"Rex, are you there?"
The voice came again with impatient door-knocking sounds. It was a light, soothing, feminine voice.
"A person seems to be calling for him, but he is now asleep."
Hearing the voice, my body remained still. My breathing hastened for a moment, but it quickly calmed down. As I looked at Rex's unconscious body, I wondered what I should do now.
"He probably won't be able to open the door in his current condition, and who is that person calling Rex?"
The door-knocking grew aggressive as I was thinking this. And the voice sounded,
"If you are not going to open, I will just barge in."
Rustle - Rustle
I detected the door opening sound as countless thoughts flowed through my mind. My fists were tightly clenched.
"What! She started barging in? Now what?"
While I was thinking this, the door burst open, and the lady outside stormed in with her loud footsteps. Her footsteps were getting closer and faster moment by moment.
"I don't have the time to prepare for anything. Judging from her recent traits, she'll probably just enter the room before I can do anything."
Just as I thought this, the lady came crashing down into the room. Loud laughter followed as she entered.
"Haha, Rex, you didn't open the door, so I did it myself."
And her laughter instantly stopped when she saw Rex's unconscious body, then she stared at me. I was lying still on the bed.
I had no chance to do anything against the speed she used to come into the room. Like a lightning bolt, she appeared before me in an instant after she burst open the door.
She had bright crimson eyes, like burning magma waiting to erupt. Her long black hair flowed like a rain of ink, extending down to her waist. Her pale white skin was like freezing snow. A sword hung at her waist.
While she stared deep into my soul, I felt a sudden chill running through my body. My instincts were telling me not to move. I sensed that she was not someone ordinary, and more dangerous than Crimson Fang, which was evident from her speed alone.
The room's atmosphere started feeling heavy when she saw Rex lying on the floor. I struggled to breathe, like something was gripping me, not letting me inhale—her gaze an unknown weight.
She glared at me for some seconds, then averted her gaze from me and slowly supported Rex as she started walking towards the door. But she stopped in her tracks before telling me something in her cold voice. Her eyes looked deep into me. It was no longer the cheerful voice I heard when she asked to open the door.
"Don't you dare move! I have some questions to ask you!"
My body didn't even dare to move. In my mind, I knew I wouldn't be able to escape from the girl. After informing me of this, she slowly walked outside the room, supporting Rex carefully with her hands.
As I felt a little ease in breathing, I evaluated my current situation while clenching my fists.
"This girl is unpredictable like a raging hurricane; she is not someone I can do anything to."
"She was angry after seeing Rex's condition, which means she is related to him in a way that she gets angry for his sake."
"My way to escape is blocked. I can't last against her. Now, I can only answer her questions like a prisoner."
I laughed bitterly at my situation.
Just as I was thinking this, the girl reappeared—instantly—in the room, standing right in front of me. I couldn't register her movement, my eyes widened, sweat descending from my forehead. She stood silent, calm, and her crimson eyes burned like an erupting volcano.
The room suddenly started to heat, my breathing became rigid, and everything—silent. Just two pairs of eyes staring at each other.
After a few moments, the girl's cold voice called out, and the silence finally broke.
"Who are you?"
"I am K-Kaal."
I replied instantly with my real name in a slightly scared voice; there is no need to hide it, since nobody in this world knows me.
"I must answer all questions truthfully—unless it's something I don't want to reveal. Mixing lies with the truth is the best way to make it seem like I'm being honest. That's how you gain someone's trust."
"And if I speak in a fearful tone, it'll make people feel superior. That can help me hide certain things as well."
As these thoughts flowed through my mind, another question was asked in her cold tone.
"Where did you come from?"
"T-That… I don't remember it…"
I continued in my horrified tone, slightly closing my eyelids as if I were preparing for a punishment that would befall me.
"You don't remember it?"
"What kind of joke is that? Don't try to hide it!"
The girl exclaimed loudly. Reacting to her voice, I started trembling and closed my eyes as if I were afraid of her.
And I replied in my quivering voice,
"I-I am n-not hiding anything. I only remember the last thing when I was travelling with my parents."
"While my parents, I, and one of their friends—whom they trusted the most—were travelling together."
"Everything was going well until—"
I gripped my hand, my eyes slightly teary.
"We encountered a sudden predicament, and—their most trusted friend—betrayed us and killed my parents. And before they were about to die, they helped me escape."
My hands began trembling as I raised them to my face.
"I-I saw them dying, covered in blood, while still smiling because they saved me."
Tears started falling down my face as my fingers covered it, leaving just enough space for my eyes to see.
"I-I was unable to do anything while they were dying—just running."
My knuckles whitened. The girl's cold expression seemed to have melted a little, as some tears were visible in her eyes while her hand covered her mouth. Thoughts flowed in my mind.
"As I thought—it's working. Even though it's partly true, she's buying it."
"If you want someone to believe your words, reveal more than they asked—mix truth with lies, and they'll swallow the lie as truth too."
I secretly took a glance at the girl.
"The coldness has started to crack. I should hit it while the iron's hot."
Some thoughts were also running through the girl's mind as her nails dug into her palm.
"Is he telling the truth?"
She looked at my broken expression.
"With that look on his face, I don't think he is lying."
"I didn't know he had suffered this much—and he also nearly died while saving Paul."
Her eyes were slightly lowered, and her hands trembled slightly.
"I just came back from hunting when I heard the news about someone saving Paul from a werewolf, while the guy who saved him got seriously injured."
"And he was currently at Rex's place—So I came here to check what kind of person he is, but—"
She stared at me.
"When I saw Rex lying on the floor, I thought this guy did something to Rex, and I lost my cool and used a mental attack on him—but nothing happened to him, which made me more suspicious."
"Until I realized Rex was merely exhausted and asleep from healing Kaal, but—"
Her eyes lowered even more as a complicated expression took its place, and she bit her lip.
"I still decided to doubt him, and made him remember something this painful."
While she was thinking this, I continued.
"I ran and ran, until I came near a river and—I heard someone's scream. A man was getting attacked by a beast."
"I thought about running from there, but—"
I tightly bit my lip until it bled and clenched my fist, as a fire rose in my eyes.
"I remembered that bastard's face in that beast when he was attacking my parents. He was also smiling sinisterly, and I thought that I couldn't run away forever—I must learn to fight back and take revenge on that bastard so he doesn't hurt anyone again like he did to my parents."
I lifted my arm as I said,
"So I gripped the sharp stone that my parents gave me before, and stabbed that beast from behind. Just as I thought he died and let my guard down, I got hit by one of his attacks. I just woke up and saw that man lying on the floor, and the rest is, as you know—I don't remember anything other than that."
And tears started falling from my eyes as I added in a fearful tone,
"I-It's the last memory that I have remaining."
"I-I am not lying."
I lowered my head slightly as tears fell like a waterfall.
"S-So please don't kill me. I don't want to waste the life that my parents gave me."
As I said this, I suddenly felt a warm sensation against my chest—two delicate, soft arms wrapping around my head. And I heard a slight whisper in my ear.
"It's okay."