Chapter 122: Cornered
Holding Celeste in his arms, Kael sprinted forward through the narrow alley as fast as his legs could carry him, but because of her weight his speed had reduced slightly. The hobgoblins were already behind them, their footsteps echoing through the stone path, but at least he had managed to create a few meters of distance between them, which was good enough... for now.
Soon, however, he noticed something that made his stomach sink. A wall stood straight ahead, cutting off the path entirely.
He glanced around, his breath heavy, his mind racing, only to find himself surrounded by abandoned wooden houses that leaned toward each other as if ready to collapse at any moment. He didn't dare to look back, but he knew those creatures were still close enough that they wouldn't have enough time to jump over the wall even if he stopped.
But it seemed luck had not abandoned him yet.
Just before reaching the wall, Kael spotted another alley between the wall and a house to his left, narrow but still wide enough to pass through. Without hesitation, he ran toward it, though before turning he stopped for a brief second and focused on the sound around him.
The low growls and footsteps drew closer, and amidst them he heard the sharp whistle of air being torn apart... the sound of a blade slicing toward him.
As soon as it came, he twisted on his boots and sprinted sideways with all the strength he could muster. A loud crash followed right behind him, and though he didn't look back, he could easily guess what had happened. One of those creatures must have lunged at him but instead crashed directly into the wall.
"I guess that'll slow them down a little... maybe," he thought as he continued running, his breath ragged but steady.
The new alley was different from the previous one. It was even narrower, barely enough for two people to walk side by side, with one side bordered by a half-collapsed wall and the other by an abandoned house whose structure looked ready to fall apart at any second. That, however, was not the biggest problem. The road ahead was covered in broken planks and scattered stones that seemed to have fallen from the roofs of the houses, making it nearly impossible to run straight while carrying someone in his arms.
"Hold on tight, Celeste," he shouted, tightening his grip as he approached a broken section of the roof that had collapsed across the path.
Celeste quickly obeyed and wrapped her arms around his waist. He jumped forward, his feet landing just past the debris, and sprinted again without slowing down.
Something soft and fluffy seemed to hit against his chest as he moved forward, but he ignored it and focused only on keeping their balance while clearing the obstacles that appeared in their way. Whenever the path narrowed further, he turned slightly to the side or leapt over loose stones, doing everything he could to keep from stumbling.
At last, after what felt like an eternity of dodging debris and running through suffocating dust, he finally reached the end of the alley. He stepped out into a more open space and immediately stopped to catch his breath. His lungs burned and his arms ached from holding her for so long, but he still turned around to check behind them.
The hobgoblins were still there, struggling to crawl through the narrow passage filled with fallen wood and broken beams, their movement slowed down significantly. They were a good distance away now, but they were still coming.
Kael moved sideways and leaned his back against a half-broken wall, breathing heavily. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he finally looked at the girl in his arms.
Celeste had her face buried against his chest, and her ears were pink.
He blinked, slightly confused, until he felt something soft pressing against him again. Only then did it occur to him what he had failed to realize while running. Celeste's body was pressed tightly against his, and his arms were still wrapped firmly around her to make sure he didn't drop her while sprinting.
"That means earlier... the soft thing that hit my chest when I jumped was... her breasts," he thought, his expression dimming slightly. "That explains why she's embarrassed. Well, anyone would be."
He let out a long breath, a tired but awkward sigh escaping him. For a brief second, he felt oddly grateful that he hadn't folded his shirt this morning out of habit. Perhaps he should thank Arwyn for that, since she had taken it to sew the piece part last night. If he hadn't worn it, things might have been even more troublesome, especially since Celeste was wearing a skirt. Regardless of her sharp tongue and cold attitude, her body felt unexpectedly soft in his arms.
Shaking the thought away, Kael glanced around and noticed an old two-storied house standing right in front of him, opposite the side of the thick path ahead. Until now, he hadn't dared to enter any building, knowing that hiding was pointless when the goblins were so close, but now that they were struggling behind the debris, it seemed he could finally take cover.
