"Argh!"

Hank bellowed in pain as he lay on his bare back on a bed of moss, the gaping wound on his shoulder blade spreading a searing pain across his entire body.

"Please hold still and try not make a sound."

Helena wiped the perspiration from her brow and tended to his wounds, the cloth, bandages and even her hands drenched in his blood.

She then popped the cork from one of the healing potions they had stolen from Margaret and applied it on the wound. This was the second one she had used, yet the wound still did not close completely.

"What have I done..."

Hank covered his eyes and wept, knowing very well that he had doomed Margaret and Arthur to their deaths, he could only hope that they met a painless end.

"..."

Helena did not say anything to bring him comfort and continued tending to his wounds, but pain and regret were evident in her expression, she knew that they too would soon meet their end.

"How can there be three Monsters at the level of a Floor Boss on a single floor? This is hell!"

"We should have just died with them, hic! "

Hank continued despairing and Helena maintained her silence.

"..."

"We need to find shelter."

Helena suggested after a few more minutes had passed and she was done tending to Hank’s injuries.

"Potions can only do so much for your wounds, you need to sleep and eat. I hope that we can forage something along the way."

She stood upright and assisted Hank in doing the same.

"..."

He looked at her with a strange expression, but he could not gather any words to say to her.

/

A few more minutes passed and they found a large tree which had a hollow space within its equally large trunk, from the shape of the opening, any seasoned hunter would conclude that it had been burrowed by the tusks of a wild boar.

The two of them sat in silence within the cramped confines of the burrow, a low flame crackling before them, its luminescence reflecting on their dreadful eyes. Around the fire were skewered frog legs that were slowly being grilled by the flame’s low intensity heat.

"Here, eat."

Helena handed Hank one of the frog legs and took one skewer for herself.

"We should eat quickly and put this fire out. We’ll spend the night here and formulate a plan tomorrow."

She said and took a bite, the sheer blandness of the unseasoned meat leaving her with a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Helena... Just what the hell is wrong with you?"

Hank chewed his lips raw and stared daggers at Helena.

"How can you be so calm and eat in a situation like this?!"

He shouted and grabbed her by the collar.

"What’s wrong with me? Are you seriously asking me that?! What exactly do you want me to do Hank?!"

She slapped his hand away, her high-pitched voice piercing his ears as it echoed within the burrow.

"Show some emotion damn it, Helena! We literally just lost everything and everyone!"

"Oh? You want me to cry Hank, is that it?! And what good would come from that?!"

"I lost my husband today, okay?! Julius is surely dead wherever he is, and without him, we can’t make it out if here!"

Helena shoved him against the bark.

"The only thing we can do now is our best. In order to honor their sacrifices, we need to survive for as long as we can and who knows? We might just be able to climb this Tower... So..."

"...Stop projecting your guilt on me and get yourself together!"

She turned from him, put out the fire and crawled out of the burrow.

"..."

Hank contemplated her words and followed after her.

"They were still so young, Helena... And I left them to die."

He hugged her from behind and rested his head atop her scalp, tears dripping endlessly from his eyes.

"I know Hank. But you did the right thing, there would have been no meaning in all of us dying. We shouldn’t let their deaths be in vain."

She shed tears of her own and looked up at the dense canopies above, as though hoping her words would reach them up in heave—

[!!]

Her eyes met the piercing gaze of a pair of bright-pink eyes glowing in the darkness.

"Gasp! "

She staggered back but Hank supported her weight.

"What’s wrong?!"

Hank immediately looked up and he too was pierced by the pair of eyes.

Thud!

A small-statured figure fell from the tree-tops, crash-landing on the ground with a resounding thud.

"He did the right thing, you say?"

Kaelen spoke through gritted teeth, his juvenile voice barely intimidating, but the aura he exuded supplemented that.

"K-kaelen?! How are you here?"

Helena was shocked to see him, she had assumed that he had either perished with Julius or was taken by the Roach.

"Stand behind me Helena, something’s not right."

Hank whispered, stepped forward and shielded her.

"Answer my question. Are you saying he did the right thing by leaving them to die?!"

Kaelen’s bloodlust boiled over, a few tears falling from his raging eyes.

[This is... The inherent skill used by Monsters to intimidate.]

"Igor was right about you Kaelen. You really are a Monster. Have you been hiding your powers this whole time?"

He discreetly unsheathed one of his twin daggers.

"..."

Seeing they had no intention of answering him, Kaelen slowly stepped forward.

"Don’t come closer!"

Hank warned.

"Julius knew about the two of you..."

[!!],[!!]

Hank and Helena shuddered at the revelation.

"wh-what are you—"

"He knew that those weren’t his biological kids, and yet do you want to know what he asked of me in his dying breath?! He asked me to save them and proclaimed his love for them!"

"Despite being aware of your disgusting betrayal, he still decided to forgive you two!!"

Kaelen poured out the rage in his heart and clenched the shaft of his spear.

■■Creator’s Eye: Insight.■■

<□Hank - Lv. 19

Class: Assassin Lv. 18□>

<□Helena - Lv. 20

Class: Healer Lv. 20□>

[I’m sorry Julius but...]

"I will never forgive these two, they’re no different from the Monsters that live here!"

Kaelen let out a guttural roar and reached into the empty space to his right, clenching a spear from his pocket dimension.