Chapter 14
"Who sent you?" Damnern asked.
The raider looked at Damnern, unable to speak. He realized he had made a grave mistake by targeting the wrong person this time.
"P… please let me go…" the raider pleaded.
"Answer my question!" Damnern cut in sharply, his gaze piercing.
"Hehhh! Forgive me," the raider begged again, not daring to meet Damnern's eyes.
Losing his patience with the raider's useless whimpering, Damnern decided he had no information to offer. It was time to end this.
Clack!
Huh?! The raider staggered, confusion flashing across his face.
Damnern swung his glowing fist with savage fury to end him, but the strike slammed harmlessly into a perfectly round, shimmering barrier. The Absolute Shield flared brightly, absorbing the impact before violently rebounding the force back at its attacker.
The shockwave slammed into Damnern, shoving him backward. The ground beneath his feet exploded and cratered, yet his legs remained planted like ancient pillars. Not a single inch did he yield.
Confidence returned to him once the shield successfully blocked Damnern's attack.
For a brief moment, he had feared the worst. After all, Damnern was one of the Pillars of Dominance. But now, seeing the shield remain intact, his terror quickly gave way to arrogance.
"HAHAHA!" The raider threw his head back and laughed maniacally, even as tears of pain streamed from his bloodshot eyes. "You can't break through my sigil, you pathetic worm!"
He spread his arms wide, pride dripping from every word.
"I call this masterpiece… Absolute Shield!"
With a twisted grin, he drew his bow again, nocking arrow after arrow and unleashing a relentless storm of projectiles toward Damnern.
"HAHAHA! How do you like that, you bastard?! My Absolute Shield blocks anything from the outside with absolute perfection! But from within… I can slaughter you as I please!"
He laughed wildly between shots. "Even my boss, Lord Shadow, cannot break this shield! So tell me—what the hell are you going to do now?!"
Yet Damnern stood motionless, his cold eyes tracking every arrow. He moved not a single step, yet every shot missed its mark as if reality itself bent around him. At the final arrow, his hand shot out like lightning and caught it mid-flight.
A holy, radiant portal tore open beside him with a resonant chime.
"Judgement Sword…" Damnern whispered, his voice low and chilling.
A magnificent blade of pure, searing light slowly emerged from the portal, humming with divine power. The very air around it trembled.
"Let's see," Damnern said coldly, gripping the hilt, "if your precious shield can withstand even 5% of the Judgement Sword's strength."
SLASH!
The blade descended.
CRAAAACK!
A cataclysmic shockwave erupted. Trees groaned and bent violently. The Absolute Shield screamed as deep, glowing fractures spiderwebbed across its surface. For a brief moment, the raider's face twisted in disbelief and fear again.
"You… you should know about the Solv River," Damnern said, his voice dark and heavy with restrained rage. "Or have you already forgotten?"
"S-Solv River…?" The raider's voice cracked, panic flooding his mind. His confidence shattered.
Damnern's expression turned murderous.
"Let me remind you."
"HEH! ARGGGHHH!" The raider screamed in terror and unleashed another desperate barrage of glowing arrows.
"10%," Damnern uttered coldly.
The holy sword rose once more and came down in a deceptively light, almost graceful arc.
SLASH!
TINK!
CRAAAAASH!
The Absolute Shield exploded into countless shimmering fragments. The same invisible force continued onward, slicing through the trees behind the raider like they were made of paper. A clean, perfect line appeared across his neck.
The raider's eyes widened in horror.
"…Monster…" he choked out, blood bubbling at his lips.
His head slid cleanly from his shoulders and tumbled through the air, landing with a heavy thump at Damnern's feet.
The Judgement Sword dissolved into sparkling particles of golden light, vanishing as if it had never existed.
"Lord Shadow, huh?" Damnern murmured quietly, staring into the distance. The name lingered in his thoughts like a dark omen.
For a few moments, he stood in silence.
Then he looked down at himself.
His shirt was little more than rags, soaked with blood. Every single drop belonged to the raiders he had just slaughtered. The pungent, metallic scent of battle still clung tightly to him.
Damnern frowned.
He remembered Elina's words.
"One more thing—don't show any side of yourself in front of Elyra again."
Srrrkk!
He ripped off what remained of his ruined shirt before using it to wipe away the blood staining his skin.
Despite the sheer violence of the battle he had just walked out of, his pale skin underneath was flawlessly pristine. There wasn't a single scratch, bruise, or laceration on his torso.
Using the cleanest parts of the shredded fabric, he began wiping away the enemy's blood that covered his skin. Crimson stains smeared across the cloth as he aggressively cleaned his arms, his broad chest, and his face, trying to erase every trace of the massacre.
When he was finished, he looked down at the blood-soaked cloth in his hand with disgust.
A small, intense flame flickered at his fingertips.
Fwoosh.
The cloth instantly caught fire, turning to ash within seconds before the wind scattered the remains across the forest floor.
Still, some traces remained.
Faint streaks of dried blood clung stubbornly to his skin.
A dark stain lingered near his jaw.
Beneath the blood stains, there were only old scars.
There was only so much he could hide.
After a moment, Damnern exhaled and walked toward the carriage.
Inside the carriage, silence hung heavily in the air.
Elyra sat motionless in Elina's embrace. Her face was pale, her trembling hands clenched tightly against her chest.
"It's okay, sweetheart," Elina whispered softly, stroking her hair. "You're safe now."
But Elyra wasn't listening.
Her mind was still on the arrow that had flown straight toward Elina.
If Damnern hadn't been there, the arrow might have struck Mama.
The guilt was crushing.
Why am I so weak?
The thought kept repeating, cutting deeper each time.
Why am I the one being protected?
Tears began falling silently.
You fool, Ryudien...
When did you become such a burden?
The self-hatred burned deeper than any wound.
She had been given a loving family.
A warm home.
Parents who would gladly throw themselves into danger for her.
Yet when it mattered most—
She couldn't do anything.
Nothing at all.
A tear slid down her cheek.
Then another.
"Mama..."
Her voice was barely audible.
"Why did you pwotect me?"
Elina looked down at her daughter in surprise.
Then she smiled softly.
A smile so warm it could melt winter itself.
"Because you're my daughter."
She gently wiped away Elyra's tears.
"Do I need any other reason than that?"
Those simple words shattered the walls Elyra had desperately tried to maintain.
Her shoulders trembled.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
She lowered her head, unable to stop crying.
Eldern, who had remained silent in Elina's arms until now, suddenly pulled Elyra into his arms also.
His embrace was strong.
Steady.
Safe.
"Don't worry."
His voice carried absolute certainty.
"Papa will defeat every one of those villains."
Elyra cried even harder.
In that moment, a quiet fire kindled deep in her heart.
One day… I will become strong.
Strong enough to protect Mama and Eldern.
Strong enough that Mama would never have to risk her life for me again.
The carriage suddenly shook.
The door slowly creaked open.
Everyone turned toward it.
A familiar figure stood outside.
Damnern.
His upper body was bare.
Dried blood stained his skin.
Yet despite everything, he still managed a smile.
A tired smile.
"It's okay," he said softly.
The moment Elyra saw him, her body tensed.
Her breath hitched.
Memories she wished she could bury resurfaced without warning.
She lowered her gaze immediately.
She couldn't bring herself to look at him.
"Everything is—"
When Damnern saw Elyra he noticed at once.
"—fine now."
He always did.
End of Chapter 14