“You—“ Gricar dared to sound offended, as if I was the one who was cutting his guys down. “You dare stand against us after our hospitality?”
“Don’t look at me that way,” I shrugged. “I didn’t do anything.”
I silently added yet.
Gricar didn’t have the time to question me further, because Giselle was already charging at him from behind with a wicked smile and that fiery blade of hers. The clang of metal rang out, but it wasn’t against the gaudy guy’s armour.
Beltrane had turned into a blur of speed and intercepted her ambush with her knives. Giselle’s attack nearly broke through the Elven Rogue’s defense with her savage swing, breathing in and preparing to breathe fire directly into her face when something strange happened. Flametongue’s eyes twisted into pain through her helmet, and she staggered as if she was struck. Her knees threatened to collapse. I frowned, checking her Status.
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+
— Giselle Flametongue, level 10, has received the effects of the Skill: [Beaumont Decree: Kneel].
+
———————————————
Well, that’s certainly a cheap move.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Beltrane delivered a strong kick Giselle’s stomach. The Knight let out a loud grunt, crashing into the dirt as if a battering ram slammed into her. I winced. The level disparity was quite apparent. Beltrane didn’t let up. In an instant, she was on top of her, driving a dagger straight into Giselle’s side. A strangled gasp and a slick noise from the blade escaped her mouth. Her red wounds glowed. I heard her.
“Saviour…” She gurgled. Blood was seeping from the cracks in her helmet and side.
“Stay out of it, Ravenclast Hunter,” Gricar growled, aiming his silly sword at me.
Time slowed, or rather, my Movement Speed was probably working for me as adrenaline rushed into my bones and mind. The world went quiet, but my heartbeat sounded like a drum in my ears. It was time to make a decision.
I looked at Giselle, then to the shadowy Beltrane, and finally the incredibly bright golden boy standing between us. What was I supposed to do here? I went here to do what exactly? See a frenemy get murdered before my eyes?
Fuck me and my soft heart. I groaned. She might be a bitch, but how dare she guilt trip me like this!
I felt like I couldn’t just drop the minotaur’s horn on Beltrane, the Knight was too close. She was the only one I could heal and I doubted I could heal her back if I smooshed her into a puddle. I raised the white Promised Sister staff. It seems like I have to ask you have to serve me here, Sister Leah, I thought to it.
Looking inward, I immediately regretted it. The monstrous Mana Core looked down on me in there like a planet being dropped on my head. When I reflexively opened my eyes I saw Giselle’s wounds, each brimming with purple and red auras. My heart pounded, whether that was from my changed inner realm or the blood gushing out of her, I couldn’t tell. Right as Beltrane’s other dagger was about to silence Giselle for good, I shouted.
“[Divine Heal]!”
The Promised Sister’s top glowed scarlet, and my inner realm roared to life. I, on the other hand, held onto the staff for dear life as the magic raged through my arms. A spell circle nearly blinded me, forming threads of azure light as if there was glass fracturing in front of me. Then it shattered, forming a blue laser directly at Giselle. A brilliant glow surrounded her, hardening into a radiant shield around her.
Beltrane’s dagger shattered down to the hilt, her wrist bending backwards. She screamed and jumped back. Giselle laughed.
“Hoo! This feels… Incredible! Like I can punch the fucking stars! Come here, you Beaumont witch!”
Giselle did look incredible. She was coated in a blue translucent bubble, already on her feet, her sword back in her hands. A shimmering light invaded my eyes. The gaudy man was rushing towards me, clearly pissed at my interference.
“You— You dare stand against us?” Gricar roared. “Sister! I’ll avenge you!”
“Stay back,” I warned. My usual soft voice was ethereal now and my body was shaking from the pure energy crackling inside of it. Divine, my ass! This exhilarating feeling of magic was far better than that.
The steps of a group of Carrier Demons were getting louder behind me. It seemed like they weren’t keen on listening to my excuses. The Elf and his cronies were moving against me.
