My mind went blank for a moment, and I felt my head go completely empty.
A brief moment of silence.
It was only a little later that I began to belatedly realize that I had gotten lost.
"Huh...?"
R-really?
Did I really just suddenly get lost like this?
I held my confused head and looked around, but there wasn't a single trace of Muyeon.
Even if I wanted to deny the fact, I was already alone in this narrative.
No.
I came here just fine; maybe Muyeon is the one who got lost?
Since they were walking a little behind me, keeping some distance, they must have gotten distracted for a moment and lost their way.
Only after rationalizing it to myself and feeling a bit better did I have the capacity to assess the situation.
Although the situation was confusing, for some reason, I didn't feel like I was going to panic beyond that point.
Partly because the surroundings were a flower garden that soothed the mind, and maybe because of its natural, friendly appearance.
Even though knowing it was a corpse was a bit creepy, since vision has the greatest influence on how we perceive something, it didn't feel shockingly horrifying.
Whatever the reality was, as long as what I saw looked fine, I wasn't the type to be easily scared.
Yeah, let's think calmly for now.
As I mentioned earlier, I assumed that I was the one who got lost.
But no matter how much I thought about it, this felt a bit strange.
First of all, I was leading the way, and if I had gone down a strange path, Muyeon would definitely have stopped me from behind.
They were the one who made such a fuss about reading the inscription at the main gate; there's no way they would have stayed quiet.
That would mean Muyeon is the one who got lost...
Honestly, that seemed the most plausible.
There was also a possibility they had been captured by an Outer God.
Then, it suddenly occurred to me.
A coward's heart is best understood by a coward.
The worst possibility came to mind.
Did they abandon me and run away alone?
Even as I thought it, I wanted to dismiss it, thinking, "No way," but remembering what Muyeon said on the way here, I couldn't ignore it.
My coward sensor is ringing bzzzt.
Ah, seriously, is this it?
It seems so plausible.
"Phew..."
No, let's calm down.
I'm being too paranoid right now.
For now, I decided to rationalize that we were separated due to an Outer God.
Whatever the case, doing anything more in this situation didn't make sense.
How could I, with zero actual combat ability, face the Gardener alone...?
If Muyeon were alone, they'd probably aim to get outside, so my best bet would be to head outside too.
So, as soon as I turned around to go back, I had a thought.
Huh.
But, where was the exit?
I thought I wasn't a complete lost, but when I tried to go back, I couldn't remember exactly which path I had taken.
When Muyeon was guiding me, it was so effortless.
It was a moment that made me realize the importance of navigation once again.
Sigh, no choice, I guess?
Staying here, losing my mind, and wandering around aimlessly looking for Muyeon is something only an amateur would do.
But I was different.
I always carry a friend in my pocket so I won't be scared of the real thing.
My portable fear reliever.
I carefully opened my pocket, and the Isolation God popped its head out.
Perhaps because it was a new place, the Isolation God looked around, then tilted its head back to look at me and gave a bright, welcoming smile.
My slightly troubled heart felt healed.
So cute.
"Hey, friend, which way should I go to get out?"
Even if our levels are different, we're both Outer Gods, so maybe it can roughly sense the way out, right?
With that hope, I asked, and the Isolation God, realizing there was no one else around, came out of my pocket and flew into the air.
Flying around near me, not going too far, the Isolation God seemed to have figured something out. With a brightened expression, it approached and pointed a finger somewhere.
"Did you find it?"
At my words, the Isolation God nodded.
I felt much better.
Not only is it cute, but it's also capable.
I kinda ended up bringing it along, but I never thought it would be this helpful.
This is like a cheat key.
"Good job."
I stroked its head with my finger, and it smiled happily.
If Muyeon really did run away, then there's probably no one else here, so maybe the Isolation God can enjoy a bit of freedom.
So, I tapped my right shoulder, gesturing for it to come up, and it looked incredibly happy.
It flew over gently and sat on my shoulder, just like when we first met, then melted into a soft, mochi-like shape, making the world seem cozy again.
"Let's go."
Once the direction was set, going was easy.
I walked quickly in the direction the Isolation God pointed.
As I walked, I started to feel something strange.
Huh, wait?
Something feels very different from the path I came on...
Normally, unless you're paying close attention, it's hard to notice changes, but even so, if the most distinctive feature changes, it's impossible not to notice.
Yeah.
The most distinctive feature had changed.
What I had seen on my way were gardens composed of various flowers, exuding beauty.
But the garden the Isolation God led me to was unified in only one color.