He adjusted his grip on Celeste, who still refused to lift her face, and walked toward the wooden house. The door stood half-open, its edges darkened by age and dust. He pushed it gently using his shoulder, and it creaked as it scraped along the floor, opening with surprising ease.
"It opened too quickly," he muttered softly. "Well, it's better this way."
He stepped inside and immediately closed the door behind him with a backward kick after glancing around to make sure no one else was there.
The interior was dim because the windows were closed, and it was filled with the smell of old wood and dust. Broken furniture lay scattered across the floor, and a wooden staircase led upward to the second floor.
Kael remained motionless for a moment, scanning the room carefully before deciding it was safe enough. Then, without another word, he began ascending the staircase, carrying Celeste gently but firmly in his arms.
The second floor wasn't very big, but there seemed to be two rooms from what he could see from there. He looked around slowly, letting his eyes adjust to the light slipping in through the cracks of the walls, but there was nothing much that caught his attention. The place looked empty, abandoned, and silent enough to make his heartbeat sound louder in his own ears.
He sighed quietly and walked toward one side of the wall where it seemed a little cleaner than the rest. Carefully, he lowered Celeste to the floor and let her sit there.
For a moment he felt as if she didn't want to leave his arms because her grip had tightened slightly when he tried to move away, as if she found a sense of comfort there, but the next moment he was proven completely wrong.
She crouched against the wall, her back sliding down until she sat on the cold floor, resting her head weakly against it. Blood was still dripping slowly from her injuries, especially from her elbows and legs, forming small dark stains beneath her. Only then did Kael notice that his shirt had turned nearly crimson in places, soaked with her blood as well.
He kneeled right in front of her and placed his hand near her elbow, his expression tense. Soft green light flickered from his fingertips as he began to heal her wounds.
Celeste just looked at him for a brief moment with a distant gaze, her breathing unsteady, then she looked away as if the sight of him made her uneasy.
When he finished with her elbows, his eyes moved toward her legs. He hesitated for a moment and asked quietly, "Celeste... you wouldn't mind if I touch your legs, would you?"
Celeste looked at him for a long time without saying anything. Her expression changed several times before she sighed softly and said, "Why do you even need my permission anyway?"
Then she froze suddenly, her eyes darting aside as if embarrassed by her own words. "Just do it already... I mean, heal my legs, of course."
Kael nodded silently and placed his hands gently on her injured legs. The glow returned, soft, spreading slowly as her wounds began to close. Even after he was done, there were still small bruises that refused to disappear completely, but it was enough for her to move again.
Although, it wasn't truly surprising that she showed no reaction to his ability since she already knew he was a healer to begin with. Despite being only a C-Rank healer, he had never registered as one in the guild. Instead, he chose to join the combat division where he ended up as an E-Rank fighter. That's how she knew about it as well.
After finishing, Kael leaned forward, making Celeste stagger back suddenly and hit the wall behind her. He didn't know why she did that, though, but he ignored it and opened the window situated above her head. The sunlight illuminated the room brightly as everything became clear to see. Kael glanced downward as he found himself close to Celeste, who just swallowed and blushed a little, then looked away.
Noticing that, he asked with a confused look, "What's wrong?"
She was silent for a moment, then whispered in a strange tone, "You're so close."
Kael raised an eyebrow, "So what?"
He had no idea why Celeste was acting differently than her usual self from the beginning. But truly, what was wrong if they were so close? He had been carrying her for a long while now, hadn't she realized it yet?
Celeste didn't answer, just looked at his face with a strange expression. Sunlight fell into his brown hair, making it shimmer now that he was near the window, and there were drops of sweat all around his body as well.
Celeste chuckled, "You don't look that bad for a man, though."
Kael's expression turned bleak. What did she mean by he didn't look that bad for a man? Didn't she know... he was the most handsome man alive but in his dream, of course.
Since she didn't answer his question, he didn't either. Instead, he crawled back and sat in front of her, crossing his legs together. Then, he stretched his arms above his head to ease the stiffness in his muscles. Carrying a fully grown woman in his arms while running for his life wasn't something pleasant compared to flying with one, that much he knew from experience. Regardless, his mind was now filled with questions now that they were finally out of danger, at least for the moment.