“You lie! Today, a Ravenclast Hunter joins its Bearer!” Gricar roared. He was already upon me, his sword bursting into golden flames. “[Beaumont’s Justice]!”
I felt the chittering demons moving to strike from behind me. The magic within me reignited, tearing through me as I unleashed the Skill I’ve been wanting to use since I stepped onto that Carrier Demon’s chariot. I didn’t know what the hell [Beaumont’s Justice] was, but I didn’t care. The Promised Sister’s crown membrane revealed Leah’s skull completely as I planted it into the ground.
“[Force Away]!”
This time, I was the one who was incandescent. My chest became as bright as molten gold, with streams of light bending around me creating that beautiful barrier in an instant. The air rang as more magic lasers spiraled out of me, snapping into place. Through the golden glow, I saw the silhouettes of bodies and claws slamming against it.
The ground shuddered violently, and a thunderous pulse erupted as the barrier shattered, like the sun exploding. The Carrier Demons were sent back flying as the currents of my magic swallowed them whole. Through the haze, a tall figure was crashing towards me. It was Gricar!
Shit! I pivoted and raised my staff at the last heartbeat. The blade came fast, screaming through the air. A clang deafened my ears. His strength made the Promised Sister rattle, bending but not breaking. Shockwaves snapped through my bones as the sword sank its teeth like a hungry predator desperately trying to chew through it, showering me with luminous sparks born from Skill. My knees nearly collapsed from the blow.
“You lied to me! You said you’d stay out of it,” Gricar growled as he pressed against my guard with his full strength. “Ravenclast, witness me deliver justice. Repent and see the error of your ways, Hunter!”
Another Skill was building up inside his grip. I could feel the pressure building up, but I was feeling stronger from the Plus Menu’s changes gathering inside of me.
“You might seek justice, Gricar Beaumont,” I managed to say, adding more points to my Attack Power. I used all 515 status points that I just gained for D rank. Strength returned feeling to my feet and I could feel the pressure of his ugly sword getting lighter. I ignored the notifications and spoke softly. “But I, Kathleen, am seeking level ups.”
With him distracted by my use of his name, I stood up, effortlessly pushing his sword off of my precious staff. Bewilderment clouded his eyes as I brought it down upon his head. Leah’s skull was much tougher than his. I hit him way harder than that brother of mine and turned his head into mush. Fragments of metal, flesh and bone splattered everywhere like a red pom-pom exploding. I stood there, breathing heavily as the now headless body of Gricar fell to its knees.
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Suddenly I realized that I didn’t feel soft-hearted after all.
I pulled out the Howler’s Dagger, ready for the Carrier Demons to get back and go after me, but they were cowering and making chittering noises. A welcome surprise! Be scared of the one who slew your master!
I didn’t have time to gloat internally. A scream pierced the air, but it wasn’t Giselle’s. Most of the magic emissions had cleared. Despite my [Divine Heal]’s effects, Beltrane had managed to drive Giselle back on her knees again with just her remaining dagger. The blue shield had protected her, but was chipping away quickly under Beltrane’s relentless strikes. I clicked my tongue. An Awakened, dual-classed Hunter was no joke at all.
“Brother!” Beltrane’s voice was full of anguish and hatred. I glanced at Giselle, who didn’t have a weapon. I decided to fix that while the Elf was looking at me.
“At your hand, Giselle!” I shouted.
I dropped [Stormfang] next to her, its deadly blade clattered on the dusty ground, eager to cause trouble. Giselle was too quick on the uptake, laughing maniacally as she snatched it up.
“You—“ Beltrane realized what I had just done, but was too late.
Giselle moved, ramming Stormfang's pommel straight into Beltrane’s side— a clean kidney shot. The Elf screamed, staggering away. Even I felt a slight discomfort in my side after seeing the hit. If she wasn’t higher level, she probably would have crumpled. The Knight drew the sword, discarding the sheath, and followed with one vicious swing. A strange green electricity danced along Stormfang’s blade, making the air reek of burnt ozone and sulfur.
