Chapter 17 – A Strange Woman (Part 2)
******
“Ah… tough guy.”
Leah, who stabbed the devil’s body bound by chains countless times, was beyond exhausted had failed; Her sword didn’t work on its skin because it was sturdy. She endeavored to slow the devil’s movement by damaging the muscles as much as possible, but it was not easy to penetrate the devil’s skin. Despite the intensive attack near the bridge, the devil’s remained resistant. The devil swung its long tail toward Leah, who was wheezing while standing in place. She managed to avoid the attack, but not completely. Sharp thorns protruding from the tail ripped off Leah’s skin on the side. Blood trickling from the wound dipped and wet the floor. Lea’s body staggered from dizziness due to loss of blood and exhaustion.
Currently, Asaya, who wanted to heal Leah’s wounds right away, was feeble. She was weak by using too much power at once. Her arms and legs trembled, and she was dizzy as if someone was holding her head shaking vigorously. Her hair drenched in a cold sweat was drooping, and her face became pale.
All the villagers seemed to have evacuated. Although support should arrive anytime, the surroundings were idyllic. Asaya wasn’t sure how long she could endure. She felt like was going to lose her mind right away. She never thought she would die here like this.
“This is my limit…”
The chains of light that bound the devil disappeared. Asaya collapsed on the floor exhaustedly. The devil roared wildly and looked at Asaya. It’s limped and turned toward Asaya, swinging his tail wildly and rushing to her.
“Asaya!” Leah called out.
“I am going to die.”
It was the moment Asaya shut her eyes and prepared to die. The devil’s hardtail was severed in an instant. A shadow hovered over Asaya’s head. The red cloak fluttered in the wind. Asaya opened her eyes and looked at the man’s back, standing in front of her.
“…Duke?”
Edwin’s face was as cold as ice. Instead of answering, he sliced the horns of the rushing demon with a sword. Then, he lowered his posture and dug into the abdomen of the devil, thrust into the devil, and twisted it. The devil howled and fled.
“Unbelievable… The intermediate level devil was chopped off by one blow?”
Leah, who was watching, was left dumbfounded. She was awed at Edwin’s power of being able to pierce through the hard skin that she was barely able to graze it with all her power, and at the refined movement aiming at the vital spots without wasting time. The devil couldn’t get up anymore. It just twisted its body constantly wailed in place.
“The devil’s heart is lodged deep in the right side of the abdomen.”
Edwin casually remarked while stabbing the devil’s stomach again.
“Simply stabbing can’t detriment its heart. You have to smash all the bones that protect the heart to eradicate it completely.”
When he crushed the hard bones surrounding its heart, the devil’s heart, hidden deep in its body, was revealed. Compared to the monstrous sized of the body, its heart was about the size of a grown male fist. Curving out its heart, Edwin casually thrust his sword into it. The devil’s movement stopped completely. It was a simple neat finish to the point it seemed idle. Leah mellowed and sagged. Edwin turned back and approached Asaya. His beautiful eyes, which were originally cold, looked even colder. Though his expression was full of composure, Asaya could see the momentary nervousness in his eyes. It seemed it was filled with anger and concern.
As soon as Asaya raised her upper body, Edwin’s gaze slowly descended and looked at Asaya’s body first. It was a gaze searching for something. Asaya, who noticed the excessive intentions, reassured him by brushing off the dirt from her clothes.
“l am okay. I didn’t get hurt at all.”
Hearing Asaya’s words, he regained his composure. However, the gaze with disapproval remained.
“Why on earth are you here?”
“I smelled the devil and came to this place to pursue the smell.”
“You smelled it?”
“Yes, I can smell the devil within a certain distance. I couldn’t sleep, so I opened the window to get some fresh air, but the smell of the devil came in … ”
It was amazing to be able to smell the devil, but Edwin paid more attention to the fact that she came here without hesitation.
“So, you just came here without any countermeasures?”
At his rebuking voice, Asaya replied, grimly.
“I thought somehow we had to stop the damage before it could get worse. It was late at night when everyone was asleep, so I thought we should at least buy some time for people to evacuate.”
Edwin tried to say something, but then kept quiet because he knew she deserved to be praised rather than being lectured by his anger. This was recognized by his head, but Edwin was unable to shake off his trembling worried heart.
“I’m sorry for acting on my own.”
“Are there any injuries?”
“Yes, I am fine. Leah is injured rather than me and needs to be treated.”
Edwin glanced at Leah. As he watched the bloody appearance with no emotion, he swept his forehead and sighed.
“No matter how familiar the devil is to you, you shouldn’t underestimate it.”
“I don’t understand. If an object as big as that had flowed in from the outside, it would have been impossible not to know.”
