The Dungeon of Trials (7)
A familiar stench of blood drifted through the air.
And in a place like this, there was only one person that scent could belong to.
A cold sweat broke out across my back.
No, don't tell me...?
There was no way he had been foolish enough to follow us...
"Cough, cough... pant, pant..."
It was the ragged sound of someone hacking and vomiting up blood. Having spent two whole years listening to that very sound, there was no mistaking it.
Evan seemed to realize the gravity of the situation as well; his expression hardened as he fell into step behind me, quickening his pace toward the source of the noise.
And then—
Holy shit...
He really followed us?
I explicitly ordered him not to come! I gave him a direct warning that his life would literally be forfeit if he trailed after us, so why on earth did he come anyway?!
"[B-Brother Danas...!!]"
I rushed toward Danas, who was slumped against the stone wall, gasping desperately for breath.
"[I will heal you at once...!]"
"I am fine... Phew... This much is bearable."
Bearable, my ass...!
Blood was pouring through the gaps in his plate armor and plastering the wall behind him in crimson, so why on earth was he acting like it was nothing?!
My face twisted in genuine bewilderment as I stared at him, yet Danas held my gaze with unyielding, solemn poise. Was this guy locking eyes so boldly just because he knew I was blind?
Whatever. Regardless, I couldn't just leave him like this.
A Holy Knight was still fundamentally a cleric, meaning they could cast heals on themselves and hold out for a time thanks to their innate vitality. Indeed, even with wounds severe enough to have killed an ordinary person several times over, a spark of life still lingered within his body.
That didn't mean these injuries were light for a Holy Knight, however. In the end, Holy Knights were still flesh and blood. When blood was pouring out of massive lacerations like that, draining away the very essence of life, how could anyone possibly be fine?
They could endure longer than the average man, but no human on this earth could survive wounds of that caliber indefinitely. Even in my case, the only reason I survived lethal harm was because my body regenerated immediately; if left to bleed out without that regeneration, even I would die.
And yet...
"You do not need to... heal me. My own healing magic is enough to manage thi—ugh..."
"[Say one more word and I'll smack you.]"
Who gave you permission to refuse treatment?
Absolutely not.
Ever since what happened back in the Demonic Realm, he had adamantly refused to accept any healing from me, but now he was caught red-handed. He knew damn well he would die if he went untreated, yet he stubbornly dug his heels in anyway.
Good grief...
"[I am going to heal you.]"
Normally I would have patched him up completely, but if I healed every single scratch and ended up taking on all that agony myself, things would become an enormous hassle. For reasons beyond me, he always got sulky whenever that happened.
And dealing with his sulking is way more annoying.
Well, saintly and kind-hearted as I was, I would just have to compromise. Having spent so much time with him since arriving in this world, I had grown fond of the guy—and that was my loss.
"W-Wait..."
"Please stay still."
Danas tried to scramble away as I approached, but Evan slipped beside him in a flash and pinned his shoulders, holding him fast.
Evan didn't look particularly pleased either, but he clearly understood that leaving Danas in this state was perilous. When a kid far younger than him grasped how dangerous the situation was, what the hell was our dear Sir Danas doing?
Honestly, utterly ridiculous.
"[Do not worry. I will only heal you enough so that you can move.]"
If I fixed him completely, he would just pout again anyway.
At my reassurance, Danas stopped struggling and slumped limply against the stone. It seemed he was well aware of just how grave his condition was.
Sigh.
"Don't tell me you took down every single golem that spawned on your way here?"
"Indeed. Stronger ones kept appearing as I pressed on... And for reasons I cannot fathom, the weapons they wielded possessed tremendous cutting power."
Ancient technology was always like that. Some nonsense about 'ancient mana refinement techniques' or whatever probably allowed them to wrap mana around their blades and unleash absurd sword auras.
If anything, it was a miracle Danas was still in one piece after fighting things like that. While Evan and I had faced stronger golems than the ones he had encountered, we had fought together in narrow corridors with my divine buffs backing Evan up. Danas, on the other hand, had traversed this sprawling expanse completely alone, fighting off golems ambushing him from every direction.
The sheer difficulty wasn't even comparable.
