Rolan and the female rookie exchanged weary stares. Her eyes seed more relaxed than they were before, while Rolan's grew more stressed.
Gently, he picked her up from the waist and carried her considerately in his arms. Her arms were warm and soft; that much he could tell from the torn bits of her uniform. Rolan had many questions he wanted to ask but held them to himself for the ti being.
In addition to her predicant, the unrelenting cold trespassed through the torn bits of her uniform. 'If I don't act fast, she'll either die from her wounds or the cold. Her life or death is just a matter of ti.'
Rolan looked around for anything that could help; perhaps among the corpses of their deceased comrades, he could find a first aid kit or healing potion of sorts. First, he set her back down.
Rolan tore off the top of his uniform, ripping it finely until it beca a poorly made blanket. Unsightly as it may have looked, the uniform's material would still protect her from the cold.
He made sure to wrap it around her properly, covering all the exposed bits of her uniform until she resembled a swaddled baby. Rolan wrapped her from the neck down to her waist using his top, suppressing the bleeding at the sa ti, her lower uniform wasn't affected. Before leaving, he made sure to protect her head with the hood.
She watched him with a frozen face, yet her eyes sparkled with various emotions such as gratitude, confusion, and joy.
Wasting no ti, Rolan searched through the items of every corpse. As he did, he noticed so of the dead people weren't Indulgers of the Eerie Gothel. Apart from the dismbered, Rolan counted 30 corpses—a far larger number than he expected.
Similar to the spot he encountered on his way to the city, the bodies were scattered after being brutally torn-apart. So were buried beneath the snow, others hooked to the slope, designing the area in a horrific swirl of red and white. Rolan didn't notice because he was too close to the scene; from an aerial view, the red and white strokes depicted four hands at the corners of a wide eye, like a flower.
"So the Man-Eaters are responsible for all this carnage," Rolan reasoned, glimpsing at how the red splashes mixed with the pure snow.
The first thought to brush his mind...
'The red and white kind of reminds of Santa's uniform.'
...was his aunt's letter.
"The Indulger world is nothing like the rcenary field; there isn't a day I'm not reminded of this truth," he spoke to the air. Even in that mont, he could feel soone watching him from behind, above, and below.
Spotting a corpse by an ice ridge, Rolan was enticed by its near-perfect condition. Aside from a flesh wound, the corpse was basically unhard; the man lost a bit of blood, yet not enough to kill an average human, let alone an Indulger. Dropping his gaze lower, Rolan saw a bottle in the man's hand and swiped it. Removing the cork, he took a small whiff.
"Hexane, formaldehyde, and sothing else," Rolan quickly dissected. "This is poison."
He straightened his lips and raised both brows in unamazent. "Pitiful."
Rolan ransacked the bag beside him, his head spinning from the effects of slling the bottle. "The poison was rather potent; I'll give you flowers for that," he mocked, plundering the man's items and possessions for himself.
In the bag, Rolan found a couple of books, potions as they seed, and a sack of Reversant Peppers enough for an entire team. Stretching an appeased smile, he rushed back; indeed, his luck was grinning at him that day.
Once he arrived, he brought out the sack and pulled out a Reversant Pepper. Since the female Indulger was too battered to move her lips, Rolan placed the pepper on her tongue. Fortunately, the man also had a flask full of water in his bag; Rolan steadily poured it to help push the pepper down her throat.
In a single gulp, she swallowed. Shooting up, she spat out the hard rock at Rolan's forehead. He groaned for a few seconds and rubbed the area; the stone sizzled like a heated frying pan.
"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"
Rolan offered her the rest of the water, a kind gesture. The Indulger accepted and eased the coughing; she then gave him a warm look.
"You're Rolan Swindler, aren't you? I rember seeing you at the briefing," she spoke, her voice hoarse.
"I am, though I'm also quite stunned a pretty lady like yourself recollects an unremarkable person like ."
'An actual Indulger with training and education; she looks so vulnerable as well. This is my chance! 50/50!'
