Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 111

As if cut off with a pair of scissors, her memory ended abruptly. Oh Nara clutched her throbbing head and lowered it.

‘I’m sure it looked exactly like me!’

She knew the world had been in an uproar lately over doppelgangers, but she never imagined she’d actually meet her own.

‘They say if you meet your doppelganger, you die.’

‘That’s what they said on TV. Everyone disappears, and no one ever finds out whether they’re alive or dead!’

Then the doppelganger secretly took over the empty spot and lived the victim’s life in their place.

Sometimes the deception was exposed, making the news and triggering police investigations, but those cases were extremely rare.

No one knew how many cases had gone undiscovered and quietly disappeared.

‘Could it be… was my doppelganger the one who dragged me into this dungeon?’

What had happened while she’d been unconscious?

A chill ran down Oh Nara’s spine, making her shoulders tremble.

Kang Jaegyu tapped the back of her head.

“Hey. You got something going on with Do Jiu?”

“Huh?”

Why was Ms. Jiu suddenly coming up?

Oh Nara blinked in surprise, and Kang Jaegyu lowered his voice.

“I mean, you got some dirt on her or something?”

“…Dirt?”

“Yeah. She practically begged me to look after you. Told me to keep you safe until you woke up.”

“Ms. Jiu? Ms. Jiu’s in this dungeon too? Where did she go?”

Kang Jaegyu didn’t answer directly.

Instead, as if he’d caught the scent of something interesting, he narrowed his eyes.

“If you’ve got anything useful on her, share it with me. We might be strangers now, but we’ve got history, don’t we?”

“…History? Us?”

“Yeah, history. Us. Why do you ask so many questions?”

The only “history” they shared was Kang Jaegyu constantly riding her when they’d been on the same team.

She was afraid of him, but that didn’t mean she wanted to tell him anything.

She didn’t know any of Jiu’s weaknesses.

…No, wait.

‘Actually… there is one.’

Just as Oh Nara absentmindedly began biting her nails—

Rumble…!

The ground shook.

The sudden earthquake grew more violent, cracking the floor beneath them.

“What the hell is this?!”

Swearing, Kang Jaegyu leaped aside to avoid a shower of falling rubble.

Beside him, Oh Nara raised a shield around herself and curled into a ball.

With frightened eyes, she searched the chaos around her—

Then spotted a passageway in the distance.

“Th-the exit! If we go upstairs, there should be an exit!”

“Damn it!”

Hearing her, Kang Jaegyu forced his way through the panicking crowd toward the staircase.

At least because they’d once been teammates, he didn’t leave Oh Nara behind.

“Hey. Follow me. If you slow me down, I’m leaving you.”

“W-What? Th-Then what about everyone else?”

“You think I’ve got time to worry about everyone in a situation like this?!”

“B-But… Aaah! Watch out!”

Oh Nara cast a skill at a nearby middle school student.

A huge falling rock glanced off her shield and crashed harmlessly to the ground.

She’d barely managed to save one person.

Kang Jaegyu clicked his tongue.

“Hey, save your mana. Quit wasting it on random people. Use it on me later.”

“Hunter Kang Jaegyu!”

“What? If you want to die, stay here!”

Kang Jaegyu disappeared up the stairs.

Left behind, Oh Nara shouted at the people around her.

“Ev-everyone! This way! We have to go upstairs if we want to live!”

But no matter how loudly she yelled, her voice was swallowed by the deafening chaos.

‘W-What do I do?’

If she ran after Kang Jaegyu now, she might save herself.

After hesitating, Oh Nara squeezed her eyes shut.

Then, in the end—

“Th-the stairs! The stairs! There are stairs over there!”

Instead of following Kang Jaegyu, she ran through the crowd in the opposite direction, shouting.

But perhaps her first act of courage in her life wasn’t enough.

The building shook even harder.

The only staircase leading upward collapsed.

“Oh… no…”

Oh Nara stared blankly at the blocked entrance.

“Hell no! I’m not dying here!”

Even Kang Jaegyu, who hadn’t escaped in time, stood before the rubble, desperately trying to move it.

But it didn’t budge.

Just as Oh Nara, Kang Jaegyu, and everyone else sank into despair—

A thick rope dropped down in front of them.

