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Chapter 74
I deliberately made noise as I left the yard. Several zombies that had been gathered there turned toward the sound.
It should be fine since I smeared my blood on Wuben.
I was nervous about leaving only the child and the injured Lumi behind, but as long as they stayed inside until I brought Idorian back, they would be safe.
I hurried up the mountain path.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
What if I run into that bear again?
The surroundings were quiet, yet the roar of the beast echoed in my ears—an enormous presence, as large as a house, radiating aggressive dominance.
If I encountered it again…
I shook my head quickly.
There was no solution anyway. Continuing that line of thought would only heighten my fear. The fact remained unchanged—I had to climb the mountain.
Time passed, and I felt my Awakening coming to an end. I was still stomping my feet as before, yet I couldn’t go any faster. It felt like the Awakening always dragged on endlessly, but this time, it ended far too soon, leaving me frustrated.
I had climbed a considerable distance, yet I couldn’t find Idorian.
He was the one who bled. If he was anywhere near, I should’ve been able to smell him.
Even though the effect of the Awakening had faded, I couldn’t stop stomping noisily. It was still faster than walking.
My hand brushed over my chest—my heart was no longer beating. Instead, I felt swollen, protruding veins beneath my clothes. It was dangerous, but I felt slightly relieved thanks to the long-sleeved shirt Lumi had dressed me in.
At first, I thought those clothes were simply to muffle the rattling kettle, but now I realized she meant for them to hide the veins that bulged whenever I was exposed to blood for too long.
Lumi really is…
So considerate. So thoughtful.
I checked again how far the veins had swollen. It wasn’t yet alarming.
As I erased thoughts of the bear, I wiped away the anxiety over my veins as well.
Then, I caught a strong scent of blood from somewhere.
There was much more of it this time—the smell was far thicker than before. Yet it still didn’t affect me, meaning it wasn’t human blood.
I changed direction and followed the scent.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, painting the forest green. It irritated me—how peaceful everything looked—when Idorian might already be dead, or horribly injured.
Even the zombies nearby swayed lazily as if basking in the morning sun, as though they had never once tormented humans. Their indifference unsettled me.
Soon, I found something large collapsed in a mess of trampled bushes.
The bear from earlier.
It was dead.
Up close, I found both its eyes deeply slashed. Its black fur bore no visible wounds, yet the blood-soaked ground and still body told me enough.
I ran my hands over its corpse, stopping at a spot on its neck—drenched in blood, skin cut deeply.
A blade had done this.
A small relief washed over me. At least he hadn’t been torn apart by the bear.
Bloody tracks and massive footprints trailed further up the mountain.
If I follow these, will I find Idorian?
I hurried along the trail, past splintered branches and gouged bark. But still, there was no scent of him.
“What the…?”
He should be nearby. Even if he went down the mountain, I should have smelled him.
“That makes no sense. He’s the protagonist.”
But there was no trace of him.
Had he been bitten?
Maybe that was why I could no longer detect his scent—lost among the countless zombies wandering the forest.
“…Where are you?”
The blood trail ended.
Right where Idorian had yelled at us to go on ahead—the place we parted ways.
There were only scattered bloodstains. No scent. No presence.
Emptiness hollowed my chest.
Was he truly dead?
Then what about me? About Lumi and Wuben? What were we supposed to do now?
I wandered aimlessly. Predators still lived here—wolves, maybe another bear—but I kept walking.
Because I couldn’t believe it.
That the protagonist would become a zombie.
That Idorian, who was supposed to create a cure with Lilia and end all of this, had turned into a monster.
That the Idorian I knew no longer existed.
If he was just going to die so meaninglessly, why did he stay behind alone? Why act like he’d be fine, like he’d return to us?
Then I smelled it—a faint trace of blood hidden among rustling leaves.
Idorian’s scent.
I immediately looked around and headed in the direction the wind blew. The scent grew stronger, yet it felt impossible to pinpoint. At some point, it permeated the entire forest.
Other zombies, drawn by the smell, looked around in confusion as well.
But Idorian was nowhere to be found.
I lifted my gaze to the trees.
High branches filled the sky. Slowly, carefully, I searched.
And then I saw it—someone’s shoe hidden among dense leaves.
Idorian.
My heart pounded wildly at the scent of his living blood.
He was still the Idorian I knew—the undeniably brilliant prince, arrogant enough to believe he was superior at everything and never wrong. A prince who judged everything by his own standards and never changed his mind once decided.
Even if someone got hurt because of it, that arrogant prince would never apologize.
Because he believed he was never wrong.
Yet, ironically, he couldn’t handle guilt. He suffered from it, but still refused to lower his precious pride.
“…”
And I couldn’t hate him—because he held himself to those same harsh standards. No, harsher.
He must have thought the same this time. He let us escape first, believing he alone could stop the bear.
And he was right.
He defeated the bear, hid from the zombies, and survived—waiting for his bleeding to stop so he could return to us.
Though beneath the tree, swarms of zombies stared up, waiting for him to fall…
He was still alive.
“Annoying.”
The words slipped out before I even thought.
Idorian Fidentre’s survival was exactly what I desperately wished for—so why was I annoyed?
I stood among the zombies sniffing around for the scent, staring up at his limp shoe for a long time. It hung there, exhausted, just like him.
It’ll take some time for the bleeding to stop.
I checked my chest again—the effects of Awakening had reached my collarbone.
I hurried toward the lake where we had stayed before.
I needed to return there before Idorian finished healing. He didn’t need my help, and he’d probably scold me again if he saw me wandering the forest—but…
Despite knowing it might complicate things, I wouldn’t feel at ease until I saw him safely descend the mountain.
Even if he was that self-righteous prince who needed no one’s help—he was still injured.
