Chapter 11
The wolf—no, the wolf-shaped monster’s mouth gaped so wide it looked twice the size of my head.
Sticky saliva dripped from its jaws, pooling into a foul muck on the ground.
From the monster’s throat, a long tongue shot out like a snake. The tentacle-like tongue writhed, reared up into the air, then stabbed straight down toward where I was sitting.
I hurriedly threw myself to the side. The monster’s tongue pierced the exact spot where I’d been moments before.
My mind went blank.
I have to live. I can do this. Don’t become a burden to Enoch.
With trembling arms, I barely managed to push myself upright. I quickly grabbed the flat shoes lying nearby and slipped them on.
Kooong!
A heavy sound shook the ground.
In the distance, Enoch had finished off one of the monsters with a wooden club.
He immediately ran toward me, pulled me to my feet, and tucked me behind his back.
The moment his solid back blocked my view, a deep sense of relief washed over me. Clutching the hem of Enoch’s clothes like a lifeline, I quickly assessed the situation.
The two remaining monsters swished their tails lazily as they turned toward us. Their snake-like eyes gleamed yellow.
I picked up a branch rolling on the ground. It was a pitiful weapon, but I gripped it tightly, as if it were some kind of talisman.
“Don’t come out from behind me,”
Enoch said in a tightly controlled voice.
But wolf-type monsters were intelligent creatures. Like predators herding their prey, they split to both sides and attacked us.
Which meant staying behind Enoch was useless.
I rolled across the ground again to avoid the charging monster. I was incredibly grateful that Margaret’s body was far more agile than I’d expected.
I thought I’d managed to shake it off, but the monster’s sharp teeth caught on the lace of my dress with a rip.
“Damn it!”
At my scream, Enoch turned toward me. He kicked away the monster rushing at him and desperately reached out his hand to me.
But the monster was faster.
It clamped down on my dress and yanked hard.
I was thrown forward, slammed face-first into the ground.
Then the monster’s bumpy tongue slipped between the folds of my dress and wrapped tightly around my ankle.
“Ah! Damn it, why is this happening to me—!”
“Lady!”
I was dragged away roughly.
You piece of shit monster!
It was pure chaos. Being dragged so violently, I couldn’t even grasp what was happening.
The force squeezing my ankle suddenly went taut—then loosened in an instant. My body was flung into the air by the recoil.
I crashed straight into the dirt.
Thud! Thud! Koooom!
The ground shook. A heavy object hit the earth—it seemed to be the monster that had been dragging me.
When I came to my senses, I found myself slung over someone’s shoulder.
It was Enoch.
Of course. He was the only one who could save me like this.
After setting me down in front of a thick wooden pillar, he turned back the way we’d come.
As he swung the wooden club in his hand, black blood—surely the monster’s—sprayed across my vision.
Kyaang! Kak!
The arc of the club thrown toward the monster was brutal and precise.
The monster’s body twisted grotesquely before finally going still. It was clearly dead, yet Enoch didn’t stop.
I stared at the ground, soaked with black blood, then slowly lifted my head.
There was a wound on Enoch’s left arm. Dark red blood seeped through the torn fabric of his shirt.
…I remember now. How bad Enoch’s war trauma was.
He went berserk at the sight of blood. And that frenzy wouldn’t end until he pushed his own body to the point of collapse.
I have to stop him.
Otherwise, the next thing he attacked might be me.
Grabbing a sturdy branch, I ran straight at Enoch and struck him over the head. Thankfully, it hit properly—he staggered, then collapsed unconscious.
I swallowed back my nausea as I looked at the monster’s horribly mutilated corpse.
Seeing firsthand what happened when Enoch’s trauma was triggered made my fear even worse.
Pulling myself together, I gathered Enoch’s heavy body with shaking hands.
I don’t remember how I managed to support him all the way back to the cave.
Worse, the wound on his arm looked bad. It seemed the monster’s claws had been venomous.
I laid him down on the flat cave floor. If it was poison, his arm needed to be kept lower than his heart.
There was still water left in the coconut bowl from the night before.
I tore the hem of my dress, soaked it in the water, and used it like a towel to clean the wound.
