25 Savior and Threat

KATHERINE HEARTH'S POV:

I opened my eyes at the sound of burning skin, my body surprisingly free of any pain. A figure was enveloping me like a mother cradling her newborn, protecting it from worry and danger.

I snapped back to reality, realizing who this person was.

"Darck?" I muttered in disbelief, my eyes moving to the patch of burnt skin on his hip. How had he done that? When I had last looked at him due to the fireball he had shot, he was standing at least 30 mels away from me.

The fire in front of me was no illusion, and it was almost scorching my face. Did he somehow manage to protect me and use himself as a shield? I looked up at the sockets in his mask, those turquoise eyes radiating with power. A small crackle of yellow energy spiked from his arm, instantly catching my attention.

There was no mistaking it, that was lightning.

I just lay there, perplexed, not knowing what to say, or how to say anything.

"You okay?" he finally asked, coughing ever so slightly from the pain on his hip. Words came back to me as I looked up at the mask that covered the face I had seen only momentarily.

"Y-yea."

"Good," he sighed, not knowing what else to say.

Eyes were said to be a direct link to a person's soul. By simply looking into the pupils of another, you could evaluate their past, their experiences, and their nature.

Yet when I looked into those eyes, all I could see was pain. It wasn't a physical pain from a burn, nor an emotional pain from heartbreak. This was something much deeper, something that he could never share, something he would have to carry for the rest of his life alone.

That kind of pain broke people, led them into despair without any way out.

I barely knew anything about this boy, but I wanted to change that. I wanted to support him, be a person he could lean on, be someone who he could trust.

I instantly noticed his distance, separating himself from the rest of the group. I tried my best to support him with everything I had during the beast attack in the woods, but it seems like I was the one in need of saving this time.

If I stayed by his side long enough, would I finally be able to help him?

HUGO LIECH'S POV:

I slammed my sword into the last creature, watching its life slowly fade as it fought back helplessly. I smiled. If this was a C-rank dungeon, then my powers were those of an A-rank, maybe even AA-rank!

I was wiping out every single monster within my vicinity, clearly demonstrating my superiority compared to that fraud. I had heard from one of my guards that he hadn't gone all out in his exam and still acquired B-rank, and I was amazed at how people believed that.

The guy was clearly inferior to me, and if I got B-rank, then giving this guy a C-rank would be pushing it.

I slotted my royal broadsword back in its sheath by my waist before sensing something behind me. My hand immediately clutched the hilt of the sword, ready to draw the weapon in case of an enemy.

I looked back, but all I could see was Darck, his clothes slightly scorched, and Katherine lying on the ground behind him. The boy was approaching me slowly, his eyes locked on mine.

"What do you want-"

My legs gave out as I fell to the ground, gagging and grasping my throat in pain. I wanted to vomit, but my body wouldn't budge. All I could feel was cold darkness set over me, and I could tell the others felt the same thing as their faces turned blue in fear.

What was this? The boss monster's aura?

My eyes followed the source, but for some reason all they led to was Darck. My eyes burst open as I realized that this feeling of dread, this feeling of death, was something that emanated from him.

My body began shivering, my futile attempts at standing up forcing me to lay there on my legs. I took out my sword, slamming it into the ground and using it as a support for my legs, slowly getting up. I looked at Darck again, nearing me by the second.

"What do you want?" I asked mockingly.

The boy said nothing, merely drawing his sword. I could feel every step he took, each one sending glacial shivers down my spine.

How? How could I feel so helpless against this individual? Somebody who was beneath me in every way, somebody who had achieved nothing in his life, somebody who didn't even know what it meant to fight!

Everything about him was fake, a lie that he spread for personal gain. He wanted people to feel sorry for him, and yet... this darkness was real. It was the most real thing I had ever felt, an abyss where nothing but hatred spurred from.

The boy was almost right in front of me, his proximity making my body retreat instinctively.

"What are you doing?" I asked again, trying to ignore the fear I felt.

He stopped right in front of me, his sword shining from the glow of his eyes.

"Don't ever put anyone in danger again," he warned, his metallic voice piercing my very sanity.

And just like that, the aura vanished, Darck sheathing his sword onto his back and heading towards the team leader. I stood there, petrified, and I wasn't the only one.

Every single person in the room was wondering what had just happened. Did they think it was just an illusion, a mishap in the atmosphere?

"We still have a boss to defeat," stated Darck as he moved deeper into the cavern, the rest of the party snapping back to their senses.

"Y-yea, of course," said Mike, still trying to understand what had just transpired.

I was officially protected because of my family, but even knowing this, Darck thought he could threaten me like that?

That little bitch had no idea what was coming. I just had to wait, patiently, and there would be an opportunity. All I needed was one mistake on his end, and he would suffer more than anyone ever had on this goddamn continent!