How To Survive A Cute Ghost Yandere
Chapter 33: Seed of Corruption

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Seed of Corruption

Soft.

Erness’s voice sounded like a gentle, soothing melody. Every exhausted inch of Eiros’s body was lulled by that coaxing tone, wanting rest more than anything else.

As his consciousness slowly began to fade, he jolted. His eyes forced themselves wide open, revealing veins turning red at their edges.

He coughed a few times, glancing at Erness in the middle of all that chaos.

"...Why aren’t you asleep? I was just about to take you away from here."

"...You know that’s not possible. Can you stop playing around?"

Irritation crept into his voice. Eiros struggled to hold on to his consciousness, which had nearly been swallowed by darkness moments before.

Meanwhile, Erness watched him in silence, the smile on her face faltering as she lowered her head.

"There’s no way for you to save them."

"Why?"

"Someone at the Luminous tier, with an artefact. Can you really fight that?"

Hearing that, Eiros stopped talking for a moment, letting his chaotic thoughts slowly settle.

His gaze fixed on the slimes still writhing about, only to be destroyed by students wielding deadly ranged attacks.

That gave him a bit more breathing room.

"Just take me away."

"And?"

"Once more—can you help me? Just take the Saintess, the Prince, and the Imperial Princess and get them out. I’ll buy some time."

Eiros began to wonder why he was even fighting this hard in the first place. Of course, the answer boiled down to his unwillingness to watch this world fall apart.

Even though he wanted a peaceful, easy life, that wouldn’t be possible while the world kept marching toward ruin. Even fate seemed to want something else from him—there were too many things he could question.

Why, exactly, had it all turned out this way for someone who was supposed to be just an ordinary jobless guy?

Erness looked at him in silence, her expression difficult to read. Then, as she stared at him sharply, her gaze turned hollow.

"Why? Why? Why do you care about them so much? You’ll barely be able to save yourself later as it is."

Eiros was caught off guard for a moment. But well...

’This is the real Erness.’

Full of obsession, her pupils spinning as she looked at him with turbulent emotion.

"H-hey... darling... look at me. Let’s just leave this place, the two of us, so you won’t have to push yourself for them anymore. Cut all those ties and—"

Erness stopped short, as if something had caught in her throat. Her face, pale as it was, met Eiros’s eyes.

She looked confused by her own words for a moment before her expression twisted into something awful.

"Anyway, let’s just go...! Come with me! Y-you’ll come with me, right?!"

At this point, Erness began looking at him with a certain kind of madness. Eiros could feel his heart pounding hard as he saw just how terrifying her obsession with him really was.

He pressed his lips together and finally forced himself to speak.

"Move me. The Saintess won’t last much longer."

Erness froze, her smile going flat, her pupils widening into emptiness. Then she lowered her head and lifted it again.

Her chest rose and fell as she steadied her breathing, and then she pulled him into a tight embrace.

"...You’ll regret this."

After saying that, Eiros felt his body being moved. He wasn’t worried about the others—they could handle it, and Alen already knew Eiros intended to come find them.

So everything would be fine.

When Eiros opened his eyes.

He found himself in a dark cave, some distance from the black slimes. They were in a somewhat hidden spot, just enough to peek out from.

"....!"

Eiros couldn’t help the tension that gripped him. He saw a man walking casually, dragging the crown prince’s limp body behind him.

"...Saintess, Princess, if you two run, I really will kill the crown prince, you know."

His voice dripped with arrogance, while his face wore a broken expression, a smile overtaken by something unhinged.

Then...

The man raised his hand.

Sprouting—!! Bursting forth—!!

Sharp red crystals began hovering around him. They shot forward rapidly, slamming into a rock formation not far inside the cave tunnel.

Boom—!!

"Ugh...!"

Following that explosion came the sound of a girl whimpering. It revealed the princess, covered in soot and dried blood, her silver hair thick with dust, her face deathly pale.

Seeing her twin brother’s state, her face grew even paler, filled with tangled emotion.

The Saintess pressed her hands together, her body trembling with resignation. Yes—for them, this was surely the end.

