Chapter 148: In the Dark Mist (2)

Thank you [UpUpDowndown] For your gift - A Magic Castle

(Bonus Chapter: 1)

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"Elowen, when were you hurt?"

"It’s only a small scratch." She tried to stand straight, but the arm holding her bow trembled, and blood had already seeped into her shoulder sleeve. "I can still fight."

"I didn’t ask whether you can keep fighting." Erik helped her sit on a stone slab hidden behind the wall, his voice more serious than usual. "I asked whether it hurts."

Elowen froze for a moment, then finally nodded very slightly. Erik immediately took out medicine and bandages from his storage ring.

He brushed her silver hair away from her shoulder, then carefully loosened the outer layer of clothing around the claw mark.

When the medicine touched her skin, she flinched slightly from the sting. He immediately stopped and raised his head to study her expression.

"Does it hurt badly? You have to tell me. Don’t force yourself to endure it."

Elowen looked at that worried face. A moment ago, those hands had been gripping a spear shaft and smashing a monster’s head apart with terrifying strength.

Yet when they touched her shoulder, Erik was so gentle that he seemed almost afraid of hurting her skin.

Warmth filled her chest, and she unconsciously smiled despite the pain of her injury.

"Erik..." She raised her uninjured hand to touch his cheek, gently wiping away a streak of dried blood. "I’m fine. Don’t make that face."

"You can still smile?" He looked at her, both pained and helpless.

"Because you’re worried about me." Elowen’s pointed ears reddened. "I really like it when you care for me."

Erik sighed, unsure whether to scold her affectionately or laugh. He carefully bandaged her shoulder, then brought the water flask to her lips. When Elowen tried to hold it herself, her hand was too exhausted to lift it.

He simply held the flask for her to drink from, then used his fingertips to wipe away the droplets at the corner of her lips. Rather than avoiding him, she gently rested her cheek against his warm palm.

"You’ve used too much mana." Erik looked at the clean bandage he had just tied, then checked her legs. "You can’t keep going like this."

"I only need to rest for a bit."

He looked at the path buried in mist, thought for a few seconds, then suddenly turned around and crouched before her. "Get on."

Elowen blinked. "Get on where?"

"On my back. I’ll carry you."

"C-CARRY ME?!" Elowen’s eyes widened, making her forget her fatigue. "No! You’re a man! A Succubus is supposed to protect and serve men. How can I let a man carry me? If anyone finds out, they’ll think I forced you to do a servant’s work! That would be a serious insult to your status!"

Her voice was almost panicked. In this world, men were always cherished and granted special privileges.

A Succubus carrying a man across a battlefield was perfectly natural. The reverse, even between lovers, where a man bent his back to carry her, was considered an insult to his dignity.

"I can still walk." Elowen hurriedly pushed herself up, but the moment her feet touched the ground, she swayed.

"Elowen." Erik caught her, this time looking directly into her eyes with a stern expression. "Don’t use my status as an excuse to make yourself suffer."

"But if other people see..."

"I don’t care." His voice was calm, but allowed no argument. "You’re my fiancée. When you’re tired, I carry you. What is embarrassing about something that simple?"

She pressed her lips together, unable to find a rebuttal. Erik turned his back again, lowering himself slightly as he spoke decisively. "I’m not allowing you to refuse anymore. Get on."

Elowen looked at the back waiting for her, her cheeks flushing bright red. At that moment, there was almost only one expression left in her mind: (? ?>? ▽ ?<? ?).

"You’re... so overbearing," she murmured, but obediently wrapped her uninjured arm around his neck, carefully avoiding straining her injured shoulder.

Erik slid both hands beneath her thighs and stood up. Elowen let out a small cry in surprise, instinctively pressing herself against his back.

Through his clothes, still warm after the battle, she could clearly feel his steady breathing and the strength behind every movement. Her silver hair fell beside Erik’s neck.

Every time he stepped over uneven ground, she held him a little tighter, her warm breath inadvertently brushing across his nape.

"Does your shoulder hurt?" Erik asked, adjusting his hands to support her more securely.

"No. Like this... is very comfortable."

Elowen’s voice became much quieter. He held her slender legs firmly at either side of his waist, while her soft chest pressed close to his broad back whenever he moved.

She had initially intended to keep her distance out of embarrassment, but the longer he carried her, the less she wanted to pull away.

The scent of sweat, a trace of dried blood, and Erik’s familiar fragrance reminded her of the times he had held her in their bedroom. The only difference was that this time, he was carrying her through danger.

Erik felt her rub her cheek against his shoulder and chuckled softly. "You said it was an insult earlier. Why are you holding on so tightly now?"

"Because you’re walking too fast!" Elowen quickly replied, her ears red all the way to her hairline.

"Then I’ll walk slower."

