[08 — Game?]

SHAAA...

The sound of the rain was deafening.

I could barely hear my own thoughts.

Each drop falling on my face made me question the essence of this whole scene.

The way the water crawled through my clothes felt far too real to be just lines of code. The freezing cold was way too vivid to be fake.

Time seemed to slow down. Or rather, I was the one who changed. 

It wasn't the world that had shifted. It was my perception of it.

Only that. Nothing more.

ZUDAAAN!

A thunderclap roared in the distance, lighting up the entire forest.

The colors of the trees, trunks, dirt, and grass had all vanished, swallowed by a monochrome veil. Everything, except... that red smear and the deep blue of her outfit.

Ruru was standing right in front of me, in the middle of a puddle of blood.

"AH! ARGH! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

Hm? Why are you still screaming, Grumpy?

You don't have to worry anymore. You're safe now…

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

The rain was loud. Maybe that's why she couldn't hear me.

Yeah, that must be it.

Water kept pouring, endlessly, without pause.

The skies were mourning, trying to wash away everything filthy this forest had witnessed—everything I had witnessed and couldn't look away from.

I saw the metallic gleam reflected on the blade in Ruru's hand. It was thin, like those fencing swords from centuries ago.

I was never into swords or smithing or anything like that, but I could tell it was an exquisite piece of work. Thin, but incredibly sharp.

With the right hands, it could probably slice through a tree trunk like butter.

But that wasn't the most striking part. What caught my attention the most was the swordswoman herself. She was fascinating. There's no other word for it.

I noticed her braided hair tied behind her head and imagined how much effort it must've taken to do that.

Each braid was perfectly symmetrical, and the shape of her face looked like it had been drawn by hand.

Before I knew it, dozens of questions started forming in my mind.

Who was this person in front of me?

Who was Ruru?

Who was Aria?

What was our connection?

How did we relate?

I had absolutely no idea.

"..."

Another flash of light lit everything up again, but I don't remember hearing the sound that should've followed. Sure, light travels faster than sound, but even after several seconds, the thunder never came, only the echo of the rain, slowly swallowing Grumpy's screams.

And still frozen in place, Ruru stood there in the center of it all.

What little moonlight managed to break through the clouds fell on her face, illuminating her pale skin and white hair outlined in pure silver.

It was like a spotlight from the heavens resting on her fragile body.

Then she looked me in the eyes, and smiled.

She smiled, but she wasn't happy. I don't know how I knew, but I completely understood what that smile meant.

Maybe it was just the rain, but... I think I saw a tear run down her cheek.

"Sorry… Destroyer-sama…"

I noticed her hands trembling, her entire image faltering.

She was completely different from before.

Defenseless…

No... maybe the word was...

Vulnerable.

"What did you say? Sorry? Why are you apologizing to me?" I asked without thinking, but my voice came out weaker than I meant.

"Sorry… I… I killed him."

Yes. They were definitely tears.

"GUGHH…!"

A guttural noise came from near Ruru. It was faint, but I could hear Grumpy choking in the mud.

It wasn't deep, but she wasn't getting up.

She wasn't responding. 

She was trapped inside her own mind.

I needed to help her.

I needed to, but my body wouldn't move.

My arms were paralyzed.

My legs were in pain.

My fingers were freezing, and every muscle in my body trembled.

Still... I stood up.

Step by step—stagger by stagger—I dragged myself toward her.

Felt the earth cramming under my nails.

"GUGHH…!GUGHH…!GUGHH…!"

Somehow, I made it to her. I pulled her from the ground.

"It's okay now…" I whispered.

I felt her arms wrap tightly around me, a hug filled with hatred, a hostile embrace.

Her nails dug deep into my back, and I felt every raw cut. The pain was sharp, but I didn't push her away.

I didn't owe her anything... yet it felt like this was the only thing I needed to do.

"Keuk!"

Her teeth sank into my shoulder.

I saw my clothes tear, felt the blood pouring into her mouth; until the rain washed it away.

"It's okay… It's okay…"

The first one was for her.

The second... was for me.

But she didn't stop.

This time, I wrapped my arms around her.

Let her feel the warmth of my body against the cold rain.

Let her know she wasn't alone, even if that comfort was faint.

"…"

That was it.

There was nothing else I could say.

I just let her unload all her fury.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! Die… die… d… die…"

Little by little... her rage faded.

Her grip loosened. 

Her fingers stopped clawing my skin. 

Her teeth let go.

I felt the weight of her head fall on my shoulder.

I could hear her warm, erratic breath slowly finding its rhythm again, as if she had remembered she needed to breathe.

"GWAAAH!" she cried. A wail so sharp not even the storm could drown it.

"…"

Ruru stepped closer.

"D-Destroyer-sama…"

"..."

"Forgive me… I know you wanted more information… and yet, I… I ruined everything."

That's when it finally hit me.

I'd been wrong from the very beginning.

The problem was never that I thought this was still just a game…

The real problem was trying to impose my own logic over the rules and values of this world.

There was no other explanation.

Just one conclusion.

It was… a miscalculation.

"…No, Ruru… you don't need to apologize."

...The mistake was mine.

*

I was still drained, but passing out wasn't an option.

Nothing would change the fact that I was already soaked, but if I collapsed here, I'd die of hypothermia.

I waited, holding Grumpy in my arms until she calmed down.

I had no clue how much time passed, but it couldn't have been long.

Judging by her quiet, shallow breathing, I figured she'd either fallen asleep… or blacked out from exhaustion.

"Tch… lucky," I muttered.

Ruru crouched down beside me, though she didn't look me in the eyes.

"Destroyer-sama… let me take her. Your lips are turning purple. If we stay here, you'll…"

Her expression made me imagine just how miserable I must've looked at that moment. Still, pride wasn't exactly something I could afford right now.

"…You're right…" Even breathing was getting hard.

Ruru carefully took Grumpy from my arms, making sure not to hurt her.

She seemed to know how to handle kids.

Once Grumpy was settled in her lap, Ruru extended a hand to me through the rain.

"W-what is it?"

"Your turn. Come on."

"…I-I can get up on my o— Aargh."

"I know you can get up on your own, Destroyer-sama. But we need to hurry, remember?"

"…Ah… yeah… right."

I really couldn't read her at all.

"Come, Destroyer-sama… we have to find shel—"

"Markus!!!"

A high-pitched voice pierced through the rain.

It was Maria.

Looked like one of my variables had gone out of control.

"You bastard! How dare you kill him?!"

The gentle, delicate face I remembered was now completely twisted. Two entirely different people.

Her hand moved swiftly to her side.

"Maria… onee-chan…"

I blinked slowly.

Hm?

What was that flying toward me?

It was too fast.

I needed to dodge...

But I couldn't even take a single step.

No… Even if I don't dodge, I can rely on my passiv—

"Destroyer-sama!"

"Keuk!"

Ruru's foot slammed into my chest, and in the next instant, the ground vanished beneath me.

…She wasn't moving, but her figure was getting further and further away.

THUD!

A dull, dry thud echoed through the back of my head.

[SLEEP LEVELS HAVE REACHED THE LIMIT!]

No… Just a little more…

Then, all of a sudden...

…everything went black.