Ch.8Sleeping with the Enemy (4)

The third night arrived.

After putting the Valkyrie to bed, I fought with all my might against the approaching monsters.

I swung my club at the walkers and shot Piercing Blue Stones at the monsters covered in abalone shells. Using raw magic stones wasn’t efficient, but I had no other choice right now.

CRACK!

“KAAARK!”

The last one.

I leaned against a rock with my battered body.

“Tsk.”

My tongue tasted bitter.

The monsters seemed to have completely identified our location now. Their numbers were increasing, and the variety was expanding too. I even saw one that looked like an octopus. It was quite nimble.

I managed to get through today somehow. But whether I could hold out tomorrow remained uncertain.

I might need to relocate our base soon.

Sitting on the lifeboat, I checked on the Valkyrie’s condition.

“Are you still in pain?”

“Huuuu.”

“Right, get plenty of rest. Don’t try to do anything unnecessary.”

There was no military doctor or emergency medical kit. Eating well and resting well was the best treatment available. I decided to brew Feredi tea at regular intervals and monitor the Valkyrie’s condition.

Perhaps she had grown accustomed to my nursing, as the Valkyrie had become more compliant than yesterday. As evidence, she was wearing my military uniform draped over her shoulders. Though she still seemed to have some aversion to it.

I glanced at the Valkyrie.

A woman I had tried to kill, and who had tried to kill me.

And now I was trying to save her.

Though I was doing it for survival, I couldn’t help but laugh. Life is truly unpredictable.

There wasn’t even time for a short nap. After moving all night, I was starving. I caught a couple of frogs from the nearby grass and put them over the campfire.

“Hmm.”

But could monster meat be edible too?

Judging by appearance alone, probably not.

You never know. It might contain poison like pufferfish.

If I got food poisoning here, that would be the end. For safety’s sake, it would be better not to eat it.

Still, I was curious.

Monsters, huh.

What exactly are monsters in the first place?

Almost nothing is known about them. The prevailing theory is that they were minions created by the Demon King in the past. Abnormal creatures formed when malignant magic power consumed living beings.

In any case, they were related to magic. There might be something useful in their remains.

After finishing my meal, I decided to dissect the octopus monster, which most closely resembled its original aquatic form.

And there was an unexpected gain.

“This is…”

There was a stone inside.

And not just any stone, but one containing mana. A Magic Stone. Moreover, it was a type I’d never seen before.

On a hunch, I opened the heads of other monsters too. Though I was reluctant to get the creatures’ blood on my hands, even that couldn’t suppress my intellectual curiosity. I searched through all the corpses, enduring the fishy smell.

Common to all monsters, Magic Stones were found in their brains.

I couldn’t hide my amazement. Magic Stones existing in a creature’s nervous system?

“David, look! This is dissertation material!”

“This is an unprecedented discovery. Just reporting this fact alone would stir up the entire academic community.”

And that’s not all.

A new Magic Stone had appeared.

“As someone majoring in Magic Stone Studies, I can’t just let this go.”

“Indeed. If you can discover the use of the new Magic Stone or clarify its relationship with monsters, you could become not just a professor but possibly even a Magic Tower Master.”

My heart started pounding.

I had one more reason to make it back alive.

There was nothing else particularly noteworthy. I returned to our shelter with the stones obtained from the monsters.

And then, as if by heaven’s joke, it started to rain.

“Ugh.”

It was about time for rain, I suppose. Still, it wasn’t exactly welcome. Getting wet always puts me in a foul mood.

As I was thinking this, a slight cough escaped my lips.

“…What’s this?”

Did I catch something from the Valkyrie?

After several days without proper sleep and pushing myself too hard, my body was starting to creak. I might get seriously ill soon.

The Valkyrie needs to recover before my condition worsens.

“You should get some rest.”

SHAAAAA.

I took shelter in the shade. The rain was pouring down heavily. Clouds covered the sun, making the day increasingly dark. In these conditions, there wasn’t much I could do.

With the sound of rain as background music, I focused on Breath Weaving. I also made additional Magic Stones. I had used up all my Piercing Blue Stones and needed to replenish them.

It was while I was busy with these preparations.

“Grrrrlk.”

An unpleasant sound like teeth grinding reached my ears. I stood up and surveyed the area below the hill. The fish-like monsters I’d been seeing every night were approaching in groups of three or four.

“It’s still daytime?”

“Seems they’re coming to work early because of the rain.”

“Damn it.”

This is dangerous.

Still, I have to stop them. If I don’t, death is the only outcome.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s them. I’ll handle it, so just watch my back and rest.”

The octopus monster was visible at the front. Its skin wasn’t particularly tough, but its movements were fast, and it could regenerate and attack from a distance, making it a priority target.

“Pierce through.”

I casually fired a heat ray made from a Piercing Blue Stone.

But the creature dodged it.

“…!”

The octopus approached rapidly and took a preparatory stance. A ranged attack was coming. If I tried to dodge after seeing it with my eyes, it would be too late.

I trusted my instincts and threw myself to the side.

SHREEEK!

The creature spat out ink. The moment the ink touched the ground, it began to boil and heated the air. A haze rose up. If I had been even a little slower, it would have been disastrous.

“Pierce through. Like an arrow splitting the forest, ravage the enemy.”

I threw three Piercing Blue Stones simultaneously while uttering the incantation. Caught in the crossfire, the octopus monster was skewered by the light beams and fell backward. SPLATTER! Purple blood sprayed in all directions.

“Phew.”

I exhaled a stale breath.

“They definitely weren’t this fast when I faced them last night…”

“It seems to be because of the rain. I can see what appear to be gill-like organs on them.”

