It had been a week ever since Tyler got injured, and he was nearly healed when a hoard of monsters suddenly found the cave where they were staying. One morning, Adam ran inside and said in a shaky voice, "Th-There're monsters!"
Tyler, who had been leaning his body deliberately against the male lead, and Dean, who was trying to suppress his desire while trying to dress the wound, suddenly froze. The quiet and ambiguous atmosphere in the cave suddenly disappeared as both of them stood up.
Dean frowned. "Weren't they loitering around the big ground between trees where we previously appeared?"
Adam seemed to be very frightened after seeing the hoard of monsters again. His face was still pale as he parted his lips. "I don't know. They were silent, but today, almost all of them managed to appear here, glaring at the entrance of the cave with big red eyes!"
Tyler's brows furrowed at that. "These monsters...It seems they were trying to find us, and now that they have found us, they won't let us go." He relaxed and glanced at the male lead with seriousness in his eyes. "We have to find another place."
Dean nodded.
Adam seemed to understand what was about to happen, and his face went paler than before. Pushing his glasses back with his finger, he stuttered. "Th-There might be some o-other way! We don't have to go outside and face those monsters again, right?"
The last time when the three of them had faced the monsters, Adam seemed to have received a psychological shadow, especially when that thing with poison attacked Dean. His survival instincts clearly told him that it was better to stay inside the cave.
But his two temporary comrades didn't have the same idea as him. Tyler narrowed his eyes and said, "We need evidence. Of course, I know that for some reason, those monsters seemed to hate the cave. Staying inside would also cause us issues. We can't just continue to lock ourselves inside. Some day, our resources will end. What do you think will happen when we're hungry and can't even go out to eat because of those monsters?"
Adam imagined that scene and trembled all over again. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "I think you're right. We should get going."
The three swords were still intact, kept in one corner of the cave. Dean fished them out and handed them to Adam and Tyler one by one before turning his attention to his friend. "Don't go mad while fighting. You're still injured, so it's better if you don't fight at all."
Tyler didn't say anything but simply gripped his sword tighter and walked out. He didn't want to suppress his urge to kill these weird animals. He knew if he didn't fight, he would be a burden to Dean, and he didn't want that.
The male lead seemed to have perceived this emotion oozing out from Tyler's body. He simply snatched the sword and kneeled before Tyler facing his back to the latter. "Hop up."
Tyler stood there and squinted his eyes at the male lead. He didn't want Dean to carry him around on his shoulders like a kid! But before he could retort, Dean suddenly opened his mouth.
"Don't even think about going out there with your two legs. You better climb on my back and save yourself from getting dizzy in the middle of the fight. Do you know how much blood you've lost?!" Dean looked like a nanny angry because of a troublesome kid. "You can protect me better by keeping an eye behind my back."
After saying this, the male lead threw the sword back toward Tyler, who caught it gracefully. The latter didn't want to climb on the back of this male lead. If this were the same person playing David, he was perhaps using several excuses to do this deliberately.
Tyler rolled his eyes at that thought and went toward Dean. "Whatever you say. You're the boss."
Seeing this attitude, Dean felt quite satisfied at heart. Soon, he felt Tyler's warm breath on his neck, making him stunned for a full minute before he could react.
These days, he had been forced to suppress his desires even after being stimulated. He even thought that perhaps Tyler was doing this deliberately. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. Did this person recognize him already?
Then he shook his head. No, he shouldn't think about it. He reminded himself of the goal of entering this world and calmed his racing heart. He couldn't let himself go blind because of his feelings! He had a goal to accomplish in this world!
After stabilizing his emotions, he glanced at Tyler, who was rubbing his head and moving his body to find a comfortable position on Dean's back before sighing contentedly. Dean's voice became colder at this. "Behave. I'm not your lover who likes to carry you around."
"Why? Are only lovers should behave like this? Dean, I didn't know you have become so narrow-minded after getting out of the orphanage."
"You—" For the first time, Dean didn't want to talk to this person, fearing that the latter would end up saying something to stimulate his desires yet again. So he kept his mouth shut and walked forward.
At this time, even Adam had calmed down and frowned while looking at the monsters with a hint of disgust in his eyes. "How're we going to do this? Their numbers don't decrease no matter how many monsters we kill."
Tyler pursed his lips. "This time, our goal isn't killing monsters but removing the animals from our path so that we can find another place to settle down and find clues."
"Let's go," Dean said and tightened one of his hands around Tyler's thighs and raised his right hand that had gripped the sword pointing at monsters. "On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"
Dean and Adam rushed toward the monsters. This time Adam's skills had sharpened. It seemed that he hadn't wasted his time while Tyler was recuperating inside the cave. Even Tyler, who was still hugging Dean on his shoulders, appreciated this.
"You've improved." Tyler couldn't help but utter these words.
There was a trace of blush on Adam's fair cheeks hearing this. "Thanks."
Seeing this exchange, Dean's face darkened. He slashed one of the monsters ruthlessly and said, "No talking!"
And three people continued to fight and cross the entire field filled with many big and small monsters with weird shapes.
By the time they reached the other side after passing through the sea of monsters, Dean's body was already covered with blood while he kneeled on the ground in exhaustion.
Tyler stepped down instantly and picked up Dean, who seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. Since Tyler was protected this time, he didn't have many injuries. But these monsters had become ruthless and even intelligent. They even learned to fight and copy the skills of Tyler, Dean, and Adam.
This made things even more difficult.
Tyler pursed his lips. This second stage seemed even more complex than the first. At least, he could see mirrors in the first stage. Here, there was no sign of a mirror in this entire place!