3. Dragon’s Eye, Human Mind (39)
Blood was spit out with a gurgling sound.
It was because he couldn’t overcome the sudden shock. Seeing this, the saintess’ face instantly turned pale.
She must have seen countless injuries worse than this. I didn’t know why he was so flustered, but his stammering tone made it clear that he was concerned about me.
“Gwa, gwa, are you okay?! W, as expected, I need to treat it right away… … .”
No, you’re doing this by hitting.
Those words filled my throat, but I endured them with superhuman patience. Because I already knew that he did it out of love for me.
Of course, that didn’t break my stubbornness.
Shaking my head, I cleared my bloody breath.
Another bluff escaped my lips.
“There are a lot of more serious people around me, and it’s worth holding on. I’ve been injured so many times… … .”
Then, with my arms on the ground, I slowly got up. It was a staggering gesture.
A bitter moan escaped his lips, but it was tolerable.
At least it wasn’t a level of injury that made it impossible to fight right away.
I brushed off the dust from my clothes, as if revealing my unfading will to fight. The saintess’ eyes were now even absurd.
Even that was only a moment. The light pink eyes that were trembling trembled, a branch filled up.
It seemed that he was angry with me for trying to go to the battlefield again without even receiving treatment.
Crying, the saintess was about to burst into a roar.
“Ian!”
A huge man stood right next to me with a heavy voice of Huong. He landed next to me as if he were flying and immediately lifted my shoulder.
It was Professor Derek. He asked in a worried voice.
“Are you okay?”
Originally, he was at the forefront, holding the demons in check. Then, an explosion was heard from the center of the square, and it seemed that they sensed an abnormal situation.
That’s why he flew to the center of the road and stood by my side.
It was an agile response. Indeed, I thought that he was a warrior of reversal who crossed countless dead lines.
After thinking about what answer to give Professor Derek for a moment, I couldn’t help but open my mouth with a wry smile.
“… … no.”
“It’s bearable!”
Professor Derek burst out laughing at my honest confession. After all, for him, a wound like this would only be tolerable.
Because he had been risking his life for decades to hunt monsters.
I don’t know, but I’m sure I’ve been through the risk of dying countless times.
But it wasn’t just my concerns that made Professor Derek come to me. Soon, his subdued voice announced the main point.
“Ian, a few kids ran away recklessly towards the academy. Until now, I thought there were only cats, so I didn’t care, but if there’s a magic beast that can move through the air, the story will be different.”
“… … Perhaps the witches might have followed you.”
Professor Derek silently nodded at my careful prediction.
It was truly a strange combination.
There were a total of two types of cat beasts attacking the procession.
An object that self-destructs, and an object that suddenly grows bigger and fights.
These two cat witches had only one thing in common. It was that he had a petite physique until he mutated.
That’s why it can move while being held by the claws of the Crow Witchbeast.
As a result, we had to be vigilant both on the ground and in the air. Even flocks of birds that covered the sky pitch black were flying in the direction of the academy.
It was hard to think of it as a mere coincidence. From the beginning, it was clear that the current raid was abnormal, just by looking at the fact that the two monsters of different species were cooperating.
There is a background.
I’ve already confirmed this in letters several times, but seeing the actual attack, the signs were clear. Having reached that point, I bit my lip for a moment.
Demonic beasts being manipulated would have shown more intelligent movements.
One example was dropping the self-destructing cat beast from the air, just like before. It wouldn’t be strange if he chased down the lower grades who had become ragtag from recklessly running away and tried to destroy them individually.
It was dangerous.
Especially if there were non-combatants among those who fled. Someone competent had to head towards the academy.
Many people could not escape from the battlefield to protect the wounded and civilians. If they had to leave, they had no choice but to leave a few reliable elites.
Professor Derek had chosen me as the right person.
“Ian, you have a lot of practical experience, and you have always been good at one foot. Go after them and ensure your safety.”
“What about this place?”
Professor Derek swung his greatsword once instead of answering.
It was a skill made with only one arm because I was carrying my shoulders. With just that, countless solid lines of light were engraved in the air.
And the gushing bloody light.
The Crow Masters rapidly raised their altitude at an unexpected blow. However, the speed at which Auror’s sword net pulverized them was faster.
Screams, and blood and flesh dripping down patter.
At the very least, there seemed to be no worry about allowing the Crow Witchbeast to take an untimely blow. Even Derek couldn’t use this skill indefinitely.
I nodded at Professor Derek, who looked a little tired, and turned away.
As I was about to run, the one who stood in my way was a saintess.
She had been listening to my conversation with Professor Derek, and as soon as I was ready to leave, she got up in haste and blocked my path.
She said to me with determined eyes.
“Oh no… You’re injured! You want to come back from a coma again?! That, not as much as that… … .”
Derek’s expression was taken aback by the strangely desperate dissuade.
I felt like I had to leave, but when the saintess, the priest in charge of me, almost begged me, it was hard to take my step.
However, the reality was that it was ambiguous to dispatch someone other than myself.
It was difficult to dispatch senior Elsie, the wizard, to a maneuver battle where a small number of powers collided, and senior Delphine, who was leading the group, could not leave her seat even more.
Of course, Seria was also a talented person who reached the expert level, but she was a lower grader, so she felt less weight.
However, he did not have enough time to accept the saintess’ treatment.
It was because pouring divine power into it did not mean that it would be cured.
In order to recover without any problems, repeated and delicate treatment was essential.
If he was prepared for the side effects, he could have been treated at least as an emergency measure. It’s just that, judging from the saintess’ attitude right now, it just didn’t seem like she would allow it.
In the end, I took out the healing potion from the potion bag with a sigh.
