Lucian's chest still hitched with faint rasps, though the worst of the racking coughs had finally subsided.

  "Just take a deep breath. Don't rush. Take your time," the braided beauty said to Lucian in a calm, soothing voice. Lucian followed her advice, drawing a deep breath. The air rushed in—dry, crisp, almost biting—nothing like fresh or cool. Nonetheless, it still served its purpose despite the discomfort.

  After taking the deep breath, he finally turned his attention to his saviors. Her brows knit together, gaze softening as she gently patted his back. The big one was a bit ahead of them, staring at the vague figure of the hellspawn that was still sinking in the quicksand. Lucian couldn't see his expression, but his shoulders were rigid, a subtle tension in his stance.

  Exhaling once more, Lucian inquired, "Why are you guys here? I thought you'd have run far away, like the others." Honestly, he was curious why they'd risk their lives to save him.

  The braided beauty heard his question and her eyes flickered, her lips pressed together before parting as though she was about to say something, but no words left her mouth. Eventually, though, she replied, "We saw you in trouble, facing off with that fiend head-on. So we decided to come over and help."

  Lucian's eyebrows arched, his voice laced with skepticism. "Really? So you risked your life to get me out of the hellspawn's clutches, just because you saw I was in danger? Especially when you were telling me just a few moments ago that it would be best to have everyone die to ensure you win the trial?" he questioned. His sharp questions were laden with suspicion. The braided beauty had no way to answer them, and her brows furrowed as her jaw clenched. Lucian wasn't done, though.

  He continued, "And you used him..." he said, pointing at the big one, "...as a meat shield against the hellspawn. How did you get him to join you in saving me?"

  "I-I..." she tried to explain, but no words came out as a reply. Lucian was about to continue when the big one interrupted him.

  "I'm sure you have questions," the big one cut in, voice heavy with urgency, "but let's do this when we're not so close to a bloodthirsty beast." His heavy voice cut in with a sense of urgency.

  'More like tongue-starving,' Lucian thought wryly, nodding. He tried to stand up but found it extremely taxing. The paralysis was extremely potent, and his legs were still in a somewhat sleepy state. Seeing this, the braided beauty offered, "Do you need help?"

  Lucian stared at her, considering her offer. He really wanted to refuse, but their situation wouldn't get better if he acted cocky and insufferable. With a bit of reluctance, he nodded. Needing no other indication, she immediately came to his aid.

  Lucian gave her an arm, expecting her to help him up and put his arm over her neck to support him... but he couldn't have been more wrong.

  Before he could react, she scooped him up in a princess carry. His cheeks flushed instantly. 'Hey! What are you doing?! Put me down!" Lucian exclaimed.

  The braided beauty's gaze, which had always been on Lucian, glinted with a mischievous gleam. She paid no heed to his protest and instead gave reasons why this was better.

  "But you're short," she said, blinking those deep blue eyes innocently.

  Lucian was stunned speechless. He really wanted to argue that he wasn't short at all. But compared to her, he indeed could be considered short.

  Tch.

  'I'm not short! You're just too tall,' he grumbled.

  "Besides, this is more efficient. Helping you walk would take forever. Carrying you gets you rest and better speed. Don't you agree?" she asked in an innocent tone, her expression so clueless that even Lucian was almost fooled. The look in her eyes was a huge giveaway.

  Shaking off his thoughts, he continued, "But won't you get tired carrying me?"

  She shook her head. "Not really. I'm strong—as you've already noticed,' she said with quiet confidence. Then, with a wry expression, her eyes looking up ahead and avoiding his, she added, "And besides... you're not exactly heavy."

  Lucian's brows furrowed and his eyes twitched, his jaw tightening. He already knew he was light, of course. After all, living in the slums wasn't exactly for people who could eat a three-course meal. But she made his weight sound extremely light. He felt just a little bit indignant.

