How long had it been? It felt like a considerable amount of time had passed since Hamin left, but his senses were dulled, making it hard to gauge the exact duration. Sihyun silently stared at Seowoo. His breathing had slowed down a bit, which had been causing him concern.
At times like this, he wasn’t sure whether speaking to keep someone conscious was better, or if it was best to keep them quiet. In some novels Sihyun had read, there were instances where the characters were admonished not to speak in such situations, while in others, they were shaken by the shoulders and told not to lose consciousness. That both cases could coexist in the same situation was perplexing. Fiction, it seemed, was not something to rely on in reality.
“Seowoo.”
Still, he had to check if he was alive.
“Yeah.”
Thankfully, he responded. Sihyun breathed a sigh of relief at that moment.
“Piyap!”
From a distance, a familiar sound was heard. His body reacted, turning his gaze toward the source of the sound—a white bird was flying toward him from the end of the corridor.
“Piyak!”
The fantastical creature slammed into Sihyun at full speed. Cough! The impact made him spit out all the blood he had been holding in. The creature quickly reduced its size and flapped its wings in panic, not knowing what to do. Sihyun bowed his head. Thud, the creature's forehead and Sihyun's forehead touched.
“You came.”
Honestly, he hadn’t expected it to come. Pia was supposed to be protecting Seowoo's mind from past psychic attacks because of his request. It was a responsible child, so he hadn't thought it would come, and even if it wanted to, he hadn't thought it could make it through this maze.
But it had made it through the maze to him, which was quite extraordinary.
“Piyapiyap!”
Pia assessed Sihyun's condition and rubbed its fur against his face while making anxious cries.
“My powers are sealed, as you can see. Bound.”
“Piyak!”
“…You’re bringing others?”
“Piyak!”
“…Is the path safe?”
“…Piyaa.”
The following conversation made Pia stop flapping its wings and settle on the ground. The attitude suggested that it couldn't be certain the path was safe.
That made sense.
For Pia, flying was one thing, but people had to walk here on their own. Who knew what traps lay on the floor, and calling others recklessly could put them in danger as well.
Initially, there wasn’t much to gain by calling them.
As long as Primus was alive, the chains that sealed his powers would not break. It seemed that’s what the creature had planned, so there was no use for others to come. Yet, there was one reason why he wanted to call them.
Sihyun’s gaze turned to Seowoo, who was watching him and Pia converse with an expression of wonder. His complexion was paler than before. He looked like someone about to die.
He needs treatment.
There wasn’t much he could do if he took him along, but Seowoo was different.
Though badly injured, his mana was slowly recovering, so if he was treated, he could at least contribute a little.
In a situation where even half a person’s strength was precious, it was better than letting Seowoo die here. After pondering, Sihyun’s eyes widened.
“Pia, I have a favor to ask. Can you carry him back to where you were? There’s a healer in that party who can treat and bring him back.”
“Piyapiya.”
“I’ll hold out here. It’s okay.”
“…Piyapiyak!”
Hmm, I can’t understand that.
He could usually guess what Pia meant by its tone or the situation, but now it was hard to understand.
Was it worried? Or was it annoyed?
As Sihyun slightly tilted his head and stared intently at Pia, the small fantastical creature fluttered its wings and flew toward Seowoo, enlarging its body. It then grabbed Seowoo’s collar with its beak and jerked its head. Seowoo safely landed on Pia’s back. The platinum-haired boy vomited a clump of blood and groaned, showing there was some impact.
“…There’s no need to take him.”
“How long do you think you can hold out being stubborn?”
“I think I can last about a day….”
Nonsense. Sihyun scoffed, seeing that he was hanging by a thread.
“Don’t be stubborn and just go get treated. Then join the others and escape the maze.”
“…What about you?”
“I have to stay here.”
He jangled the chains as if there was no other choice, and the boy squinted his eyes
, apparently not liking the answer.
“You want me to leave you here?”
“That was the answer I gave earlier.”
