Emilone's Temptation Labyrinth

ETL – Chapter 24

A demon thrown by one of the knights hit and bounced off the other wall of the temple. The demon began to destroy that wall.

If the walls were torn down, it would cause many problems. First of all, there was the safety of the general public.

Reneben and the new priests tried to deal with it but the damage could not be completely prevented.

It was a mess.

I hope the reinforcements will come quickly and help us overcome the situation.

I got rid of two more demons. Power was no longer coming out of my arm injured by the thorns. My arms were literally worn out. Actually, I had no idea how much longer I could hold out.

Amidst the chaos, I saw a little 3-4 year old child crying and running around before falling down. Everybody else, and probably his parents, ran away from the temple.

I managed to get up to approach the crying child. However, a demon in the shape of a giant rabbit was heading towards the child.

Next to the child, there was an overweight wizard who screamed and shook in fear because there was nothing that could be done to stop the fast approaching rabbit demon.

I don’t know what conclusion the wizard made but in the end he threw the child.

Whoosh-

At that moment, the world moved slowly.

My vision blurred and my arms moved before I could even think about it. I grabbed the child’s arm and pulled him into an embrace. I felt relief with the warmth in my arms. When I turned my head, I saw a man who stood there alone while others were doing their jobs.

The moment I opened my mouth to scream in anger, I remembered the fact that I forgot.

Thump-

My back was in pain and the area felt like I was burned in a fire. In the meantime, the child in my arm was so young that it bothered me again. I held his head tightly so he could not lift his head up. He was too young to witness this scene.

The pain kept coming, my body felt weak and my knees gave way. At that time, I realized that I was not the only one who was bleeding. I turned my head to see unexpected people.

“Because I promised to protect you…”

Half of the wound on my back was also on the forearm of Duke Cassan. But he was not the only one there.

Obviously Duke Nestro did not attend the meeting.. I blinked at the sight of the man in front of Duke Cassan. Seeing the silver hair, I immediately knew who he was.

Veron overpowered the rabbit demon using a chain that I had no idea where it came from.

“You have a lot of people to protect. I said I will protect you,” he murmured.

I slumped onto the floor and looked at him.

He continued, “Don’t get me wrong, I had support from the Imperial Palace.”

I took a look at the wizard who had thrown the child forward. He was trembling but I saw in his fearful gaze that there were no regrets for what he did to that young child.

It can be scary. I am scared, too.

Still, while running away, you do not try to survive by causing harm to others. At that moment, my anger against that man arose. I was fed up with the existence of that man who was not only a noble, but also a wizard.

“I’m furious…” I muttered at the man who made eye contact with me.

Some people sacrifice themselves to save others while some sacrifice others to save themselves.

“How selfish your heart is, were you not aware?”

You knew, but you pretended that you were not.

“So, I’m really upset.”

I could not forgive him.

I did not want to see the demon or that man in front of me right now.

It was a moment when my heart felt cold and I could not express my anger in words.

Crunch-

It was like an optical illusion in front of me. The pieces of the red demon were burnt to a crisp and then turned into a powder that quickly seeped through the ground and disappeared.

I’m not sure what’s happening since I had never used my mind to activate the powers God had given me.

I stared blankly at the surreal scene in front of me but was interrupted by a scream.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!”

I was surprised, the child in my arm was surprised.

The nobles were not fully aware of the current situation. The same goes for the knights who just arrived from the palace. They got off their horses, with their mouths wide open.

The wizard rolled around and screamed in pain. He tried to move towards other people but he disappeared without a trace before he could reach them.

A breathtaking silence fell upon the shocking scene.

A noble broke the silence by muttering, “God…”

Is it really like that…?

If so, I’m really sorry. There was no guilt.

It was amazing that a person disappeared because of my thoughts but there was not a bit of regret.

I looked down at the child in my arms.

Blood rolled down my back but at least my body was still intact. The little child burst into tears when he made eye contact with me. When I heard the cries, I felt like I could release the breath I have been holding. If no one was around, I would have cried.

It hurt so much, only those who have to protect so many people would understand. Duke Cassan took off his jacket and placed it over my shoulder.

When I got up and saw the looks on their faces, I thought it was a fortunate moment. Judging by their expressions, it seemed like the agenda for lowering taxes and setting up orphanages would pass easily.

Holding onto Duke Cassan’s jacket on my shoulder, I slowly got up.

“Are you alright, dear?”

I lowered the child down as I turned my gaze towards the nobles.

I could not bear it anymore so I entrusted the child to Duke Cassan. He looked at me with a repressed expression and held out his hand.

“Please go inside.”

For a moment, I stared down at his hand blankly. Duke Cassan held the child in one arm while I held him gently on his other arm. We walked towards the temple, which was intact unlike the outer wall.

*********

Upon entering the temple, the quiet interior greeted me.

He supported me since I was unsteady due to my sore back. Thanks to my resilient body, this pain should not last long. I felt much better than before but I did not relax my hold on his hand.

I muttered, “The wound is not that deep, it might take a week or so…”

Duke Cassan looked down at me. I shrugged and let go of his hand.

“There is no separate treatment room inside the temple. It’s only because, as the saintess, I cannot be healed by the other priests.”

The reason I let go of this hand was because of the displeasure. It was not the displeasure from holding his hand but rather from the blood flowing down his arm. The wound on my back was not that deep whereas the wound on his arm was serious.

In fact, I had more trouble with my worn arms than my back. My arms were scratched and stabbed by the thorns of the demon and covered in blood. At first, I almost mistook the blood of the Duke as mine.

Still, no one was hurt as promised besides Duke Cassan. I really fought hard to protect them. The priests, the nobles, and the people.

I grabbed his arm and flipped it around. It revealed a nasty wound.

“Even if it hurts, please bear with it.”

He was holding the child in his other arm, who was now whimpering in his sleep. I looked at the child as I placed my hand over the duke’s wound and used my healing powers.

As I saw the wound healed, I removed my hand. A drop of the duke’s blood fell onto the floor.

He looked down at my arms and asked in a low voice, “You can’t heal yourself?”

“I’m afraid so. I have no other choice than to wait for it to heal on its own.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, that’s the part I have to bear.”

I looked at my arms and made a face. The pain from the wound was now a familiar feeling. There’s a bitter sensation when my body cleanses the remaining demon blood that entered my body through the wound. Not really a bitter sensation but kind of like a subtle feeling of a snake going through the body.

As I was looking at my arms, the duke held my arm again to support me.

“You have a big wound. There’s no risk of infection since you’re not an ordinary person. It’s recommended that you stay hydrated and get some rest.”

“Really? You seem to know it well.”

I was going to remove myself from his hold but decided not to deny his help in the end. We walked without hesitation towards my room.

“This is common sense.”

“Actually, I do not like medicine so everything you said is the best treatment.”

“I see.”

Even though the conversation stopped short, it was not awkward at all.

We stopped by a breakroom along the way. Duke Cassan placed the child on the sofa. He seemed hesitant about something he wanted to ask me.