Red.
Moreover, it consisted solely of roses, tinged with a dark crimson, which felt quite alien.
I definitely hadn't seen such a flower bed on my way here.
"Is this really the right way?"
I looked at the Isolation God with a face saying, 'Are you tricking me?' It fluttered its wings and pointed to my left, as if insisting it was correct.
As if saying what I was looking for was over there.
I turned my head in the direction the Isolation God pointed.
"Huh?"
There was something there I never expected.
Long, green hair covering the eyes.
Even more noticeable were the long deer antlers on a skull.
A girl wearing it like a mask was sitting there, her hands covered in soil.
Just by her unusual attire and her body, which looked like that of a growing child, I could tell.
This isn't human.
An alien being that descended into this world.
An Outer God.
And specifically, the Gardener we were looking for.
Is it right for us to meet like this already?
I haven't obtained any proper strategy yet.
Damn, if I knew this would happen, I should've looked up the boss strategy on the community!
I avoided spoilers because I dislike scary things and wanted to figure out the fights myself, but now I deeply regret not checking the strategy tab. My past foolish self is so lamentable.
As I stood frozen, staring at the Gardener with the Isolation God, I noticed she was talking to the ground.
"Are you okay? You'll feel better soon."
A calm voice.
A tone you wouldn't expect from an Outer God who ruined the world and turned countless people into corpses, decorating them with flowers.
A quick glance suggested she hadn't noticed me yet.
Yeah, it's better to retreat before being detected.
I don't know why the Isolation God thought this was the key to escaping the Gardener, but since I'm alone now, it's quite dangerous.
So, I carefully tried to step back.
"...I already knew you entered."
The Gardener spoke to me indifferently.
Haha.
So, this place being an escape route meant escaping by ending my life?
Well, that is one way to escape, I guess.
I looked at the Isolation God with a gaze conveying that meaning, but it shook its head vigorously, as if saying no.
It even looked like it was about to cry, so I decided to let it off for now.
"This one has a quite strong spirit. Must be a fairly high-level knight, I suppose?"
Stay calm.
Yeah, maybe we can communicate.
Maybe it can end well, like with the Watcher.
So, I decided to throw the first punch—figuratively.
"U-um, hello? I'm not a knight, but a knight candidate, I guess? The thing is..."
"You're here to harm my friend."
I tried to lighten the mood somehow, but the Gardener was already frowning deeply while looking at me.
Haha, it's ruined before it even began.
This is bad.
"N-no! That's not it..."
I tried to refute in shock, but the Gardener's eyes, half-hidden by her hair, widened instead.
"You can communicate with me?"
Then, she glanced at the Isolation God on my shoulder and started grinding her teeth.
Huh, why?
"...I see. I wondered why we could communicate. You're that woman's follower."
That woman's follower?
Who is 'that woman'?
It seemed completely unrelated to me, but the Gardener's eyes were already convinced.
"No! I'm not here to harm you! Let's talk first..."
"Lies! How could I not know when you're making it so obvious?"
With those words, the Gardener stood up and took a deep breath, as if gathering power.
It was clear something bad was about to fly my way. I crouched to prepare, but...
"Kyaaang!"
The Gardener let out a cute scream, but what happened around us wasn't cute at all.
Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent.
No, more precisely, my perceived sense of time slowed down.
I saw vines shooting up from the ground, but my body, lacking physical ability, couldn't react.
In the end, I was hit by a thick vine. A little later, time seemed to return to normal, and I was flung far away.
"Gyaaak!"
My body flew for a while before hitting the ground, and I tumbled violently, unable to control the speed.
Finally, when the momentum faded, my body stopped, and a dizzying pain spread throughout my body, as if I'd been beaten up.
"...No one can touch my friend."
The plant vines intertwined around the Gardener, as if holding hands, forming a large circle.
"I'm not here to harm you! Let's talk first...!"
But the Gardener seemed to have completely closed her ears, ignoring me outright.
Instead, flowers appeared, each with what looked like a smiling emoji on their faces.
"Ah, damn it."
They looked utterly trivial, but one of those flowers raised its vine high.
And I realized it was the same vine that had just attacked me.
As soon as I realized, it slammed down toward my body at a speed I couldn't react to.
Squish!
The sound was like squishing a toy doll.
"Guh...!"
An excruciating pain began to envelop my entire body.
Ah.
So this is how a person dies.
As my consciousness began to fade, the last thing I saw was the Isolation God's frantic expression before everything went dark.
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