8mi Chapter 510 [Event] [Elven Utopian War] [49] Venting To Alvara
Chapter 510 [Event] [Elven Utopian War] [49] Venting To Alvara
Chapter 510 [Event] [Elven Utopian War] [49] Venting To Alvara
"Milady."
"..."
"Commander?"
I finally turned my face toward Vesryn, who stood in front of me. Behind him, the others gathered waiting for me to speak. "The alliance army is advancing. It's time," Vesryn said.
The news wasn't unexpected. The Alliance had deployed 2,000 soldiers, a significant force compared to their previous skirmishes. This time, they had fortified their approach, erecting walls of defense and securing every path to avoid another ambush.
"Is Karl Dolphis among them?" I asked.
"No, Commander. He remains on the main ship, far from the shoreline," Vesryn replied.
I sighed, grabbing the sword lying on the table.
Its simplicity didn't matter; I wasn't looking for elegance, just efficiency. It would suffice for my job.
Without another word, I strode out of the tent, the others falling into step behind me.
The combined forces of Ruvelion and Teraquin were already assembled, their ranks disciplined and ready. I moved through the soldiers until I reached the front.
From this vantage point, I could see them: the Sancta Vedelia army advancing. Leading them was a new figure, a vampire woman, probably the new commander after the Dolphis guys I had captured the first day and the elf man of yesterday. Silence stretched as I stood there, surveying the scene.
This was the third day I had stood against the very people I was supposed to support. My once-clear purpose had been overtaken by a single thought—saving my mother. Whatever guilt lingered, I buried it deep.
Clenching the sword tightly, I closed my eyes and took a slow, steadying breath.
"Like yesterday, I'll deal with their Commander. Handle the rest. Show mercy to those who surrender. That's all."
I kicked off the ground, launching myself forward at great speed. The wind roared in my ears as I tore toward the enemy, Vesryn and Rania immediately following in my wake. Behind us, the air shimmered with mana circles, their glow signaling the imminent barrage of spells.
"It's her! Loki! Kill her!" The vampire woman shouted.
A wry smile tugged at my lips. "Famous, am I?"
In a flash, I closed the distance, appearing before her in an instant.
She reacted quickly, her sword slicing toward me in a desperate arc. I parried with ease, tand then with a powerful shove, I sent her hurtling back into her own ranks, her body crashing into the soldiers behind her.
"Kill her!"
"Die!"
The cries echoed around me as they swarmed toward me. Mana circles were ready to be released against me.
"Reflect," I muttered, waving my sword around me, summoning a dozen mirrors.
The air shimmered, and the incoming spells reversed their trajectories, hurtling back toward their casters.
-BOOOM!
My eyes scanned the battlefield until they locked onto the vampire woman once more. Without hesitation, I surged forward.
"You Utopian dog!" She snarled, with quite contempt in her eyes. A crimson mana circle flared to life before her, unleashing a blood-infused attack that tore through the air with lethal intent.
Reacting swiftly, I infused my sword with Ruah. Swinging it down in a wide arc, I cleaved her attack in two. The force of my movement sent a shockwave rippling outward as I closed the distance, slamming my fist into her stomach with all my might.
"Agh!" she groaned in pain, her body hurtling backward, crashing into the dirt.
Before I could finish her, another wave of soldiers descended upon me.
"Get out of my way!" I shouted, annoyed. "The sooner I capture her, the better it is for all of you! Surrender once she's down, and you might still live!"
Grabbing one of them by his shirt, I hurled him into the approaching group, scattering them like pins.
-BAM!
My Ruah-coated fist collided with the ground, sending a shockwave through the enemy lines. Dust and debris filled the air as I carved a path forward.
With a powerful kick off the ground, I rushed toward the vampire woman once more.
But as I approached, a fireball erupted from the ranks, blazing toward me.
"Reflec—!"
-BOOM!
The explosion struck before I could fully activate my mirror shield, the force repelling me backward. My half formed mirror absorbed some of the impact, but pain flared across my body as I skidded to a halt.
Straightening, I fixed the woman with a sharp glare. "Surrender. We won't kill any of you," I repeated.
It was starting to get tiring.
"I'd rather die!"
Damn it!
