46 - How to Escape from the Reverse Harem Cliché
Episode 46
Even though blood was dripping from above his head, he seemed unfazed, as if he couldn't feel pain. Instead, he merely frowned, looking at my slightly torn forehead.
“You’re bleeding. Does it hurt?”
“It’s not me who’s hurting, it’s the Young Master. You’re bleeding a lot.”
Valerian stood with his back bent, supporting the structures of the pillars and ceiling, and I was curled up within the narrow space he had created.
Even if an Esper’s body was sturdier than a normal person’s, it was clear that if Valerian’s balance faltered even slightly, we would be crushed to death.
For now, I urgently tore off a piece of my sleeve and stretched my upper body to wipe the blood dripping from Valerian’s neck with the scrap of fabric.
“Are you alright?”
“This much is fine.”
“Feeling pain is the same for everyone, isn’t it? Espers or normal people.”
“……”
“We should get out quickly. Young Master, is your Guiding level alright?”
“It’s fine.”
Valerian’s ability was Ignite, fire.
Fortunately, this mansion was a wooden building, so it would burn very well with his flames. It would sting to have to spend money and time on repairs, but survival was the priority for now.
“Young Master, what is your ability?”
“It’s fire.”
“That’s good. Then, can we burn our way out with your ability? Not a complete conflagration, though. There might still be people trapped inside like us.”
“There is no one trapped inside besides myself and the Young Lady. It seems everyone else has escaped safely.”
He seemed to have sensed with his acute hearing that no one was left inside the building.
“Everyone, do not come in!”
At that moment, Valerian shouted a command, perhaps sensing movement from outside trying to enter the collapsing building, and stopped them.
If they had entered carelessly, both of us would have been crushed to death without a chance.
“If I burn this place with my ability, even an Esper with restoration abilities who comes here won’t be able to fix it. It won’t be fully restorable.”
“It’s alright. That’s a problem for later. For now, the Young Master is bleeding too much… Huh?”
I had been continuously wiping Valerian’s neck with the torn sleeve, and only now did I notice.
I propped myself up on my knees and leaned my head towards Valerian’s neck. This time, perhaps he was flustered, as he flinched and pulled back.
“Wait a moment.”
“Young Lady, what are you….”
“This is a mark, isn’t it?”
“……”
“You didn’t… receive Guiding?”
Between his left ear and neck, a mark I had never seen before was faintly drawn, barely maintaining its shape.
Seeing how faded the color and shape were, it meant his Guiding level was critical.
Unless there was a Guide nearby, if he used his ability like this, he could enter the danger zone of Berserk and his life could be at risk.
“It’s fine.”
As if reading my concern, Valerian grabbed my hand, which was fiddling with his neck, and pulled it down.
“Lady Rose is nearby anyway. I can receive it from her, so don’t worry.”
“But….”
“Being a high rank means you can use your ability strongly without using much Guiding.”
“……”
“Don’t just look at me like that. Come closer. You’ll be safe from my flames only if you stay close to me.”
I didn’t really want to, but I had to live, so…
Tearing my gaze away from the faint mark, I leaned my body into Valerian’s embrace. He familiarly wrapped an arm around my waist and unleashed his ability from his entire body before I could even scream.
Just as I felt the heat, large and small explosions from the flames were heard from various places. Instinctively seeking survival, I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my head entirely in Valerian’s chest.
The roaring sounds were terrifying, but I couldn’t bear to watch my home collapse before my eyes…
Still, it was disheartening that the place I had lived in and grown fond of for half a year was collapsing so helplessly with just one Esper’s ability.
“Commander!”
“Young Master!”
At that moment, servants and Valerian’s aides, who had spotted us from afar, began to approach.
I tried to break free from his embrace and shake off the ash that had covered me, but Valerian suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him.
“Kuaaaak!”
A black, monstrous creature, having burst through the ground in an instant, lunged at us with a shriek.
“Python! Form ranks!”
“Yes!”
Valerian and his troops, who pushed back the startled me and the servants, formed an attack formation. Then, without any signal, they charged forward simultaneously, unleashing their abilities.
The sky flashed with light, and the ground became a red sea of Valerian’s ability. It was an immense flame, incomparable to the output he had used when escaping with me just moments ago.
“Young Lady!”
