By Zephyria 
“What if you hurt yourself by touching it? I thought I saw something strange on the thorns earlier.”
But if that were the case, wouldn’t my nails get damaged too? It would be troublesome if dirty blood splattered and left a strange smell.
“Okay, that’s it for you. Since you don’t have a weapon, just use me as your transportation and don’t fight directly.”
“I don’t want to. Don’t tell me what to do.”
Why is he being so difficult again? I was taken aback by his sharp tone and asked.
“This is a matter of efficiency. I can’t fly on my own, and if you get hurt, how will we escape? It’s too vast to walk.”
“I won’t get hurt by something like that.”
“You couldn’t even leave a scratch when you hit it.”
“That’s because you’re here!”
Aska seemed to bristle and raised his voice. He didn’t seem to be bluffing, but it was funny how his pride was hurt over something so trivial, so I continued to pretend I didn’t notice.
“Oh, so you couldn’t unleash your full power because of me?”
“Stop acting childish. This is a serious situation. Why aren’t you worried? That’s why you always get hurt and don’t think much of your injuries.”
“No, it’s because I’m with you. I figure you’ll do something if it gets dangerous. If I were alone, I’d be cowering in a corner, whining.”
“……”
I pressed my fingertips into the wrinkles between his brows as I spoke, and Aska closed his mouth and looked at me. His expression was still sulky, but his eyes were wavering. He’s so simple.
“Anyway, we’re going to soak that thing in water?”
I wanted to play around and bicker childishly forever, but the situation didn’t allow it. I turned my head and looked back at the Magical creature nest, asking.
Rummaging through my memories, I recalled a technique I had devised to ensnare the enemy’s ankles. I almost died trying it, so I never used it again, but it might be possible now.
“Now?”
“How are you going to do it?”
“Just somehow.”
I unwrapped my arms from around Aska’s neck. As I gripped the hilt of the summoned sword tightly, my body, which had finally warmed up, began to cool down again.
“Go down a little further.”
“We’ll get caught if we go any further.”
“Just as far as we can without getting caught.”
Aska tightened his arms around me and moved very slowly and carefully. As the distance closed, the appearance of the Magical creatures became clearer. I rubbed my goosebump-covered arms against Aska’s chest and asked.
“If it’s okay even when wet, let’s just run away. Fighting while surrounded is suicide. Let’s escape first, then somehow scatter them and take them down one by one.”
“If there was a safe place to hide you, I could fight alone.”
“How is a baby who has only ever cut pages with his fingernails going to fight alone?”
“I’m……”
“Quiet. Put me down there.”
I stopped Aska, who was about to get angry again, and pointed to a large rock. Being held in his arms could harm Aska as well.
Aska obediently lowered me onto the high rock.
“Stay a few steps away.”
“Are you going to get hurt again?”
Aska asked suspiciously and took a few steps back. I didn’t answer.
In fact, it wasn’t just about getting hurt. No matter how much you train, there are clear limits to the human body. Even if you’re strong, you can’t survive falling into lava with your bare body.
But even if your flesh melts and your insides flow out in the lava, if you keep recovering, you might be able to walk out alive on two feet.
I focused as much as possible on recalling past memories and steadily raised my magic power. It wasn’t some crude magic like making and throwing icicles, so it required great concentration.
Even before the formula was complete, my stomach was already cold. White, frozen breath came out every time I breathed, and my vision blurred and cleared repeatedly, as if my eyeballs were going bad.
If I were a normal person, my life would have already been cut short when the blood inside me froze and melted. I had never even gotten this far when I first tried it, so from now on, I had to do it almost by feel.
I had created the formula and set the coordinates, but honestly, I didn’t know how I completed it. I just forced it together, filled in the holes, and tied it up when it broke. In the process, a transparent shape began to form slightly above the position I had initially set.
The wriggling Magical creatures seemed to notice the change, stopped moving, and raised their heads in unison.
From the swirling mass that had formed in the air, pure white particles began to fall like misty rain. Watching it, I closed my eyes tightly.
