It's Raining...

Silence's hopeful expression gradually froze, turning stiff.

She understood.

The people in the vehicle—her colleagues—had witnessed that world-ending scene earlier—

Even though the Flame Demon had shrunk and shown no aggression, they still did not dare enter its attack range, much less approach it.

She took a deep breath and contacted them directly through the communicator.

"Medical support team, this is Silence! Director Saria urgently needs to be moved. Requesting immediate assistance!"

There was only the faint crackle of static from the communicator. Though she could clearly see shadows moving inside the vehicle, she received no response.

Silence silently lowered the communicator, bitterness touching her lips.

Fear had completely strangled their courage.

Silence did not give up. She raised her head toward the buildings lining both sides of the street, their doors and windows tightly shut, and shouted into the deathly darkness with all her strength.

"Please! Is anyone there?! Please help! Someone here is seriously injured! She needs to get to a hospital immediately! Please! Help us!"

Her voice echoed down the empty street, carrying a desperate urgency that was almost pleading.

"..."

The only answer was the same deathly silence.

It was as if everyone on the entire street had vanished in an instant. Not a single door opened, nor did any response come from behind a window.

Only the cold wind howled through the ruins, as though mocking such pathetic naivety.

Ifrit watched everything around them remain unmoved, gripping the hem of Silence's clothes tightly.

Standing in the cold night wind, Silence felt a deep sense of helplessness nearly drown her.

Was there really nothing she could do but watch?

"Creak—"

The faint sound of a door hinge turning came from a half-collapsed residence at the street corner.

Silence turned toward it in surprise, only to freeze.

The person who emerged from the half-collapsed house was not the strong adult helper she had imagined, but an elderly Pelo man with a wrinkled face and a hunched back.

Wrapped in a loose robe, he shuffled forward, seeming to expend all his strength with every step.

"You..."

Silence opened her mouth, wanting to say something—

But the old man gently waved her off. His clouded eyes calmly looked over Saria lying on the ground, then swept toward the silent lava troll in the distance.

"Come on, young lady... Didn't you need help...?"

Silence closed her mouth and carefully lifted Saria together with the old man.

The old man was clearly not very strong, and his movements were unsteady, but he supported her with every ounce of strength he had, moving with Silence toward the off-road vehicle.

Eldest watched the scene strangely. He had assumed no one would offer help and had even been prepared to step in himself.

But the old man's appearance had caught him by surprise.

Just then, a gust of night wind lifted a corner of the old man's loose robe.

Eldest clearly caught sight of the old man's exposed ankle—and the black crystal embedded in his flesh as though it had grown there, giving off a faint, ominous gleam.

[Mind Chat Group]

[Fourth: Well, well. Oripathy.]

[Eldest: Oripathy? What's that?]

[Fourth: It's a bit complicated to explain... Just think of it as a terminal illness in this world, basically contagious cancer.]

[People who get this disease are called "Infected" and are discriminated against and ostracized.]

[Judging by that old man, he probably doesn't have much time left. That's why he isn't afraid of you, Eldest. After all, he has nothing left to lose.]

The link fell into a brief silence.

Contagious cancer...

[Second: Can it infect us? Fourth! Answer!]

[Fourth: Uh... probably not? This thing is a special mechanism aimed at Terra natives. Strictly speaking, we aren't Terrans, and our bodily structures are different, so we might... be fine?]

[Second: Might? Probably? Since you aren't sure either, add this to our operational guidelines: avoid close contact with known Infected whenever possible, especially contact with bodily fluids and wounds!]

[Until the risk is confirmed, treat it as a potential threat!]

[Third: Agreed.]

[Fourth: Huh? No... Third, why are you too... This disease isn't that scary. Plenty of Infected live for a long time...]

[Second: Fourth!]

[Fourth: ...Yeah?]

[Second: This isn't a game.]

[Fourth: ...]

[Second: We have no save files and no resurrection coins. One wrong judgment could doom us beyond redemption.]

[Here, every potential risk must be treated with the utmost caution. Understand?]

[Fourth: ...Mm.]

The discussion in the link temporarily came to an end, but vigilance toward the dangers of this world had already been deeply planted in everyone's hearts.

In reality, Silence and the old man had painstakingly carried Saria to the vehicle.

The people inside finally opened the door and hurriedly helped settle Saria inside.

Silence supported the panting old man and thanked him solemnly.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

The old man merely waved his hand. His clouded gaze passed over the lava troll in the distance again before he tottered back toward the ruined house he had come from.

"Wait! I'm Silence from Rhine Lab! If you need any help, I can—"

"No need..."

The old man interrupted her. When he looked back, his eyes were like stagnant water.

"You should worry about your colleague first. Oripathy isn't easy to endure..."

The logistics staff tending to Saria stiffened, and the hand they had extended drew back slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Silence's face turned pale. She had deliberately covered the wound with gauze.

The old man said nothing more. His figure disappeared into the shadows as though he had never been there.

"..."

Watching the ironic scene before him, Eldest felt inexplicably irritated.

