Necromancer Survival

Chapter 429

Smack–!

Something cold fell atop my face and brought me back to my senses.

"Nngh…! W-What…?" Startled, I opened my eyes; I heard a familiar sound.

[Clack Clack…]

[Master…]

I looked around. Actually, as I began to move to look around, I had to stop because of the tremendous pain; a groan slipped past my lips. "Nnnngh… Is that you, Lackey?"

[Clack Clack!!!]

[Master!!!]

But I knew Lackey was close by. Sure enough, as soon as I called its name, the skeleton popped its head out from under the bed and wriggled its way up to my side. Feeling the smooth, bony surface of its skull nestle against my ribs brought me a fleeting sense of comfort, but…

"…Ack… It hurts…"

[Clack Clack?]

[Master?]

The place where we touched felt as if countless needles were poking into my body; the pain was difficult to bear. It felt as if I was suffering from severe body aches.

‘….My voice is nearly gone as well.'

With tremendous effort, I managed to lift my hand. Only then did I notice a thick needle jabbed into the back of my hand. The IV line it was connected to was half-filled with an unfamiliar liquid.

I grimaced at the rather dubious drug, but I didn't have the stamina to cause a commotion or remove the needle. Besides, the servants must have done this…

[Clack clack clack clack….]

[I missed you, Master…]

"Yeah, mmmn… I'm sorry. I was a little late, huh?"

[Clack Clack…]

[Master…]

In my current state, all I could do was lightly pat Lackey as it clung to me.

Feeling every joint in my body creak, I couldn’t help but wonder if the Servants had done something to me. Maybe they’d drained my energy to keep me subdued or even confined…

"Status window!"

But my suspicions were unfounded–my status was fine. Rather, there was something positive added to the bottom of my stats.

[Recovering from ‘Status Ailment': ‘Curse.']

[Warning: Beware of rapid weight loss ― Caution.]

Come to think of it, there was nothing restraining my body either. I had some casts on various body parts, but, even after seeing them, I couldn't tell how or why I came to be in this state.

Not long after, while holding Lackey in my arms, a wave of drowsiness hit me once more. I tried to fight it off, hoping someone would come into the room, but, in the end, I couldn’t resist and fell asleep once more.

"Yaaawn…"

I don't know how long I remained asleep.

When I opened my eyes again, the window was dark, and my body was incredibly stiff all over. Lackey, who seemed to have stayed in the same position the entire time I was asleep, stretched lightly as I moved and then lifted its head to gaze at me.

After spending so much time with Lackey, I could read subtle expressions on its skeletal face. Right now, Lackey looked like it was suffering from separation anxiety while also sulking.

‘It must have been so scared.' The skeleton originally had tinges of separation anxiety in the first place. So, I patted its head in apology, "You must have been worried, huh?"

[……]

"I'm sorry. But… Where are the others?"

[Clack Clack Clack.]

[I don't know.]

I also knew that, no matter how upset Lackey was, it would never lie to me. So, embracing Lackey in my arms like it was a child, I looked around closely at my surroundings.

‘Am I in a hospital?'

The blinds were down, so I couldn't see outside the window; but, the inside of this place looked like an ordinary hospital room. There was nothing particularly notable except that this was a 1-person, private room.

‘What is this?'

The needle inserted into the back of my hand was now concerning me a little–seeing the blue liquid drip down was nerve-racking.

‘It probably won't harm me, right…?'

Since they were so upset that I'd been using life-draining skills, they were probably administering this liquid for my health, right?

As that thought crossed my mind, Dawon’s final words to me resurfaced from the depths of my memories, and my chest ached.

‘Idiot….’

I should have spoken more forcefully–made them listen to me.

I wasn’t just mad at Dawon but also at the rest of those [Red Lotus] brats. Did they really think I’d go through all this trouble if I had the mindset that it’d be fine if I died just to bring them back?

‘I also want Dawon to live so that we can date properly, you know.'

Sometimes, it felt like the Servants thought of me as some innocent fool who didn’t understand how the world worked. Sure, I couldn’t deny that my personality made me an easy target for teasing, but I’d still managed to survive as a User for nearly a year.

I bit my parched lips as I wondered what I should do with my Servants.

Click–!

Just then, the door suddenly opened without a knock. Startled, I turned my head, and there stood Koo Hui-seo. His skin was pallid, as if he would fall dead at any moment…

"Koo Hui-seo-ssi…?"

Compared to his audacity in barging in unannounced, he just stood there, staring at me with vacant eyes, as though waiting for permission to enter. As if he needed me to invite him in. What had him so mesmerized?

"Come on in. Are you just going to stand there…?"

"……" Koo Hui-seo continued to look at me with his eyes out of focus; something about that felt ominous. But eventually, at my urging, he staggered toward me.

