*Clink.*
I swung my legs out of bed and hurriedly grabbed Pia by the shoulders, pulling her up.
"Pia, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"Hng, hng..."
Pia looked up at me with a flushed face, her expression dazed, as if possessed. I shook her shoulders lightly.
"Did an enemy break in? Were you hit by Black Magic? ...This won't do. I need to call someone."
"Yes, I will go call them."
Pia listened blankly, then sprang up and dashed outside. It happened too fast for me to stop her.
"Wh-wait! Pia, wait! Don't go alone, let's go together!"
I scrambled out of bed and ran toward the door to follow her.
*Clank!*
"Ah..."
The chain connected to my ankle pulled taut at the doorway. It was longer than I'd expected, but I still couldn't leave the room.
'If Pia is under some kind of magic, this could be dangerous. I should just cut off my ankle to get this shackle off.'
Having reached that conclusion, I summoned Gargandoa. The Demon Sword appeared without its usual fanfare, speaking in a frantic voice.
[ Partner! Are you alright?! ]
'Yeah, I'm fine.'
[ What the hell happened to make me get desummoned? Even if you fainted, that shouldn't have happened... ]
As the Demon Sword muttered to itself in contemplation, I headed toward the bathroom. It would be easier to clean up if blood splattered in the bathroom.
*Click.*
[ It's obvious those bastards who vanished back then did something. They must have cast Black Magic or—... ]
I tuned out the Demon Sword's muttering and stepped into the bathroom. The chain was long enough that I could enter without issue, but the door wouldn't close.
I grabbed a folding chair, set it up inside, and sat down. I rested my shackled leg on my other knee and raised the Demon Sword.
[ We need to prepare for this happening again... Hm? Partner, what is that shackle? ]
'The girls put it on because they were worried. It's annoying, so I'm taking it off.'
[ Hmph. A Demon Sword of my caliber can cleave this piece of scrap metal in half in an instant. ]
A lightning bolt struck my brain.
'...Wait, can't I just break the shackle instead of my ankle?'
I shouted "Eureka!" in my head and spoke to the sword.
"Then do you want to cut it yourself?"
[ Very well! Watch my skill! ]
*Shing.*
The Demon Sword took control of my body and began to move the blade lightly. The motion, focused more on flair than practicality, grazed my ankle.
*Clatter.*
The cleanly severed shackle fell to the floor. I stared at the surreal scene, mouth agape.
"That's incredible."
[ Hehehe, hehehe... Praise my greatness more! ]
I clapped my hands like I was praising a puppy, chanting "Good job, good job," and the Demon Sword vibrated with excitement.
I threw the broken shackle in the trash and rotated my ankle. Even though it had been loose, the heavy iron shackle had left my ankle slightly swollen.
It throbbed faintly with every step, but not enough to make me collapse. I sprayed cold water on my ankle with the showerhead and left the bathroom.
'Now, let's follow them.'
I headed straight for the door. Just as I neared the entrance.
"Rian-oppa did?"
"Yeah, he insisted I call you."
"...!"
Lily and Pia's voices were clear, even though they were speaking outside the door. It was proof of how close they were. My gaze dropped downward.
'Crap, if they see the shackle is gone, they'll definitely try to put it back on!'
I didn't even look back, sprinting to the bed and diving in with incredible speed. Just as I tucked myself under the covers.
*Knock, knock.*
A knock sounded. I quickly desummoned the Demon Sword I was holding and spoke.
"Uh, who is it?"
"Oppa, it's Lily. Can I come in?"
"Yeah, come in."
As soon as I gave permission, the door opened, and Pia and Lily entered.
"Oppa, are you sick?!"
Thinking I was under the covers because I was sick, Lily rushed to the bedside. I pulled the blanket down, neither too fast nor too slow, and spoke.
"No, I'm not sick. The blanket was just cozy, so I was lying down."
"Really? You're not hurt anywhere?"
"No, nothing."
I sat up and held up my hands, and Lily let out a sigh of relief.
"That's a relief. If you're hurting anywhere, you have to tell me right away. Okay?"
I nodded vigorously, and Lily smoothed away her worried expression.
"But why did you call me?"
"Ah, that is..."
