16. Not Far from the Red Evil Mercenaries

Not far from the Red Evil Mercenaries' building. Behind it. Regina, who had escaped Bella's assault, hadn't actually gotten far.

"...Huff.... Uu...."

A stifled groan leaked out. A fairly large wound was carved into her shoulder. Even as she trembled from the pain, Regina replayed her battle with Bella just moments ago.

A skill that had grown markedly compared to about two years prior. Bella had always been a pain to deal with in the past, but never to this extent.

Just as matchups exist in relationships with things in general, they existed among renowned powerhouses too. Among those, the matchup between herself and Bella was close to the worst—and naturally, it heavily favored Regina.

Bella fought based on the overwhelming power emanating from her body. Technique? What's that? Speed? That comes naturally with raw strength. And when it came to taking hits? She'd charge in like a mindless wild boar, trading blow for blow on pure instinct. That was Bella.

People like her were overwhelmingly dominant against the weak, but against equals or stronger foes, their brute force lost its edge. Especially against someone like Regina, who focused on speed to slash and overwhelm with relentless pressure—Bella had no choice but to be weak. The original Bella couldn't have beaten Regina even if she came back from the dead.

Of course, even from Regina's perspective, killing a powerhouse who'd reached Bella's level wouldn't have been easy... but she should have won, at least by a narrow margin. It was only natural.

But she hadn't.

I lost.

Why? She couldn't understand it. No, she could understand. That unprecedented power guarding Bella's body—it had blocked her attacks time and again.

Normally, Bella should have lost her remaining eye to Regina's ambush by now, and been too hampered by the gash in her side to move properly. And that wasn't all. Bella hadn't noticed, but Regina had actually hurled daggers and swung stealthily at her body multiple times, landing subtle hits. They weren't fatal, but there were more than a few that should have impaired her fighting ability to some degree.

Of course, they were all nullified by that unprecedented power, as if they never happened.

How was that even possible?

And that wasn't the only strange thing.

About two and a half years ago, when she'd encountered Bella, the woman had definitely been missing an arm. Yet this time, a pitch-black, eerie new arm had sprouted where it had been severed.

Since she had to fight anyway, Regina hadn't paid it much mind, but thinking back now, it was baffling. Had she regenerated her arm? How?

Regeneration wasn't impossible. It cost a fortune, but if you had the severed part and found a high-ranking priest or bishop-class healer quickly, holy magic could manage it, or so she'd heard. But that required carrying the severed limb and rushing to them right away.

Bella's case was entirely different. Her arm had been cut off during the usurpation of her throne. In the chaos, she'd barely escaped with her life—there was no way she could have grabbed her arm. And even if she had, she spent ages fleeing the Mountain Kingdom as a fugitive; visiting a church was out of the question.

So how had her arm regrown?

...Is the fallen princess actually half lizard beastkin?

Maybe her mother was a lizard beastkin? That would explain it. Those bastards were famous for sacrificing their tails to bind foes and snapping them off to escape when cornered. But did they regenerate arms and legs too?

"...Uu."

Regina shook her head. Probably not, as far as she knew. She wasn't sure if real lizards could regrow limbs, but lizard beastkin definitely couldn't. Beastkin were humanoid variants, not animals. They inherited some instincts and traits, but weren't identical. Mostly human traits, with a dash of animal ones. And a half-beastkin human hybrid? No way.

Then how the hell had that arm grown back? Amid questions she couldn't comprehend, Regina forced herself to stand first.

For now... she had to head back. What she needed to protect wasn't here—it was in that lord's castle.

§

The moment I opened my eyes, excruciating pain crashed over me.

"Guhhh...?!!!"

Pain so intense I couldn't even scream.

"Darling...?"

"Ah, Yeonja. You're awake?"

It felt like something sharp was slashing my eyes, accompanied by indescribable agony. A knife cut might hurt less, honestly.

"............!!"

"D-Darling!"

It was like a migraine concentrated in one spot, amplified hundreds of times, crushing my eyeballs. That sensation dragged on.

