I looked back at the doll. It had clearly been frozen solid, so how had it broken free from that icy prison?
Shards of ice and fragments of the doll's outer shell lay scattered around me. I glanced again at the doll itself.
Its size has shrunk. It seemed it had deliberately shattered its shell to break the frozen state. That meant the plan to freeze it with Seren's cold power and rush upstairs was no longer viable.
What should I do? I wondered, sprinting down the corridor.
A good amount of time had passed already. That wasn't a good sign. In this situation, even twelve hours wouldn't be enough.
I kept running, glancing behind me. The doll jumped nimbly. Given its size and weight, the corridor should have crumbled beneath its steps. Yet this blasted corridor seemed forged from steel; it showed no sign of breaking.
The doll wasn't particularly fast, but it chased us at a pace that could catch us in an instant if we let our guard down. It was an annoying foe.
An annoying foe? I paused at the thought.
Evan, running beside me, spoke up. "If we keep wearing ourselves out like this, we're the ones who'll lose. Wouldn't it be better to just team up and kill it now?"
"No. That's exactly what the princess wants," I replied.
"What do you mean?"
"This doll's whole role is to drain our strength, to be a nuisance."
It chased just quickly enough to stay on us, hit just hard enough to keep us moving, and took damage just slowly enough to drag out the fight. It wasn't meant to be defeated outright.
"One of us has to hold it off," I said firmly. "The other four need to sweep the second floor. Find any room that might lead to the third, then get upstairs."
"That's too dangerous," Seren said. "Wouldn't it be safer if four of us fought the doll while one searched the second floor? They could call out if they found the way up."
"No." I shot down her suggestion without hesitation.
She looked at me with her usual detached expression, neither upset nor surprised. It was as if she was silently asking why.
"First of all, time is money for us. This floor is huge. You can tell because it takes an hour just to run one lap around this corridor. Meanwhile, there are hundreds of rooms to search. I don't know how long it would take if only one person searched the entire floor," I pointed out.
"True. What else?" she asked.
"Secondly, it's too risky for all five of us to go upstairs together. Who knows how far that doll will chase us?"
"You think it could follow us to the third floor?" she pressed.
"It smashed through the floor when it first appeared. There's no reason it couldn't reach the third floor the same way," I answered. "What if we're attacked by a doll stronger than it up there?"
Seren fell silent.
I knew her mindset well. She always expected the worst, picking apart every detail. That attitude would alienate people in normal times. But in an emergency like this, someone had to speak hard truths. In my eyes, that was the role of a leader.
"Then who will stay behind?" Seren asked.
"That's something we need to decide now." I chose my words carefully. "To be honest... I'm probably the best candidate. I can hold it off. If I give it everything I have, I might even win. But..."
"You can't do that."
"You're our strongest."
I marveled silently. Despite my open refusal to take the role of decoy or sacrifice, they still respected my choice.
Of course, I wasn't stubborn without reason. There were solid grounds for my stance. But how many could think that clearly when their lives were at stake?
Is this also a quality of being a hero? Ironically, I realized that everyone here had the makings of a future hero.
"I will take care of the doll," Charon volunteered. "With my speed, I can outrun it. It won't be difficult. Plus, I'm confident in my strength. I can play tag with it all day."
If it was Charon, I could trust him.
I nodded. "Okay."
Charon immediately attacked the doll to draw its attention, but the doll didn't even glance at him. It charged straight toward us.
"Evan! Dodge!"
" Aack?! " Evan, who had just grabbed a nearby doorknob, took off running again.
Charon followed swiftly, teeth clenched. "It didn't even look at me."
"Yes," I muttered, scratching my forehead. "It seems to focus where more people gather."
Its role was to drain our strength, to consume our power, so that made sense.
Seren suggested, "Why don't I stay? I can keep freezing it repeatedly."
"How many times can you do that?" I asked.
"About ten. Maybe a couple more if I push myself," she admitted.
I couldn't shake the feeling that this group was risking their lives. "I told you. It has 100 layers of shell."
I racked my brain but found no solution. Finally, I sighed. "We have no choice. We have to take it down here together and move on."
I would have to control my internal energy carefully. Considering the number of floors, we couldn't afford to waste more than two hours on this one.
At that moment, Mir, who had been silent until then, suddenly shouted, "I'll do it!"
Charon sneered immediately. "You? Stop joking around. Mir Giant, know when to step up and when not to—"
"Charon, shut up." I cut him off sharply, then turned to Mir. "How do you plan to hold it off? That doll automatically tracks where the most people are."
"It doesn't matter! I will grab the doll as it chases after you and forcefully press it down!"
"Nonsense—" Charon started to argue but stopped when he caught my glare. Still, his discomfort lingered.
Seren and Evan probably shared the same expression. My thoughts, however, were different. From the moment I devised this plan, I knew Mir was the right person for the job.
