Good Intentions Don’t Always Bring Good Results (1)

A shadow fell across Yona’s face.

A large, enormous, and familiar shadow.

That shadow stood blocking Yona’s front, and in that state, it blocked Arami who was rushing towards her.

Thud…

A small sound.

Kairoc, who was rushing towards Arami, came into view.

“You wretch—!”

Kairoc, who charged in with a roar, grabbed Arami’s shoulder and roughly tore her away.

“Kyaaaah—!!!”

With a scream, Arami flew back like a piece of paper and crashed into a corner, and as she slumped to the ground, her head drooped as she lost consciousness. James was seen rushing to Arami.

Yona’s gaze turned to the shadow blocking her front.

Ah.

That familiar back.

The back she had always seen.

Those shoulders that always comforted her when she placed her hand on them.

That figure was reflected largely in Yona’s pupils.

He’s falling.

He’s falling down.

With each staggering step back, a stream of red blood flowed between his legs.

“A-Alec…”

Yona’s words weren’t finished.

Alec, who had been blocking her front, was falling backwards.

“A-Alec…?”

Yona couldn’t judge what had happened.

As Alec took a step back like that, he finally began to fall backwards.

“Alec, Alec!”

It was just before Alec, falling like that, was about to collapse onto Yona.

Kairoc rushed to Alec and supported him as he fell, and then laid him down next to Yona.

His face, turned deathly pale, was contorted, and bright red blood was gushing from the hand pressing on his chest.

Blood was spurting from his chest where the dagger was embedded, without even a gurgling sound.

“Al-Alec…?”

Yona’s lips trembled.

Her knees, which had been crouching, were now touching the ground, and kneeling, Yona reached out to Alec’s face.

The black demonic energy gathering on her hand was continuously seeping into Alec.

Her mind was blank, but her instincts as a healer from her past life, and the power she now had as a Saintess to handle healing, were unknowingly seeping into Alec’s body.

“Yo-Yona…”

Alec’s eyelids fluttered.

Between those eyelids that he struggled to lift, Alec’s gaze turned towards Yona.

“Are you… alright…”

“You! You, you… You, you alright…”

Her throat choked up.

She didn’t know what to say.

Blood was still gushing from Alec’s chest, from that chest where the dagger was embedded, but Yona couldn’t pull out the dagger.

The bleeding was already this bad, if she pulled out the dagger, the bleeding would be uncontrollable.

Even though Yona’s demonic energy was continuously seeping into Alec’s body, his bleeding showed no signs of stopping, and his pale face showed no signs of recovery.

‘The heart, the heart is…’

There’s only one case like this.

When the heart is pierced.

Blood, the source and origin of life—the heart that moves that blood.

The heart cannot be recovered.

Rather, it’s unbelievable that Alec is still alive when he should have died instantly.

Yona’s hand touched Alec’s chest.

Fresh blood stained her hand, but she didn’t care about that. Alec, Alec was dying. The dagger stuck in his chest indicated that, and even though Yona didn’t want to admit it, that fact remained unchanged.

‘Alec… is dying? Alec?’

The sound of her own heartbeat pounded loudly in Yona’s ears.

As Alec’s face turned paler, Yona’s hands were busy pushing demonic energy into Alec’s body, not knowing what else to do.

Nevertheless, there was no change. No matter what, Alec would not survive. When the heart is destroyed, a person dies. There’s no way to survive. And so, he would meet his end.

Everyone dies when they are born. If there’s a beginning, there’s an end, and the end can come at any time. But Alec’s end shouldn’t be in a place like this. Yona shook her head violently. As her vision blurred, it seemed like even Alec’s face was becoming hazy in that view.

“Come, come to your senses… Alec, Alec…!”

Yona shook Alec’s body. Yet there was no response from Alec, his lips just moving weakly without sound.

“Yo… na.”

Alec’s hand caressed Yona’s cheek. With each movement of his hand, red blood streaked across Yona’s face. It didn’t matter at all. Yona grasped Alec’s hand again with her own. Cold, chilling hand. Alec’s touch had always been warm and gentle, but now it was unbearably cold. A touch so chilling that Yona flinched when she touched it.

“Until… the end, couldn’t… be together… sor…”

“If you’re sor-sorry…”

You should get up.

You can’t die here.

You shouldn’t.

Those words spun around in Yona’s head. They were words she couldn’t bring herself to say out loud. Yona knew too. Alec would die, and Yona would be left alone. A fact that had to be accepted, no matter how much she hated it.

“Don’t die… please. Alec, don’t die… okay?”

Yona’s voice was trembling.

As an adventurer for 3 years, now entering the 4th year. Although she couldn’t say she had lived fully as an adventurer for those 4 years, during that time she had witnessed the final moments of many companions. She had heard of healers dying alone when warriors ran away in dungeons when danger struck, and vice versa. She had seen many archers and mages in the same party die.

