By Zephyria 
The thought that Aska was hurt while protecting me made my blood rush to my head. But in this urgent situation, losing my mind to anger would likely lead to a swift demise.
I tried to ignore my frantically beating heart and rolled my eyes around.
The unidentified tentacle that seemed to have pierced Aska’s shoulder first was stuck in the ground. Judging by the way the dirt floor was moving, there seemed to be more than one. Or perhaps the tentacle was more enormous than I thought.
The second attack came from behind me. Considering the speed it was flying, an ordinary person would be instantly impaled. With a penetrating wound of that size, death would be instantaneous.
I tried to turn my head to identify the thorns, but Aska pressed down hard on the back of my head.
“What are all those things?”
“Get your hand off.”
“Just stay down. It hurts like hell if you get hit.”
Hurts like hell? I didn’t know where he picked up that kind of language, but now wasn’t the time to worry about it. He was severely injured, so of course it would hurt, but for him to say it like that meant the pain must be unbearable for Aska too, right? He wouldn’t say something like that unless it was excruciating.
Seeing me trembling with anger, Aska said something ridiculous.
“I’ll take care of everything, so don’t be scared.”
Normally, I would have been touched and maybe even teared up, but this wasn’t the time.
“Take your hand off.”
After I said it again, Aska finally released my head, which he had been cradling like precious glass. He had already taken out his wings again and was flying quickly while holding me.
I thought he was pretty fast even when he was clumsy at flying, but when he glided without moving his wings, it was so fast I couldn’t even open my eyes properly.
As Aska flapped his wings, I cautiously peeked behind us. I expected it, given how fast we were escaping, and I was right.
A long, black, worm-like tentacle was thrashing wildly in the air, defying the laws of physics as it chased us. How could it change direction so quickly at that speed? Its color was black, and it had a glossy sheen like an insect. Just looking at it made me feel disgusted.
“What is that thing?”
“It keeps chasing us, what do we do?”
The tentacle was shooting black thorns from behind like spitting saliva, but Aska didn’t even look and dodged every attack. Just a moment ago, he didn’t even know how to stop his wings properly.
“You’re doing great now. I knew you’d be strong in a real situation.”
“Is that what’s important right now? I tried hitting it once, but it didn’t even flinch.”
He even managed to hit it while running away? Who did he take after to be so clever? I was about to pat him on the shoulder to praise him, but I stopped.
“Let’s land somewhere suitable first. We need to treat your injuries.”
My voice was serious because the wounds were more severe than I thought, but Aska was even more serious.
“I’m flying as fast as I can right now, but we’re not getting any further away.”
“Then should I just kiss you now? Can you fly while kissing?”
“I’m not confident about that yet.”
He said it so earnestly that I couldn’t even imagine trying it. It would be dangerous for both of us if he faltered after I forced him to drink my blood.
“But didn’t you say you’d take care of everything and I shouldn’t be scared? Do you not have any plan?”
“I just said whatever came to mind to calm you down because you seemed scared.”
I nodded, watching Aska confess so readily.
“Very clever.”
“But you know we’re in a pretty serious situation right now, right?”
Was it because I kept talking like it was a joke? Aska asked with a sullen expression.
“I’m fully aware of the seriousness of the situation. You’ve been bleeding non-stop from your hole since earlier.”
“……”
Aska’s expression, which was already subtle, became even stranger, as if he didn’t like my choice of words.
But I didn’t know how else to describe it other than a hole. The wound was really severe. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that you could pass notes through the hole in Aska’s shoulder to someone on the other side.
And his forearm was no better, if not worse.
Was it because I was being threatened by a black tentacle worm I had never heard of before? Even in a situation where survival was uncertain even with a clear mind, my thoughts couldn’t go on for long. It was probably because events that felt like a dream were happening one after another.
I closed my mouth, which had been chattering to minimize the disconnect from reality, and racked my brain. How could Aska and I be safe?
After desperately searching my memories to survive, something I had forgotten suddenly came to mind.
“Didn’t you used to drop lightning from a clear sky when you were little?”
“I can’t do that now.”
“Ah, you said you can’t use magic.”
This was a real problem. I couldn’t think of any way to escape this tentacle hell. The blood wouldn’t stop flowing from the hole, and the worm bastard didn’t seem to tire as it continued to spit its filthy saliva and chase us.
I wouldn’t be so anxious if it weren’t for Aska’s injuries. Seeing the bright red blood flowing made me feel like I was going crazy.
An ordinary person would have already died from excessive bleeding.
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“It hurts. But it’s bearable.”
Aska glanced at me and said nonchalantly. But I clearly saw his eyes waver slightly when he looked at me earlier. He must have added the last part because he didn’t want me to worry.
The anger I had barely suppressed flared up again like wildfire. I’m always so careful when I suck and leave marks so he doesn’t get hurt, and this bug bastard…
I couldn’t take it anymore. All reason was paralyzed, and even my survival instincts disappeared. Even if it meant my death, I had to tear that thing apart to feel better.
If all else failed, I decided I would bite it to death, and I clenched my fist tightly when suddenly, my whole body turned cold. My right hand gradually became colder and colder until it hurt, and then a sword suddenly appeared.
“What is this?”
I was so surprised that I almost bit my tongue. I reflexively tried to drop it, but the handle and my hand were already frozen together, so I couldn’t.
“Why did a sword suddenly appear?”
“That’s yours. I’ve seen it before too. Doesn’t your hand hurt?”
I closed my mouth at Aska’s question.
Even though it was so cold that the pain should have been numbed, the pain was still extremely clear. The coldness that started from the hand holding the sword was freezing every corner of my body, traveling through my blood vessels.
“You’ll get frostbite and get really hurt if you use that.”
Aska muttered with a worried expression. Was frostbite the problem? Aska already had four holes in his body.
My stomach churned again.
Just a moment ago, I didn’t know how to hold or swing a sword. Of course, I didn’t know how to use this cold sword either, but I instinctively found the best way to kill that bug bastard.
“Head towards that cliff. Can you glide along the wall?”
“I’ll try.”
At my words, Aska turned and changed direction.
With my other hand, I tore off the sword that was stuck to my palm and frozen. My skin tore, but the blood froze before it could even drip.
The strange thing was that the injured palm healed quickly. Was this not just a phenomenon that occurred in the Ruins?
“Why are you tearing it off so brutally?”
“Just keep moving, even if you have to slow down.”
I decided to think about this later and checked the worm’s position to time the right moment. I held the sword in reverse, never taking my eyes off the worm.
The coldness enveloped me again the moment I held the sword, but the pain was gradually becoming familiar, so it was bearable. Moving along the cliff was naturally slower than flying straight through the air.
As a result, the distance between the worm and us was rapidly decreasing. Aska seemed to have roughly guessed what I was trying to do when he saw me holding the sword backwards, and he tightened his arms around me.
I took a deep breath and plunged the tip of the sword into the cliff. With a loud crash, the rock broke and fell below. At the same time, a thin icy afterimage remained on the cliff.
The moment the worm passed through that frozen section, countless shards of ice sprouted like a field of thorns, piercing the monster’s body.
Kieeeek!
A terrible and disgusting scream echoed all around. I was a little worried because Aska said it didn’t flinch when he hit it earlier, but thankfully this seemed to work.
I watched the worm fall below and then raised my head, taking a deep and refreshing breath.
“Ha, that’s refreshing…”
Although my arm was frozen up to the elbow, my wrists and shoulders ached, white breath came out every time I opened my mouth, my lungs were sore, and my whole body was trembling, it was more important that I had paid it back.
That bug bastard.