40 - Chapter 38: Belladonna
Even after that, Natalia pummeled Belladonna several more times with her left hand, doing just enough to subdue her without killing her.
If it had been a beast-type monster, a single electric shock would have paralyzed its muscles and ended the fight right there. But because it was a plant-type, that was impossible—which, unfortunately for Belladonna, only prolonged her suffering.
In the end, the relentless beating only stopped when Belladonna's eyes rolled back and she blacked out from the sheer shock and pain racking her body.
"Tough bitch."
Confirming the monster was out cold, Natalia stopped and stepped back.
Shaking out her left hand as if she hadn't felt a thing, Natalia grabbed the monster's leafy hair with her right.
She casually crushed a Mandrake buried in a nearby pit, then dragged Belladonna behind her as she stepped out of the Gate.
A small box truck was waiting just outside.
Natalia tossed her trophy roughly into the back of the truck.
"Haa."
Only after locking up the cargo bed did she finally let herself catch her breath.
"Ready to head out?"
The driver poked his head out of the window and asked, seeing that she was finished.
"Yeah."
Natalia gave a half-hearted nod, climbed onto the roof of the truck's cargo bed, and sprawled out flat on her back.
As the truck started up and set off, a pleasant breeze brushed against her face, which looked uncharacteristically exhausted.
"We're doomed, we're doomed, we're doomed, we're doomed..."
Her face looking even more haggard than it had over the last few days, Han Su-in repeated the words like a broken record.
Huddled in her chair with a hollow stare, she looked like someone slowly drowning in thin air.
With Han Su-in radiating pure despair and dragging down the mood of the entire room, Jin Seo-yun, who was staying by her side, couldn't help but be affected.
Of course, that wasn't the only thing weighing on Jin Seo-yun.
With every passing hour, Han Su-hyeon's condition only grew worse.
There was absolutely nothing she could do, and the helplessness was slowly draining the life out of her.
"Haa..."
Instead of feeling annoyed by Han Su-in's constant muttering, Jin Seo-yun only felt a deep sympathy, gradually sinking into the same dark pit of despair.
Just as the suffocating tension in the cramped, stuffy hospital room reached its absolute peak,
Natalia kicked the door wide open and marched inside.
The sudden, chaotic intrusion instantly shattered the heavy gloom hanging over the room.
"Ah..."
"Have you been keeping an eye on the kid?"
Natalia, speaking without so much as a greeting, was holding the unconscious Belladonna by her hair.
Both Jin Seo-yun and Han Su-in flinched at the sudden appearance of a live monster.
Ignoring them completely, Natalia dragged the unconscious Belladonna over to Han Su-hyeon's bed and tossed her onto it like a sack of potatoes.
"Wake up, you bitch."
Natalia slapped Belladonna's cheeks, her hand crackling with static electricity.
"W-Wait...! What do you think you're doing?!"
Finally snapping out of her shock, Jin Seo-yun cried out in panic.
At the interruption, Natalia tilted her head with a look of pure innocence.
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why?! Putting aside the fact that you brought a monster into a hospital, do you have any idea how dangerous it is to wake it up right next to a patient?!"
Natalia smirked at her panic.
"Do you really think I can't handle a weak little thing like this?"
"I—I mean, of course I know you're an S-rank Hunter, but... why on earth did you bring it here?"
She was desperately demanding a logical explanation for what was happening.
Understanding what Jin Seo-yun wanted, Natalia casually tossed out an answer.
"Because if we squeeze this bitch, we get the antidote."
"What? Really...?"
Not wanting to waste another second, Natalia cut the conversation short and went back to slapping Belladonna's cheeks to wake her up.
"Ngh...?"
As Belladonna began to stir, a sudden realization hit Natalia.
Wait, how the hell am I supposed to tell this bitch to make the antidote? We don't even speak the same language.
Do I seriously have to beat it out of her?
She was actually considering it, but fortunately, her worries turned out to be completely unnecessary.
"Huh...?"