“I have to investigate and find out what happened.”
As soon as he finished the sentence, the reinforcements arrived. Armed soldiers came towards Edwin. They recognized Edwin and bowed to show courtesy.
“My Lord!”
When they found the body of a dead monster, they were astounded at its size. However, Edwin insignificantly just wiped the blood off the sword.
“Have you sent news about the devil? We need to speed up the cleanup process, but are the priests still there?
“I communicated the situation to the convent and monastery and requested assistance, but it will take some time due to distance. There is a place where the inspection team stays not far, so I visited it but they were all gone.”
“The tour group had left? The scheduled departure date is tomorrow.”
“I do not know. It seems that they have already left the territory because I didn’t see the baggage they brought.”
Edwin laughed at the soldier’s report. It was obvious that they left the estate in a hurry at this early dawn.
“Go find out the whereabouts of the priests and gather them. Let’s hurry up with the temporary barracks where the refugees will stay. Have you confirmed casualties?”
“We are working on it.”
“Let’s prioritize treating the injured people rather than collecting the dead. To prevent the plague from spreading, hurry up quarantine work and control access to the surrounding area.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The disaster that happened unexpectedly had swiftly ended. The soldiers disappeared for their respective duties. They moved busily, cleaning up the debris of broken buildings, searching the houses that were attacked by the devil, collecting the bodies of the deceased, and rescuing wounded people. Leah, who was injured, was given first aid by a rescuer. Asaya used her last remaining power to purify the energy of the plague in Leah’s wounds. As the cleansing was finished, Edwin gently helped Asaya to sit down due to the exhaustion of her legs.
“As soon as the priest arrives, make sure he looks at this woman’s wounds first,” Edwin told a soldier as he pointed at Leah.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Asaya, go back with me.”
“But …”
“If you stay here, you have nothing to do. What can you do with that fatigued body?”
It was essential to remove the plague marks on the injured bodies. This was something that only priests with power could do, but there were no priests who arrived immediately, so every second counted. Asaya thought that she had to help with the work of this place somehow with her remaining power but soon gave up.
“That’s right, there’s nothing more I can do.”
Asaya’s physical strength and mental strength were also limited. There was no strength left to lean on. She laughed awkwardly while being held by Edwin and agreed to go back with him. Edwin helped Asaya to get on the horse first, then he got on behind her. He wrapped her waist tightly from behind to keep Asaya from falling off the horse. When the tension has lightened; her body drooped. Asaya leaned against his chest and blinked blankly.
“You had a hard time.”
Edwin’s tender voice passed by her ears. Asaya, who had no energy to answer, shut her eyes. Darkness came with the feeling of warmth reaching her cheeks.
*******
After running for a long period, the horse halted in front of the mansion. It was around dawn. Edwin stared at the little body sleeping in his arms. Asaya seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but he knew she wouldn’t wake up for at least a few days. Asaya didn’t express it, but Edwin knew that her body was overwhelmed since it used too much power.
‘’Why did you do such a foolish thing?”
As a result, he was grateful, but was it something Asaya had to do so hard enough to ruin her body? Edwin couldn’t understand it.
What was finished without hurt was followed by luck. If she were seriously injured by the devil, at worst, if she were killed or eaten, it would be over. Why was she holding onto so ignorantly? Edwin didn’t understand that a woman who was so obsessed with life that she threw herself away to live, then threw the life given so difficulty, for others.
“My Lord.”
Marshall greeted Edwin as if he had just woken up. Seeing his buttons were hastily fastened and his disheveled clothes. It seemed that he had just heard the news and prepared for it.
“Why did Miss Asaya….”
“She won’t be able to wake up for a while. Watch her carefully until she wakes up.”
“She can’t wake up? Is she seriously injured?”
“She used up all of her power. Her physical strength and mental power are drained, so she will keep sleeping until she recovers to some extent.”
“That means, she went to Riverarden?”
“I will explain in detail later.”
Time was tight, so Edwin had to go back to the village. Edwin passed Marshall and entered the mansion. As he climbed the stairs on the second floor, he opened her bedroom door and laid Asaya on the bed. He frowned as he looked at Asaya’s pale face as if she were dead. In many ways, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat irked and peeved. He should be grateful for her help, that would be enough, but why did he feel more frustrated than thankful? Why did she recklessly, rather than courageously, took the initiative? It was starting to become an annoyance. With mixed feelings, it was uncanny for him to feel relieved that she was safe rather than begging in pain and agony.
“You are a strange woman.”
Edwin turned away reluctantly. He had to go back to the scene. Somehow, he dreaded leaving Asaya lying there like a corpse, but he couldn’t help it. With each step, Edwin felt extraordinarily heavy.