Someone who didn't know him might have thought he was drunk, but I had cultivated some discernment now. Koo Hui-seo was limping right now. "Are you hurt?"

"……" He continued to remain silent. But as he approached the bed and looked down at me, there was a faint flicker of emotion on his face.

Koo Hui-seo wrung and wriggled his hands without answering me, but he soon began to frantically scratch the back of his hand. I debated letting him be for a moment, but when I noticed long red marks and blood beginning to appear, I changed my mind. I grabbed his hand.

Rather, I tried to grab his hand.

Slap–!

Until Koo Hui-seo refused my touch. Though I was surprised by his fierce rejection, I shot back a curt retort to hide my embarrassment, "…If you don't want me to touch you, then don't scratch yourself. If it's itchy, apply some ointment."

"……" Despite my scolding, Koo Hui-seo remained the same. Only then did I realize he was in a worse state than usual.

I asked, cautiously, "…Excuse me, did something happen while I was away? Why won't you say anything…"

But, when I looked up, I was shocked to see him crying. Tears streamed down from his eyes. Was he so affected by my injury?

"Excuse me, Koo Hui-seo-ssi…"

"Ah…." Koo Hui-seo nearly collapsed, sinking to his knees with a feeble groan. He hung his head low and started to sob; his body trembled with uneven gasps.

Listening to his choked sobs made me feel strange. It felt as if I had done something terrible. Though all my choices were made while thinking of Dawon, I had never thought of what violent emotional turmoil these choices may engender in Koo Hui-seo.

‘He must have been very worried for me…'

Of course that was plenty plausible–I should have expected it. Only now I realized that fact and felt sorry…

Feeling regretful about how thoughtless I’d been toward him, I hesitated for only a moment before reaching out. Gently, I rested my hand on his matted hair. I wanted to offer him at least a small bit of comfort.

However, when I gently stroked his head and Koo Hui-seo looked up at me with his lips slightly parted… I turned pale and couldn’t help but yell at him. "You…! What's wrong with your mouth?!"

That was when I realized—it wasn’t that he wouldn’t speak. He couldn’t. His trembling lips and the way his tear-filled eyes darted away before he bowed his head deeply made this fact painfully clear.

"Koo Hui-seo-ssi, are you alright? Did you perhaps… hurt yourself?"

"Uuuu…" Koo Hui-seo nodded very slightly.

Scrutinizing his body a little closer, there was no unblemished or untouched part on his body. He even had a large, black bruise on his neck which was previously hidden by his shirt collar; faint abrasions around his ankles suggested they’d been tightly bound. No way… Was this because he… Was unable to see me for just this short while?

"…Why on earth…"

But no, we’d been apart for short periods before, and he had never ended up like this.

Gripping his shoulders firmly, I held him still to stop him from retreating and spoke as firmly as I could. "Don’t do this. Do you understand me? Don’t hurt yourself again."

"……"

"Why did this happen? What happened while I was away?"

Instead of answering, Koo Hui-seo just shrugged his sunken and sallow shoulders. And then, the closed door to my room quietly opened.

"…Dawon-ah?"

Dawon looked different from the last time I’d seen him. He was back to his familiar appearance—short black hair and piercing red eyes, cold as ever.

However, Dawon's eyes were not focused on me. Anger flashed on his face when he saw Koo Hui-seo on his knees.

No way…

"Hnrkkk…!" The moment Koo Hui-seo met Dawon’s eyes, he clutched his head and rolled on the floor. Then, as though he’d seen something utterly horrifying, he scrambled into a corner and burst into tears.

I was struck by the sudden thought that perhaps Dawon was the culprit behind Koo Hui-seo's state. However, Dawon came straight to me without even looking at the shaking and huddling Koo Hui-seo in the corner.

"Seo Dawon."

Dawon didn't meet my eyes even when I called out to him. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk, but I was filled with an ominous premonition and tried to call out to him again. "Seo…"

However, Dawon talked first, "You must be exhausted… Did Koo Hui-seo wake you up?"

I shook my head at the oddly thorny inquiry. "No, but… You… to Koo Hui-seo…"

However, Dawon cut me off again. "Then, you should sleep a little longer."

"What? No… Wait a minute–"

"You'll have to rest for a few more days for the medicine to fully take effect." Seo Dawon continued to speak unilaterally, refusing to meet my gaze as he moved toward the IV stand.

I blew up–right then and there–and shouted, "HEY, SEO DAWON! Are you never going to speak to me again? Are you going to continue to ignore me like this?!"

Only then did Dawon look at me. But his icy gaze made the anger that had been boiling up inside me falter, stopping me in my tracks.

—–

TL: We must get through pain to get to euphoria T_T I know it’s a little more painful because of my slow update schedule this semester, sorry.

Also, RIP, Lee-kyung, I don’t think it’s Koo Hui-seo that hurt himself…