My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

‘What… what the hell?’

It really felt like a game. Like the kind of ridiculous slimes you’d find in an RPG.
Toing-! Toing-! Toing-!
Rather than shooting, it was faster to just smash them, so I joined Aquila and started slamming down on the Mudpets. The new recruits hesitated at first, watching us in disbelief, but eventually, they awkwardly stepped forward and followed suit.

“If the Boss Mudpet shows up, don’t forget to blow the whistle!”
I shouted toward Tia, who had the whistle hanging around her neck.
It was protocol—when a first or second-grade monster appeared, we were supposed to gather more soldiers and take it down together. These weren’t the kind of creatures we were supposed to fight with such a small team.

‘Though, with Aquila here, we’d probably be fine.’
In the original story, Aquila had taken down the Boss Mudpet alongside Karon.
But Karon wasn’t here. To avoid unnecessary risks, I decided to stick to the novel’s original plan—if the Boss Mudpet showed up, I’d lure it toward the others so we could kill it together.

“It’s over.”
Aquila, ever efficient, took the time to slice off a round Mudpet ear from each corpse for me. Proof of the kills.
These would serve as evidence when we tallied the results of my bet with Violet. I stuffed them into the pouch I carried for disposing of monster remains.

‘This alone should guarantee my victory.’
Some might call it cheap, but Violet had set the rules herself—the count of monsters was all that mattered. And these weak little Mudpets? They counted just as much as any other kill.
Satisfied, I secured the pouch but didn’t let my guard down. The Boss Mudpet was bound to appear any second now.

“Salvia, are you tense?”
Aquila lightly grasped my arm, as if he had noticed something, then suddenly lifted his head toward the boulders ahead.
He had sensed something.

“It’s big…”
He murmured, staring into empty space.
I couldn’t feel anything yet, but Aquila was always sensitive to movement.
“Tia, blow the whistle.”

“Huh? Ah, yes!”
Tia fumbled, grabbing the whistle around her neck and blowing into it in a panic.
Piiiiiiiik!

The shrill whistle cut through the air.
As if the sound itself had provoked it, a massive shadow loomed over us.
Unlike the small, almost comical Mudpets, the Boss Mudpet was a grotesque, dripping horror, towering over us from atop the pile of boulders.

“Run!”
I barely had time to shout before we all turned and sprinted.
“Salvia, should we hold our ground and fight?”

“No! The recruits might get hurt! We run until we regroup with the others!”
The Boss Mudpet was burrowing and chasing after us, tearing through the ground with frightening speed, scattering dirt and rocks in all directions.
I risked a quick glance over my shoulder.

Luckily, we were faster. The gap between us and the monster was growing.
It was burrowing beneath the soil, tracking us by the trail of disturbed earth left in its wake.
…Wait.

“…Aquila.”
My heart plummeted.
A nauseating sense of vertigo washed over me. It felt like my heart might burst in my chest.

I couldn’t think straight. I couldn’t process.
“Aquila…”
I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks, whispering his name.

Aquila halted too, grabbing my arm.
“What’s wrong?”
Then he followed my gaze.

His face drained of color. The light I had once seen in his eyes returned.
I knew this place.
I had been here before.

It was the location described in the novel—now I remembered.
My first monster hunt. The day we fought the dragon.
The day all seven of my fellow recruits died horrific deaths.

The day we had buried their bodies in the mountain, afraid that the smell of blood would draw more monsters to the base.
This was where we had buried them.
And now, Aquila and I were standing before the same earth, torn apart by monsters, the graves of our fallen comrades disturbed.

…Who could possibly stay rational in a moment like this?
Any thoughts of strategy, of safety, of luring the Boss Mudpet somewhere more manageable—none of it mattered anymore.
“Aquila.”

“Yeah.”
Aquila was already moving before I could say another word, charging straight toward the Boss Mudpet.
I ran after him.

No matter what, we had to kill this thing.
“Aquila! Salvia!”
Tia was shouting something behind us, but her voice barely registered.

The world had gone white-hot with fury.
I could feel nothing except Aquila running beside me.
Bang!

A gunshot rang out, echoing across the mountains. Birds scattered from the trees, startled into flight.
The powerful recoil jolted through my body, snapping me back to focus.
Only then did I remember to coat my bullets in aura.

But even that wouldn’t be enough. The Boss Mudpet was just a mass of shifting sludge. My bullets barely left a mark.
The only way to kill it was to strike it with brute force or cut it apart with aura-coated blades.
Tap!

