5 I'll Protect You

"Finally.. I finally have my hands on her!"

"Xanrou.. We should just listen to the elders and leave right away.."

Bang!

One of the men beside Xanrou was sent flying after sending out his fist.

"You fool! If I hand the princess over right now, how am I supposed to enjoy her?!"

You bastard!

"But still.. The elders have warned us about this place over and over again.."

"Are you talking about the forbidden grounds? Hmmph. It's nothing but mere rumors. Those senile bastards are still living in the past. Even if there was a powerful being lurking beneath this place, it would have been long dead already"

He walked up to the chained Leiya and started caressing her face.

"Isn't that right my sweet princess? Those senile bastards might have been fooled by you but i'm not stupid enough to believe in old tales"

Riiip

Her clothes was ripped instantly.

"Get your filthy hands off of her! I'll rip your throat out and gouge your eyes if you lay one more finger on her!!"

I swing my body around to try and get away from these people who are restraining me but I already know the outcome.

I'm far too weak.. This is the harsh reality of this world.

"Ohh.."

Xanrou turned his attention towards me with a sadistic smile and headed towards me.

"I'd like to see you… Try!"

Bang!

Mid sentence, he threw a fist at my stomach at an incredible speed.

Guo-

Fresh blood spilled from my mouth.

"Cmon.. Let me see how you're going to do it!"

Bang!

Over and over, he let out a flurry of attacks on my body.

Multiple ribs have broken and pierced through my lungs, my shoulder has been dislocated, my legs have been broken.

It hurts..

It hurts so much that I just want to die..

Why am I so weak..

My body could no longer hold on. My eyes close steadily for the will of fire inside of my heart have been crushed under the harsh reality of the truth. In this world, I'm no different from a pathetic insect.

…

Silence.

A cold breeze filled the area. The once air filled with laughter and disgust is now completely tranquil. Almost as if time stopped.

I looked up and see a large white tiger. The fur on its body was as white as pure snow and blue flames surrounds the mark on its body. It turned around and what looked at me straight in the eyes was a cold glare. A pair of bright yellow luminescent eyes pierced my soul.

I could feel my whole body shudder as my spine has been frozen to the core.

This sensation.. I've felt this before.

The tiger in front of me erupted in blue flames surrounding it's whole body. When the flames went away, what came out was a naked beautiful woman with long white silky hair.

It's the woman from back then!

She slowly walked up in front me close enough to feel her breath.

Her yellow eyes was more beautiful than any jewelry I've seen. Her lashes were long and pretty and her lips was pink and luscious.

Just who is this girl..

…

What..

I felt a soft sensation on my chest and soon after, my body felt warm. It feels as if something bloomed inside of me. A campfire that should have been dead is now suddenly touched by a persistent ember.

This warm sensation.. it's almost as if being embraced by a loving mother.

Huh?

My body..

It doesn't hurt anymore..

Did she.. did she heal me?

It almost feels like the time when Leiya healed my body except this feels more warm and gentle while Leiya's touch felt more subtle.

"Xanrou.. that woman.. it must be the forbidden existence! Quick we need to leave right now!"

"Haaaaah?! You're telling me to run away from a woman? Ahahahaha! You're all pathetic for being scared of her"

Xanrou walked towards the naked woman with lecherous eyes.

"Little girl, I don't mind playing with you later but if you interrupt my plans, I'll make sure you won't be able to walk any longer without my commands"

He licked his lips and reached his arms towards her body.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Right when he touched her, his arm was surrounded with blue flames.

Slowly, his arms was burned to a char and the air was filled with his ashes.

"SOMEONE! HELP ME!"

Slash!

One of the men cut his arms off, carried his unconscious body and left immediately.

They're gone..

The silence that filled the air after they left wasn't for long.

She walked towards Leiya.

No!

"Wait! Please don't hurt her.. if you want to kill someone then just kill me and let go of her.."

She didn't pay any attention to me and simply kept walking towards her.

"Please! I beg of you!"

I dropped to my knees and begged while smashing my head on the ground.

"Silence"

One word.

One word was all it took for my body to freeze.

Even if I wanted to move, I couldn't.

She reached her arms towards her and Leiya's body was surrounded by blue flames.

"No!!!"

I force my frozen body to move and run towards Leiya.

Damn it..

I'm too late!

Whoosh

Instead of her body turning into ashes like Xanrou's arm, the chains that binded her was instead burned down without leaving a single trace.

"Leiya! Leiya!! Please speak to me.. Leiya!!!"

I proceed to give her cpr and try all the methods I know.

She's not breathing shit!

She's not dead..

I won't ever accept that!

"Its pointless"

"Shut up!"

A fierce roar erupted within me and kept trying to do everything in my powers.

"You, a powerless human, what do you think you're capable of doing?"

"Shut up! I won't ever accept this! Even if I have to sacrifice my life I won't ever accept it!"

Damn it..

