Chapter 213

EP.213 Meddling #5

“Hey, Song Jihyuk.”

A whisper reaches my ear.

I toss and turn in my sleep.

“Mmm…”

Then, a sharp *thud* hits the back of my head, followed by a dull pain.

Startled by the sudden blow, I open my eyes wide.

“W-What? Why did you hit me?”

“Stop sleeping and get up. I have something to show you.”

“Something to show me…? What is it?”

“Just get up. Hurry.”

Rubbing my eyes with my arm, I check my right arm—it seems fine—and get up.

Silvia, who takes me to the cave entrance, asks,

“Can you see the demons?”

“It’s raining and nighttime, so I can’t see anything.”

“No… But with the moonlight, you should at least see some movement.”

“There’s no movement at all…”

“That’s the thing. Even at night, there should be some movement, but there’s none. I’ve been checking, and it seems like the demons are asleep.”

“Demons are animals too, so of course they’d sleep.”

Silvia gives me a bewildered look as she casually speaks.

She lightly kicks my butt with her foot and says,

“I threw a rock earlier. As long as it doesn’t hit them directly, they stay quiet. The rain is heavy, so it masks our footsteps, and there are no moths around. They must have moved to another area.”

“You even threw a rock? That’s dangerous…”

“Now’s our chance to escape.”

“Escape? You said we should wait…”

“You’ve been sprawled out asleep for over three hours. Since then, there’s been no activity here except the sound of rain. It seems like Headquarters doesn’t know what’s happening here, just like you said.”

“How are we going to escape? Just push through?”

Silvia nods.

“Yeah.”

“That’s really scary… I’m just a regular civilian, you know. What if the demons wake up in the middle of it?”

“We can’t just sit here twiddling our thumbs. If things go south, I’ll use Aiter to protect you. How about that?”

Sounds reliable.

“Haah… Alright. Let’s do it. Just give me a second… I need to wake up…”

I jump in place, slap my cheeks, and take deep breaths.

Silvia watches me with a look of disbelief.

“Such a drama queen…”

“It’s not drama, it’s survival instincts. I don’t want to die.”

“Same here. Should I wear this?”

She’s referring to the pilot suit.

I shrug and reply,

“Yes.”

“Why? You wear it… I’m not cold anymore.”

“That’s not the issue. The suit is heavy, and I don’t want to risk not being able to dodge a demon’s attack. I need to stay as light as possible.”

“Already worrying about being attacked… What a coward. Such a waste of those big muscles.”

“Why are you like this… We really don’t get along.”

“Shut up. Ready?”

“Let’s go. Move.”

**

Swoooosh-!

The relentless rain at night severely limits visibility.

But thanks to the moonlight breaking through the clouds, we manage to move while avoiding the demons.

We cover quite a distance, and after about 3km, we stop when we see something red and shiny scattered all over the ground ahead.

“What’s this?”

Tiny, fingernail-sized things are covering the ground completely.

They’re even floating in the air, visible to the eye.

I examine the shiny particles and answer Silvia’s question.

“It looks like… insect droppings.”

“Droppings…? You mean poop?”

“No… It’s the powder from moth wings.”

“Ah…”

Silvia gives an awkward smile and steps closer to me.

“If it came from a demon’s wings, it must be really harmful, right?”

“We’ll have to check now.”

I naturally place a hand on Silvia’s shoulder, take off my socks, and throw one forward.

Then,

Sssss-! Ssss!

The sock melts instantly upon touching the droppings.

I put my shoe back on and hold my forehead.

“We’re screwed.”

“This is insane…”

“The only good thing is that the droppings aren’t coming toward us. It’s like there’s an invisible boundary…”

“Why is that?”

“How should I know?”

“Let’s try going around. Should we go left first?”

“Sure… Let’s go anywhere.”

As I give a weak reply and start to move,

Kreeeeek-!

A strange sound comes from ahead.

The eerie noise wakes up all the tentacles scattered around.

Kreek! Kreek!

Seeing the grotesque tentacles moving in the dark makes me want to vomit.

They looked pretty from afar, but up close, they’re just disgusting.

“We need to run. Hold on tight.”

As I pretend to be panicked, Silvia pulls out Aiter from her chest and says,

If Marcella has any sense, she won’t let Silvia go just like that… What’s going to happen?

I shake my head and hold my breath when, from the area covered in droppings, something thread-like shoots out in a straight line, aiming for Silvia’s leg as she tries to use Aiter’s power.

The thing flies at incredible speed,

Whoosh-!

Piercing through Silvia’s pilot suit and grazing her ankle before embedding itself deep into the ground.

“Ugh!”

Silvia lets out a short groan and immediately uses Aiter to pull me close, kicking off the ground and starting to retreat the way we came.

We eventually return to the cave we were in before.

While I check if the demons are following us, Silvia stumbles, and I help her lie down next to the weakly burning campfire.

“Are you okay? Let me see the wound.”

“I-It’s just a graze… It’s fine.”

