Chapter 165
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Two impacts strike her.
One in her stomach and one in her chest.
As her consciousness fades, she finds it strange.
He had promised to protect her no matter what.
Indeed, they had reached the deepest part of the dungeon—infested with vicious monsters—without her getting so much as a scratch.
「I’ll take all the enemy attacks,」 he had said, smiling despite being covered in wounds.
He was smiling—he was smiling no I don’t want to forget please stop I’m sorry Ichiro help me help me I’m sorry I love you Ichiro
At that point, her consciousness completely blacks out.
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In less than a minute, three of their main fighters are down.
Half of their combined party is already incapacitated. The two tanks who had been holding on with faint hope are now in critical condition, their fate uncertain. Additionally, one of the key members of the Hero’s party lies motionless.
It’s simple arithmetic. The enemy has doubled to two, while their side has lost three.
The delicate balance they had barely maintained has completely collapsed.
Even until moments ago, everyone had been fighting desperately for everyone’s survival, suppressing their urge to scream in terror.
But now, it’s only a matter of time before those emotions, barely contained behind pressed lips, burst forth.
The tragedy continues.
With a sickening slash.
One of the healers has their torso deeply cut, falling limply without any resistance.
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For Iraiza, danger has always been a constant companion.
She has survived deadly situations more times than she can count on both hands.
「It’s alright, everyone!! Stay calm!! We still have the Hero’s party!!」
The moment she sees a conscious girl about to gasp 「eek,」 Iraiza raises her own voice before the girl can scream.
The essentials for survival are maintaining composure and having the tenacity to never give up until the very end.
Iraiza manages to contain her fear—like water in a full cup maintained only by surface tension—driven solely by her determination to ensure her daughter’s survival.
However, even she can no longer fully believe in the Hero’s party that she had just named to encourage the others.
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Ryūgūin, the Hero, notices a warm dampness in his pants.
Pathetically, it’s only thanks to Iraiza’s encouragement that he manages to regain his composure.
Along with this realization, he becomes frantically aware that in his dazed state, he had almost crossed a line he shouldn’t: 「Bad bad bad!!」
「Mika! Cast Heal on everyone! We can’t let a single person die!!!」
「Understood,」 she nods with a single word, and finally, Mika saves all members of the combined party, including those on the brink of death.
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Even with the Saint’s Heal being cast, consciousness doesn’t return immediately.
Even if consciousness does return, no one—except for perhaps some hero-class adventurer—could possibly return to battle immediately after recovering from near-fatal injuries.
「Mika! Now that healing’s done, put up a barrier around me!!」
Hero Ryūgūin shouts with a trembling voice.
「Yes, Sir Ryūgūin! I won’t let anyone lay a finger on you!」
Saint Mika protects herself and the Hero within a solid barrier, as if this were the most natural thing to do.
「Eris! You can do this, right?! If not, wake up Angie who’s sleeping there and take them down together!」
Hero Ryūgūin shouts what can barely be called a strategy with a stiff expression.
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Is this really the Hero?
Is this really the party that has conquered seven Newly Constructed Most Challenging Dungeons?
The instructions given to their ally fighting alone on the front lines while they remain in the safe zone—it’s a foolish strategy that borders on nonsense.
Iraiza cannot comprehend it.
From the Hero’s party’s perspective, they are merely outsiders.
If they were to abandon their accompanying party for that reason, she could understand it to some degree, taking a hundred steps back.
Even she would unhesitatingly choose her daughter if faced with an extreme situation where she could only save either her daughter or a stranger.
But this—
But this is—
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Eris’s performance is nothing short of heroic.
She pulls out spears that had struck from behind, deflects thrown weapons, and parries the attacks of the serrated sword.
However—she knows that retreat is now her only option.
Yet she focuses her mind entirely on defense.
The spear throws and high-speed attacks from the serrated sword—she cannot afford to miss even a single strike.
If she misses one, it could mean certain death for someone.
Eris steels herself and draws the Holy Sword at her waist.
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Since that day, I have come such a long way.
I—I loved him so much.
He was my best friend who I got along with perfectly, and like an older brother who always looked after me.
I wanted to stay by his side forever.
That meant spending our lives together, but with him, that was exactly what I wanted.
Whenever I was alone, I would constantly daydream about our future together.
Since that day when I was ten, I was never loved by my family, including my parents. But thanks to Puru, I learned what parents are, what love is.
I often thought that if it were just the two of us, we could give our two children the overflowing love that I wanted but never received, and then I would blush and squirm with an 「ugah.」
Though embarrassing, these were my genuine, pure feelings.
With him, I believed we could respect each other’s most precious inner feelings, step into each other’s hearts without hesitation, connect spiritually, embrace each other with all our heart and soul—this was my deepest wish, almost a certainty.
But now, that’s all far away—just a 「what might have been」 from somewhere in the past.
I have a responsibility to end everything and make amends to him.
No matter how painful and difficult it may be, I—
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