Chapter 173: Ch 173: Shelly’s Hallucinations

Shelly grabbed another monster that was trying to cling to the barrier when she felt it fluctuate before finally going down.

The wave of monsters immediately started flooding onto the rooftop and heading toward Reina. Thankfully, Rin was nowhere to be seen at the moment.

Reina looked vulnerable amid the waves of monsters, but she did not show how she felt.

Shelly was supposed to help her, but she did not want to. Instead, she wanted to watch from the sidelines as Reina struggled against the monsters.

’Ah, it would be better if these monsters injured Reina badly enough to take her out. I’ll help her enough to keep her alive, but leave her in a condition where she won’t be able to interfere with me and Rin.’

Shelly had it all planned out, and she even pretended not to notice what was happening behind her.

Unfortunately, her plans came to a halt because she was not alone.

Collin noticed what was happening as well and decided to call out to her.

"Young Miss, I’ll take care of the monsters here. You should go help Miss Reina."

Shelly gave Collin an annoyed look, but he pretended not to notice and went back to fighting.

Now that he had openly asked Shelly to help Reina, she could no longer ignore the situation. She could not risk this getting back to Rin and making him disappointed in her.

’Darn it, you stupid butler. I almost managed to permanently get rid of a problem.’

Shelly complained as she jumped down onto the rooftop and headed toward Reina.

The doctor was currently surrounded by monsters and searching for a way out. A knife was clutched tightly in her hand as she dodged the monsters’ attacks.

She was fast and accurate, but she was not a fighter. The overwhelming numbers were slowly wearing her down.

Shelly pretended to hesitate and deliberately slowed her movements so Reina would get injured.

And Reina did get injured. A monster slashed her, causing her to lose concentration, and her ability disappeared for a moment.

[You have been affected by the status ailment: Hallucinations]

The system immediately sent the message to Shelly, and she only had seconds to react before the world around her started to darken.

She could still sense the monsters around her, but she could no longer see them clearly. It caused her to lash out based on instinct alone.

Her sword tore through the monsters, but it was becoming harder and harder for her to tell where they were.

It made her want to destroy all the monsters at once.

Just as she prepared to do that, she felt a familiar hand touch her back.

"Shelly, there’s no need to fight so hard anymore. You can let go now and spend the rest of your life with me."

Rin’s voice was soft and comforting. It immediately made Shelly lower her guard, and the monsters took advantage of the opening to attack her.

Shelly felt claws tear into her arms and legs, but she barely reacted. All her attention was focused on Rin’s voice and presence.

"Rin—"

"That’s right. I’m here with you. There’s no need for you to fight this hard anymore. You can let go now."

Rin’s voice reassured her as his arms wrapped around her waist from behind and pulled her close.

Shelly melted into that warmth, and despite the pain of being attacked, she felt strangely at peace.

Her instincts told her that none of this was real. Rin was not actually behind her, and the monsters were trying to tear her apart.

And yet, she could not bring herself to do anything except remain in Rin’s arms.

"Do you want me to give up? These monsters will tear me apart if I stop now."

Shelly asked the illusion, wanting to hear its answer.

The hand around her waist moved up to cup her cheek, and the soft voice whispered into her ear.

"Wouldn’t that be alright? You’ve suffered enough until now. It’s okay if you decide to give up. You deserve to rest too."

It was something Rin would never say. He would never encourage Shelly to give up on her life and wait for death. Shelly knew that in her heart.

But she still wanted to pretend that it was Rin holding her and reassuring her that everything would be alright.

"Alright. If you want me to give up, then I will—"

Something sharp struck Shelly across the cheek, and the pain blanked out her mind. The hallucinations also began to fade, which immediately made her panic.

Her Rin was disappearing, and she desperately tried to hold on to him.

"N-No! Don’t go! I need—"

"Shelly, get a hold of yourself. What do you think you’re doing?"

Rin’s panicked voice broke through Shelly’s confusion, and she finally started paying attention to her surroundings.

The first thing she noticed was that the monsters trying to tear her apart were gone.

Instead, she was lying on the ground, and her body felt unbearably heavy.

She blinked to clear the haze clouding her vision and noticed the monster corpses scattered around her. She was still too disoriented to fully understand what was happening, but Rin grabbed her face and forced her to look at him.

"Shelly, I need you to focus on me. I know it’s hard right now and that you want to sleep, but I need you to make me your priority and focus on my eyes."

Rin’s tone was firm and left no room for argument. Not that Shelly would ever argue with him about something like this.

She obeyed and looked into his beautiful red eyes. They pulled her in, and for the first time in a while, she felt like she could breathe again.

Rin tightened his grip on her face slightly as his voice cut through the haze clouding her mind.

"Don’t let your mind wander. Focus on my voice and slowly claw your way back to me. Shelly, don’t let these hallucinations win."

Rin was calling her back, and Shelly wanted nothing more than to answer him.

So she clawed her way back toward him. Slowly, the haze cleared from her eyes, and she finally looked at Rin with a steady gaze again.

"Ugh...what happened...?"

Shelly asked with a weak groan, and Rin finally let out a relieved sigh before releasing her face.

The loss of his touch immediately made Shelly mournful.