David’s observation seemed correct. The movements of the other creatures didn’t look normal either. Even those walkers that had been moving sluggishly before were now approaching at a considerable speed.

I gripped my iron club tighter.

Perhaps today would be the critical moment.

***

“Huuuuu.”

Rachel exhaled slowly. She touched her face. There was still some heat remaining.

But it was a bit better than yesterday. Thanks to the man’s nursing.

Though she was reluctant to admit it, his dedication was no less than that of family or a lover.

“ATRAHM.”

Amidst the pouring rain, a flash of fire appeared. Pik, pik, the sound of monsters falling could be heard. Rachel knew the identity of those heat rays.

“That’s… a Piercing Blue Stone…”

A Magic Stone used in the Magic Kingdom’s anti-air weapons.

How many Dragon Riders had fallen to that Magic Stone? How many souls had never returned to their flight units?

Rachel swallowed dryly. She too had once nearly been shot down by that magic. It wasn’t a pleasant memory.

But now, that same magic was protecting her.

“Hmph.”

It was ironic.

Erich Lohnstein.

Rachel understood that his actions were calculated kindness. That’s why she didn’t feel genuinely grateful. Of course. After all, if they met on the battlefield again, they would try to kill each other.

Above all, the man was a Mage. The existence she despised most.

Someday, after being rescued from this island and returning to her unit, Rachel would definitely find that Mage. Find him and kill him. The enemy who killed Daisy and Olivia. She had to avenge them.

But.

Not now.

Rachel picked up a crude wooden spear and approached behind the man. She thrust the spear tip into the throat of a fish-like monster that was trying to attack him from behind.

“KEEEEEK!”

Gripping the spear shaft, she twisted it and lifted. The ground shook, and her head rang. Rachel felt the world spin momentarily.

The impaled monster collapsed. And never got up again. The man, who had been defending the front, turned his head in surprise at the commotion.

The Mage was saying something, but she couldn’t understand.

“I have no idea what you’re saying.”

The man sighed. His face looked somehow petty and ridiculous.

“Hey.”

Rachel organized her thoughts. Whatever the reason the man was treating her well, she decided not to care for now.

Just as hypocrisy is still kindness, and bad laws are still laws.

Calculated kindness is still kindness.

“Don’t die to these things. I’m going to kill you myself.”

Though her physical condition was still poor, she had to fight. She couldn’t survive alone on this island. Rachel gripped her spear tightly and stood behind the man.

***

If the Valkyrie hadn’t watched my back, I would have died. I gave her a brief nod and turned my attention back to the front.

“Don’t overdo it. If both of us get sick, then we’re completely finished.”

The rain made it difficult to see very far. The fog was also getting thicker.

“Cough.”

“If we stay like this, I’ll catch a cold too.”

This isn’t the time to worry about that. Let’s focus on driving away the monsters first.

So we fought with all our might.

But unlike before, we couldn’t expect to see an end.

“GRRRRLK!”

“Kak-kak, kak-kak.”

“Tick, tick, tick-tick.”

As time passed, more and more of them gathered.

“Damn, this isn’t working.”

“Looks like we need to run.”

Our eyes met. We nodded.

“Run!”

We ran. We broke through in one direction away from the shore before the encirclement closed. I ran in front, with the Valkyrie following behind.

However.

“Haa, haa…!”

The Valkyrie, still suffering from fever, couldn’t run properly. When she started to fall behind, I raised my voice and grabbed her wrist, pulling her along.

“If you can’t run, say something first!”

And with that, I carried her on my back. The Valkyrie let out a sharp “Kyak!” but quickly found her balance and leaned against me. Thanks to this, we quickly regained speed. Yes, it’s good that she’s perceptive in situations like this.

“We should head into the forest. Fish-people don’t have good eyesight, so if we hide among the trees, we should be able to shake them off quickly.”

I was planning to do that anyway.

I ran desperately. After barely shaking off the monsters, we went down a hill with flat stones. We were trying to take shelter from the rain under the rocks.

But.

“This is…”

“A cave. And it looks quite deep.”

It was a place that exuded an eerie atmosphere. Honestly, I didn’t want to enter such a place. But it seemed to be the only shelter from the rain in this area.

“Phew.”

I took a deep breath and entered the cave.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Huu, huu.”

“You don’t look okay.”

Both of us were soaking wet. We had shaken off the monsters, but there were still mountains to climb.

Especially the Valkyrie’s condition was terrible. When I carried her earlier, I could feel it—a human body shouldn’t be this hot.

We need to start a fire quickly.

There was no dry material in a rainforest cave. All I could see were moss, a few pieces of rotten wood, and bat droppings…

“It’s too damp. Using these as kindling would be difficult right now.”

“Ha.”

I put the Valkyrie down. Perhaps from being in the rain again, she was shivering.

And the same was true for me. I felt chilly.

Am I going to die here? So pathetically?

No, that can’t happen.

I quickly took off my clothes and wrung out the moisture. And I asked the Valkyrie to do the same.

“Take off your clothes and try to dry them as best you can.”

The Valkyrie, seeming to realize there was no other choice, began to remove not only my military uniform top she was wearing but also her own clothes. We shook out all the water that had soaked into our pants and boots.

Now, we both knew well what needed to be done next.

We each sat on our pants placed on the ground. And leaning against the cave wall, we embraced each other. A warmth that was almost hot was transmitted.

“…”

“…”

The first woman I’ve ever hugged is an enemy. What a miserable life.

It was fortunate that we were in a tropical region. Just staying like this for a while could raise our body temperature. The chill from the rain seemed to be subsiding a bit.

But it was still insufficient.

“Damn it, if only we could light a fire…”

As I was lamenting, David spoke.

“Wait. There might be a possibility to get fire right away.”