Free Web Novel“Finally gone?”
Watching Liya’s silhouette gradually disappear, Muen let out a long breath. “More stubborn than I’d imagined.”
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
Skin split open, blood streaming, hanging weak and limp.
This was the aftermath of forcing out Twentyfold Thunderclap.
But... it was still much lighter than he’d expected.
At the very least, he could still grip his blades.
“Holy Light... truly a convenient power.”
If not for Liya’s Holy Light buff, his hands would likely have been ruined outright just now.
In the end, even with a pile of ‘plugins,’ what you can rely on is still your own body.
“How... moving.”
The priest ceased his attacks and simply watched Muen calmly, as if toying with prey cornered with no way out:
“You went all-out, only to sacrifice yourself and leave the chance to escape to that young lady of the Church. Is this the refinement of a duke’s son?”
“Heh, it’s the first time anyone’s ever said I have refinement.”
Muen rolled his shoulders, his face as usual, as if he hadn’t noticed the arrival of a dead end at all.
“But ‘sacrifice myself’—I never said that.”
“You think you still have a way to live?”
“How would I know if I don’t try?”
“True enough. Fair point.”
The priest nodded.
“But I’m not the only one who doesn’t think so.”
A shrill sound rang out like steel scoring stone.
Muen glanced back out of the corner of his eye and saw the fully monstrous Hyena dragging claws at least a foot long, baring his fangs, eyes blazing red, blocking his retreat.
The wounds on his body had fully healed; scales covered him; bone-spurs were sharp—he looked even more hideous.
On the other side, green light rich with life flickered as Fular healed herself and cast vicious looks this way; it was only a matter of time before she recovered combat power.
All around them, the storm raged and titanic trunks twisted.
A terrible atmosphere filled the place, pressing on Muen’s nerves.
Earlier, the only reason he suppressed them was by gaming things with little tricks.
Between Third Rank and Fourth Rank was a chasm hard to cross.
Now they likely wouldn’t give him such chances again.
On top of that, there was the fathomless priest.
Any way you looked at it, this was a true dead end.
“You have nowhere left to run, Muen Campbell.”
The priest spoke with pity:
“I admit you’re excellent, but you made the wrong choice. If you’d joined hands with that young lady, you might have caused us some trouble. But now, without her Holy Light’s blessing, how will you bridge the difference in strength between us?”
“Same line as before—how would I know if I don’t try?”
Muen smiled. “Maybe I’m the type who fights better solo.”
The range of his arm motions kept growing, as if those two near-collapsing limbs were, under some power’s urging, recovering at extreme speed.
A firelight kindled in his # Nоvеlight # eyes—no one noticed.
“Commendable courage... I wonder if you’re truly that confident, or just stalling for time to save your companion. But...”
The priest’s expression turned a shade meaningful.
“Whichever it is—do you really think she can get away?”
“Hm?”
Muen frowned and looked around, as if noticing something. He nodded in sudden realization.
“So that’s it... your instruction?”
“No.”
The priest’s smile bloomed, like enjoying the opening to a grand performance.
“I’m merely letting the seed you planted with your own hands... take root and sprout.”
“Is that so.”
But Muen only lifted his shoulders casually, chuckling as if unconcerned:
“I think you’re overthinking it.”
...
...
In the shadowed forest, the girl kept running.
She looked delicate and slender, her frame fragile—yet her bust was astonishingly abundant, which seemed to add some difficulty to her pace.
But with Holy Light’s blessing, her speed was extraordinary.
So fast she left a trailing afterimage; so fast that... only when she finally saw the brightness beyond the dense trees in the distance did her awareness finally return to her body.
“Is that... the forest’s exit?”
Liya stopped. Her chest rose and fell with her breathing, and she stared blankly ahead.
That light—how dazzling, how warm.
To one who had wandered long in the dark, that light was like an oasis in a desert—irresistibly tempting.
Her halted feet began to move again of their own accord.
Yes, that was the exit, and by distance, at her speed, she would need less than half an hour to leave this forest.
To leave this forest full of venomous insects, beasts, and death.
Yes.
She only had to go forward.
Just walk out of this forest, and everything would return to its track.
She could continue on to the Holy City, attend that important ceremony, and, with Ariel’s help, contend for the exalted position of Saintess.
Yes—everything exactly as planned. Nothing unexpected would happen.
