopped the bleeding somewhat and reduced the throbbing considerably.

If I moved too vigorously, the wounds would reopen immediately, but…

That was enough.

“Slowly corner her—wait! Wasn’t she nearly dead?”

“Don’t judge that crazy human by our standards! Just don’t face her alone!”

“She’s still alone! Don’t be afraid!”

Although I couldn’t find the Albs’ leader or lieutenant.

It’s okay to raise my kill count on the way back, right?

“Brother. I’m sorry. With my brain, this is the only answer I have.”

Since I’m going to get scolded anyway, might as well get scolded a bit more.

Let me go wild, just once.

And then… heh.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

**

[Saex has activated ‘Bloody Lust’.]

[You will not feel pain for the duration.]

[You will not tire for the duration.]

[Attack power and attack speed greatly increased.]

“Holy shit!”

“Nyaa! Nya-nya-nyaa!”

[What, what’s wrong? What happened?]

“Danya! Faster!”

When I was just minutes away in terms of distance, a message suddenly appeared.

A message saying she had activated “Bloody Lust,” the unique skill of the Barbarian Warlord that she somehow learned in Ayord.

This message meant that Yuri was indeed very close to me, but it also meant that she was truly in mortal danger.

Considering the severe penalties of Bloody Lust, and that her skill level was probably only 1 or 2 at most, meaning the duration would be short…

‘If I’m late, she dies.’

I activated all my buffs, not caring about mana consumption, and dumped all my spare ability points into agility—something I’d never normally do—and ran like a madman.

“Nyaa! Nya-nya-nyaa!”

[That way! I smell blood!]

After running for what felt like forever, I could finally see with my own eyes.

“…”

A sea of blood.

The soil, grass, leaves, trees, and rocks—everything was drenched in blood.

The corpses were no different. What used to be Albs were strewn about like garbage.

I felt relief not seeing Yuri among the corpses, but at the same time, I was going crazy not knowing where she was.

“Yuri! Ayuri!!”

“Nyaaang!”

At some point, I stopped caring about the Albs and called out Yuri’s name desperately. I looked anxiously at Danya, but she said the blood smell was too strong and there were too many corpses to find Yuri’s scent.

Danya and I, not caring about getting blood on us, rummaged through the corpses. She might be trapped underneath one of them.

As the number of corpses we turned over increased, my sanity felt like it was crumbling by the second.

Should I have just taken Danya’s dislike and passed through?

Should I have somehow sent one more person to Yuri’s side?

Should I have listened to Sister Soyu?

I know. The best choice doesn’t always lead to the best outcome.

But the best choice has the highest probability of leading to the best outcome, and leaves the least regret.

That’s why I always tried to make the best judgments, plans, persuasions, and actions.

And here, like this, Yuri dies?

Come on, stop lying.

It’s not funny. Really.

Yuri. That’s enough joking. Even though you like pranks, this crosses the line.

Come out now.

If I was going to scold you 100%, I’ll reduce it to 50%.

No, 30%.

20%.

No, I’ll really just say one thing and forgive you.

So.

[Saex’s Bloody Lust duration has ended.]

[Saex is suffering from severe lethargy.]

“Yuri!”

“Nyaa?!”

[You startled me!]

“She’s alive. She’s alive!”

I don’t know why Bloody Lust only just turned off now. What’s clear is that Yuri is alive.

“I’ll search around the corpses, Danya, please check the other areas.”

“Meow! Nyaaah!”

[Got it! I’ll keep watch too!]

I decided to completely abandon any dignity as a lion for just a moment. Until now, I had merely lifted and turned over corpses slightly, but now I completely moved them aside and even dug into the ground a couple of hand spans.

After rummaging like that for a while, in a way that even hyenas and vultures might find excessive…

“Hehehe…”

Very faintly, I heard a familiar laugh.

“Yuri! Ayuri!”

“…Brother?”

“Yes! It’s me! Talk. Keep talking, anything!”

But it was so faint, so weak, that it seemed like it might fade at any moment.

I ran to where Yuri’s voice came from and hurriedly cleared away more than ten corpses.

Yuri was. Alive.

Ah. Thank goodness.

Really, thank goodness.

“Wow… really… is it you, brother…?”

But her condition was so terrible that it was a miracle she was alive at all.

Her clothes were in tatters, and her skin was so covered in blood that you couldn’t see its color. She had wounds from being cut, stabbed, frozen, and pierced… with several arrows deeply embedded in her. The bleeding was beyond words.

I took out potions in bulk from my inventory and poured them all over Yuri’s body. I tried to make her drink some too, but she couldn’t swallow and spilled it all. I held potion in my mouth and transferred it directly into hers. There was a strong smell of blood.

“Hehe… is this a dream…?”

“It’s not a dream.”

“Then, I’m gonna… get scolded so bad…”

“I won’t scold you, so keep talking. Say anything. Just keep talking.”

Could I safely get Yuri to Sister Soyu? Could Yuri hold on until we reached her?

“Okaaay…”

I couldn’t remove the arrows. And because of the arrows, I couldn’t carry her on my back. I roughly washed her with water, then picked her up in my arms.

“I… with brother…”

“Yes. With me.”

“If I have a baby… I’ve thought of names too…?”

“Really? Our Yuri has even thought of baby names.”

Yuri has the strongest physique.

This kind of thing, it’s not a death flag.

“Yeah… hehe…”

“Yuri.”

“…”

“Yuri! Aren’t you going to tell me what they are?”

“Ah… yes… the names are…”

As I emerged from Yuri’s hiding place with her, Danya approached. She looked at Yuri’s condition, shook her head at me, and blocked my path.

“Nyaa. Nyaa-nyaa.”

[It’s dangerous. That child could die at any moment.]

“Move. It’s just as dangerous if we stay still.”

“Nyaa! Nyaa-nyaa!”

[I’m a shaman. Did you forget?]

“…”

“Nyaa, nyaaa…”

[I’m a self-taught shaman, and it won’t be proper healing, just emergency treatment, and it will require a significant price, but… it’s better than moving her right now.]

The price is.

Your blood. A lot of… blood.

The best choice. The second-best choice.

The worst outcome. The second-worst outcome.

Ayuri.

You won’t get away with just a spanking, you know.

I accepted Danya’s offer.