swllow

Got 'em all here. Does this gentleman here need anything?

No need. He's not going in.

I see. Anything else you'd like to say to him?

Yes.

Ian, if I came out of these woods infected... would you still want me to be your bodyguard?

This is no laughing matter. You can't conceal your fear as your voice is trembling.

That's right. I'm scared to death, but I'll never let it get the better of me.

Answer my question, Ian.

The answer is no. If you got infected, I wouldn't want you as my bodyguard.

I know this sounds harsh, but... nothing will change my attitude toward the Infected.

Even if you've never had a proper conversation with an Infected?

...That's right.

Alright. I guess there's nothing more to say.

Rhodes Island... has taught you well.

I'll take that as a compliment.

Wait, GreyThroat! Hold on!

The child's parents lived on the outskirts of the forest. Upon hearing our warning, the haggard man carried his wife on his back and ran out of the woods.

Meanwhile, their child was still sitting in the town square, clutching their knees to their chest.

In the end, Blaze and I spent two hours spreading the news of the Catastrophe to every corner of the woods that could possibly provide shelter.

Four hours after Rhodes Island set sail, the Catastrophe struck the empty town and the woods.

By then, I was dozing off in the dorms, having completed the routine disinfection and check-up.

In the dream, it was the day my mother first brought me to Rhodes Island. She took me, a young child, to the huge landship to meet one person after another.

Amiya had an amicable vibe that drew people to her. I willingly opened my heart to her even though she was an Infected. As for Dr. Kal'tsit, I didn't see her often, but every decision she made was convincing.

There's a big Feline who only knows how to shed blood everywhere. The two of us just went rampaging through some woods I'd never seen before.

There was Phidia who didn't talk much and whom I only met briefly. Also, there was a white Cautus, whose icy aura dissuaded me from approaching.

I knew that my mother was on the verge of a mental breakdown, perhaps already past the breaking point... In any case, she was not completely lucid.

But still, she entrusted me to Rhodes Island.

Countless times, I've wondered how I would have turned out if she had left me somewhere else, probably a place without the Infected.

However, right now, as I gaze into those indistinct eyes, I see a light in them that always flickers but has never gone out.