Instinctive magical power burst forth, but it was unstable and couldn’t be controlled accurately.
Still, the urgency to do something compelled her to act.
“Ugh…!”
She extended her hand to activate a spell, but pain came upon her, and while she vomited bl**d, her vision wavered.
Indeed, the effects of her injuries and the damage to her mana hindered her.
‘So, it still can’t be used…?’
She felt fear welling up from within her chest.
After the magical surge, when she awoke and realized she could no longer wield the mana that had been like her own limbs, she felt deep despair.
An even deeper despair overwhelmed her now as she felt helpless to act during Adolf Kareha’s time of peril, even though he had been the one to save her.
The monster was about to finish Adolf Kareha off.
“I am… I am the princess of the Empire!”
Aisia extended her palm towards the ogre.
Though she couldn’t cast any offensive magic that would catch the ogre’s attention, the most basic light magic, ‘Light,’ was emitted from her hand, and a blinding light filled the cave, making it seem as white as snow.
Everyone, including the ogre, was startled by the sudden light and staggered back.
‘Aisia Lil Shuhain!’
Taking this moment without hesitation, Adolf Kareha rose again and narrowly avoided the ogre’s attack, like a bullfighter dodging the charge of a bull.
Despite a forehead covered in bl**d, an injured arm, and a broken shield that dragged behind him, he did not retreat even once.
As the monster lunged again, Adolf led it towards the wall, circled around, and moved to the side before issuing an exhausted command.
“Now’s the time, pin the monster into the corner and unleash your attacks!”
Simultaneously, knights, archers, and mages who had secured a safe distance within the cave launched a combined assault.
A magic circle concealed behind the wall activated, and beams of light struck the monster.
The archers quickly fired their arrows, and the knights took advantage of the openings to strike with their swords.
The ogre let out a roaring cry of pain and shook the cave.
The final blow was delivered by Adolf Kareha, who gathered his remaining strength, positioned his blade beside the monster’s head, and finished it. With a shriek, the ogre slowly collapsed.
“We’ve defeated it!”
The officers and soldiers cheered, but Adolf Kareha collapsed on the spot.
“Haah… haah…”
His breathing was heavy.
His wounds had already reached their limit, and the pain was making his body unresponsive.
If the ogre hadn’t targeted Aisia, Adolf Kareha might have turned the tide of battle.
With accumulated injuries, he leaned on his sword to try and stand again.
“General!”
Soldiers rushed to support him.
“We need a healer!”
“The princess… is she safe?”
She had used magic—she, who hadn’t yet recovered from the aftereffects of the previous magical surge, had still cast a spell.
The backlash was going to be immense.
He worried, scanning his surroundings with blurry vision.
Aisia was sitting to the side, struggling to catch her breath, though she appeared relatively uninjured despite her exhaustion.
“It seems you don’t have to worry, Your Highness is unharmed.”
The officer conveyed this in relief.
At this, Adolf Kareha smiled faintly and closed his eyes.
Even as consciousness began to fade, the relief that she was safe filled his heart.
Aisia, having witnessed all this, took a shaky breath with trembling fingertips.
“Phew… Phew… I owe him again, don’t I…”
Slowly emerging from the shock, she whispered to herself.
Through this battle, her heart had been deeply shaken.
Though she couldn’t completely let down her guard yet, at least she now knew that Adolf Kareha wasn’t merely a deceitful hypocrite and that she had herself moved for his sake. Aisia began to trust Adolf Kareha.
“There’s no way he’d sacrifice himself this much for nothing.”
Deep within her chest, she felt rising guilt and regret.
His injuries now were undoubtedly the price he had paid to protect her.
Soldiers quickly placed Adolf Kareha on a stretcher and attempted to treat him.
Aisia watched him, feeling a mix of indescribable emotions stir within her.
“It’s hard to keep blaming and hating him now…”
She slowly rose from her seat.
Her trembling steps were supported by others.
“Are you all right…?”
A nurse worriedly asked, but Aisia replied with a shaky voice.
“I’m fine. Please take care of him right now…”
She slowly approached where Adolf Kareha lay.
Her heart was conflicted.
She didn’t understand why she was so concerned about his condition.
“What should I do now?”
She questioned herself.
“Does Adolf Kareha truly desire my cooperation for this?”
Aisia lacked certainty about her own feelings.
Was she still going to be nothing more than a trophy princess? Along with her uncertain future, the betrayal of the homeland she had leaned on swirled in her thoughts.
As ancient ruins, where the boundary between day and night had become obscure, were faintly illuminated by a weak light, time seemed to pass unnoticed.