Aquila leaped into the air beside me.
Flames flared brilliantly along the edge of his sword as he brought it down in a devastating strike.
A thick splatter of mud burst out from the monster’s body. The creature let out a gurgling screech, but it was still alive.

Sensing danger, the Boss Mudpet immediately tried to retreat, its massive, quivering form recoiling away from us.
“Chase it!”
Piiiiiik! Piiiiiiiik!

Tia, on the verge of tears, continued blowing her whistle frantically. But after a moment, she seemed to realize that there was no other choice—she and her fellow recruit had to follow us.
We had no attention to spare for them. All we saw was the Boss Mudpet. All we could focus on was the hunt.
‘I’ll kill it.’

The aching muscles from guerrilla training were gone, replaced by numbness. The more I ran, the less I felt. The only thing left was the searing pressure in my chest, like someone was squeezing my heart in their grip.
Up ahead, past a steep slope, a small cave came into view.
The Boss Mudpet was heading straight for it, likely to hide.

But we were faster.
Before the monster could reach the rocky terrain, Aquila raised his sword and drove it straight into its back.
This time, the blow landed perfectly. The creature’s massive body convulsed, then collapsed in on itself.

“I’m going to fucking—”
I was about to finish cursing when—
“What?”

The Boss Mudpet’s mouth ripped open.
Its muddy body stretched unnaturally, collapsing forward, and its gaping maw lunged—
Straight at Tia.

“Ah…”
She stood frozen in place, unable to react.
Before the sludgy mass could pull her in—

“Fuck!”
I threw myself forward, grabbing her by the collar and yanking her back with all my strength.
The force of the pull sent her stumbling backward—

And me lurching forward.
The Boss Mudpet convulsed once more before finally collapsing completely. Dead.
‘Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.’

It was dead, sure, but I was now tumbling forward down the steep slope. From this height, I wasn’t going to die, but getting injured was inevitable.
But if I hadn’t been so reckless, if I hadn’t blindly chased after that monster, the recruits wouldn’t have been put in danger in the first place.
Saving Tia was my responsibility.

I braced myself, squeezing my eyes shut, already accepting that I’d break something on impact—
A hand caught mine.
I knew who it was.

The next thing I knew, my body was being pulled against his as we both went tumbling down.
The rocky slope was unforgiving. Each time we hit the ground, we bounced, battered by stray stones. But even as we rolled, even as the world spun around us, his arms stayed wrapped around me, shielding me from the worst of it.
Down.

And down.
And down.
We finally hit the bottom, crashing past the entrance of the cave before coming to a halt inside.

“Hah… hah…”
My chest burned, struggling to catch my breath. The impact had knocked the wind out of me, but I didn’t feel like anything was broken.
I forced my aching body up from the cold stone floor and turned toward the man lying next to me.

“Aquila.”
Blood.
His arm was bleeding. Likely scraped by the rocks on the way down.

“You idiot. Why the hell did you grab me?”
He had taken a worse hit than I did. My voice was still hoarse from the adrenaline, but I couldn’t stop myself from scolding him.
His clothes were torn, stained red in multiple places, but he didn’t seem fazed.

“I told you before, Salvia.”
His breath was unsteady, but his voice was firm.
“No matter what, I’ll bring you back to my side. And if I fail—”

He reached out, catching my wandering hand in his.
“Then I’ll go to you. No matter what, I’ll stay by your side.”
“You—”

His eyes were unstable.
The same look he had when we lost our comrades.
“If you fall, Salvia—then I’ll fall with you.”

I froze.
I was already shaken from seeing our comrades’ graves desecrated. But Aquila—he was even worse off than me.
I pulled him into a tight embrace without a word.

His breathing was still uneven. I let him settle, my hands subtly checking for any serious injuries.
No broken bones. Scrapes on his arms and back, nothing life-threatening.
Climbing back up the slope would be a nightmare in our condition, but the recruits would come down for us. We’d be fine.

So for now, I just held him.
His voice was soft against my ear.
“Salvia, I…”

“Yeah.”
“You can do whatever you want. Just… let me stay by your side.”
“…Yeah.”

“I know you’ll do reckless things no matter what I say. But if I’m with you, that’s enough for me…”
Something warm hit my shoulder.
I stiffened.

Then realization dawned.
“…Aquila. Are you crying?”