Chapter 11: The Price of Devotion
The struggle in the hallway was frantic. One of the neighbors gripped Ren by the shoulders, pinning him against the wall, while the other fumbled with the lock. Ren thrashed, his blood splattering onto the floor, his voice a gargled mess of protests.
"Don't... please... don't open it!" Ren gasped, but his strength was failing.
The lock clicked. The door swung wide.
The neighbor stepped back, bracing for a monster to lung at him. But the room was eerily still. There, in the center of the floor, lay Hana. The horns were gone, and her claws had receded, leaving her hands small and fragile again. She was unconscious, her breathing shallow, surrounded by the wreckage of the room.
Ren saw her—normal again—and the adrenaline finally left his body. His vision began to tunnel, the edges of the world turning black. The last thing he felt was the cold floor against his skin as he collapsed into unconsciousness.
The Next Day
Ren's eyes fluttered open. The first thing he felt was a dull, throbbing ache radiating from the left side of his face. He tried to move his jaw, but it was locked in place by thick, sterile bandages. A heavy wrap was tied around his forehead, and the room smelled of antiseptic and ozone.
He wasn't in a cold hospital ward; he was back in his apartment, lying on his own bed.
"Ren?"
He turned his head slowly. Hana was standing by the bed, her eyes red from crying. She looked exhausted, but her skin was no longer pale with the Feral rot. She took his hand, her lip trembling.
"I... I am so sorry, Ren," she sobbed, her voice barely a whisper. "The things I did... your face... it's all my fault."
Ren reached out with his right hand, gently squeezing hers. "Not... your... fault," he managed to mutter through the bandages. He forced a small, pained smile to show her he wasn't angry.
"He's right, you know."
Go was leaning against the window frame, a small smile playing on his lips. He looked tired but relieved.
"Go?" Ren muttered. "You're... here?"
"I couldn't exactly leave you to bleed out in a Tier 2 hallway, could I?" Go said, walking over. "Your neighbors dropped you at a local clinic. I took care of the hospital bills and brought you both back here. Don't worry about the gold—I told you, I've got plenty."
Ren looked around, his eyes landing on the side table. The potion bottles were empty. "The medicine..."
"It's done," Go said, his expression turning serious. "My old neighbor is a doctor who doesn't ask too many questions. While you were out cold, we administered the first purification dose. Your sister is a warrior, Ren. She didn't scream once, even when the serum started burning the infection out. The first thing she did when she woke up was ask for you."
Ren looked at Hana, his heart swelling with pride. She had survived the first night of the war inside her veins.
"And the uncles?" Ren asked.
"They left after dropping you off," Go replied. "I told them it was a freak accident with some old machinery. They seemed too scared to stick around anyway. For now, you're safe. But the treatment has just begun. We have twenty-nine days to go."