There was one condition that worked in our favor.
At the very least, the demonic beasts could not climb onto the islands.
That was the only rule of this trial.
As long as we managed to climb onto an island, we were safe from the beasts.
To put it a little differently, it meant we were not safe from the people who climbed onto the island with us.
Using someone else as bait so the group could cross to the next island by going upstream was a fairly reasonable strategy, a case of sacrificing the few for the greater good.
Thinking back on it now, if I hadn't been abandoned on the third floor, I might have been discarded here instead.
Can the three of us really make it through this place?
Anxious thoughts crawled up, but I forced myself to stay calm and took a bean from my pocket, popping it into my mouth.
Then the resentful spirit, who had been walking ahead and guiding us without once looking back, turned toward me.
There was something in its look, as if pitying…
Was I simply imagining it?
Feeling a strange sensation, I was about to call out to the spirit when Isael asked, "Why are you shaking like that?"
"Because it's a bit cold."
And indeed, it really was cold.
Wondering how Felix was holding up, I glanced back and saw that his lips had turned completely blue.
So I wasn't the only one freezing.
But not even the slightest part of me wanted to give him my clothes.
That's your karma.
Deal with it.
Be grateful I hadn't stripped you down completely.
I coldly looked away from Felix, who was dressed in short sleeves.
"Wear this."
Isael took off the coat he had taken from Felix and handed it to me.
Another coat on top of the one I was wearing? I shook my head.
"You're cold too."
"I'm strong, so I'm fine."
"..."
"Put it on. Don't start coughing and whining later."
Honestly, I didn't want to refuse.
But I wasn't shameless enough to take even more from him.
"No. Really, I'm fine. You already gave me your coat. This is enough."
"Do as I say."
"To be honest, it's just that I don't want to wear Felix's clothes."
"..."
"You wear it."
Only when I used Felix as an excuse did Isael finally back off, displeasure clear on his face.
At least I avoided the shameless act of making Isael take off his clothes again, so that was good enough.
As that thought passed through my mind, Felix cut in.
"Um, if it's alright…Can I wear it?"
"You think you can?"
I glared at Felix, eyes blazing.
Then I urged Isael to put the coat on quickly.
Apparently unwilling to yield to Felix, Isael hurried and slipped the coat back on.
Meanwhile, the demonic beasts' roars and snarls collided in a deafening cacophony that battered our ears.
The farther down the stairs we went, the louder and clearer the sounds became.
Once we got close enough, we could see what was happening below.
Isael and I both froze at the sight.
Even Felix, oblivious as he was, stopped cold along with the rest of us.
"Are we supposed to fight those things?"
At Isael's question, I nodded.
"Do you see the island closest to us over there? No matter what, we have to get up onto that one first."
Seeing that not a single demonic beast stood on the island, Isael seemed to grasp the situation.
"So they cannot climb onto the islands."
"Yeah."
They were small but effective shelters.
We had to rest at each of those six shelters and then head for the door on the seventh and final island.
"The river doesn't look very deep. I suppose that is at least a relief."
Isael said this after confirming that the water only reached the knee of a humanoid beast.
I nodded and took three beans out of my pocket.
"Hm…"
Honestly, I hated the thought of giving even a single bean to Felix.
Still, rather than risk him holding us back later, it was far better to treat it as tossing away a single bean now and show him some generosity.
Yes, it was a waste, but it could not be helped.
I popped one bean into my mouth first.
Then slowly, I turned toward Isael.
"..."
Sensing something, Isael's expression hardened.
I said firmly, "You have to eat it."
Unexpectedly, Isael obediently held out his hand.
Had he decided that struggling over it on the stairs would only put us both in danger?
I quickly placed the bean on his palm.
"Haa…"
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and swallowed the bean in one motion.
After confirming the movement of his throat, I casually tossed a bean to Felix.
Knowing full well what the bean's effect was, Felix snatched it up eagerly.
The sight was truly disgusting.
"Felix, you walk in front."
"H-huh?"
"You might stab us in the back if you're behind us. So get in front."
Saying that, I pulled one of the daggers I had confiscated from Felix out of my bag.
It wasn't better than the dagger I originally had, but it was still a usable weapon.
"It will be in your best interest not to even think about doing anything foolish."
I gave a firm warning as I handed the dagger to him.
Felix nodded. His face was pale with fear, but he still moved forward.
And so, we stepped onto the last of the stairs.
* * *
I controlled the spirit while conserving the beans as much as possible.
In front of me and behind me, Felix and Isael were cutting down the demonic beasts that lunged at us.
But the speed has been sluggish for a while now.
Even the river water didn't seem like ordinary water.
Standing in it too long, I could feel my stamina draining rapidly.
Maybe it was because Felix's skill with the dagger was absolutely pathetic.
Instead of clearing a path to the island, we were barely managing to fend off the endlessly swarming beasts.
This won't do.
"Isael!"
I shouted for him.
With an ear-splitting wail, one of the demonic beasts collapsed to the ground.
Isael was the one who finished off that beast.
He moved closer to me and met my gaze.
I said to him, "I'll handle things from the back somehow, so you go up front and clear a path!"
"What? No. That's too dangerous."
"Ugh, just do as I say!"
A beast lunged toward Isael, and I directed the resentful spirit to block its path just in time.
Isael frowned and looked back at me.
But only for a moment. He soon let out a sigh and joined Felix at the front.
Slash―!
Hot blood splattered from a beast as I swung the dagger.
Without even having time to wipe it away, I kept swinging my dagger, commanding the spirit to deal with the beasts approaching me.
"Haah… huhh…"
I attacked the beast blocking my path with my dagger while directing the spirit to strike another.
In that process, both my stamina and mana were bleeding away fast.
I was exhausted to the point of collapse, yet the swarming beasts gave us not even a second to rest.
My head was spinning, but if my focus slipped even for a moment, it would be disastrous, so I forced myself to concentrate with everything I had.
To be honest, it was overwhelming.
How long did I have to hold out?
How much longer could I last like this?
I swung my dagger like a madwoman, desperate not to let despair swallow me.
I had no idea how much time had passed.
"Rosette!"
A strong force grabbed my wrist and yanked me.
Through strands of hair soaked either with beast blood or my own sweat, I saw Isael's face.
His annoyingly handsome face was, for some reason, twisted into a desperate expression.
"Pull! One, two!"
Felix grabbed my other arm, and together they hauled me toward the island.
The two of them pulled with all their strength.
The last thing I did was let my body yield to that force, and then I lost consciousness.
* * *
We barely made it up onto the first island.
And that was all.
Yet we had already nearly exhausted every bit of our strength just to achieve that.
"Hah… huff. Thank goodness. Everyone made it…"
"What's there to be thankful for?"
"…Pardon?"
"We only reached one island."
There were still six more islands to cross.
The journey ahead was long.
They had merely reached the starting point.
After delivering his cold, biting words, Isael shifted his gaze to the unconscious Rosette.
Beside him, he could faintly hear Felix saying something, but he ignored it.
Even while unconscious, Rosette clutched the bag she carried as if it were her lifeline.
What a strange woman.
From the very first moment he met her, she had made him think that same thought over and over again.
Isael watched Rosette with a deeply subdued expression.
What would have happened if he hadn't had Rosette's help to get this far?
Moreover, Rosette was the only person who knew the whereabouts of his sister, Beatrice.
Right now, she was someone Isael could not afford to lose.
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