"Coward," Henry spat, ripping the Ascended Spear out of his own shoulder with a pained grunt.
Hot blood flowed freely.
"Damn it…" he cursed through clenched teeth.
Samael watched him in silence for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Maybe that's true."
There was no anger in his voice.No mockery.
Only acceptance.
At that moment, something finally clicked inside him.
He understood.
He understood why his traumas had never truly erupted while he was around other people.
It wasn't strength.Nor recovery.
It was fear.
Samael wanted to be with others.
He needed it.
The fear of being alone was what kept his mind stable. What held his fractured identity together. What prevented the horrors of the coliseum from fully surfacing.
As long as he wasn't alone, he wouldn't sink into himself.
But he had never seen it that way before.
He had never faced that fear.
And now, he realized just how banal it was.
Common.Human.
It existed in this world…And it had existed back on Earth as well.
Still, it was the fear that terrified him the most.
That realization brought with it another memory.
The day his mother disappeared.
The moment he was left alone in the world.
That absolute cold that had consumed him back then…
It hadn't been just grief.It hadn't been just loss.
It had been fear.
Fear of being alone.
And for the first time, Samael had the courage to face it head-on.
Both of them advanced toward each other.
Samael felt the pressure immediately.
The absence of his left arm threw his balance off with every exchange. That side of his armor was covered in deep scratches—some had already been pierced through. If this continued, he would lose.
Henry was wounded as well.
One of his arms hung uselessly at his side, a direct result of the spear. It reduced the pressure… but not enough.
Samael was still the one closer to his limit.
He glanced aside for a moment.
Elizabeth and Elisa were pressuring Kevin.
All three serpents were already dead, and Kevin had reverted to his original form—a grotesque mass of bones and tentacles, like a deformed humanoid octopus.
Even so, Elisa outmatched him in direct combat.
And because she was an Echo, she wasn't affected by his mental ability.
Elizabeth, however…
Samael felt the warm heat of her soul tremble more than once.
Kevin was focusing everything on her.
Elizabeth's mind wouldn't hold for much longer.
"I have to hurry…" he thought.
But reality didn't cooperate.
Henry was still there.Summer was recovering.Time wasn't on his side.
Samael took a deep breath.
And charged.
Henry once again outpaced him.
Samael accepted a slash to the chest—felt the impact reverberate through his armor—and in the same motion delivered a brutal kick to the odachi, forcing Henry back.
He turned.
Summer was still healing.
Samael raised his sword.
For an instant, his mother's face overlapped with hers.
But this time…
He didn't hesitate.
The blade crossed Summer's throat.
Her body collapsed.
The Spell echoed in his ears.
[Congratulations. You have slain a Dormant Beast, Human.]
"I'm sorry…" Samael whispered.
Then, quietly, he added:
"…I'm not alone anymore."
Henry charged with a furious roar.
A diagonal slash came crashing down.
Samael threw himself backward, falling flat onto the ground.
Henry, carried forward by his own momentum, tripped over Summer's body.
He fell.
Samael raised the tip of his sword.
Henry landed chest-first onto the blade.
"Bastard!" Henry screamed, his voice breaking.
Samael looked at him.
"I'm sorry…" he said softly.
Henry's body was already beginning to cool.
"Bastard…" Henry muttered weakly. "Why are you apologizing…?"
"You were under a creature's influence," Samael replied honestly. "It wasn't your fault. It wouldn't be fair for me to hate you for that."
Henry laughed faintly.
"Bastard…"
A pause.
"…Thanks."
The Spell spoke again.
[Congratulations. You have slain a Dormant Beast, Human.]
Samael remained there for a moment.
The sword still embedded.
The blood cooling.
He lay on the ground with Henry's body still on top of him.
It was the third time he had killed—at least, according to his memories.
But these last two deaths were different from the first.
The first time, it had been only Samael.
Now, it had been both of them.
Him and Ethan.
Together.
And that changed everything.
When he used to read stories—when he celebrated the fall of a character at another's hands—it had felt simple. Distant. Even exciting.
But now…
All he felt was nausea.
Something was wrong.Deeply wrong.
Since birth, Earth's ethics and morality had been drilled into Ethan almost like brainwashing. Those values were still there, intact, screaming inside his mind.
He felt terrible.
And yet…
To his own surprise, it wasn't as unbearable as he had imagined.
The anticipation had been worse.
His mind had amplified the fear, guilt, and revulsion dozens of times before he ever experienced them for real—until they became monstrous.
Reality was horrible.
But not absolute.
Samael turned his gaze.
Elizabeth and Elisa were still fighting Kevin.
He wanted to help.
He truly did.
But his body and mind were in a miserable state. As painful as it was to admit, right now he would only be a burden.
The logical choice was clear.
Retreat.Wait.Don't interfere.
Even so… he couldn't just watch.
He took a few steps toward the fight.
Then stopped.
Stepped back twice, hesitant, aware it wasn't the best decision.
Advanced again.
Retreated once more.
His nails found their way between his teeth, bitten hard.
"Damn it…" Samael muttered. "I have to help, but…"
The sentence died before it could finish.