"Honestly, it's hard not to; you have a pretty outlandish... uhh... ing attitude." She shone an awkward smirk. Her body still lacked vitality; the wounds were healed, but her strength was far spent.
"That's a pretty odd way to describe soone." Rolan scratched his cheek, his behavior caring.
"You know, the way you act now and how I envisioned you being are completely different."
Rolan lowered his brows. "Is that so?"
Her glare was weak yet focused. "Yup. It's also possible you're putting on an act 'cuz you want sothing from ."
She spoke playfully. "I hope you're not trying to take advantage of ."
WHOOOOOOSH!
Rolan pasted an honest smile with an impressed look drawn on his face as his hair danced to the breeze. "I'm not, though."
"Alright then, let's say I believe you. Why did you save ?"
"The answer is simple. Because that's the person I am." His tone vibrated as he spoke, honesty attached to each word.
"Well, thank you for saving ." Her face glowed radiantly. "Rolan Swindler."
He maintained a deep pause after hearing her words.
"Heh... you're welco." He went on one knee. "But do you mind answering one question?"
She nodded in agreent.
"What exactly happened here? Why are the other rookies dead? Who are the other corpses? And more importantly..."
"...what did you notice during this ti? A detailed explanation would be well appreciated."
"Are those really the questions you should be laying on soone who escaped death re monts ago?"
"Forgive ; however, personal reasons force my hand, along with so other factors." His face dimd, blending with the dull sun.
"Maybe I was wrong; you are exactly how I imagined."
"As I said before, do forgive ."
TICK! TOCK! TICK! TOCK!
Their conversation was montarily interrupted by a low ticking sound originating from Rolan's pocket. He knew what it was yet couldn't believe it; digging his hand inside, he removed the pocket watch.
It seed the day hadn't offered him enough surprises; both hands of the pocket watch given to him by the Deity were functioning. Rolan didn't care about what ti it read; only what the moving watch tried to convey piqued his interest.
Was the Deity trying to convey a ssage to him? Was she in danger? Sothing tragic was about to occur? Maybe a cataclysm would soon befall the test? Many reasons as to why raced in his mind.
"That's a cool pocket watch," she complinted.
"Thanks, it's a family heirloom." He kept his gaze pasted on the watch.
TICK...
It stopped.
Rolan swallowed his urge to curse hard and went back to the matter at hand. "By the way, what's your na?"
"Velonica Switsho. I'm a rookie Indulger like you, been in training for over two years."
"Are you perhaps awakened yet?" Rolan inquired in a tactful manner.
"No, not yet. What about you?"
"Sa, unfortunately."
"Oh, so we're in the sa boat. Your physical strength, on the other hand, is honestly so amazing."
"I could say the sa about your agility." Rolan noticed her hand quivering and feet trembling, obviously not from the cold. "You're very impressive for a rookie, so it makes sense you survived."
"Still, I'd very much like to know how this place beca a massacre site."
Reflexively, Velonica inspected every corner with her eyes as though searching for sothing. Rolan copied her but didn't find nor sense anything.
'Does she notice we're being watched as well? So it's not just ?'
"What's wrong?" he asked bluntly.
"I don't know why, I get the feeling we're not alone."
'I thought so. It's not just .'
Rolan sat by her side, closed the distance of personal space, and whispered to her ear, "Whisper everything and don't be afraid. You may have survived now, but what about next ti?"
She whispered back, "Could we call it a day if I just said the Man-Eater you killed was responsible?"
"So of the corpses looked like full-fledged Indulgers; you and I both know that one Man-Eater didn't stand a chance." His voice was disturbingly low as it buzzed in her ear; the glow in his eyes was almost threatening.
Rolan tried to comfort and encourage Velonica; the impact of his words and facial appearance did the exact opposite.
"Fine..." she responded in an equally faint voice. "I might be reliving the trauma with this, but if it's necessary, I'll spill everything. You did save , after all."
"Things started yesterday when my group and I went to explore the Arctic side and gain info on the abnormal wavelength spike..."
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