Unbreakable Hands (2)
The moment of bewilderment passed quickly. The archer Hrozka found himself in awe. It was exactly like the death of the chimera he had witnessed from the hospital bed. A knight slamming a monster headfirst into the ground. Shattered skull fragments flew in every direction. Yet even in that state, the demon regenerated. Nathan showed neither surprise nor disgust. Instead, he calmly brought the pommel of his sword down on the creature’s head. The remaining brain matter splattered, and the growing shards of ice burst apart. The deranged monster thrashed and let out choking, guttural sounds.
Hrozka frowned. This fight was far more grotesque than he had imagined.
“Why the hell would I carry that kind of thing? Even if I did, it’d be soaked by now anyway…”
Hrozka had leaped through the portal the instant it opened and had to swim all the way to this half-submerged building. Anything he might have carried would be useless after getting drenched. Why did everyone who showed up to help Nathan always fall just short of being truly useful? The twins and this guy had no tools to make fire. Arqueba and Aspen hadn’t even arrived with intact bodies. Still, at least they had shown up. Deciding not to complain, Nathan silently continued his gruesome pounding. If there was no fire, he would simply keep smashing until the thing could no longer regenerate. Half a day, a full day—it didn’t matter.
The metal, unable to withstand the repeated shock, finally shattered. The broken blade clattered against his shoulder as it fell, but Nathan paid it no mind. The pommel of the two-hander was still intact.
Meanwhile, Hrozka furrowed his brow and stepped back.
It wasn’t just that the demon looked more terrifying than expected. Hrozka had thought the outcome of the battle was already decided. That was why he was utterly shocked when the creature’s left hand suddenly seized Nathan by the side. The archer, who had only been grimacing at the brutality, let out a gasp and lunged forward, throwing himself onto the monster’s remaining arm to pin it down. Thanks to him, Nathan avoided being impaled on both sides. But even one side was already fatal.
The fingers, now fully regenerated, pressed into Nathan’s ribs and pierced straight through—the exact spot where Nagrik’s curved blade had gouged him and the net’s iron hooks had dug in.
With its skull cracked and eyes unfocused, the attack couldn’t have been intentional. That made it even harder to anticipate. Cold energy began pouring from the fingers burrowing into his waist…
Nathan clenched his teeth and poured strength into his hand. The Rune of Kelsa engraved on the back of his hand flared with green light. Among the many functions of the Rune of Kelsa, two were primarily used in combat. The first affected the user’s own body. The rune’s power forcibly extracted adrenaline from Nathan’s brain. Forgetting the pain, he quickly grabbed the demon’s fingers that clutched his side. The second, more crucial function was the power to disrupt the flow of mana. The legendary Kelsa warriors who became the ancestors of the Federation were said to have hunted mages this way.
The rune scattered the mana contained within the grip. The cold energy held in the hand gradually weakened. The creature’s final desperate struggle was thwarted.
Nathan stared down at the half-shattered forehead. It bore the same mark engraved on his own neck—the brand of the Heavenly God that prevented the people of the Heavens from leaving. A sudden surge of rage guided his hand. He struck the mark again and again with obsessive hatred. What a ridiculous creature. It had offered its soul to the gods and become a demon, yet it still clung to that brand. Couldn’t it serve only one master at a time?
Finally, the strength drained from the creature’s grip. The regeneration, which had been slowing, came to a complete halt. The archer in the patient gown carefully released the demon’s right arm.
Crunch.
With one final blow, Nathan completely crushed its skull. As the shattered fragments scattered everywhere, the knight finally stopped and drew a heavy breath. Still straddling the creature’s chest, he planted his hands on the ground and leaned forward. Broken shards filled his vision. The thing could no longer see anything, but Nathan decided to pretend they were facing each other.
Breathing in the metallic scent of blood, Nathan slowly rose, crushing the skull fragments beneath his boots.
