Chapter 34 · 'Dead' Girl
Blood, slaughter, wails, death.
Nina stared blankly at everything around her like a puppet, watching the once-familiar faces lying on the ground. Every breath was filled with a nauseating stench of blood.
"Why? Why? What did we do wrong?"
When they reached a somewhat dilapidated house, Nana completely broke down. She tore herself free of Keith's hand and staggered forward. Kneeling in the pool of blood, Nina gently lifted the head before her. The child's tender face still wore an angelic smile, but that smile had been frozen forever at the moment of death, and her once-glowing skin had turned pale.
"Nina."
Seeing Nina on the verge of collapse, Keith instinctively crouched beside her, wanting to comfort her. But the moment he opened his mouth, he found he couldn't say anything, because the head Nina held in her arms belonged to her only relative.
She had always been a smiling child. Though she had lost her parents at a young age and had only her elder sister, she still said every day that she was happy. Whenever Keith saw her, he would give her a big hug. Sometimes, he would secretly take her to the street and have her buy him candy.
In return, the little girl said she would help Keith court her sister. But Keith, who had always been shy, would blush and deny it every time. His actions, however, were far more honest—whenever he came by, he always brought her favorite candy.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! What happened? Why did so many monsters suddenly appear!?"
The next second, Keith raised his fist and slammed it into the ground again and again in fury. Even when the flesh on the back of his hand had been battered to a bloody pulp, Keith seemed unable to feel it. Whenever he saw Nina crying beside him and the small body lying in the pool of blood before him, a sharp pain and regret tore through his heart.
He hated his own weakness. If—if—if only he had been a little stronger, perhaps he could have saved Nina's little sister before she was killed. Perhaps he could have prevented this tragedy. Instead, all he could do now was vent his helpless fury.
"Keith, stop. Nini wouldn't want you to do this."
At that moment, a pair of slender arms tightly embraced Keith. Nina raised her head and smiled at him, but her smile looked so sorrowful. She was clearly smiling, yet tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped onto Keith's shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Nina. If only I had been stronger..."
"No, Keith. I'm the one who should apologize. I'm her sister, yet I failed to protect her."
With that, Nina released Keith and staggered to her sister's corpse. She reached out and propped up the body, then placed the fallen head back on it.
"Nini, your sister is leaving. But don't worry. This time, I'll take you with me. I won't leave you all alone at home ever again."
Nina looked at her sister and gently stroked her pale skin. It was as if she could see the little girl from that morning, crouching by the door and waving goodbye with a cute smile as Nina left. This time, she would never part from her sister again.
The next second, Nina took a bottle of Incendiary Agent from her backpack. After pulling out the stopper, she poured it all over Nini's body. In the crimson flames, Nini's body slowly turned to ash. Nina, who witnessed it all, still wore a smile on her face, the blazing fire reflected in her pupils.
A few seconds later, the flames died down, leaving behind only a pile of ashes. Nina gently gathered her sister's ashes, then took out a small cloth pouch. After placing the ashes inside, she hung it around her neck.
"Let's go, Keith. We need to find the captain!"
Nina turned around and took out her bow and arrows. After speaking to Keith, she headed toward the place where they had arranged to meet the captain. During their escape, Gordon and Tuka had gone in another direction to retrieve Tuka's wife and son, while Keith and Nina had come to retrieve Nini. They had agreed on a meeting place.
Once everyone had picked up their respective families, they would escape the city through a sewer passage known only to their team. As for Gordon and Keith, one had no family and always traveled alone, while the other's family lived in a village far from the city.
Half an hour later, Nina carried Keith into a house. He was covered in blood, and one of his arms had been severed halfway. On their way there, they had suddenly been ambushed by Shadow Guards hiding in the darkness. To save Nina from the sudden attack, Keith had disregarded his own safety and desperately held back the Shadow Guards.
Relying on that reckless determination, when a Shadow Guard bit down on his arm, Keith gritted his teeth, seized its body, and drove the longsword in his right hand into its head. Nina, standing nearby, took advantage of the opening and shot an arrow tipped with Incendiary Agent into the Shadow Guard's body.
At that moment, driven by sheer ferocity, Keith forcibly tore away the arm caught in the Shadow Guard's jaws. In the final second before the Incendiary Agent took effect, Nina managed to pull Keith away. Afterward, she carried Keith, who had fainted from blood loss, to the meeting point.
"Captain!"
As soon as Nina entered the house, she saw Tuka and his family inside, all wearing anxious expressions. The moment Nina came in, Gordon took Keith from her back and began bandaging and treating him.
"Nina, you're finally back. What happened to that fellow Keith? And where's Nini?"
Tuka hurried over to Nina. He had only just arrived with his family and Gordon. When he discovered that Nina and Keith were missing, he knew something must have happened, since the meeting point was not far from where Nina had been.
Tuka had been about to have Gordon protect his family while he went out immediately to rescue Keith and Nina, but then Nina returned carrying the unconscious Keith.
"We encountered a monster on the way here. Keith held it back to protect me. As for Nini, she's here."
As she spoke, Nina raised her hand and patted the spot over her chest. Seeing this, Tuka could not keep the pain and sorrow from showing on his face, because he knew that the little girl named Nini—the one who called him Uncle Big Beard every time they met—had died.
For Nina, who had lost her only relative, Tuka had no idea how to comfort her.
"Captain, don't worry. I'm fine."
Seeing the captain hesitate before her, Nina gently patted his shoulder to show him she was all right. After all, she had yet to avenge her sister and slaughter all those damned monsters. How could she have time to grieve? The flames of vengeance burned her soul without pause.
When she personally burned her sister's corpse and watched her body turn to ash, the old Nina had already died. The one who lived on was a witch who existed only to avenge her sister.
Thanks to Raging Flowing Life for the 1,500 tip, and thanks to yuovo for the 101 tip. Thank you so much—every bit of support means a lot to Daida.