And I inhaled it at once. I felt a faint bitter taste on my tongue, and soon the throbbing pain gradually subsided.
Even this was only a temporary measure. But at least it should have been enough to show my will.
Even when I trudged along, the saintess remained unmoved. The quivering eyelids represented her feelings.
It was horror.
I didn’t know what to fear. But one thing was certain: the fact that the saintess was very worried about me right now.
Come to think of it, today I wrapped the saintess twice.
Once from the first explosion, and another from the explosion dropped by the crow witch.
So even more so, I didn’t know if my condition was bothering me. Because the saintess was more tender and affectionate than anyone could have imagined.
It was only a couple of steps, but the distance between the saintess and me was already very close.
The saintess was ignoring me with her eyes tightly closed. It meant that no matter what I said, I wouldn’t listen.
It looked like a wife catching her husband leaving for the battlefield. Even Professor Derek cleared his throat at the heartbreaking sight and slightly averted his gaze.
Needless to say, the rest of them were rolling on the ground with their limbs broken one by one, or had to deal with the swarming monsters.
It was fortunate. Because no one was watching the saintess and me.
After looking at the saintess with a sad look for a while, I lowered my head with a sigh.
A low voice came out of my mouth.
“… … Holy Maiden.”
“Oh no!”
A bitter smile spread across my lips as I had expected this.
There was even hazy dew on the corners of the saintess’ eyes.
Of course, persuasion was impossible by any means.
So I decided to take drastic measures.
Cook, the touch was transmitted through the bones of his fingers.
My index finger was digging into the elastic mass of flesh. It was the saintess’ ‘sacred power bag’.
I had felt it a couple of times before, but when I pressed it with my finger, I felt it more clearly.
It was such a wonderful touch.
As much as I would like to continue doing this if possible.
However, before I could fully enjoy the touch, the saintess’ immediate reaction followed.
“Hey, hey hey hey?!”
With a strange sound, the saintess jumped up and took a couple of steps back. Her pale pink eyes widened.
The saintess was glaring at me with an expression stained with shock and bewilderment.
Her mouth swelled for a while, unable to utter words. When the voice was heard, a few seconds had passed since the saintess saw my sad expression.
The resounding voice of the saintess soon hit my eardrums.
“Me, me, are you crazy?! This, this is s*xual harassment… I will refer you to the Inquisition!”
It was so embarrassing that the saintess even pointed at me with her face flushed red.
However, my expression remained calm even in spite of her threat, which was not a threat.
“What’s going on between us?”
“Ooh, what the hell between us… … !”
“If you go to the Holy Land, a special relationship that lets you touch secret places?”
At my sudden revelation, the saintess immediately covered her mouth. Then, perhaps because he was conscious of the eyes gathering on the two of us, he sprinted in front of me and whispered.
“… … That, what if I say that in front of others! Oh, you misunderstand!”
“Look, it’s a special relationship, isn’t it?”
My hands were quietly placed on the saintess’ shoulders.
At first, the saintess trembled, but soon, fish-eyed eyes looked up at me.
A bitter smile still lingered on my lips. It was a bit of a mischievous smile.
“So you don’t die. Someday, I have to go to the holy kingdom and touch that holy power bag. Don’t worry, just… I’m just going to cut some witches. It’s what I always do.”
“… … I always got seriously injured.”
The saintess’s sullen refutation was close to the truth.
I didn’t have anything to refute, so I switched the topic like water.
“Let’s make one bet.”
As if asking what she meant, the saintess stared blankly at me.
It was a look of concern and embarrassment in his eyes. It made me feel lovable, but I still had work to do.
I said, trying to catch my breath.
“I will solve everything and come back… The friction with the imperial family over the past few weeks, and even the demonic attacks, everything.”
“… … What if it fails?”
Hearing that wet voice, I shook my head in a sign of relief.
“Then the saintess wins. At that time, I will grant you one wish. Instead, if I win, please grant the saintess one wish.”
“What is that… … .”
The saintess questioned with a faint smile as if she was dumbfounded.
“And if you die, what will I do?”
“But wouldn’t you have the will to survive if you had at least one prize?”
In the end, the saintess let out a deep sigh with an expression that she couldn’t stop.
It was instead of an answer.
I patted the saintess’ delicate shoulder a few times and left a last request.
“Saintess, the wounded need you. You must not waste your divine power. And especially Her Highness the Princess… … .”
It was around that time that my words, which had continued without interruption, suddenly stopped.
‘Her Highness the Princess’, right after I uttered those words, my eyes quickly scanned my son-in-law.
There was no
“Her Highness the Princess… … .”
The princess was accompanied by several escort knights. Of course, it was bound to stand out more.
However, no matter how much he looked around or looked back at his memories, the princess did not exist in the room.
That fact meant only one thing.
The princess also left.
With a high probability, towards the academy.
“… … f*ck this.”
Swear words flowed from my mouth. The saintess looked a bit surprised, but she didn’t have the energy to care for her anymore.
‘I’ from the future deliberately contacted the princess and even splashed holy water on her.
At least it was clear that she was one of the key players in the raid. But after he had disappeared before he knew it, it was absurd.
Seeing the wounded immediately, the thought of having to save them made my head go crazy.
Having worn out the child, I left only one word that doubled as a farewell.
“Let’s talk later. Anyway, when everything is over, come to Berrata Palace.”
And without waiting for the saintess’ answer, I kicked the ground straight away.
Space was compressed in an instant. The scenery around me stretched out in a solid line, and my hearing became quiet.
He had to find and protect the princess immediately.
Such a sense of mission urged me. Intuition close to instinct sent me a constant warning.
The princess is in danger.
That conclusion, without any basis, stuck in my brain like a wedge.
Now it was time to save the princess.