***
****
It was a time when I just couldn’t move my body.
“My Lady! Caaaaah!”
I saw Eunice fall behind Devan.
Before I knew it, her body was covered in scratches. It was because she had fallen down while trying to get close to me.
I had to protect her. Not just Devan, but everyone.
It was obvious that if Devan collapsed, it would be the end of us all.
It was a heartbreaking feeling.
But what the hell ………….
I clenched my fists.
At that moment, Devan put his forehead on me. It would be right to say that he lost his strength and leaned on me.
But he didn’t let go of his arms that wrapped around me.
I could feel the hot sensation on my forehead and my cold fingertips returning.
I could hear Devan’s small breathing.
“Devan………………”
He opened his eyes and looked at me.
With half-closed eyes he was looking at me, precisely.
The black shape was shaking in his right eye.
Dark red blood ran down over his eyes.
His lips quivered.
“Save me.”
I couldn’t hear him, but it seemed as if he was saying that.
I wondered why.
At that moment, the eyes of the wandering dog came to mind.
The wandering dog’s clear eyes that did not resent me until the end.
I had to protect him. I must keep him alive. I could do it now. I could not let anyone die. I wanted to save them.
I could feel the divine power resonating deep within my body. No, this wasn’t divine power. ………….
I opened my eyes a little wider.
It was that power. That power that was used to escape the Grand Duke’s residence.
I don’t know why, but I felt like I could do anything with this power.
Can I do it?
I hadn’t used this power in over a year.
It was also a power that wasn’t mine to begin with.
No, it had to be done.
I squeezed my eyes shut. The force shook inside me.
It was as hot as a fire and as cold as ice.
It was sharp as if it would shatter my whole body, yet soft as if it could encompass everything.
It was noisy and quiet at the same time.
Time seemed to have stopped.
At that moment, poof, a huge wave broke out around me.
There was a flash of white light and a gust of wind.
Dust and dirt flew up in the air, making it impossible to open my eyes.
I had to brace my legs to keep from flying away.
I don’t know how long it took, but the gusts disappeared and the dust settled.
The sight that finally came into view was everyone lying on the floor, except for me.
Devan, the dragon that had clawed him, the two demons that had stopped when the magic stone was pulled out, even the knights and Eunice.
They were all lying there helplessly, as if they were sleeping or they were dead. My heart pounded violently.
What the hell was this power? I had never heard of such a powerful force. I was even in awe.
Finally realizing what was happening, I approached Devan and carefully turned his body over. The wound was so bad that the flesh looked ragged.
I put up with the physiological discomfort and slowly dissipated the new strength from my hands. It felt different somehow, but fortunately Devan’s wounds were healed. In an instant, his back healed and his breathing stabilized.
“Devan, Devan! Wake up!”
Even though I shook Devan to the side and punched him in the cheek, screaming at him, he didn’t wake up.
What should I do with this? If anyone collapses, it should be the dragon, but what the hell is this all about?
I couldn’t just stay here like this. But I also couldn’t just leave.
There were dozens of fallen people in total. It was impossible for me to move them alone. What if the demons woke up first? What if the temple comes to check on their condition? Negative thoughts disturbed my mind.
“Wake up!”
I grabbed Devan by the shoulders and shook him roughly.
“……. Ah.”
Suddenly, the inside of my body started to hurt like crazy. I grabbed my chest and forced myself to breathe in.
I felt tight and sniffly.
I was not sure, but this power was a power associated with that transcendent being. It was arrogant of me to think that I could use it as I wanted.
In an instant, my vision was blurred.
“No…”
My eyes closed spontaneously. My body went limp like water-soaked cotton. I couldn’t even lift my fingers.
I was sluggish and wanted to just give up on everything.
I wanted to just …… die.
That was then. A familiar and unfamiliar voice was heard.
This voice was ……
In the blur of my vision, a shadow approached.
It was so huge that it seemed to swallow everything and was so small that it seemed to disappear at any moment.
It came to me in a flash, and looked at me.
“…..you.”
On the tip of my tongue, a broken language came out.
Why are you doing this to me? Are you going to kill me, or are you going to save me?
Who the hell are you?
The words hovered in my mouth and disappeared.