“This is for the Flametongues!” Giselle roared, letting out a breath of fire.
The following explosion blinded me. I wasn’t sure if Giselle expected that to happen, because she got knocked back a few feet after the fact. The [Divine Heal]’s shield shattered, sounding like a car crash, followed by her curses. After the dust settled, Beltrane was standing there. Her chest was ripped open, a rut of crimson slashed diagonally across it. A whisper came from her, but I couldn’t hear it.
Giselle struggled to her feet for another round, but a black shroud enveloped Beltrane. She whispered another Skill? I frowned. Then it happened. The Elf’s body twisted into an eruption of smoke and blood. The transformation sounded like vines being torn, and the outline of Beltrane’s arms, legs, and bloody torso simply unraveled, dissolving into dark fragments. More snapping flesh and bones could be heard, but I was too transfixed by the macabre display to even do something about it. Giselle apparently was too, staring dumbly at the chaos. From the nasty shrapnel bloomed a smaller form— A small bat.
“The fuck?” I watched it fly away, deeper into the woods. “You can do that in this world?”
The air was trembling from the Skill, and that’s when the Carrier Demons took their leave as well. I watched their ugly and aggressively gaudy forms flutter away. It looked more like a bunch of golden fat hens had gotten catapulted into the air, now shrinking into the distance. What ridiculous creatures, I mused. As soon as they were gone, the grey and heavy uniformed skies were all that was left.
As for the puddle on the ground, well, he had it coming. The Plus Menu dinged in my head relentlessly. The tag above his sword revealed that it was [Rare], but I groaned when I saw the rest of it. Its name was Blade of Justice. Utterly lame. Now, I could store it, though I felt like it was polluting my Item Box when I selected yes. This demon of Justice could rot here for all I care.
Before I could step over it or bask in the Plus Menu’s notifications, I heard loud footsteps approaching me. Giselle was now standing in front of me, reeking of blood and ash. She took her helmet off and flames shot out of her nostrils. I raised an eyebrow at her. Are you going to be ungrateful? I wondered. The Knight held out the Stormfang for me, but didn’t say a word. I didn’t take it and leaned on my staff instead.
“Well, let’s hear it,” I said.
The silence was quickly turning into awkwardness. It was then I noticed her face was turning a peculiar shade of pink. What the hell? Giselle’s nostrils flared as she tried to say something but grunted, shaking the sword at me for me to take. She snuck a glance at me, only to meet my gaze, which probably screamed to her that she was an idiot. Were we… both bad with words? That can’t be right. She’s loud as hell. I should be the silent one. The one making things awkward was her, not me.
I put my free hand on my hip. “What am I going to do with that? I’m a healer. Use your words.”
“Healer? I’ll believe that when I meet the Seven Princes! Or when I can breathe fire out my ass!” Giselle finally blurted with incredulity, nearly dropping Stormfang on Gricar’s corpse. I discreetly looked at her ass. There wasn’t any sign of soot there. She went on. “You saved me again with that terrific magic. I haven’t felt this good— and frankly, afraid— in my life! And, you’re not dead after what I did to you, nor from your Bearer abandoning you! What do you want with me?”
I stayed quiet for a minute, stepping around the corpses of Gricar and the six Carrier Demons that got destroyed by [Force Away]. Faint traces of golden magic seeped out of them, along with black mist. They were dissolving like the monsters in the Rift and giving off an indescribably foul odor. Interesting. The Knight stuck the hilt out towards me, but I pushed it back towards her. I found a fallen log to sit on and think.
“I really don’t have a clue what I’m doing,” I said honestly. “I didn’t think I’d get this far.”
A shadow loomed above me. Giselle plopped down unceremoniously on the path with a grunt. I got a good look at her this time. She was a magnificent specimen. I could heal her and secretly, she was just my type. Muscles, tall, and tough. A shame that she was only level 10. I thought about beating her to a pulp after I got out of that Rift and after she exposed the fact that we met before to Gricar, but the desire had evaporated.
