"Ren."
Temar called only Ren’s name, like something inside him had broken.
"Ren."
As if calling him like that would make Ren open his eyes.
"H-he’s not dead."
The physician managed to force that much out.
"He’s alive!"
If he didn’t say it, it felt like everyone here would be trapped inside this nightmare of a night.
"He’s alive! He’s not dead!"
For now, all they’d managed to do was keep breath in him, but still, alive was alive, wasn’t it?! That alone was a miracle! The fact that he’d stayed alive long enough for treatment on this scale to even happen was a miracle!
"Hngh... hng... hwaaah...."
Only then did a broken sob burst out of Lady Coco.
"...Hahk."
Temar too sucked in a sharp breath and collapsed to the ground.
He clutched at his chest.
Nothing felt real.
Ever since Ren had joined them on the journey to the capital.
Temar had felt strange the whole time.
Having his little brother beside him after always being apart from him had felt awkward and uncomfortable. Ren, who always smiled and called him brother, brother, brother—Temar could never get used to it. If Ren had done something wrong and was being scolded, at least Temar would’ve known what to do. He could’ve hurried over, stopped his little brother, lectured him, then soothed him after. He could play that kind, gentle older-brother role, at least a little. But Temar didn’t know how to deal with Ren when Ren hadn’t done anything wrong.
It was awkward, but he hadn’t hated it.
It had only felt strange and uncomfortable.
Even when someone suddenly pushed their way into the relationship Ren had built around no one but him, it had still been bearable.
All along the road to the capital, listening to Ren’s voice, Temar had felt like he was dreaming. It hadn’t felt like a journey where death could come at any time. It had felt like he was traveling with Ren.
Like one of those dreams he’d once had.
But what lay before his eyes now was Ren soaked in blood.
Pale. Bloodless. Not even blinking. Not calling him brother. Not smiling at him. Lying there like a corpse. Ah... Ren, who could die at any moment and it wouldn’t even be strange.
So this...
this journey they’d taken together toward the capital hadn’t been anything like a sweet dream...
It had been a nightmare.
Temar regretted it.
And yet he had no idea what, exactly, he regretted.
The physician, finally able to catch his breath, thought he should treat the others now.
They need a moment to breathe, right? It’s definitely not because I’m scared.
Scooting backward on his ass to keep clear of Temar, who still looked like he might cut his head off at any moment, the physician pressed himself close to Ren.
Then, right on cue, something caught his eye.
It was a spill of dark green tea leaves poking out from the torn upper pocket, ripped open by the sword that had stabbed through Ren’s chest. The physician grabbed the leaves without hesitation, then made a puzzled face.
"What is it?"
"..."
Strange. This wasn’t the kind of thing you’d use for tea.
More than that...
it was rarer than the medicine bottle he’d just used, the one he’d only barely managed to obtain after nearly half a year. Rare, but not especially useful... and it had a curious scent too, as if something had been added to it. The physician’s eyes gleamed.
"Physician."
"Ah... my apologies. May I keep this herb, by any chance?"
"...? It’s not mine... Is there some problem with it?"
"That’s just tea leaves Ren drinks."
Luman’s eyes narrowed.
"More importantly, what’s his condition?"
Just hearing that he was alive wasn’t enough to reassure him.
Judging by the way the physician was calmly asking for tea leaves, it was clear Ren had made it past the immediate crisis, but still.
The physician, who’d been staring only at the leaves, finally seemed to realize that he’d been treating a critical patient just moments ago and made an awkward face.
It felt like sweat was pouring out of every hole in his body.
"All I can do is keep him breathing, so... if you’re nobles, please seek help from a priest too."
The moment the physician noticed Lady Coco’s clothes, his expression brightened considerably.
He said it mildly, like a polite recommendation—please do seek one out—but what he really meant was, Only a priest can save him now!
"He’s not going to be left with lasting damage, is he."
Luman’s muttered words clearly demanded an answer.
The way he said it made it sound like if there was lasting damage, he’d cut off the head of the physician who’d given the initial treatment.
Surely not.
Probably not...?
Outside, it had gone completely dark now.
"We move... to the estate. There’s a priest stationed there."
Lady Coco spoke after steadying her breath.
"We can get there, right? With a Hero’s ability..."
Even if they couldn’t, they had to.
Coco’s eyes searched the Hero’s face.
If he could move to the middle of a cliff, then he can definitely go farther than that. Didn’t he bring the physician here too?
Hugh rested a hand on Coco’s shoulder as she barely managed to hold herself together.
As if telling her it was okay.
But when Coco looked at his wrist, bent all wrong, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Could they carry Ren all the way to the capital? Could a boy in this state endure long-distance light travel?
