~Chapter 119~
Hearing Kan’s words, I flinched. Ridiculous as it was, I felt an unexpected sting of disappointment.
“Now’s not the time to be feeling that.”
Besides, just look at me. I don’t look the same as the last time he saw me! Even if he thought I resembled that girl, he wouldn’t imagine I’d grown this much in just a few months.
“…I want to explain, but there’s no time!”
I gently touched Kan’s hand.
The surroundings were dark.
It was a miracle I’d even recognized him in this kind of darkness.
Other than Kan, everyone else was unconscious or unable to move. Besides the moans and groans of prisoners, there wasn’t a sound.
“For now… can you let go of this?”
“Ah.”
Kan startled and quickly released my collar. His eyes widened, flustered.
“Sorry… I didn’t mean to grab a girl like that. You’re not hurt, right?”
Even in this situation, his voice was so gentle that I almost laughed.
Back in the labyrinth, he had been like this too. Telling me kindly that girls shouldn’t sit on cold ground.
‘Wait… earlier, he called me Alisha, right?’
That was the name of the kid who dragged me to the work area. The memory of being shoved down roughly was still fresh.
I’d thought it was a girl at first from the name and appearance. But walking together, I’d realized it was a boy.
An extra not even in the game… probably acting as a petty overseer here.
“Don’t worry. I’m fine, not hurt.”
Well, the bandage on my cheek had peeled off halfway from the bars scratching me, but still.
“Then… can I ask—”
“You were hurt by a monster, weren’t you?”
Kan’s eyes were already on my cheek.
‘He can see that in this darkness?’
Sharp as ever. I tilted my head but then nodded. It wasn’t something to hide.
I turned the flashlight back on, angling it toward the ground to reduce the glare.
“Tell me if the light bothers you—”
But when I looked up, I froze.
‘What the—’
Even after so long, he was still so handsome. And his face was closer than I remembered, reminding me I was now about his age.
But that wasn’t what shocked me.
His hair.
It wasn’t the shining sky-blue I remembered of the protagonist.
Instead, his hair was stained black in blotches, as though something had seeped into it.
“When I’m with you… it feels like it wouldn’t matter if the world ended.”
It was just like the corrupted image I’d seen of his future in “The Slumbering Poetry’s Rift.”
I bit my lip and forced myself to look up.
‘Not yet. It’s not the same. His age is different. The corruption isn’t complete. I can still purify it.’
Kan looked confused at my expression. I deliberately took his hand through the bars.
He flinched, but I wanted to feel that he was alive.
“I have a lot to say. But like I told you—no time. I’ll make it quick.”
“…Say what?”
I brought my face closer to the bars. Kan recoiled slightly.
“I came to save you. I’ll get you out of here.”
“I’m the one who wishes more than anyone in this world for your happiness.”
“…Me?”
Kan looked at me, bewildered.
“Why?”
“Well…”
He was still holding my hand, but I could see his suspicion.
Of course. After meeting so many cultists here, it was natural he’d distrust me.
I wanted to tell him I was the girl he had saved in the labyrinth. But that would take too long to explain.
So I chose the easier way.
“You… once saved a girl with pink hair in the labyrinth, right? I’m her older sister.”
“…!!”
“You saved my little sister, so now I want to save you. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”
Kan looked like he had so much to say. But I pressed his hand gently to stop him.
“Listen. If you stay here, in a few days they’ll drag you somewhere. You must never go there.”
“…I know.”
Kan’s expression twisted in pain.
“Some kids were already taken. Even adults.”
Silence hung for a moment, but only briefly.
“There is a way… maybe not to save everyone, but to save as many as possible.”
Kan’s eyes widened at my words.
“If that way is real… then I’ll help you.”
He pressed his other hand against the bars. His voice was firm.
“Of course I’ll help.”
I let out a faint laugh.
“Funny… just now you were so suspicious. Why not doubt this too?”
I traced his scarred hand gently with my finger. Proof of his suffering.
‘Damn cult bastards…’
“I could be lying. Maybe they sent me to test you.”
“No. I believe you.”
Kan leaned closer, as if trying to see me better in the dim light. I could see myself reflected in his eyes.
“From the moment I saw you… you felt familiar.”
“….”
“You really are her sister.”
He smiled softly.
And before I could move away—
“My savior.”
Kan’s hand softly held mine.
“She’s alive, right? She’s not sick? She made it out of the labyrinth?”
For just a moment, my firm resolve wavered.
Excuse me, it’s fine if I grab your hand, but if you grab mine like that… my heart’s going to betray me as a fangirl.
“I never once forgot her. I thought of her all the time.”
He was probably only asking if she was safe.
‘Calm down. Don’t misinterpret. I just like the protagonist too much, that’s all.’
“…She’s fine. Very fine.”
Breathing right in front of you, actually.
“Anyway, if we want to save people, you have to get out of here first. If you’re dragged there, it’s over.”
“Why?”
Could he maybe let go of my hand while we talk? I glanced at our hands, but Kan’s eyes stayed locked on me. His face showed a kind of wonder.
“Because you look so much like her. For a second… I thought she had come back.”
Strange. The boy who had been with us in the labyrinth didn’t recognize me at all, and yet Kan remembered my face so clearly?
I coughed to hide my fluster.
“Anyway… the reason is this: the stronger a person’s spirit, the kinder their nature, the more tempting they are to phenomena. If you’re taken, it’ll grow uncontrollably.”
That was the truth. Phenomena and monsters here always craved pure souls. They fed on kindness, on corrupting good people.
Kan would be the perfect prey.
‘How much did you suffer in the future… before you became that corrupted version of yourself?’
I’ll never let it happen.
“What do I have to do?”
“For now, nothing. I only came to check if you were safe.”
I glanced upward.
[‘Dad’ is anxious!]
[‘Dad’ is worrying about you!]
We hadn’t prepared much, so time was short. Dad must be growing restless by now.
I placed my other hand on top of Kan’s. Warm.
“Next time I come, I’ll bring a plan to get you out. It won’t take long.”
I gave him advice:
“When the guard comes, act as healthy as you can.”
“Not pretend to faint?”
“Right. If you show you can still move, they’ll delay. They only need unconscious people for the sacrifice.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll come back. So then…”
I let go of his hand.
But Kan carefully caught it again.
“What’s your name?”
