My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

As I rolled on the ground, the searing heat on my right arm snapped me back to reality.

“Ah… ah…!”

Clutching my throbbing arm, tears streamed down my face as I instinctively looked toward the source of the blazing fire.

What I saw froze me in place.

It was my comrade, Magne.

“No… this can’t be happening. This can’t be real….”

Behind me, Linia’s trembling voice denied the reality before him. Unable to stand the shock any longer, he collapsed to the ground.

“It doesn’t matter if its eyes are damaged—aim for the mouth!”

“Rifles up! Three, two, one—fire!”

“Damn it! Can’t you shoot properly?!”

While the riflemen from the first and third squads fired their rounds in unison, the other soldiers began to gather themselves for another attack.

April, surrounded by senior soldiers, led the charge once more. Meanwhile, Winter, though visibly exhausted, maintained his flawless composure, continuing his assault against the dragon.

Boom!

Winter swung his sword with full force, and at last, the dragon’s massive form began to crumble to the ground.

“Hah….”

“Confirm the kill before standing down.”

Just as the soldiers started to catch their breath, the dragon’s seemingly lifeless eyes snapped open.

“ROOOOOAAARRR!”

Its mouth spewed a massive wave of flames, far larger than anything it had unleashed before. The fire spread across the ground, igniting the dry leaves scattered everywhere.

The once pitch-dark forest was suddenly bathed in a fiery glow.

Winter quickly unleashed a burst of icy aura from his blade, extinguishing the flames.

Even Elliot, usually unflappable, hesitated momentarily before firing a massive round directly into the dragon’s mouth, delivering a final, decisive blow that silenced it.

It seemed as though the nightmare was finally over.

Or so I thought—until I saw it.

“No… no, no!”

I turned my head toward Linia’s position. What I saw there was no longer recognizable as a person.

“Hey, Salvia! Your leg!”

‘What… what is this? What’s happening to me?’

Everything felt wrong. Why were these things happening to me? Why?

Am I even alive right now?

Crushed by the relentless deaths around me, I felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. My mind teetered on the edge of collapse.

“Agh… ah…!”

Suddenly, a searing, indescribable pain shot through my leg. I reached down instinctively, only to recoil and scream as my fingers touched the burning flames that had spread to my leg.

“H-hngh… ah! Ahhh!”

Unable to move my leg, I clawed at the ground, dragging myself forward in a desperate bid to escape the pain. All I could think about was ending the agony somehow.

“…Hey! Where did she go? Shine some light over there!”

I heard the sound of rushing water.

Ssssshhhhhhhhhh!

All throughout the battle, I’d heard the sound of water flowing from somewhere to the left.

A stream. There’s a stream.

While the other soldiers scrambled to extinguish the flames on my leg, I half-consciously dragged myself toward the sound and plunged into the water.

“Hngh… ah!”

As the icy stream engulfed me, I felt a sizzling pain from my burned leg, followed by a bone-chilling numbness. Gasping for air, I struggled to stay afloat.

“Hah… ha….”

I was numb—physically and mentally. Despite everything that had happened, my senses felt dulled, as though my ears were blocked and the world had been reduced to a distant hum.

Did my comrades really all die? Is this real?

“Hey! Get out of there!”

…I couldn’t hear them clearly.

Ssssshhh…

The sound of rushing water drowned out everything else. My mind was blank, my body unresponsive.

…It was too dark.

Without my sword, which I had dropped before entering the water, I had no aura to guide me. I couldn’t see anything.

My vision gone, my legs useless, and water filling my lungs, I began to drift aimlessly downstream.

“She hasn’t come out yet—why is she still in the water?!”

“You can’t just let her stay in there in the dark! Find her and pull her out!”

“I can’t see her! It’s too dark!”

“Bring the torches over! Hurry!”

Floating aimlessly in the raging stream, I barely registered their frantic shouts.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion erupted behind me, completely drowning out the voices. I knew something had gone terribly wrong, but my mind remained foggy, my body limp.

In the pitch-black water, as I sank deeper, I waved my arms desperately, not knowing where to go. Nothing was visible, and the powerful current kept dragging me backward.

The water grew fiercer, pulling me deeper with every second.

Is this world just meant to end like this?

Maybe this was how it was always supposed to be—a world where everyone meets their death. Perhaps this was the story’s intended conclusion.

