'We won't last long. In fact, it's a miracle we're still alive until now,' I thought as I moved next to Elena and Ronan, taking a defensive stance.
I glanced at them and saw both of them breathing heavily, especially Ronan.
'Damn it, if I were alone, I wouldn't care. After all, I'm immortal—I could kill them even if it took a long time. But with these two here… maybe I could reveal the truth to Elena, but not to a stranger.'
I tried to think of ways to survive, but the miserable situation left us with nothing.
RING! RING! RING!
A loud bell rang from the sky. The moment it echoed, all the monsters froze in place.
"What happened?" I muttered in shock. Before I could understand, the monsters turned and fled until they vanished from sight.
"I don't know, but isn't it good? They're all gone," Ronan said as he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
"There's no time to rest. Who knows when they'll return? Let's run quickly." I sheathed my sword and moved toward Elena.
"Are you alright?" I asked, scanning her body. She didn't seem to have any visible injuries.
"why You worry about me? I'm stronger than you," she said with a mocking smile.
'Well, she is strong. The monsters killed me a few times, but she never got hurt… Why is she so powerful? Is it because of the Light Shard?'
While I was lost in thought, Elena spoke, cutting me off.
"Nox, we found something you might want to see," she said, pointing toward the corridor they had emerged from.
"What is it?"
…
After seeing what Elena meant, I understood the truth of this place and what I had to do.
"Adam, huh? Who would have thought all the gods would gather to bless one man? That's terrifying. What kind of power did Adam have after receiving all those blessings? No… what kind of thing could make him disappear in the first place?"
I thought with awe at what had happened here, but there was nothing I could do.
"But thinking about it… this is supposed to be just a ninth-rank gate. Isn't this place far more dangerous than it should be? Is it because of one monster's presence?"
I shook my head in frustration.
"Well, well, no need to be so tense. We'll survive."
Elena suddenly hugged me, patting my back, trying to calm me down. It was a good thing Ronan was still at the back keeping watch.
"Hey, girl, you should consider the situation," I scolded her, though I didn't push her away. Instead, I gently wrapped my arm around her back.
"But I'm happy you survived, so I'll forgive you," I said softly, patting her head.
"Hehehe, you can't resist someone as beautiful as me," she teased with a mischievous smile.
"Oh? Looks like someone's getting annoying," I said, pinching her cheek.
"Hehehe, that tickles."
I lowered my hand, turning serious.
"Enough. We need to leave this place and try to find the other ."
Elena nodded in agreement, and we moved upward, meeting Ronan.
"You saw the map below. I think we should head toward the temple in the south. It looks like it'll take us a week to reach it, and let's hope we find others along the way," I explained, laying out the plan.
"Sorry to interrupt, but what about food and water? They told us we could eat other creatures, but these things are inedible," Ronan said nervously, clearly uneasy about speaking to me.
"I don't know. The temple in the south is surrounded by green land—maybe there's a river or something there. But we won't reach it for a week, and as for food, we have nothing." I answered, frustrated.
"Oh, leave it to me. The Light can purify the corpses—we can eat their flesh. As for water, there should be a well here." Elena raised her hand, offering a solution.
"Since when can Light do that?" I asked curiously. After all, Light was strong against corruption, but even it had limits.
"Well… I'm very special," she said, turning her face aside nervously, as if hiding something.
'Maybe she'll use her attribute. I won't pressure her, especially with a stranger around.'
"Fine. Purify the corpses, but avoid the aberrations—they're too human-like and don't have much meat anyway. Ronan and I will search for the well if it exists."
I divided the tasks and left with Ronan to fetch water.
"Go left, I'll go right. If you find anything dangerous, run back quickly. Return here in exactly half an hour. It doesn't matter if you don't find water—I might find it myself," I ordered and left without waiting for his reply.
After fifteen minutes, I returned to the church, having found the well quickly and brought back two buckets of water.
Inside, I found Elena already cooking monster meat. She was humming cheerfully, sitting by a fire on one of the church benches that had survived.
She noticed me and smiled warmly.
"Welcome back. Come sit here." She patted the spot beside her. I sat down, leaning my back against the bench.
"Hm?" I was surprised when she gently rested her head on my shoulder.
"You're still doing this?" I asked, worried those feelings had taken hold of her again.
"Hehehe, can't I just have a little rest?" She laughed softly, She lifted herself up and then sat on my lap. wrapping her arms around me, and burying her face in my neck.
"What are you doing!!!" I was shocked. Even when her emotions had controlled her before, she was never this bold.
"Nox, didn't I tell you a month ago? Maybe this is how I feel." Her soft voice froze me in place. I had known Elena's feelings hadn't changed, but I lied to myself, always searching for excuses not to respond.
With trembling hands, I gently hugged her back.
"Just a little… please, just wait a little. I need more time," I said, my voice shaking with fear—perhaps fear of being honest with myself and others, fear that had long taken root in me.
"You're really useless. But you're my coward, so I'll wait. Not a little—I will wait for you no matter how long it takes ," she whispered tenderly, melting the ice around my heart. We embraced, We feel each other's warmth , trying to forget the hell we were in.
.....
Ronan soon returned, thankfully we stop hugging before he saw anything. Elena was cutting meat, skewering it with wooden sticks she made it from broken chairs.
As for me, I was skinning a snake, trying to make water flasks.
"Need help?" Ronan asked, curious about what he should do.
"Take this hide and stitch it carefully into flasks. Can you?"
"Yes, I was good in sewing class," he said, already starting. He used monster sinew as thread, a good substitute. The academy had taught us many things—sewing, purifying water, finding hollow ground, weather analysis, navigation, cooking, fire-making, swimming.
And if you thought swimming lessons were for seeing Elena's skin, then die—they made us swim with heavy armor, all for survival in the Abyss.
"Hey, guys, the food's ready," Elena called, holding skewers of meat in her hands.
We stopped working and sat around the fire. Ronan sat across from me, Elena beside me.
"Mmm, it's delicious! Who would've thought zombie meat would taste this good?" Ronan exclaimed in surprise after his first bite.
Elena nodded in response. If it were me who said that, she'd be smiling proudly, bragging about her skills.
"It's good. Thank you," I said flatly, eating without expression.
"Hehehe, I'm a skilled cook. If I had salt or spices, I'd make your mouth water," she teased.
"Girl, be fair with your reactions. You look like someone madly in love."
I thought, glancing at Ronan, whose mouth was open in shock as if life was unfair.
"Well, I say that, but I like being treated specially too. She sets clear boundaries for others, making them know their place."
We finished the rest of the food in silence, then made nine flasks, each carrying three. Elena also made fur coats from rat pelts in case of cold. I didn't need one thanks to my cloak, but I told her to take mine if she got cold—I didn't want her wearing disgusting fur.
After ensuring everything was ready, we headed south. Thanks to the map, we knew the directions with no issue.
RING! RING! RING!
As we left the city, the bell rang again—it came from the Silver Castle.
"Three hours… looks like that's the interval. The monsters will come again. Let's move fast," I said.
We strengthened our bodies and ran at full speed before the monsters could find us.
---
High above, beneath the hall of the Silver Palace, a ghostly white owl shimmered like the stars.
Its eye twitched slightly in sleep, then it opened and awoke slowly.
"Hm? Strangers… has the day Adam promised finally come? But it won't matter if they can't reach me."
Its voice was deep, as if it had lived countless years. After speaking, the owl closed its sun-like eyes and sank once more into deep slumber.
---