Chapter 8

As I hurried into the cabin with Evan, we found a man holding an old sword and Mariabel, her hands bound.

It seemed she had been stabbed multiple times; her clothes were stained red in several places, and she was sobbing. The sight of her in such a pitiful state made me want to cry.

In the original story, Mariabel would have eventually died after being continuously tortured like this.

"…………"

I immediately rushed to Mariabel, while Evan, drawing his sword, stood protectively in front of us, facing the man.

"It's okay, we're here to save you."

"……uh, ……hic… so scary… ugh…"

Seeing her covered in dirt and injuries, looking completely different from her usual self, my heart ached.

I was sure Mariabel was only 14 years old. Why did she have to suffer like this?

Feeling helpless, I started to cut the ropes on her hands with the dagger Yan had given me for protection. As I did, the man standing there clicked his tongue.

"What, you guys? How did you find this place?"

"What were you doing here?"

"Can't you see? I was trying to kill the precious princess of the Windslett Dukedom."

The dirty-looking man laughed menacingly. The next moment, Evan had pinned him to the ground, his sword at the man's throat.

This man, who had used a magical artifact to summon monsters, was supposed to be a former noble who had lost his title. He was no match for Evan, a knight.

"Should we not kill him?"

"Yeah, that's right. I want him to be captured."

I wasn't familiar with the country's laws, but it wasn't right to kill a criminal without due process. Although I felt like doing just that, considering Zain, it was better for him to be judged properly.

Feeling a bit relieved, I took out my healing supplies from my pouch, intending to tend to Mariabel's wounds. But she shook her head slightly.

"I'm, I'm okay. I can use healing magic."

"Really? Wow, that's amazing…!"

As she said this, Mariabel placed her hands on her body. Her wounds, which were immediately enveloped in a soft, gentle light, healed in an instant.

I was amazed by the beauty and power of the healing magic I had never seen before, and I felt relieved that she wouldn't have to suffer any more pain.

"It's really good…."

After healing all her wounds, Mariabel looked at me with red eyes.

"Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

"Um, why did you save me…? We met at Madame Rico's shop at noon, right?"

"Um, that's—"

Indeed, from her perspective, it must have been confusing and even scary for someone she had only briefly met at noon to suddenly come to her rescue in the middle of nowhere.

As I struggled to find the right words, a loud, unfamiliar sound suddenly echoed through the cabin.

"Huh, what…!?"

The man's body had transformed into a giant monster. His massive form broke through the cabin's ceiling, and he was spitting fire from his mouth.

"I didn't expect this man to have the drug…."

The drug that turns humans into monsters was supposed to appear in Volume 2. It was likely that he had the drug all along but didn't need to use it because we weren't supposed to interfere.

Cold sweat trickled down my back at this unexpected turn of events.

"Wow, humans can turn into monsters. That's interesting."

"Not at all!"

Despite the monstrous man roaring like an earthquake, Evan remained calm.

Mariabel was gripping my clothes tightly with her trembling hands. In such a situation, anyone would be terrified. I reassured her, "Don't worry, he's strong."

"But it might take some time. We have the worst compatibility."

"Can you defeat it?"

"Definitely. It's best for you to stay away since it's dangerous, but if anything happens, call me immediately."

"Okay, I understand. Be careful, Evan."

I felt bad for putting all the pressure on Evan, but I had to stay safe in the meantime.

The cabin was starting to catch fire and collapse, so we evacuated outside. I planned to stay at a distance and watch Evan, but then—

Mariabel, trembling, pointed behind me.

"Be, behind…!"

"Huh?"

When I turned around, I saw three wolf-like monsters, just like the one Evan had defeated earlier.

"No way…."

Evan was still in the middle of the battle, and by the time I tried to call out to him, the monsters were already baring their fangs and charging at us.

Even if I called out to Evan, it wouldn't be in time.

"…………!"

In that moment, I quickly thrust my hand into the ground and used earth magic to create a wall around us.

But soon, the ground shook with thuds, and I realized they were ramming into the wall. The wall, which was not very durable, started to crumble.

I had only been using magic for a few days and didn't know how to make it stronger. I prayed it would hold for just a little longer and poured all my magic power into it.

"It's okay, I don't think it would be good if I died here."

I repeated these words, which sounded more like a wish, to Mariabel and to myself. Tears were streaming down her trembling face.

The monsters continued to ram into the wall, and cracks started to form. I kept using magic, believing Evan would come to our rescue, but then—

"…………?"

Suddenly, the noise stopped, and it became quiet. I couldn't hear much from outside, so I didn't know what had happened.

Monsters aren't very intelligent, so they wouldn't have stopped attacking to make us let our guard down. Evan might have come to help.

Despite this thought, I was too afraid to drop the magic, just in case.

"Uh?"

Suddenly, the earth wall crumbled. I closed my eyes tightly, but no debris fell on us, and I didn't feel any pain.

"–Big brother."

A few seconds later, Mariabel's voice made my heart skip a beat. I slowly lifted my head.

"…………"

In that instant, I understood who he was.

Or rather, I was made to understand. His overwhelming aura and violent beauty were mesmerizing.

His hair was like shining silver, and his eyes were a dazzling golden, like the sun.

He was so beautiful that no cliché words I knew could describe him. He—Zain Windslett—was breathtakingly beautiful.