“I screwed up……”
I thought I might fail since it was my first time trying it, but I didn’t expect to mess it up this badly. I used more power than I could handle, and cold sweat ran down my back.
……I hope it’s sweat?
“Are you okay?”
Aska came to me and asked as I was stabilizing my breathing. I swallowed the blood that welled up in my throat and nodded. Aska raised his hand and patted my back, looking at the place where the Magical creatures were.
“Is that water or ice?”
“Water ice……”
I mumbled awkwardly, feeling embarrassed.
The Magical creatures were also tilting their heads with bewildered expressions. Of course, it might just be my imagination, but I was just as bewildered.
“The amount is a bit small, but if it just needs to get wet, isn’t it okay? What were you originally planning to do?”
“A little……”
Kieeeek!
That’s when it happened. At the same time as I opened my mouth, a piercing shriek rang out. The Magical creatures, which had been gathered together and wriggling grotesquely, began to freeze white.
The ice membrane spread widely, starting from the point where the particles, which were falling slowly like snowflakes, touched. It didn’t seem to be very strong, as it shattered easily with the slightest movement.
As the ice was thin, it melted quickly, and water droplets formed on the black surface, making the ground muddy. I stared blankly at the scene, then quickly came to my senses and turned to Aska.
“That’s what I was originally trying to do.”
It was a fluke, but it was a success in the end.
“It seems a bit softer?”
I’d have to get closer to see, but it was clear that the texture had changed. When it hit the ground, it didn’t make a loud bang, but rather a squelching sound.
“What on earth is their true form?”
“Magical creature, probably.”
I was about to carelessly say they were disgusting, but I stopped myself. I glanced at Aska. The look in his eyes as he stared at the Magical creatures was cold.
……Could it be that me saying Magical creatures are disgusting has some effect on Aska? But even if they’re the same Magical creature, Aska and those things look completely different.
Aska was so sensitive that I seemed to have become sensitive too.
“……”
Had I ever said they were disgusting out loud? I had said it in my mind a few times, but I was confused because it was so many times. I cleared my throat, thinking I should be careful just in case.
“They’re coming.”
At that moment, Aska said, looking ahead. The Magical creatures, which had been gathered together and rampaging, seemed to have discovered us and were crawling this way.
“Are they different from the Magical creatures from before? They can’t fly.”
“Maybe it’s because they’re wet.”
“Well, it’s better if they can’t fly.”
I swung the sword I was holding towards the Magical creature horde. Ice crystals fluttered in the air and spread out like a giant wave. A roar erupted, and the ground overturned, creating a frozen path of thorns between the Magical creatures and us.
Watching the scene, I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
“Wow……”
It was something I would never have been able to do normally. I didn’t have the power to imitate it with my own magic power, but now I had already confirmed that I wouldn’t die no matter what I did.
I seemed to have fainted for a few seconds, and my memories disappeared, and blood splattered every time I coughed, but the pain soon subsided. I roughly wiped the blood flowing from my mouth with the back of my hand and gripped the sword again.
I had to wipe them all out before Aska killed them by popping them with his hands. He was already injured, and there was no reason to get the blood of an unknown monster on his hands.
I swung the sword once more, and a great shock was felt in my heart. I felt like something was wrong inside my body, but if I just endured the pain, I would be fine again anyway.
It was a pain that momentarily blurred my vision. But the recovery rate was fast, so it was bearable.
As I swung my arm, the number of Magical creatures crawling along my path noticeably decreased. Every time they cracked, burst, and tore, a black, oily liquid poured out in all directions.
‘I’ve never heard the Second Prince was mute.’
From the moment the black slowly began to appear red, certain memories came to mind.
‘You’re just trembling like a newborn foal.’
A man with a large scar on his head looked down at me with golden eyes that resembled the sand of the desert.
‘Strip the skin from his back and whip him. Receive his blood in a golden wine cup and send it to Khalifa. It is a tribute from the barbarians to the great Rahan.’
What was I feeling in that damp, musty underground prison where no light entered?
Perhaps it was peace.