"D-Dina...! Rip some cloth from the luggage—thick as you can!"

"Eh? Grumpy, what's this all of a sudden?"

"No time to explain—hurry!"

"A-Alright!"

The problem was, it wasn't just my eyes. Muscle aches everywhere, like needles stabbing my flesh. It hurt so bad that even as I gritted my teeth hard enough to shatter them, the pain drowned everything out—I just clenched harder.

"Guhhh......!!"

"Please, please, please. What do I do, how can I... Ah!"

A silent scream from my clamped lips, followed by a surge in my throat and the metallic tang of blood from my gums.

"S-Sorry, Darling. Hold still—gonna use some force."

At that moment, rough hands forced my mouth open. No matter how hard I bit down, the strength pried my jaw apart.

"Guhhh......!!"

"Just endure it a bit."

Something soft and squishy entered my mouth, wedged between my upper and lower teeth. Snap...!

"Ahhh...."

My teeth clamped shut again, nearly severing it. Not on purpose—just my body's reflex to this hellish pain, unable to even scream.

"Grumpy, I got the cloth......?! Your hand!"

"I'm fine. When I let go of Darling's mouth and pull my hand out, shove the cloth in quick."

"R-Right!"

The sensation of my mouth opening again. Squelch— something sticky clung to my teeth and peeled away.

"Huuuh.... Now!"

"In it goes!"

"Haaah, yes. Good job, Dina."

Rough cloth filled my mouth. The agony made me grit down on it again.

"Grumpy, your hand's a total mess."

"It's fine. I'm used to wounds like this."

"Hmm. Still, as a swordsman, a mangled hand like that..."

"Drop it—bandage it up and it'll heal quick. I'm more worried about Darling."

"Is Yeonja's sudden state ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the price of that berserk power?"

"Yeah, probably."

"We must ensure he never uses it again."

"Agreed."

A familiar, rough palm on my head, gently stroking.

"Please wake up safe, Darling."

How much time passed like that?

The message appeared before my eyes, and I blacked out again.

......

......

........

When ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I came to again, thankfully, the agony was gone.

I thought the pain didn't end even if I passed out...

Before the doubt could settle,

A rather polite, deep navy-blue message window appeared—friendlier than before. It used to be sky-blue-ish, but whatever. Worth burning through ten magic stones that could've fetched a fortune each.

More importantly, stop blocking my view.

The window vanished instantly. Obedient, huh.

Opening my eyes fully, Cheong-ah's familiar face came into view. Knee pillow again today.

Nod—nod—

Oddly drowsy, her slightly parted lips looked ready to drool.

...But what's this in my mouth? Some cloth gag?

I spat out the cloth and carefully sat up without waking her—

Flick— Her eyes snapped open. Then, with a graceful smile,

"Darling, you're awake?"

"Yeah. You can sleep more."

"Huh? What're you talking about? I wasn't sleeping."

"Hm. Really?"

Her eyes screamed sleepy, but she played it cool. Bella would've told her to wipe the drool, but Cheong-ah doesn't drool in her sleep—no evidence.

"Must've been my mistake. Anyway, where are we...?"

Looking around the familiar interior...

The wagon we'd bought in Sierra's territory before coming here. No wonder my butt kept bouncing.

"Who's driving?"

"Bella. Dina's up front with her."

"Bella?"

Did Bella know how to drive? As I shot a puzzled look,

"She said she'd seen you do it a few times from the side, so she could manage."

"That's new."

She always brushed off chores like that before.

"But she's not great at it. Kept jolting at first, horses at weird speeds... You were out cold, but it was rough."

"First time—bound to happen. So, where are we headed?"

"To where her subordinates ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are. Dina knows the way somewhat, so she's guiding."

Ah, that's why Dina's up with Bella.

"More importantly, Darling."

"Hm? What?"

Turning to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Cheong-ah as she called me, she thrust out her bandage-wrapped hand.

"It hurts. Blow on it."

"...Huh?"

"Quickly~."

Sudden cuteness out of nowhere.