"But why the hell do I keep ending up facing monsters unarmed again?" he muttered under his breath, rubbing his forehead with his palm. "Is life trying to play a joke with me or what? I really need to do something about this, otherwise I'll keep falling into the same mess over and over again... and honestly, I do hate it."
He let out a long breath, his voice turning colder at the end, but when his eyes met Celeste again his expression softened slightly. "Are you feeling alright... now?"
Celeste brushed her long auburn hair away from her face and shoulder before answering quietly, "I am."
Kael blinked for a moment. It suddenly occurred to him that he had never seen her with her hair like this before. Normally she always tied it neatly into a braid that rested over her shoulder to her chest instead of her back. But now, her hair was loose, wide open, falling freely like threads of auburn silk under the sunlight. Her hazel eyes looked different too, somehow softer but slightly distant, and for a moment he found her rather beautiful in her own quiet way.
He quickly cleared his throat and spoke again, "Now, would you mind telling me why a receptionist like you is wandering in the abandoned part of town, right beside the dungeon? And to make things worse, do you have any idea why those hobgoblins are even here in the first place?"
Celeste shifted her body slightly, letting her back rest against the wall again. She looked at one side of the room as if gathering her thoughts, then turned back to him before finally replying in a low voice, "I don't know anything about the hobgoblins, but I can tell you why I'm here. Actually, I came to meet the knight who was assigned to guard the dungeon gate. A few days ago, the Guild sent an expedition team made up of several exceptional adventurers into the dungeon to check whether it was still stable enough to be explored after your party barely survived that last quest on Floor Nineteen. But it's been days, and they still haven't returned with any news. The Guild started to worry... so I was sent here to confirm whether they were still inside the dungeon or if they had already come back but failed to report. But I couldn't even get past this abandoned district. I ran straight into those creatures and kept running until I ended up cornered with nowhere to escape. I honestly thought... I thought I was going to die today. But then you showed up right in time and saved me out there. I really should be thanking the gods for that."
Kael listened carefully, his thoughts heavy and his expression unreadable. He didn't know what had really happened inside the dungeon after he left his party behind, and he had never asked anyone about it either. He never cared to. But, as he sat there now, he felt something stir deep within him.
"Why didn't I try to save Leon, Mira, Arthur, and Elara by myself that day?" he wondered silently. "If I wanted to, I could have summoned my mask, coat, sword from the Liquid Chest. There was no one there to see me. So why did I run away like a coward? Why did I..."
He tried to force the memory back, tried to recall what he had been thinking at that moment, but his mind refused to cooperate. Instead, a strange dizziness washed over him. The room began to spin, but there was no pain this time. It felt different, as though something deep within him was being drawn out, taken from him. His senses faded for a brief moment, leaving only emptiness. Then, just as suddenly, it ended.
When his vision cleared again, he looked at Celeste with a tired smile, "Well, now, you don't have to worry about your life anymore. Because the weakest adventurer is here for the rescue, you know."
Celeste laughed softly at his words, a small, genuine laugh that echoed in the quiet room. But soon her laughter died out, and her smile disappeared. Her expression changed completely, replaced by a look of pure fear. Her mouth trembled as her eyes widened, and she slowly lifted her hand, pointing behind him.
Her fingers shook uncontrollably as she stammered, "K-Kael... Be... hind... you."
Before Kael could even register what she meant by that, she suddenly jumped forward at him with all the strength she could gather. He was completely caught off guard. One moment she was still hovering in the air, and in the next, her entire body crashed against his with such force that it knocked the air out of him.
Her soft breasts pressed against his chest as their bodies collided, and before he could even blink, his back hit the rough wooden floor beneath them. Everything happened so fast that his mind couldn't process what exactly had just occurred. His thoughts were scattered, his senses still slow to return, as if he was trapped between confusion and disbelief.
Then, a sharp and dreadful sound tore through the silence, the sound of a blade slicing through flesh. His heart sank instantly. Celeste, who had fallen on top of him, let out a pained growl that made his blood run cold. Her face twisted with agony, her breath hitching as a violent cough escaped her lips.
