"You have got to hurry up Aefia!" Puppet shouted at my ears as I held onto my mouth which was drooping blood onto the forest floor. My lungs felt like it was about to burst open.
"Aefia! You are bleeding out!"
"Yeah I know!"
I stopped to lean against a tree. I knew what Puppet was trying to do. It wanted me to get help from someone. However, I was too weak to travel that long distance right now. The situation of the past hour had made my mind go haywire, with me trying to calculate why exactly the Guardian of Everlasting health was onto me. She even wanted me dead while I was inside the dungoen. However, why would she help Cedric instead?
My knees gave out around that exact time due to my tiredness, and I felt like I may pass out.
"You know what Aefia?" Puppet spoke near my ears. "I will use that skill in your stead. You are too critically injured for–"
"No! Don't you even dare! This could be a trap by that Guardian!" I immediately protested. I couldn't even lift my finger anymore, and my eyes felt like shutting on themselves before I could even process the situation. My lungs gave me a hard time, but the determination caused me up again.
"You know what? I am fine now. But where in this entire capital do I find him? There are too many people to be searched in a short time."
Suddenly, the rustle leaves towards our direction caused me to sweep my gaze towards our direction.
"Aefia... Bandits!"
I withdrew Obsidian at my hand and held the extended blade in front of me in protest. Besides that, I gritted my teeth to force my strength out onto my hand that gripped my sword tightly. I was completely drained and injured, however, I won't use that as an excuse to stop me from fighting back.
My biological father didn't teach me all those hardcore lessons for nothing. He had implanted injuries and electronics onto me and left me without a care to fight, just like how I am used to do nowadays. I learnt all this thanks to someone I hate and because I had made a wrong decision when I was eight years old.
I slowly crept forward while holding my sword, completely ignoring my stabbed side. I decided, nonetheless, to use my combat skills and creep forward silently.
My silence wasn't really silent afterall.
"G—hah!"
The sound left my mouth as I leaned against a tree for support. There was a searing pain at my back that spanned a huge range. I have never in my life been hit like that at my back. Even my parents always went for my arms, legs and the back of my head. This time, I came to really understand how much it hurt to be—
"Aefia! Move out!" Puppet shouted at my direction as I looked backwards. Then, used my blade to stop the incoming blade.
"These aren't really bandits!" I shouted in shock, as I took in the situation around me. They were dead bodies brought back alive and were being used to kill me. No wonder, I knew it was odd that the beasts would suddenly reappear with a different appearance. And then the last one only died after my illusion died.
It really meant that the Guardian of Everlasting Health wasn't going to give up this easily unless I chose to hide myself from the territories that the Aethalgard could access. I knew exactly than that I really needed to claim a seat as the third Aethalgard, just so my security would be much more guaranteed.
Not only that... I think I needed the help of an Honorary Knight right now.
"Puppet... Hold out for me!" I shouted as I raced towards one end of the forest, not even knowing which way in truth and only moving randomly with the direction of the constellations. I didn't even know whether I remembered correctly, my memory on this topic was far too faint and rough.
My lungs didn't bare me the capacity and I had come to a stop right before I reached where I had wanted to. The abandoned fountain which would have lent me the immediate contact with the Honorary division, was blocked by a few more of those monsterous creatures.
"Tsk. Now what?" I whispered to myself as I looked back and forth, then stepped backwards. If I had a hiding place right now, I could have just stopped to think of a way to just dissappear like in the movies. But I was in an open forest which was being governed by a sick in the mind woman who I only met once. Whatever she is thinking... I am not giving away my powers again!
As soon as I felt like I had reached a dead end, I turned around and lifted the sleeve over my glowing symbol at my wrist. With that, I bit down on it.
I tried to use my canines to sink in and make it bleed. It pained me incredibly, since I wasn't an animal, it pained me mentally and physically. Then, I placed the dripping blood onto Obsidian and wiped the edges until it was slick enough.
I could feel a sudden shift behind me, and I used the slick part of the blade to simply stab a vital area. As I twisted the sword, the monster let out a shriek and fell backwards.
It had pulled my blade away from its wound as soon as it had fallen backwards. I smirked, as I watched blood bubble from its mouth. Following that, the places that my blood had contacted the mortified human, had started to corrode away. Eventually, the entire body dissolved into ashes. That was what happened if I wanted to use my Guardian authority against someone.
Of course everyone had their own way of doing it specific to their titles, and the title of the death was to corrode a literal human where my blood contacted. It was painful, and it was the way I would love to see my enemies die.
But besides that, it had a disadvantage.
It would kill me faster if I already had some sort of poison, toxin or venom in me. And if I am correct, I have all three at once. I had toxins from the sleeping pill, venom from those beasts and poison from my mithridatism.
Just in time, Puppet had come back to check on the situation. "Oh! So this place too is cranked up by these—"
"They will go away by themselves if I dissapear right now. So don't even bother." I swiftly instructed it while turning away towards the forest. "I will use that skill to teleport myself. However, before that... I need to do something." I added afterwards.
As I reached into my inventory, I extracted another sort of poison. Although it was very fatal, I wasn't guaranteed to die in less than fifteen minutes. The poison was named 'False Dawn' when I had stored it in the inventory, and the description was very appealing to me from the start. When the name came up in bold, I thought it maybe able to fake a death, however, that wasn't possible unless I really did die. Regardless though, before I knew it, I was already faking death.