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“You’re the real deal. In all my years, I’ve never seen a warrior like you. And besides…”
Hrozka, who had been pouring out praise, paused while rummaging through his bag at Nathan’s request. Inside were all sorts of vicious blades that looked ready to slice off fingers at the slightest touch.
At last Hrozka found some bandages among the clutter and pulled them out. Then he glanced toward Nilly and his eyes reddened.
The white-haired woman lying inside the ice cube blinked. Hrozka flinched in shock. Her face was pale as if she were in pain, but Nilly was clearly alive.
Nathan let out a groan as he walked over and leaned against the ice. The Rune of Kelsa glowed green once more. The glacier-like wall slowly began to crumble, starting from where his palm touched it. It melted, cracked, and turned to dust. The white-haired mage slid from the dissolving wall and collapsed onto the ground with a wet thud. Nathan sat down at the same time.
No answer. Nilly lay on the ground, shaking her head and kicking at something. Nathan hurriedly tore away the cocoon of dream-silk wrapped around her. The moment her mind returned to reality, Nilly began to shiver violently. Her face was deathly pale and her breathing erratic. The clear signs of hypothermia sent both men into a panic.
All the archer wore was a single set of dripping-wet patient clothes. Nathan’s own garments were soaked with ice and blood and couldn’t be offered. Clutching his wounded side, Nathan scanned the area and quickly pointed to the far side of the floor. The archer let out a delighted cry and ran over.
Nathan used the least damaged part of the collar to wipe the moisture from Nilly’s body, then took the thick coat and wrapped it around her. Nilly flinched and muttered.
She didn’t even call him her brother. She didn’t ask why Nathan had killed him. Even though the corpse he had slain lay right there. The depth of her hatred was clear. Still—
Nilly bared her teeth and tried to push it away, but Nathan stubbornly wrapped the oversized coat around her. Whether her will to live had overcome her hatred or not, she soon gave in. As Nathan watched her breathing, Hrozka tapped him on the back.
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Hrozka pulled a transparent pouch from his pocket. The bandages inside were the least damp. Nathan groaned in pain.
Nathan frowned. On the surface, no matter how many villains you beat to death, you could always solve the problem by running far enough to escape their sphere of influence. It seemed things worked differently in the Heavens.
While the two men talked, Nilly finally regained steady breathing.
When the two men fell into a panic, Nilly let out a small laugh.
Nilly slowly sat up, pulling the coat tightly around herself.
Nathan, who had been listening quietly, cut her off with action. He lifted Nilly with both hands.
Nilly, who had been squirming in surprise, looked up at him with wide eyes before burying her face in the coat.
A strange feeling came over him. In the past, those words would have filled him with endless thrill. Saving the target meant that he and the knight order had won. But now… there was no quiet, bashful Captain Kahn, no frantic Til, and most decisively, no Aspen smugly claiming he had done everything himself.
At Hrozka’s following words, Nathan’s expression hardened.
Nathan squeezed his eyes shut. They were the ones Mornid had sent out, claiming he would fight one-on-one. Whether they were bodyguards or the king’s subordinates, he had no desire to face them in his exhausted state.
Hrozka pointed at his own ear and smiled. In different clothes, he might have looked reliable. But the shabby patient gown severely undermined his credibility. Benny’s hospital hadn’t only housed trauma patients. There had been people who drew pictures in the air or tried to chew on bed rails. Maybe the story about assassins lying in wait was also nonsense. When Nathan, whose suspicion had only grown over the past few days, frowned, Hrozka shrugged.
When Hrozka spoke into the empty air near the entrance, Nathan’s distrust deepened. With a determined expression, Hrozka picked up a piece of broken cement.
Contrary to Nathan’s expectations, Hrozka did not bring the rock to his mouth. The forearm that wielded the massive bow hurled the stone with force.
Crack.
Nathan’s eyes widened as the stone bounced off something in midair. The next moment, he saw a female elf sitting on the ground. Her camouflage color was peeling away like a chameleon’s.