Just as I was about to say, 'I think Pia is acting strange,' a stain on Lily's sleeve caught my eye.
"Lily, that on your clothes..."
"Hm? Ah..."
Lily's gaze followed mine to her sleeve. A red stain was spreading across her beige shirt. Lily turned her body to the side with an embarrassed look.
"Ah, it's nothing. I got something on it earlier. It must be that."
"Really?"
"Of course—..."
Before Lily could finish.
"That is a lie."
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
Pia, who had been standing silently, suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Lily's wrist. Then she pulled up the sleeve that reached below the elbow.
"Aah! S-sister?!"
"It is not a stain. It is blood seeping from a wound."
Pia looked at me with a "Did I do well?" expression, showing me the blood-soaked gauze. Lily hurriedly pushed Pia away and pulled her sleeve down.
"It, it's really nothing. I just scraped it on a corner or something..."
Lily stopped mid-sentence and pressed her lips together. I looked at her and thought.
'Residents of this Dark Fantasy world will die if their wounds get bad. They aren't residents of the Gag World.'
Once that thought hit me, Lily looked like someone suffering from a terminal illness.
"It shouldn't be me lying down, it should be you! Come here! Lie down, quickly!"
"Huh? Uh?"
I pulled Lily and laid her on the bed. Conversely, I got off the bed and tucked the blanket up to her neck. Lily looked up at me, flustered. Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice that the shackle was gone from my ankle.
"I'll go out and call a doctor... no, a healer."
"But I'm the healer...?"
"Isn't there anyone else?"
"There is, but..."
Lily was busy rolling her eyes, flustered by the sudden situation. Just then, Pia, who had been standing beside us, lunged toward me.
"Ah, as expected of Rian-nim..."
"Hm?"
"You cannot bear to watch those writhing in pain..."
Pia muttered something unintelligible rapidly, then suddenly knelt before me.
"I, too, shall follow your will."
"S-sister, why are you doing this?"
"Lily, even to you, Pia looks strange, right? Could she have been hit by magic?"
I asked urgently, seeing Pia in a worse state than Lily, and Lily nodded, trying to get off the bed. I raised my hand to stop Lily from getting up and spoke.
"I think it's best if you both lie down. Lily, would it be okay if I had Pia lie down with you?"
"Oppa, I'm fine. So let's just have Pia-unnie lie down."
"What are you talking about! Your arm is bleeding!"
Lily pressed her lips together and began to stare at me intently. Her narrowed eyes seemed to hold many things she wanted to say. I instinctively looked away and said.
"Let's have Pia lie down first."
The moment I bent my knees and grabbed Pia's shoulders.
*Flash!*
The back of my left hand began to shine brightly.
"Uh?"
A pure white light with a faint golden hue erupted, as if to drive all the darkness from the room. Dazzled by the brightness that didn't hurt my eyes, I looked down at the back of my hand with a dazed expression.
"Ah! Oh, God!"
I was so flustered I couldn't even process what Pia had said. The brilliant light gradually dimmed as time passed.
Silence fell over the room.
"Wh-what is this?"
"Gasp..."
As I muttered, looking at the back of my left hand, I heard a gasp from beside me. Lily, who had already gotten off the bed, was staring at the back of my left hand. Pia was already bowing her head to the floor, muttering something.
I was too distracted to even help Pia up, staring at the mark etched onto the back of my hand. A geometric pattern was etched into the back of my hand, with a feather motif in the center and beautiful plants extending their stems.
The pure white stems extended not just across the back of my hand, but down to my wrist. It looked as if a white plant had taken root in my hand.
'This is definitely... the place where the god of the Dark Fantasy world carved the seal.'
Staring blankly at the pattern, which looked divine at a glance, some unknown information flooded into my head.
"Ah."
I let out a small gasp, stood up, and looked at Lily. Lily was so flustered she was just opening and closing her mouth, unable to speak properly.
I approached Lily and reached out toward her injured arm.
'I'm sure this is how you use it.'
With that conviction, I focused my consciousness on the back of my left hand.
*Flash!*
The ecstatic light that had faded began to pour out again. A serene energy, reminiscent of a warm embrace, swept down Lily's arm.
Then, the wound vanished as if washed away.