dead. If he didn't, he was likely to end up dead himself. He hacked at its guts, knowing full well that it was overkill. Once finished, he turned to the boy, who was cowering in fear on the ground, and raised the bloody ax high. "See, this is how we should be using these weapons." The boy's face scrunched up, and tears began leaking from his eyes. Seeing that he was scaring the boy, Kaito quickly shook his head and lowered the ax. "The thing is, uh, if we use this ax, we might be able to smash the lock on that door. And the underground passage is narrow, so the crows shouldn't be able to follow us easily. If we make it that far, we have a pretty decent shot at getting out alive. Leaving us these weapons in hopes that we'd kill one another was a big mistake. Let's show 'em that." "...B-but Iâ€”" "Well, don't just stay there all day quivering. Come on; get up. I'm not mad or anything." After all, Kaito had already been killed once before. He could overlook a half-hearted attempt. He extended his hand and motioned for the boy to get up. At his lighthearted gesture, the boy finally stopped shaking. Extending a tentative hand, the boy accepted Kaito's help. And then, Kaito and the rest began their counterattack. Grabbing the arm of a beastfolk boy who had been hiding in the forest, a crow gave its wings a strong flap. Kaito sidled up behind the crow, and as he jumped out in front of it, he hacked horizontally at its black wings in a single motion. The crow fell to the ground with a muted thud, and the red-haired boy stabbed it a few times with his sword. Melanie hugged the crying beastfolk boy. Kaito wiped some sweat off his chin and looked over his shoulder. "Is that everyone?" Behind him stood the eight children they'd managed to gather while dashing from thicket to thicket. Kaito was disappointed at how few had survived. But he had no time to waste on shock. The group had remained hidden by the shade of the trees and killed each of the crows with a single attack, so the main group of crows hadn't noticed anything unusual yet. Thinking their hunt over, the rest of the crows simply rested on the wire. Now was the group's chance to escape. Kaito pulled a fresh ax and short sword from beneath a tree. The short sword looked easy to handle, so he gave it to the beastfolk boy before crouching down. He looked the rest of the group in the eyes, then whispered his instructions. "Listen, we're going to make a run for the door. If the crows come after us, just stick to the plan and swing your weapons around like crazy. You don't have to kill them. Just make sure to keep yourselves safe. We're going to survive this. Now go!" The children in tow, Kaito broke into a dash. The floor they had to cross held no cover, and it felt like it stretched on for eternity. Somehow they managed to cross it and finally closed the gap to the door. Looking behind them, they saw the crows were in hot pursuit. Kaito swung his ax at the door. "Remember, just do what he said. Spread out from there to there!" The children fanned out in accordance with the red-haired boy's orders, then began swinging their weapons at the crows. Kaito knew this wouldn't buy much time. Ignoring the pain of the talons scratching at his shoulder, he repeatedly struck the doorknob with his ax. The lock went flying. Surrounded by a torrent of bird cries, he kicked open the door. "It's open! We canâ€”" Just then, a scream rang out from behind him. He turned to look and saw a scimitar-wielding boy drop his weapon as a crow pecked at his eyes. The crow then grabbed the boy from behind and carried him up high. But the crow's sharp talons caused the boy's shirt to tear, and he fell. His tiny head burst like a melon as it collided with the ground. He died instantly. His vision dyed red with rage, Kaito moved. Sparing no concern for his ragged arm muscles, he hefted his ax and threw it with all his might. The crow had moved on from the boy and made for the other children, but the ax caught it clean in the chest. It slammed into another crow and began spiraling to the ground. Kaito shouted: "Run!" The children responded to Kaito's scream and stampeded for the door. The red-haired boy followed after them. As Kaito picked up the scimitar, he sunk the blade deep into another crow's head, then flung its corpse at the rest of the throng. They ascended to avoid the body, and Kaito used that opening to bolt through the door. He then grabbed the brazier from beside the door and threw it at the dead body. The flame spread easily. That should buy them a little more time. The crows flapped their wings to evade the smoke, and Kaito returned through the door. Melanie and the children had already gone ahead. For some reason, though, the red-haired boy was waiting for him. Kaito blinked, then raised his voice. "Hey, what are you waiting around for? Get a move on!" "R-right!" The red-haired boy started running alongside Kaito. The sound of crows cawing became distant. It seemed the fire had served as a potent deterrent. Kaito prayed that the crows would stay away. The dark corridor was silent save for the echo of their footsteps. The red-haired boy spoke through the aftershocks of the event. "My... My name is Neue. What's yours, mister?" "I'm Kaito. Kaito Sena." "Kaito Sena... I'm sorry, Kaito." "What for?" "I tried to kill you. I said that you'd been living on easy street." "Don't worry about it. Anything I heard in that messed-up