They were finished.

But Eiros was here.

"...Help me out, will you?"

He whispered to Erness, who then looked at him coldly before finally nodding.

"Remember, I can’t teleport while carrying someone anymore."

Meaning, whatever happened, Eiros would have to escape on his own. That was a bit of a burden, but what else could he do?

Erness had already done everything she could. Teleporting here and there to help him. So he couldn’t ask for more.

Watching Erness’s body vanish, Eiros’s gaze finally settled on the man once more, who was now looking straight at him.

"Well, well, seems we’ve got another guest here."

The smile on his face widened.

Eiros steeled his entire body, and then the sword appeared once more. A blade as tall as his own body, trailing sparks of writhing red lightning.

First, he was exhausted. Second, his Soul Essence was running low. And third, his enemy was a tier above him, wielded an artefact, and was in far better condition.

The man didn’t even look scratched.

The closer Eiros came to death, the stronger he grew. But his exhaustion right now wasn’t something life-threatening—it was simply his body nearing its limit.

As the man tossed the crown prince’s limp body aside and raised his hand, every part of Eiros’s body twitched with pain. Still, he forced himself to move.

Rumble—!!

Piercing—!!

Eiros leapt. Sharp red crystals jutted up beneath him. He scrambled up the boulder he’d used to hide and peek out from before, then without a shred of hesitation, he shot forward.

His goal was simple.

Give Erness an opening to get them out.

Very simple.

So...

’Just hold on a little longer.’

Eiros bit his lip.

Red crystals kept jutting upward. He leapt and dodged, here and there. But the crystals never let up, pressing him back toward the wall.

He jumped, using the stone wall as leverage, then shot forward.

Slash—!!

Boom—!!

The red crystal before him shattered into tiny glass-like shards.

"Ugh...!"

He let out a small groan as his muscles screamed. Then he adjusted his momentum and pushed forward.

Jutting up—!!

Slash—!!

A crystal rising from the center was cut clean in two. It opened a path for Eiros, and he finally managed to close the distance, though it took everything he had.

The man didn’t lose his composure for even a second, raising his white-gloved hand and snapping his thumb and middle finger together.

Click—!!

Jutting up—!!

Boom—!! Boom—!! Boom—!!

Eiros flinched as, from beneath the ground and all around him, countless red crystals burst upward, leaving him no room to dodge.

His face darkened.

He looked down, then drove his sword downward with all his strength.

Boom—!!

He shattered the crystals beneath him, but again, he wasn’t in a position to dodge. So Eiros decided to just minimize the damage.

One of the red crystals pierced straight through his shoulder like a nail. Eiros’s eyes went wide, tinged red.

Then, from the front, another red crystal pierced his other shoulder. What had been his forward-leaning body now tilted backward instead.

"E-Eiros?!"

He couldn’t tell who had shouted—Eiros could barely think straight anymore. The pain dulled his mind for a moment, before he felt a hand grip his head, lift him into the air, and hurl him.

Whoosh—!!

Slam—!!

"Kgah!"

Pain tore through his back and spread through his entire body. His mouth fell open, a mouthful of blood spilling out without end. That pain snapped his mind back into focus, and he immediately bit down on his own lip, seeing a red crystal shooting toward him.

His sword had slipped from his grip. So Eiros dismissed the manifestation and summoned it again.

In an instant—just before the red crystal struck his body—his great sword appeared.

Clash—!!

Slam—!!

Eiros winced as he held back the attack, which felt impossibly heavy. No—it wasn’t just the attack. His whole body, everything, felt unbearably heavy right now.

He didn’t even know what expression he was making, how bad his condition really was, but he stood back up, stumbling.

His condition was slowly improving.

The pain eased, his strength rose, along with his speed and endurance. The red lightning across his body raged stronger than before.

His emotions dulled for the moment as he focused entirely on the fight.

Meanwhile, the man had gone quiet all that while, watching Eiros—until, finally, he seemed to realize something.

The smile on his face widened.

"Interesting. So it turns out that boy isn’t the only one carrying the seed of corruption in his body."

***