That woman had saved them earlier...

Eldest turned around and walked away step by step in the direction opposite Rhine Lab.

Ifrit lowered her head and silently followed behind him, her small figure looking especially lonely against the backdrop of the ruins.

"Ifrit! Get over here!"

When Silence motioned for Ifrit to get into the vehicle, she discovered that the girl had stopped several steps away and was not moving.

"Ifrit? Come on!" Silence urged anxiously. Seeing Eldest stop with her, sweat beaded at her temples.

"Get in the car! Saria is in danger right now. We have to go back immediately!"

Ifrit still kept her head lowered, her hands clutching the hem of her clothes tightly. Her voice was weak and broken.

"...I can't go back, Silence."

Silence froze, then her tone became slightly stern.

"Ifrit! I don't have time for you to fool around right now! Saria needs surgery immediately! Come here!"

"I can't go back anymore!!!"

Ifrit suddenly raised her head, tears rolling down like beads from a broken string.

"It was me! I was the one who brought the Flame Demon here! He's a big monster! I'm a little monster! Everyone is afraid of him... I'm afraid of him too... But... but..." She choked up, nearly unable to continue.

"The way everyone looks at me... is the same way they look at him! I can't go back... I can't go anywhere anymore!"

Silence felt as though her heart had been viciously clenched. She immediately refuted her.

"You're not a monster, Ifrit! Listen to me..."

She stepped forward, intending to grab Ifrit's hand and force her to leave.

However, at the moment she touched Ifrit and tried to pull her toward the vehicle—

"Buzz—!"

The off-road vehicle suddenly started up and reversed more than ten meters without hesitation, putting distance between them!

"What?!" Silence stared at the vehicle that had suddenly moved away, hardly believing her eyes.

Ifrit was also stunned by the abrupt change. Looking at the vehicle fleeing as though it were avoiding a plague, the last sliver of hope in her heart shattered completely.

She violently shook off Silence's hand, crying as she backed away and ran back to where she had been standing.

Only then did the vehicle slowly come to a stop.

Silence watched the scene, and the shock in her chest instantly turned into towering rage. She howled toward the vehicle.

"How dare you?!"

At last, a suppressed voice came through the communicator that had remained silent, laden with undisguised fear and rejection.

"Director Silence... Are you really planning to bring that monster back with you?!"

"She isn't a monster!" Silence sharply corrected through the communicator.

"She is a Flame Demon!" The voice in the communicator suddenly rose, carrying hysterical certainty. "All of us saw it! That enormous Flame Demon didn't attack her! That's the best proof!"

"They're the same kind! Who knows if she'll suddenly lose control? Who knows if she'll bring that big one back again?!"

"We can't take that risk! For Rhine Lab, for everyone!"

"I can guarantee—" Silence tried to argue, but only a cold busy signal came from the other end.

The communication had been unilaterally cut off.

Silence stood frozen in place, looking at the vehicle in the distance that refused to open its doors, then at Ifrit standing alone amid the ruins. An immense sense of helplessness and grief nearly swallowed her whole.

The icy night wind swept past, stirring the dust on the ground and chilling Silence's heart.

Silence turned back to look at Ifrit. That small figure seemed as though the ruins might swallow her at any moment.

Then she abruptly turned toward Saria, barely clinging to life in the vehicle. Every faint breath tugged at her nerves.

On one side was the child she treated as her own, now isolated by fear and prejudice.

On the other was her dear friend and companion, hanging between life and death and in desperate need of immediate treatment.

Time seemed to stretch in that moment. Every second came with Saria's fading life force and the collapse of hope in Ifrit's heart.

Silence bit down hard on her lower lip until a rusty taste of blood spread through her mouth.

She had to go back. Saria had become Infected, and she had to stay by her side to ensure Saria's safety.

Taking a deep breath, Silence forced out a smile uglier than crying. Turning to Ifrit, she spoke as gently as she could.

"Ifrit... can you wait here for me?" She pointed toward the vehicle.

"Wait for me... I'll take Saria back, get her treated immediately... I promise I'll come back to get you right away! Soon! Very soon!"

Ifrit neither looked up nor answered. She simply remained with her head lowered, like a frozen statue.

Silence's heart sank sharply, panic winding around her like vines.

"Ifrit?"

She called again, her voice carrying a trace of barely perceptible pleading.

At last, Ifrit nodded extremely slowly, so faintly it was almost impossible to notice.

Silence felt as though she had been stabbed through the heart, but she had no time left to hesitate.

She looked deeply at Ifrit, as though trying to carve that figure into her heart.

Bang!

The sound of the car door closing was especially piercing in the silent street.

The off-road vehicle did not pause for even a moment. It immediately started, turned around, and quickly vanished at the end of the street.

Ifrit quietly watched them leave, then silently found a stone slab, wiped it clean, and sat down.

"..."

Drip... drip...

Ifrit buried her head in her knees and hugged herself tightly.

...How strange.

It clearly wasn't raining, so why could she hear the sound of rain...?