Mar blushed, ashamed that she showed Yulysion such reluctance, especially after boasting that she was not doing much of a thing. She did her best, but seeing and being in the presence of an enormous monster for the first time in her life made it difficult to maintain a casual face.
With terrified eyes, she glanced at the giant wyvern lying dead with its long tongue sticking out. It was a horrifying monster at least 40 kvet long (12 meters). Its head was just like a crocodile’s and its broken wings resembled that of a bat; its heavy body was coated in a black of the exact shade of charcoal.
“As for dragons… they are ten times bigger than a wyvern.”
Goosebumps rose all over Max’s forearms. How in the world did they fight against such a terrible monster?As Max vaguely imagined the scene coming into reality, a sense of fear came upon her.
“Madam, your complexion doesn’t look good. Indeed, returning to the castle…”
“I-it’s okay. It’s just that my ma-mana is still recovering…it hasn’t fully recovered yet.”
Max hastily composed her face and turned to the guards, giving instructions to first make a fire and boil water. Some soldiers who were standing guard in the area approached them to help unload.
“The i-injured people…w-where are they?”
“This way. Open spaces are in danger of being attacked by wyverns, so the injured are amongst the trees.”
“Wh-where’s R-ruth?”
“The wizard is helping the lord in Cabro valley. It seems that a group of wyverns migrated there during the winter. Nearly twenty wyverns were sighted, so all the other wizards were sent on that subjugation mission.”
“T-twenty?”
Max’s heart shook at the news of Riftan fighting twenty of such enormous monsters and her stomach twisted with anxiety. She held back the urge to run in an instant to where Riftan was and barely squeezed out her voice.
“T-then…people who can p-perform healing magic…there’s n-no one left.”
“Though I immediately called for the herbalist in the village, we are having a difficult time due to the high number of injured people.”
Yulysion pointed to an old woman caring for patients in one camp.
“A-alright. I want to prioritize s-seeing the badly injured people f-first.”
She took some steps and glanced around quickly. Men covered in dirt and dust were lying down on messy beds made of dirty cloth. A soldier pointed to one of them.
“He was a sentry guard on duty. When the wyvern threw him, his head hit against a rock, making him lose consciousness. He’s still breathing… however, his body has grown colder. Please examine him first.”
Max bent her knees to take a look at the young soldier. His scalp was lacerated from the head to the temple, and his shoulder bruised black. After checking for any broken bones, Max placed her hand on the wound and generated healing magic.
A warm heat escaped through her palms and beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Max stopped midway for she couldn’t heal the wound completely as it would drain her mana and would have nothing left for the other patients.
“I-I only administered first aid. His wounds… wash it cleanly and when he r-regains consciousness, please give him some w-water to drink. The guards shall g-give him some medicinal herbs r-right away. “
“Alright.”
“I, alone… it’s difficult to h-heal all of the Injured. Right now… Is there a-anyone else who needs immediate t-treatment?”
“There are two more people who are unconscious…”
Max swallowed a groan inwardly and talked with firm determination.
“Please l-lead me to them.”
***
After Max administered healing magic to the two unconscious patients, she was completely exhausted, and her body drooped.
Will it really be like this when using magic?
She had never experienced such a strong dizziness before, that she felt a faint anxiety.
“M’lady, are you alright?”
“I’m just tired from using h-healing magic… I-I will recover soon so… d-don’t worry.”
Earnestly hoping that was true, Max sat down against a tree for a moment and took a breath. Meanwhile, the soldiers arranged their luggage in the wagons, set up tents among the trees, made sleeping bags, and carried patients. The campfire was lit, able to boil water, and sentries on patrol surrounded the area to guard. Max watched the busy scene, waiting for the dizziness to subside, then got up and staggered, gradually gaining a clearer vision.
She stubbornly went that far; she couldn’t stop and rest now. Max scooped up some water from the pot, moistened her lips with the lukewarm drink, and began to see the injured again.
Fortunately, she was able to treat the injured more skillfully than she thought; perhaps, it was all thanks to her previous experience.
After meticulously cleaning the wounds, she sprinkled some hemostatic powder that Ruth previously gave her and wrapped the wounds in clean cloth; broken and dislocated bones were aligned and tightly wrapped with a splint with the help of the soldiers. She also made sure to have everyone drink water infused with anti-fever and detoxes. Max knew that, although they appeared to be fine now, later on they could develop high fever.
“Madam, this is the last person to be treated. His wound is quite big, will you be okay?”
