A Bad Nightmare

Azrael squinted, his focus sharpening on the beautiful woman before him. He took in the details of her features—the curve of her lips, the shape of her nose, and the delicate size of her ears. But then, something caught his attention.

"Small ears...?" he murmured, a seed of realization beginning to bloom within him.

"Celeste...?" he whispered, his voice barely more than a whimper, as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

Azrael's world shattered in an instant as the truth unfolded before him. His friends were not here to comfort him—they were here for something else entirely.

"Ah~ yes, honey. Your friends are here to look after you~ ah, harder, Arthur. Harder!" Celeste moaned out, as Arthur thrust his member inside her pussy.

"CELESTE?!"

With a gut-wrenching scream, he bellowed out her name, the pain of betrayal lancing through him like a knife.

Startled by the sudden outburst, Kaitlynn dropped the pot of soup she was holding, her eyes wide with shock. In her surprise, her foot slipped on the spilled liquid, sending her tumbling to the ground. The scalding hot soup splashed onto her body, eliciting a sharp cry of pain.

"Ah! By the gods!"

Kaitlynn exclaimed, quickly scrambling to her feet and frantically wiping the hot liquid from her skin, the sensation burning like fire against her flesh.

Illeron paused his work on the makeshift flute, his hands stilling as he listened to the sudden commotion. Curiosity piqued, he glanced over to see what had caused the disturbance.

Meanwhile, Azrael's heart pounded in his chest, each beat echoing loudly in his ears. He struggled to catch his breath, his mind reeling from the shock of what he had witnessed.

'Why did I see her? Them?'

He cast his gaze around the familiar surroundings of the cave, feeling a sense of disorientation wash over him. Everything appeared unchanged—the same rocky walls, the same dim lighting—but something felt fundamentally different.

Kaitlynn seeing him awake, dashed towards him and hugged him tightly. "You are awake! You are finally awake."

"Huh? Finally?"

"Yes, you were out for 2 days. How do you feel?" Kaitlynn asked.

"2 days?"

"Yes, we thought you were a goner, you know. All that poisoned blood... I was really worried."

"Poisonous blood?"

"It's good to see you, my dear friend. You were mana poisoned. That's what she told me," Illeron explained gently.

Azrael looked at his friends, his expression a mixture of bewilderment and realization as the memory of what had happened slowly began to resurface.

He should have known this would happen—using magic for extended periods without a magic core was bound to damage the body, and if done excessively, it could become lethal.

"I see..." Azrael murmured, his voice heavy with contemplation as he leaned against the rock, lost in thought.

"Are you okay?" Kaitlynn's voice trembled with concern as she looked at Azrael. "You need to rest properly, and no more magic until you have a mana core, alright?"

Azrael nodded slowly, acknowledging her advice, and studied her face for a moment before asking,

"And you? Are you alright?"

"Look at me," she insisted, lifting her arms and spinning around gracefully. She had changed into the tunic of the slaves, a simple yet clean white dress with no sleeves.

"See? I'm perfectly fine. No wounds or anything."

He felt a genuine sense of relief seeing Kaitlynn happy and unharmed. Yet, amidst his relief, a nagging thought persisted in his mind.

'She's not Celeste...' he reminded himself sternly. 'She won't betray me.'

As he glanced towards Illeron, who offered him an innocent smile, Azrael couldn't help but feel a sense of turmoil brewing within him.

"Shit is messing up my head," he muttered, shaking his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts.

"Are you alright?" The elf knelt beside him, concern evident in her touch as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

He smiled and opened his arms, as if inviting her for an embrace. But her cheeks immediately flushed red, and she quickly averted her gaze, muttering,

"Shameless..."

"What...?"

"Mm... friend, you might want to consider putting on something more than just your underpants before going in for a hug," Illeron teased, barely able to contain his laughter as he pointed at Azrael's attire.

"WHAT?!" Azrael's eyes widened in shock as he looked down, realizing he was clad only in his underpants.

"WHAT?! Oh my god! This is not what it looks like. Please, misunderstand," he exclaimed, frantically wrapping himself in the bedsheets like a panicked bedroll, his face turning a shade of red that could rival a ripe tomato.

"Shameless, shameless..." Kaitlynn murmured, her gaze still fixed on the ground. Her ears turned red and her entire face flushed with embarrassment.

"It's not what you think, I swear. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Azrael pleaded, his voice tinged with urgency.

"I-It's okay... you were unconscious," Kaitlynn stammered, her cheeks burning.

"Please, just listen to me..."

"I already told you it's fine," she interrupted, finally looking up to meet his eyes.

In that moment, Azrael found himself utterly captivated, lost in the depths of her beautiful orbs.

"I heard you were running around the cavern in your underpants. You even defeated the Goblin Chief in your underpants... How shameless do you have to be to do such a thing?" Kaitlynn teased, a playful smile dancing on her lips as she spoke.

"I thought that was the slave dress of this place," Azrael protested, trying to defend himself.

"Haha!" Kaitlynn burst into laughter, playfully slapping his shoulders.

"Hey! It hurts," he complained, rubbing his sore shoulders.

"You are so silly, you know," she teased, her laughter still ringing in the air.

"So you heard all that, huh..." Azrael muttered, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Yeah, we were all so worried. But Kaitlynn said that you'll be alright. You need a lot of rest though, mana poisoning can be lethal," Illeron explained.

"You a healer?" Azrael asked, turning to Kaitlynn.

"Of course not," Kaitlynn replied, smiling. "It's just a natural insti-- yes, I'm a healer."

Azrael squinted at her sudden change of response but then smiled at her honesty. He was glad she was beginning to trust him.

She smiled back, a hint of shyness in her expression, and leaned towards him, tenderly embracing him.