As the raging current dragged me under, I clenched my eyes shut. If this really was that kind of world, then maybe it was time to let go.

I’m done. I give up.

I had no reason to keep living in this world anymore.

Truly, nothing kept me here.

Just as I was about to surrender entirely, something warm grabbed hold of my hand.

…Warmth.

Instinctively, I grabbed onto the warmth, clutching it with all my strength. In the freezing water, it was the only thing that felt alive.

I felt sharp nails dig into my palm as the person holding me tightened their grip.

Then, someone’s arms wrapped around me from behind, holding me tightly. Their firm grip pinned me in place, rendering me unable to resist. The posture they held me in—it was the exact technique taught during water survival training.

CRASH!

An enormous noise erupted right behind me, drowning out everything else.

Suddenly, I felt my body rise into the air, followed by the sensation of falling.

“Hah… hah…!”

I must have lost consciousness for a moment.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying by the edge of a shallow stream.

“Don’t die… please don’t die….”

A voice murmured desperately as I felt pressure on my chest.

“Cough! Hack!”

Water burst from my mouth as my body jerked up involuntarily.

I tried to see who was performing CPR on me, but my eyes stung from the water, making it impossible to open them fully.

In an effort to signal that I was still alive, I reached out and grabbed the person’s forearm. Their skin was warm—so warm it stood out in sharp contrast to the freezing cold I felt. Instinctively, I tightened my grip, my fingernails digging into their arm.

“Ah.”

And then, I met Aquila’s gaze.

His jet-black hair clung to his face, drenched and matted against his pale skin. His fiery orange eyes, tinged with red, shimmered as if tears or water—or both—were streaming down his face.

The moment our eyes locked, I felt a strange sensation, like an electric current coursing through my veins. It was as if our souls were momentarily connected.

“Don’t die. Please, don’t die. You… you have to live. Just live, I’m begging you.”

Aquila’s voice, filled with emotion for the first time, was trembling as he repeated those words like a prayer.

“Cough! Y-you’re still here… hack! you’re still alive….”

Yes, you were still here.

I thought everyone was gone, but you remained.

“I… I couldn’t save anyone else….”

Aquila stammered, his words heavy with regret, but I interrupted him with a weak cough.

“I know. Cough! I know what you’re going to say.”

We didn’t need words to understand. Just looking into his eyes, I could feel everything he wanted to convey.

“I understand. Hack! All of it.”

“…Don’t say anything else.”

His crimson-orange eyes never leaving mine, Aquila reached out and helped me sit up. Then, he guided my head down, patting my back firmly.

“You swallowed a lot of water. Get it out.”

“Cough! Hack!”

Every time I coughed, more water poured from my mouth.

“That’s it, good. You’re doing well.”

His voice was soft, encouraging, as though even the simple act of coughing out water was something monumental.

When there was nothing left inside me to expel, the bitter cold seeped back in, making my entire body shiver violently.

I felt like I was freezing to death, my bones trembling as if even my brain had turned to ice.

In my dazed state, words slipped out of my mouth without thought.

“I’m cold.”

It was pure instinct. The warmth of his body against my freezing skin was the only thing I could focus on.

“Hold me.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll do anything for you. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Reaching out, I placed my ice-cold hand on his blazing-hot body.

“Just… just please live. That’s all I ask.”@@novelbin@@

Aquila pulled me into an unrelenting embrace, his arms wrapping around me so tightly it almost hurt.

Clinging to life, I dug my nails into his back with all the strength I had left. I could feel the sting of my own wounds—my palms torn and bleeding from the earlier struggle in the water—but I didn’t care.

I wanted to live.

“I’ll save you, no matter what. From now on, I won’t let you die. I swear it. I’ll save you… you and only you.”

Aquila’s words tumbled out like the ravings of a madman as he held me close.

Wet clothes, wet bodies.

We were pressed so tightly together that I could feel every contour of his frame. But there was nothing romantic about this moment. This wasn’t a love story.

We just wanted to live.

We needed someone to hold on to, someone to rely on, to survive this nightmare together.

To keep my grip on sanity, to stay alive in this cruel world, I had to keep him alive too.

And so, we clung to each other, holding on for dear life.

It was a fiery, desperate embrace, as dry and searing as the hope we refused to let slip away.