Free Web NovelChapter 15: Awakened Knight
Darkness faded slowly. Like mist retreating before dawn.
Then Regaleon groaned softly as consciousness returned to him piece by piece.
His entire body felt unbearably heavy, as though mountains had been chained to his flesh.
Pain lingered everywhere; his ribs, shoulders, and legs. Even breathing felt uncomfortable.
Yet despite everything... His eyes still opened.
The first thing he saw after waking up was a face. It was delicate, pale and cold. Silver-black strands framed sharp features while gleaming silver eyes stared down at him with unreadable calm...
Regaleon blinked once. Then twice... And then instinctively, he attempted to rise but winced as pain immediately tore through his body.
"I wouldn’t do that if I were you..." Aureleah’s voice remained cold as she warned him.
But Regaleon ignored the warning entirely. Groaning quietly, he forced himself up seat upright anyways. Muscles screamed in protest as his broken shoulder throbbed violently.
Still, he sat forcibly. Aureleah watched him in silence as she didn’t bother stopping him seeing how stubborn the failed Knight is...
Regaleon pressed his index and middle fingers against his temple slowly. The skull splitting headache coursing through his skull was literally unbearable...
For several moments, he simply sat there; breathing carefully until the dizziness lessened slightly. Only then did he finally look around properly...
The cave remained dimly lit by the nearby fire and the atmosphere felt strangely quiet...
Then his eyes shifted toward Aureleah again. The failed Assassin held torn rage stained with water and blood.
Beside her rested a crude bowl filled with cloudy water. Regaleon blinked faintly, then he looked downward... And froze briefly.
He was half naked. The upper portions of his ruined Armour had been removed entirely while strips of cloth wrapped around portions of his chest and shoulders.
Obviously, several of his wounds had already been cleaned. Regaleon slowly frqined before looking toward Aureleah...
Silvery eyes met golden ones calmly. "Do not overthink it..." Her voice remained flat but there was a very faint undertone to it. "There was simply nobody else to do it."
Regaleon stared at her for another moment before silently looking away. Only now did he realize something else...
No wonder the cave seem strangely quiet. It was actually because it was emptier as only the both of them remained in the dimly lit chamber...
"...What about the others?" He said, his voice rough and raspy. Clearly, it was from exhaustion and blood lose.
Aureleah glanced sideways towards him before answering. "They went back to the waterfall." She spoke, placing the ragged cloth in her hands into the bowl...
Regaleon frowned slightly. Then, she continued calmly. "Since you already killed the Drake..." For a briefest moment, her eyes lingered on him strangely. "...they couldn’t hold themselves back anymore."
Regaleon said nothing as he nodded before leaning his head on the cave wall. Now, silence descended between them once more.
This time, it was awkward and quiet with only the sound of crackling flames filling the cavern.
Until eventually, Aureleah spoke again. "How did you kill it?" She asked, turning toward Regaleon slowly.
Her gaze remainimed fixed upon Regaleon’s golden eyes as she asked. "The Drake... How did you do it?"
That question had clearly been haunting everyone since they’ve found out that the Drake was dead. And it was for a simile reason.
Even with four fighters working together, they had barely managed to survive against that creature. Yet somehow... Regaleon alone and finished the battle. And lived to tell the tale. It really was mind boggling...
The silver-haired Knight remained silent briefly before answering hoarsely. "...With pure will..." There was a brief silence before he added. "...And luck. Impossible luck."
Aureleah studied him carefully and then surprisingly, she nodded. She asked nothing further because she already understood what silver-haired Knight was talking about...
Regaleon shifted slightly afterward, attempting to move his left shoulder. However, the moment he did... Pain exploded across his arm...
His brows furrowed as a slight hiss escaped his lips...
"Careful..." Aureleah spoke quietly with narrowed eyes swirling with a faint concern. "...your body hasn’t properly healed yet."
Her eyes then moved across his injuries thoughtfully. "Honestly..." A faint traces of surprise mix with something existed within her normally cold voice as she spoke, "...with injuries like those, you should already be dead."
Regaleon didn’t reply. Because truthfully, even he found it strange. He had always prided himself on his discipline, endurance and willpower...
But against that twisted creature, those things alone should never have been enough. Yet somehow... He survived.
Not only did he survive, he also won. Also, during that battle, he had sensed something...
He had sensed it after killing the Drake. There was something about the crimson markings and the strange absorption of energy that seem related to the peeling rust over his Soul Essences.
Slowly, he was beginning to have a faint understanding about this Soul Essences of his. Something about them was changing but before he would truly investigate, he needed to recover first.
Regaleon was about to answer her when distant voices echoed from outside the cave. And then, just like that, the peaceful silence of the cave broke...
"...And then I found ANOTHER Saintsky Rose!" The loud voice of Veyrath echoed proudly through the forest outside as he spoke. "You should have seen it!"
Regaleon closed his eyes briefly while Aureleah sighed almost imperceptibly...
Several moments later, the rest of the group finally entered the cave. Sylveris rushed in first and the moment she saw Aureleah, she hurried toward her immediately...
"Sister!"
Aureleah allowed the young unawakened to cling to her quietly. Behind them entered the others, carrying bundles of flowers, crystals and gathered supplies.
Then suddenly, Caelestra blinked as she saw Regaleon leaning against the cave wall with his eyes on them. "You are awake already?"
Everyone instantly turned towards him. The moment their eyes landed on the silver-haired Knight, relief visibly spread through portions of the group as:
Valmyr grinned while scratching the back of his head slightly...
Vaelorin sighed...
Even Kaeloris looked visibly happier as he laid eyes in Regaleon...