A Hero’s ability was not something that could be used carelessly. It was power granted by oath. Power that required the permission of the king, master of the Seven Stars. Even now, plenty about its stability was still unknown. Truthfully, even bringing the physician here had been close to a gamble.
Ren might die on the way.
That certainty hit hard.
For the first time, Luman wasn’t sure.
"W-why, why aren’t you answering... You can do it, right? We can go, can’t we...?!"
There was a metallic edge in Coco’s voice now. Looking at the desperate girl’s face, Luman bit down on his lip.
They had to go. He thought so too.
"How long can he hold on?"
Luman narrowed his brows.
A Hero’s ability was not something to be drawn out whenever they pleased.
Even in wartime, Heroes had preserved part of their strength...
but tonight, that wasn’t possible.
Anti-Hero combat weapons.
The two men, having experienced for the first time the reality of the weapon supposedly still under development, had nearly died. If their abilities hadn’t erupted like miracles in the face of death, the way they had during the Seven-Year War, it wouldn’t be Dell Belkerman lying dead on the ground. It would be Luman and Temar.
Lives barely preserved. Limbs severed and reattached. Even setting the Hero’s restrictions aside, there was no way they had much strength left to use.
"Until the fever rises..."
The physician let the end of the sentence trail off.
There was no way a fever wouldn’t come after losing that much blood.
The real crisis was only starting now.
So how could they possibly choose not to move? How could they possibly honor something like a restriction?
"...We leave in an hour."
Luman, looking between Ren and Temar, closed his eyes.
Even if it meant burning up his life, shouldn’t he save him first?
"We have to go."
At a glance, his voice sounded calm.
Like he’d just been handed some light assignment.
But he couldn’t hide all of it.
Luman ripped away the hair dried stiff with blood as roughly as if he were tearing it out.
That roughness in his hand gave away a silent impatience.
Luman looked at Lady Coco.
If there really was a high-ranking priest residing there, Ren would live.
"..."
"..."
Something unspoken passed between the two of them.
Ren’s shallow breathing filled the hollow.
Everyone strained to focus on that sound, as though breathing itself were hope. There was no way they could fail to notice that Ren’s breaths were far hotter now than before.
If they delayed, it might already be too late.
More than that, Luman couldn’t even be sure he himself would stay alive long enough to bring Ren there.
And even if he reached help, he was even less sure Ren’s breathing would still be intact by then.
But the physician, sharp enough to know better, did not make the mistake of saying that out loud.
Because if any of them were going to survive this artificial hollow carved into the cliff, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) first someone had to get out and go call for rescue.
And there was no one fit to go do it.
The Hero who had brought him here was sitting on the stone floor like his soul had been ripped out of him.
So the only one left to trust, barely, was Hero Luman...
The physician’s eyes rolled from Temar to Luman.
Thick, sticky blood was dripping from all over Luman’s body, heavy as oil paint.
As for the rest of the humans, that went without saying.
Hugh, who had just had his grotesquely bent wrist reset, had several broken ribs, and that princess went without saying too...
The physician squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again and looked at Luman—their only hope right now—with desperate intensity.
I just don’t want to die here!
Darkness rolled in from outside like it might swallow the hollow whole in a single bite, and whenever clouds covered the moon, it seemed to crawl even deeper inside. It was so frightening, so skin-crawling, he felt like he might lose his mind. They had barely managed to keep Ren breathing, but with Temar pouring killing intent into the air, his spine still wouldn’t stop shivering. To make matters worse, once the night deepened, the cold would hit hard.
The sweat he’d soaked through from sheer tension was cooling now, and his whole body was growing colder by the minute.
No one showed it, but all of them were hunching in on themselves, forcing themselves to endure the cold.
The only reason any of them still could was probably because this boy’s life was hanging by a thread.
Once Luman left with Ren, once the thing they were all concentrating on disappeared, the rest of them might collapse fast.
The key was for Luman to get Ren safely to Lady Coco’s estate, keep him alive, and then safely bring back people who could rescue the rest of them.
Which meant Luman absolutely could not collapse on the way there.
Or after getting there.
The physician swallowed hard.
Nothing about this situation was certain.
"I-I can at least wrap your wounds!"
The physician blurted it out hesitantly, but by the end it sounded almost like a vow. Sweat poured down his face from how tense he was. Truthfully, even if Luman refused, he wanted to rush over and wrap him up head to toe anyway...!
One look from Luman, though, made the physician shrivel.
"Take care of the others who are left. I’m fine."
"But in that condition..."
Aren’t you going to die on the way there?
