Zev remained silent for a moment, then looked at Subedei and smiled.
"I didn't want to use it, but it's better than dying."
Hearing those words, Subedei couldn't say anything. He lowered his head and sat there quietly.
Zev quickly understood what he was thinking and spoke right away.
"Don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault. We both fought with everything we had. That's enough."
Subedei heard him, but still said nothing and remained silent.
Seeing this, Zev quickly changed the subject and asked something else.
"What about the other two? Did they survive?"
Subedei raised his head and opened his mouth, about to answer, but Zev continued.
"I guess that was a stupid question. Even the two of us barely made it out alive, so those two…"
Zev didn't finish his sentence and fell silent, staring at Subedei.
Subedei nodded as if nothing had happened.
"Then at least we should bury them."
Zev sighed and tried to stand up, but his entire body trembled.
Subedei walked over, supported him, and helped him move forward.
Soon, Zev and Subedei stopped in front of the bodies of the tall man and the bulky man.
Zev looked at the corpses for a moment, then endured the pain and began digging into the ground.
Subedei silently helped beside him, digging together.
After burying the bodies, they decided to leave the area and rest elsewhere.
The two of them took turns sleeping and standing guard over each other.
As evening approached, Subedei and Zev stood together, cautiously waiting for the fog to thicken.
This time, they moved very carefully.
They stayed in one place for a long time and tried to avoid fighting as much as possible.
Neither of them wanted to face that many spirits again.
On top of that, their entire bodies still ached, so they avoided combat whenever they could.
Just because a few weak people had disappeared didn't mean they had to kill the spirits.
It was a relief that the demonic whispers didn't affect them.
Even so, they weren't completely silent and talked to each other.
"Hey… if a massive number of spirits attack again, do you think we'll survive?" Subedei asked quietly.
"What do you mean, survive? We will definitely make it out of here alive," Zev replied firmly.
But while looking at Subedei, he muttered softly to himself.
"At least one of us has to survive… isn't that right?"
Noticing Zev whispering to himself, Subedei asked in confusion.
"What are you muttering about?"
Zev smiled. "Nothing."
Hearing that, Subedei didn't press further, and the two of them began talking about fun memories from their childhood, smiling.
Whenever a spirit came close with that piercing sound, they stood up and killed it one by one.
Ever since learning about Zev's ability, Subedei had begun to think of himself as weak and useless.
At that moment, he desperately needed strength.
If not to protect himself, then at least enough strength to protect his friend.
But that was nothing more than his thoughts and wishes.
He knew he would never be able to make it reality.
Eventually, the sun rose, the fog dispersed, and the Whispering Spirits disappeared.
They were relieved that they hadn't encountered an overwhelming number of spirits like before.
Seeing that morning had come, Zev smiled and immediately lay down on the ground and fell asleep.
Subedei sighed at the sight, went hunting, prepared food, woke Zev to eat, and then went to sleep himself.
Several days passed as fast as an arrow flying through the air.
At that time, Subedei sat there, his entire body drenched in sweat.
During those days, he had been training.
Having already adapted to this place and the passage of time, he felt it was better to train than to sit around doing nothing.
Meanwhile, Zev went hunting and didn't return for several hours.
Subedei sat quietly, staring at his spear.
The spear was already old, worn, and beginning to rust.
It was clear that it had endured many fierce battles together with him.
These few days almost felt like a period of rest for the two of them.
Every evening, they prepared for battle, taking turns sleeping and standing guard.
Once again, time passed quickly, night fell, the fog thickened, Whispering Spirits appeared, and demonic whispers began to echo.
The two of them were already on their feet, gripping their weapons as they advanced into the fog.
Before they had gone far, their nightmare came true.
An enormous number of black shadows were approaching them through the fog.
Zev and Subedei looked into each other's eyes and said at the same time, smiling bitterly,
"Looks like today is an unlucky day."
This time, they didn't use all of their abilities right away.
They only used the ability that covered their bodies and weapons in mana.
They tried to suppress many Whispering Spirits with minimal strength, destroying two or three with a single attack.
But the spirits continued to increase endlessly.
Zev and Subedei retreated while panting, exchanged glances, and charged back into battle.
Subedei wore a crazed smile, charging forward as if he feared nothing.
Zev watched him from the side, drawing courage from the sight.
This time, Zev wasn't confident he would survive.
He clearly remembered that even after using all his abilities in the previous battle, the spirits hadn't decreased.
In the end, he had collapsed from exhaustion, barely surviving and only opening his eyes the next day.
Still, Subedei's current state gave him strength.
That fearless gaze and insane smile made it feel as if they could overcome the Whispering Spirits.
The sound of spear and sword swings echoed amid the demonic whispers.
Subedei raised his spear and charged, easily piercing through the spirits.
Each of Zev's strikes split a spirit cleanly in half.
[You have slain "Whispering Spirit"]…
Before long, the prolonged battle exhausted them, and they began gasping for breath.
Yet their attacks didn't stop.
Blood began to flow from their eyes, noses, mouths, and ears, but they ignored it.
Eventually, their bodies felt as if they were slipping out of their control, and some attacks missed entirely.
"What's happening…?"
"My body feels strange…"
Even though Subedei didn't understand what was happening, he continued fighting.
Completely drained, the two of them finally stopped attacking and leaned on their weapons to stay standing.
At that moment, Zev decided to use his final ability.
As his sword began to shine with blue mana, Subedei, his eyes already closing, shouted with what little strength he had left.
"Don't use that ability! At least not while I'm still standing… Don't!"
Startled and flustered, Zev quickly stopped the ability.
Grinding his teeth, Subedei raised his spear, formed a crazed smile, and charged at the Whispering Spirits.
Seeing this, Zev felt strength surge through him and raised his sword, running after him.
Subedei fought desperately to avoid losing consciousness.
Every time his eyes began to close, he cut himself with his spear or bit his tongue, using every method possible to keep fighting.