Chapter 41
What he was holding looked like some kind of switch.
For a moment, a time-bomb trigger straight out of a drama flashed through my mind.
It didn’t look exactly the same, but the way he brandished it threateningly made its purpose obvious enough.
Don’t tell me that’s an actual bomb…?
I narrowed my eyes, staring hard at the object in his hand—
“That you’d infiltrate our ranks and get close to us was something I predicted long ago. Fools. You don’t even realize this place is your grave—”
“Spare me. Get to the point.”
Why do villains always talk so much?
I didn’t know exactly what that thing was, but there was no way I was going to play along with his script.
If things were going to turn bad, it was better to force the situation myself than to get caught off guard.
I cut him off flatly, and just as expected, the leader’s face flushed bright red.
“You insolent brat!”
As if proving how short-tempered he was, he clicked the switch in his hand.
KWAANG!
Once again, iron bars slammed down near where I had been standing. I dodged by a hair’s breadth, goosebumps racing up the back of my neck.
Still, now I knew what the switch did.
Well… at least it’s not a bomb.
I supposed I should be grateful he wasn’t planning to die together with us.
Kaizen stepped in front of me, shielding me with his body, and muttered coldly.
“There are crossbow mechanisms hidden in the walls.”
Following his gaze, I spotted them—crossbows concealed inside the wall-mounted statues. One on this side… and another directly opposite.
They were so cleverly hidden you’d never notice unless you were looking closely.
“What kind of temple has junk like that installed?”
Kaizen’s eyes moved from the wall-mounted crossbows to the leader’s hand.
More precisely—to the switch he was holding.
It seemed Kaizen had already figured out its function as well.
“Curious, are you?”
Nope. Not curious at all. We already know what it does.
The leader curled one corner of his mouth upward and clicked the switch again.
At the same moment, another iron bar shot out from a crossbow.
Whoosh!
I recoiled instinctively at the sound of air being torn apart. The iron bar embedded itself deeply into the spot where I’d been standing moments ago.
I grimaced at the shattered stone floor.
“Seriously, why does it keep aiming only at me?”
“The crossbows are tracking you and locking on.”
“You noticed, did you? Those are magical crossbows that pursue the owner of the blood. You’re both as good as dead now!”
So that’s why he cut my neck earlier.
If I could destroy those things, movement would be a lot easier.
The distance between me and the crossbow was about ten meters.
Which would be faster—me moving, or him pressing the switch?
As I was calculating, Kaizen calmly pulled one of the iron bars embedded in the floor free and hurled it with all his strength toward the massive crossbow on the wall.
KWAANG—!
The wall shuddered violently, and the crossbow shattered, collapsing uselessly to the ground.
Clatter. Crash!
The leader stared at the broken, half-destroyed crossbow, his jaw dropping.
“W-What did you do?!”
I stared at Kaizen in equal shock.
No—seriously. He destroyed it that easily? In the blink of an eye?
At this point, he could compete in shot put.
I knew he was strong, but why was he suddenly looking so cool?
Without even breaking a sweat, Kaizen picked up another iron bar from the floor.
My gaze was helplessly drawn to the bulging veins along his forearm.
He lifted it lightly—and threw it straight at the crossbow on the opposite wall.
Whoosh!
KWAANG—!
“…”
Watching the remains of what used to be a crossbow fall apart, the leader stood there in utter despair, his fighting spirit completely gone.
Click, click. He pressed the switch again and again—but nothing happened.
No more iron bars flew out.
Oh no… Was that really his last resort?
I looked at him with genuine pity.
Step. Step.
Kaizen pulled out the final iron bar and walked toward the leader.
“D-Don’t come any closer!”
As Kaizen closed the distance, the man raised his arms defensively.
Kaizen looked down at him with thinly veiled contempt—then chopped the back of his neck with a sharp strike.
Thwack!
The leader crumpled to the floor.
I clapped enthusiastically.
“Wow, Kaizen. You’re really—”
I glanced between the completely wrecked crossbows and Kaizen, then flashed him a bright smile and gave a thumbs-up.
“Told you. Not just anyone can be a hero.”
After all that tension, the fight had ended far too easily and cleanly.
Grinning, I stepped toward him—
“Haah… Wait a moment.”
The skull icon above his head flickered, and the gauge jumped to three bars.
But it didn’t stop there.
“…Huh?”
The skull icon flashed again, climbing past three—toward the fourth bar.
As the red glow intensified, Kaizen’s complexion darkened as well.
“K-Kaizen!”
His brow furrowed in visible pain.
Covering one eye, he breathed unevenly—then suddenly stopped moving and slowly lifted his head.
“…!”
Thump.
My heart felt like it had slammed straight into the ground.
The light in his blue-gray eyes was fading, and the skull icon still burned crimson.
Just as the gauge was about to pass four bars and reach the fifth—
I ran to him without thinking.
Grabbing as much flour as I could from my pocket, I scattered it over him—and stuffed a handful straight into his mouth.
“…!”
Kaizen’s body began to collapse as he tried to shout something.
I caught him just before he fell, gently lowering him to the floor.
Before his eyes closed completely, his cool blue-gray gaze locked onto mine.
Something unreadable churned within it.
Even without words, I felt like I understood.
“It’s okay. You’re okay, so rest. When you wake up, everything will be over.”
“…”
Only then did Kaizen’s eyes finally close.
Seeing the snoring icon appear beside the skull, I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The reason his condition worsened so suddenly was probably—
Because what he just did counted as defying the Demon King.
How many more times would we have to repeat this?
Just imagining what would’ve happened if I hadn’t had flour on me was terrifying.
Still, I’d learned one important thing.
When Kaizen loses consciousness, the gauge stops moving.
The skull gauge remained fixed at four bars, glowing red.
Only after confirming it wasn’t rising anymore did the strength drain from my body.
My fingertips trembled slightly—probably from all the tension.
Thank goodness.
Knowing I could put him to sleep if things got bad was a huge comfort.
I took off my outer coat and carefully placed Kaizen’s head on it.
“I need to finish this before Kaizen wakes up.”
Resolving myself, I grabbed a torch from inside the temple and headed straight outside.
Remembering that I’d told Hamma to wait and appear when signaled, I blew the whistle.
Wheeeet—!
Then I raised the torch high.
A moment later, Hamma approached silently, ears twitching.
When he spotted me, his face broke into a wide grin.
“Lady Romi! Is it all over?”
“Stop sneaking around like a thief and hurry up. This is an emergency.”
“E-Emergency?”
After seeing the scene inside the temple, Hamma’s mouth fell open as he stared at me.
Ria, who had followed him, also stood frozen, eyes wide.
“… What is all this? Did a war break out or something?”
