Chapter 58: The Cost Of Kindness

On the third day of Helheim’s entrance examination, a desperate chase was taking place through the eastern forests of Grauwald.

Four young applicants were fleeing through the undergrowth, their clothes torn and their bodies covered in injuries.

One boy had a broken arm hanging uselessly against his chest, while another struggled to support a girl whose left leg had been badly wounded. Blood dripped from her trousers with every step, leaving a trail across the forest floor.

Behind them, an enormous Demonic Beast was closing the distance.

The creature resembled a gigantic boar, standing nearly four meters tall and possessing six thick legs covered in coarse black fur.

Its head was protected by overlapping plates of dark bone, while four enormous tusks curved outward from its jaws.

Every breath released clouds of steaming vapor from its nostrils, and its powerful hooves shattered stones as it charged through the forest.

It was a Common Rank Demonic Beast.

And the four applicants had made the terrible mistake of entering its territory.

"Keep moving!" shouted the boy supporting the injured girl, his face twisted with desperation as he struggled to maintain his footing. "The ravine is just ahead! If we can reach the rocks, we might lose it!"

The girl shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes. "Edric, leave me behind. You can’t keep carrying me like this," she pleaded, attempting to pull away from his shoulder.

Edric tightened his grip around her waist. "Stop talking nonsense. We’re getting out of here together," he insisted, although his trembling legs suggested he was approaching his limit.

The beast roared.

A moment later, an enormous tree exploded behind them as the creature smashed through its trunk. Splinters scattered across the forest, and the ground trembled beneath its advancing weight.

The fourth applicant stumbled.

He fell hard against the rocky ground, crying out as his injured ankle twisted beneath him.

Edric turned toward him, but before he could decide what to do, a figure emerged from the trees ahead.

A young girl with flowing ash-white hair stepped onto the path, carrying a slender sword at her waist. Her clear emerald-green eyes widened slightly as she took in the injured applicants and the enormous creature pursuing them.

Helena Di Grandel.

She had been following a separate trail through the forest when the distant shouting caught her attention. At first, she assumed another group was fighting a Ferocious Beast, but the thunderous impacts approaching through the trees quickly told her otherwise.

Helena looked toward Edric and the others.

"Get behind me!" she called, drawing her sword as she stepped into the middle of the path.

Edric stared at her in disbelief. "That’s a Demonic Beast! You can’t fight it alone!" he shouted, struggling to keep Mara upright.

Helena glanced at the approaching creature before turning back toward him. "Then you’d better move quickly, because I don’t intend to let it reach you," she replied, her expression becoming unusually firm.

The boar burst through the trees.

Its enormous tusks tore through the undergrowth as it charged directly toward Helena, six powerful legs hammering against the earth.

Helena moved. She stepped sideways just before the creature reached her, allowing its massive body to thunder past while her sword flashed toward the exposed flesh beneath its jaw.

SHNK!

The blade opened a deep wound along its neck.

Dark blood sprayed across the path. The beast roared and crashed through several bushes before turning toward her again.

Helena immediately retreated several steps, examining the creature’s armored head and powerful legs. Its enormous size made a direct confrontation dangerous, particularly with four injured applicants behind her.

She needed to draw it away. Helena glanced over her shoulder. "Take everyone toward those rocks. There’s a narrow passage between them that should be too small for this creature," she instructed, pointing toward a cluster of boulders farther uphill.

Edric hesitated. "What about you?" he asked, looking between her and the approaching beast.

Helena gave him a reassuring smile. "I’ll follow once you’ve reached safety. Now hurry."

The boar charged again.

Helena accelerated toward its left flank, avoiding the enormous tusks before striking its nearest foreleg. Her sword cut through the coarse fur and opened another wound, causing the creature to stumble briefly.

However, the beast’s momentum carried it forward.

Its armored shoulder smashed into a boulder, shattering the stone and scattering fragments across the forest floor.

Helena jumped backward. A sharp fragment grazed her cheek, leaving a thin line of blood.

She barely noticed. Her attention remained fixed on the injured applicants struggling toward the rocks.

The beast suddenly turned its head. Its nostrils flared as it caught the scent of blood coming from Mara’s wounded leg.

Helena noticed the change immediately.

"No, you don’t," she muttered, tightening her grip on her sword.

The creature lunged toward the fleeing group.

Helena intercepted it. Vis surged through her legs as she accelerated, reaching the beast’s side before it could pass. Her sword flashed upward, striking the exposed joint beneath its armored jaw.

CRACK!

The impact snapped the creature’s head sideways. The boar roared furiously and swung its enormous tusks toward her.

Helena ducked beneath the attack, but the creature’s shoulder struck her before she could completely escape.

BANG!

She was thrown backward, crashing against the trunk of a nearby tree.

Pain spread through her shoulder. Helena grimaced as she pushed herself upright, her left arm trembling slightly. The impact had bruised her badly, although she could still move.

The beast turned toward her.

Its crimson eyes burned with fury.

Helena raised her sword again.

She had already noticed several weaknesses in the creature’s movements. Its armored head was difficult to penetrate, but the joints connecting its six legs were comparatively vulnerable.