  Just as he was about to give her a piece of his mind, the big one stepped in. "Calm down. She doesn't mean it like that. It's just more convenient since you're light. And we really need to pick up speed since the others are getting ahead of us," he reasoned, agreeing with her words.

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  Unfortunately, she made extremely solid points, and though he didn't want to allow her to do as she pleased, the big one had already nodded in agreement.

  'Curses!' Lucian cursed as he resigned to his fate. Sighing, he said, "Fine then. When I get better, I'll let you know."

  The braided beauty let loose a beautiful and captivating smile at his capitulation. Glee filled her eyes as they took the form of crescents while she nodded her head in agreement. "Mhmm."

  'Oh boy,' he thought as he turned his face away from hers. Aside from the fact that he didn't want to see her taunting expression, he also wanted to hide his flustered one. It wasn't every day that a valiant beauty got to carry him, and in such an embarrassing way, no less.

  'Might as well let myself rest a little and enjoy this.' Lucian shrugged before, without warning, turning his face back to hers, eyes closed and snuggling against her chest. The braided beauty, who was originally gloating about his 'shyness,' froze, surprised by his bold actions. She looked down at him, possibly to reprimand him or something. But his eyes were tightly shut when she did, and he looked like he had already fallen asleep.

  She couldn't really blame him, as she had experienced the paralysis before and knew how incredibly taxing it was to keep her consciousness from succumbing to the harrowing, soothing call of the silence.

  "I'll let you have your way this time," she whispered with a slightly red expression before focusing back on the black gates in the distance and following after the big one. Lucian's mouth curved up a bit before quickly going back to normal. It didn't take long before sleep claimed him.

  ...

  Lucian's eyes fluttered open, roused by soft, beautiful humming. Trying to make out his situation, a yawn escaped him. The first thing he noticed was that he was no longer in the braided beauty's arms, instead finding himself on her back. It seemed like her hands eventually grew tired and she had to throw him behind her.

  'Hmph, light my ass,' he smirked inwardly.

  He also noticed that the sky seemed to have gotten darker, and it was increasingly harder to see up ahead.

  'Is it just me, or has the place gone from hot to cool?' Lucian wondered as he felt a chill breeze blow over him. He was instantly suspicious. The shift in the environmental situation was, of course, a welcome change. But it had always been a curious thought as to why they were given large and heavy coats instead of light clothes to combat the hellish heat. He had thought it was just a sick joke of hell and the voice that introduced them into the trial. But now, witnessing the change in the environment's condition, he was having other theories. Looking down at the coat tied around his waist, he breathed a sigh of relief.

  'Thank goodness I decided to keep the coat instead of sacrificing it for more speed.' A lot of the other participants had done so thanks to the panic caused by the hellspawn, and if his deductions were correct, they'd soon regret it.

  "You're awake already?" Interrupting her humming, the braided beauty asked, sensing Lucian's movements on her back. Hearing her question, Lucian recovered from his reverie.

  Rubbing his eyes, he replied, "Yeah, I'm awake. How long was I out for?"

  A contemplative expression appeared on her face, her head tilting a bit as her brows narrowed a little.

  "Hmmm, a little over two hours, I guess?" she estimated with an unsure expression.

  Lucian's eyes widened a bit with surprise. 'Two hours? Wow, she wasn't joking about how powerful she was.' A glad feeling filled him. She seemed to be a really powerful fighter and had her wits about her. She had also risked her life to save him. Even though he saved her first, how many would have come back to help him? He had really chosen a strong and reliable ally. Well, there was also the big one who had helped in saving him as well. He wasn't exactly sure of his goals, why he had risked his life to save him, doing it alongside the person who almost caused his death, and if he could be trusted.

  'Oh well, time will tell,' Lucian thought when suddenly he felt the braided beauty's shoulders droop. He thought it was a hint at how tired she was. Rolling his eyes, 'Admit if you're tired, damn it,' he thought, deciding to get off. He would have scolded her directly, but he wanted to avoid any unnecessary words that would lead to an unintentional lie. Shaking his head, he was about to get off when she began, "Thank you for saving me back there."

