Descargar la aplicación
2.13% Bride of the Demon Lord / Chapter 7: Encounter With a Darkling (2)

Capítulo 7: Encounter With a Darkling (2)

Iris stilled and tried to sense if there were any darklings hiding near her, but there was none. Was it a wolf or a darkling that was waiting for the right chance to ambush her? After all, Chrysanthe once told her and Amelia that high ranking darklings were able to hide their presence at will, so Iris didn't dare to lower her guard.

The growling sound was heard again. It sounded like it was annoyed and in pain at the same time and Iris had no idea how she knew. Her legs trembled, but instead of running back to the safety of her home, she chose to see what kind of creature was making that sound.

If it was a wolf that came down from the mountain and left its pack, Iris could take its fur and sell it for a high price at the town square. She remembered that Ren might need some funds to travel to the capital if he was able to pass the scholarship examination.

However, if it was a darkling, then Iris should start running for her life now. Even if the said darkling was injured, there was no telling whether it was capable of killing her in one blow or not.

She had her dagger concealed on her right leg and she only had five arrows in her quiver. If it was indeed a darkling, she couldn't possibly kill it without facing any punishment from the rulers of Asnar.

Wasn't it ironic? Iris thought. If she killed a darkling, there was no doubt that she would be severely punished, and yet the darklings were free to roam the borders and kill humans like they were stepping on ants.

The rulers of this kingdom despised humans with magic, but feared the darklings. Iris was still confused as to why the current king and his predecessors hated humans born with magic. There must be a reason why they insisted on annihilating her kind.

She shouldn't get closer to the clearing, but her curiosity got the best of her. Iris didn't think she could leave without knowing what it was. Heck, she knew she was being careless, but she made a mental note to leave at once if it was a darkling.

Her heart pounded faster in her chest, and she wondered if the creature was able to hear her creeping closer. Was it too injured, or was it strong enough to attack her? Iris knew that her mere presence was enough to put the creature in defense mode, and it would undoubtedly deem her as a threat.

However, the moment she reached the clearing, she was surprised to see a humongous white wolf at the center of it. Its fur was white, as white as pure snow.

It was obviously not a wolf. Iris thought.

It was a darkling.

No normal wolf could grow as tall higher than a tree. Even its paws were large enough to inflict pain on a human. She wouldn't stand a chance at all if it attacked her from where she was hiding.

She should be running by now, but seeing its crimson blood tainting its majestic snow white furr, Iris halted her steps. It let out a low growl again and opened its eyes, staring at her direction and bared its sharp fangs at her, snarling as a warning for her not to get closer to it.

Iris held her breath as her gaze met its cerulean blue eyes. She had never seen such a beautiful eye color on an animal. It looked at her with awareness and intelligence that didn't usually belong to normal animals.

'Silly. It's because it's not an animal, but a darkling.' Iris corrected herself.

The darkling tried to stand up on its own, but before it could move from its place, it collapsed on the ground.

Yes. Ground. Because, like the scenery Iris found earlier, the trees and grasses that were supposed to be covering the clearing were no more. She wasn't sure if this was the darkling responsible for it, or was it the other darkling it fought yesterday.

From what she could see, there was a deep gash starting from its right shoulder, running down through its chest. It seemed to her that a sharp blade was used to inflict this injury, given how clean the cut was.

Iris knew she should leave and take advantage of the fact that it was gravely injured and wasn't able to attack her in its current state. However, as she stared at the darkling, she realized she couldn't leave it like this.

She decided to come closer, treading carefully as she paid attention to the darkling.

The darkling growled again. When she opened her mouth to say something, it snapped at her, a sign that it wanted her to remain silent.

"I can help you." Iris said, ignoring the warning of the darkling.

"I'm not asking anything in return, but just let me be safe. I came here to find my ring that I lost yesterday." She continued, frowning when she realized that she hadn't found it yet, and she couldn't return home empty-handed.

Iris wouldn't be able to face her mother and let her know what she had done to their family heirloom. She was planning to hand it over to Ren in the future, since she doubted that she would have a family of her own and she didn't have the heart to keep it to herself if that happens.

"I can help you if you would allow me." Iris repeated herself as she treaded carefully towards the humongous white wolf. "Please let me help you, in return, please let me live. I promise I won't return and disturb you ever again."

Why was she bargaining with the wolf like this anyway? Iris thought. She must be either really brave or extremely foolish to speak to the injured darkling like this.

The white wolf remained still and stared at her for a long moment, until it slowly ceased its growling and lowered its head, allowing her to get closer.


Capítulo 8: Encounter With a Darkling (3)

Relief washed through Iris as she moved closer to inspect the injury of the wolf. She could have turned around and left it alone to die, but even if she was a hunter, Iris had always apologized to her kills and given them a small prayer as they died by the arrow she struck them.

She could have pretended like she didn't see this gravely injured white wolf that she had no doubt was a darkling, but the thought of leaving it to die like this didn't sit well with her. The huge white wolf was obviously in a lot of pain. She cautiously moved forward and saw the laceration on its shoulder. She flinched at the sight. Whoever the wolf was fighting yesterday must have been eager to kill it to deliver such a deadly blow.

