Chapter: 332
As I flew on Ari and looked below, the vast plain we had been flying over came to an end, revealing rocky mountains that began emerging in places.
The distinct change in terrain from the city indicated just how far we had flown, making the sight of those mountains hit home.
Before long, we would be engaging in a battle with Beatrice and the Witch of Sloth.
As I recognized this, I couldn’t help but mutter a frustrated curse under my breath.
It was because my fingertips suddenly started trembling uncontrollably.
I thought I had stood back up, but it seemed the fear I felt from our last fight still lingered deep within my heart.
But considering the fight was imminent, I couldn’t afford to be scared, so I reminded myself to pull it together and took slow, deep breaths.
At that moment, Yoon Si-woo, who was sitting in front of me, glanced my way and spoke up.
“What’s wrong, Scarlet? Are you nervous?”
“…Yeah. I don’t want to feel this way, but it’s hard to control.”
I replied with a bitter smile, reflecting internally on my response.
I shouldn’t be like this.
Yoon Si-woo, who had offered to risk his life, was sitting calmly over there—
Just then, I couldn’t help but notice something that made me pause.
I could see Yoon Si-woo’s hands.
Though it was slight enough that you might not notice unless you looked closely, they were definitely trembling.
Seeing this, my mind went blank, and I unconsciously asked him.
“…Yoon Si-woo. Are you nervous too?”
To that, Yoon Si-woo awkwardly smiled and replied.
“…Haha, it seems like it’s not as easy as it sounds.”
Hearing his response, I hung my head low.
My question just now wasn’t about whether Yoon Si-woo was nervous but about my own misunderstanding.
Until just a moment ago, I had been under the ridiculous illusion that Yoon Si-woo, being the protagonist, wouldn’t feel tension like an invincible superhuman.
So, I had asked if even he felt any nerves.
What a silly misunderstanding.
I was filled with guilt and embarrassment towards Yoon Si-woo, making me unable to lift my head.
“…I was fine until a while ago. If my life was the only one at stake in this fight, I wouldn’t be this trembling, but that’s not the case.”
However, Yoon Si-woo was blissfully ignorant of this fact and spoke to me.
“I think it’s because I think I can’t lose; I suddenly feel anxious about whether I can pull it off… I shouldn’t feel this way. Haha…”
He opened up about his own feelings to me.
“…Yoon Si-woo.”
Hearing that, I raised my head and looked at Yoon Si-woo, who was sitting in front of me.
He was trying hard to smile but couldn’t conceal the anxiety he felt; I looked him straight in the eye.
It was true.
The person sitting in front of me wasn’t a flawless protagonist from a novel.
He was just an ordinary boy who could only feel nervous and fearful before a fight that had so much at stake.
I realized that, only now, it was such an obvious truth.
And that was when I understood what I had to do now.
People are bound to waver in the face of adversity.
But if there’s someone to support you in that moment,
Even if it’s hard or scary, you can still move forward.
So this time, I wanted to support you.
Just like you always supported me when I wavered.
With that thought, I reached out my arm over Yoon Si-woo’s back.
And I firmly grabbed his trembling hand.
“…Scarlet?”
As I held his hand, Yoon Si-woo turned to me, surprised by my sudden action.
I leaned closer and whispered in his ear.
“…You can do this.”
I spoke strongly, filled with conviction.
“Yoon Si-woo, you can do it.”
A moment ago, I had pondered a little.
Self-confidence—trust in oneself.
What could I give Yoon Si-woo, who was losing faith and feeling anxious?
After thinking it over, I found the answer was simple.
It was trust.
“Yoon Si-woo, do you remember what I said before? I believe in you more than anyone else in this world.”
I once told Yoon Si-woo something like that.
When I said that back then, it meant I believed he would definitely take care of me and not let anyone else get hurt when I became the Witch.
It was more of a plea than a declaration of belief.
However, now it was different.
Yoon Si-woo kept helping me even when I had given up and told myself I was wrong countless times.
Because of him, I can now trust him genuinely.
Now I can genuinely say it.
I believe in you.
More than anyone else, I believe in you.
“I believe in you, even if you lack self-confidence. At least I believe you can do it as much as I do.”
The phrase “more than anyone else” means I believe in Yoon Si-woo even more than he does himself.
At least, I believed in Yoon Si-woo that much.
So I said that I hoped my belief would help him.
“So, Yoon Si-woo, if you can’t trust yourself, then…”
I recalled a famous line from an animated film my friend had told me about.
“Then, believe in me who believes in you.”
Would that give him a bit of confidence?
I hoped so as I smiled and said this to Yoon Si-woo.
Hearing those words, Yoon Si-woo mumbled in a daze.
“…You believe… in me.”
And then, as if something had lifted off his shoulders, he murmured in a clearer voice.
“…Yeah, thank you. Scarlet. I feel clearer now. I’ll definitely win. For you, who believes in me.”