"Anyway," I pressed on, shifting my gaze to the chandelier above. "About today. There was this vampire woman—her Commander, actually. I kept asking her to surrender. Again and again, I told her we wouldn't enslave her or her people. But she wouldn't believe me."
"She...tried to kill me instead. And then... one of the Ruvelion Knights killed her before she could."
The soft flip of a page turning was the only sound following my words. "I saw that knife coming. For a split second, I didn't move. Like, don't tell me I was ready to accept my death like some tragic antihero?" I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "Yeah, I feel guilty about the deaths. I feel like a traitor. But still, I did it... for my mother." My voice trailed off before I glanced at Alvara. "So, here's my question," I continued, leaning forward slightly. "You. Alvara. You betrayed your own country for revenge and to protect your sister's future. You, of all people, should get what I'm feeling. Do you feel guilty or not?"
At my audaciously rude comment, her cold golden eyes flicked toward me. Then, without a word, she hurled her book at my face.
I caught it mid-air, the force barely registering as I let out a low sigh.
"If you're not going to heal me, get out," she snapped.
"Coming, coming," I groaned, standing up with exaggerated sluggishness.
"Gloves," she reminded curtly as I approached.
"Oh, right." I slipped on a fresh pair, the leather taut against my fingers, before reaching for her hand. As I carefully unwrapped the bandages, I noted her wounds had closed significantly.
"They're already almost healed," I murmured. "No need to rewrap them. You can throw the bandages away tomorrow. Once you're over Sloth's affliction, your recovery will speed up even more."
Alvara's delicate hand rested in mine as I began the treatment. My control over Wrath was even better so I treated her much faster but it drained me faster as well.
Two minutes in, I released her hand, sagging with exhaustion. "That should do it," I muttered, collapsing onto the bed beside her. My head rested on the bed right in front of Alvara's form.
Alvara grimaced visibly in annoyance. "Move."
"Give me a minute," I replied, closing my eyes.
For a moment, the room was silent. Then I felt a faint nudge against my arm. Opening one eye, I glanced down to see her slender, alabaster foot hesitantly pressing against me. Her effort to push me away was... laughably ineffective.
Her foot was soft, delicate, almost fragile—utterly unsuited for shoving anyone off anything. I raised an eyebrow, giving her a look that clearly said: Are you serious?
Alvara froze suddenly as she quickly withdrew her foot. She tucked it back beneath the hem of her dress and hugged her knees closer to hide her feet from me.
Oi.
"I don't have a weird fetish, relax," I said, attempting to lighten the mood.
Instead of easing the tension, my comment earned a glare so murderous I half-expected her to pummel my head to death with a book.
"Hm?" I frowned suddenly.
From my vantage point on the bed, I caught a glimpse of her forehead partially hidden beneath her mint green hair. Something was off. Rising slightly, I leaned closer, brushing her hair aside to get a better look.
There it was—a red, slightly swollen dent on her forehead.
"What the hell?" I muttered. "Why didn't you show this to me the first day?"
No answer.
I turned to her, expecting the usual venomous retort, but she was... staring at me. Her expression was different—shocked, maybe, or something I couldn't quite place.
"I have my gloves on," I reassured her awkwardly, sensing her discomfort as my gloved fingers rested gently against her forehead.
She didn't reply.
"..."
"..."
The silence stretched as my eyes locked with hers.
Now that I was this close, I couldn't help but notice just how pretty her features were. Her golden eyes, different from Freyja's, seemed to pull me in, trapping me in a world where only the two of us existed.
Her face was flawless, incredibly beautiful. She deserved to be a Princess.
She deserved to be a High Elven Princess.
And she deserved to be considered as a Goddess.
She had that much beauty and attraction in her.
A kind of beauty that felt otherworldly, almost forbidden.
You honestly couldn't blame Lykhor to have fallen for her, he who had been often this close to Alvara. -Thump!
My heart skipped a beat, then quickened.
"...!"
Realizing my own thoughts were spiraling somewhere dangerous, I abruptly withdrew my hand and scrambled off the bed, nearly tripping in my haste.
This is bad. Really bad.
Alvara, who was staring at me, narrowed her eyes slowly.
"A-Anyway," I spoke up, grabbing some bandages and dropping them onto her bedside table, "here, treat yourself."
Before she could say a word—or before I could embarrass myself further—I bolted out of the room, shutting the door behind me a little too quickly.