  Listening to her mild and hesitant tone, Lucian froze in his actions. Turning to face her, all he could see was the side of her face and one eye, which was fixed ahead. He couldn't make heads or tails of her expression right now.

  Confused, 'What brought this on?' he wondered.

  Parting his lips, he was speechless for a moment but then asked, "Why are you thanking me? You saved my ass as well. We're even."

  "Maybe, but you only got in danger because of me... because of my lie,' she said, voice trembling slightly. She bit her lip, a regretful expression spreading across her face. Of course, being behind her, Lucian couldn't see her expression.

  Her last sentence had Lucian curious. "What was your lie?... And when did you lie?" he asked with furrowed brows.

  The braided beauty fell silent. For a few steps, only the sound of sand shifting beneath their feet filled the air. Then she inhaled slowly. "It was when I first approached you and started our conversation. You asked when I had begun observing you, and I said it was the first paralysis, you remember?" she asked.

  Lucian showed a little skepticism at her question as he replied, "Yeah..."

  The braided beauty wore a wry expression. She hesitated again. Her grip on him tightened just a fraction as she continued, "W-well, I... I, uh... had been observing you far longer than that."

  Lucian's eyes popped, his jaw obeying gravity and dropping like a stone. He guessed this from her earlier words, but it still didn't make any sense. He hadn't done anything at that time noteworthy, so there was completely no reason why she should have had her attention on him. With an apprehensive expression, he asked, "And why were you inclined to do so?"

  She bit her lip. Her gaze drifted ahead, avoiding his completely, as though the dunes might offer her escape. For a long moment, she said nothing.

  Then, embarrassed, she said, "I... I found you... interesting."

  Lucian was puzzled.

  He blinked. "Interesting?"

  She swallowed.

  Another beat.

  "Let's just say I was a bit... smitten," she stammered, her face burning up.

  Lucian was once again left speechless by her words, only this time, he had nothing to say anymore. The desert, the hellspawn, the looming gates—all of it suddenly felt distant.

  Taking a deep breath, he said, "Let me down." She immediately complied and set him back on the floor.

  Wearing a complicated expression, he looked up at the tall, powerful, exotic beauty. "I don't really know how to reply to this," he said. She understood what he meant. They were currently in the middle of a trial where probably only one of them would be able to escape, and they'd probably have to face each other to ensure their survival. He was also almost sure she wouldn't just let him win. As a result, a relationship was too unrealistic.

  Her head hung low, the vibrant blue of her eyes losing its spark. She picked herself up and continued with a forced smile. "Still, I'm grateful for you saving me from the abomination," she said in appreciation.

  Lucian let out an awkward cough. "Ahem, well, this is not really necessary. After all, the reason I did what I did was to test my theory on the weakness of the monster..."

  Somewhere deep in the sand of the burning desert, the tongue-eating aberration twitched, slowly regaining its mobility, its tongues flickering around with intense desire... before turning frantic once more and returning to its paralyzed state, much to its despair, as Lucian continued his sentence.

  "...and for another being to save you," Lucian added in a quieter tone, ensuring he looked away from her. But this actually caused a smile to appear on her lips. That was because he didn't say his test was the main reason—just a reason. The hellspawn could sense lies in the air, no matter how insignificant, so he had to be careful with his placement of words. And since he was wary of saying directly that his test was the main reason despite insinuating it, she was sure he was just trying to throw her off.

  Her blue eyes brightened as she smirked. "Yeah, right."

  Lucian raised an eyebrow and was about to retort when the big one called out, "Why are you two wasting time?"

  The braided beauty's smile widened as she winked triumphantly and skipped away.

  Lucian remained speechless and motionless for a bit before finally letting out a quiet curse.

  "Curses!"