In fact, it was nothing short of miraculous that he had broken through all the way to the boss chamber with only those injuries. Had we waited and he never showed, I would have had to backtrack and resurrect his cold corpse.
That was precisely why I had told him to turn back and wait outside in the first place.
"[If you disobey me again next time, you will be in serious trouble, understood?]"
I knew Danas was strong. He had already been formidable as an adventurer, and after regaining his sight and becoming a Holy Knight, he had grown incomparably stronger than in his adventurer days. On top of that, he had spent two whole years grinding through the Demonic Realm alongside me, so it would be stranger if he weren't powerful.
Even so, carving his way through that route alone was pure madness. Even in the original game, pulling off a stunt like that was impossible.
He really is something else...
Granted, he had only cleared what was left of the path, but the sheer fact that he had broken through all on his own was worthy of immense praise. It made me wonder how on earth he had even managed it.
In any case...
"[How do you feel? Are you able to move?]"
"...Thank you. But Saintess, are you..."
"[My wounds heal quickly, as you know.]"
Still, with lacerations this deep, bleeding was unavoidable. The fabric over my abdomen and back felt thoroughly soaked and sticky.
"Aria... your clothes..."
"[It is fine. I have plenty of spare clothes.]"
Given the nature of my ability, even a little healing left my clothes drenched in my own blood. I always kept plenty of spare garments on hand precisely for situations like this.
I had nowhere to store clean clothes right now, so I would have to remain in these blood-soaked robes for the time being, but once we got back, I could just wash them at the Academy. The magical laundry facilities there were surprisingly effective, returning even blood-stained fabric spotless. So clean, in fact, that you would think the clothes were brand new.
"Are you truly all right...?"
"[Regarding what?]"
"It must have been... excruciatingly painful..."
Why did he keep asking the same thing? Considering everything I had gone through up until now, as if a scratch like this would hurt!
Well, no, one never truly got 'used' to pain, so this was plenty pain—err, wonderfully pleasurable, actually. But it wasn't an issue.
More importantly...
"[If you were going to say such things, Brother Danas, shouldn't you have avoided getting injured in the first place?]"
I was genuinely pissed. Worrying about me after the fact wouldn't change anything, so save your breath.
Whether he grasped the underlying meaning or not, Danas flinched. He probably hadn't spoken up to beg for leniency, but rather out of sincere concern; hearing my voice laced with unmistakable anger in response, it was only natural he would be startled.
"...I am sorry."
In the end, recognizing his fault, he offered an apology.
Too late for apologies now.
Had this been official business, I would have dropped subtle hints that he needed some disciplinary re-drilling once we returned, but since this excursion was an off-the-books affair Danas had assisted me with, that was out of the question.
Which meant a personal penalty was in order.
In technical terms, a punishment.
My punishment was simple.
"[I will not speak with you for a while, Brother Danas.]"
Starting from today, I wouldn't exchange a single word with him. He might as well just turn around and go home. I had no need for a Holy Knight who caused me nothing but worry the moment we reunited.
Danas froze on the spot, his face completely stricken. He clearly hadn't expected such a sentence in his wildest dreams.
"S-Saintess... please have mercy..."
"[Save it. Let us go, Brother Evan.]"
"Uh... yeah..."
Evan looked between Danas and me, his expression utterly bewildered. To Evan, the entire exchange must have made zero sense.
Well, it was only natural not to understand. Tactics like this only worked on the Holy Knights and clergy of the Holy Kingdom of Varkan.
I mean... the vast majority of Varkan's population were hardcore, diehard devotees of mine. If I told them I wouldn't even acknowledge their existence anymore, they were the type of lunatics who would lose their will to live and literally drop dead.
For Danas, who had once served as my personal escort knight, the blow had to be ten times worse. In fact, he was standing there completely dazed, as if his soul had been sucked out.
Regardless, a punishment is a punishment.
I'm giving him the silent treatment for a good while.
"[Now, let us go defeat the boss of this Dungeon of Trials.]"
All that was left was the boss. We had to stay sharp.
Issuing another quiet warning to Evan, I took a step forward into the depths.
...
As for Danas? Beats me.
He can fend for himself.