-She snapped her fingers in front of my eyes.
As my consciousness faded, I heard a giggle from somewhere.
*****
When I came to my senses, it wasn’t a lion full of arrows that welcomed me, it was Devan’s head.
Devan’s head?
I gazed blankly at the black back of his head as he buried his face in my bed.
I didn’t know what this was all about.
‘Where am I?’
I blinked my eyes.
Something must have happened. My mind went fuzzy as I remembered my dream last night.
That playful voice came to mind again. And Devan’s tired face.
Yes, those demons.
The demons, who were obviously piloting in the temple, came looking for me, and Devan fought them. Then a dragon appeared and poked its sharp claws into Devon’s back, full of blood………….
Blood? My body stiffened in an instant.
“…Devan!”
Still burying his head in my bed, I grabbed his arm and shook it.
He looked up slowly, his brow wrinkled, his face more wry than usual.
He blinked slowly, looked at me and sighed.
“…… You finally woke up.”
Devan rubbed his face roughly with one hand.
“What’s going on?”
His movements came to a halt.
Grabbing my wrists with both hands, Devan looked at me.
“You don’t remember?”
Anxiety struck me somewhere.
Surely that presence, Hilda, had come. What happened after that?
“What happened? No way, Hilda…..”
“Hilda? What do you mean Hilda? Did I see that existence?”
Devan grabbed my wrists tightly.
“…… It hurts.”
With a jerk, he stopped moving and pulled his hand away.
“What the hell is going on? Where are we?”
“Huh?”
He closed his eyes slowly and opened with a tired look.
“It’s an inn in the village.”
“Village inn?”
I blinked quickly. It was only then that the scenery around me finally came into my view.
Most of the room was made of old wood.
So were the walls, the floor, my bed, and the chair he was sitting in. It was a rustic, unfamiliar landscape that was too unlike Devan.
“…Why are we here?”
At my words, dark red eyes stared at me.
I shuddered in fright. Everything was my fault, I thought.
“That’s what I want to ask. Why on earth are we here?”
“……what?”
“I found you in the middle of the village square after I came to my senses. I don’t know how long I had collapsed, but I even found coins lying around.”
‘What?’
I had no idea what he was talking about.
“No, what about the demons? What about the knights and Eunice?” (Evelyn)
“I told you. That’s what I’m asking. All I remember is that the damned dragon dug his claws into my back. What about you?” (Devan)
I looked back at my memory.
“After that….. I, um.”
I rolled my eyes.
I didn’t know how Devan would react if he found out that I used an unknown power.
“Did you use that power? The one you used to run away from me.” (Devan)
He was good at reading my thoughts. I gave a small nod.
“Then what?” (Devan)
“……… Everyone collapsed. The dragon, too. Except me.”
He jerked his chin out as if to tell me to continue. I stammered.
“Then I saved Your Highness. I used my divine power to heal all the wounds on your back. Then I suddenly felt strange. Maybe it was because of the power. It was hard to accept from the beginning.”
“And then Hilda came?” (Devan)
Can I call it Hilda?
I chose the words.
“I don’t know if I can call it Hilda, but it’s true that it came. It giggled.
It said some mischievous words I didn’t understand.” (Evelyn)
“What did it say?”
“You must know. It said ………… ‘Just this once, I don’t like boring things’.”
“Don’t like boring things?” (Devan)
He stifled a laugh.
For it, it was fun about going between life and death, Devan deserved to be angry.
“I think Hilda helped us.”
He gritted his teeth. His anger at the existence seemed to grow even more.
I wanted to say “But it’s better than lying there,” but I held back.
“What should we do now?”
The more important thing was what was to come.
****
The most pressing issue for us was, of course, money.
“You don’t have any money?”
“…..No.”
“Why?”
I asked because I was seriously curious, but Devan’s face was crumpled.
“What happened to the mine you talked about yesterday? Didn’t you brag about it?”
“That’s because I was really only sending you my body.”
“Then……”
“There’s nothing. I have no proof of identity, not even a sword.”
My mouth dropped open.
“What are you going to do then? How did you get into this inn?”
He lifted his jacket and showed it to me.
There were empty spots where there should have been buttons.