NOVEL WEB Chapter 20
The scream that came from inside the room caused all the blood to drain from my body in an instant.
Without even a moment to think, I grabbed the doorknob and shook it, but it was firmly locked.
“Saint! Are you all right?!”
“…uuh.”
I heard the Saint’s voice from the other side of the door.
Though she sounded extremely frightened, there was no indication that she was physically hurt.
The hand holding the doorknob slipped.
Looking down, I saw it was drenched in sweat.
‘…Stay calm.’
But the Saint’s frightened voice lingered in my mind.
I needed to check what had happened.
There was no time to waste.
Hastily, I opened the Pocket Dimension and retrieved the key.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to come in!”
“What? Ah, no! Don’t come in─!”
I opened the door faster than the Saint’s cry.
My gaze instinctively followed the Saint.
Standing in front of the door, she was visibly trembling.
Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any injuries. Confirming that fact made me feel much lighter.
As the room suddenly brightened, the Saint turned around with tears welling in her eyes.
“…Ah?”
“What’s the matter, Saint?”
“Bu, but I said not to come in! Besides, I’m sure I locked it….”
“…That’s.”
In the instant I hastily shoved the key back into the Pocket Dimension, a sound like something crawling came from a corner of the room.
I immediately looked in the direction of the sound.
A long, sticky tentacle wriggled out from beneath the old bed.
Then, a gigantic bug slowly emerged, its black shell glinting.
I quickly grabbed the Saint’s arm and guided her out the door.
It resembled a centipede.
Its thickness was about the size of a human head, and its length was long enough to cross the bed easily.
‘…I’ve never seen a bug this size before.’
I frowned and asked,
“Are bugs originally this big?”
“Absolutely not! Even though it was a bit large originally, it wasn’t to this extent!”
Answered the Saint tearfully from outside.
‘So, it’s a sudden mutation? Another side effect of Death disappearing? Or…’
Suddenly, the tentacle started tapping on the ground ‘thud, thud.’
The speed gradually increased as if it were searching for something.
‘…What is it doing?’
Just then, as I watched breathlessly, the bug turned toward me and charged with its numerous legs moving rapidly.
The bug, now close to my face, lifted its body, saliva dripping.
“Mr. Death!”
I felt a strong tug on my body.
I saw the Saint throw herself at me, wrapping her arms around me.
“…Huh?”
For a moment, my mind went blank at the sight of her throwing herself in front of me to protect me.
The next moment, a ‘boom’ sound resonated throughout the room.
Dust billowed up so thick it obscured my vision.
When the dust finally settled, the dead body of the bug came into view. Only then did I realize I had been holding my breath.
“…A, are you okay, Mr. Death?”
A pitiful, trembling voice came from my arms.
Even though I knew the Saint wouldn’t be hurt…
Why do I feel relief the moment I hear her voice?
I couldn’t hold back my anger anymore and I shouted,
“What exactly are you doing?! It’s dangerous!”
“I-I couldn’t help myself, my body moved on its own….”
The Saint’s body was trembling.
I felt her hand move as if trying to hold me even tighter.
At that moment, without realizing it, I pulled the Saint in my arms closer.
The Saint, who had initially tensed up, soon relaxed and leaned further into me. Her soft breath touched my shoulder quietly.
It’s strange.
Exactly why is this happening?
The Saint’s warm body temperature slowly melted away my unease.
And along with it, an inexplicable sense of tranquility began to seep in.
Is the Saint feeling something similar?
Her trembling was gradually subsiding.
I patted the Saint’s back gently and said in a softer voice than before,
“…Please, don’t do this again.”
“But… I don’t want Mr. Death to get hurt…”
“It’s the same for me. Moreover, I’m a god, but the Saint is human, right? Who’s trying to protect whom here?”
As the Saint listened to my reprimand, she muttered quietly,
“B, but I’m really tough. I won’t flinch if stabbed. I’m not affected by poison, even falling from a height doesn’t hurt me…”
“…If you keep saying that, I will really get angry.”
The Saint bowed her head silently.
Only her quiet breathing filled the room.
As the silence stretched on, various thoughts swirled in my mind.
‘…I should have killed it at first sight.’
Could it be because of the habit of always acting alone?
It seems I responded somewhat relaxed, thinking it posed no threat.
‘Just because I placed the Saint somewhere safe doesn’t mean everything is over…’
It wasn’t the bug that was the problem.
That carelessness put the Saint in danger.
‘…From now on, I need to act differently.’
At the very least, in this world, I’m not alone.
I must not forget that there’s someone else beside me.
Because I don’t ever want to see the Saint throwing herself in front of me to protect me again.
“Saint.”
“…Yes?”
“Promise me you won’t do that again.”
