Chapter 11: The unknown force

"Ivan!!" The girl screamed with despair as she saw the boy drifting towards death.

After Yeti's claw stabbed him, Ivan fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. His eyes were void of life, and blood continuously left his body.

'It is my fault… right?' Slumped in despair, the girl cursed herself.

'No, it is not my fault! I need to wake him up! But how…?' She thought as she tried to look for a solution.

She wanted to help Ivan, but Yeti was still aimlessly swinging its arms. Yeti could still see with one like and could harm the girl as it did to Ivan, who couldn't see Yeti's face from his position.

One wrong move, and she would also join the commoner boy. As a noble, she can't die like this. But how would she help Ivan? He was bleeding, and his body was getting cold.

He had to survive, and she would help him.

There was still a chance for him to survive if she could use…. Right, the magic! An idea popped in.

Luckily, there was another crimson cracker in Ivan's bag. She took it out, unpin the cracker, and launched it on Yeti's face.

The cracker exploded and again covered the creature in crimson mist.

She ran towards Ivan and shook th boy, hoping to wake him up or even hear just some words, "Ivan, wake up! Answer me!"

She tried calling him several times, but his cold body didn't respond. Tears won't stop falling. She was getting fed up with putting strong lady act and now started to break.

She didn't want to say it out loud, but she was constantly praying for Ivan and hoping for him to show some life.

She gritted her teeth and rubbed her watery eyes. She opened her small hand pouch and took out a purple crystal from it.

She felt like an idiot hiding this cursed stone. If she had given the stone to him last night, Ivan wouldn't be in this state. Her selfishness brought this on both of them. This stone was also stopping her from using magic. She didn't know why she didn't get rid of it.

'No, I haven't done anything wrong!' She shook her head and looked at the rectangular gemstone in hand.

Without waiting for a second, she dropped the gem into Ivan's mouth. However, nothing happened. She then recalled that gemstone must get into the throat to work. She tried using her fingers and pushing the stone into his mouth, but her fingers were tiny.

'I don't want to do this… I can't do such a thing to anyone other than Prince Arthur….' She looked at Ivan with a flustered face. She knew what needed to be done, but the method required some skinship. Even as someone who had put his life on the line to save her and was dying, she didn't want to do it with a commoner.

However, she had no choice. Either die or bring the boy to life at all cost.

'It's not like I am worried about him. It is for my survival!' With that in mind, she sealed Ivan's lips with her lips. She felt like puking since his mouth stunk like animal poop, even worse! But she ignored everything and inflated all the air from her lungs to Ivan's mouth.

Finally, the gemstone slipped into his throat and started glowing with a purple aura.

The girl also started to feel familiar energy inside her.

"My magic powers!" The girl smiled as soft icy fragments started forming on her hand.

Ice manipulation is her exclusive magic power.

However, it was not the time for joy. She put her hand on Ivan's gaping wound and cast a freezing spell. It worked as his wound was covered

ROAR!!!!!

Immersed in curing Ivan, the girl realized that they were still not out of danger. The red mist was already blown away from the mighty roar, and now the beast looked angrier and hungry to devour the girl and still unconscious Ivan.

The Yeti raised its hand with another frightening growl and slammed it on the two.

Seeing Yeti's dark, sharp claws coming, the girl was frozen with fear. The only thing she could do was close her eyes, hoping for another miracle that could save her.

The girl waited, but nothing happened. She immediately opened her eyes and found herself in Ivan's arms.

"Ivan!" The girl called the name of the boy. He was moving again!

However, there was something different about him. His eyes were radiating with a purple aura while his body appeared to be slightly bulkier.

The girl couldn't help but blush. For a moment, Ivan looked a lot like 'Prince Hero' from stories she used to hear. She thought only 'Prince Arthur' could be her dream boy, but Ivan was not far from the race.

However, her fantasy was short-lived when the boy she fantasized about dropped her like garbage.

"Whaaa!" The girl winced as she fell to the ground face first. "Oi, show some respect to a noble, you handsome- dirty commoner!!"

She thought Ivan still looked cool, but she also had her pride as the young lady of one of the most powerful noble of the empire.

