MDHO 10

Chapter 10

As soon as I felt something hot hit my right arm, I rolled across the ground.

“Ah, ah…!”

Lying flat on the floor, I clutched my stinging arm, tears streaming down my face—until I finally realized what that burning heap in front of me was.

It was my classmate, Magne.

“No way. This can’t be happening…”

Behind me, Linia’s trembling voice broke the silence as she shook her head in denial—then her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.

“She’s blinded! Go for the mouth!”

“Guns ready! Three, two, one—fire!”

“Hey! Aim properly, damn it!”

“Haa…”

While the shooters from Squad 1 and Squad 3 fired simultaneously, the other soldiers wielding different weapons steadied themselves.

The senior members, with April at the lead, resumed their attack, and even as Winter gasped for breath, her stance remained firm as she faced the dragon.

Boom!

Winter swung her sword in a wide arc, and at last, the dragon’s massive body slowly crumbled to the ground.

“Haa…”

“Make sure it’s finished.”

Just as everyone took a brief moment to catch their breath—

—the dragon’s eyes snapped open.

KRAAAAAH—!

From its mouth burst a massive wave of fire. It spread in an instant, larger than any flame we’d seen before, igniting the fallen leaves across the ground.

The darkness around us vanished, replaced by blazing light.

Winter quickly sent out a cold aura blade to extinguish the flames.

Elliot looked startled but immediately raised his massive gun, shooting straight into the dragon’s mouth—finally cutting off its breath completely.

It looked like the situation was finally under control…

“Aaaaaaah!”

But then, I saw it.

Where Linia had been—there was now something unrecognizable.

“Hey, Sarubia! Your leg!”

‘What… what’s happening? Seriously, what is this?’

It was wrong. Everything was wrong. Why was this happening to me? Why?

‘Am I even still alive?’

The relentless deaths around me crushed me with a sense of helplessness. Denial clawed at me. My sense of self began to collapse.

“Ah, huuh, ah…!”

A sudden, indescribable pain shot through my leg, making me scream. When I looked down and touched it, I instantly jerked my hand away.

My leg was on fire.

“Hhhuuup, ah, ahhh!”

Unable to move my leg properly, I instinctively clawed at the ground, dragging myself forward. The only thought in my mind was to end this pain somehow.

“Hey! Where’d she go? Shine some aura!”

Then I heard it—

Shhhhh!

Throughout the battle, I’d heard the sound of rushing water from the left side.

…A river. There was definitely a stream or ravine there.

My comrades were rushing toward me to put out the fire on my leg, but in my half-lost state, I crawled toward the sound and plunged into the water.

“Hhhhk—hah!”

The moment my body hit the stream, a crackling sound came from my leg, and unbearable pain tore through me. The icy coldness seeped deep into my bones, and I gasped for breath.

“Haa… haa…”

I felt dazed. So many things had just happened, yet it was as if someone had stuffed cotton into my ears—everything sounded distant, muffled.

My comrades… all dead? Really?

“Hey! Get out of there, now!”

…Their voices barely reached me.

Shhhhhh!

The water roared too loudly, and more than that—I couldn’t stay conscious anymore.

…It was so dark.

I’d dropped my sword before falling in, so without aura, I couldn’t see anything.

Nothing. My leg still wouldn’t move, and the water kept forcing its way into my lungs.

“Why isn’t she coming out?!”

“You can’t let her stay in the dark water! Find her, now!”

“I—I can’t see anything! It’s too dark!”

“Torches! Everyone, bring torches, hurry!”

Carried by the violent current, I drifted aimlessly downstream.

BOOOOOOM!

A deafening explosion echoed behind me. I could no longer hear the voices of my squadmates. I knew something was wrong—but my mind was hazy, and my body refused to move.

In the pitch-black night, my body slowly sank. I started flailing, trying to swim, but I didn’t know which way was up. The current kept dragging me backward, stronger and stronger.

The water was merciless.

‘Is this… how this world ends?’

Maybe this was the ending all along—that everyone dies. Maybe this world was meant to be that way.

Dragged under by the raging water, I shut my eyes tight. If that was how it was supposed to be, maybe it was finally time to give up.

‘I’m tired… I just want to stop.’

I had no reason left to keep living in this world.

Nothing at all.

And just as I was about to let go of even the will to live—

—something hot grabbed my hand.

‘…Hot.’

Instinctively, I reached for it and pulled. It was the only warmth in the freezing water.

The person’s nails dug sharply into my palm as they held on tight.

Then someone’s arms wrapped tightly around me from behind. My body was pulled close—I couldn’t resist. It was the rescue position we’d learned during water survival training.

ROOOOAAAAR!

A thunderous explosion erupted behind us. Now, that roar was the only sound I could hear.

Then, suddenly, my body lifted upward—then dropped hard.

“Haa, haa!”

I must have blacked out for a moment.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the shallow riverbank.

“Don’t die, please don’t die…”

Someone pressed hard against my chest as they spoke desperately.

“Kh—cough!”

Water gushed out of my mouth as my body convulsed.

I tried to see who was giving me CPR, but my eyes burned too much from the water to open them.

So instead, I raised a trembling hand and grabbed the person’s arm—to show I was still alive. Their skin felt burning hot against my freezing fingers, and I instinctively gripped harder, my nails digging in.

“Ah.”

And then—our eyes met.

Aquila.

His jet-black hair was soaked, plastered to his skin, and his orange-red eyes shimmered with moisture—whether from water or tears, I couldn’t tell.

The moment our eyes locked, an electric current seemed to surge through my veins. It felt like our souls had just connected.

“Don’t die. You can’t die. Please… you have to live.”

His voice—raw, trembling, full of emotion—begged me.

“Cough! You’re… still… alive…”

Yes. He was alive.

I thought everyone was dead—but he was still here.

“I—I didn’t mean to let anyone—”

Aquila stammered, trying to speak.

“I know.”

I interrupted him between gasps and coughs.

I didn’t need to hear it. I already knew what he wanted to say. Just by looking into each other’s eyes, we understood everything.

“I know what you’re thinking… all of it.”

“…Don’t talk anymore.”

Aquila’s crimson eyes burned as he reached out to me.

He helped me sit upright and gently patted my back as I leaned forward.

“You must’ve swallowed a lot of water. Spit it out.”

“Cough, cough!”

Each cough brought up more water.

“Good. That’s it. You’re doing great.”

It was nothing more than breathing again—yet Aquila kept whispering encouragement beside my ear.

When I finally stopped coughing, the cold hit me.

It was freezing. My body trembled uncontrollably. My brain felt like it was icing over.

Still disoriented, I muttered the only thing that came to mind.

“I’m cold.”

It was a purely instinctive statement—because his body against my hand felt so warm.

“Hold me.”

“Yeah… yeah, I will. I’ll do anything. Anything you need.”

I reached out with my freezing hands toward him.

“So please… just live. As long as you live, it’s enough…”

Aquila pulled me into a crushing embrace, holding me so tightly it hurt to breathe. I clung to him in return, gripping his back with all the strength I had left.

My palm stung—blood was seeping from the cuts his nails had made earlier—but I didn’t care.

I wanted to live.

“I’ll save you, no matter what. From now on, you’ll never die. I’ll make sure of it… you’ll live.”

Aquila murmured the words over and over, like a man possessed, while holding me close.

Wet clothes, wet bodies.

Pressed tightly together, we could feel everything—but there was nothing romantic about it. This wasn’t some fantasy romance story.

We just wanted to survive. We needed someone to hold onto.

To stay alive—to stay sane—we had to save each other.

So we simply held one another.

It was an embrace both burning hot and utterly dry.