I popped open the stopper, knowing full well about the symptoms and its durations. The poison would kill me in the next fifteen minutes if I didn't hurry. Within that fifteen minutes, five of them I would be unconscious.
During that time, starting from the next five seconds of the ingestion, I would be in a state of euphoria. None of my pain would be bothering me, and I would be able to move faster than usual. My brain would be able to work faster than its usual response time. If that happens, I can escape faster.
Without a second of hesitation, I titled my head all the way back and downed the entire vile in a single gulp. Then, discarded the vile and looked towards the distant forest.
A few of them were approaching me again, but only this time, as I shut my eyes, my entire body took a full one eighty degrees turn from what I had expected.
The sixth second of the ingestion, I had already killed another of those possesed humans. A smile flashed onto my face as I turned to stab another one.
"Ha! I can't feel a single one of my injuries! What was this even made from?"
It is true... That I took things with similar effects as this poison, and less fatal. But why does this lethal dose feel more satisfying?
"Aefia! What are you doing?!" Puppet shouted in panic as it took a look at my face. But stopped suddenly in front of me. "Did you just take a beauty pill or something?"
"What?"
"Why are you so pale?! You look like a ghost!"
"Of course I do! I lost a lot of blood!"
The remaining of the battle, my ears were ringing. Until I finally managed to murder all of them. Following that, I switched my blade to Spectrum. I know I vowed to not kill anyone, but I... Was in a difficult position.
"Alright... I am using that skill." I whispered to Puppet as I let Obsidian dissapear into my inventory. Then activated the skill.
Although it could be said that space distortion is simply just cutting through the places, it is far more complicated than what it seemed. Because the skill helped to link this place to the one I want to go to, and when I do, the space doesn't crumble into a dungoen and helps me move without changing anything else along with me. So it was to make sure the space-time fabric could self-heal right after I moved locations.
And that is also why, Pandora was at her sick bed. She is the one who grants the permission for the space-time fabric to heal itself.
Nonetheless, I moved between the distorted place and found myself at the foot of a newly made mansion in a very familiar place.
"Oh... So—"
"You have been teleported to the place he is staying. Don't even bother asking more than this." Puppet interrupted me. "I controlled it. Don't mind me, and get healed. Climb through the window."
I didn't know exactly how Puppet knew. But then, I was grateful that it knew. I smiled at it, and continued towards the window that it took me towards.
To think, that right after I had given him the ownership stone, he would actually use it to this kind of use. How long did it take to make it from ground up?
As I climbed through a tree, I could see that he was staring out the window. It seemed that he didn't detect the change in air right in front of him. Not only that, did he not have any other work?
But honestly, I was actually glad to see that he was alright. It was a bitter-sweet smile that popped on my face to think that he wasn't even trained properly and that he was doing just fine. As the timer in my system showed just how much time was left for me, I let out a sigh.
"Do I really have to do this? Like right now? Don't I always seem bothersome to him?" I asked Puppet beside me. "Maybe there is another way?"
Puppet stared at me with disbelieve for a very long time. Then spoke while smacking the back of my head.
"Have you gone insane?! Then why did you take the poison?! Not only that! You have literal venom flowing down your fingers!"
"Ow! Alright alright!" I responded while turning back to look at the window, only to notice that he was finally gone. "Just one more question."
"What?"
"Do I look terrifying or just bad?"
"Aefia!"
"Alright fine! I am going!"
With that, I leaped the last length onto the open window latch.
***
"How long has it been? A week since I last met her?" Helio let out a sigh while leaning away from the window latch. "She should be able to gather the ingredients by now. Other than that, she might be injured and trying to recover before she meets me.
"Well then I am jealous. How does she think she has a right to get treated by another person than me?! I am much better trained in this medium! I have the healing element for a reason!
"Other then that... Could she have died on the way?
"Maybe not that though, the beasts are very strong. However... How much can she hold on to? Does she have another combatant by her side?
"Maybe not that too... But she could have taken me along!
"Yes! Exactly! I could have gone along! So then if she was hurt I could have treated her almost instantly!
"But she doesn't have her phone anymore... So how was she going to text me?!
"But if I am correct, she was in the same house as Nada! She could have contacted me somehow!"
Helio paced the room back and forth, while contemplating through his own arguments and assumptions. While tapping his chin with his index finger. Just when he had come back to lean against the window seal, he quieted down.
Or maybe she is handling her own work first. Then she plans on seeking the cure.
Finally, he leaned back against the window seal, and as he did, he happened to hear a knock on the latch too. Due to the sound, he turned his gaze to the side, and stood still as he was. He stayed silent for a moment. His breathe hitched slightly at the sight of her.
"Are you a hallucination or a fairy who took the shape of Aefia?"
"But what is it that you think?" Aefia asked while tilting her head, a smile popping onto her blood-stained lips. She sat on the extended wall from the window. Her legs swinging right next to his standing figure.
No way she actually spoke. He thought while trying to keep calm. "I think you are a beast."
"..." Aefia looked around the room, in search of a mirror. Before sweeping her gaze back to his direction. "Do I really look that bad?"
"What sort of a beast are you to think Aefia looks any sense bad?!" Helio asked while casting an angered gaze at her direction. Her eyes widened with the response.
"Do you always think like that?"
"Like what?"
"..."
Aefia precariously leaned forward while placing a hand at her mouth to avoid the blood from spilling after trying to surpress a cough. She knew this was it, and grabbed his wrist to place a single crumbled leave on his palm before toppling forward.