—It’ll be bad if humans see us, meow!

—But the homeowner told us to protect the humans, meow.

The hidden Antmen whispered among themselves.

Jiu hadn’t trusted Kang Jaegyu.

So she’d taken special precautions.

She’d secretly left her dependable little tenants nearby.

Of course, she’d warned them not to reveal themselves unless it was a genuine emergency.

—This feels like a genuine emergency, meow.

At that moment, one of the massive stone pillars supporting the ceiling began to collapse.

Before the enormous debris could crush the people trapped below—

—Heave-ho, meow!

—Humans, we’re here to help, meow!

The hidden Antmen rushed forward and lifted the rubble high above their heads.

Unfortunately…

The humans couldn’t understand a word they were saying.

“AAAAAH! Monsters! Run!”

Screams erupted as people rushed toward the blocked entrance.

—The passage is blocked, meow.

—Should we move the rocks, meow?

Knowing nothing, the Antmen simply followed after the fleeing humans.

“Damn it! Why are there monsters in the starting point?!”

Kang Jaegyu, who’d planned to break through the rubble, immediately drew his sword instead.

The moment its sharp blade pointed at them, the Antmen realized something was wrong.

—Why are the humans acting like this, meow?

—Did we do something wrong, meow?

The Antmen twitched their antennae while looking at one another.

They were only discussing the situation.

But to Kang Jaegyu, it looked exactly like monsters preparing to attack.

“To hell with it! Whether I die climbing out or fighting, makes no difference!”

He took up a stance, ready to charge.

But Oh Nara grabbed his arm.

“Wait, Hunter Kang Jaegyu. Those monsters… somehow…”

Something felt wrong.

Monsters appearing in the starting area.

Monsters holding up the rubble to help people.

Even now, instead of attacking, they were just standing there.

‘Could it be…?’

Oh Nara remembered the East Sea dungeon, where she’d seen Jiu commanding monsters.

‘Could these monsters belong to Ms. Jiu too?’

That thought was enough to make her stop Kang Jaegyu.

“Hey. What’s your problem?”

But she couldn’t bring herself to tell the already irritated Kang Jaegyu.

‘What if it gets Ms. Jiu into trouble?’

She still felt deeply guilty toward Jiu.

Yes, she’d been consumed by ugly jealousy.

But she’d admired her just as much.

Jiu was the kind of kindhearted person anyone would come to like.

Before Oh Nara could stop him—

Kang Jaegyu’s patience finally snapped.

“Get out of my way!”

He shoved Oh Nara aside and swung his sword at Gam124, who stood at the front.

Startled, Gam124 jumped back.

But Kang Jaegyu had once been one of the most promising high-ranking damage dealers.

And because Gam124 had never intended to fight—

He suffered a devastating wound.

The other Antmen rushed to protect the critically injured Gam124.

But in doing so, they exposed themselves completely.

Thud. Roll…

Without even managing a single cry, the Antmen tumbled across the floor.

Kang Jaegyu kicked off the ground and drove his sword straight down.

Just as the blade was about to pierce the fallen Antman’s body—

“[Shield!]”

Accompanied by rapid footsteps—

A brilliant golden barrier appeared.

It spread wider than ever before, enveloping every fallen Antman.

Kang Jaegyu’s sword slammed into the barrier and bounced away.

“What the hell?! Who did that?!”

Only a healer could use Shield.

Kang Jaegyu glared fiercely at Oh Nara, who stood some distance away.

But the answer came from somewhere else.

“It was me!”

The homeowner, Jiu, stormed in, practically snorting with anger.

The moment she saw Gam124 and the other Antmen lying on the ground—

She completely lost her temper.

“You bastard! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“What? You talking to me?”

“Yeah! Of all things, you had to hurt my precious babies?!”

Looking utterly dumbfounded, Kang Jaegyu nudged the unconscious Antman with the tip of his sword.

“Did you just call monsters your kids?”

“You figured it out? Then get out of the way!”

Eyes blazing red with fury, Jiu shouted.

She shoved past Kang Jaegyu and rushed to the Antmen.

—The homeowner… came…?

With his head pressed against the ground, Gam124 spoke weakly.

He didn’t even have the strength to lift his head.

He was slowly dying.