A middle-aged soldier with a shaggy beard asked whilst guiding her to the wounded soldier lying on the edge of the camp. Max looked at the man whose shoulder had a big gash. The wound didn’t look like it could be fixed by a simple plaster of cloth. She would have to use a thread and a needle to sew it up, just like what Ruth taught her, but she didn’t have enough confidence to do it.
“This… This person is t-the last one… injured?”
“Yes, all the other people who were injured have already been tended to. Those who are well enough to move will be brought to Anatol once the scouts return.”
Max looked around, all the guards and workers wrapped in bandages were seated to one side drinking the prepared herbal soup. It was unlikely that someone from that group will suddenly get worse. Max, who was slightly worried, drew out the remaining mana she had and casted a healing spell on the wounded soldier.
As her magic left her body, her sight suddenly flashed white, but unexpectedly she quickly recovered from it. Perhaps, she was getting used to doing it bit by bit. With a sigh of relief, Max stood up from her seat and Yulysion ran to her at once.
“M‘lady, when the sun sets, it will be more dangerous here. You should go back to Anatol at once.”
“Any news from…the R-remdragon Knights?”
“It looks like a couple of wyverns are hiding deep in the valley and they’re having difficulty. However, it won’t take long.”
“W-well, then…I’ll go back t-together with the knights. I-it will be more s-safe.”
Yulysion’s face was traced with conflict.
“Wouldn’t it be better to go back as soon as possible and rest? Your face is as white as a sheet of paper.”
“If I sit by the f-fire and r-restore my mana…I will s-soon be okay. I’ll do that quietly. What I’m w-worried about is Riftan.”
Yulysion’s eyes widened, as if surprised by what she said. It was strange for Riftan Calypse to be an object of concern. Perhaps people didn’t even have a single worry for the knight who defeated the red dragon, however Max knew about the extent of Riftan’s recklessness, and her guts turned with concern. Even if it was him, he wasn’t immortal.
“If they don’t come back by the dark… I-I’ll return to Anatol.”
Yulysion sighed with resignation as he looked at Max’s stubborn face.
“If that’s what it takes you to go back… then, alright.”
“T-thank you.”
“Indeed, if the knights really don’t come back by sundown, you’ll have to certainly go back to the castle. When it gets dark, monsters…”
At that moment, Yulysion pushed Max’s body and drew out the sword from his waist. Before Max could even understand what was going on, she rolled to the ground. All of a sudden, the sky was covered with a dark shadow and heavy steps resonated, making the ground vibrate. Max gasped, crippled on the floor. An enormous monster with bright red eyes was standing in front of them with its mouth wide open, displaying a sharp set of teeth. It was unbelievable that such a humongous creature so silently.
Half of the camp was blown by the gust from the creature’s wings. Had Yulysion not immediately pushed her body, she would have also been sent flying like dust.
“Run!”
Yulysion yelled whilst waving his sword that gleamed blue against the light. As the monster’s wings were torn by the sword’s blow, its large body leaned. A strong wind was generated, trees shook and fell, the ground trembled as if there were an earthquake.
“Hurry, get the madam!”
“Please, come this way!”
One of the soldiers grabbed Max’s arm, grimly pulling it and they started running. Max staggered as she followed the soldier, running away from the monster; her foot was caught in a stone and she fell against the ground. Her arm that was held by the soldier was throbbing, as if it was yanked out and her scraped knee hurt, as if it was going to split.
“M‘lady! A-are you alright?”
She quickly tried to get back on her feet but the sight before her eyes shook her, making her dizzy and her stomach painfully knotted; she couldn’t endure it anymore. Max laid on the floor and vomited. Her heart, swollen with fear, hurt like it was being stabbed by knives. Her mouth was wide open, as if forgetting how to breathe, desperately trying to get back up; at that moment, a golden flash of light appeared, making everything bright. Max looked back with terrified eyes. A huge fire was burning the enormous monster.
“Riftan!”
Princess Agnes’ sharp voice rang in the air like a whip, and then someone jumped in the fire to the swaying monster and swung his sword heavily.
The head of the enormous monster who measures about 50 kvet (about 15 meters) flew in the air like a beheaded rooster, and the monster’s body collapsed, falling, and causing the ground to shake like there was an earthquake. Max stared at the scene with tears streaming down her face, her vision then turned black.
“M’lady! Are you alright?”
Yulysion ran to her with urgency and lifted her body, but her limbs fell like their bones had melt and disappeared. Max, who leaned against the boy’s body and shook uncontrollably, before losing all senses and slipping into unconsciousness.