situation is already a distant memory." "But you were so much calmer than the rest of us, and you saved us by killing those crows. You're amazing. How were you so braâ€”?" Neue was suddenly silent. The two of them looked over their shoulders. They could feel some kind of hideous presence behind them. There was a strange rustling noise, and they could see a black shape squirming around. A vertical line of insect eyes emitted a sinister glow. Eight thick legs scratched at the rocky walls. A massive spider was standing behind them. Upon closer inspection, it was blanketed by a thick coat of crow feathers, and its mouth extended into a sharp beak. Kaito realized why the crows had stopped chasing them. Being naive enough to think the fire served as any sort of diversion could very well have gotten them killed. The crows had understood how disadvantaged they were in the narrow underground corridor and so coalesced, then they mutated into the spider now bearing down on them. The spider spat out a thread. Kaito reflexively blocked with his scimitar. The very next moment, the scimitar went flying backward. It slammed into the spider, but the blade found no hold and simply slid along its thick feathers. The spider let out a frustrated roar and shot out more thread. Neue was right in the line of fire, and his face contorted in fear. Kaito saw some of his old self in that expression. The boy in front of him had been ordered to die by his own parent, then cast into a desperate situation without an ounce of hope. Unable to help himself, Kaito gave in. With a sigh, he thrust out his left arm. The spider's thread wrapped around his wrist. Kaito immediately snatched Neue's sword from him. Based on its texture, the thread was likely as strong as steel. Giving up on cutting it, Kaito elected to instead lop off his own hand. With a dissatisfied cry, the spider reeled in the thread and began feasting on the hand with eerily non-insect movements. The pain fired sparks through his brain. But Kaito was more than familiar with pain, and on top of that, his body was immortal. He could deal with this much. After all, if he didn't, he would die. He returned the sword to Neue, then firmly applied pressure to his wrist as he started running again. Tears welled up in Neue's eyes as he ran beside him. "Why would you do something like that? Why?! What reason did you have?!" "Don't worry about it. I'm already dead." "What?! Are you stupid or something?" "Wow, rude. The thing is, I'm not originally from this world." "What are you talking about?" "Don't worry about itâ€”just listen. My dad worked me to the bone back in my old world, and eventually he murdered me like I was little more than garbage. It was a pretty shitty life. Just when I thought it was all over, the Torturâ€”er, I guess you'd call her a sorcererâ€” She summoned me and shoved my soul into this fake body." His tongue oddly loosened, Kaito found himself oversharing. The spider had finished eating Kaito's hand, bones and all, and it began shooting thread again. Neue brought the sword to his chest to protect himself. But this caused the sword to be wrapped in thread and snatched away by the spider. Seeing his face stiffen, Kaito sighed and made a decision. He didn't want to do this. But if it was the only card he had left to play, then he would play it. He took a deep breath, then gave Neue an order. "I'm just some random dead guy. The next time the spider shoots its thread, you need to escape while it eats me." "Again, what are you talking about?! You really are an idiot!" "Again, rude. Sure, I'll die if it eats me completely, but it's not like I even wanted to be brought back to life in the first place. This is the end for me. If only one of us can survive, it should be the guy who hasn't died yet, right?" Kaito looked at Neue, who suddenly seemed to him rather young. Neue looked back at him, his eyes watery with tears. This was the way to go. Kaito was satisfied that he was making the right choice. Crying children didn't deserve to be in a place like this. And Kaito hadn't shed a single tear. "You haven't died yet, so the world is your oyster. Good luck." Kaito made his cheerful declaration. As the spider let out a hideous cry, Kaito bit his lip. He really was afraid to die a second time. The fear he'd lost bubbled back up inside him. The pain of his desire to cling to life was unbearable. But he had no other choice. He exhaled softly. He was going to die saving someone who reminded him of his old self. And in doing so, he would become the kind of hero he had always hoped would save him. If he thought about it that way, at least the absurd bonus chapter of his life would have a meaningful conclusion. As Kaito reflected on his decision with satisfaction, the spider shot its thread. He made no attempt to dodge. And then it happened. "...Huh?" Neue shoved Kaito aside with a thud. The thread wrapped its way around Neue's slim back. Kaito looked up from the ground, dumbfounded. He stretched his hand out to Neue as a stupid question made its way across his lips. "Wh-why?" "Huh, I wonder." Neue himself was unsure, and his voice was pure confusion. The spider reeled in the thread. The next moment, Neue's face froze up as he whispered. "I guess...I was just hoping you could find happiness in this world." Kaito swore under his breath. Neue gave a pained smile, and then he was taken. A horrible scream rang out. Kaito scrambled