Chapter 17 The Scent of Death and Promise of an Easy Meal

The convulsions stopped. His body went limp. His eyes, still open, stared at nothing. The crystal light caught them one last time, reflecting a final glimmer of life before they went dark.

I knelt beside him, my hands pressed against his chest, feeling for a heartbeat. Nothing. I pressed harder. Still nothing. I tilted his head back, opened his mouth, breathed into his lungs. Once. Twice. Three times. Nothing.

"No! Takumi! No, no, no, no, no—"

 I pressed my palms against his chest again, pumping, willing his heart to start beating again. I poured healing magic into him, every spell I knew. The glow was bright, searing, but his body remained still.

"Takumi! Don't die! HEAL! HEAL! HEAL!"

My magic surged through my hands, golden light pouring into his body. But it wasn't working. The light flickered, sputtered, faded. His wounds weren't closing. His heart wasn't restarting. I was screaming now, my composure shattered, the mask I always wore crumbling to dust. The spells flickered and died, one after another, rejected by a body that was no longer alive to receive them.

"It's not working! It's too late! My healing magic... it's not... he's... Takumi... Takumi, please. Please don't leave me. Not you. Not you too. Please..."

I looked at his face. His eyes were still open, glassy and unseeing. His mouth was frozen in a silent scream. Venom had done its work, and I had been too slow. Too careless. Too arrogant.

I should have known better. With his endurance, he had no fighting chance against the poison. His resistances were at the bottom. He was vulnerable. Fragile. And I pushed him anyway. I pushed him to floor 15. I pushed him to the forest. I pushed him into a biome full of venomous creatures.

This is all my fault. I got another one killed.

I pressed my forehead against his chest. His skin was already cooling. The warmth that had always been there, the stubborn, defiant warmth that had kept him fighting through everything I'd thrown at him, was gone.

"I'm sorry, Takumi. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have... I should have been more careful."

I sat back on my heels, staring at his face. His eyes were still open, frozen in that final moment of shock and pain. I reached out and gently closed them.

"I'm sorry, Takumi. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have known better. I should have protected you. I should have—"

The words died in my throat.

I heard them before I saw them. The skittering of legs on stone. The low, hungry growls. The whisper of movement in the distance. A roar echoed through the cave.

Monsters.

They were coming, drawn by the scent of death, the promise of an easy meal.

 I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to abandon him. Not like this. Not after everything. But I had no choice.

I leaned down and pressed my lips to his forehead, a final, desperate goodbye.

"I'm sorry, Takumi. I have to leave you. Monsters are coming. I have to go. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

I didn't have time to mourn. I didn't have time to cry. I walked away. Each step felt like a betrayal. Each step pulled me further from his body, from the warmth that was fading, from the hope that had died with him.

I pulled out a teleport scroll, one of the guild-issued ones, standard and slow. The protective bubble burst into existence around me, the spell beginning its long, agonizing charge. I was on floor 15. It would take a few minutes. Minutes I would have to spend watching.

I watched through the bubble as monsters emerged. They swarmed over his body like ants on a carcass, tearing, ripping and devouring. I watched his clothes dissolve. I watched his skin peel away. I watched his bones splinter and crack.

By the time teleportation activated, monsters were licking his blood off the ground. Not even a piece of cloth was left. I saw it all. I saw everything. And I couldn't look away.

Takumi, my precious Takumi. I thought you were different from the rest. You showed so much promise. I thought, with you, I could finally do it. I could finally reach that cursed floor. But you left me too. I'm alone again.

The magic flashed, and the dungeon vanished. I appeared outside the iron gates. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. Oliver was standing by the gates; his expression changed from casual to concerned.

"Oh, hey Fiona... Wait... where's Takumi?" He looked past me, searching for the boy who should have been following.

"Oh... If you're alone, then that means... Sorry. He looked like a good guy."

I didn't answer. I couldn't. I just walked past him, my feet carrying me forward on their own.