Why am I so damn powerless..

"Do you want to help her?"

With tears flowing down my face, a glimmer of hope presented itself to me.

"I'll do anything"

Plop

She threw a peculiar looking red fruit on the floor beneath my foot.

"Eat it"

I didn't hesitate and ate the whole thing immediately.

Urghh!

My body..

It's burning…

It feels like a storm of flames is burning alive. Like a hungry hound that's eating me from the inside.. fire seeping inside of my marrows, I'm being burned to death from the inside out.

Arghhhhh

What the hell did she do to me..

"You said you'll sacrifice your life for her right? Then prove it. Keep your consciousness and live. Give up and you'll die"

My consciousness keeps slipping.

If I close my eyes, this pain will disappear..

No..

No!

"UOOOOOOOOO"

I don't care if my body burns and turn to ashes. I don't care if I lose my life. But if this is all it takes to save her then this is nothing!

The thoughts of losing her is far more painful than even death.

I don't care how painful this is.. I'll survive through this ordeal and save her!

(*)

How many moons have passed..

After ten moons, my body no longer felt pain. The sensation of burning alive transformed into a stream of warm energy flowing into my body.

Now, the fluctuation inside of my body had finally stopped.

I can feel it..

A warm energy is flowing inside of my body.

"Good"

I look at where the voice was and saw the figure of the naked woman from before.

"What happened.."

"You're inner fire has finally awakened"

Inner fire.. I remember Leiya mention this before..

If I'm not wrong, it's what allows them to increase they're physical output by a tremendous amount..

This power..

Before, I wanted it simply because it seemed like a cool thing to have but now.. as long as I could save Leiya then I'll gain the power no matter what!

"Can you feel it? The warm flow of energy coursing in your veins"

"Ya.."

"Focus that energy on your arms and place your palms on her chest"

Like this?

I reach my hand towards Leiya's chest and attempt to focus the energy coursing inside of me to my arms.

Whoosh

A geyser erupted within me.

I channel the energy inside of me into her.

My palms glowing with a subtle orange film of light transferred to her chest and soon, her body was also covered with a film of orange light.

Ugh..

My consciousness is slipping..

Darkness filled my surrounding and passed out immediately.

(*)

I'm not entirely sure how long I've been out for but when I opened my eyes, the sun has already risen.

"What happened.. Leiya! Is she ok now?!"

I check her conditions and her body finally felt warm and her breathing although strained, has come back as well.

Sigh..

Relief instantly filled my body.

"Her body has stabilized but the seal on her body has taken roots"

"What should I do then?"

I look at her anxiously.

Whatever it is, as long as I can save her then no matter the price, I'll pay it with my life.

"Become stronger"

She tossed two of the same fruit from before and with that, she left.

'Become stronger'

…

How exactly do I do it..

Should I keep channelling her more energy or should I eat the fruit first..

No..

This place isn't safe.

I need to find a suitable place to keep her safe first.

Even though this is supposedly the forbidden grounds, who's to say that they won't come back.

I pick her sleeping body on my arms and started to sprint deeper in the forest.

Whoosh

With just one step, I passed by several trees.

Woah..

This energy inside of me.. So it's this wonderful huh?

I don't know how to use it but at the very least, with this, I could probably protect her.

I gather the energy towards my leg and sprint further and further inside the forest.

(*)

It should be fine here.

After running for nearly an hour, I found a suitable cave and placed her resting body on a mossy rock formation.

Leiya..

Just wait. When I become stronger, I'll definitely save you.

Before I eat the fruits once more, I should get used to the power.

I channel the energy towards my whole body.

Urgh..

A warm sensation surrounded my entire body but I could only keep it up for a minute.

However, when I covered my body with it, I could move instantly and surpass my strength by several stages.

I should test it out.

I head outside of the cave and jump on top of a tree.

Woah!

I underestimated my strength and went over the tree by several meters.

When I landed, luckily I didn't hurt my body.

I understand now.. this energy.. not only does it increase my strength, it also strengthens my defenses too.

If I surround my body with this energy, I could probably survive falling out of a twenty story building.

Oooouuuuu

Not far from here, I heard the howls of several wolves.

I quickly head to where they were located.

One, two, three.

Three wolves standing on top a large rock are howling in unison.

Once I appeared before them, they stopped and snarled at me.

Whoosh!

One of the wolf didn't hesitate and pounced towards me.

Bang!

Right before the wolf could sink it's fangs towards me, I surround my legs with energy and send the wolf flying away.

It cried for awhile before it stopped breathing.

If this was before, I would have been frozen out of fear but I can't stay ignorant forever.

If i can't protect her then who will?

Bang!

I filled my legs with energy once more and leaped towards the wolves.

With a whipping motion, I sweep my legs towards the wolf's body and leaped towards another one and smashed it's head with both my fists.

Once I master the strength given to me by that mysterious woman, I'll finally be able to protect Leiya.

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