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Chapter 119
It seemed the toxic gas that poured in when I shoved a flare into the Anaconda's jaws last night had caused problems.
'I kept wondering why my body smelled so strange—it was poison poisoning all ‌‌‌‌along.'
Once the headache completely ‌‌faded and my mind cleared, I found myself worrying about the companions I'd left ‌‌‌behind.
Yes, Enoch and Kaiden would never do anything cruel to me. It must have been a misunderstanding. I should have listened to their explanation.
But even ‌‌‌‌if I had heard their side of the story, would my muddled mind have accepted their words at face value? Probably ‌‌not.
I was the fool who couldn't distinguish between delusion and truth in my confused state and fled.
"Damn it."
I ‍‌‌adjusted my crossbody bag and glanced around. I'd lost my way in my panicked escape.
Silver Earthworm could sense my location, but finding other people was difficult, so I had to move myself.
'Are they all looking for me?'
Whether the conversation I overheard last night was true or not, they would be searching for me.
Most of all, when I fled alone, the voices of those men echoing in my ears—their shock and ‌‌‌despair as if the world were crumbling—still haunted me.
"Right. Let me meet them directly and ask."
Whether I ‌‌left alone depended on their answer.
I pulled a map from my crossbody ‌‌bag. But no matter how long I stared at ‌‌‌it, I couldn't see ‌a river nearby, and there were no distinctly unusual landmarks to help me gauge my position.
'If I fire a flare, monsters will definitely swarm here.'
I had no choice but to search for flat ‌‌‌‌terrain where the sun shone well to determine my bearings.
I planted a long stick on the flat ground. Then I checked my direction by the shadow's position and unfolded the map.
The cave where I'd encountered the massive Anaconda lay further west. After pinpointing my location, I moved forward properly. I ‌‌‌‌had to find the cave before ‌‌sunset.
Fortunately, I hadn't run very far, so I found the cave before the sun set. However, aside from the spot where we'd made a campfire, there were no ‌‌‌‌signs of people.
I gently touched the campfire, which had no remaining embers. It was completely cold. It seemed they'd ‌‌‌left quite some time ago.
'This feels oddly familiar.'
I'd experienced something like this before. Back then, Enoch had returned while I was exploring the cave. Would it happen again this time?
I sat at the cave entrance ‌‌‌and waited for Enoch, Kaiden, and Rujeep. Endlessly.
The sun tilted, casting red shadows across the sky. The heavens were silent. I sat quietly at the cave entrance, gazing upward.
Even knowing it was dangerous to stay here, I remained rooted to the ‌‌‌spot, unable to move. Perhaps they would all return.
Was I feeling betrayed because I hadn't trusted them? But there was nothing ‌‌‌I could say about it.
So I waited.
Sssss—
Silver Earthworm paced anxiously, flicking its tongue. I sat blankly, watching it move back and forth.
Dusk was settling ‌‌‌‌in.
And no one ‌‌returned.
'Maybe I should wait just one ‌‌more day.'
Actually, going to the Bunker alone might be better. I pulled out the notebook I'd found at Jenath's Cabin from my crossbody bag and unfolded it.
-I heard Jenath told you about the Gate. I'll be there soon. Wait for me there.
It was a memo written on the very last page. The handwriting was distinctly different from the previous entries.
'Gate?'
And beneath that ‌sentence, there were characters written in such a hurried scrawl that they were difficult to read.
I took out the flashlight Jenath had given me and shone it carefully on the diary. The indentations from the pen pressing hard were visible, and after staring for a long ‌‌while, I was finally able to read the characters.
-I'll tell you how to bring Margaret back.
Wait, what is this? How to bring Margaret back...?
Rustle.
But there was no time to dwell on the matter further. Something was moving nearby, and I could hear it.
I quickly switched off my flashlight and stuffed it into my bag, then gripped the flare I'd set down and ‌‌‌‌scooped up the Silver Earthworm, bringing it ‌into the cave. After that, I quietly concealed the cave entrance with leaves.
Cradling the Silver Earthworm against my chest, I pressed myself against the cave wall and held my breath.
Rustle.
The sound of footsteps crushing leaves reached my ears from nearby.
Thud. Thud.
Then came a dull, heavy gait—far too ‌‌crude to belong to Enoch or Kaiden.
I held my breath and peered through the leaves concealing the cave ‌‌entrance. A fish-like creature moved slowly on two legs.
'Disgusting.'
But an even more grotesque scene unfolded in succession.
Flap flap flap.
A bird suddenly ‌‌took flight near the two-legged fish. Upon spotting it, the creature's maw gaped wide open.
From within, a long, worm-like body studded with razor-sharp teeth erupted forth, swallowing the bird whole in an instant.
'What the hell is that?'
I was so startled that I clamped my teeth down hard, choking back a scream that nearly burst from my throat.
