Free Web NovelChapter 17: The Most Painful Blessing (2)
Ikarus only hummed softly, clearly not taking her warning seriously.
Honestly, Maeve also thought he would be able to handle it. After all, this was the same man who stayed calm even after a giant long-beak bird tore open his stomach.
However... she didn’t expect the warning note from this suspicious product to be ’that’ serious.
KTAK!
The moment Maeve pressed the stapler against the edge of his wound, the veins on Ikarus’ neck instantly stood out. His entire body stiffened, and he swallowed hard as if he was desperately forcing himself not to scream.
"You fine?" Maeve asked nervously.
Ikarus tried to smile at her, but the smile looked painfully crooked.
"Fine..." he forced out. His voice cracked badly, sounding like a man who was one second away from losing his mind from pain.
Maeve bit her lower lip. She didn’t enjoy seeing people suffer, but for some reason, watching Ikarus fight so hard just to keep his dignity was strangely interesting, especially because he had confidently said ’I can handle it’ earlier.
"It’s done?" he asked after a few seconds.
"Your wound is too big, so we need to do this a few more times." She looked at him seriously. "You need to stay strong. I know you can handle it!"
For the first time, Ikarus looked like he regretted being confident.
The moment he opened his mouth to say something—KTAK!
Maeve pressed the stapler again.
This time, Ikarus instantly turned his head to the side. His shoulders tensed so hard that even the muscles in his arms became visible, and although no sound came out of his mouth, Maeve could clearly tell that he was absolutely screaming inside his head.
"You’re fine! You’re fine! You’ll be fine!" Maeve grabbed his shoulder and encouraged him like he was about to enter a basketball tournament instead of getting stapled alive.
Since she knew dragging it out would only make his suffering worse, Maeve finally decided to do it quickly.
KTAK! KTAK! KTAK!
Ikarus’ entire body instantly stiffened. His hand slammed against the stone beside him hard enough to crack it, while his breathing turned uneven.
For one horrifying second, Maeve genuinely thought his soul had left his body.
"There! Done!" she said quickly, immediately lowering the stapler before he could develop trauma from seeing it again.
Ikarus stayed completely still.
Maeve blinked nervously. "Ikarus?"
Slowly, very slowly, he turned his head toward her. His usually calm golden eyes looked unfocused now, almost like he had just returned from another dimension.
"I saw the Sky Mother," he said hoarsely.
Maeve nearly choked. "What?!"
"She told me my sins would never be forgiven."
Pinky floated nearby and gasped dramatically. [The pain really was severe!]
Maeve immediately grabbed Ikarus’ shoulders in panic. "No, no, stay with me! Don’t follow the Sky Mother yet!"
After a few seconds, Ikarus finally let out a weak breath before lowering his gaze toward his stomach.
The wound... was already closing.
The stapled skin slowly healed before their eyes at a speed that looked almost unnatural. Within less than a minute, the deep injury had completely disappeared, leaving behind only faint red marks.
Maeve’s eyes widened in shock. "It actually worked..."
Ikarus lightly touched his stomach, clearly surprised by the result as well. The deep wound that had been bleeding earlier was now completely gone.
"The pain was absolutely not worth it," he said immediately.
"But..." Ikarus lowered his hand from his stomach before looking at her calmly. "I’m still grateful that you wanted to give me your blessing."
Maeve suddenly felt a little awkward hearing that. After all, the so-called "blessing" was basically just her attacking him with forbidden office supplies.
Before she could answer, Pinky suddenly spun around excitedly in the air.
[Ding! Ding!] freewebnøvel.com
[Hidden Mission Completed: Helping Your Mate with an item from the black market!]
[Reward:
- 250 Coins
- Assistance in helping Host complete the active side mission!]
What? Assistance in completing the side mission? The mission that required her to get his seed within 24 hours?!
How was that supposed to happen?!
But before Maeve could think further, the ground beneath her feet suddenly shook violently. The entire cave rumbled around them, small rocks falling from the ceiling.
"What’s happening?!" she screamed.
Ikarus immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him on instinct. "It’s just an earthquake," he said calmly. "It’s normal here. We only need to wait for a moment."
Even with his calm explanation, Maeve still felt extremely nervous. The cave was shaking so hard that she could already imagine herself getting buried alive underground.
"Wouldn’t it be safer if we leave the cave?" she asked quickly.
She tried to stand up, but the shaking suddenly became even stronger.
"Wah!"
Maeve nearly lost her balance, stumbling forward before Ikarus quickly steadied her.
CRAAASH!
A loud sound echoed through the cave.
Maeve’s eyes widened in horror as part of the ceiling near the entrance suddenly collapsed. Large rocks crashed down one after another, sending dust everywhere.
By the time the shaking finally weakened, the exit was already completely buried under a pile of stone.
Maeve slowly stared at the blocked entrance. "Oh no."
Pinky floated beside her. [Assistance completed! Now you can complete the side mission more naturally!]
What the hell was wrong with this system?!
Why did Pinky have to work this hard just so she could mate with this handsome alien?!
More importantly, how the hell was Pinky able to manipulate the nature of this place?!
[Pinky only sped up the timing of the earthquake, Host!]
[The earthquake itself is completely natural!] fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
’That explanation honestly doesn’t make me feel better!’ Maeve hissed internally.
"Oh no..." Ikarus suddenly said beside her. "We’re trapped."
Maeve immediately jumped to her feet and rushed toward the blocked entrance. Dust still filled the air as she tried pushing one of the large rocks away with both hands, but it didn’t move even a little.
"Come on!" she shouted at Ikarus while struggling with the stone. "I know you can destroy these rocks! Don’t act like you can’t do it!"
After all, this was the same man who could fight giant monsters barehanded, so breaking rocks should be easy for him!
But instead of panicking, Ikarus looked strangely calm. No... not just calm, he almost looked happy.
"Unfortunately, I can’t," Ikarus said calmly.
Before Maeve could question him, he continued explaining, "The earthquake and the collapse near the entrance must have disrupted the order of the Voryn Stones."
He glanced toward the blocked exit. "This place can also be used as a trap, so once the stones sensed the strong movement, they automatically sealed us inside."
Maeve stared at him in disbelief. "So you’re telling me this cave can trap people by itself?!"
Ikarus nodded calmly. "Yes."
"Damn it!"
"Only Axan can release us from here," Ikarus added.