However, Ivan ignored her rant. No, more like he couldn't hear anything. He just stood there, observing the beast's movements.

ROAR!

Yeti roared and raised both of its hands in the air, ready to kill Ivan once and for all. However, the boy was unfathomed by the upcoming strike.

"Ivan, you have to move!" The girl called Ivan, but the boy didn't respond.

Soon two giant claws landed on the ground, shattering the rocky surface. The force was so powerful that it repelled the girl in the air and shook the whole rocky hill.

"Ivan… where are you?!" The girl called Ivan and tried to look for the boy, but Ivan was nowhere to be seen.

A silhouette emerged from the shadow of Yeti's arm, and in the next scene, severed cuts formed on Yeti's arm before a pool of blood ejected from those cuts.

The silhouette was none other than Ivan holding his signature dagger.

The girl couldn't believe how Ivan performed that trick. Did he hide in shadow just before the impact, or was she hallucinating? What was that unknown force?

Whatever the case might be, one thing was clear. Ivan will take care of the monster.

The Yeti growled and tried to hit Ivan, but the boy again vanished before popping out of the monster's shadow and slicing Yeti's body. For the next couple of seconds, the game continued like that. No matter where Yeti swung its arm, Ivan hid in the shadows and popped out while cutting Yeti.

However, the girl noticed that Ivan had started to bleed again. Even if she had frozen Ivan's wound, it was just a temporary treatment. She didn't know what was going on with Ivan, but he would dry out his life force if he continued to move like that.

She had to act now.

While Yeti was occupied, she had to take the chance and deal the lethal blow.

She stood up and rose her arms, pointing towards the monster's heart. Soon a nine inches long ice spike formed magically right before her.

She knew it was time, so she inhaled air and called Ivan, "Move!"

This time, Ivan responded by jumping in the air before the soaring fast ice spike clashed with Yeti. Although the spike shattered due to collusion, the main goal was already achieved. The arrow sticking out of Yeti's chest penetrated further and pierced its heart.

"…." The Yeti stopped moving before slowly sinking from the hill, dropping like a lifeless mass.

Yeti was dead.

The girl was about to jump with joy, but Ivan was the first one to act and fell like the dead.

---

Now I realize how Vegeta-san must have felt when he was naked in his afterlife.

I was floating in the void, not in my otherworldly child body but my adult self, and was naked. Arg, I didn't know why but I wasn't feeling well after coming back to my previous body. The memory of dying after slipping on banana peel was still fresh.

I thought I would live a good life, but I was dead again and in my former body.

However, I could still see what was happing outside the world. I noticed that I was moving in and out of the dark and facing the giant monster while the girl named Ann was supporting me with ice magic.

Hmmm. Ice magic…

Her hair also turned silver, and her eyes were also changed into crimson color, hmmmm…

I think I was missing something hmmmmmmmmm….

"Are you keep glaring at me? Look, I know you have some issues with me, but can you look elsewhere? I am a civilized adult." I complained to another figure who was present with me and why I was whining about being naked.

He was the boy with dark hair and purple eyes sitting with his arms around his legs. He was my predecessor in the new world.

"Why didn't you take revenge for me? Why didn't you take that monster's gut out and shower in his blood? Tell me, can't you even do such a simple thing?" the boy asked, glaring at me with his deep purple eyes akin to void itself. I was getting chills.

"Whoah, dude, calm down. As I said numerous times, I am not your everyday edgy MC who would turn into a murder manic and kill people for someone dead and not even related. Revenge will not end here. While I kill people, someone related to the victim would then take revenge on me, and the cycle will go on."

"Coward. Hypocrite."

"It is called being realistic. You should have called some wuxia mindset guy if you were expecting someone who would be edgy and slap anyone who dares to stand in his way."

"I see. You think we are not the same." As his eyes grew deeper into darkness, the boy said, "Let's see how long you can carry out your good guy act."

"Wa-wait, champ, hear me out! It's not like I am pussying out, I…." Before I could utter any more words, I sank into the pool of memories of my previous life and the worst one of that. My memories of being a US Soldier and my mission in Afghanistan.