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Sasaki Reika Pov
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Looking at the back of my only... friend, I almost couldn't stop myself from disregarding my recovery and immediately follow behind him.
In the first place, how the hell is he going to face that many goblins!
He's going to die!
No... let's not assume the worst... this is Jin.. remember that... he always has a plan...
He should have a plan... He definitely has...
...-What kind of ass pull is he going to do here?! This isn't a fucking fairytale nor is it some novel! It's reality!
Fuck!
If- if- if he dies!
Then that's it! He'll die!
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
This bastard is making me worry about him until the end, isn't he?
Huu.... my head hurts.
But seriously?! I know he isn't the hero nor the self sacrificing type so... why... why is he doing this?
How are you going to pass through that?
"How much time has passed?" I asked Anna-chan.
Anna-chan replied. "....6 seconds."
...Fuck! What?! Why does time pass slower than usual?!
Fuck! Now he's fighting five goblins at once! With three more jumping on his back!
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Shit! he's gonna get overrunned!
I didn't realize it but I was gritting my teeth in anxiety as Jin barely dodges the goblins jumping on him.
My sword constantly rattled as my hardened grip kept trembling on the sword but it wasn't out of weakness. Instead, it was because of the strong strength of my hold on the sword's hilt that made it constantly rattle on the ground.
Taking deep breaths... I calmed myself and decided to believe in Jin.
...but regardless... this doesn't stop my worries for him.
"Jin...."
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2 Hours Later.
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"Haaa...haaaa...haaaa..."
I kept gasping for air before collapsing on my knees.
Thud.
"Ji..... haaa.... haa...."
Jin... My grip lost strength, causing my iron sword to drop unto the ground.
Jin....
This entire time, all I've been thinking about is one name...
Jin...
My consciousness was hazy but I refused to lose consciousness and hastily looked towards Yoshimura-san....
"Please work... please work... please work..."
Her bloody hands repeatedly rubbed on Jin's body which was covered in wounds.
Anna-chan was also beside her, trying to wake Jin who seemed to have lost consciousness.
...That's it, right? He just fainted... right?
Not wanting to listen to my doubts, I crawled my way towards them which proved to be difficult since the ground was filled with corpses of those despicable bastards....
Eventually, I reached next to Jin's body. That was when Anna-chan helped me sit upright which allowed me to see the state of Jin's body.
"..."
He...
....No.
He should definitely still be breathing...
But... the way his body looked right now, it just seemed impossible...
If he didn't die from being beaten to death then he would definitely die from losing blood from all the wounds that riddled his body.
His clothes were in tatters and some parts of his body had turned purplish hue.
It was... pitiful... so much so that without realizing it, tears were welling up in my eyes.
"...Jin..?"
...This can't be happening... you can't die!
It's way too early!
I-
"Rei....ka..."
Jin's closed eyelids slowly cracked open but his stare remained in daze as he continued to speak in a weak voice.
The moment we heard him, all three of us immediately leaned closer to him.
"...Jin, you're alive right? Don't worry... You'll get better!"
"T-that's right Yabuki-kun! Y-you must definitely... definitely hold on... otherwise..." Yoshimura-san mumbles the last part to herself.
"..." Anna-chan simply remained quiet.
"Reika..."
This time, I was sure that Jin was speaking to me. Is he trying to say something to me?
...Ah crap. Tears are definitely streaming down my face now. This all feels too surreal and yet... I can't believe it's actually happening..
"J-jin!"
I immediately grasped his hand and leaned closer to his head.
From there, I heard him whisper.
"I... I can see.. the light.."
"...!"
What did this bastard just say?!
...No way right?
"Y-you idiot! Don't go into the light!" I panically told him.
Jin's face twitched a little as his whispered was replaced by soft chuckles.
"Is... is that really something you would say... to someone who is... dying?"
"You idiot. Shut up. Save your breath... stop with all of this nonsense..."
But then...
As if a puppet's string was cut, Jin's head fell powerlessly on the ground with his eyes remaining open.
Jin's eyes remained opened but his head slightly tilted to the side and his eyes became unfocused as if he had truly lost control of his body.
My heart stopped beating.
I couldn't bring myself to breathe as...
...No.
NO!
"JIN?!"
I held his face but..
"JIN?!"
"Yabuki-san?!"
"Jin-kun!"
No.. no... no.. no... don't do this to me you bastard!
Don't-
"Boo."
"You-?!"
I almost threw his head away.
This fucker!
Seeing him breathing while smirking at me, I almost wanted to murder this bastard again.
"...I can't believe you would joke around like this." I said in irritation.
"I wasn't joking you know? I really thought I was gonna die."
