World's Best Protagonist [BL]

I clenched my jaw as Etienne’s hands glowed over my wound. A soothing warmth pressed against the deep, angry welts.

Ugh. My stomach churned just at the sight of the sickly fluid seeping from my skin. Even if Etienne was treating me, the sensation of that disgusting tentacle crawling over my leg wouldn’t leave me anytime soon.

My left leg was numbed. I didn’t feel the pain.

"You’ll be fine. The poison will be completely extracted soon."

I nodded at Etienne trying to console me. The frustration must have shown in my face. I sighed exasperatedly.

"I was so confident I wouldn’t be a dead weight, but look at me now," I murmured. I hated this. I hated feeling like this—helpless and the weakest.

If Claude hadn’t cut me free, if Etienne weren’t here to heal me, I wouldn’t even be standing right now.

Pathetic.

Etienne paused. Then, "Jade, you’re not a dead weight. We’re not even moving. Things like these happen inside a vortex. Besides, this is my job. Don’t be disappointed."

He patted my right leg to comfort me. I forced a smile, then looked up to find Claude staring at me. He immediately looked away after our eyes met. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but just holding back.

Was he being considerate? I wouldn’t mind the blame. I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palm. No, I shouldn’t think like this. If I kept doubting myself, I’d never be able to stand on my own.

I took a slow breath, forcing myself to focus on the present.

Claude stood before us, eyes sharp and wary as he surveyed the thick mist, his sword gleaming faintly. His head turned to the other side after a series of movements was sensed.

A distant voice was heard within the fog. Noir.

"Terrius and Lexie are taking care of the pests. Allen is coming to you, captain. Once the barrier is done, dispel the mist. It’s hard to fight without seeing anything."

"Got it."

At that moment, Allen emerged from the mist. His face was etched with worry after seeing me. "What happened to you?"

"He was attacked," Claude answered. "Create them a barrier."

"Right away."

A few seconds later, a transparent green honeycomb shield was encasing Etienne and me. As soon as Allen did it, the mist cleared and the enemies were revealed.

Black octopuses surrounded the whole building like spiders, their tentacles excreted purplish liquids. A slight contact with their slimy body can melt you.

Thankfully, Allen was present. His ability allowed him to provide individual barriers to the members.

Above his shoulders were diamond-shaped screens appearing—two on the left, and two on the right—displaying the faces of Noir, Claude, Terrius, and Lexie. Green circles appeared below the members, following them wherever they went.

The tentacled creatures are bigger than us, but Lexie was able to defeat one by cutting off its tentacles and beheading it. It spewed black toxic fluids, but thanks to the shield, she was unharmed.

Terrius focused on freezing the tentacles, then striking them with a halberd I didn’t know he used. He was quick and effective, majority of the monsters were killed by him.

Noir was swiftly evading the tentacles, like he was dancing, with excitement etched on his face. His movement was fluid and despite not owning a weapon, he controlled one of the giant black octopuses to fight the others.

Meanwhile, Claude trapped his opponents in a field of freezing mist he created. The supercooled water droplets in the air froze the monsters upon contact, enshrouding them in a layer of ice, not as thick and solid as Terrius’s, but it slowed down the monsters’ movements, then, Claude would strike them with his gleaming sword.

Soon the monstrous invaders on the floor were defeated, however, everyone knew it was far from over.

"You’re done," Etienne said after a while. He stood and rushed to check on everyone’s condition.

Allen approached me, lending me a hand. I grabbed it and stood immediately. My leg was completely healed, even the exhaustion brought by the earlier events was gone.

"Thanks."

Allen tapped my back, giving me a proud look. "You did well."

I flinched. Allen smiled at me knowingly. I didn’t say anything, but he was able to feel it. How? Noir jumped at me from behind, his arms locking my shoulders and grinning widely.

"Yo, newbie, that was a good support! Who knew all that hardcore training would help?" Noir remarked, ruffling my head in excitement.

Terrius slapped my back and said nothing, while Lexie gave me a thumbs-up.

"You did great, Jade. Thanks to you we defeated those ugly beasts easily," she said, looking at me proudly as well.

Etienne looked up at me, smiling.

"You all knew?" I ended up asking. I didn’t inform them, since I wasn’t sure if it would work.

"Who do you think we are?" Claude’s voice came from behind me. I looked at him, speechless. "We’ve been raiding vortexes more than you, you think we wouldn’t notice?"

"That’s right. The other team was having a hard time killing one of these, but it was easier for us since you weakened them. Instead of nullifying them one by one, acting the hero, you relied on us. Nice work."

I almost didn’t believe that the one who complimented me was Noir speaking. He looked sincere. I was flustered, having their eyes fixed on me.

"We’re a team after all," I shyly answered. Yeah, me, Jade, was embarrassed by their praises.

Claude patted my head, gently. "You’re useful. You did well."

I was shocked, and silent for a moment. I glanced up at him over my shoulder, searching for confirmation. Claude raised his eyebrow at me and pushed my head down a bit, aware of my skepticism in his sudden compliment.

Well, he did save me. I pushed his hand away and looked up, flashing him a genuine, wide smile. "Thank you for saving my life again."

Claude paused. His brows furrowed. Did I say something wrong?

Then, he asked, "What do you mean by ’again’?"

Oh, right. He didn’t recognize me. I was about to answer him when a deep, resonating sound rumbled beneath us, like something massive shifting. Then, a loud crack reverberated through the air. The ground trembled beneath our feet.

"The building—!"