Chapter 50

“Damn it.”

 

Freyer grit his teeth.

 

Using Lilithia as bait just to lure him in—unforgivable.

 

Grrr—

 

The orc growled heavily at him, breath thick with murderous intent. Freyer wanted nothing more than to cut its throat open that instant. And then run to her—tell her she was safe, tell her it was over, wipe the tears from her face.

 

The dirt smeared everywhere told him how desperately she must have run through the forest.

 

‘If I had come just a little earlier.’

 

He could’ve saved her before she reached this state.

 

Self-loathing twisted with rising fury across his face.

 

“Grrr— Prince kill girl.”

 

The orc’s red gleaming eyes flashed, its voice rough and distorted.

 

“Magic, is it.”

 

This was no ordinary orc. Orcs usually had only slightly more wit than beasts and moved in packs.

 

But this one’s eyes—empty. Hollow.

 

“Who sent you.”

 

“Grrr—”

 

Its consciousness flickered for a moment, as if trying to surface—only for the red glow to flare violently again.

 

BOOM—

 

The orc slammed its club down toward Freyer. Freyer predicted the motion and dashed aside, narrowly avoiding it.

 

“If you can’t be reasoned with, this will be tedious.”

 

The orc’s eyes rolled wildly as it searched for him.

 

“Let’s end this quickly. I’m in a very foul mood right now.”

 

Freyer raised his blade, aura igniting in a feverish swirl.

 

Wuuuuum—

 

Blue aura wrapped violently around the trembling sword. The orc drooled thickly, snatching up the club embedded in the ground and roaring.

 

“Here I come.”

 

Freyer narrowed his brows and charged. The orc met him head-on, swinging its club with crushing force.

 

CHAE-ENG—

 

Wind tore at his ears as metal clashed again and again.

 

CLANG—

 

Stronger than expected. The impact made his knees ache; Freyer clenched his teeth.

 

‘Strong.’

 

A Red-Fur Orc Lord—far stronger than he’d imagined. Even blocking its blows was starting to push him to his limit.

 

The orc’s assault soon slackened, as if its body struggled to keep up with its own power. And then—

 

In a split second—the red glow snapped toward Lilithia.

 

Its target had changed.

 

‘It’s aiming for her.’

 

The orc abruptly leapt back and rushed toward Lilithia. She froze where she stood, tears streaming, unable to move.

 

‘End it.’

 

Freyer slammed his foot against the ground and launched forward.

 

His aura core felt as if it were drying out. He forced what remained of his aura into the blade, teeth grinding.

 

“Close your eyes! Now!”

 

He couldn’t maintain this state long. He had to sever its neck in a single strike.

 

At his fierce command, Lilithia squeezed her eyes shut.

 

“You thought I was easy prey? Big mistake.”

 

A dark red trickle ran from Freyer’s lips.

 

Wuuuuum—

 

His aura surged. The once-blue aura blazed white, trembling violently.

 

Freyer swung.

 

A blinding flash swallowed the forest.

 

The orc’s dying scream drowned beneath the thunderous roar of cleaving light. Purple blood sprayed across the air.

 

THUD—!

 

Freyer casually wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

 

“It’s over.”

 

 

***

 

 

A deep tremor rippled through the forest after his shout. The ground shook as if an earthquake had erupted.

 

The stench of dirt and blood spread thick in the air. She didn’t know if the fallen body belonged to the orc—or to Freyer.

 

‘What happened…? I’m scared.’

 

The blood scent might be Freyer’s. She was too afraid to open her eyes. Her trembling hands clenched tightly together.

 

‘If Freyer… if something happened to him—‘

 

The thought alone was unbearable.

 

Footsteps approached—steady, human.

 

She slowly lifted her eyelids.

 

‘Freyer won…’

 

He was walking toward the collapsed orc. Its chest was split wide open.

 

He took a round orb from his cloak and held it toward the corpse. Light burst from the storage orb, and the orc vanished instantly.

 

‘Thank goodness…’

 

Her relief lasted only a heartbeat—until she properly saw him.

 

His mouth smeared with blood. His clothes torn. Purple monster blood soaking him.

 

‘He got hurt because of me.’

 

She had prayed he wouldn’t be injured at all. But seeing him like this—her heart filled with guilt.

 

“I… it’s my fault.”

 

“What is.”

 

“That you’re hurt. It’s because of me. If I hadn’t led that monster here, you wouldn’t have been injured…”

 

Freyer exhaled faintly and glanced down at himself. Then he shook his head.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“It should’ve been me in danger, not you… that’s how it should be…”

 

His expression hardened.

 

“I told you not to say such nonsense.”

 

His sharp gaze made her hiccup in fear. She had never seen eyes so cold.

 

“H-hic.”

 

Tears she’d been holding back finally spilled over. She squeezed her eyes shut as warm hands cupped her cheeks.

 

“Lilithia.”

 

His voice—soft, steady—made her look up.

 

“You must’ve been terrified. You endured well.”

 

“….”

 

Her tears burst like a broken dam.

 

“I… I really was so scared… I woke up and I was alone and suddenly I was in the forest and—”

 

“It’s over now.”

 

His gentle voice loosened all the tension inside her. She covered her face as more tears fell.

 

“Hhk…”

 

“Don’t worry.”

 

He said nothing else—just wrapped his arms around her and held her while she cried.

 

A raindrop fell onto her shoulder.

 

“We should leave. The scent of blood is drawing beasts here.”

 

Now that he mentioned it—wolves howled in the distance.

 

“Then… are we going back to camp?”

 

She wiped her eyes and looked up.

 

“Rain will get heavier soon. And walking through a foggy forest at night while reeking of blood is nothing short of suicidal.”

 

As his words ended, rain began pouring from the dark sky.

 

Drip. Drop.

 

“Then where…?”

 

“There’s a cave nearby. We’ll shelter there.”

 

She nodded and took a step toward the direction he pointed—

 

“Ah—!”

 

“Are you going to walk to the cave with that injured ankle?”

 

Freyer scooped her up easily. She found herself cradled in his arms.

 

He whistled, and a white horse emerged from the woods. He set her gently onto the saddle.

 

“Hold tight. The path will be rough.”

 

Mounted behind her, he wrapped an arm around her, guiding her hands along the reins.

 

Together, they rode through the storm.

 

 

***

 

 

After ten minutes, they arrived at a cave whose narrow entrance opened into a wider chamber within.

 

Drip— drip—

 

Water droplets fell from the cave walls.

 

She tried to climb down.

 

“Ugh—”

 

Her foot nearly landed on a jagged rock.

 

“Trying to injure yourself again, are you.”

 

Freyer kicked the rock aside and held her waist, lowering her to the ground.

 

“Thank you.”

 

She stroked the horse’s head.

 

“And thank you too.”

 

The horse neighed happily. Freyer’s expression twitched—she thought, though the darkness made it hard to be sure.

 

“It’s a bit dark.”

 

“A fire will help.”

 

He scanned the ground.

 

“Good. There’s some branches.”

 

He gathered the dry sticks and picked up a stone.

 

‘Flint?’

 

With practiced ease, Freyer sparked a flame. The dry leaves caught quickly, fire blooming into a warm glow.

 

‘Wow…’

 

She crept closer, whispering in awe. She had only read about wilderness survival in books—never seen it herself.

 

“Where did you learn to do that?”

 

Freyer tugged her hand sharply. She stumbled—and found herself pulled onto his lap, sitting across his knees.

 

“You’ll burn yourself if you get any closer.”

 

She froze.

 

“I swear, your sense of caution is nonexistent.”

 

Her face flushed bright red at the sudden closeness in the dim firelight.