"There’s no more noise outside?"
Aurora asked doubtfully.
Ron’s ears twitched. He confird, "Yeah, I don’t hear anything either. Seems like the monster’s gone... or it’s hiding."
They had no idea that the monster just monts ago about to break down the door had silently exploded into pieces.
But now that the danger had passed, the awkwardness returned—more tangible than ever.
The cramped restroom held only the two of them. Aurora, being tall, had to curl up slightly as she sat on the toilet. Ron stood by the door, eyes lowered, looking at her.
From this angle, he could see the top of Aurora’s head and her soft hair.
Just then, Aurora suddenly looked up. Her gaze t Ron’s in midair.
The corners of her eyes were still slightly red—perhaps from running too fast earlier, or maybe they were always tinged like powdered rouge. Ron wasn’t entirely sure.
His eyes involuntarily scanned Aurora’s face again, a masterpiece crafted by nature, before he looked away, slightly flustered.
"We should go out. Whatever you saw might not be there anymore."
Aurora bit her lip in slight embarrassnt. She was the one who’d dragged Ron here like a headless fly. Fortunately, the monster didn’t manage to break through the door.
[Maybe that disgusting pile of at never existed to begin with...]
[Yeah, since when did a at blob appear in a zombie dungeon? Now that I think about it, the one in the bathroom earlier was Lily.]
[ 1 to gaining attention the creepy way.]
[Lily loves Aurora!]
[Honestly, I don’t think this obsession is healthy. Give it a minute, she’ll be licking Aurora’s brain fluid or sothing.]
[Yandere? Hahaha, my type.]
They opened the door and stepped out, finding the charred blackness had vanished entirely. It now looked more like the original train they had boarded.
Ron and Aurora exchanged a glance, then quickly walked out.
Sure enough, they saw the others—so lying sprawled out, others sitting on seats. Noticing Ron and Aurora’s appearance, a few looked startled at first, but they stopped caring once they realized they weren’t monsters.
"The zombies are gone," Aurora said softly.
Ron looked out the window. "Maybe because of the sunlight."
"I need to go find my child."
Aurora spoke, then took off running. Ron instinctively lifted his hand, then furrowed his brows slightly and quickly followed after her.
Just then, he felt sothing—he couldn’t say what. He turned to look back, only to see a darkness settling in behind them, as if black streaks were beginning to creep in.
Ron stopped in his tracks, looked at the people around him, and raised his voice:
"Everyone, what I’m about to say concerns your lives—listen carefully..."
anwhile, Aurora sprinted at full speed toward the last car.
Asta, sitting on a seat, seed to sense sothing. His eyes flew open, and his amber eyes lit up brightly in an instant. He couldn’t help but curve his lips into a smile.
His body launched off the seat and rushed toward Aurora, as if engines were strapped to his feet.
"Aurora! You’re finally back! I was so worried—are you hurt?!"
He nearly threw himself at Aurora, eyes wide with concern. At this mont, worry and longing had overwheld any sense of awkwardness. He hugged her instinctively—just a hug, nothing more. No inappropriate thoughts popped into his head like before.
Faced with Asta’s anxious expression and gaze full of concern, Aurora paused slightly, seemingly surprised.
Then she shook her head and replied softly, "I’m fine. Ron ca with —he helped a lot."
Asta’s eyes widened, and his teeth clenched with an audible grind.
He let go of Aurora, looking a little defeated as he lowered his head. Even the hair that always stuck up seed to droop, as if it shared his feelings.
"I promised to protect you," he said, voice low. "But when you needed the most, I wasn’t there. I’m sorry."
[Oh my god, we’re dood—Asta is truly...]
[Bro, you’ll never be my idol again!]
[Has he fallen into the trap of love? I can’t believe that innocent look in his eyes just now. He’s no longer the Asta I knew!]
[Bro, didn’t you say you lived only for big boobs?! Okay, sure, Aurora has big boobs and is pretty, but still... alright fine...]
Aurora lowered her eyes to look at Asta. Her green eyes, like jade, seed a little deep—no one could tell what she was thinking. Her entire face was unreadable, without a single trace of emotion.
Then suddenly, she smiled. A real, bright smile, enough to make her eyes crinkle slightly. She reached out to pat Asta’s head, her voice soft and almost seductive:
"It’s okay, Asta. You’re still the best and most reliable man I’ve ever t. You’ll protect again later, too, right?"
Asta looked a little embarrassed from the head pat. He grasped Aurora’s hand with both of his, and his eyes sparkled.
"Of course! I’ll protect you to the very end!"
He paused, then suddenly asked,
"Would you... Would you co find after all of this is over?"
[Amazing. Straight to the wedding!]
Aurora seed a little surprised by that. Her lips parted slightly, then she just smiled and said,
"As long as we leave here, I’ll co find you."
Asta’s eyes went wide, her mouth gaping open as if she could not close it again.
Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps approached—Ron had gathered everyone together. He shot a glance at Aurora, and when his eyes landed on Asta tightly holding her hand, his expression clearly showed a bit of distaste.
He looked away and then raised his voice to repeat everything once more:
"We need to stop the fire. We only need one train car for everyone to squeeze into. So we must protect the engine and the first car at all costs!"
Ron finished the sentence firmly, and no one objected.
At this point, fewer than 150 people remained, and not all were human—so were NPCs who had survived by sheer luck.
Those with combat ability were placed in the vanguard to fight off the monsters, while those skilled at extinguishing fires and the ordinary folks were moved to the rear.
They had to battle both monsters and flas to defend their train car!
"Working with smart people is always such a relief. No way I’d be dragging this wreck of a body around looking for clues."
Nyx smiled, her eyes gentle as she looked at Ron.
Ron glanced at the hole in her stomach. He wasn’t sure—between her and the monsters around here, which side looked more like the real monster.
"Take this. Please don’t drop it again. It’ll protect you. It’s the only one I’ve got left."
Asta slowly walked forward and suddenly pressed a gemstone that matched the color of his eyes into Aurora’s palm as they walked side by side.
They both looked a little worse for wear. Asta didn’t care how ssy he looked, but when he noticed the hem of Aurora’s dress was stained with ash and soot, he frowned slightly, clearly displeased.
Maybe if they left this dungeon, he’d get to buy her a new dress...
That thought lightened Asta’s mood a bit.
Aurora held the gem in her hand and glanced at Asta skipping along beside her. She smiled faintly but said nothing.
[Why does Aurora’s look at Asta give chills?]
[It’s a hard-to-read kind of gaze, haha...]
[Honestly, I don’t think she likes anyone. She’s just using them to survive.]
[Yeah, but Asta’s stupidly enthusiastic attitude genuinely surprises her.]
[You’re saying Asta’s so dumb it caught Aurora off guard? Hahaha, not wrong. Even when Ron blushes, he stays sharp.]
[This is true love, TRUE LOVE! You love-starved chickens wouldn’t understand anything!]
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