After tearing Nakid away from the battlefield, Ysabella carried him on her back and left without looking back.
Thanks to her archer's keen vision, she spotted a darker area in the distance, concealed behind sparse vegetation.
A natural shelter—far enough to escape prying eyes… and lurking threats. She decided to establish a temporary refuge there, a place to recover and reassess.
Throughout the journey, Nakid remained unconscious.
His mind was still trapped in the horror he had just endured. But more than the violence itself, it was the loss of his mother—his only anchor, his only family—that had completely shattered him.
Once they reached safety, Ysabella gently laid him down and examined him. A few shallow cuts marked his bones, nothing critical. His skeletal structure was intact. No major physical trauma.
She paused.
The wound was elsewhere.
Much deeper.
Poor boy… she murmured. To face such brutality at such a young age…
She straightened, lost in thought.
This world is ruled by the law of the strongest. And that colossal skeletal figure… he's the one who triggered this massacre. But who is he? I have the strange feeling I've met him before…
Silence followed.
—And more importantly… why did your scream call out to me? Who are you, really?
She frowned.
— I should stay cau—
— AAAAAAAAGH!
Nakid jolted awake, gasping, his hollow eye sockets soaked with tears.
— Tell me this was just a nightmare… please…
Ysabella knelt beside him.
— I'm sorry… but what you saw was real. I managed to save you, but the one who protected you… she won't be coming back.
— Why me?! he screamed.
What did I do to deserve this?! I would've rather died with—
— Don't finish that sentence.
Her voice cracked like a whip.
— That would insult the sacrifice made for you. If you can't live for yourself, then live for those who believed in you. This world won't grant you the luxury of mourning… not now. But I'll be here if you need to talk.
A pause.
— Tell me… do you know the one who caused the carnage? He claimed we can return to the other world. Is it true?
Nakid lowered his head.
— I… I don't remember his face. But his voice… it feels familiar.
He suddenly looked up.
—If he's telling the truth… then I can save my mother. It's never too late!
Ysabella sighed.
— And how do you plan to do that? By slaughtering everything in your path? You don't even know how to fight.
— Then why did you save me?! Nakid snapped.
Why didn't you just let me die? Can I really trust you?
She met his gaze.
— I have my reasons. And you're useful to me as well. But not everything will be revealed now.
— Wai—
It was too late.
A sharp, searing pain pierced Ysabella's right flank.
A massive scorpion, lurking in the shadows, had struck.
Corrosion spread instantly through her bones, causing them to crumble. Ysabella collapsed, paralyzed.
Nakid panicked.
— No… no, no, no…
He staggered back, helpless, facing the creature—twice his size.
Then—
BOOM.
A massive rock crashed down onto the scorpion, crushing it in a dull, thunderous impact.
Nakid froze.
Relieved. Terrified. Unable to understand.
But Ysabella was still there.
Dying.
—I… I have to do something… he whispered. I refuse to witness another death without doing anything!
His voice broke.
— Am I good for nothing but mourning the dead?!
From afar, hidden in the shadows…
A hooded archer observed the scene.
His shot had been flawless. A needle lodged precisely into a fracture in the rock. Fast. Silent.
Objective achieved.
Yet his gaze never left Nakid.
Who was he?