"Shut up."
Just looking at his face right now annoyed me so much but- I can't make any exaggerated move towards him, no matter how much I want to hit his face right now.
Still though-
"Ow.. OW... OWW!!! THAT HURTS!"
Jin looked as if he regained his energy again with his voice getting louder as I pressed on one of his superficial wounds.
Of course, I'm not an idiot. I simply wanted to instill pain to him, not worsen his wound.
"Reika! Fuck! I swea- AHHH!"
Hearing him groan like that made me feel better after being scared to death by him.
"S-sasaki-san.. I think.. that's enough..."
Looks like seeing Jin being in pain also affected this woman...
I glared at her slightly but then I heard Anna-chan's voice.
"Reika... ..We need to move... Stop that."
Anna-chan is right... but this bastard... I looked at Jin's pitiful appearance.
Once again, for some reason, my chest felt heavy.
It was annoying... I don't even understand why I was this affected at the thought of this guy seriously dying...
No. Who am I kidding... It's because he's the only friend I had.
One that didn't judge me and accepted me for who I am.
No matter how abusive I was with my words nor how physical I got with him, he simply accepted them all.
...Maybe this has something to do with him being a hollow and empty person... just like me.
Still though. It doesn't change the fact that he accepted me for who I am.
Which is why... as much as I hate to admit it... I care about this idiot...
"Alright, let's go... Woah."
I wanted to get on my feet but my legs were so weak.
Oh... I see.
It seems that my adrenaline had worn off.
Now I could feel my muscles screaming and my wounds aching.
"...We can't move in this state."
Anna-chan agreed with me before closing her eyes. She often did this whenever she was thinking.
At the same time, Yoshimura-san carefully helped Jin get on his feet by bringing his arm around her shoulders and pulling him up.
He grunted in pain but other than that, he seemed fine enough to be able to stand up.
"...I remember a route to a seemingly safe room." Anna-chan said.
"Let's move."
We all nodded at each other before following Anna-chan as she walked towards another entrance.
It was quite difficult to move when the ground was filled with carcasses of dead goblins.
"Huh..."
Did we really kill this much goblins?
Come to think of it, I haven't noticed any system some time.
I want to know what level I'm at but... we should first find a place to rest.
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Jin Yabuki Pov
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Being supported by Ayano-san as we walked through the dark hallways, I couldn't help but be a little appreciative at her initiative to help me.
I noticed this earlier but she actually had very deep self inflicted wounds on her palms and... even on some part of her arms.
This was so she could bleed enough blood to heal me.
I... thought a dog already ate my conscience but it seems that there's still a little compassion in me. Just a little is all.
Otherwise, why would I feel a little guilty for Ayano-san.
Anyway, As we went through the hallways, I don't even understand where we were going and simply followed Anna-chan's back.
I still felt weak, no- I felt incredibly weak.
Heck, I'm barely hanging on my consciousness as we speak.
That said, I can't help but remember what happened back there.
Everywhere I looked, there was nothing but goblins in every direction.
At the first few minutes, I still held on as everything went according to my plan.
But then... there was way too many goblins.
I got beaten, bitten, scratched, clawed at, and many more excruciating experiences but I held on.
Because I knew that the moment I lose consciousness, is the moment that I'll die.
Reika tried to help but I was literally in the middle of a sea of goblins.
After that, I don't remember how long I had to hold on before Reika finally reached me.
It was only when I was sure there wasn't any goblins around me did I let myself fall to the ground.
Well, it's not like I 'let' myself but more like my body just gave up on me.
Which was understandable since I was even struggling to bleed. It was hard when you're getting stabbed and bitten at every corner while desperstely trying to protect your vital organs.
Fortunately, Ayano-san's skill worked its wonders and I managed to recover from nearly dying.
Honestly, I think I underestimated Ayano-san's skill so for but... I'm seriously grateful to my past self for saving Ayano-san.
If not, then with injuries like this, I would've died long ago.
This includes Reika since if it wasn't for Ayano-san, Reika would also have bleeded to death.
"We're here."
Hearing Anna-chan's small voice, I inadvertently let out a sigh of relief.
Finally... I think I could get some rest.
Please god... don't let this be a flag!
I swear- if there's going to be more monsters in this supposedly safe room, I'm climbing up to Heaven and punch you in the face.
That said, I'm an atheist... or so I thought before all this crap happened.
Either way, I'm blaming whichever diety is listening to me now! And of course I won't blame Anna-chan who was leading us to this supposedly safe room.
Anna-chan is Anna-chan and I'm sure she's trying her best.
Unlike the asswipe who dropped us into this hellhole.
So... please! Please!
Let there be no monsters in this room.