Rin’s heart was beating fast in his chest. He tried to push past the panic threatening to overwhelm him and instead took a deep breath.

But it was hard to calm himself down after what had just happened.

’I almost lost Shelly.’

Rin had hurried back to the rooftop to check on Reina when he received the message that the hallucinations were back. It made him pick up his pace even more, and he almost broke the rooftop door when he arrived.

He immediately tried to head toward Reina when he noticed Shelly was there as well.

But unlike Reina, Shelly was not resisting the monsters’ attacks.

They were clawing at her, trying to tear her apart. But because of her high stats and tough body, it was difficult for them to kill her outright. Injuring her, however, was another matter entirely.

It was rare for Rin to feel this lost and angry, but this situation shattered his composure.

’Why is she just standing there and letting these monsters tear into her? She needs to fight back right now. What happened to her usual confidence?’

No one answered Rin’s questions, so he decided to drag Shelly out himself.

The monsters attacked him as well, but Rin cut through them as quickly as he could.

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

[Due to your special nature, the status has no effect on you.]

Rin ignored the messages and continued toward Shelly. Once he finally reached her, he grabbed her by the arms.

Long gashes covered her body where the monsters had attacked her, and they had to hurt badly. But Shelly did not react even when Rin pressed against the wounds.

"Darn it! Hey, come back to your senses."

Rin yelled, but Shelly did not seem to hear him at all.

It made him do something he never thought he would do. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Rin grabbed Shelly’s face and slapped her.

It was not a gentle slap meant to comfort her, but one intended to shock her out of her daze.

And it worked.

"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."

Shelly slowly began following his commands and gradually returned to her senses.

"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."

Shelly blinked slowly until her gaze sharpened and she was finally able to recognize him and understand where she was.

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

Shelly asked in a confused voice, and only then did Rin finally let her stand on her own instead of supporting her.

"I was hoping you would tell me what happened. I found you unconscious while monsters were clawing at you. Look at the injuries you got because of your carelessness."

Rin scolded her, but Shelly only smiled happily.

It was the kind of smile that told Rin she felt no regret over what had happened and would gladly repeat it if given the chance.

That made him smack her injured arm lightly, causing her to flinch.

"This is not funny. Do you even realize how close you came to dying? What did you see that made you stop reacting to everything around you?"

Rin demanded, and Shelly pretended to think about it.

"Hmm, I don’t really remember. I just know it was a nice dream, and I didn’t want to wake up from it."

"Shelly, a dream is just a dream. You need to live in reality and appreciate what’s in front of you. Or was that dream really so good that you were willing to abandon reality for it?"

Rin felt another headache coming on. He wanted to hear Shelly’s answer, but at the same time, he dreaded what she might say.

The tension between them crackled in the air as Rin waited.

"I...really liked that dream. Enough to want to stay there forever. But...a dream is just a dream. I don’t think I want to go back to it anymore."

Shelly confessed, and only then did the tension finally leave Rin’s body.

He coughed to hide how shaken he still felt and turned away from Shelly—only for his eyes to land on Reina, who was still struggling against the monsters.

"Shelly, it’s good to have you back. But I think we should help Reina now. I don’t think she’ll be able to hold out much longer."

Rin pointed out before rushing toward Reina. He did not want to lose his medic so soon.

Shelly lingered for a few more seconds before following after him.

"Darn it! Just how many of these monsters are there—"

Reina’s complaint was cut short as Rin immediately started killing the monsters surrounding her to lighten her burden.

Shelly helped as well, although she nearly hit Reina more than once.

Between the two of them, they managed to get the situation under control.

Once Reina was free, she immediately resumed using her abilities, and the situation stabilized again.

"Finally! I thought I was done for when those monsters rushed me."

Reina complained as she sat down to rest. She looked genuinely relieved now that the monsters were gone.

"You should start working out more. Maybe then you’d be able to handle these monsters better and wouldn’t need our help."

Shelly pointed out, and Reina immediately frowned.

"Half of these injuries are from your ’help.’ Not that you seem to care. Anyway, how’s the situation down there? Are a lot of people injured?"

Reina asked with concern, and Rin looked down to check.

The situation was definitely worse than before, but it was still manageable for now.

Sending Albus down had been the right choice. He had already taken command of the battlefield and was organizing the groups more efficiently.

"We should be able to handle things for now. I don’t think there’s any need to worry yet."

Rin pointed out, and Reina let out a relieved sigh.

"I see. That’s good news. Ugh, but I really want this task to be over already."

Rin wanted that too. These three days felt unbearably long.