Iris would have asked the wolf to turn over to its back, but she doubted that the darkling would appreciate it. Was it really this weak that she couldn't even sense its presence? She wouldn't have even noticed the darkling if her hearing didn't pick up its low growl.

Something about the way the wolf looked at her told Iris that the darkling had some sense of understanding of the human language. She briefly wondered why it was fighting with another darkling yesterday.

Iris removed her hunting gloves, revealing her slightly calloused hands. Her whole body trembled from the coldness of the weather. Though the weather indicated that winter was starting to wane, it was still cold enough to freeze a person to death if they were left exposed for too long. She touched the shoulder of the white wolf, realizing that its mere paw was larger than her head and its sharp claws could easily tear anything apart.

"This might hurt a little, so bear with me." She muttered low, aware that the wolf's cerulean blue eyes were set on her, filled with curiosity.

She took a deep breath and willed herself to remain calm. Iris hadn't done this in a long time. Not since her father's death. One reason why she always wore her hunting gloves was for her to limit the chances of being found out as a magus. Her ability required her to have close physical contact with the person or creature she wanted to heal.

By healing, she could only rejuvenate the plants and heal the wounds on small animals. Iris wasn't able to give life to those who had already perished. She also couldn't heal any illness. Iris could only heal wounds that weren't affected by any poison.

This was why her ability was useless to heal her father. Iris had hated herself for being this useless, as she could only watch her father wilt and slowly lose his life each passing day, until one morning when he never woke up again. She held this regret ever since then. If only she was allowed to learn more about and develop her ability to heal.

Because there were no doctors in their town, the townsfolk could only rely on aphotecary for their illness and midwives for pregnant women who were due to give birth. Being located near the border of Asnar and far from the capital, where everything was available for the citizens of the Kingdom of Dravial, it was only natural that the mortality rate in Calaren Town as well as its neighboring villages was quite high.

Iris's hand laid wide open and splayed on both sides of the whole injury. She had never dealt and healed an injury as bad and large as this before. She focused her attention on the wound, before a burst of light filled the laceration, catching not only the wolf off guard, but also herself.

The intense heat melted the snow that was clinging to her hood and clothes. The darkling's eyes slightly widening. It must have been surprising for it to see that a scrawny human like Iris was capable of such a feat.

Initially, Iris was planning to heal the darkling's wound until it was no longer in danger and could heal on its own, but she couldn't stop the mana flowing out her body even if she wanted to. She had never tried healing a serious injury like this before, but she couldn't understand why she couldn't stop her magic at that moment.

Something like this had never happened before. Iris wasn't even aware that she had this enormous amount of mana in her body. She could only watch as the wound healed itself, the blood stopped seeping from it all at once, much to her surprise. Then in a blink of an eye, there were no signs left by the injury. The wolf's pristine white fur matted on the part where the laceration used to be.

Iris pulled away and her face broke into a wide smile. However, even before she could make any comment, Iris suddenly felt dizzy and weak at the same time. Her eyes became unfocused and her world seemed to be spinning.

She staggered back and held the side of her head, looking down at her boots as she forced herself to stay on her foot, but the last thing she saw was the wolf half rising to catch her fall, allowing her to fall on its thick fur instead with a thud.

She laid unconscious against the body of the large wolf. Iris could have died if she was left in such a vulnerable situation. Not only was she exposed to the coldness of the winter, but she was practically left in the mercy of the darkling she just met.

It took some time before the white wolf moved from its place gently, removing Iris's body and flopping her back on the cold ground. The once humongous white wolf had then transformed into a tall man with handsome features and pale skin, coupled with a silken moonlit hair that reached past his waist. His cerulean eyes roamed over Iris's body and frowned.

'What an odd human.'


Load failed, please RETRY

Regalos

Regalo -- Regalo recibido

    Estado de energía semanal

    Desbloqueo caps por lotes

    Tabla de contenidos

    Opciones de visualización

    Fondo

    Fuente

    Tamaño

    Gestión de comentarios de capítulos

    Escribe una reseña Estado de lectura: C7
    No se puede publicar. Por favor, inténtelo de nuevo
    • Calidad de escritura
    • Estabilidad de las actualizaciones
    • Desarrollo de la Historia
    • Diseño de Personajes
    • Antecedentes del mundo

    La puntuación total 0.0

    ¡Reseña publicada con éxito! Leer más reseñas
    Votar con Piedra de Poder
    Rank 200+ Clasificación PS
    Stone 6 Piedra de Poder
    Denunciar contenido inapropiado
    sugerencia de error

    Reportar abuso

    Comentarios de párrafo

    Iniciar sesión

    tip Comentario de párrafo

    ¡La función de comentarios de párrafo ya está en la Web! Mueva el mouse sobre cualquier párrafo y haga clic en el icono para agregar su comentario.

    Además, siempre puedes desactivarlo en Ajustes.

    ENTIENDO