But Veyrath, ever the odd one, narrowed his eyes suspiciously as his gaze moved slowly between Regaleon and Aureleah and then slowly, it slid downward...
Regaleon sat shirtless while Aureleah remained beside him holding bloody rags and a crudely made bowl.
Though she was still dresses in rags, portions of her pale skin remained exposed through the damaged fabric...
What they were doing was actually obvious as it was evident that Aureleah was helping Regaleon clean his wounds but the odd brain of Veyrath didn’t process it that way...
The failed Alchemist’s expression instantly became strange. Then he pointed dramatically at them with a wretched grin on his face, "...What were you two trying to do?"
The cave froze briefly as the others blinked. Then realization struck awkwardly as:
Valmyr coughed loudly to hide his laughter...
Vaelorin nearly choked on his flames...
Caelestra immediately looked away while muttering beneath her breath, "Rogue..."
Kaelith immediately lowered his gaze, suddenly finding the cave’s floor interesting enough to study...
Only Sylveris remained innocent as the fourteen-years-old watched them with confusion swirling in her eyes...
Then, Regaleon slowly turned toward Veyrath with a dangerous stare. Beside him, aureleah’s eyes became utterly cold as they leaked undisguised killing intent...
Suddenly, the temperature of the cave seemed to drop a few degrees despite the flames still crackling...
Veyrath immediately jumped backward. "WAIT!" The wretched grin on his face was quickly replaced with terror as he raised both hands quickly, "I was just joking!"
His voice was almost trembling as he looked at the gleaming Soul Essence that had already appeared halfway from the shadows... freewebnøvel.coɱ
Valmyr burst into laughter as he watched Veyrath almost pee himself. "You seriously never learn your lesson, do you?"
The others nearby shook their heads helplessly. Veyrath seriously never learn his lessons. By now, everyone understood one universal truth... You could provoke anyone else in the group, except Aureleah.
Perhaps, the only person that can provoke her might be...
Veyrath cleared his throat awkwardly before changing topics immediately. His face then suddenly had an exaggerated amount of admiration on it as he said, "Regaleon, my boy!"
The failed Alchemist hurried toward the failed Knight enthusiastically before patting his shoulder proudly.
Unfortunately, he patted the broken one. Regaleon nearly blacked out from pain instantly as his face twitched violently...
Veyrath froze. "...My bad." He laughed nervously before stepping back slightly.
Then, genuine admiration soon returned to his expression as he said, "But seriously..." His voice softened slightly. "I really have to give it to you."
The cave quieted as he began to speak.
"You brought down that filthy monster..."
This time, no one laughed because very single person here had seen the Drake’s corpse personally.
At first, after Regaleon claimed victory over the Drake, they thought he was delirious. But it turns out that Regaleon never joked nor did he exaggerate.
Because when they returned to the waterfall... They horrifying truth awaited them.
The Drake truly lay dead; in a pool of it’s blood and pieces of it’s flesh. Even now, just remembering it sent chills through them...
Veyrath stared at Regaleon almost reverently as he asked. "Just how did you even do it?" freewebnøvel.com
Veyrath watched Regaleon with anticipation as he awaited his reply but seeing the silver-haired Knight remain silent, he groaned dramatically.
"Ugh... Fine." He then waved dismissively. "If you don’t want to talk, don’t talk."
Pretending to sulk, he crossed his arms exaggeratedly and stood in a corner of the cave...
Regaleon ignored him entirely. Instead, his gaze shifted toward the supplies the group had laid near the flickering flames...
There werr bundles of flowers, some strange herbs, and Essence Crystals. Lots of them. But Regaleon looked past them and focused on the flowers with five-colored petals and white thorns.
"Are those all the Saintsky Roses?" He asked, nodding toward the bunch of flowers.
Immediately, Veyrath brightened again. "Of course!" Then he puffed his chest proudly. "What else would they be?"
At first there was a proud smile on his face, then his expression faltered slightly. "...Though we only managed to salvage around twenty of them." His face then darkened visibly. "The rest were destroyed during the fight."
Kaeloris adjusted his glasses before speaking softly. "That’s enough for you to feel satisfied. Why are you disappointed?" He asked.
As if the failed Gnost had pushed his wrong button, Veyrath glared at him instantly. Then he pointed accusingly and spoke through gritted teeth. "That’s easy for you to say..."
He then scoffed before folding his hands indignantly. "It wasn’t your Rainbow Stream Sprout that got crushed."
Kaeloris frowned immediately and just when it seems that another argument would ensue, Regaleon’s voice cut through the cave sharply.
"That’s enough!" The duo immediately quieted down as they turned towards the failed Knight.
Regaleon exhaled carefully afterward; clearly, he was still weakened from his injuries. Then his gaze fixed upon the failed Alchemist as he asked, "Are those enough ingredients for you to concoct the Ascension Potion?"
Veyrath stared at him blankly. Then, slowly, his expression turned incredulous. "What do you you think?"
He threw both hands upward dramatically as he asked, "Do you seriously think the Saintsky Rose is the ONLY ingredient needed for the potion?"
The others blinked as they listened to him...
"There are dozens of other ingredients required for an Ascension Potion. And even then, it might not be guaranteed..."
Disappointment immediately spread through portions of the cave as:
Though Sylveris is yet to awaken and shouldn’t be concerned about the potion, her shoulders still drooped visibly...
Valmyr sighed...
And Vaelorin looked frustrated somehow...
But Regaleon merely leaned back slowly against the cave wall. Then turning toward the forest outside the cave, his expression sharpened as he said. "Forget it..."
"Potion or no potion, we go hunting tonight!"
