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“…Friel?”

Irina had finally beheaded the last half-demon, leaving only one more alive.

Right after her, there was a familiar figure rolling on the ground, one I recognized among this squad—Friel.

Even through my blurred vision and the shaky focus, I could distinctly recognize the colors of her unique hair. Without a doubt, that sprawled out figure was indeed Friel.

‘Just a moment ago…’

Friel had been perfectly coordinating with her spirit, Piel, to restrain the two half-demons. Irina’s various spirits and unexpected arrows had kept them at bay, and when they tried to break through her control, Friel had fought back with a much more exhilarating swordsmanship than her usual refined style.

‘They may not have gotten along, but their teamwork was solid.’

Before entering the eastern forest, the brief exchange between Friel and Irina was anything but friendly. Yet even amid their strained relationship, their synergy had proven to shine brightly. No matter how abnormal the strength of the two half-demons was, it seemed they could hold their ground.

Moreover, just recently, Tania’s self-destruct had affected not only the one sprawled at my feet but also the half-demons over there.

In fact, the situation might have tilted in our favor.

‘…Did some variable occur?’

Unexpectedly, Friel had sustained a severe injury.

Now, as if reaching her limit, her eyelids were slowly closing.

Before losing consciousness, I quietly stared into the void beyond.

I saw Irina gently lifting Friel. And just as my vision began to fade, an unknown elf approached her.

“…?”

Until now, Irina had always displayed calm movements, but now she gripped the collar of a woman blocking her way in an agitated manner.

Finally, the world turned dark.

*

The battle had come to an end.

With the two half-demons dead, the surviving one along with the cultist had retreated, leaving behind only a few elves who couldn’t escape in time and the bodies of our fallen allies.

This place, once filled with the roaring flames of explosion, was now eerily silent.

Irina, in that quiet moment, looked down at the dead half-demon in her hands, trying to steady her breathing.

“Hah… Hah…”

Her breaths were coming heavy. It had been a fierce battle.

Though she hadn’t suffered major injuries, the forceful onslaught of the half-demons had been incomparably strong compared to what she had faced before. It was only natural for her to be exhausted.

The dead half-demon was the man she had once severed that repugnant horn from. While defeating a half-demon through her spirit magic was a noteworthy achievement, there was no room for joy or elation in her heart.

“Friel.”

Thinking about her entangled childhood friend, Irina turned immediately to where Friel should be.

“…”

It wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t the situation she’d been imagining with Friel rolling in the dirt.

Softly, Irina lifted Friel.

Friel’s limp body felt incredibly light. Cuts marred her arms and legs, and an unmistakable wound, as if clawed by a dragon, engulfed her chest. It was clear how significant the attacks she had absorbed had been.

Breathing softly—

Through the gentle support, Irina could still feel the faint breath that told her Friel hadn’t yet crossed the threshold of death.

It happened then.

Rustle— rustle—

In the area still burning with blue flames from the massive explosion, a presence began to emerge from the nearby bushes.

“Irina—”

Her half-lifetime spent alongside the forest guardian. Once the situation had settled, she appeared as if waiting to speak, but Irina could only perceive her mouth moving. Not a word of what she said reached Irina’s ears.

Irina simply moved closer with slightly larger strides, gently but firmly grabbing the collar of the forest guardian.

“You.”

“…Irina?”

“You were aiming for this all along, weren’t you? Why did you intervene when I didn’t ask for your help?”

“……”

“As I said, I would… I would take care of things myself. I surely told you to stay clear in the middle.”

Irina tightened her grip on the forest guardian’s collar, her hand gradually exerting more force.

The forest guardian remained silent, looking down at Irina’s hand before meeting her gaze directly.

“Look at this mess. Putting aside the rivalry with competing houses, one life is critical right now. What the hell were you thinking, being useless—”

But as soon as the word “useless” left her lips, the forest guardian swiftly scanned the area as if verifying whether anyone could overhear.

