Thud!
Suddenly, the movement of my left leg came to a halt.
The rhythm and speed of my breathing, which had been synchronized with Yoon Si-woo’s movements, went off course.
Caught off guard by the sudden dissonance, Yoon Si-woo’s gaze flickered toward me for a moment.
In his eyes, I could see my own expression contorted as I clutched my left leg in pain.
Anyone could tell something was wrong with my leg just by looking at me.
“─!!! Skarl!!”
His voice calling my name was laced with confusion.
I had been moving just fine a second ago.
Yoon Si-woo surely wouldn’t think it was something trivial like a sprained ankle, considering my strong regeneration power, second only to the Witch of Gluttony.
So, what was it?
Was there something I didn’t know?
His eyes were filled with bewilderment and questions that seemed to ask me what was happening.
I couldn’t answer that question.
Because it was something I wanted to hide.
But in the midst of battle, a single second felt like a minute, amplifying everything.
Against my will, it led the boy to the truth.
Yoon Si-woo’s gaze passed over the flames entwined around his sword and then glanced at my leg before finally landing on my right eye.
My right eye, now gray and dulled, had changed color to the point where I could no longer hide it.
I had reacted too late to the attack coming from my right at the start of the battle.
“…S-Skar, no way!!!”
His eyes, once filled with confusion and concern, turned to shock in an instant.
How could he not recognize it?
I had been exposed.
My secret, which I wanted to keep hidden, was out, tightening my heart in fear.
But my feelings were not what mattered here.
The real problem was that Yoon Si-woo realized I had been paying some price to keep fighting.
“Then, what have I been doing until now…!”
It was a mutter that sounded like his soul had left him.
I could see guilt rising in his eyes.
Every time he swung his sword, somewhere in my body, I was getting damaged.
As he felled the enemies, I too was put in danger.
That guilt gripped his feet, trying to disturb his thoughts of defeating the witch.
I was witnessing the very thing I had worried and feared: Yoon Si-woo breaking down upon realizing the secret of my abilities.
Truthfully, it wasn’t that I didn’t understand his feelings.
If I were in his shoes, facing the truth would certainly not be easy.
In this situation, forcing Yoon Si-woo to continue fighting was cruel.
Yet, knowing all of this, I could only shout at him.
“─Don’t stop, NOW!!!!!”
It was a whip crack.
Reminding Yoon Si-woo of everything that was at stake in this fight.
We were standing here, carrying everyone’s future on our shoulders.
The people who had risked their lives to bring us this far did so for a reason.
If we delay for even one second, lives of those who believed in us extinguish one by one.
So, we must never stop.
Even if my body burns to ash.
Even if it tears your heart apart.
Even if it’s too much for Yoon Si-woo, I could only shout at him this way.
I couldn’t tell if my emotions reached him.
But he surely knew one thing.
He must not stop, no matter what.
“Ugh…!!”
In an instant, countless emotions flitted across Yoon Si-woo’s face.
Gazing at me, his lips pressed tightly together, I felt an indescribable agony and sorrow emanating from him.
Yet, because he was a hero, what remained in the end was determination.
“─Hold my hand!!!!”
With that shout, his gaze left me and turned back to the witch.
One hand extended backward filled the void left by his gaze.
Once I grasped his hand, he pulled me strongly toward himself with one arm.
Without resisting his strength, I clung closely to his back.
That action was Yoon Si-woo showing his resolution.
His resolve to fight alongside me till the very end, no matter how things turned out.
Just a few seconds had passed since my leg stopped moving.
Overcoming agony and hesitation, Yoon Si-woo’s steps began to move again.
I whispered in his ear to reassure him that his choice was not wrong, to alleviate the guilt he might feel towards me.
“…Yes, Yoon Si-woo. I’m okay, really. Don’t stop, not ever.”
And the battle continued.
Honestly, I was worried about whether Yoon Si-woo could fight well.
After all, he just learned that every fight he engaged in brought trouble to me.
Would he really be able to continue to fight well even after realizing the truth?
“Let’s do this!!!”
My fears were unnecessary.