I don't need to tell him. He knows. He knows what it means when I appear alone. He's seen it before. He's seen it so many times. And still, he offered his condolences. My hope was crushed yet again. I was stupid to have hope. I was stupid to get so close to him. Now he's gone... just like the others.

I thought he was the one. No. He was the one. None of the others came close to him. And I lost him. I was careless. I let my guard down for one moment. I should have known better... should have never underestimated the dungeon. Me, of all the people. I should have known.

I walked through the streets.

The evening was quiet, townsfolk going about their business, oblivious to the grief that was crushing me from the inside. I passed food stalls and shops, taverns and homes, all of them bright and full of life.

My body moved on its own, walking forward, step after step, aimless and empty. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't care.

All I could see was his face. All I could hear was his voice. All I could feel was the weight of his body in my arms, growing cold, growing still, dead.

I'm sorry, Takumi. I'm so sorry. I should have been faster. I should have been smarter. I should have—

The street blurred around me. I didn't know how long I'd been walking. Minutes. Hours. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. It was fully dark by the time I realized where I was.

I stopped.

I was standing in front of the same inn. The same inn where otherworlders wandered in, confused and lost. The same inn where I had found Takumi, sitting alone, desperate and scared, looking for someone to save him.

One more. I have one more try left in me. I can't handle this anymore. This will be the last one. One more, and if I lose him too... If I lose him too, I will fall with him.

Or maybe... I should have shared my fate with Takumi. Ended it all with him. Yes... I should just end my suffering. And the suffering of everyone around me.

I stood in front of the inn, staring at the warm light spilling from its windows. I was thinking. One or two otherworlders wandered into this inn a month. There was almost zero chance I would find a new one this fast. But I made a promise to myself anyway.

If there is an otherworlder inside. I will try to trick him, one more time. But if there is none... If there is none, I will go back to the dungeon. To where my precious Takumi died. And I will accept my fate. I will die next to him.

I stood outside the inn for a long moment, my hand resting on the worn wooden door. The warmth of the evening air had given way to the cool of night, and chill was seeping through my robe. But I didn't feel it. I was too numb, too hollow, too lost in the endless loop of memories that played behind my eyes.

Alright, Fiona. Time for the gentle act. Back to the role. You've done this before. You've done it many times. Push down the sadness. Push down the grief. Push down everything. Just like always.

I took a breath. Let it out slowly. My face changed, muscles relaxing into something soft and gentle. My eyes warmed, my lips curved into a gentle smile.

Back to the act of a savior. Don't forget the magic phrase. Konichiwa. Just like always.

I pushed open the door.

The inn was warm and lively; everything was just as it always was.

"Konichiwa."

The word left my lips on instinct, the same greeting I had used many times before. The same greeting I had used when I first met him. The same greeting I had used when I—

Time stopped.

He was sitting at the same table. The same one he had been at when I first found him. He looked up. Our eyes met. The world around me faded to nothing. The noise of the inn vanished. The cheers, the laughter, the shouts, all of it disappeared, leaving only him.

Takumi. My Takumi. He was alive. He was there. He was looking at me.

I felt my breath catch in my throat. My heart, which had been hollow and empty, suddenly filled with something so overwhelming that I couldn't breathe.

He's alive? He's here. He's fine. But how? How is this possible? I saw him die. I held him in my arms. I watched monsters tear his body apart. I watched them lick his blood from the ground. And yet he's here. He's here, and he's looking at me.

I noticed the collar was gone. The slave collar I had put around his neck was missing. He was free. But I didn't care. I didn't care about the collar. I didn't care about the contract. I didn't care about any of it. He was alive. That was all that mattered.

I felt warmth spread through my chest, joy so pure and so fierce that it almost hurt. It had been years since I felt anything like it. My precious Takumi. He was alive.

And then Gregor's voice shattered the moment.

"HEY YO!"