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20. Reunion
I had been wandering ‌‌in the mist for quite some time. Or rather, I had completely lost track of how much time had actually passed.
What could Jenath's purpose possibly be? Whether he was an experimenter or not, there had to ‌‌‌be a reason—some objective—for him to remain on this ‌‌Island for so long.
'Why is he doing this to me?'
What had happened at Jenath's Cabin only deepened my confusion.
'And what the hell is this damned mist!' ‌‌
As I wandered through the fog for what felt like an eternity, a sharp, bestial cry—like metal being scraped—echoed from somewhere nearby.
Screeeech!
Startled, I stumbled backward and ‌‌dropped to the ‌‌ground, wincing at the sharp pain that bloomed across my abdomen.
"Damn it."
The wound had reopened; blood was seeping through the gauze.
Sssssssssss—
The sound that followed resembled the ‌‌hiss of a serpent.
'Could it be...?'
"Silver Earthworm?" ‌‌‌
As I looked around and called out ‌‌her name, I caught sight of something writhing through the mist.
A pristine white serpent emerged, pushing her ‌‌head forward, and upon spotting me, she leaped from the ‌‌‌‌ground with unbridled joy.
"Silver Earthworm!"
She slithered across the ground with ‌‌‌incredible ‌speed, coiling frantically around me in circles.
She seemed larger ‌‌than before, and ‌‌‌I found myself worrying whether ‌‌‌‌she would eventually grow to the size of an Anaconda Monster. ‌‌‌‌
"Margaret."
A familiar voice called out from somewhere. I turned ‌‌‌around.
The mist had completely dissipated, and I realized I was sitting in a lush ‌‌Forest, vegetation thriving all around me.
'Where am I?'
And standing among the foliage was a man with black hair.
A man wielding a sword that dripped with dark liquid stared at me in disbelief.
He was ‌‌drenched entirely in crimson blood. I was shocked at the sight of his tattered clothing and a body covered in wounds.
Wait—wounds? ‌‌Blood?
For a moment, I hesitated, alarmed that he might ‌‌be in a state of frenzy.
But fortunately, his mind ‍‌remained intact.
Despite his towering frame and sturdy shoulders, his solid physique seemingly devoid of any softness, there was ‌‌something about the way he looked at ‌‌‌‌me—a faint, ethereal quality, as though he might collapse at any moment. It was not an expression befitting a ‌‌‌man drenched in blood.
"Enoch?"
As I spoke his name, his sword clattered to the ground with a ‌‌‌dull thud.
Enoch closed the distance between us in a single ‌stride. He dropped to his knees before me and pulled me into his embrace with such force that breathing became difficult.
I noticed ‌‌that his shoulder wounds were far more severe than I had initially thought.
"Enoch, are you alright?!"
But Enoch said nothing, simply holding me tightly. Only after a long moment did he release me, cupping ‌‌‌both my ‌‌cheeks in his hands as ‌‌he examined my face.
The man ‌‌‌‌who had moments ‌‌‌‌ago exuded that faint, fading aura was gone. Life had finally returned to his gaze as he looked at me.
"Thank the heavens you are safe. I thought that you..."
Enoch trailed off, his head lowering until his eyes suddenly fixed on my abdomen.
Only then did I remember that I'd collapsed to the floor in shock earlier, and blood had seeped through the ‌‌‌‌gauze.
"Ah, Enoch. This is...."
"Ha.... I failed to protect ‌‌you again. I'm sorry."
Enoch slowly washed his face with dry hands. I grew flustered and stretched ‌‌‌both arms to quietly cover my abdomen.
Enoch's eyebrows raised in displeasure as he looked at me. I feared he might have a fit at the sight of ‌blood, so I quickly stepped back. At that, he let out a bewildered sigh, ‌‌touched his forehead, and lowered his head.
"E-Enoch? Are you alright?"
Enoch was looking at me with an expression ‌‌‌full of remorse. He ‌‌kept his lips firmly sealed, and for a long moment, he simply gazed at my face without saying anything.
"Enoch?"
When I called out to him again, he finally opened his mouth.
"I'm fine, the rampage. ‌‌I can control it perfectly now."
"...Is that really true?"
Enoch nodded calmly. In his eyes as he looked at me, indescribable emotions lay thick and deep.
"Thank you."
"Yes?"
"For staying alive."
Simple words, but they carried considerable weight. He slowly lowered his head and rested his forehead against mine.
"Margaret, I wished you would live. Even if I had to offer my own life in your place. That's how I was able to overcome it. It's all thanks ‌‌‌to you."
I think Kaiden said something similar once.
I couldn't quite understand how his wish for me to live helped him overcome his trauma, but I was grateful nonetheless. At least he wouldn't have to suffer anymore.
He slowly extended his arms again and this time pulled me into an ‌‌‌‌embrace, more gently. Holding the nape of my neck and burying his face in my shoulder, he exhaled ‌‌‌hot breath as if his tension ‌‌‌had finally released.
"I missed you."
He, who always spoke in vague roundabout ‌‌‌‌ways, this time expressed his feelings to me with true conviction.
I stood in his ‌‌‌‌embrace ‌‌with a dumbfounded expression.
Was this a dream? It might ‌have been.
Just moments ago, I was clearly at ‌‌Jenath's Cabin, and then suddenly fog rolled in, and unrealistically, Enoch appeared right before me like this.
"How did you find me? The current was so strong that I drifted quite far."
"Wherever you are, I would have searched this entire Island to ‌‌‌‌find you."
I, who had been nestled quietly, slowly buried my face in his shoulder.
'He would have found me ‌‌no matter where I was....'
I had only thought that I needed to find ‌‌‌‌them myself.
I ‌‌‌believed that if I fled to the Bunker or hid somewhere on the Island as I'd originally planned, that would be the end of it.
Until now, I had completely ruled out the ‌‌‌possibility that they would come looking for me first.
Perhaps that's because I've lived a life where I've never relied on anyone.
My chest felt warm.
My heart began to race, beating rapidly.

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