Blood splattered across his chest, hot and thick, each drop spreading across his pale shirt until the white fabric turned an ugly shade of red.
Kael's eyes widened as he looked down and saw the truth he wished he hadn't. A jagged blade had pierced straight through her chest, the weapon's edge visible on the other side. Blood poured freely, running down her body, falling onto his chest in a steady rhythm like water dripping from a broken fountain. For a brief moment, time itself seemed to stop.
He looked at her face again, and despite the unbearable pain twisting her features, she was smiling at him. That gentle smile was the most painful thing he had ever seen.
The sword was suddenly yanked upward from her body, and she let out another guttural sound that barely resembled a human voice. Kael reacted instantly.
He wrapped his arms around her fragile frame and rolled across the floor several times until they were away from the danger. The impact rattled his bones, but he didn't care. The only thing that mattered was the broken, blood-soaked woman lying before him.
She looked at him with distant eyes, her lips trembling as she whispered weakly, "It's fine... Kael. I-I'm alright."
His eyes turned to the side with terrifying speed, his gaze turned even colder, there were now dark flames burning within them with a deep, utter murderous intent. Something within him had changed without him realizing it.
A few feet away stood a hobgoblin, staring blankly at the space where Celeste had once been standing before she jumped to shield him. The creature was disgusting to look at, a pitiful thing of low rank, its jagged weapon still dripping with blood.
Kael felt rage twist through his chest as he gritted his teeth. He almost laughed, though the sound that left him was nothing like laughter at all. It was bitter and heavy.
"Pathetic..." he muttered under his breath, "...a lowly creature like this got past my senses because of some fucking headache."
He placed his trembling hand on Celeste's chest, his fingers pressing against the wound as a soft green glow began to radiate from his palm. The light spread across her body like the sun breaking through storm clouds, warm and soothing, filling the air with traces of his magic. Her breathing began to steady, the wound slowly knitting back together while the monster finally noticed him.
The hobgoblin turned its ugly face toward him, but Kael no longer saw a threat. The creature's movements looked sluggish, painfully slow, slower than his eyes, his magic, even his thoughts. He could see every twitch, every breath, every pathetic step it took, despite all that, he still hadn't sensed it earlier.
The thought burned through him like poison. How pathetic.
How utterly pathetic!
The hobgoblin charged, but Kael's eyes remained cold. He could almost predict every motion before it even happened.
As it lunged forward, a transparent glove appeared on his hand and as soon as it did Kael's hand slid into the roof, the wooden floor rippling like liquid. He reached inside and pulled out his longsword, the dark blade gleaming under the sunlight.
The creature was getting closer. He counted softly, almost mockingly.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
As the final number left his lips, the hobgoblin swung its jagged weapon downward in a reckless arc. Kael withdrew his other hand from Celeste's chest... the healing was complete, and she had fallen into a deep sleep. That was one advantage of his healing element. It calmed the body and the mind, letting the wounded rest.
He stayed seated, his gaze locked on the creature. The attack came, the sword cutting through the air toward him, but before the blow could land, Kael caught the hobgoblin's arm mid-swing. His fingers clenched with crushing force, the creature's arm bones cracking beneath his grip. He raised his own sword to strike, not to kill quickly but to make it suffer for daring to touch her.
However, before his blade could fall, a sudden, clean cut appeared across the hobgoblin's neck. A sharp slicing sound echoed a moment later. Kael froze. His sword was still in motion, yet untouched by blood.
The creature's head rolled off its shoulders and hit the ground with a dull thud, bouncing once before it stopped. Black blood gushed from the beheaded body, spilling across the floor in thick streams.
Slowly, Kael's gaze shifted past the corpse, his grip on the sword tightening. Someone else was there... someone who had stolen his kill.
Someone stood behind the fallen creature, her presence commanding even in silence. Her face was hidden behind a navy-blue helm, though her brown glistening lips were visible as they curved into a beautiful smile.
Purple flames ignited behind the visor of her helm, as soft blue hair fluttered behind her in the frozen air.
Kael's breath caught, his fingers trembling slightly as recognition hit him, he whispered.
"It's... you."
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(Chapter Ended)