******
“Ah… tough guy.”
Leah, who stabbed the devil’s body bound by chains countless times, was beyond exhausted had failed; Her sword didn’t work on its skin because it was sturdy. She endeavored to slow the devil’s movement by damaging the muscles as much as possible, but it was not easy to penetrate the devil’s skin. Despite the intensive attack near the bridge, the devil’s remained resistant. The devil swung its long tail toward Leah, who was wheezing while standing in place. She managed to avoid the attack, but not completely. Sharp thorns protruding from the tail ripped off Leah’s skin on the side. Blood trickling from the wound dipped and wet the floor. Lea’s body staggered from dizziness due to loss of blood and exhaustion.
Currently, Asaya, who wanted to heal Leah’s wounds right away, was feeble. She was weak by using too much power at once. Her arms and legs trembled, and she was dizzy as if someone was holding her head shaking vigorously. Her hair drenched in a cold sweat was drooping, and her face became pale.
All the villagers seemed to have evacuated. Although support should arrive anytime, the surroundings were idyllic. Asaya wasn’t sure how long she could endure. She felt like was going to lose her mind right away. She never thought she would die here like this.
“This is my limit…”
The chains of light that bound the devil disappeared. Asaya collapsed on the floor exhaustedly. The devil roared wildly and looked at Asaya. It’s limped and turned toward Asaya, swinging his tail wildly and rushing to her.
“Asaya!” Leah called out.
“I am going to die.”
It was the moment Asaya shut her eyes and prepared to die. The devil’s hardtail was severed in an instant. A shadow hovered over Asaya’s head. The red cloak fluttered in the wind. Asaya opened her eyes and looked at the man’s back, standing in front of her.
“…Duke?”
Edwin’s face was as cold as ice. Instead of answering, he sliced the horns of the rushing demon with a sword. Then, he lowered his posture and dug into the abdomen of the devil, thrust into the devil, and twisted it. The devil howled and fled.
“Unbelievable… The intermediate level devil was chopped off by one blow?”
Leah, who was watching, was left dumbfounded. She was awed at Edwin’s power of being able to pierce through the hard skin that she was barely able to graze it with all her power, and at the refined movement aiming at the vital spots without wasting time. The devil couldn’t get up anymore. It just twisted its body constantly wailed in place.
“The devil’s heart is lodged deep in the right side of the abdomen.”
Edwin casually remarked while stabbing the devil’s stomach again.
“Simply stabbing can’t detriment its heart. You have to smash all the bones that protect the heart to eradicate it completely.”
When he crushed the hard bones surrounding its heart, the devil’s heart, hidden deep in its body, was revealed. Compared to the monstrous sized of the body, its heart was about the size of a grown male fist. Curving out its heart, Edwin casually thrust his sword into it. The devil’s movement stopped completely. It was a simple neat finish to the point it seemed idle. Leah mellowed and sagged. Edwin turned back and approached Asaya. His beautiful eyes, which were originally cold, looked even colder. Though his expression was full of composure, Asaya could see the momentary nervousness in his eyes. It seemed it was filled with anger and concern.
As soon as Asaya raised her upper body, Edwin’s gaze slowly descended and looked at Asaya’s body first. It was a gaze searching for something. Asaya, who noticed the excessive intentions, reassured him by brushing off the dirt from her clothes.
“l am okay. I didn’t get hurt at all.”
Hearing Asaya’s words, he regained his composure. However, the gaze with disapproval remained.
“Why on earth are you here?”
“I smelled the devil and came to this place to pursue the smell.”
“You smelled it?”
“Yes, I can smell the devil within a certain distance. I couldn’t sleep, so I opened the window to get some fresh air, but the smell of the devil came in … ”
It was amazing to be able to smell the devil, but Edwin paid more attention to the fact that she came here without hesitation.
“So, you just came here without any countermeasures?”
At his rebuking voice, Asaya replied, grimly.
“I thought somehow we had to stop the damage before it could get worse. It was late at night when everyone was asleep, so I thought we should at least buy some time for people to evacuate.”
Edwin tried to say something, but then kept quiet because he knew she deserved to be praised rather than being lectured by his anger. This was recognized by his head, but Edwin was unable to shake off his trembling worried heart.
“I’m sorry for acting on my own.”
“Are there any injuries?”
“Yes, I am fine. Leah is injured rather than me and needs to be treated.”
Edwin glanced at Leah. As he watched the bloody appearance with no emotion, he swept his forehead and sighed.
“No matter how familiar the devil is to you, you shouldn’t underestimate it.”
“I don’t understand. If an object as big as that had flowed in from the outside, it would have been impossible not to know.”
