Finishing the Battle (1)

When Lilith witnessed Ethan’s injury, she awakened in anger, and in that state, continued her battle with her younger brother, Okam, the Sword Expert.

Ethan, too, was dragging his injured body and continuing his battle with his older brother, Okam, the Axe Expert.

…It was difficult to call it a battle, as it was closer to a one-sided massacre, so it would be more accurate to describe it as a chase and escape rather than a battle.

-Tadak, tadadak!

“Hoo, hoo, hoo….”

“You look like a girl, but you’re only fast at running away! What good is that?!”

A battle on an empty plain with no trees, rocks, or buildings to hide behind.

The battle between Ethan and Okam was rather one-sided for a duel between two Experts, and as time passed, the tide of battle increasingly turned against Ethan.

‘Damn it. If only I hadn’t sustained this injury just now….’

If he hadn’t overexerted himself trying to block the axe with his sword and lost an arm, he would have had a good chance of winning.

From the start, he should have used his slightly faster footwork to slowly widen the distance and fight, instead of rashly putting himself within reach of his axe.

The reason he didn’t do that in the first battle was partly because Ethan couldn’t gauge his opponent’s skill, but also because he foresaw the possibility of problems arising if he used a tactic of repeated attacks and retreats.

An enemy they had to face with only their own strength and Lilith’s, without anyone else’s help.

He had started the battle deliberately holding his ground, worried that if he were to flee, the full force of one Expert would be concentrated on Lilith. However, he realized it was a wrong judgment only after he had already lost an arm.

-Kung! Kung! Kung!

“Hehehe, alright! Let’s see how long you can keep running like a rabbit!”

“……Damn it.”

At the very least, the eyes of the man chasing him seemed to be interested in him, not Lilith, no matter how he looked at it.

Ethan had occasionally heard stories of nobles with excessive womanizing tendencies who also indulged in homosexuality, but he never imagined that a bandit living near such a remote village would have such tastes.

…If he had known beforehand, he too would have used a fighting style of gradually retreating while fighting, just like Lilith. It was already too late for such regrets, though.

-Peok!

“Kkeup, haaaaaa….”

“Haa, you may look delicate, but you’re only nimble at running away. Ha, haha….”

-Ttaenggeurang.

“Haa, haaa, kkeup….”

Ethan, having lost his right arm, had been playing tag for quite a long time, focusing only on somehow buying time.

However, Ethan, who had allowed Okam to attack even when his body was intact, could not possibly contend with him in a state of critical injury. Ultimately, the end of his escape, moving with an unbalanced body, was Okam’s axe blade embedding itself in Ethan’s other forearm.

-Puuk!

“Aaaaaaak…!!”

“Go on, try cutting it off and running away again, like a lizard. Though I doubt you can.”

“Kkeup, heueu….”

-Teolsseok.

The pain surged as the painkillers wore off, and his consciousness gradually blurred due to excessive blood loss.

His legs, no longer moving due to exhaustion, caused Ethan to collapse right where he stood, and he quietly thought of one woman in his mind.

‘Lilith, what happened to her….’

If the other twin brother was this strong, even Lilith might not be safe.

Ethan wished that she had at least managed to escape safely. It would be better for at least one of them to survive than for both of them to die pointlessly on this nameless plain.

And for Ethan, the more precious person between himself and Lilith was naturally Lilith, so he wished in his heart that at least she would be safe, no matter what.

‘If I had known it would come to this, it would have been better to move the campsite a little closer to the Hero Party.’

If that had been the case, at least he and Lilith wouldn’t have had to face these dangerous guys.

Because he needlessly felt awkward around the Hero, he had ended up putting Lilith in danger as well. Ethan couldn’t help but resent his own judgment.

-Teop!

“Keuheup, kek!”

“Hehe, if you stay still, it’ll hurt less. I’d rather ram into someone who’s still alive than a dead one, if possible.”

“Kkeup, keuheum, keok…!!”

…Damn it.

If he could have at least met a proper death, it would have been some small comfort.

To be humiliated by this bandit scum with such disgusting tastes was a fate worse than death for Ethan.

