Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

7 – Sleeping with the Enemy (4)

The third night had arrived.

After putting Valkyrie to bed, I fought with all my might against the onrushing monsters.

I swung my club at the walkers, and fired azurite at the monsters wearing abalone shells. Using raw magic stones wasn’t efficient, but there was no other option for now.

*Crack!*

“Kaaak!”

The last one.

I leaned against the rock, my body a mess.

“Tsss.”

My tongue tasted bitter.

The monsters seemed to have fully realized our location. Their numbers were growing, and their types were more varied. I even saw one that looked like an octopus. It was surprisingly nimble.

I somehow managed to get through today. But whether I can endure tomorrow is uncertain.

We might have to move our base soon.

Perched on the lifeboat, I checked Valkyrie’s condition.

“Still in pain?”

“Hooo…”

“Yeah, get some good rest. Don’t go doing anything reckless.”

No medic, no emergency kit. Good food and sleep are the only cures here. I decided to brew Valykrie some Ferredi tea at set intervals and keep an eye on her.

Maybe she was getting used to my nursing, because Valykrie was more compliant than yesterday. Proof? She had my uniform draped over her shoulders. Still seemed to be a bit of resistance, though.

I glanced at Valykrie.

The woman I tried to kill, the woman who tried to kill me.

And now I’m trying to save her.

Even if it’s for survival’s sake, it’s still laughable. Life’s a real head-scratcher.

No time for a nap. I was ravenous after moving all night. I caught a couple of frogs in the nearby brush and threw them on the fire.

“Mmm.”

But could I eat monster meat?

Just by looking at them, it didn’t seem likely.

You never know. Could be poisonous like pufferfish.

If I get food poisoning here, that’s the end of me. Thinking about safety, it’s probably best to leave it.

But I was curious.

A monster.

What even are monsters in the first place?

Barely anything’s known. The prevailing theory is they were the former Demon Lord’s minions. A distorted creature born from corrupted magic eating away at a living being.

So, there’s definitely a link with magic. Maybe there’s something useful in the corpse.

After eating, I decided to dissect the octopus monster, since it was the closest to a normal fish.

And I got an unexpected bonus.

“This is…”

There was a stone inside.

A stone imbued with mana. A mana stone. And even one I’d never seen before.

Just in case, I cracked open the heads of other monsters too. The revulsion at having to smear their blood on my hands was immense, but even that couldn’t suppress my intellectual curiosity. I endured the fishy stench and rummaged through every corpse.

A mana stone was found in the brain of every single monster, without exception.

I couldn’t contain my astonishment. A mana stone existing within the nervous system of a living creature?

“David, look! This is thesis-worthy!”

[‘It’s an unprecedented discovery. Just reporting this fact alone will send the whole academy into a frenzy.’]

And that wasn’t all.

A new mana stone had appeared.

“As someone who majored in manastone studies, I can’t just let this slide.”

[‘That’s right. If you can discover the use of this new mana stone or clarify its relationship with the monsters, a professorship and even the position of the Magic Tower Lord won’t be just a dream for you.’]

My heart began to pound.

Another reason to stay alive had been added.

Other than that, there was nothing else of note. I returned to my shelter with the stones I had taken from the monsters.

And then, whether it was a trick of the heavens or not, it began to rain.

“Ugh.”

It was about time for it to start, I guess. Still, it wasn’t exactly welcome. Getting wet would just make me feel gross.

As I was thinking that, a dry cough escaped my lips.

“…What the.”

Did I catch something from the Valkyrie, maybe?

My body’s been creaking from pushing myself and not sleeping right for days. I might get seriously sick soon.

She needs to get better before my condition worsens.

[‘It would be best if you rested.’]

Swooosh.

I took shelter in the shade. Rain was pouring down like crazy. The clouds blocked the sun, and the day was getting darker. Can’t do a damn thing like this.

Using the rain as background music, I focused on breathwork. Made some more mana stones, too. I’d used up all my blue lapis, had to restock.

I was in the middle of all that upkeep when it happened.

“Grrrkk.”

That unpleasant sound, like teeth grinding, reached my ears. I got up and peered down the slope. The fish monsters I saw every night were rushing in, three or four in a pack.

“It’s daytime now?”

[‘Looks like they clocked in early because of the rain.’]

“Shit.”

This is a bit dangerous.

Still, I have to stop them. If I can’t, it’s just death.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s them. I’ll handle it, you just watch my back and relax.”

The one in the lead was an octopus monster. Its skin wasn’t that tough, but it was fast, regenerated, and could even do ranged attacks, so it was a priority target when you saw it.

[“Pierce them.”]

I casually fired off a heat beam made of blue lapis.

But, the b*stard dodged.

“……!”

The octopus closed in fast, then went into a pre-attack stance. A ranged attack. Trying to dodge with my eyes would be too slow.

I trusted my senses and threw myself aside.

*Shhh!*

The thing spat out ink. The ink hit the ground and immediately began to boil, heating the air. Heat haze rose. A moment later and I’d have been in serious trouble.

[“Pierce through. Like arrows cleaving the forest, trample the enemy.”]

I hurled three lapis lazuli stones at the same time, uttering the spell. Caught in the crossfire, the octopus monster was snagged by the light beams and thrown backward. *Chzzzzzzt!* Violet blood sprayed everywhere.

“Haa.”

I exhaled a dry breath.

“It definitely wasn’t this fast when I fought it last night…”

[‘It seems to be due to the rain. They have what appear to be gills.’]

David’s words seemed right. The movements of the others didn’t look normal either. Even those walkers that had been shuffling slowly were now approaching with considerable speed.

My hand tightened around the iron club.

Maybe, today’s the crux.

