Never See You Again

“Renee-chin…”

That familiar voice.

“Renee-chin… please, wake up…”

It’s so noisy. Don’t bother me… let me rest…

“Renee-chin!”

Suddenly, I snapped my eyes open.

The ceiling was still pitch black. The stench of filth rushed into my nose and mouth.

“You… you’re finally awake!”

And there she was. That familiar girl.

Seeing that I had finally opened my eyes, she was so overwhelmed that tears spilled from the corners of her eyes.

“How…”

My voice was hoarse.

Was I… lying on her lap?

“Renee-chin, how do you feel? Are you okay!?”

She looked frantic, her expression etched with deep worry.

My body…

“Ow!”

As my senses sharpened, a searing, stinging pain radiated from my limbs.

“Renee-chin!”

Out of concern, she immediately stopped me from moving, pressing down on my body with a bit of force.

“Don’t move. Just rest like this for a bit.”

I…

I stared at her as fragmented memories began to bubble up in my brain.

The bomb had misfired.

It had spewed scorching flames, but they were short-lived. However, fire is fire. Because it exploded at such a close range, sparks had latched onto the behemoth. Terrified, the beast had immediately rolled on the ground to extinguish them, then turned tail and bolted toward the exit.

The other beasts, seeing this, naturally scattered in a panic.

…Animals are animals, after all.

But compared to the giant beast that could still run and jump, my situation was far from optimistic.

I had only been able to use my last ounce of strength to turn my body, relying on my small suitcase to shield me from the blast. Although the suitcase was fireproof, its size was limited. My limbs hadn’t been spared.

Fire snakes had greedily coiled around my body, the heat devouring my skin.

After finally scrambling over the wine barrels and slamming heavily onto the ground, I had used my final spark of energy to roll back and forth until the last embers on my clothes were crushed. Only when my body stopped screaming from the burning did I stop.

At that moment, I was covered in wounds and burning with a high fever.

But stronger than the pain was a powerful sense of survival—a numbing wave of relief that came from having escaped death.

So tired…

Under the weight of relief and exhaustion, my heavy eyelids had finally closed.

I had fallen into a deep sleep just like that.

—Renee-chin!

Before my consciousness had vanished, I thought I heard a familiar cry and the sound of footsteps running toward me.

“How much longer are you going to play house with this human?”

A gruff voice dragged my thoughts back to reality.

A burly man walked over. Judging by his s*ave rags and his cat ears, I recognized him immediately—he was a cellmate from the same cage.

However, during those sixteen days in the cage, I hadn’t spoken to anyone except the girl beside me. There had been no need to; the looks they gave me were always filled with hostility. They acted like victims, as if I were somehow plotting to harm them.

“If you don’t escape now, do you even want to live?” The man’s tone was incredibly rude.

“I can’t leave Renee-chin behind!” The girl shouted back, her expression fierce. “If she hadn’t pushed herself to open the doors for us, how could we have ever escaped!”

“That was her own choice. Besides, who knows if she was just trying to use us?”

“You!”

She trembled with rage, but before she could scream another word, the man lunged forward and grabbed her wrist tightly.

“W-What are you doing! Let go!”

“We have to survive. Wasn’t that our promise from the beginning?”

“It’s void! I have no such agreement with an ungrateful person like you!”

Slap!

She delivered a sharp blow to the man’s face.

I could see the fire in her eyes and the shimmer of tears. But her struggle was futile.

“…”

The man fell silent, his gaze dropping onto me.

Hostility.

It was an emotion born of jealousy and hatred.

Patter, patter!

At that moment, another Naco male ran over and whispered something in the man’s ear. I glanced over and saw that most of the Naco tribe members who had escaped the cages had already broken their shackles.

“We won’t carry a burden, and we don’t have the strength to anyway,” the man said coldly, his eyes fixed on me. “Are you really going to carry this human on your back while you run?”

“Yes!”

She didn’t hesitate for a single second.

Thump-thump!

I felt my heart skip a beat.

“Renee-chin is our benefactor. We must take her with us!”

You…

I looked at her in disbelief, staring into the pure eyes of this young girl.

“But she’s a human! Do you understand what that means!” the man roared. “She’s a death sentence! She’ll bring disaster upon us all, don’t you know that!?”

“That’s for later! Right now, we have to save her!”

“You—!?”

I… I didn’t know what to think.

Watching the two of them argue over me, I remained silent. I had never intended to have any deep connection with them. In a world full of fear, there was no one to trust. Especially since they weren’t even human.

Those who are not of my kind must have a different heart.

…That was what I used to believe.

“Renee-chin always shared her food with us. This time, she forced her broken body to pick our locks. She could have just escaped by herself, but she chose to save all of us!”

She was hysterical, desperately trying to bridge the gap between me and the Naco tribe, hoping they would accept me.

“Why? Why are you all so indifferent? When Renee-chin… she…!”

I gently reached out and grabbed her hand, cutting her off.

It was strange. This was all just her wishful thinking. I had been using her this entire time… so why…

My weak hand trembled, but I forced my exhausted body upright. Complex emotions intertwined in my chest. A strong impulse surged up my throat, and thoughts I couldn’t control condensed into words. By the time I realized it… the sound had already slipped through my teeth.

“…Thank you.”

Enduring the pain, I forced a small, weary smile.

“Renee-chin?”

The sudden word of thanks left her looking confused. But soon, as she saw my gaze meet the man’s, she realized what I was about to do.

“As you said, I am indeed a burden.”

I looked the man straight in the eye and spoke calmly.

“Take her and go.”

“At least you’re smart.”

The man tossed the words out coldly. With a flick of his eyes, two of his subordinates stepped forward and grabbed the girl who had been guarding me.

“What are you doing… let me go, let me go!”

Even as she struggled with all her might, it was in vain.

“Renee-chin… why? Why!?”

A hand grabbed my shoulder, and before I could react, I was dragged heavily to one side as they moved her away. She was crying hysterically now, her eyes swimming with tears as she looked back at me.

She didn’t understand.

I didn’t give her an answer. I simply propped myself up slowly, watching the Naco tribe disappear into the distance with her.

“Live.”

“No… no! Renee-chin! Renee-chin!”

Reaching out toward me with everything she had, she wailed in a raspy voice:

“Why won’t you let me save you!! AHHHH!”

Just like that, the Naco girl who had been my only companion left my side.

After silently watching them vanish, I leaned against the cage behind me and closed my eyes.

—She was willing to sacrifice herself for you.

A voice echoed in my mind.

—You had such a stupid pawn, and instead of using her, you let her go? Do you have a death wish!

I knew that. I knew it all too well.

My body was in terrible shape. To escape this place alive, I should have used every resource available to me. My own life was the only thing that mattered. Only those who are ruthless survive.

And yet, when an “idiot” offered herself up so easily, I… I just let her walk away.

“What is wrong with me?”

I clutched my head, asking myself the question, but no answer came.