It was a repetition of the conversation he had had with Hamin, so pointing it out made Seowoo choose silence. The quick-witted boy must have realized he was resolute. He had no intention of changing his mind, no matter the persuasion.
“I can’t use much strength even if I recover, Sihyun. Maybe it’s better if I just wait here with you.”
“Sorry, but we need to use that strength, Seowoo.”
“……”
“Expected fighting power has been halved. We need all hands on deck to stand a chance. If not, it’s a total loss.”
Sihyun calmly stated the facts. Even with Seowoo's participation, the chance of defeating Primus was only about 30%. It was a time to hope for a miracle.
“Help me out, Seowoo.”
He quietly pleaded, leaving no room for further argument, and the boy let out a sigh and leaned fully against Pia.
“You always play dirty.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know I’ll lose to you and you exploit that.”
Just as calmly, the boy whispered something to Pia. The fantastical creature then carried Seowoo and flew toward Sihyun. Watching in bewilderment, Seowoo suddenly reached out as he approached.
He claimed he couldn’t even flick a finger, but was it a lie or did some strength surge for this useless act? With a large hand, he gently grasped Sihyun’s face and then slowly grasped his nape. The sudden contact startled Sihyun before he could react.
Crack.
“……!”
Sihyun gasped in light pain felt at his nape, and before long, something soft and moist touched his skin, making him cry out in pain and grab his neck with his free hand. As he pulled away, Seowoo and Pia backed off, the boy looking playfully amused. The smile was out of place given the circumstances.
“Day did it too.”
“Day didn’t do this crap, you lunatic!”
His voice rose unintentionally. Seowoo pretended not to hear as he slumped back onto Pia’s body. His body stretched out like warmed cheese, suggesting he really wasn’t kidding about being weak. He took a breath and then lazily opened his mouth.
“To be honest, Day was just an excuse. I bit you because I was annoyed.”
“Piyak!”
“He said it was okay to bite you. Pia must think you deserved it too.”
The boy murmured in a voice too low for argument, almost completely devoid of strength. How did he manage to bite with so little energy? Sihyun glared at the boy who had still managed to leave a mark by biting his neck, despite being exhausted, and he sighed.
Arguing here would only slow his recovery.
“I’ll deal with you outside.”
“Sure.”
“…See you outside.”
It felt like waving a flag, but if this was the last time, it seemed better to say it. The boy blinked once and then, while prone on Pia, half-buried his face in the white fur and smiled.
“Sihyun.”
“What.”
“We’ll all get out alive, so don’t worry too much.”
“……”
Perhaps his suppressed emotions showed. As if reading his anxiety, the boy whispered, and Seowoo added one more thing.
“I’ll make it happen, and so will we.”
“Piyak!”
The fantastical creature immediately agreed, and the platinum-haired boy laughed again. Then, vomiting blood in such a state seemed absurd. If he was unwell, he should at least try to hold back his laughter. Why keep laughing as if he’s using up all the laughs he’s meant to have in his life? Disturbed by this, Sihyun eventually exhaled a long breath and replied.
“We need to catch Primus as soon as we encounter him to minimize damage. Tell them to rush in with all their might the moment they see him.”
“Yeah.”
The boy listened without showing annoyance to the precautions Sihyun continued to give. After listening to everything, the boy left one last caution before departing on Pia.
“Be careful.”
“Who needs to be careful….”
Sihyun watched him leave for a possibly deadly place, worrying about him, and then lifted his head.
He was left alone.
Now, really, all he could do was wait.
Thinking this, he spent a considerable amount of time. It was an excruciatingly long and suffocating period that he thought was a bit tough.
“Piyap!”
Once again, from a distance, a familiar sound was heard. It was a déjà vu that shouldn’t have been felt, and Sihyun’s eyes widened as he checked the corridor. Having dropped off Seowoo, the fantastical creature was flying back to him.
“Pia?”
Why are you there?
Sihyun was flustered and only pursed his lips.
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