Chapter 86: Triumphal Ceremony (3)

Calin, enveloping the princess's body, did not lose his strength and accurately launched himself in the opposite direction of the bomb.

While using the wind to protect the princess's entire body, he did not use much of it on himself.

The explosion that occurred right in front of him. Even if he had blocked it for the princess, he could not have remained unscathed.

Moreover, without knowing the destructive power of the bomb, he could not guarantee the princess's safety even if he used all his strength.

‘Still, I have the Ironman.’

This was the judgment he made in an instant. Kwaang! The explosion and the shock felt throughout his body happened simultaneously.

The heavy shock wave shook his body.

The deafening noise made his ears ring. In a state of extreme concentration, the moment felt slow to Calin.

In the scorching heat, the princess's startled eyes, tightly held in his arms, were vividly clear.

Because he did not completely block the wind, Calin could not avoid the aftermath of the explosion.

Light and heavy debris struck his back and legs with tremendous speed and force.

This moment felt slow for the princess as well.

With her eyes wide open, the princess was captivated by a strange sensation. The feeling of being held and flying in Calin's arms was vivid.

‘What on earth is this...’

She could see numerous things falling on top of her, but they did not touch her body.

The shock wave was the same.

Through the partially visible view over Calin's shoulder, a massive pillar of flame rose where the building had been.

However, she did not feel any heat. The heavy debris flying through the dust did not affect her either.

Is this even possible?

Because their bodies were touching, she could feel the impact of something hitting the knight who was holding her.

Despite this, she remained unharmed. It felt as if an invisible protective barrier was cast over her body.

‘Did Schurtafen do something again?’

In the slow perception of time, the princess noticed something strange. It was an impossible situation.

But Calin had no time to entertain such doubts.

Thud! His head shook with the sound. His mind went numb, and his vision blurred.

The recognition of the situation came a little later.

A heavy piece of debris had struck the back of his head. Realizing this belatedly, the ground was right in front of him.

Even in his dazed state, Calin turned his body in mid-air.

He absorbed the impact of the fall with his back, mitigating it. His already bloodied back slid on the ground.

As soon as the momentum stopped, Calin immediately turned his body to cover the princess with his own.

The debris that had soared high in the sky was descending due to gravity. Heat and debris rained down.

Thud, thud, thud—The pain from the impact became clear. The back of his body burned.

Heat flowed down his head. Drip. A drop of blood fell beside the lying princess.

It was the blood flowing from Calin's head, down his face. Half of his face was drenched in blood.

“Gahhh!”

The triumphal ceremony. The road, once filled with flowers and cheers, was now a wasteland.

Whether dead or alive, it was hard to find anyone with intact limbs.

Amidst the thick smoke, flames, and dust, the cries, groans, and screams of unseen people overflowed.

The princess looked at Calin with wide, shocked eyes. From her appearance, she seemed to be on the verge of death.

“S-Schurtafen, a-are you...”

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

Calin barely managed to hold onto his consciousness. He had absorbed all the impacts from close range.

Thanks to the warning of death avoidance, he reacted and avoided in time, so he did not die. However, if he were not an Ironman, he would have lost a limb in the explosion.

But he could not lose consciousness. He had to be prepared for additional attacks.

Calin regained his composure. The princess, lying down, nodded.

She was more worried about Calin than herself. His blood was still flowing.

“I am fine. You...”

“Please stand up. It is still dangerous.”

Calin helped the princess to her feet and immediately drew his sword. In that moment, his body staggered.

It was due to the strong blow to his head. He opened his eyes wide, but his vision blurred, and shapes appeared tripled.

“Schurtafen, are you alright?”

“I am fine.”

Calin tried to maintain his posture as much as possible. Since he could not trust his vision, he focused on the wind.

The sensation he felt. There were no approaching people. No one with ill intentions. But he had to be cautious.

The explosion had gone off as the princess passed by. It was a precise attack aimed at her.

He had to be prepared for additional attacks.

“Your Highness!”

People were approaching. They were not few in number. They were the knights who had been at the back.

They guarded the surroundings without drawing attention.

“Your Highness! Are you alright?”

In the thick dust, Emmit, who was in a terrible state, appeared. Calin's mouth opened in shock.

Emmit's left arm was gone. Blood flowed profusely from the severed elbow.

“...Emmit! Your arm!”

“I am fine. Is Your Highness unharmed?”

The princess, with wide eyes, nodded. She was also in a daze.

Her two bodyguards were on the verge of death.

Emmit had lost an arm, and Calin was bleeding all over from protecting her.

The princess barely pulled herself together. She did not want to be a burden to her bodyguards.

Fortunately, there were no additional attacks while Calin and Emmit were protecting her.

People who were outside the blast radius were helping the bodyguards, and Luedern ran over.

“Your Highness! Are you alright!”

In response to the repeated question, the princess answered immediately.

“I am fine. However, Emmit and Schurtafen...”

“I am still fine.”

“I am as well.”

Calin and Emmit answered. They did not look fine, but both were highly tense.

Seeing their determined faces, Luedern nodded heavily. There was no other way to deal with the situation.

“Let's go to the palace first. Only...”

“Sir Luedern! The second prince has already headed to the palace!”

Luedern's subordinate ran over and shouted. The second prince, who was at the front, had taken a detour and headed to the palace at the same time as the explosion.

It was a good judgment to prioritize his life. Luedern moved his steps.

“Let's go. I will protect you.”

