Ellie looked down at Greg lying with his head in her lap. His dark golden hair spilled messily across his cheeks, stirring slightly with each breath.
Greg had fallen asleep-or rather, he had collapsed from exhaustion.
He had sprinted all the way from the labyrinth entrance deep into the Dungeon's Second Floor without stopping once, then poured all his strength into unleashing that World-Devouring Black Flame.
Even though his constitution now far surpassed an ordinary person's, that much exertion was enough to force his body to shut down.
"You foolish young master..."
As Ellie gazed at his peaceful sleeping face, a tangle of emotions welled up inside her.
This was not the first time this foolish young master had saved her.
She reached out and gently brushed the hair from his cheek, letting her fingertips linger on his warm skin for a moment.
Memories flooded her mind like a rising tide, carrying her back to an afternoon many years ago.
It had been an autumn of endless rain.
Twelve-year-old Ellie was crouched in the corner of a filthy alley, leaning against the wall with a twig in her hand, bored out of her mind.
She wore old clothes washed pale with age, her dark golden hair tied carelessly behind her head. With dust smudged across her face, she looked like any other street child.
But anyone who underestimated her because of that appearance would have been sorely mistaken.
"You little brat, just you remember this!"
Several thugs supported one another as they limped toward the mouth of the alley. Their leader clutched his bleeding nose and turned to glare viciously at Ellie, spouting the classic threats of a sore loser:
"Don't let me catch you again! You'll be sorry if I do!"
Ellie yawned, her tone indifferent.
"Again? You think