‘Seriously, nothing is going right until the very end….’

Still, hoping that Lilith had managed to escape a little further while he bought time like this, he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to avert reality, when suddenly-

-Chwareureureureuk!!

“Keuheup, keok?!”

-Seureureu….

Along with the sound of something like iron chains tangling, Ethan heard someone’s pained groan, and he soon realized it was Okam’s groan, the one who had been choking him just moments before.

-Chwareureuk!

“I, kkeuheup…!! Kek…!!”

-Chwareuk, chwareureuk!!

“Kkeuheueueueup…!! Kahaak…!!!”

“…….”

Completely opposite to how he had been choking Ethan just moments before, Okam was now being choked by Mana Chains.

As the Mana Chains dug deeper and deeper, Okam groaned in agony, his eyes rolled back to show only whites as he thrashed before collapsing to the ground. And from behind his fallen, massive body appeared a Maid, all too familiar to Ethan.

“…….”

“…Lili, th?”

-Seueuk.

Lilith looked down at Okam’s fallen body with eyes filled with madness, like a werewolf’s eyes seeing the moon.

She lifted the massive axe that Okam had been holding just moments before, with all her might using both hands, and aimed it straight at the nape of Okam’s neck, who was lying on the ground, then….

-Kwak!

“…….”

-Kwak! Kwaak! Kwak!

“…….”

Again and again. Onto the corpse of the Bandit Vice Commander, who had already lost his life, Lilith brought the axe down repeatedly.

-Peok!

“…Haa, ha, haa.”

Only after completely severing that thick head from the body did Lilith finally put down the axe, and Ethan, unable to even speak easily to such a Lilith, could only stare up at her blankly.

“You don’t seem… to be unharmed, Young Master Ethan.”

“…Sorry, Lilith.”

“No, it was my fault. I should have come to assist you more quickly.”

“…….”

It was more than enough.

Lilith had also faced an Expert, just like him, and not only that, she had come to his aid after proudly achieving victory, unlike him.

Although he had become a decoy, she was, in any case, no less than a hero who had single-handedly taken down two Experts here.

“…Still.”

“…….”

“…You s-survived, it’s truly a relief.”

-Kko-ok.

“…….”

“Heueup, heup…. Heueuk….”

Lilith, clinging to him as he sat on the ground, poured out the intense emotions that had welled up within her.

When he had rescued Lilith from Machart, had she felt similar emotions to what he was feeling now?

Since they had each saved the other’s life, Ethan quietly thought that now, he truly had no choice but to take responsibility.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

『Lilith reached Level 31!』

『Lilith reached Level 32!』

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Three in the morning. After all battles had ended.

The ominous group that had disturbed their peaceful sleep had somehow all been subjugated, but the wounds left by the battle were too deep.

Someone had a finger cut, someone else had a knee shattered, and someone even cut off their own arm-a desperate battle.

However, for the Hero Party, even such injuries could be a blessing thanks to Celista, the Saint of Faith, being their ally.

“…Almighty Goddess Aurelia-nim, isiyeo, please bestow the miracle of healing and blessing upon this person!”

-Hwaaak!

As soon as the Saint’s incantation was fully recited, a mysterious light enveloped the Blackwood Prince’s right shoulder blade.

In the searing pain of the Divine Power forcibly aiding his body’s regeneration, Ethan bit his lower lip tightly, suppressing his groans.

“Kkeueup, heup…! Heueueup…!!”

And there was one Maid, holding one of his arms, wearing a troubled expression, quietly watching Ethan.

“…Please bear with it a little longer, Young Master Ethan.”

Lilith, who had purified the Young Master’s arm she was holding with Clean Magic, but had yet to purify her own Maid Uniform, which was covered in the blood of over a dozen people, quietly held Ethan’s arm, doing her best to ensure it would reattach properly, and simply waited for the Saint’s healing spell.

…And so, it took several minutes for Celista’s Divine Power to fully permeate the injured area.

“Heok, heok, heok….”

In pain that literally felt like his bones were being scraped, Ethan, who had barely managed to regain his arm, let out the ragged breaths he had been holding back.