On the way back to the palace, Emmit had roughly stopped the bleeding from his severed arm, but he could not completely stop the blood flow.

Calin also felt his eyes closing. But he gritted his teeth and endured. It felt like a long time before they reached the palace.

“Sirs, please go and receive treatment. Your conditions are not good.”

“I will leave Your Highness in your care.”

In response to Luedern's words, Emmit immediately turned around. It was urgent to get treatment, and he trusted Luedern.

However, Calin remained in place.

“You should go as well.”

“No, I will stay.”

Calin shook his head.

If it was indeed an attack by demon worshippers, who knew what they might do next.

“Schurtafen, I am fine. Please go. You look very bad.”

“Who knows. There might be another attack...”

“Don't worry, I am here. Surely you don't doubt me.”

...Right. With a Sword Master around. Calin reconsidered in response to Luedern's words.

He was too worried. His mind was not clear.

Even if they were demon worshippers, they could not cause chaos inside the palace.

Considering the amount of explosives... it was likely that the terror attack was the last one.

If it were not for Calin, the terror attack would not have been stopped. The warning of death avoidance meant that even Calin was in danger.

Calin was the closest to the building. Next was the princess.

Emmit, who was the farthest away, lost an arm. If it were not for the wind and the warning of death avoidance, the princess would have been seriously injured or killed.

From the perspective of the demon worshippers, they would not have prepared anything more.

“Alright. I will leave it to you.”

Perhaps it was due to the delayed relief and the release of tension. As Calin answered, he felt his vision lowering.

The ground was getting closer. He fainted. Luedern caught the falling Calin.

“Schurtafen!”

In the fading consciousness, the last thing Calin heard was the princess's voice.

* * *

“Ugh...”

Before opening his eyes, he felt the heaviness of his body. It felt like he had soaked in water.

He had no strength, and his head was dizzy.

He could sense someone beside him. It was not someone who would harm him.

When he opened his eyes, a doctor was there. He looked simple and honest. Sunlight came in through the window.

“Sir, are you conscious?”

“...Is the princess alright?”

His voice was hoarse. His throat was dry. The doctor nodded.

“Yes. Fortunately, she is not injured at all. It is quite remarkable. I heard that you protected her.”

“After that...”

“Nothing happened.”

“That's a relief.”

The doctor smiled contentedly.

“Showing such loyalty as soon as you wake up, indeed, your reputation is not exaggerated.”

“Reputation?”

“Oh, about protecting the princess. The news has already spread throughout the capital. You are called a noble and loyal vassal.”

Ah, that's what he means. Of course, in this person's eyes. This is a matter of the fate of the continent.

I cleared my throat and asked.

“If the news has spread, how long was I unconscious?”

“You were unconscious for a whole day. You woke up sooner than expected.”

A day.

Perhaps it was thanks to the Ironman. It was the first time I had experienced such a shock.

In any case, Erendil was fine, and I was curious about what happened after.

“Was the culprit caught?”

“Not yet. They say a body that was hard to identify was found at the blast site... but there is no other news. I heard that the intelligence agency is busy.”

“I see.”

What I saw with the wind was one person. There might be accomplices, but it was almost certain that they were demon worshippers.

Considering the amount of explosives, it was obvious.

However, this was a different story from what I knew. If I were not there, Erendil would have died.

I could clearly feel that the future was changing because of me.

“Is Sir Emmit alright?”

“He lost an arm and suffered burns, but it is not life-threatening.”

The doctor's expression was not good. For a knight to lose an arm was not a good thing.

“Who is guarding the princess now?”

“By the emperor's order, Sir Luedern is guarding her. She was a direct target, after all.”

If Luedern is guarding her, there is no need to worry.

“Sir, you should rest. You woke up sooner than expected, but you were seriously injured. You lost a lot of blood. You need to rest for a few days.”

The direct impact was the blow to the head. Perhaps it was a concussion. There was no need to worry.

With the Ironman, recovery would be quick. I nodded, and I sensed movement outside.

The doctor had not done anything since I woke up. What is it? Did I hear voices?

“Duke Schwabe has come to visit.”

Duke Schwabe? Why is he here?

Like Haisen's intelligence chief, Havan Bursic, Duke Schwabe was the intelligence chief of the empire.

In other words, the head of the imperial intelligence agency had come to visit. The doctor looked at me.

“I am fine now that I am awake.”

“You can come in.”

The doctor opened the door himself. A man in his early fifties with a blank expression appeared.

The doctor scratched his head.

“He just woke up, how did you know...”

“I have been waiting. I had one of my men stationed nearby.”

“Oh...”

“I want to talk to him alone. Is that alright?”

With the clear dismissal, the doctor bowed and left the room. I looked at the duke while lying down.

“Given my condition, please forgive my rudeness.”

“I heard you just woke up. It is my fault. I am the one who should be sorry.”

“No, did you catch the culprit?”

Duke Schwabe shook his head.

“Not yet.”

“Then why did you come?”

“Let me tell you a story. I heard that you were the first to notice the explosion.”

The duke's eyes lit up as he said this.

“Before it happened.”

I had a moment of realization. I had done it to save the princess, but it might have looked strange to others.

Especially if they were suspicious, there could be various interpretations.

It was something that could only be done if you knew the situation in advance. Perhaps a turned accomplice, or an act to gain trust.

Calin, who had just woken up with a dazed mind, quickly thought.

“How did you notice the explosion without any warning?”

The duke asked with a sharp gaze.