“Your voice sounds like you’re in pain. Don’t lie to me.”

“I said it’s fine…”

“Stop being stubborn and give me the knife.”

I wave my hand in front of Silvia’s face, and she reluctantly pulls out a dagger from her chest and hands it to me.

I tear the bottom of her pilot suit and frown.

The area around her left ankle is turning black.

Black blood is even oozing out.

The result of the moth demon’s poison. I examine the wound closely and say,

“It looks like you’ve been poisoned. I need to do some first aid. I’ll cut your ankle, so bear with the pain.”

“W-What…?”

Silvia’s pupils tremble.

She’s scared. I thought she was tough, but seeing her like this, I realize she’s fragile too.

I sterilize the dagger’s blade in the campfire.

“I’ll just cut a little bit of flesh to drain the poison. Don’t worry about scars. You can get treated with medical devices later.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about… What if I become disabled?”

Ah… She’s scared I’ll mess up.

I take back what I said about her being fragile. This brat.

“Despite how I look, I’ve done first aid on Sehwa and Yuria many times. If you don’t believe me, fine. But I’m still going to cut.”

I quickly tear off the bottom of Silvia’s top hanging in the cave and wipe her ankle.

Not stopping there, I use the remaining cloth to tightly bind her calf, then use both hands to slide down her leg, forcing the blood to pool below.

I then bring a small stick to her mouth and continue,

“Don’t scream, so bite down on this.”

“You… If you mess up, I’ll die…”

“Got it.”

“The blade is really sharp, so you have to be gentle. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Silvia still looks unconvinced, glaring at me as she bites the stick.

I immediately position the blade and carefully pierce the poisoned area.

“Ugh…!”

Silvia clenches her eyes shut.

I continue working, listening to her muffled groans through the stick, and finish the treatment.

But Silvia’s condition worsens over time.

Of course. This kind of first aid can’t completely remove the demon’s poison.

But it’s okay.

The moth demon’s poison isn’t lethal.

If the basic treatment is done well, the poison will slowly leave her body.

It’s just that the process is painful.

“Add more firewood… I’m cold…”

Silvia’s body shivers despite the waterproof pilot suit having little moisture.

I throw all the firewood she gathered into the campfire and reply,

“I’ve already added as much as I can. Are you really that cold?”

“It feels like… I’m naked in winter… Is it because of the poison…? Shouldn’t I have a fever normally…?”

“It’s demon poison. You can’t think of it normally. Stay here for a bit.”

“Why…?”

“I need to gather more firewood and herbs.”

“It’s too dangerous… Don’t go…”

Even though she must be in great pain, her concern for me is touching.

“I’ll just look around nearby. The fact that other parts of your blood are clean means it’s not a lethal poison. So don’t worry and hang in there. I’ll be back.”

“Hey… I said don’t go…”

Ignoring her protests, I grab a dagger and head out of the cave without hesitation.

**

After two hours, I return with willow bark, leaves, more firewood, and large leaves to make a makeshift bed.

My hands are covered in blood. I have many large and small wounds all over my body.

These are deliberately made for dramatic effect.

This way, Silvia will be even more grateful.

I’ve also prepared a surprise gift at the cave entrance, so she’ll be deeply moved when she wakes up.

I place the firewood near the campfire to dry and check on Silvia.

She’s already unconscious, her eyes closed.

Her furrowed brows show she’s in pain even while sleeping.

I check her breathing—it’s quite regular.

A sign that the neutralization is working. But the demon’s poison has taken her body heat, leaving her very cold.

I grind the willow bark into juice and slowly pour it into her mouth to swallow.

The pain relief should kick in soon. It won’t be extraordinary, but it’ll help her endure the pain.

Next, I slowly remove Silvia’s pilot suit.

Her firm chest, wrapped in a black bra, and her well-toned body stir my desires.

I lay leaves on the ground, move Silvia onto them, and sit in front of the campfire in just my underwear.

I spend time drying off, then place the mostly dry firewood around the campfire.

I then snuggle close to Silvia, pulling her into my arms and spreading the pilot suit over us like a blanket.

Finally, I briefly check the Aiter storage and place it by the head.

‘If only Adeline were here, Silvia’s Aiter would soon turn from a stinky rainbow to a beautiful black.’

I wrap my arm around Silvia’s waist, pulling her close, and place my leg over hers, fully pressing against her.

I can feel the firm lines of her 11-pack abs against my arm.

Her butt, touching my groin, is incredibly firm.

I want to strip her underwear and go at it, but I hold back. Now’s not the time.

As I transfer my body heat to Silvia, I silently praise Marcella.

Everything’s going exactly as I planned. I might even be nice to her soon.

If something had gone wrong, I would’ve whipped her and left her tied up in the freezing Antarctic for two days, but she did well.

‘Now, I should rest too.’

Having endured so much in a human body, fatigue overwhelms me.

I curl up slightly, enveloping Silvia’s frame, bury my face in the back of her head, and close my eyes.

To be continued―――――――――――――――――――――

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