To him thanking me, I responded with a proud smile.
I felt the tremors in the hand I had been holding subside.
If I had been of any help to Yoon Si-woo, that alone would satisfy me.
And just like that, as we exchanged smiles, we soon wiped the smiles off our faces and spoke.
“Scarlet.”
“…Yeah, I know.”
We cast our gazes toward the mountains in the distance.
At first glance, the mountains looked similar to the ones around them, but the witch’s aura informed us otherwise.
A chilling, ominous presence that could make sweat bead on our foreheads.
She was there.
The Witch of Sloth, Beatrice, the one who had led us here.
“…Are you ready?”
As I steadied my heart and asked, Yoon Si-woo nodded as if he were ready.
“…Then let’s go.”
I said that and instructed Ari to fly toward the rocky mountains we had just gazed upon.
With brisk speed, Ari soared toward the mountains.
Ari’s flight speed was so fast that the mountains quickly drew near.
Just then, a small purple dot suddenly appeared before the rocky mountain, which had seemed empty until a second ago.
One second later, I realized that the purple dot was not a dot at all but Beatrice, who we were chasing.
A second later, I confirmed that Beatrice’s head was turned directly toward us.
And once again, a second later, I could see Beatrice grinning ominously at us.
At that moment,
“──!!! Ari, dodge!!!!”
A huge something that had suddenly appeared in mid-air lunged toward us.
We barely managed to avoid the sudden attack that swooped right over our heads.
As I looked up, a massive dark shadow loomed overhead.
A gigantic demonic beast, resembling an elephant, stood before us, blocking our way.
It was probably the same beast that had nearly killed Ari before.
The long trunk of the beast told me that it had just attacked us.
Damn, if I hadn’t sensed it in time and dodged, I could have died in that single strike.
“…What a rough welcome, Beatrice.”
“Hehe, you didn’t call me Bea, huh? Well, that’s fine anyway.”
Beatrice was sitting on the beast’s snout, having climbed on at some point.
She smiled at me and said,
“Anyway, welcome, Eva. You’ve made it all the way here.”
“…Considering you purposely emitted an aura to lead us here.”
“Hehe, that’s true. So, now we’re really going to play hide and seek.”
“…Hide and seek?”
That was the moment I asked that question.
Beatrice’s smile seemed to deepen, and she said,
“Whoa…?!”
The Beatrice who had been right in front of my eyes suddenly vanished without a trace.
She completely disappeared.
No signs, no sounds. Even the ominous aura we had felt just moments ago was gone.
Simultaneously, a voice echoed from somewhere.
[I gave you all the hints on where I was hiding, so what we’d done earlier wasn’t hide and seek. Now I’ll really hide, so try to find me. I’ll be hiding somewhere behind those mountains. If you can’t find me in thirty minutes, it’s Eva’s loss.]
Can you not find me in thirty minutes in that huge place?
Was this guy planning this from the start?
Of course, I didn’t think it would lead to a straightforward fight right away.
But if that were the case, there would be no need to name this damned game hide and seek.
Anyway, since we needed to locate her within a limited time, it seemed faster to split up to find her, so I jumped off Ari and shouted to Yoon Si-woo and Ari.
“Yoon Si-woo! Ari! Let’s split up to look for her. I’ll check over there—!”
[Hehe, that won’t do.]
-■■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!
And as soon as I called out like that, a massive demonic beast swung its trunk between where I was and where Yoon Si-woo and Ari were.
“Ugh…! What the hell…! Scarlet!”
-■■■■■■■■■■!!!
Seeing this, Yoon Si-woo and Ari tried to come to me, but the beast seemed intent on not letting them through, swinging its trunk in protest.
At the same time, I heard Beatrice’s mocking voice.
[The person I wanted to play hide and seek with is you, Eva, so I can’t include any guests. And even if that weren’t the case, Bea’s pretty mad that she got hurt, so that one over there is definitely not going to let you through. So what do you want to do? Time is passing by while you just sit there.]
Before I could retort against Beatrice,
“…Scarlet.”
Yoon Si-woo’s voice rang out first.
“Go on ahead. If you obstruct this guy from finding me, you’ll never find me in time. I’ll take care of this here.”
“…Are you sure?”
I asked, looking at the massive demonic beast.
That beast was a formidable opponent that I couldn’t defeat even at full strength.
Could I really leave this to Yoon Si-woo, who shouldn’t be using too much of the witch’s power?
But Yoon Si-woo just tapped his chest with his fist in response to my questioning.
Indicating for me to trust him.
“…Okay! Then I’ll find the hidden one, so hurry back!”
Upon saying that, with no hesitation, I nodded and turned my back.
Since Yoon Si-woo told me to trust him, all I had to do was believe.
With that, I dashed towards the massive rocky mountains right in front of me.
And behind me, the boy stood facing the mountain-like monster, drawing his sword as he murmured.
“Bring it on.”
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