The fish-creature that had devoured ‌‌‌the bird looked around. I held my breath, watching its movements. Then, its gaze, which had been sweeping the surroundings, fixed directly on my direction.
Gasp. I raised my hand to clamp my mouth shut. Then I quietly shuffled backward, pressing my body flush against the cave wall.
Thud.
Thud.
Too terrified ‌‌‌to check outside, I simply squeezed my eyes shut. The footsteps grew closer, as if the creature were approaching the cave entrance.
Rustle.
At the sound of the creature touching the leaves covering the entrance, I slowly opened my eyes. And I locked gazes with the fish-creature peering into the cave.
My heart nearly stopped.
In that instant, the Silver Earthworm nestled against my chest suddenly thrust its head forward and,
Shrieeeek!
bared its fangs menacingly in a threatening display.
Though it was a small Anaconda, its ferocity and overwhelming presence were truly formidable. The fish-creature hesitated, then quickly withdrew its head from the cave.
The Silver Earthworm, as if it had been waiting for this moment, unleashed a torrent of flame at the creature.
Screeeech!
Fire engulfed the creature's head. It shrieked and stumbled backward, and I scooped up the ‌‌Silver Earthworm and bolted from the cave, sprinting into the forest.
Fortunately, I heard no pursuing footsteps behind me.
Had Jenath been watching? He'd said ‌he doesn't always observe through the monsters' eyes. I desperately hoped that was true.
Thrashing through the brush in my panic, my foot caught on a branch, and I tumbled across the dirt ground without restraint.
"Ahhh!"
I cried out, my body convulsing. A thin, sharp branch had pierced my left forearm.
"Damn it."
The pain was so intense I nearly wept.
Damn it, where the hell did everyone go? The pain brought a fresh wave of sorrow crashing down on me.
I wiped away my flowing tears and looked down at my forearm, taking slow, deliberate breaths. I had to remove ‌‌‌the twig lodged in my skin. ‌‌‌
Exhale. After repeating ‌‌‌‌the deep breath once more, I extended my trembling hand. The moment I grasped the twig, I yanked it out in one motion.
"Ahhhhh, hnngh. Inhale."
I endured the agony and attempted to calm myself with the longest, deepest breaths I could manage. Even as I breathed, tears continued to stream down my ‌‌‌face.
With hands shaking like someone with a tremor disorder, I fumbled through my crossbody bag and retrieved the bandage. It ‌‌‌was the same one I'd used earlier to wipe away the Anaconda's venom.
'If bacteria infiltrates the ‌‌wound, stopping the bleeding won't ‌‌‌‌matter....'
But tearing my shirt would leave me in just a bikini. ‌‌‌‌My pants were made of a ‌‌‌material too awkward to tear and repurpose as bandaging.
I had no choice but ‌‌to double the bandage over and carefully ‌‌‌‌apply ‌‌the least contaminated section to the wound, wrapping my forearm securely.
Only after I'd finished covering the wound did the tension finally release, and I collapsed onto the ground. Tears ‌‌streamed ceaselessly down my cheeks. It hurt. It was exhausting. It was heartbreaking.
"Damn it, and I'm starving ‌‌‌‌on top of everything else."
I muttered while wiping my tears away with the back of my hand, then lifted my head. ‌
The sun had nearly set, and the sky had turned violet. If it ‌‌‌‌got any darker here, my movements would slow, and I wouldn't be able to respond quickly to Monster attacks.
I had no choice but to search for a place to hide for the night.
Just then, Silver Earthworm, who had been crawling along the ground behind me, tapped my leg with her head and crawled off in some direction. Then she ‌‌‌turned back to look at me, crawled further, and looked back at me again.
She usually showed this behavior when signaling me to follow. I gripped the flare firmly in my ‌‌‌hand and obediently followed Silver Earthworm.
As I pushed through the Thicket and continued deeper, ‌‌‌‌Silver Earthworm stopped at a certain point and began spinning in circles.
"Why ‌‌‌here? There's nothing around."
It was just an ordinary Forest. Tall Trees stood densely packed with nowhere to hide.
Silver Earthworm continued spinning in place. I rested my chin on my hand and quietly ‌‍‌‌observed what she was doing.
Then I noticed the ground beneath her feet trembling slightly. It was clearly soil, yet it shook suspiciously.
When I knelt down on one knee in front of it, Silver Earthworm finally stepped aside. As I slowly swept my hand across the soil, a wooden panel came into view.
"What is this...?"
A door handle was attached to ‌it.
Silver Earthworm didn't seem to know exactly what this wooden panel was either, hovering nearby with curiosity gleaming in her eyes. I slowly lifted the door handle of the wooden panel beneath the ground.
Then a staircase descending into the earth revealed itself.
I was momentarily at a loss for words, staring down into the darkness of the stairs. What on earth was something like this doing here?

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------