Unrequited Love, Lost for the Better - Chapter 33

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※ This work contains depictions of coercive relationships, explicit language, and other graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

Tasting iron in his mouth, Valerian shook his head. Even these thoughts were a luxury now. He had to find Collette as quickly as possible. He still hadn’t even found a trace of her.

“Collette……!”

Then, luminous clock-flower vines caught his eye. An object he hadn’t seen in the passages before—Valerian’s crimson eyes gleamed.

Moving further, he saw a strange sight: the luminous clock-flower leaves covering the wall seemed to be being sucked into a very small hole. The hole was blocked by the vines, so he couldn’t see inside. But Valerian instinctively knew.

She’s here.

Raising his sword high, he channeled his mana. Swinging it toward the hole, the luminous clock-flower leaves shattered along with the wall from the powerful shockwave.

Rumble…….

Thick dust rose from the newly opened gap. Waving his hand to clear his vision, Valerian saw the luminous clock-flower leaves spreading throughout the space—and something surrounded by them.

“……!”

Seeing a collapsed figure, Valerian caught a glimpse of a pale face through chestnut-brown hair and sighed in relief. Collette was breathing. There were no visible injuries. He shook her awake.

“Collette. Collette.”

“…Hmm. Valen……?”

“Yes. It’s me.”

Valerian began cutting away the luminous clock-flower leaves binding her body with his dagger. The leaves were tough and tightly coiled around her, so he couldn’t tear them off in one go.

He wanted to burn them all away, but they were spread everywhere—he couldn’t risk it. If he set them on fire and smoke filled the cave, it would be a disaster.

As he carefully cut through the vines, Collette moved her lips.

“What happened……? Why am I……?”

Watching Valerian cut away the vines one by one, she asked with a bewildered face. Valerian’s hand paused.

She doesn’t remember?

It seemed Collette had no memory of what happened right after she was dragged into the cave. They said people sometimes couldn’t remember things after a great shock—this incident must have been that much of a trauma for her. Valerian’s face darkened.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect you properly.”

“Valen?”

“…Yes.”

Nodding belatedly, he put strength back into his hands. His cutting motions quickened. After a moment, Valerian spoke.

“There was a commotion. We were dealing with the attacking beasts and looking for an exit… but a beast hiding inside the cave snatched you.”

“Ah…….”

“I should have stopped you from being dragged in…”

Just explaining the situation seemed to fill him with self-loathing—his voice trembled. Collette looked at him and spoke quietly.

“But you still came to save me. You could have given up.”

“Don’t say that. Of course I came to save you.”

Valerian, who had been focused on the vines, replied firmly. At those words, Collette’s expression dimmed, but he was too busy removing the leaves to notice.

Finally, after tearing off all the leaves, he carefully helped her up.

“Can you walk? Or should I carry you?”

“No. Carrying me would restrict your movements. Where should we go now? That way?”

As Collette pointed to a large space opening from one side of the cave, Valerian pulled out his Labyrinth compass. But his expression hardened upon checking the needle. It was just spinning in circles, unable to point in any direction.

The artifact wasn’t working properly, even without the strange mist present. As he silently glared at the compass, Collette tilted her head.

“Valen?”

“…Let’s go that way for now.”

He couldn’t rely entirely on tools. Even if it took more effort, they would have to do it the old-fashioned way. Valerian moved forward.

Finding a new exit from the Labyrinth was like searching for a needle in a sandbox. Especially since the compass, which indicated the flow of mana in the air, wasn’t working. Jaw tight, Valerian glanced at Collette beside him. She was usually chattering away whenever she was with him, but now she was quiet and pale.

We’ve been in the Labyrinth too long.

The mana-dense Labyrinth was structured so that the longer one stayed, the more vulnerable one became to mana. Just as even good food becomes harmful in excess, the Labyrinth’s highly concentrated mana required caution—one must not consume more than a certain amount.

“Collette. Are you feeling unwell?”