The corridors, constructed of marble, were collapsing in places, and piles of stones were scattered. Moss and ivy grew wildly, covering the walls and the floor.
The deeper they ventured, the stronger the smell of rotting earth and humidity became, and cold winds seeped in, sending shivers down their spines.
“Is this the right way?”
An officer quietly inquired.
His voice echoed within the corridor, reverberating from far away.
“According to the records, it is.”
Adolf Kareha wiped the sweat from his brow and replied.
His eyes, weary from the tension and battles that had continued day and night, remained resolute.
It was the third day they had been exploring the depths of the ruins.
They had encountered numerous monsters and traps in its maze-like structure, enduring attacks from enemies. Though everyone was worn out, they couldn’t stop advancing toward their goal.
Their goal was the ancient relic known as the “Tears of Life,” and Adolf burned with the intention of finding it to cure Aisia.
However, the exploration was not a simple task.
Hidden traps had placed the soldiers in danger multiple times, and those who relaxed their guard for a moment were almost killed.
No one knew when another monster would suddenly appear or when an unnoticed mechanism would activate. Everyone had to remain on high alert.
Meanwhile, Aisia continued to be surrounded by her protective guards, and Adolf Kareha kept distance from her just like before, refusing to allow her direct involvement in combat as he had done previously.
In light of this, Aisia felt herself growing angry with her own sense of powerlessness over the past few days, especially as she witnessed Adolf repeatedly putting himself in danger to protect her and the soldiers from monsters and traps.
“This man treats me like a shield rather than realizing I could be the shield myself…”
Nevertheless, Aisia was overwhelmed with complicated feelings.
Her memories of rushing to Adolf’s side during the battle with a group of monsters recently to treat his wound haunted her constantly.
That battle had taken place in a massive hall at the center of the ruins, which looked like an old ruin.
Throughout the area, ancient hieroglyphs were inscribed, and at the center stood a rough stone altar.
Near the altar, strange monsters guarding it roared and attacked fiercely.
“Everyone, disperse!”
Adolf cried out to the commanding officers, and the soldiers split left and right, moving to their designated positions.
However, due to the monsters being much more ferocious and of a vast size, several soldiers fell within moments.
“We need to peel off their armor! Their hides are too tough, the swords won’t bite!”
An officer shouted, his voice trembling, and the archers retreated, attempting to fire arrows, but the monster’s violent movement made it difficult to hit accurately, and the arrows bounced off its thick hide.
Soon, Adolf signaled to the elite knights to disperse to the sides and attempt a coordinated attack.
“Now! Push them back!”
His voice echoed across the battlefield, and the knights charged en masse.
However, the monster slammed its heavy foreleg into the ground, creating a shockwave, and several knights were thrown back, groaning.
“d*mn, it’s this strong!”
Even the officer couldn’t hide his panic.
At that moment, Adolf wiped sweat from under his helmet, gripped his sword tightly.
“I’ll lure it. The rest of you, retreat and find its weak points immediately.”
“It’s dangerous! General!”
The officer tried to stop him, but Adolf had already darted out.
He ran a few steps toward the monster and delivered a powerful slash.
BOOM!
A slight wound appeared on the monster’s foreleg, but the monster glared with an enraged gaze and swung at Adolf.
He barely avoided the first attack by twisting his body, but as he tried to counter the second incoming blow, he staggered.
The impact sent him crashing into the altar’s side.
Clutching his teeth, he stood up once again.
His armor was partially damaged, making metallic squeaking sounds, but his eyes never left the target.
“Now, archers!”
The officer seized the opportunity to shout.
The archers at the rear fired arrows en masse.
The arrows struck the monster’s sides and waist, causing it to howl and waver.
“I’m next!”
From the side, the knights charged forward, striking the monster’s lower body.
The monster let out a cry of pain, swaying violently and attempting to change its attack direction.
“Good. There’s an opening.”
Adolf dashed once more.
He dove underneath the monster’s foreleg, aiming an accurate blow at its joint.
Even through its thick armor, a substantial impact resounded, and as the monster’s bl**d splattered, part of its armor was breached.
“I’ll finish it!”
He bellowed, raising his sword high.
But just then, the monster twisted its body in one final desperate attack.
Both its forelegs swung wildly, unleashing an immense counterattack aimed at Adolf.
“Be careful!”
The surrounding soldiers cried out, but his reaction was a step behind.
The accumulated fatigue and repeated attempts to attack had slowed his body from reacting as quickly as before.
“Ugh!”
He groaned in agony as the monster’s foreleg struck him forcefully, causing him to tumble across the ground.
The armor split open, and bl**d seeped from the torn areas.
Breathing grew labored as the pain surged from his chest, but he gritted his teeth.
