"It's over..."

"I can't move anymore..."

Who knows how much time had passed.

The surroundings were now covered with so many spider corpses that nothing else was visible. The piles of bodies, resembling mountains, were mixed with tattered clothes and threads, now useless.

"Hey, is everyone still alive?!"

"Somehow..."

"Damn it, finding the injured is a task in itself!"

"Help! My leg is stuck! I can't move!"

"Where's the healer?! Hurry, someone's dying here!"

With difficulty, I moved through the spider carcasses.

The area was in utter chaos.

People were shouting for help for their dying comrades, others were collapsed in exhaustion.

Healers were rushing around, trying to aid the injured superhumans.

We had survived the horrific wave, but at a great cost.

The voices around me didn't celebrate the end; they were engaged in another battle against the aftermath.

...This way.

Ignoring the groans around me, I moved towards where my comrades had been.

"...Ah, I found them."

It didn't take long to locate them.

Lyra and Hyul.

A relatively large clearing had formed around them.

Lyra must have created it.

Lyra didn't look well.

She kept retching like a sick patient.

"Uwek... Uwek..."

"Are you alright?"

"No, not alright. Bleh."

Was she badly injured?

I had seen her walk straight into the beast's wave.

Though I hadn't been attacked, maybe there were poisonous ones?

Those worries faded as I watched Lyra continuously poke her throat with her hand.

...What is she doing?

"Wek, wek..."

"...Is it that bad?"

"If you're curious, why don't you try some of that puddle over there?"

"I'll pass. I'm not foolish enough to try that after seeing this."

"Smart choice. It's truly disgusting. Wek..."

Oh.

Lyra transforms into a werewolf when she uses her power.

Recently, she had gained the ability to turn into a wolf, but becoming a werewolf made her lose her reason.

She must have drunk the beast's fluid while fighting and was now retching because the taste lingered.

"Ugh, so annoying. Why do I have to taste this when I don't even remember drinking it? Rotten fish would be better."

"Would you like some water?"

"No, thanks. There's no water here, and I don't want to drink your body."

"..."

"But thanks for the offer."

Was she really considering giving her body...?

Did she realize what she was about to do?

Hyul laughed awkwardly.

"By the way, what about that snake girl? Did she die? I mean, it was about time..."

"Who said I died?! I'm not dead yet!"

"Good. I knew you'd come out if I said that."

"...Oh."

"You thought you could slip away in the chaos?"

When had she been nearby?

And how did Lyra know Spira was here?

She didn't have tracking or detection abilities like Siwoo.

Had Spira really tried to escape in the chaos?

Spira's face hardened, contrasting with Lyra's brightened expression.

"Come here before I turn you into snake wine."

"...Okay."

"No whining."

"...Yes."

"Good."

Usually, it should be Lyra, a member of the canine family, being scolded like that.

But there was no time for small talk, so I walked slowly toward them.

"Oh, Leader, you're here... Oh, my."

"My goodness... That's quite bold..."

"..."

Spira and Lyra exclaimed in shock.

It wasn't surprising.

After fighting for hours, the sun was setting but it was still bright enough.

Walking around naked would get such reactions.

"...Give me."

"What? Give you what..."

"Your clothes. Give them to me."

"What?!"

"Okay!"

"Aaah!"

I wasn't in the mood to react to such exclamations, nor was I embarrassed to show them my naked body.

So I confidently borrowed Spira's clothes, with Lyra's cooperation.

"Eek! Give them back! It's cold..."

"How do you put this on?"

"...Haven't you used a bra before?"

"No, I only wore a leotard."

Wearing a bra felt like admitting I was a woman, so I never wore one.

But now, it didn't matter.

To help Siwoo as much as possible, I needed to wear it.

...The problem was, I didn't know how to wear one.

I should have tried it before.

As I looked at the bra in my hands with a troubled expression, Lyra approached and took it from me.

"Raise your arms."

"Thanks."

"How is it?"

"...Hmm, it's a bit tight."

"That's shocking... I have a decent chest too, you know! Going out like this... Ugh!"

"Don't worry. No one will lust after your snake tail."

"That's too much!"

Would this be enough?

I wore the bra to secure more thread, but I still felt uneasy.

To get to Siwoo quickly, I'd need to use threads. But if I used too much, I wouldn't have enough for the fight.

As I grew anxious, Hyul, who had been watching, spoke up.

"...Are you going alone?"

"Yes. There's no other way."

I knew Amelia was much faster than me.

If she carried me, we'd get there quickly.

The problem was, I didn't know her location.

Luckily, I managed to spot their location before the bodies obstructed my view.

Thanks to that, I found clothes and a way to reach Siwoo.

I felt like a soldier going to war with insufficient bullets, but I had no choice.

It shouldn't be too lacking.

"...If you head in the three o'clock direction from here, you'll find Amelia. Dorothy is with her."

"What? How do you know..."

"My ability. I have a wide perception range, so I knew they were nearby."

Hyul smiled gently.

"You need both of them, don't you? Dorothy to defeat the monster and Amelia to get there quickly."

"...Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Back when I felt annoyance and irritation towards Hyul, had I killed him...

Would I have been unable to bring Dorothy and Amelia?

It was unintended, but...

I was genuinely glad we accepted Hyul as an ally.

"Amelia, Dorothy."

"Whoa! Where did you come from? And those clothes... Weren't they different earlier..."

"No time for that. We need to go."

"...You mean Siwoo, right?"

"Yes. Right now."

Should I be thankful?

They knew Siwoo's situation, so no further explanation was needed.

"What about telling the others?"

"Hyul will handle it. We need to go help now."

"Got it."

Amelia tried to lift Dorothy and me, one on each arm, but I stopped her and used my power.

I used part of the clothes to quickly create a thread ball around Amelia's waist.

Big enough for two people.

"This will be faster. Dorothy, inside."

"...A ball?"

"I made it as sturdy as possible. It might be a bit dizzying, but... Can you manage?"

Dorothy nodded and climbed inside the ball, using the entrance I left open. I followed her in.

Gripping the handles inside tightly, I sealed the entrance with thread and told Amelia.

"Go now! As fast as you can!"

"Leave it to me."

Thud, thud.

Amelia must have been warming up. The ball tied to her waist shook briefly, then air rushed in through the small vent holes at an incredible speed.

"Whoa!"

"How is it?! Can you handle it?!"

"Faster! As fast as possible!"

"Alright. Thank you for using the Amelia Express!"

As if that wasn't her top speed, Amelia picked up the pace, and the ball shook so much even a superhuman would feel dizzy.

"I'll run at the fastest speed possible!"

Wait for me, Siwoo.

I'm coming soon.

"Huff, huff... You're persistent..."

"Growl..."

"Damn. If it weren't for you, I could have held out much longer."

I did my best.

That thought circled in Siwoo's mind.

He had narrowly avoided death many times...

But in turn, his stamina was quickly depleting.

He wanted to dodge with minimal movement, which was possible when it was just the girl.

But the sudden arrival of the beast.

That one beast had drained his stamina rapidly.

"...Damn. I can't dodge this."

Siwoo analyzed the girl's swing trajectory and the beast's bite position.

It was no longer possible.

He saw the best direction to dodge but his body couldn't follow through.

The girl's arm swung.

He dodged it but failed to twist his body in time.

The beast bit down hard on Siwoo's body.