Free Web NovelChapter 118: Unconscious Veyrath
In the meantime, Regaleon didn’t care about the battle unfolding between the mysterious green-eyed stranger and the assassin known as the Black Stalker.
His attention was fixed entirely on Veyrath.
Suppressing the agony shooting through his fractured ribs, the silver-haired Knight forced himself upright before hurrying toward the collapsed alchemist...
Veyrath lay face-down upon the crimson earth, utterly motionless.
Blood continued to seep steadily around the silver throwing knife buried deep between his shoulder blade and spine, staining both his clothes and the forest floor beneath him.
"Veyrath!".Regaleon’s voice rang out, filled with unmistakable tension and a hint of concern.
However, there was no response.
Without wasting another moment, he knelt beside the unconscious youth and carefully rolled him onto his side, taking great care not to worsen the injury.
His fingers immediately found Veyrath’s neck as he checked whether he was still alive or not. An heartbeat passed... Then two... Then three...
Finally, there was a pulse. It was weak, but steady.
Only after confirming that the auburn-haired alchemist was still alive did Regaleon quietly release the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding as relief washed over him.
Beside him, Vaelorin limped over despite the pain radiating through his own injured shoulder.
His fiery-red eyes were clouded with worry as he asked. "Is he okay?"
Regaleon nodded faintly. "Yes, he is. He’s only just unconscious."
This answer caused Vaelorin’s tense shoulders to relax slightly. However, his relief quickly gave way to confusion.
His gaze settled upon the crimson blood slowly pooling beneath Veyrath and he asked further.
"...Then why isn’t he healing?"
His brows were knitted tightly together when he asked the question.
Actually, it was a reasonable question. It is well known that among all Etheryeans, alchemists possessed some of the greatest regenerative abilities.
Healing alchemists, in particular, were renowned throughout Aetherium for recovering from injuries at astonishing speeds.
Their bodies constantly circulated restorative Aether through every vein and muscle. And even without conscious effort, their wounds would naturally mend themselves.
Their recovery was often twice, sometimes even three times, faster than that of ordinary Etheryeans.
Also, it was precisely this extraordinary resilience that had earned them a rather infamous reputation across the continent as many jokingly claimed that alchemists were harder to kill than cockroaches.
Yet despite all that tenacity, Veyrath’s wound remained exactly as it had been moments earlier with the blood refusing to stop flowing.
Regaleon’s brows were also furrowed in thoughts. Then carefully, after a brief moment, he brushed away the blood surrounding the injury.
Only then did he notice something peculiar; the flesh around the wound was moving. Tiny strands of muscle slowly crawled toward one another while fresh tissue continuously attempted to reconnect.
The healing had never stopped. In fact, again and again, the torn flesh tried to close... Yet every single attempt failed the instant it reached the embedded knife.
Understanding immediately dawned upon him as he replied. "It’s the knife."
Vaelorin looked over and asked. "The knife?"
Regaleon nodded. "It isn’t that Veyrath can’t heal. In actuality, his body is already trying. However, the blade is preventing it from fully completing the process."
His eyes remained fixed upon the embedded weapon. "It’s acting like a wedge. And so long as it remains inside, the wound can’t physically close."
After saying those words, Regaleon carefully repositioned Veyrath’s body to minimize unnecessary strain.
Only the hilt of the silver knife remained visible as the rest of the blade had sunk deeply into his back.
Taking a slow breath, Regaleon firmly wrapped his hand around the hilt. He tightened his grip; then... He pulled.
The knife slid free in one swift motion...
SHRK!
Fresh blood burst from the wound...
Vaelorin’s eyes widened as he shouted.
"Regaleon, what are..."
The red-haired Pyromancer thought Regaleon was making it worse but just before he could finish speaking, the bleeding began slowing until finally... It stopped altogether.
The two youths watched the process in complete silence. Soft strands of pale-green light gradually emerged beneath Veyrath’s skin and like delicate vines, they spread through the torn flesh.
The damaged muscles slowly knitted themselves back together while the split tissue reconnected. Steadily, the puncture wound shrank before their eyes.
And within moments, the horrifying injury had become nothing more than a faint scar no wider than a finger.
The healing eventually stopped and after all that process, only a tiny mark remained upon his back.
Regaleon quietly observed the scar. Then he spoke quietly. "Perhaps, if he were awake, he’d be able to heal it completely."
Vaelorin nodded slowly, his expression carrying genuine amazement as he spoke. "It is no wonder everyone calls alchemists cockroaches."
A faint chuckle escaped him before he spoke further. "They’re truly unbelievably difficult to kill."
Regaleon didn’t reply. Instead, he casually tossed the bloodstained knife several meters away before checking Veyrath’s breathing one final time.
It was steady. Satisfied, he carefully lifted the unconscious alchemist onto his back...
Veyrath let out a soft groan but his eyes remained firmly shut and Regaleon had no intention of waking him.
After adjusting the unconscious youth into a more comfortable position, he finally raised his head and returned his attention to the battlefield...
Meanwhile, as Regaleon tended to his companion, the battle had reached an entirely different level...
Yet surprisingly, it wasn’t the mysterious stranger who was struggling. Instead, it was the Black Stalker itself...
Despite the assassin’s incomprehensible movements, impossible speed, and terrifying unpredictability...
In fact, despite everything that had nearly claimed the trio’s lives, they all appeared utterly ineffective against the green-eyed youth.
More astonishing still, the stranger hadn’t moved from his original position since the battle began.
Rather it was the assassin who constantly attacked while the stranger simply responded...
The Black Stalker reappeared once more as a dark blur skimming across the forest floor...
Another silver knife shot toward the stranger’s throat... And without even looking, the young man lazily tilted his head a fraction to the side.
WHOOSH!
The blade sliced harmlessly through empty air before disappearing into the distant trees...
The stranger merely sighed. "You know, you’ll have to do better if you truly intend to kill me."
Regaleon couldn’t help but blink.
For some reason, after hearing that, he almost pitied the Black Stalker because athough the stranger’s tone sounded perfectly calm, those words somehow felt more insulting than any deliberate mockery.
And aparently, the assassin thought so as well...
Its emerald eyes narrowed. Then without warning, three silver knives appeared between its fingers.
There was a flick of it’s wrist...
WHOOSH!
One knife shot toward the stranger’s heart, the second targeted his left eye and the third streaked low toward his knee...
Those were three separate trajectories and three perfectly coordinated attacks; each aimed at a fatal point and each arriving at a different angle...
Even Regaleon couldn’t imagine defending against such an assault. Yet the stranger never panicked.
He simply took one casual step forward and that was all...
However, Regaleon’s pupils suddenly contracted. This was because for the briefest instant, he could have sworn that the stranger had phased straight through the incoming blades...
Honestly, it made no sense. The green-eyed youth’s body shouldn’t have fit between those trajectories. Yet somehow... It did.
The three knives flew harmlessly past him before vanishing into the crimson forest and the green-eyed youth emerged completely unscathed.
Not even his cloak had been touched.
His relaxed posture never changed and hs expression remained as indifferent as ever...
Seeing that, Regaleon slowly narrowed his golden eyes. The battle unfolding before him was proving far more extraordinary than he had ever imagined.
And somehow, be couldn’t shake the feeling that the mysterious stranger still hadn’t shown even a fraction of his true strength...
