"Ugh..."
Her entire body was in pain, but Ryuu slowly opened her eyes when something wet and warm fell on her face.
"You okay?"
Ryuu opened her eyes directly and saw him so close to her, but there was no blush or embarrassment since Isao's appearance was covered with blood, and he was covered from the falling ruin.
"Isao!"
As Ryuu made a sudden move, the wrecks appeared to be moving as if wishing to swallow them.
"Calm down. Do you want us to be buried here?"
His voice was as calm as usual, and Ryuu wished to help him as soon as possible, but she knew she had to control herself. She knew that this was the worst part of her, as she could often lose in her emotions, leading her into a rash action.
"What should I do?"
She knew that compared to him, her head wasn't good, and she was too emotional. While she wanted him to rest, she knew that he was the one who could lead them out.
"Is your body fine?" Isao asked.
"Um, thanks to you." Ryuu nodded, feeling her body was hot as they were so close, yet she knew that this wasn't a time for her to think about such an indecent thought, especially with their current situation.
"That's good, then follow my lead."
"Yes."
As Isao gave her the instruction, Ryuu followed his words faithfully. This time, he didn't doubt her since the Evilus was mostly erased, and it could be said they had a victory. More importantly, there was no enemy around them.
If there was an enemy, it would be hard to say whether Ryuu wouldn't do something stupid, such as sacrificing herself for him.
While Isao had to admit that he was moved by her actions, he felt pain when he thought about how she never paid attention to her safety and life, as if she tried to get herself killed.
'Getting herself killed...'
When he thought about Ryuu's memory after he gained her DNA, he felt that this should be the case, especially after her experience in the past, and with that experience, she felt that it would be good for her to die. Unfortunately, she couldn't, and one way or another, she had always lived.
If he didn't know her, then he could ignore her since she definitely wasn't the only one with such a personality, but as he knew her, it was impossible for him to ignore her.
If possible, he wanted her to think about her life more, as there were many who would be sad when she was gone.
'Well, it isn't like I am much different from her.'
When Isao thought about his behavior of meeting many dangers carelessly, and he was always about to die, he also understood why many were worried about him. If he could tell them about his secret, then it was all fine, but he was too lazy to do that, and having someone know about his secret was too risky, considering all the dangers that he might encounter, so for now, he wanted to keep everything by himself as he was afraid they might unable to keep his secret.
It wasn't that he thought someone would betray him, but there were many ways for one to know the inside of someone's head if they wished to.
If he gave an example, it would be Freya again, who could control others with her charm and let her get to know the deepest secret they kept with ease.
Nevertheless, those thoughts aside, the two of them were able to escape from the ruin.
"We have escaped."
Holding Isao in his arms, Ryuu said with relief, thinking that Isao was as reliable as ever. Even if their path was perilous and they might be buried alive, he could lead her to the safest path that led them to escape.
'If I am alone...'
If she was alone, she was sure that she would die.
"That's great."
"Yes..."
Ryuu stared at him, whose bodies were full of injuries. She could see he had broken bones, a mangled arm, and even a twisted leg with many parts of his body turned into a strange color. Yet, even with such a situation, he still led her, which made her ache.
"You should treasure your life more, Isao-kun."
If Isao was gone, Ryuu could imagine that the entire Hostess of Fertility would be closed down directly.
"I should say the same to you." Isao glanced at her helplessly and said, "Who said that no one will be sad if you are gone? I will be sad if you are gone, Ryuu." He still remembered her previous words, who told him that no one would get sad about her, but there was one person who would be sad.
"You will?"
"I will." Isao looked at Ryuu, who appeared confused, and said, "Do you think I am such a heartless bastard who will forget about you like that?"
"Probably?"
"...."
"Sorry, you won't. I know that you are not that kind of person."
"You know how to make a joke?"
"Don't underestimate me." Ryuu sounded so helpless, then thought about her past. "Though, I also can't imagine that I will make a joke when I think about my past." When she thought about her past, she really couldn't imagine how she would make a joke.
"I can tell."
"...what was that?!"
"Oh, I can imagine that you are so prudish and stuck up."
"Bastard!"
Ryuu was annoyed and pulled his cheek for revenge. "Let's see whether you can talk again like this."
"Ouch! Ouch! It hurts, Ryuu!"
"Are you okay?"
As soon as she heard him screaming, Ryuu quickly stopped and gently caressed the part she pulled previously.
"It's fine now. You don't have to worry."
With his wounded hand, Isao softly patted her hand, which appeared so panicked when he pretended to be hurt.
"Um..."
Ryuu looked at him, who lay beside her weakly, and lightly patted her hand softly. Unlike before, his strong and firm hands that gave her a reliable yet also made her body hot no longer felt. While it was gentle as ever, it was feeble and weak, making her eyes wet.
"...what's wrong? Why did you cry so suddenly?" Isao was speechless.
"No-Nothing." Ryuu wiped away her eyes and said, "I will get you out soon."
"I will leave everything to you." Isao nodded, but then he said, "Though, can you really do it?"
"What do you mean?" Ryuu asked with a doubt.
"There are enemies."
"Huh?"
Ryuu turned and was dumbfounded before her expression was filled with fury and despair. "Juggernaut..."
Yes, the group of monsters that appeared before them was the Juggernaut that brought her to an emotional peak.
"Are you familiar with those monsters?"
"Yeah..." If it was someone else, Ryuu wouldn't mention this, but Isao was different. "It was the one who killed my comrades in the past." Her expression was bitter and helpless. "Unlike you, though. We're weak since one of them can kill many of us, leaving me alone."
If Isao wasn't hurt, Ryuu knew that those monsters wouldn't be a problem, but with his current situation?
Were they going to die?
Like this?
Ryuu didn't think that she could handle all of them, especially with her current strength. She didn't want to die, but more importantly, she didn't want him to die. If they could escape, then it was all fine, even if she sacrificed herself, but with the numbers of those Juggernauts, she didn't have the confidence to save him even if she used her life.
"Those lowlifes..."
Ryuu understood why there had been so many earthquakes lately, and all of that was caused by Evilus, who wanted to take control of many Juggernauts, turning them into slaughter machines that killed everyone in the Orario.
Fortunately, all of them were killed by Isao.
Yet, at the same time, it was also unfortunate that they had to die here.
"It will be fine."
His hand was still on the top of hers, patting it softly.
"What are you going to do?" Ryuu asked worriedly.
"I still have a little energy. Take care of me afterward."
"No! Don't leave me!"
Ryuu thought that Isao would sacrifice himself, leaving her alone. Unfortunately, her plea wasn't heard, as he had already made his move. She wasn't sure what he did, but once again, a frightening aura emerged from him, and with just a point of his finger, all of the Juggernauts that aggressively stared in their direction disappeared and turned into mist before being completely erased from this world.
Yet, Ryuu couldn't be happy as she saw him close his eyes.
"Isao! Isao! Isao!"
As she called him desperately, completely in despair, crying and calling his name so many times, Isao was helpless since he didn't die, okay?
---
By the way, has anyone watched "Higurashi (Higurashi When They Cry)?"