If we had to take down the witch, then the sooner, the better for me, right?
Yoon Si-woo showed no hesitation.
With a fierce voice, he wielded his sword with even more violent intent.
His expression was one you could only describe as feral.
“Haah… Haah…”
As the fight dragged on, I felt my strength gradually waning.
Afraid I’d slip and fall off of him, I clung tighter around his neck.
He never once looked back at me, even though I was sure I was a burden.
His sword continued to slice through the air, leaving red trails behind.
Severed tentacles burst into flames, painting the plain red in their wake.
Even Yoon Si-woo’s eyes seemed to reflect that crimson hue.
Well, maybe thanks to Yoon Si-woo’s desperate struggle…
After what felt like an endless battle…
The witch stood there, stripped of all her numerous tentacles, her true form finally revealed.
“…Witch.”
Yoon Si-woo raised his sword toward the witch before him.
The witch was within range of that sword.
Perhaps sensing the impending doom, the witch lifted one of her massive hands high, aiming to crush us.
“Witch!!!”
With a howl filled with enmity, Yoon Si-woo raised his sword high to counter the witch’s descending hand.
In a single stroke, a deep crimson line was etched across the witch’s colossal arm and body.
The Witch of Gluttony was engulfed in flames as that line split her apart.
And then,
Out of the裂이이이이이이!!!!
From the split, a smaller version of the Witch of Gluttony emerged.
“…Kuh?!”
Yoon Si-woo couldn’t hide his surprise at the unforeseen situation.
But I quickly understood what was happening and shouted at him.
“W-Wait…! There’s no need to panic! That gigantic body was made of miasma from the start!”
I was stating the obvious.
Other witches were usually around human size, right?
The Witch of Gluttony had been accumulating miasma, using it to shape her enormous body.
The sudden decrease in size when I used Ms. Eve’s power was likely due to consuming that stored miasma.
Anyway, I was certain of it after Yoon Si-woo slashed her.
Burning away such a massive quantity of miasma at once must have taken a toll.
As I gathered my scattered thoughts, Yoon Si-woo pressed on, his face serious.
“…How do we finish this?!”
“Don’t stop. Just cut until the miasma runs out and she dies!!”
“…I’m gonna do my best!”
Hearing my words, Yoon Si-woo clenched his eyes shut and held back a groan.
It must have been obvious that my condition deteriorated sharply after he slashed the Witch of Gluttony.
“…At least, this is the final act!!!”
Fortunately, his sword showed no hesitation as it swung toward the witch.
With rage in his eyes, Yoon Si-woo hacked at the witch relentlessly.
With each swing of his sword, the witch shrank like an onion peeling away layer by layer.
Each scream escaping from the witch’s mouth as the miasma burned was met with a muffled agony slipping from my lips.
“Ugh, no…!!”
But above all, it was Yoon Si-woo who appeared to be in the most pain.
Everyone there was suffering, and the miasma continued to burn, burn, and burn.
Just when I had lost track of how badly my body had been damaged…
The Witch of Gluttony shrank until she was no longer able to shrink further, having lost her miasmic form entirely.
A little girl who looked no more than ten years old stood before us.
That was the true form of the Witch of Gluttony.
“I’m hungry…”
Muttering endlessly about her hunger, the small girl elicits pity from onlookers.
But knowing that this small girl had taken countless lives, Yoon Si-woo’s sword held steady without wavering.
“…If possible, aim for the heart!”
Since the witch’s weak spot was likely her heart, I advised Yoon Si-woo to strike there.
Nodding in response to my advice, Yoon Si-woo declared,
“…Time to end this!”
With that, he lunged at the girl with his sword.
“I’m hungry…”
The girl raised her hand to block the attacking sword, attempting to resist.
But despite her efforts, Yoon Si-woo’s sword pierced through her hand and plunged deep into her chest.
It sunk in.
Just the tip entered.
And no further.
“What…?!”
Sensing something was wrong, Yoon Si-woo put more force into his sword.
Yet, the blade remained unmoving.
“I’m hungry, I’m really hungry!!!”
The girl cried out, no, the witch wailed.
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