*

“Huuuh.”

Rachel exhaled slowly. She touched her face. There was still lingering heat.

But, she was a bit better than yesterday. Thanks to the man’s care.

She hated to admit it, but the care was as devoted as a family member or lover.

[“ATRAHM.”]

Flames lashed in the torrential downpour, like spears of fire. *Pick, pick*, the sound of monsters falling. Rachel knew the nature of that heat.

“That’s, aquamarine stone…”

A magic stone used in the Archduke’s war machines of the Magic Kingdom.

How many dragon knights had fallen to that stone? How many souls never made it back to the flying corps?

Rachel swallowed hard. She’d nearly been shot down by that magic before. It wasn’t a pleasant memory.

And yet now, that very magic was protecting her.

“Hah.”

Ironic.

Erich Ronstein.

Rachel understood that his actions were a calculated kindness. Thus, she didn’t feel genuinely grateful. It was understandable. After all, they’d try to kill each other if they met on the battlefield again.

Above all, the man was a mage. A being she utterly despised.

Once she was rescued from this island and returned to her unit, Rachel would find that mage no matter what. Find him and kill him. The enemy who killed Daisy and Olivia. Revenge was a must.

But.

Not now.

Rachel, gripping her crude wooden spear, approached the man from behind. And then, she plunged the spearhead into the throat of a dory-like monster that was trying to attack his rear.

“*Keeeeeeak!*”

Gripping the shaft, she twisted, then threw the monster onto its back. The ground vibrated, and her head throbbed. Rachel felt a dizzying swirl.

The impaled monster collapsed. And didn’t get back up. The man who had been holding the line in front, heard the commotion and turned around in surprise.

The mage was saying something, but she couldn’t understand him.

“I don’t understand a single goddamn thing you’re saying?”

The man sighed, his face looking pointlessly pathetic and ridiculous.

“Hey.”

Rachel sorted her thoughts. Whatever the reason was for the man treating her well, she decided not to care right now.

Hypocrisy is still a form of kindness, just like a bad law is still a law.

Calculated favor is still favor, after all.

“Don’t you die to trash like this. I’m going to kill you myself.”

Her condition was still shit, but she had to fight. You couldn’t survive alone on this island. Rachel gripped her spear, standing behind the man.

*

If Valkyrie hadn’t watched my back, I would’ve been dead. I gave her a short nod and refocused on what was in front of me.

“Don’t push it. If we both go down, it’s completely over.”

The rain meant I couldn’t see very far. The fog was getting thicker too.

“Cough.”

“If we stay out here, I’ll catch a cold too.”

That wasn’t what needed my attention right now. Let’s take care of the monsters first, then worry about that.

And so, we fought with all our might.

But we couldn’t expect to see an end like we used to.

“Grrrrrrrk!”

“Cack, cack.”

“Tick, tick, tick tick.”

The b*stards kept swarming in, more and more as time went on.

“Shit, this ain’t gonna work.”

“Yeah, think we need to bolt.”

My eyes met Valkyrie’s. We nodded.

“Run!”

We took off, breaking through their encirclement, a straight shot away from the shore. I ran ahead, Valkyrie right behind me.

But.

“Hah… hah…!”

Valkyrie was still recovering, no way she could keep up. She was starting to lag, so I raised my voice and yanked her wrist.

“If you can’t run, then say something, damn it!”

And then, I hoisted her up on my back. Valkyrie yelped, but quickly found her balance and leaned into me. That got my speed back up fast. Yeah, good she’s got some sense in situations like this.

[‘It would be best to go into the woods. The fishmen’s eyesight isn’t great, if you hide in the trees you can lose them quickly.’]

Was gonna do that anyway, no need to say it.

I ran like hell. We managed to shake the monsters, finally making it to the base of a hill with a flat stone. We went under the rock to get out of the rain.

But then.

“This is…”

[‘A cave, it seems. And a pretty deep one at that.’]

It was a place that just reeked of spookiness. Honestly, I did not want to go in there. But it seemed like the only place to take shelter from the rain around here.

“Hooo.”

I took a deep breath and stepped into the cave.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Huff, huff.”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

I was soaked, Valkyrie was soaked. We shook the monsters, but it was one uphill battle after another.

Especially Valkyrie’s condition was a mess. I felt it when I carried her earlier, a human body shouldn’t be this hot.

We need to make a fire, and fast.

There’s no way there’d be dry tinder in a tropical rainforest cave. The only things I see are some moss, a few rotten logs, and, uh, bat droppings…

[‘It’s damp. Impossible to use directly as kindling.’]

“Ha.”

I laid Valkyrie down. Maybe it’s because we’re getting rained on again, but she’s trembling all over.

And so was I. I was getting the chills.

Could this really be it? Are we going to die here, this pointlessly?

No. That can’t happen.

I quickly took off my clothes and wrung out the water. And told Valkyrie to do the same.

“Take off your clothes, and try to dry them as best as you can.”

Valkyrie, probably thinking she had no choice, started taking off my military jacket that she was wearing, as well as her own clothes. We shook out all the water that soaked into our pants and boots.

We both knew what we had to do next.

We laid our pants on the ground, sat on them. Then, leaning against the cave wall, we hugged each other. Heat, almost scalding, radiated from both of us.

“……”

“……”

To think the first woman I’ve ever hugged was an enemy. What a goddamn life.

At least this being the tropics is some kind of blessing. Even just staying like this, I could raise my body temp. The chill from the rain was starting to ease, a little.

But it wasn’t enough, not by a long shot.

“Shit, if only we could make a fire…”

Right then, as I was griping, David said,

[‘Wait. There’s a chance we could get fire right now.’]