My whole body is burning. I didn’t even have the strength to stand and just collapsed. Normally, even if I fell, it wouldn’t have hurt, but this time it felt like my bones were breaking.
Even after coughing up so much, something more seemed to be rising from within me. When I expelled it while coughing, burnt remnants and blood came out.
I tried to force myself to catch my breath, but my throat was scorched, making it impossible to breathe properly. While enduring the searing pain, I forced myself to inhale, causing my scales to flake off.
The new clothes I had painstakingly tailored were all torn apart during the fight. It was miraculous that somehow my invisibility cloak and identification tag hadn’t fallen off.
Curious about the state of my nails and teeth, I glanced at them. My nails were blackened and cracked as if they would crumble at any moment.
Surprisingly, my teeth were intact. How funny—it took away every bit of iron from my bones but left my teeth alone.
Though amused, the laughter turned into a cough mixed with blood. The sudden twisting of my legs back to their original form made me fall forward, but I didn’t even have the energy to scream; I could only breathe shallowly and groan in pain.
Thankfully, I didn’t scream, or I would’ve spat out even more blood. Although my body was utterly wrecked, I was glad I had won.
So, I can endure this pain. After all, I’ve seen the possibility of killing that bastard father.
Trying to rise, I placed my hands on my knees, but the scales crumbled and fell off. After wobbling several times and barely regaining my balance, I headed toward where everyone else was when I heard something I wasn’t supposed to.
“How dare a half-breed control Breath? Could she really be his child? He wouldn’t leave traces behind. No, that’s irrelevant. Let me commend you for that power.”
It had been a long time since I felt such emotion—fear. I was certain I had blown her head off, yet for some reason, Ereshkigal was still alive.
Before I could turn around to confirm, Ereshkigal grabbed me. Unlike before when I had been stepped on, there was no durability from my scales or magical protection, and my bones had weakened from using Breath. Even though she didn’t grip me too tightly, all my bones shattered.
“…Ugh… Aaaahh… Kruuuaaagh…!”
Every bone in my body broke, piercing my internal organs and muscles. My heart pounded violently, desperately trying to circulate blood throughout my body.
Even without intending to, screams escaped as I was squeezed. For some reason unlike before, blood gushed from the corners of my mouth and nose.
Bubbles of blood formed at the broken remains of Ereshkigal’s head, and bones and muscles grew like plants, restoring her to her original form.
“…Now, pay for daring to provoke and kill the mistress of the Underworld.”
Though I tried to resist, I was too busy screaming in agony to do anything. There was still work left to do. Was I dying now? No, I couldn’t… let that happen.
As I gradually tightened my grip, my consciousness began to fade. Somewhere, something kept breaking. I couldn’t breathe.
“…Alterra…!!”
A distant voice calling my name and shouting something was the last thing I heard before losing consciousness.
—
“I speak by the authority of someone you know, Ereshkigal! Stop this at once and release Alterra!!”
As always, I expected her to retaliate. But seeing the lifeless Alterra hanging limply, I realized something was wrong.
Only after seeing Alterra spitting blood did I urgently call out Ereshkigal’s name, pleading for her to stop fighting. Thankfully, I had held back my command for just this situation.
…I had hoped not to have to use it.
At the sound of my words, Ereshkigal growled fiercely and threw Alterra onto the ground. She bounced once and rolled a few times, leaving a trail of blood.
Without time to protest, I rushed down the slope, demanding answers from Akashi. How was it possible for her to survive after her head was blown off?
“How did it happen? Would the mistress of the Underworld die in the Underworld? You’re foolish. This battle was doomed from the start—for both you and her.”
In other words, whether real or fake, as long as Ereshkigal was in the Underworld, she was immortal. Why didn’t anyone tell me this earlier?
I instructed Yuna to bring Mari over while rushing to Alterra. As I approached, I immediately saw her condition.
Her scales, which covered her body like armor, had become brittle and were about to fall off. Her exposed skin was bruised horribly.
“Alterra!! Alterra!! Can you hear me?! Answer me…!”
Carefully turning her over, I saw her battered face. There wasn’t an inch of her skin that wasn’t injured, and most importantly, she wasn’t breathing.
My mind went blank. What should I do? A potion? Would she even be able to swallow it now? And would it even help?
Staring blankly at Alterra with blurry eyes, Akashi coldly asked if I was just going to sit there and watch.
You’re right, Akashi. Grasping his shoulder and shaking him, I asked if there was anything he could do. However, he replied that he didn’t know how to heal hybrids like her.