They were two people who had lived leaning on each other’s shoulders in such places. At some point, Yona had come to think that Alec wouldn’t die. She had thought that at least Alec would never leave her. Without her knowing, she had come to think that way.

The result of that complacency was here.

Alec, who had come along without saying not to, even though he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Alec, who had gone along without any complaints. That was Alec. And yet, here was Alec, lying covered in blood.

“No, no…”

She couldn’t accept it. Yona’s habit of saying that you should be detached from the death of companions, that if you worry about every little thing you’ll end up dead yourself. But in the face of Alec’s death, she couldn’t be detached. She couldn’t do it.

“Don’t die, Alec, please… Please!”

A sorrowful cry finally burst from Yona. Once it started, the scream couldn’t stop, and without knowing what was happening around her, Yona held Alec’s hand and kept screaming.

Why did this happen? Yona couldn’t understand. Hadn’t it started with good intentions? Because of her, who had interfered despite it being none of her business, Alec had become covered in blood like this. And now, as even his faint breath was fading, what should Yona say to Alec?

“You… were… befitting of a Saintess…”

Yona heard those words clearly. Alec’s voice saying that she was befitting of a Saintess. Saintess, what does that even mean? Yona thought. What meaning does it have? What meaning does this have? Her immaturity that had made her proud of being a Saintess, that stupidity. Where had her determination to eradicate the Celestial Faith gone when she had saved Alec? Where had it gone, and how had she lived so recklessly, weakly, stupidly to bring things to this state—

“What good is being a Saintess… if I can’t even save you, what good is that…!”

Yona couldn’t let go of Alec’s hand. It felt like if she let go of this cold touch, she would never be able to hold it again. That’s why she couldn’t let go even more.

“Yona.”

There was a hand holding Yona back.

It was Kairoc.

Alec’s breath was barely hanging on. It was truly miraculous that he was still alive after having his heart precisely pierced, but knowing Alec’s true identity, Kairoc wasn’t too surprised. But even so, Alec would soon die. Although he understood Yona’s feelings, for the departing to go with a peaceful mind…

“Let him go peacefully…”

Kairoc, who was saying this, flinched in surprise and withdrew his hand from Yona.

All the tattoos engraved on her body were writhing and gathering towards Yona’s chest, precisely where her heart was.

Except for the symbols of Berbaria and Catsy who should be in the imperial palace now, the densely engraved letters and the vampire fang tattoo symbolizing Damian were squirming and gathering.

As the black energy gathered near her heart, the light disappeared from Yona’s eyes.

The light faded from those eyes that had been shining orange.

Even the tears that had been welling up in her eyes disappeared, and a grotesque smile was appearing on Yona’s lips.

That appearance was so grotesque that even Kairoc swallowed hard and tensed for a moment.

That incredibly grotesque appearance.

“…You think I’ll let him die?”

A chilling voice flowed from Yona’s mouth.

A cold, icy, and calm voice.

Yona’s mind, burning hot, was surprisingly calm.

With the single thought that she couldn’t let Alec die like this, Yona’s mind was burning while also cooling down to become calm.

She couldn’t let Alec die.

That thought alone.

A very faint strand extending from Alec’s body was visible.

A strand that had not been visible until now.

It was very thin and was about to break.

That brilliantly golden strand was connected to Alec’s lower abdomen, and was just about to break.

Yona’s eyes, devoid of light, turned towards Alec.

Eyes that could be said to be dead turned towards Alec.

From the black energy gathered near her heart, a strand slowly emerged.

Yona’s hand unhesitatingly pulled out that strand.

The black strand pulled out following her hand was very thick, and the black smoke it was emitting didn’t look particularly good.

Yona’s hand holding that strand reached towards Alec.

Yona, gripping the dagger stuck in Alec’s heart, pulled it out without hesitation.

As if the bleeding had been blocked, blood spurted out, but Yona, as if not caring about that, pushed the black strand into Alec’s chest with a thud.

Yona’s heart—the black strand pulled from that black energy burrowed into Alec’s heart.

The black energy that burrowed straight into Alec’s heart soon firmly filled that place, and the heart that had been stopping suddenly lurched and slowly, very slowly but—started beating again.

Alec’s stopping heart started beating again.

The originally connected golden strand had already broken and disappeared without a trace, and the black strand that filled its place was now connected to Yona.

Boom!

With a sound as if the tent would collapse, someone fell down.

The woman who fell through the tent roof, as soon as she put down someone in armor she had been carrying under her arm, straightened up and looked at Yona.

“…Pretty one.”

Alevian’s voice trembled.

That star, that falling star was clearly Yona’s star.

But Yona is alive like this.

Then, what was that star—

Yona, who had been kneeling beside Alec, slowly stood up and turned to look at Alevian, raising her index finger to her lips.

“Shh. Alec is sleeping.”

Yona was smiling.

That look in her eyes was strange.