Barely fluttering her heavy eyelids as she regained consciousness, Belladonna looked around. Her eyes widened slightly when she spotted Han Su-hyeon.
She had been worried that he might have run off without the antidote and died somewhere, but here he was, still breathing.
At the sight, a soft, delighted smile spread across Belladonna's face.
After all, she would have hated for her favorite male to die such a miserable death.
She quickly extended one of her tentacles, which had a flower bud attached to the end.
It was a completely different color from the one she had forced into his mouth before.
She tried to guide it to his lips, but the oxygen mask got in the way.
The orange bud. He definitely said the purple one was poison and the orange one was the antidote.
Seeing this, Natalia immediately realized that Belladonna was trying to administer the antidote.
"U-Um... is this really okay?"
"Yeah."
Giving a curt reply to Jin Seo-yun's anxious question, Natalia pulled off the oxygen mask.
With his mouth now exposed, the orange bud slid right in.
"Ah..."
Watching the scene unfold, Jin Seo-yun felt a strange, sudden flush of heat and blushed.
Once she confirmed the antidote was flowing down his throat, Natalia finally let her guard down.
"Haaah..."
She had spent the last several days tearing across the country without a single wink of proper sleep.
Clearing E-rank Gates was child's play, but the severe sleep deprivation and the constant, gnawing anxiety had taken a massive toll on even an S-rank Hunter's stamina.
Now that the adrenaline keeping her upright had finally worn off, the crushing weight of her exhaustion came crashing down all at once.
"I'm... gonna rest for a bit..."
Natalia mumbled, stumbling blindly toward the bed before collapsing into the empty space beside him.
Using Han Su-hyeon—whose breathing and complexion had already begun to stabilize—as a body pillow, she wrapped her arms tightly around him and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
"Wait... you can't just sleep there..."
It all happened so fast that neither Jin Seo-yun nor Han Su-in could even think to stop her.
Han Su-in felt a brief pang of annoyance at how casually this woman had climbed into bed to hug her little brother.
But since Natalia was also the savior who had just rescued him, she was left utterly conflicted, unsure of how to react.
"Mmm..."
Natalia's face, now fast asleep, finally looked peaceful.
While she slept, her secretary slipped silently into the room.
The secretary hooked Belladonna—who had finished delivering the antidote—up to an anesthetic IV, quietly wheeling the sedated monster back out.
"Gasp!"
I finally snapped awake, feeling like I was being slowly steamed alive.
How long was I out...?
My muscles felt completely hollow and every joint in my body was loose, telling me I'd been bedridden for a very long time.
But seriously, why is it so hot?
I forced my dry, stinging eyes open. The first thing that came into focus was Natalia, fast asleep and clinging to me.
As my brain registered the sight, my dormant senses finally kicked in. I felt a heavy, constricting weight pressing against me.
Wait, it doesn't feel like she's the only one hugging me...
Sensing something else, I turned my head to the other side. Sure enough, there was a mess of unkempt black hair.
My sister was also clinging to me, fast asleep.
Sandwiched tightly between two voluptuous bodies, I carefully scanned the rest of the room. My eyes locked with Seo-yun's, who was sitting in a chair nearby.
"Haha..."
I managed to weakly lift my arm and give her a small wave. Seo-yun smiled warmly, nodding back.
"Oh, thank goodness."
She whispered with a relieved smile, her voice thick with unshed tears.
"Make sure you thank her when she wakes up. She practically ran herself into the ground trying to save you."
Her words caught me completely off guard.
Her? For me?
I figured she'd just go find a new toy if I broke.
Seo-yun quickly filled me in on everything that had happened while I was out cold.
Hearing the whole story left me with a strange, complicated feeling.
"I see..."
"Either way, you owe her a proper thank you."
"Yeah, I guess I really do."
I nodded slowly, carefully shifting to sit up so I wouldn't wake the two of them.
As I sat up, their heads naturally slid down to rest on my lap.
Gently, I reached down and brushed Natalia's messy bangs out of her face.