“I have to investigate and find out what happened.”
As soon as he finished the sentence, the reinforcements arrived. Armed soldiers came towards Edwin. They recognized Edwin and bowed to show courtesy.
“My Lord!”
When they found the body of a dead monster, they were astounded at its size. However, Edwin insignificantly just wiped the blood off the sword.
“Have you sent news about the devil? We need to speed up the cleanup process, but are the priests still there?
“I communicated the situation to the convent and monastery and requested assistance, but it will take some time due to distance. There is a place where the inspection team stays not far, so I visited it but they were all gone.”
“The tour group had left? The scheduled departure date is tomorrow.”
“I do not know. It seems that they have already left the territory because I didn’t see the baggage they brought.”
Edwin laughed at the soldier’s report. It was obvious that they left the estate in a hurry at this early dawn.
“Go find out the whereabouts of the priests and gather them. Let’s hurry up with the temporary barracks where the refugees will stay. Have you confirmed casualties?”
“We are working on it.”
“Let’s prioritize treating the injured people rather than collecting the dead. To prevent the plague from spreading, hurry up quarantine work and control access to the surrounding area.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The disaster that happened unexpectedly had swiftly ended. The soldiers disappeared for their respective duties. They moved busily, cleaning up the debris of broken buildings, searching the houses that were attacked by the devil, collecting the bodies of the deceased, and rescuing wounded people. Leah, who was injured, was given first aid by a rescuer. Asaya used her last remaining power to purify the energy of the plague in Leah’s wounds. As the cleansing was finished, Edwin gently helped Asaya to sit down due to the exhaustion of her legs.
“As soon as the priest arrives, make sure he looks at this woman’s wounds first,” Edwin told a soldier as he pointed at Leah.
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Asaya, go back with me.”
“But …”
“If you stay here, you have nothing to do. What can you do with that fatigued body?”
It was essential to remove the plague marks on the injured bodies. This was something that only priests with power could do, but there were no priests who arrived immediately, so every second counted. Asaya thought that she had to help with the work of this place somehow with her remaining power but soon gave up.
“That’s right, there’s nothing more I can do.”
Asaya’s physical strength and mental strength were also limited. There was no strength left to lean on. She laughed awkwardly while being held by Edwin and agreed to go back with him. Edwin helped Asaya to get on the horse first, then he got on behind her. He wrapped her waist tightly from behind to keep Asaya from falling off the horse. When the tension has lightened; her body drooped. Asaya leaned against his chest and blinked blankly.
“You had a hard time.”
Edwin’s tender voice passed by her ears. Asaya, who had no energy to answer, shut her eyes. Darkness came with the feeling of warmth reaching her cheeks.
*******
After running for a long period, the horse halted in front of the mansion. It was around dawn. Edwin stared at the little body sleeping in his arms. Asaya seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but he knew she wouldn’t wake up for at least a few days. Asaya didn’t express it, but Edwin knew that her body was overwhelmed since it used too much power.
‘’Why did you do such a foolish thing?”
As a result, he was grateful, but was it something Asaya had to do so hard enough to ruin her body? Edwin couldn’t understand it.
What was finished without hurt was followed by luck. If she were seriously injured by the devil, at worst, if she were killed or eaten, it would be over. Why was she holding onto so ignorantly? Edwin didn’t understand that a woman who was so obsessed with life that she threw herself away to live, then threw the life given so difficulty, for others.
“My Lord.”
Marshall greeted Edwin as if he had just woken up. Seeing his buttons were hastily fastened and his disheveled clothes. It seemed that he had just heard the news and prepared for it.
“Why did Miss Asaya….”
“She won’t be able to wake up for a while. Watch her carefully until she wakes up.”
“She can’t wake up? Is she seriously injured?”
“She used up all of her power. Her physical strength and mental power are drained, so she will keep sleeping until she recovers to some extent.”
“That means, she went to Riverarden?”
“I will explain in detail later.”
Time was tight, so Edwin had to go back to the village. Edwin passed Marshall and entered the mansion. As he climbed the stairs on the second floor, he opened her bedroom door and laid Asaya on the bed. He frowned as he looked at Asaya’s pale face as if she were dead. In many ways, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat irked and peeved. He should be grateful for her help, that would be enough, but why did he feel more frustrated than thankful? Why did she recklessly, rather than courageously, took the initiative? It was starting to become an annoyance. With mixed feelings, it was uncanny for him to feel relieved that she was safe rather than begging in pain and agony.
“You are a strange woman.”
Edwin turned away reluctantly. He had to go back to the scene. Somehow, he dreaded leaving Asaya lying there like a corpse, but he couldn’t help it. With each step, Edwin felt extraordinarily heavy.