As I dazedly watched their battle, Lena, who had rushed over in her panic, not even remembering my disguised identity, called out to me. She grabbed my hand and started running towards the forest behind us.
Even as I took the horses from the escort knights who had brought them from the stables and mounted one, I kept glancing back.
The scenes were like something out of a superhero movie, but not quite as cool. The monstrous creature, with its grotesque appearance, was annoyingly splitting its body like an amoeba and creating more of itself, no matter how much it was cut or burned.
“Young Lady! You must go now! Go to the Tene River, take a ferry, and leave the territory! Hurry!”
Lena’s voice, as she rode beside me, brought me back to my senses.
This was the only chance. My household and I, with only light luggage, began to escape the battlefield.
Yes, after all, defeating Monsters was the Espers’ job. Valerian was a natural-element Esper, considered the strongest, and he was S-Class. He would surely subdue something like that with ease.
Rationalizing it that way, I galloped wildly until I reached the entrance of the Tene River.
Pung—! Peok! Pung!!
The successive explosion sounds felt like they were tearing my ears apart. The horse I was riding, startled, whinnied and bucked violently. Only after I barely managed to hold the reins and calm it down did silence fall upon the surroundings.
“……Young Lady.”
“……”
The unnaturally quiet forest made my heart pound. Why? Why the sudden silence after all the flashing?
My gaze, fixed on the tied-up ferry, kept drifting backward.
What if… the Guiding ran out? He looked like he was on the verge of Berserk, no matter how I looked at it.
Even a natural-element S-Class was no different from a ticking time bomb without Guiding. No, natural-element types were even more dangerous…
“Young Lady.”
“I’m sorry, Lena. Please wait a moment.”
“Go ahead. Be careful.”
Lena, understanding my intentions, took a rifle from an escort knight and handed it to me.
As soon as I received the gun, I turned the horse’s head and galloped back towards where my mansion had been.
But this gun… will it really be okay? I worried endlessly while riding the galloping horse.
I was too timid to fight head-on with a sword. And as for archery, I was so bad at it that I felt ashamed of being born in the land of Jumong.
With no other choice, I learned to use a gun. But was learning it the right thing to do? I could barely hit one or two shots out of a hundred.
Born in a modern era without war, what occasion would I have to hold a gun? At most, I was pushed into participating in Director Kim’s favorite shooting game at a company dinner, simply because I was the youngest. Of course, I managed to beat the drunk Director Kim with all my might.
Although I chose a gun as a means to protect myself out of necessity, I truly hoped I would never have to shoot it.
However, the place I arrived at after galloping madly had become a barren land, the only word that came to mind being scorched earth.
“What in the world….”
Where my cozy home site, where I had stayed for half a year, used to be, only a groaning Monster, lying in a sea of flames, was writhing on the ground.
Its dark pupils rolled and met mine. I covered my mouth with my hand, gagging at the Monster’s grotesque appearance, but quickly regained my composure and searched for Valerian and his troops.
“……Young Master?”
I knew he had come here with minimal personnel, but I trusted Valerian.
No. I trusted his character settings. He was the male lead, after all; he wouldn’t be easily defeated here…
But I had no time for other thoughts. I spotted a person lying on the ground far away and rushed to check on him.
“Are, are you alright… Ah!”
As I shook the man, hoping he would regain consciousness, his head lolled to the side.
It was Python, the person who had been organizing the ranks upon Valerian’s command just moments ago. My fingertips trembled at the sight of the corpse, its neck severed without a chance to react.
Unconsciously, I tightened my grip on the gun I held and aimed it at the Monster. Its form had already collapsed, and it was barely breathing, but pulling the trigger was not easy.
Even though I would die immediately if I shot here, it felt like it would open its eyes and charge at me at any moment. I was afraid of merely provoking it.
It was a massacre. It wasn’t just desolate; Valerian’s aides were all dead, scattered everywhere.
Had Valerian also met his end? Seeing the flames still raging like a sea of fire, it seemed he had used his ability, but with the Guiding level I had seen earlier, he couldn’t possibly produce this much firepower.
Did he use his ability, prepared for Berserk? Should I… not have ignored that level? Shouldn’t I have filled his Guiding level by providing it…
As I bit my lower lip, I was caught between regret and conflict.
