Free Web NovelChapter 40: Chapter 40: Knock Knock! military bros on you
The door of the hut shot wide open, its frame swinging violently on its hinges as Finn rushed inside. He slammed the door shut behind him and rested against it, breathing heavily.
He still had his mask on, and his entire body was covered in his own blood. Pain permeated every inch of him, spreading through flesh and bone alike.
Fighting the Knight had not left him unscathed.
His eyes zoned out every now and then, threatening to close for good. But before that could happen, he took a brief glance around his surroundings.
There was no one else present in the room except Terrence, who was seated on his bed with a book in his grasp.
However, upon seeing the masked figure standing inside his house—the demonic entity drenched in thick layers of crimson, breathing in and out like some monstrous deformity—he immediately rose to his feet, hands raised and ready to fight.
He thought Finn was a monster.
Finn hurriedly raised a bloodied hand to gesture for Terrence to stop. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing seemed to come through.
His lungs were already clogging with his own blood.
At that moment, Terrence had already taken his stance, ready to rain hell upon the monstrous being before him when—
Whoosh!
Wind surged between the two.
A number of flickering lights emerged in the air, weaving together before taking the form of Finn’s alluring guardian.
Estes appeared between them and raised both hands.
"Wait?!"
At her sudden appearance, Terrence paused, his eyes widening in shock.
Finn’s face grew even paler.
He wanted to speak. freēwēbnovel.com
To yell at Estes for exposing her identity to Terrence just like that. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Nothing came.
All he could do was choke on every breath he took.
"Oh my God..."
Terrence dropped both hands.
"If you’re Finn’s guardian... then that means—"
A panicked expression crossed his face.
Without another word, he bolted past Estes and rushed toward the masked man.
He tore the mask away and stared at the face underneath.
A bloodied, sunken countenance.
A pale face that looked as though every ounce of life had already been drained from it.
Finn forced a smile.
If he had been able to speak, maybe he would’ve cracked a joke.
But all he could manage was the faintest upward curl of his lips.
"What the hell happened to him?!" Terrence turned to Estes and demanded.
Estes shook her head and grabbed Finn from the side, slinging one of his arms over her shoulder.
"Help me get him onto the bed."
"A bed—"
"He fucking needs a hospital!" Terrence yelled.
Finn could barely hear anything now.
His vision had lost focus entirely.
The blood loss was growing worse.
Estes frowned and shot Terrence a judgmental look.
"And what do you think they’ll say when he gets there? What do you think the bullies will do when they find out Finn is the one who went out fighting for the weak? What do you think will happen when the Knights discover he’s the one who defiled one of their own?"
Her voice dropped.
"If we take Finn outside that door... he will die."
Terrence froze.
For the next few seconds, all he could do was watch as Finn was carried to his bed and laid down carefully.
Estes placed both hands above Finn’s body.
A wave of green light wove before her, forming into a long tachi with a verdant blade and a black hilt.
She held the sword over Finn’s body and waited patiently.
A soft green glow spilled from the weapon, washing over him.
Then came a low crackling noise.
One after another, Finn’s wounds began to close.
The deeper gashes sealed themselves first.
The smaller cuts followed.
It took several minutes before all his injuries had disappeared, leaving behind only red irritation where they had once been.
Only then did Estes turn back to Terrence.
"Help me save his life... please."
Terrence shivered.
She looked exhausted.
Scared.
Desperate.
From what he could see, she shared a bond with Finn far deeper than that of a simple guardian.
She did not want to lose him.
He could only imagine what the two of them had been through together.
He hurried to the bedside and glanced over Finn’s weakened body.
"I—I don’t know what to do," he stuttered.
Estes dismissed the verdant tachi.
A different sword appeared in her grasp.
A jagged crimson blade.
Brutal rather than elegant.
The Blood Devouring Sword—Admonis.
Holding it upright, she pointed the tip toward Finn before turning to Terrence.
"He’s lost too much blood... and too much will to keep fighting. I need you to cut yourself."
Terrence hesitated.
His eyes shifted between her and Finn.
Then he swallowed hard.
"Save him, please."
With that, he placed his index finger against Admonis’ tip and pressed gently until the skin split.
Blood emerged.
The sword trembled.
Then the entire room became strange.
The blood Finn had shed throughout the room began to float into the air, rising from the floor like crimson mist before drifting toward Admonis.
Terrence instinctively pulled back.
To his surprise, the same thing was happening to him.
Thin strands of blood escaped from his wounded finger and drifted toward the jagged blade.
After a few seconds, Terrence groaned.
His eyes narrowed.
He could feel his energy slowly leaving him.
Estes nodded.
Immediately, the blood escaping from his finger came to a halt.
She turned toward Finn and lowered Admonis toward his chest.
Around the blade floated a number of blood beads.
Each was roughly the size of a finger.
Fifteen in total.
They revolved around the sword in slow circles as she carefully brought it down.
Surgically piercing the surface of Finn’s chest, she created a tiny opening.
Then, one by one, she guided the beads into his body.
The process was long.
And incredibly taxing.
Several minutes passed.
She had only finished the tenth bead.
With every bead that entered him, Finn’s complexion improved.
The pale, deathly look gradually faded.
Color returned to his skin.
His breathing steadied.
His body no longer looked like it was on the verge of collapse.
By this point, Terrence had slumped against the bed beside Finn.
The blood loss was beginning to take its toll.
Estes nearly made a mistake because of it.
She shot him a glare before turning back to Finn.
"Now I know why you dislike the fool."
Without realizing it, Terrence had almost cost Finn his life.
The surgery Estes was performing demanded absolute concentration.
Even the slightest disturbance while she circulated the blood through Finn’s system could kill him instantly.
She had to remain careful.
Focused.
Precise.
Slowly and meticulously, Estes resumed the procedure.
However, the next interruption that followed made her heart grow cold.
A series of violent knocks crashed against the door.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
The entire hut seemed to tremble.
Then a voice followed.
"Open up, or we’ll knock down the door!"
A brief pause.
Then the voice came again, louder this time.
"These are the Knights! We are here to conduct a full house search!"