Once she confirmed no one was around, she gently placed her hand atop Irina’s gripping her collar.

“Useless, you say?”

The forest guardian’s gesture gently pushed away Irina’s hand.

It was as if to say: stop wasting your strength and let go of my collar.

“All I did was join in to assist you and Friel and swing my sword, nothing more.”

“……”

This time, it was Irina who kept silent.

Yet she still let go of the forest guardian’s collar and steadied the unsteady Friel even more securely.

“Aren’t you even sorry?”

“What do you mean?”

“‘Joining in’ was a pretty name for an excuse.”

“……”

“Your ‘helping’ was just amateurish enough to be ineffectual, more of an obstacle, and in the end, Friel had to cover for you—”

“Irina. You’re not acting like yourself… no, you’re not acting like the Ianette family.”

“……”

“If necessary, using any means necessary is the principle of our Ianette family, isn’t it?”

“……”

When Irina fell silent, the forest guardian, seizing the opportunity, continued without hesitation.

“On the day of the spirit contract ceremony, you too engraved our family’s principles in your heart and made a vow, didn’t you?”

It felt different.

“Get out of my way.”

“……”

“We’ll talk later.”

What she had sworn to do wasn’t to elevate her status at the cost of souring relations and causing discord with her. No, she had aimed to enhance the standing of the family.

Her head was spinning. All her thoughts were tangled, and doubts about the contradictions stemming from her previous actions rushed in. Slowly, she needed time to sort through everything.

“……”

After closing her eyes and reopening them, she pushed aside all distractions and began to move for the most urgent matter at hand.

Besides herself and Friel, there was still one more individual who had remained to fight until the end.

With each step she took, she absorbed the traces of his battle.

The gradually fading blue flames. Scattered arrows lay among his surroundings, the suspicious arm of the half-demon, along with several puddles of blood. Many footprints jumbled together testified to the fierce battle that had taken place.

“Looks like he managed to kill a half-demon all on his own.”

In the end, had he succeeded in defeating a monstrous enemy? Her own eyes confirmed the icy corpse of the woman who had been rampaging with maddening ferocity.

Irina gazed briefly at the cold body before following the long trail of blood with her eyes.

With heavy steps, she moved past the forest guardian.

At the end of her line of sight, she could see a figure. A man slumped against a pillar, eyes closed, breathing heavily. A small spirit was urging him to wake up, rubbing its cheek against him.

“Looks like you’re alive. But you appear to be in dire condition.”

“……”

Indeed, the forest guardian was right. With many minor wounds, it seemed he had suffered from an attack infused with magic. His leg bled heavily, showing no signs of stopping, and there was already a significant pool of blood soaking the ground beneath him.

If left alone like this, death was inevitable. To save him, she needed to hurry and join up with the nearby elves to provide him with treatment.

As she approached to lift him, the spirit turned its attention to her.

─……!

At first, the spirit displayed a defensive posture. But once it noticed Irina’s signature long ears, it relaxed and hurried over.

─Kuh!

With its mouth clamped around her sleeve, it tugged her towards its contractor.

Following the spirit’s lead, Irina reached the fallen man and examined his condition.

Unlike Friel, who still had mana left to desperately resist death, he appeared to be ready to accept his fate. His complexion was unsettling.

“Do you have any potions?”

“Three in total, I brought them with me.”

“Hand them over.”

Receiving the potions from the forest guardian, Irina gently laid Friel down on the ground.

She began to pour the potions slowly into Friel and Ray’s wounds and mouths.

“Call for the elves nearby who can safely carry the two of them… Hurry and prepare to treat their wounds.”

Using one potion up.

Two left.

One was poured over Friel’s large chest wound, and the other over Ray’s leg wound as Irina instructed firmly.

“Just make sure to find Arielte or Chelness to treat them.”

I’m sorry, but this time it felt like Chelness or Arielte would be better than the Ianette family.

 

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