“So what’s the deal with that Beaumont guy?” I asked. “You know, the one that’s messing with your brain and sending Hunters after you.”
Flames shot out of her mouth, singeing her breastplate as she snorted in disgust. There was something dimming her eyes— I could sense a great loss that was festering beneath the surface. I suddenly regretted asking.
“He’s the king of this land,” she said, fiddling with something under her torn up cloak. The tag said it was a [Healing Potion]. The glass bottle clinked against her armour. “Here’s something to stir that pretty blank face of yours. The bastard’ll crush your family with Hunters and force you to thank him for it.”
I already knew he was a king, but hearing it again brought a sense of unease. If we were to travel together to God knows where, that curse or Skill would have to go. Either that, or the king himself would also have to die. Obviously, I wasn’t about to wage war against an entire kingdom just for this Knight, so the choice was obvious. Then again, I looked at Giselle, who was lost in her own world. I always rooted for the underdogs.
“The Skill he uses,” I finally asked the real question. “Does he always have a connection to you? Or is it a temporary sort of thing?”
“It’s connected to his power,” Giselle said. There was a hint of defeat in her tone. “Not to be ungrateful, my Saviour, but there’s no way of getting rid of it. He’ll go after you through me again and again. Only these—“ She shook the Healing Potion in her hand. “— Can ease the misery...”
As soon as she said that, she looked at me hopefully. I nodded slightly, though I wouldn’t admit it aloud.
“You— You want to… No,” She reached for the hem of my pants. I dodged her hands easily. Belief flooded her eyes, and she didn’t seem to notice my discomfort. She drew closer to me anyways. “You CAN heal me. Better than these potions. Even when the bastard stopped me from fighting back against that witch, your magic saved me. Just what are you? Why would you do that for me— after, well, I…”
She shifted uncomfortably.
I shrugged. “Just a girl who likes the underdogs, I guess.”
We sat in silence. Scrolling through my Plus Menu Notifications, I found that she wasn’t wrong about me lifting the effects of that [Beaumont Decree] Skill. Things were seemingly pointing me to this woman being a useful tool for me, but it was up to me to figure out more about this bizarre ability of mine.
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+
Notifications
> Saviour! Host has healed Giselle Flametongue, level 10 from a fatal blow using [Divine Heal]! Host has gained 400 status points. [Total: 405 status points]
> Title
> Giselle Flametongue is no longer recieving the effects of Skill: [Beaumont Decree: Kneel].
> Host has slain 6 Carrier Demons of House Beaumont. Elemental weakness bonus! Multi-kill! Host has gained 300 status points. [Total: 905 status points.]
> You have added 515 status points to Attack Power. You now have 1530 Attack Power (D).
> Physical strength and resistance coefficients increased.
> Skull Crusher! Host has slain Gricar Beaumont, level 18. Host has gained 500 status points! [Total: 890 status points].
+
———————————————
Well, I guessed I did my math wrong and went a little over D rank in the heat of the moment. But if I can heal this Knight, then it might be worth finding something that could deal with her main issue. Upgrading my magic seems to unlock more Spells. One of the new ones was bound to be helpful at some point, right? Upgrading people, however, didn’t seem like it would be worth the trouble.
Besides, it could take a long time before I find someone else that my magic would work on and I could use a shield. Yeah, that’s definitely why I decided to heal that gaping wound in her chest. I got lucky in that last Rift I was pushed in. Too lucky. With that, I found myself glaring at Giselle.
She looked startled when she noticed me, leaping to her feet.
“W-What’s with your look, Mistress Ravenclast? Saviour?” Giselle looked like she was so nervous she flipped between those strange titles to me with a rapid fire stutter. It made sense — she didn’t know my name. “You’ll help me, right? I’ll be in your debt, I swear, well… more than I am already! Mistress?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I chucked the potion bag at her face.