More importantly, its enormous body made sudden changes in direction difficult whenever it committed to a charge.

The boar lowered its head.

Helena waited. When the creature charged, she moved diagonally toward its injured side, avoiding the tusks before driving her sword into the same foreleg she had wounded earlier.

SHNK!

The blade penetrated deeply.

The beast stumbled.

Helena immediately withdrew her weapon and struck again, severing the tendons beneath the joint.

Its foreleg buckled. The enormous creature crashed shoulder-first into the ground, carving a trench through the earth as its momentum carried it forward.

Helena could have pressed the advantage.

The beast was vulnerable. A concentrated attack against its exposed neck might have allowed her to finish the fight and claim its Demonic Core.

Ten points.

Instead, she looked toward the injured applicants.

Edric had reached the boulders, but Mara had collapsed before entering the narrow passage. The boy with the broken arm was attempting to lift her while their fourth companion struggled to crawl toward safety.

The boar was already forcing itself upright.

Helena made her decision.

She abandoned the opportunity to finish the creature and sprinted toward the group.

"Move aside!" Helena called as she reached Mara, immediately sheathing her sword and crouching beside the injured girl.

Mara looked up at her, her face pale from blood loss. "You should kill it," she whispered, glancing toward the wounded beast. "You’ll lose the points because of us."

Helena examined the deep wound across Mara’s leg before tearing a strip of cloth from her own sleeve.

"Your leg is more important than ten points," she replied, pressing the folded fabric against the wound. "Edric, help me get her through the passage."

Edric nodded and immediately moved to support Mara’s shoulders.

Together, they carried her between the boulders, squeezing through the narrow opening before lowering her onto a patch of relatively flat ground.

Behind them, the Demonic Beast roared again.

Helena turned. The creature had recovered its footing, although its injured foreleg dragged awkwardly beneath its body. It approached the boulders and attempted to force its enormous head through the passage.

Its tusks struck the stone.

BOOM!

The surrounding rocks trembled.

Helena immediately drew her sword and positioned herself near the entrance.

"Stay back," she instructed, her emerald eyes narrowing as the creature attempted another attack.

The boar slammed its armored head against the rocks repeatedly, but the passage was too narrow for its massive body. Each impact sent small stones falling from above, forcing Helena to retreat several steps while keeping the injured applicants behind her.

After several unsuccessful attempts, the beast finally withdrew.

Its enraged roar echoed through the forest before its heavy footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

Helena waited. Only when she could no longer hear the creature moving nearby did she lower her sword.

Edric released a trembling breath.

"It’s gone," he murmured, leaning against the rocks as exhaustion finally overwhelmed him.

Helena nodded before kneeling beside Mara again.

"Let me see your leg," she said gently, removing the blood-soaked cloth to examine the wound.

The injury was serious.

A deep gash extended along the girl’s thigh, and although the bleeding had slowed, she had already lost considerable blood. Helena retrieved a small medical pouch from her belongings and began cleaning the wound with water before applying a medicinal powder.

She winced.

Helena paused briefly. "I’m sorry. This will sting, but I need to clean it properly before wrapping it," she explained, offering the girl an encouraging smile.

Mara nodded and clenched her teeth.

Helena worked carefully, wrapping the wound with clean bandages before examining the others. The boy with the broken arm required a splint, while the fourth applicant’s swollen ankle needed support before he could walk again.

By the time she finished treating everyone, several hours had passed.

The afternoon sunlight was already filtering through the trees. Helena sat back on her heels and examined her remaining supplies.

Most of her bandages were gone. So was a considerable portion of her medicinal powder.

Edric watched her silently for a moment before reaching toward the pouch hanging from his waist.

"Lady Helena," he said, his expression filled with gratitude, "please take our examination markers. We wouldn’t have survived without you."

Helena looked at the pouch before shaking her head.

"Keep them," she replied, fastening her medical supplies. "You earned those points yourselves."

Edric frowned. "But you’ve lost hours helping us. You could have killed that Demonic Beast and collected its core."

Helena smiled.

"Then I’ll have to hunt another one," she answered simply.

Edric stared at her. He had heard stories about the Main Line descendants before entering Helheim. Their strength, their talent and the enormous expectations placed upon them were familiar to everyone associated with House Grandel.

But nobody had told him that one of them would willingly abandon a valuable Demonic Core to save four strangers.

Helena rose and glanced toward the narrow passage.

The injured applicants couldn’t safely travel through the forest alone.

She understood that immediately.

"There’s a sheltered ridge farther east," Helena said, adjusting her sword. "I passed it earlier. We can rest there until you’re strong enough to continue."

Edric blinked. "You’re coming with us?"

Helena nodded, offering him another gentle smile.

"Of course. I can’t leave you here."

And with that decision, Helena Di Grandel surrendered several more hours of the examination without the slightest hesitation.

While other applicants hunted Demonic Beasts and accumulated points, she helped four injured children make their way through the dangerous mountain forest.

She had lost a Demonic Core.

She had lost precious time. But as Helena supported them along the rocky passage, listening patiently while the injured girl thanked her for the third time, there was no regret in her expression.

Some things were simply worth more than first place.