As expected,
The stubborn Saint tightly closed her mouth, burying her face in my embrace.
I immediately pinched her cheeks.
“Ahiiii…”
“Respond.”
“…Sure.”
The unsatisfactory answer made me pinch her cheeks even harder.
“Saint.”
“U, Ughaaaan…”
“…Then I’ll just leave for the forest?”
I released the Saint’s cheeks and stood up.
The effect was evident.
The Saint, startled, nodded frantically and cried out,
“Ah, no! I’ll promise! I’ll really promise!”
“Really?”
“Yes. I absolutely won’t do that again. I can’t let you go to the forest… okay?”
The Saint, sniffling, clung to the edge of my clothes.
Although some guilt arose, this was an issue I could not compromise on.
“Did you really promise?”
“…Yes.”
With a small nod, the Saint wrinkled her nose slightly.
I sighed and reached out to gently pat her head.
Even though it was an action to calm the Saint,
The softer the touch, the more the tension melted away, and a strange sense of relief seeped in.
‘…Is this the so-called pet therapy?’
The Saint looked up at me slightly.
When our gazes met, I could feel her anxiety fade gradually.
Finally, the Saint smiled.
Why is it?
When I saw that smile, for some reason, my heart felt peaceful.
The urgency from moments ago felt like a dream.
The unease and anxiety remaining in my mind melted away all at once.
“Mr. Death.”
“Yes?”
“…Can you hug me?”
My heart started to flutter again.
The Saint hesitated and took a step toward me.
However, I couldn’t accede to her request,
…because the moment her foot touched the ground, a ‘snap’ sound was heard.
When I cautiously glanced down, I saw that the liquid from the dead bug’s corpse had spread across the floor.
Upon seeing it,
My heart, which had been fluttering, turned cold.
‘…I wondered what the stain on the floor was. It was this creature’s bodily fluid.’
The thought of how to clean it made my vision go dark.
At that moment, the Saint suddenly noticed the liquid too, and took a startled step backward.
“Hiik─!”
“Saint! You shouldn’t move so much. It’ll get on your legs!”
“…Ahhh, it’s too lateee.”
The Saint lifted her foot and examined her leg, which was already smeared with the liquid. She pouted.
Seeing her expression, a deep sigh escaped my lips.
“…Ah, shall we clean up the corpse first?”
“Uh, yes! I’ll carry it!”
“You?!”
The Saint bravely approached the bug.
But she quickly stopped her hand and retreated.
“Uh, sorry. There’s no way I can touch it. It’s disgusting.”
“…Not that you’re unwilling, but that you physically can’t touch it and lift it, right?”
The Saint moaned and nodded her head.
After a moment, the Saint clasped her hands together and started gathering her strength.
“U, just wait! I’m not sure I can do it, but maybe I can burn it with fire magic?”
“What?! Wait! If you do that, the building might catch fire!”
“Huh?”
Before I could stop her, a small spark appeared above the bug’s body. But it disappeared just as I considered taking action.
The Saint, who had exerted herself to produce the tiny flame, wiped away sweat and dropped her head.
“…Ahoo, it’s exhausting.”
“……Thank you for your efforts?”
I looked at the Saint with a puzzled expression.
Realizing my gaze, the Saint turned her head away awkwardly and made an excuse.
“T, that… I can usually use magic very well! It’s just that I’ve used too much power now…!”
“…Is that so?”
“Th, it’s true, really─!”
The Saint protested strongly with a look of indignation. When she prepared to use magic again by clasping her hands, I hurriedly reached out to stop her.
“Wait! I’ll… I’ll do it!”
“Mr. Death? But you said you can’t use magic, right?”
“I know other ways to manage it.”
I sighed and extended my right arm.
I started to feel an unpleasant sensation rising as I unlocked another ability that was locked.
‘…Such an ability that I really didn’t want to use, I didn’t expect to use it for something like this.’
As soon as I activated the power, my head began to twist painfully.
I felt completely detached, unsure of what was what, in deep confusion.
This sensation that makes me lose recognition of myself never becomes familiar.
‘…Because of this, I didn’t want to use this power.’
I clenched my teeth, trying to suppress the rising force.
The nauseating sensation crawled and enveloped my entire arm, starting from my fingertips.
‘Finish quickly. The longer I use it, the worse it gets.’
I activated the power swiftly.
As the power worked, the bug’s corpse vanished without a trace.
Not only the remaining bodily fluid but also the spider webs and dust spread throughout the room evaporated, erasing every sign.
The Saint shouted out in shock, her eyes wide open.
“What, what was that? How did you do that?!”
“I already said… I’m quite confident in my cleaning skills.”
I forced myself to calm down the tingling sensation, which was nearing numbness, in my right arm.