"It’s... not necessary to walk that slowly."

"You’re difficult to please."

She hid her smile against his shoulder. Being carried by a man was something Elowen had never dared to imagine, yet right now, beyond the embarrassment, she only felt incredibly fortunate.

"Erik," she called softly, "I love you."

He turned his head slightly and smiled. "I love you too. But next time you get hurt, tell me immediately."

"Mm. I promise."

Erik stored his spear in his storage ring so he could keep her steady with both hands, following the wall for a little longer. But the moment they reached a collapsed section, a clear giggle suddenly rang out from above, completely different from the distorted voices created by the Dark Mist.

He immediately stopped and carefully lowered Elowen into a sheltered spot behind the wall, keeping one hand at her back until she stood steadily. "Stay close to me," Erik said quietly, looking upward. "Someone is up there."

Erik immediately took his spear out of the storage ring and pointed it toward the voice. A girl sat atop the collapsed wall, swinging her legs, her slightly round cheeks puffed up with amusement.

She had chestnut-brown hair with a copper sheen that fell to her waist, wide amber eyes, and a cream-colored dress trimmed in dark brown. Strangest of all, her entire figure was translucent. Erik could see the stones behind her through her dress.

"Hey, don’t point that sharp thing at me!" The girl immediately raised both hands, looking wronged. "I was about to help you!"

Erik stared. "Who are you?"

Elowen stood close behind him, trying to raise her bow with her uninjured arm as she looked in the direction of his spear. "Erik, what is it? Who are you talking to?"

He turned toward her, then looked back at the girl on the wall. She was still sitting there, even tilting her head as she studied Elowen with curiosity. Erik slowly lowered his spear, but he did not take his eyes off the stranger.

"You can’t see her?" he asked quietly.

"See who?" Elowen lightly clutched the hem of Erik’s clothes, growing even more worried. "There’s only a wall in front of us."

The translucent girl immediately puffed out her cheeks. "Again? I’m standing right here in plain sight!"

She crossed her arms, then looked at Erik with sparkling eyes. "But you can see me, right? That’s great!"

Before Erik could ask anything else, a roar sounded from behind them. The girl glanced over his shoulder, and her smile briefly faded. She gently slid down from the wall, not touching the ground but floating about a handspan above the road.

"There’s no time to explain." She pointed toward a narrow gap between two rocks ahead. "Go that way. Don’t listen to the voices on the left. They only want to lead you to them."

"How can I trust you?" Erik asked, still standing in front of Elowen.

The girl pouted slightly. "You don’t have to trust me. But if you keep standing here, you’ll have to fight a lot more of them."

She looked at the bloodstained spear in Erik’s hand, and her expression suddenly turned sympathetic. "I’m guessing you’re tired too."

Erik fell silent. He did not understand how the girl had appeared, but her words matched what he had just observed. The monsters were actively forcing the two of them in a certain direction.

At the very least, the direction she pointed out was completely different from the path they wanted him to take.

The girl stepped closer, her amber eyes glowing beneath the black mist. "Come on, lower your head a little."

"What for?"

"I’m not going to bite you!" She laughed, then raised a translucent index finger toward his forehead.

Erik tried to dodge, but a cool sensation suddenly brushed across his consciousness. Her finger did not truly touch his skin, yet a clear bell chimed inside his mind.

Ting!

The mist before his eyes did not disappear, but for a single breath, Erik could distinguish the real stone path from the shifting illusions.

No notification window or new skill appeared.

The sensation was like a whisper passing through his mind, so fragile that he feared he would lose it if he let himself be distracted. He raised a hand to his forehead and stared at the girl, stunned as she stepped back.

She smiled, but her figure had grown slightly fainter. "We’ll meet again..."

"Wait, at least tell me your name!"

The girl did not answer. She merely blinked mischievously, raised a finger to her lips, then floated upward and merged into the darkness where the mist churned.

Elowen quickly grabbed Erik’s arm. "What did you just see? You look like you saw a ghost."

"Maybe I really did see one." Only after speaking did he realize that his answer would not reassure her at all, so he quickly smiled. "But she showed us a path. I want to try it."

Elowen looked at the seriousness on his face, then slowly nodded. She did not understand what had just happened, but she knew Erik was not someone who would easily trust a voice in the middle of a battlefield.

"Alright. I’ll go with you."

Erik looked toward the gap between the rocks. Though fake voices still called from both sides, he could make out a path that was not blocked by monster shadows.

He turned around and crouched before Elowen once again. "Get on. I told you I’d carry you somewhere safe." Elowen blushed, but this time she did not argue, only gently wrapping her arms around his neck.

Erik held her legs securely and stood up, following the rocky gap onward. "We need to find Meira before she tears apart the entire forest looking for the two of us."