As long as... freēwēbηovel.c૦m
“Caw—”
A grating crow’s cry snapped the blank-eyed girl awake. She shuddered all over, and as she gazed at that brightness ahead, her moving feet suddenly halted—and then... gave way.
“What... am I doing?”
Head down, all ten fingers sank into mud mixed with rotting leaves.
One who loved cleanliness to a fault—and yet she felt nothing for this filth.
“I actually... ran away?”
Abandoning that guy—the one who’d saved her so many times, helped her so many times, given her warmth so many times... to run away alone?
How could I...
“No... no.”
“He told me to go first—he said he’d catch up—he said he had a way.”
[Trust me—like I trust you.]
Muen’s words rang in the girl’s mind and drew a glimmering smile to her face.
“Yes... that’s what he said.”
“I only have to trust him.”
“Trust him...”
“Trust...”
But the smile only lasted an instant before she lowered her head again, on the verge of tears.
“How could I possibly trust that?”
Just like when they’d run into each other at the restaurant.
Just like in the carriage.
Mouth full of words that sounded so reasonable—but if you thought about it carefully, those seemingly egalitarian lines—about needing a musician, about placing a bet—were, in truth, just that guy... making up kind lies to help her.
Right—you’re already so used to those kind lies with me. Who’s to say your words this time... aren’t a deliberate coaxing to save me?
After all, the gap in strength is plain to the eye.
He’ll definitely be in danger.
“So at a time like this, I should...”
“Right—the most rational thing now is to hurry out and seek help.”
“As long as I can quickly find help—Mr. Pink Bear, or the gentleman Muen invited—as long as I find them in time...”
Light returned to Liya’s eyes, but it went out just as quickly.
“As long as I find them in time...”
But...
How to make it in time?
At her speed, she still needed at least half an hour to leave the forest completely. Even if Mr. Pink Bear and that formidable gentleman Muen had invited happened to be waiting outside...
But Crowned-tier cannot enter the forest; to save Muen, they would still have to gather people.
There and back—how much time would that cost?
Can Muen hold out?
He’s so strong; it’s only an hour or two—if he just hangs on a bit more, he can...
Of course he can’t.
How could life-and-death combat possibly drag on that long?
“So... it won’t be in time.”
Liya murmured:
“This road to life is very near for me, but for him... it’s unimaginably far.”
In other words...
At this very moment—
Among countless people in this vast world—
The one who can help him—
Is only...
Me.
“But...”
Liya curled up, hugging her shoulders, her body trembling without stop:
“But what can I even do?”
If only...
Ariel were here.
If it were her, she would certainly help Muen escape this crisis.
But the one here... is me.
And I’m so useless.
So cowardly.
All this time, I’ve only hidden behind Ariel and buried myself in training.
Watching Ariel fight, watching Ariel brush with death, watching Ariel—like a hero—solve every problem.
All I had to do was follow her and keep moving forward.
Like a parasite—without Ariel, I can’t do anything.
I can’t do anything.
“Ha... haha...”
Liya half-laughed, half-wept, staring dazedly at her own hands—her hands that wouldn’t stop shaking.
At that moment, the dense Holy Light around her flickered too—bright and dim, bright and dim—like her wavering heart.
“Lady Goddess... what should I do?”
Liya closed her eyes and prayed to the Goddess:
“Please tell me—someone as useless as me, as timid as me, as weak as me... do I really have the qualification to... become Saintess?”
“Someone like me, truly...”
[Of course.]
As always—devout prayer.
But the figure that appeared in her mind was not the Goddess’s loving form.
It was...
[If I could pick the Saintess directly, I’d choose Liya in a heartbeat—she’s amazing.]
[You can do it.]
A blond figure smiled at her.
Bright as the morning sun.
[I believe in you.]
Believe in you.
Like you believe in me.
...
...
The forest was dim.
Yet Liya felt a brightness stabbing her eyes.
“It hurts.”
She clutched her chest tight. Large tears slid from the corners of her eyes, only to be quickly wiped away with her sleeve.
Holy Light shone, keeping her unsullied.
She rose slowly.
“I really am useless.”
“I’ve studied so much—knowledge in every field, read so many books—yet I still don’t understand... why the thought that I might never see you again hurts this much.”
“But... now, I think I know...”
“Compared to danger, compared to death, compared to the cowardice in my heart... what I fear more is... enduring this pain.”
So...
I’m going back.
Back there.
And this time—
Not behind him.
But—
At his side.
