"Serica!?"
The moment he saw the female figure appear, he called out instinctively. The key to returning to reality had appeared before they had even gone looking for it. But seeing a companion in such dire straits was always reassuring.
Though she was covered in wounds, Fang Ran still breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was safe.
"Are you all right?"
"Save it for later. Disable your abilities, put away your equipment—anything that gives off an aura. We need to get out of here now."
Having found Fang Ran and Osphia as quickly as possible, Serica spoke without wasting words. After saying that, she turned and headed deeper into the subway tunnel.
Fang Ran suddenly called out to stop her.
"Wait, where are the other two?"
"What are you asking that for?"
"To save them."
The instant she heard those words, her footsteps stopped.
Serica looked at Fang Ran as if wondering whether she had misheard him. Seeing that he did not seem to be joking, she spoke in a tone of complete disbelief.
"Huh? Save them? Don't tell me you really got enchanted by that woman. And are you interested in the other one too, trying to play the hero and save the damsel?"
Then, staring straight into his eyes, she raised her voice coldly.
"Or are you the kind of idiot saint who can barely save himself but still plans to rescue two strangers?"
Thrown into the Dark World, surrounded by tens of thousands of Numbered Monster nests, and wanting to save people when he himself could die at any moment—it was, by all normal standards, a mad and absurd thing to do.
But Fang Ran merely met Serica's gaze. His voice was calm and resolute as iron, just as it had always been.