She was right. With a giant's strength, it wasn't impossible to pin that hulking doll. If we set aside blessings, mana, or martial arts, Mir's innate physical power was the greatest among us.
I hadn't mentioned her earlier because it felt pointless unless Mir volunteered herself. Being bait or a sacrifice couldn't be forced.
"Mir," I said.
"Speak!"
"I'll leave it to you."
Mir's eyes widened, then lit up with a smile so bright it made me uneasy. "Of course!"
"But let's make one promise."
"Got it!"
"I haven't said it yet. If you think you're going to die, run. Understood?"
Mir's smile twisted into a crooked smirk that didn't suit her. It was closer to a sneer, but slightly different. "Understood! Then I'll ask for one thing too!"
"Speak."
Mir thumped her chest and exclaimed, "No matter what happens, no matter what you hear, don't look back!"
"Okay."
Mir grinned once more and immediately charged at the doll.
Soon, a loud crash echoed down the corridor.
Evan flinched and started to turn, but I stopped him. "Evan. Let's search the rooms."
"Y-yes."
A series of sounds like rocks smashing echoed repeatedly.
I wanted to turn around too, but I forced the urge down, threw open the nearest door, and hastily searched through the furniture. I struggled to stay focused on the task instead of Mir's fight. Still, I couldn't shake the memory of her last smile.
Ah. It took me a moment to find the words to describe that smile. It was the smile of a warrior, fierce and fearless just before battle.
***
How long could Mir hold out?
Even considering Mir's unmatched physical strength, the terrifying power compressed into her relatively small frame, and the newly awakened—though still weak—power of a Frost Giant, I honestly doubted she could last more than three or four hours. That was why I had told her to run if she thought she'd di
A bitter laugh escaped me. I knew the truth. Mir wouldn't run or retreat until the very end.
Was she born a coward? Or had her environment, upbringing, and experiences shaped her that way? Only by seeing it through to the end could one truly know.
Nonetheless, I knew Mir was the furthest thing from a coward. If she were the type to prioritize her own life in a critical moment, she wouldn't have died at the training camp before my regression.
"Mir protected us," Charles had murmured, still dazed. "Protecting the weak... is what heroes do, right? She did it... in my place."
At that time, I had told Mir that defending the weak was the essence of a hero. It wasn't advice or a lecture. I hadn't attached much importance to those words. Yet, under their influence, she awakened as a hero.
"I'm unfit to be a hero." Charles' voice had trembled with tears, but I had had no words in response.
It was hard to deny what Charles had muttered. Mir must have protected her back then. Thus, if Charles had felt unfit to be a hero, it meant that Mir, who had protected the hero disciples, was the most heroic of all.
Among the five of us, I had always known Mir was the truest hero. She would never back down, not even in the face of death. That was one more reason I needed to kill Perist as quickly as possible.
I gripped the doorknob tightly. The Eyes of Fire and the Serpent Eyes were useless inside this wretched building, which only added to my frustration. Even so, I pushed down my impatience and searched every room thoroughly, confirming that I found nothing.
In moments like this, the slowest method often proved the fastest.
***
Everyone had something they were confident in. For Mir, it was pure brute strength, with no powers or techniques involved.
She charged at the leaping doll, and the floor shook with the sound of their collision.
Mir's eyes widened. She wouldn't lose. Not in a contest of strength. That had always been true, even back in the Northern Snowfields, where she'd wrestled down relatives many times her size.
" Guuuuuuukuk! " She gritted her teeth until they threatened to break. Her eyes were bloodshot as she used her entire body to block its advance.
Given the size difference, her stance looked reckless and precarious, like a squirrel trying to stop a landslide. Yet Mir's body held firm, halting the doll's momentum.
The doll looked thrown off. Though its features resembled mere sketches, this was the first time its expression changed.
"You're not going anywhere!" Mir's roar carried a fierce majesty. The chilling sound seemed to reverberate through the building itself.
Unbeknownst to her, the hero disciples searching the rooms grew even more frantic at the sound
The doll's face twisted in rage again. A shockwave burst from its giant body, knocking Mir back.
" Cough...! " Mir hadn't braced for it. The blow felt less like wind and more like a tidal wave crashing through her body. Her mind went blank, and her legs wobbled as if she was about to collapse.
Meanwhile, the doll leapt high.
"Wait..." Mir barely regained awareness in time to see it coming. Even she recognized the threat, but it was too late to dodge. Instinctively, she raised her arms.
The giant doll crashed down like a meteor, its crushing weight driving into Mir. Her spine and knees felt like they would shatter under the pressure.
Endure it. I have to endure it. I want to endure it. Endure it, endure it, endure it, endure it. Endure it, endure it...!
However, there were many things in this world that did not yield to willpower alone. Her nails broke, her fingers snapped, and sharp pain radiated through her wrist.
Ah... Finally, her back and knees gave out. Why am I so weak?
The giant doll pinned her to the floor.