“If it were a dragon or human, perhaps. But I don’t know how to fix a crossbreed. Sorry. All I know is a prayer for the dead. That much I can offer. What else can you do when it’s hopeless? I’d save her if I could.”
Shoving the unhelpful Akashi aside, I desperately racked my brain for what I could do. For someone who isn’t breathing…
CPR. How does one do it again? They taught us every year in school, but now I couldn’t remember.
I should’ve paid more attention knowing I’d need it later. Though tears threatened to fall, I held them back—Alterra would hate me for crying like a girl.
“So, tilt the chin to open the airway and… block the nose…?”
My memory was hazy, but there was no time to hesitate. Oh, right. Is her heart still beating?
With trembling hands, I placed them on Alterra’s chest, focusing on the sensation. Through the crumbling scales, I could faintly feel her heart still beating.
Separately, I couldn’t feel her ribs. Given the blood coming from her mouth and nose, her internal organs might be damaged, and her bones seem shattered too.
…I need to do what I can now. Laying Alterra flat, I blocked her nose and pressed my lips to hers without hesitation, blowing air into her lungs.
I blew until her chest rose, then pulled away, placing my ear near her mouth to check if she exhaled.
She did exhale, but something seemed wrong as a gurgling sound emerged. Until Yuna arrived with Mari, I continued giving her breaths, but nothing changed.
I wondered if it was futile, but I couldn’t stop. Suddenly, she vomited a large amount of black blood.
“Alterra…!”
For a moment, I feared I had made things worse, but hearing her faint breaths reassured me that I hadn’t completely failed.
Still precarious and fragile, she was breathing on her own. Having done everything I could, it was time to hand her over to Mari.
When I asked if Mari could heal Alterra, she licked the blood from Alterra’s mouth and examined her body by touching and tapping various places.
-Blood magic concentration critically low. Oxygen level low. Multiple internal bleeding detected. At least five complex fractures detected. Thoracic cage damaged. Abdominal wall damaged. Multiple organ damages detected. Lung function issues found. Unconscious. Heart functioning normally.
Mari sang out Alterra’s status. Though I understood it was serious, I didn’t fully grasp the specifics, so I asked for a summary.
-Grim outlook. Survival probability unpredictable due to insufficient data on this entity.
“…Heal her. Do whatever it takes!”
She’s still alive, right? I ordered Mari to heal her immediately without hesitation. In response, she said something incomprehensible and pulled out one of her fingers.
Why was she harming herself when I asked her to heal? Before I could question it, I noticed light streaming from the severed finger, realizing it was some kind of syringe.
-Administering hemostatic agent, regeneration promoter, analgesic, mana concentrate, and custom enzyme.
Anxiously watching as she injected various substances into Alterra, I heard movement from behind.
Looking back, I saw Ereshkigal raising her hand above our heads, her bloodshot eyes glaring down at us.
“Even if I regress into a beast, I’ll make sure none of you end up like that woman. Now, get lost before it happens.”
Ereshkigal was threatening to crush us if we didn’t leave immediately.
We can’t attack, can we? Yet Akashi, with a stern expression, asked if she was serious.
“Serious? Are you questioning me? You invaded my domain, ruined my plans, stole my lover’s future, and cast me out of eternity. Do you think I can’t crush you?”
Upon hearing this, Akashi scratched the back of his head awkwardly and suggested we should leave immediately.
“Why? Didn’t you prevent her from attacking by invoking names? Can’t you actually fight her or something?”
“I can. But I’d have to give up my wisdom, mana, lifespan… everything. Look at her blood-red eyes. She’s completely gone mad. She’d really sacrifice everything to kill you.”
Then why don’t we just cancel the spell disguising us as the dead? When I asked, Mari said it was a problem.
I cast it on her womb too. I don’t know how it will turn out. Will only her womb ascend, or will she ascend entirely? If we take her as she is, we can definitely go together. What do you decide?
…We couldn’t risk it.
Alterra was clearly in no condition to walk, so someone would have to carry her.
Yuna? But both Yuna and Akashi insisted it was obviously my responsibility to carry her.
Will it work? Despite my worries, ascending was the priority. Carefully sliding my hands under her thighs and back, I lifted her as gently as possible, as if handling something fragile.
She was surprisingly light, contrary to what she had claimed.
“…Let’s ascend.”
I should’ve stopped her. I should’ve tried harder to stop her. Blaming myself, I moved my steps. As the perspective shifted from looking up at Ereshkigal to looking down at her, Alterra shivered and weakly wrapped her relatively undamaged arm around my neck.
“Alterra?! Are you conscious?!”
“A…pa… Mommy… It hurts…”
