Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight! novel Chapter 77

Chapter 77: ’Closing In’

Florian’s scream ripped through his throat, guttural and raw, reverberating through the forest like a wounded animal’s final cry. His chest heaved as he gasped for air, but the sound twisted into nothingness in his ears. It was hollow, unreal—as though he weren’t the one making it.

Or maybe it wasn’t real at all.

Maybe it was just inside his head, tangled with the searing grief that gnawed relentlessly at his insides.

His knees buckled. The world tilted violently beneath him, and he crashed to the ground, dirt and jagged stones scraping his skin. Pain flared through his palms and knees, sharp and immediate, but it was a distant sensation compared to the storm raging inside his chest.

"No." His voice was hoarse, shredded. "No, no, no—"

This wasn’t happening.

This couldn’t be happening.

But it was.

Levi’s lifeless body remained seared into Florian’s vision—branches impaling him, blood soaking the earth in grotesque rivers. The light in his eyes, extinguished. Forever.

Florian’s stomach twisted violently, bile rising to the back of his throat. He doubled over, gagging, but nothing came. His body convulsed, wracked by grief, trembling uncontrollably. Hot tears streamed down his face, scalding his skin like acid.

’It’s my fault.’

The thought stabbed through him like a blade, unyielding and cruel.

’I hesitated. I stayed. If I had just listened to him... if I had just run when he told me to—’

A shudder tore through him, his breath catching painfully in his throat. The weight of guilt pressed down on his chest, suffocating. He clutched at the dirt beneath him, fingers digging into the cold, unyielding ground as though it could anchor him to reality.

Levi was gone.

Because of him.

A jagged, suffocating pain clamped around Florian’s chest, as though invisible claws were tearing into his heart. His ribs strained against the crushing force. It wasn’t just grief—it was rage, wild and untamed, searing through his veins like wildfire.

At Arthur.

At the gods.

At himself.

He wanted to scream again, to tear apart the very fabric of the world until it mirrored the ruin inside him.

But then—

Run.

The word sliced through the fog of agony in his mind, sharp and commanding.

Levi’s voice.

Desperate. Pleading.

"Run."

Florian’s survival instincts roared to life, clawing their way to the surface. Levi’s sacrifice couldn’t be in vain. He couldn’t let his death be meaningless.

Even if it tore Florian apart inside, he had to survive.

He bit down hard on his lip until he tasted blood. His legs trembled violently beneath him, but he forced himself to his feet. Every movement was agony, his muscles sluggish and battered, but he gritted his teeth and pushed forward.

The cold night air stung his skin, mingling with the sweat clinging to his body. His lungs burned with every breath. He stumbled, nearly falling, but sheer desperation kept him upright.

’Keep moving. Don’t stop. Don’t look back.’

The taste of blood and sorrow lingered on his tongue, but he swallowed it down. His fists clenched, nails digging into his palms. Grief threatened to drown him, but he shoved it down into the pit of his stomach.

Levi was gone.

And Florian hated himself for it.

But he had to keep running.

’What the hell? How did they get here so fucking fast—’ His stomach twisted in realization. ’Don’t tell me... they were waiting the whole time?’

’Idiot. I’m such an idiot.’ Florian’s thoughts spiraled, venomous and unforgiving. ’I forgot they could use magic.’