Sacrifice opened her eyes—
—and immediately froze.
Reth knelt beside her.
Or what was left of him.
One eye was gone, the empty socket drenched in blood that had dried across half his face. A jagged scar split downward far enough to expose fragments of bone beneath torn flesh.
Both of his arms were mangled beyond recognition.
And below the waist—
Nothing.
His legs were gone.
For a brief moment, Sacrifice said nothing.
Then slowly—
She reached out and closed his remaining eye.
A small pause.
[Sacrifice]: Rest in peace.
Her voice lowered slightly.
[Sacrifice]: …Sorry for failing you.
Reth's remaining eye snapped back open.
A wet cough escaped him.
Another breath.
[Reth]: kill me off…
A pause.
[Reth]: …like this.
Silence.
Sacrifice stared at him.
Expression blank.
Then—
A beat.
Another pause.
[Sacrifice]: Then get up.
Reth blinked once.
[Reth]: …Boss, I literally don't have legs.
Sacrifice stared at him for a long moment.
Then gave a small nod.
[Sacrifice]: Fair point.
A pause.
[Sacrifice]: Then explain.
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
[Sacrifice]: What happened?
Another beat.
[Sacrifice]: How did you end up like this…
She glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings.
[Sacrifice]: …and where exactly are we?
From somewhere beyond the nearby valley—
A mixture of shouting, explosions, and very distant screaming echoed through the air.
Neither of them acknowledged it.
Sacrifice had already begun disinfecting the shredded remains of Reth's arms, stitching torn flesh together with calm, mechanical precision.
Reth immediately regretted remaining conscious.
He twitched violently.
[Reth]: Boss, warn me before you pour alcohol directly into exposed muscle!
[Sacrifice]: I did.
[Reth]: No, you said: "This might sting."
[Sacrifice]: And was I wrong?
Reth looked genuinely offended.
Then groaned as another stitch tightened.
A shaky breath escaped him.
[Reth]: Alright… it started after you got blown up.
A pause.
[Reth]: Then I met a mercenary named W who saved us—
Sacrifice pulled another needle through torn flesh.
A brief silence followed.
Then—
[Reth]: Right… where was I…
Another stitch.
His remaining eye rolled backward slightly.
[Reth]: …Yes… W saved us…
A weaker breath.
[Reth]: Then we—
He stopped.
Sacrifice glanced up.
Reth had completely passed out from the pain, head hanging limply to the side.
Silence.
Sacrifice stared at him for a moment.
Then calmly continued stitching anyway.
As time passed, the sounds of explosions and fighting slowly faded into the distance.
The valley grew quieter.
Not peaceful.
Just exhausted.
Then—
[Mordred]: Why would anyone hide knives inside their own guts?!
His furious voice echoed from somewhere nearby.
[Mordred]: I punched through his rib cage, and suddenly there were six—maybe seven knives stuck in my arm!
A pause.
[Mordred]: And why were they rusty?!
Another beat.
[Mordred]: Am I going to get tetanus now?!
A quieter voice answered him immediately.
A pause.
[Protector]: And why didn't you just crush his head instead of punching through his chest?
Silence.
Then—
[Mordred]: I panicked.
[Protector]: You panicked… and chose the more complicated option?
[Mordred]: Listen, when someone starts screaming and charging at you with explosives tied to their spine, rational thought stops being a factor.
A brief pause.
Another distant sound of someone being violently thrown into a wall echoed through the valley.
Then—
[Mordred]: Also, why was there another knife inside the first knife?!
Protector: Hidden compartment.
[Mordred]: THAT IS NOT A REAL THING!
Sacrifice continued stitching Reth without even looking up.
[Sacrifice]: It is now.
A pause.
Then calmly—
[Sacrifice]: Mordred, come here after you're done screaming.
Her needle pulled through flesh smoothly.
[Sacrifice]: I need to disinfect your arms before they rot off.
A small pause.
[Sacrifice]: So I don't have to cut them off later.
Silence.
Then—
[Mordred]: …I suddenly understand why Reth passed out.
Sacrifice didn't even look up from the stitches.
[Sacrifice]: He passed out from the pain.
A beat.
[Sacrifice]: You passed out from blood loss.
[Mordred]: That somehow feels more insulting.
A new voice cut through the valley.
Lazy.
Amused.
A slow clap echoed once.
[W]: Look who finally woke up.
A grin spread across her face as she leaned against a nearby rock.
[W]: Our little Fire Queen.
Sacrifice slowly looked up.
Their eyes met.
Silence.
Then—
Sacrifice stood.
Walked directly toward her.
And punched her in the stomach hard enough to fold her in half.
WHUMP.
The impact forced all the air from W's lungs in a broken gasp as she staggered backward, clutching her abdomen.
She nearly dropped to one knee.
For a brief moment—
Nobody spoke.
Even Mordred looked impressed.
Then Sacrifice calmly grabbed the edge of W's torn jacket and pulled it aside, revealing shrapnel wounds and badly stitched injuries beneath.
[Sacrifice]: You reopened your stitches.
Her tone remained completely flat.
W wheezed slightly, still recovering from the punch.
A painful breath.
[W]: You could've just said thank you.
Sacrifice began re-bandaging the wounds with quick, practiced movements.
[Sacrifice]: Thank you.
A beat.
She tightened the bandage harder than necessary.
W hissed in pain.
[Sacrifice]: That was for blowing me up.
Another pull.
Tighter.
[Sacrifice]: This is for carrying me afterward.
W stared at her for a second.
Then, unexpectedly laughed.
Weak.
Breathless.
But genuine.
A small grin returned despite the pain.
[W]: You really are insane.
Before Sacrifice could respond, footsteps approached from the far side of the valley.
A group emerged through the dust and fading smoke.
Rockwood's mercenaries.
Reth's people.
Bruised. Burned. Bleeding.
But alive.
At the front walked a man clutching his left side tightly, blood soaking through the gaps between his fingers.
Even injured, his posture stayed straight.
Controlled.
Tired.
[Scout]: I almost lost a kidney.
A pause.
He frowned slightly.
[Scout]: No… correction.
Another step.
[Scout]: I did lose a kidney.
A weary sigh escaped him.
[Scout]: Years on the battlefield… surviving catastrophes, ambushes, artillery—
A brief shake of his head.
[Scout]: Just to lose an organ fighting a maniac who swims through sand.
Behind him, one of the mercenaries failed to suppress a laugh.
Scout ignored him.
[Scout]: Ace and the others are never letting this go.
A beat.
His expression darkened.
[Scout]: I can already hear Ace saying—
He lowered his voice slightly in imitation.
[Scout]: "Scout, with one kidney you're no longer allowed to drink."
A pause.
[Scout]: Then he'll steal my beer while pretending it's for my health.
A cold wind suddenly passed through the valley.
Scout stopped walking.
Slowly—
Very slowly—
Rockwood raised a hand.
[Rockwood]: Mr. Scout.
A pause.
His voice lowered.
Careful.
[Rockwood]: Don't turn around.
Silence.
Scout immediately turned around.
And froze.
Sacrifice stood several meters behind him.
Dragging W by the collar with one hand.
Her eyes glowed faintly in the dark.
Not metaphorically.
Actually glowing.
W looked exhausted.
And deeply resigned to her fate.
Scout stared at the scene for a long moment.
Then—
[Scout]: …I feel like I'm about to be blamed for something.
[Chapter end]