Please Kill Me - Chapter 65
At the same time, Leonid also moved.
Despite not being able to use his right arm fully, his movements were not slow. He dived towards the monster’s feet and swung his sword with significant force.
“Huuh!”
It was impressive enough that he could wield the long sword with one arm, but the precision and destructive power he displayed were even more astounding. He cleanly severed the monster’s ankles that were supporting the monster’s body.
With a chilling scrape, the monster’s bulky body began to tilt, and Yekaterina, not missing her chance, moved closer to the monster’s chest and thrust her daggers deep.
When facing a high-grade monster, there was no need to waste time trying to debilitate it by attacking randomly. It was all about swift, decisive strikes to the most likely location of its core, starting with the chest, the most probable place.
Yekaterina kept her dagger embedded and started slicing through the flesh. The monster’s pained screeches filled the forest as it desperately swung its limbs towards its chest in a futile attempt to remove the source of its agony.
Bang!
With a loud crash, the monster collapsed completely, and Yekaterina was momentarily out of sight, hidden beneath the monster’s body and chest, with only the hem of her robe peeping out.
“Yekaterina!”
Leonid, who had wisely stayed out of the way of the falling body, rushed forward as the scene unfolded.
With a swoosh, his sword sliced through the air again, severing the monster’s limb that had swung down towards its own chest after Yekaterina had already struck.
But the sound had been made, and the limb had struck after Yekaterina had made her move.
If Yekaterina had been caught beneath it?
Leonid’s heart pounded loudly with anxiety.
Then…
Crrrack.
From beyond the obscured view, a loud breaking sound came from the area around the monster’s chest.
And then, the monster stopped moving altogether.
“…Phew.”
Shortly after, Yekaterina emerged from where she had been. To say she looked unscathed would be an understatement; her robe was so thoroughly stained with blood that it was difficult to find a spot that wasn’t red.
Yet her expression remained calm, as if nothing had happened. Yekaterina discarded her tattered robe and made some quick adjustments to her appearance before moving on.
Leonid, watching Yekaterina stride over the monster’s carcass, narrowed his eyes and asked,
“Did you find the core?”
“It was a gamble, but luck was on my side.”
“Anyone could see it was a gamble. Even if the chest is the most likely place for the core—”
“This monster seemed to favor its right side, almost as if it was protecting its left.”
That’s why she aimed for the left side of its chest first. Yekaterina knew the monster would counterattack, but she did not back down.
‘Of course, I had something to rely on.’
The family’s protective magic might have made it seem reckless, but even without that magic, even if a direct hit from the monster could shatter all her bones, Yekaterina would have done the same. She had always prioritized her goals over her own life.
In a way, this recklessness was a habit ingrained in her.
The gamble paid off.
But Leonid seemed to think that wasn’t everything.
He looked furious, wearing the expression that Yekaterina saw on him most often.
“What would you have done if the core hadn’t been there?”
“Is there a need to speculate? I killed it anyway.”
It was a very close call. Yekaterina had penetrated the monster’s core just a fraction faster than it could crush her, and the carcass couldn’t break through the Offenbach magic.
Yekaterina’s logic was clear, but Leonid’s face showed he couldn’t accept it.
“What if it hadn’t worked out? You could have died.”
“That wouldn’t have been a problem.”
“Ah, right. You came here to die. Should I have hoped your gamble would fail?”
His words were sarcastic, yet his tone was anything but light.
Each word Leonid spoke seemed heavy with anger.
Yekaterina quietly observed him and then looked away. As always, her inscrutable black eyes, even blood-stained, maintained their tranquility.
“…..Are you angry?”
“Do I look like I’m smiling to you? Not only did you deceive me and leave on your own, but you keep rushing towards death!”
“Is that not allowed?”
“Stop asking for those damned reasons! Can’t you look me in the eyes at all?”
Leonid’s face contorted, but it was no longer just the face of someone angry.
He strode over and grabbed Yekaterina’s arm. His grip was rough, yet the strength in it was surprisingly gentle.
And until that moment, Yekaterina hadn’t been looking at Leonid. It was only when he grabbed her arm that she finally turned to face him.
“What exactly are you looking at? What are you seeing that makes you desire death so much?”
What could she be looking at that she failed to see him?
The questions that had been buried deep in Leonid’s heart surged to his throat.
Actually, he knew the truth.
These questions were why he couldn’t stop caring about Yekaterina.
The reasons behind her constant talk of death. Why she regarded herself so lightly.
