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Chapter 9 - Chapter 9: Feast

Ice stared at the beast with a cold, unreadable gaze. There was no satisfaction in his eyes; only deep relief and lingering doubt. They had paid too high a price just for water… and he had only just arrived in this place.

Ray was seriously injured, and even if he managed to recover, he would be out of commission for a while. One of their swords was completely shattered, and Ice himself was bruised and battered, in desperate need of rest.

They rushed toward Ray, using what little strength they had left. He was lying motionless on the ground, unconscious, his shallow breathing the only sign that he was still alive.

Like Ice, his body was covered in cuts and bruises. But the worst part was his shoulder, which was bleeding heavily, and his side, torn open and dangerously wounded.

"Go get his bag!" Ice barked at Celestia, who had just stepped forward. She froze for a second, startled by the urgency in his voice, then nodded quickly and dashed off.

Ice was convinced that if Ray had torches and spare weapons in his bag, he'd surely packed some basic first aid supplies too.

If he could just stop the bleeding, that might be enough to stabilize him; assuming there weren't any internal injuries.

As he waited for Celestia to return, he turned his attention to the massive beast lying lifeless nearby, its jagged scales and rows of sharp teeth still glistening in the dim light. Its claws had left deep gashes in the earth, signs of its overwhelming strength.

Ray wasn't exaggerating after all.

Even without Ray's warning, Ice had known the beast would be dangerous. But if someone asked whether he had taken it seriously when Ray said it was impossible… the honest answer would be no.

Only now did the reality hit him. It had been an impossible fight. He couldn't help but wonder why Ray had even chosen to follow him in the first place.

A pang of guilt crept into his chest. He knew the attack had been necessary, that they had no choice but to act fast, and that the plan hasty as it was might've been the best option they had. Still, his mind wouldn't stop replaying it all, questioning every move.

Lost in thought, he spotted Celestia running back toward him, panting.

"Here it is," she said, breathless, hands on her knees.

He grabbed the bag and started rummaging through it. As soon as he opened it, he was surprised to see that nearly a quarter of it was filled with… clothes.

"He's serious? This is what he considers useful?" Ice thought, frowning.

He'd assumed most of the space would be used for food and water, especially with how desperate Ray had been earlier. But the number of clothes in the bag made no sense.

Eventually, after digging through the layers, Ice found what he was looking for disinfectant and bandages.

"Take this and the water bottle. Follow me," he told Celestia, who nodded, though her eyes were full of worry.

Together, they headed for the river nearby. Ice carried Ray gently in his arms, his steps heavy but determined.

Once they reached the riverbank, he laid Ray down and filled the bottle with water. He carefully washed the wound, applied the disinfectant, and began wrapping it with the bandages as best he could.

"Is he going to be okay?" Celestia asked quietly, watching him play medic.

Ice scratched his head and gave a crooked smile.

"He's not okay. But if you're asking whether he'll live… I think so."

Celestia shot him a glare.

"You couldn't just say that part first?"

Ice responded with a teasing look, then moved Ray into the shade. After that, there wasn't much left to do except offer him a sip of water and wait for him to wake up.

"You really had a close call," Celestia muttered as she walked over.

Ice, still limping, sank to the ground beside her in the shade.

"Honestly, I still don't know how I made it out alive."

Celestia narrowed her eyes. "You're way too calm about nearly dying, you know. Maybe you should've lost a few teeth, big brother," she added, exaggerating the title.

Ice blinked at her. "Why are you talking about my teeth?"

Celestia shrugged. "Never mind. Anyway, your last-minute rescue was kind of amazing. How did you pull it off?"

She went on to explain that she'd started to panic and had taken Ray's bow and arrows to come help but along the way realized she had no idea how to use them.

When she reached the scene, Ray had seen her and motioned for her to throw him the bow. Then, he'd handed her the sword to give to Ice.

As for the location of the beast's heart, she didn't know how she'd figured it out. It was just… instinct.

When she finished, Ice let out a loud laugh.

"'Along the way'? Are you serious?"

Celestia's face turned red. She clenched her fists, trying to maintain her composure in the face of his laughter.

Noticing her embarrassment, Ice decided to drop it and change the subject.

"Anyway, we've got something important to take care of," he said lightly.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Ice chuckled and pointed behind him, at the monster's corpse.

"What do you think? We've got at least a hundred kilos of meat waiting for us."

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