“What if it really is poison…?”
I knew basic first aid, but I wasn’t a doctor.
“Still, I have to do everything I can.”
I couldn’t just leave him like this.
I tore more fabric from my dress and tightly bound his upper arm, applying pressure to keep the poison from spreading.
The blisters on my feet finally burst. With no choice, I cleaned them with a wet cloth and wrapped them with the remaining fabric.
All I could do was pray it wouldn’t get infected.
Exhaustion washed over me, but I forced myself to keep going.
If only Enoch hadn’t woken up in the middle of it, everything would’ve gone smoothly.
Perhaps the aftereffects of his episode lingered—he looked like he wanted to lash out at anything he could grab.
Calmly, I used the cloth I was holding to firmly tie his wrists.
“Ghk—what is this…!”
He glared at me with feral eyes. His sweat-soaked bangs and flushed cheeks came into view—he looked miserable.
But I showed no mercy, pushing his shoulder and forcing him back down.
“Stay still. You’ll get hurt.”
Of course, he didn’t listen.
“Untie me. Now.”
He growled at me like a beast, a clear warning.
He kept thrashing, trying to break free.
Left with no choice, I grabbed his chin and forced his gaze to meet mine. Then I looked straight into his eyes and said,
“Bear with it, even if it hurts.”
I spoke as if hypnotizing him. I didn’t even know exactly where it hurt—only he did.
“What are you—!”
“Shh. Stop. It’s okay.”
I repeated firmly. Whatever he’d say once he was fully conscious—I’d deal with it later.
“No one’s hurt. So stop worrying and rest.”
His symptoms were from war trauma. Reacting so strongly to blood meant the memories of fallen comrades still haunted him deeply.
I didn’t think this would work. The odds were low—I expected him to start thrashing again almost immediately.
But surprisingly, it worked.
The wild look in Enoch’s eyes gradually softened. I stared at him in disbelief.
He calms down just from words like this? This reaction wasn’t even in the original story.
The novel definitely mentioned Enoch going berserk at the sight of blood. But back then, Yuanna herself had…
I cut off the thought before it went any further.
Anyway, I remembered that Yuanna and Enoch’s intensely intimate event stemmed from this very condition. Their relationship deepened after it.
What had been a sweet, dramatic romance for Yuanna was pure survival horror for me.
Why am I always on hardcore mode? Damn it, this is exhausting.
There was no time to dwell on it. Because of the wound, Enoch burned with fever all night.
“Please… let the fever break…”
Thankfully, he didn’t go into further shock, and the wound slowly began to look better. Now all that remained was to bring the fever down.
Praying, I wiped his sweat-soaked face with a cool cloth. Exhaustion crept in, and before I knew it, morning had come.
His fever was gone.
Seeing Enoch open his eyes, I asked in surprise,
“Are you okay?”
He nodded weakly. He didn’t seem fully lucid yet.
Though he’d improved, he needed proper medicine. If left like this, his condition could worsen.
Chewing anxiously on my fingernails, I stood up.
“I’ll go find some medicinal herbs. I’ll be back soon, so stay here.”
I wasn’t sure if he even heard me. He just stared at me with half-lidded, unfocused eyes.
After checking his condition one last time, I left the cave.
Finding herbs in this vast forest felt impossible—but I couldn’t just sit and watch him get worse.
I have to be back before dark.
As I wandered through the forest searching, a rustling sound suddenly came from right in front of me.
I paused, steadying my breathing.
A monster? No—the midday sun was too bright for that.
A person? That would be just as bad. On this island, there were only five male leads, Yuanna, and me.
Either way, I didn’t want to run into anything. I slowly stepped backward, tension making my palms sweat.
Wiping my damp hands on the torn fabric of my dress as I retreated—
Rustle.
The sound of leaves crunching came from behind me.
Startled, I spun around—and the first thing that caught my eye was brilliantly shining silver hair.
Then, blood-red eyes.
He’d definitely been in front of me. When did he get behind me?
Silver hair and red eyes—I knew exactly who he was.
The man’s eyes slowly widened when he spotted me.
“Huh? What’s this. There was a person here?”
