Ch 38: Healing wounds [pt1]

“Finally, we did it. That stupid shit deserved to get blasted into next month.”

Kurina cursed the king out before she collapsed. All her energy had been spent and she was heavily injured as well. She consciousness could no longer take it.

Alex was surprised by Kurina’s body collapsing and that was why he was not able to catch her in time. Her body hit the ground and turned red. Blood was seeping out of her wounds.

“Oh shit! I need to do something or she would bleed out. Shit, I don’t have any supplies with me as well and somehow, I doubt that a place filled with undead would keep any such supplies.”

Alex did not know why, but he could feel Kurina’s life force bleeding out of her body. She was on the verge of death and needed intense care.

“Hey goddess, are you there? If you are, then hurry up and tell me what I can do to save Kurina. You do know a way to save her, right?”

Alex asked this question while not turning his head away from Kurina’s body. But he did not touch her or move her. He was afraid that doing so would cause Kurina to bleed out even faster.

‘Hmm, you want to help your companion out? But why? Is she someone whom you care about? Someone close to you? If so, then it would be better to let her die right here and now. Your feelings might become a liability in the future. You still want to save her?’

The goddess asked Alex this question and objectively speaking, Alex was sure that the goddess was right. Kurina was someone who had the potential of becoming a liability for him.

But Alex still knew that he could not ignore her. Not because they had grown up together, but because he wanted to use her busted skill.

Or so was what he told himself.

“Kurina is very valuable right now. Her skill is too useful to allow her to die. If she can boost my power all the time, then we will become an invincible combo in the future.”

Alex reminded the goddess of this and the goddess only looked amused at his reply. It seemed almost as if she did not believe what Alex said and she ridiculed him for his naive thought.

‘Ah, I don’t know if I should feel amused by you or pity you for your naive thoughts. But anyway, since you asked for my help this time, I will help you out. Here, this is the map you need to follow.’

Alex looked down at the map in front of his screen. It led to a mass of blue in the middle of the desert and the instructions written beside the map were clear.

‘The pool of rejuvenation will heal the wounds and the act of connection will rejuvenate the body of its lost energy. Dear travellers, enjoy it to your heart’s content.’

“She’s dying and you are asking me to have sex with her in the pool? Are you serious?”

Alex asked this question but the goddess was already gone by the time he finished yelling at her. In the end, he had no other choice but to follow the map. He needed to keep Kurina alive in some way or another.

In his hurry to get Kurina out, Alex did not even ask the obvious questions he should have. Like, where was everyone else right now? Had Kurina gotten separated from them? Or had they left her behind?

At this point, Alex was not even sure if he wanted to hear the answer to these questions or not.

‘Well, let’s hurry to the pool for now.’

…………………………

For the record, Alex had not thought that this journey would be easy. But he had not expected how hard it would be for him to carry Kurina and move to the new location which was 5 kilometres away.

Unlike the outside world, there was no other means of transport here except your own feet. And the desert was not the best terrain to navigate.

It had to be a miracle that allowed Alex to travel to the pool of water without collapsing. But as soon as he was close enough, he felt his energy fading away. His finger touched the water as Alex stretched his hand toward the water.

Alex had not expected the water to work wonders, but he was surprised when the barest touch caused his body to recover.

He was able to drag himself forward and submerge his hand and arm into the water before diving.

The water worked miracles and it made Alex’s fatigue go away. This water was a miraculous thing and Alex had a feeling that he would not have found this place if the goddess had not led him.

Alex was sure that his body had been controlled by the goddess at some point in time when he had backed out. There was too much of his journey that he did not remember.

‘Don’t think too much about it. I will have time to ask the goddess about all this later. For now, just focus on dragging Kurina into the pool with you.’

It was tough to do. Kurina was not light and her body felt heavy in Alex’s hand. But since he had his strength back, Alex was able to hold her body in the water.

Brownish, red melted into the water and Alex watched as Kurina’s wounds healed in front of his eyes. She looked a little sluggish but she even managed to open her eyes.

Unlike Alex, Kurina had managed to barely survive and the healing powers of this water did not seem to be enough to rejuvenate her to her full health as well.

“Where are we?”

Kurina asked this question as soon as she woke up. The first thing she had seen when she woke up was Alex’s face so she was certain that either they both had lived, or they both had died.

Truthfully, Kurina did remember a lot of what happened back during the battle.

“We are in a healing pool. I somehow managed to find this place and it healed your injuries. How are you feeling right now?”

Alex asked and Kurina was surprised to hear his words. So, they both were still alive? That was a miracle.

“Ah fuck, so we survived after all. Shit, I did not think this far ahead. Ah, what the heck do we do now? I feel so weak.”

Kurina complained as she tried to pull her leg up. It irritated her when she found herself having no energy to do so.

“Stupid body and this stupid healing pool. It healed me but I still have no energy. How are we going to survive from here on?”

Kurina asked as she looked around. She was beginning to realize that this tower was not as safe as it seemed. Danger lurked around them at every corner and they needed to always be vigilant if they were in here.

“You know something. Alex, I can read your face quite well so you might as well tell me what you are thinking. Is there a way for me to regain my energy fast?”

Kurina asked with a dominating expression on her face. She was not in the mood to bullshit and play around. If Alex would not tell her outright, then Kurina would force him to tell her.

“Well, there is a way for you to regain your energy fast, but I don’t think you would want to engage in any sexual activity so soon after what happened. You need to give yourself time to heal.”

Alex did not say that Kurina needed to heal physically as well as mentally. He had been able to guess that Kurina had been abandoned by the others, especially Baron Luke and Ashura.

Now, Alex had no idea why he felt that this was the case. But if his gut feeling was right, then he did not want to be the one to throw salt into the wounds.

The crossed expression on Kurina’s face let Alex know that he was right. She had been abandoned and left behind.

But before Alex leave the pool and Kurina’s side, she decided to reach out for him and grab his arm. Then, she pulled his head back near her face and her lips met Alex’s in a hard kiss.

When she pulled back, Kurina’s face was pink but her eyes were resolute. She had decided based on what had happened so far.

“You! How dare you try and run away from me like this? Feelings? Emotions? I am so tired of all this bullshit. As if I will let these insignificant things keep me from surviving. So, help me regain my energy back right now.”

Kurina demanded this of Alex and he gave into her stubbornness. Mainly because her attitude irritated Alex and he was not going to take a smack while lying down like this.

Alex grabbed Kurina’s hand which was on his face and quickly turned the tides on her. He used his body weight to pin Kurina down and held her there.

“You are pushing your limits with me, Kurina. Behave if you know what is good for you. Otherwise, I will be forced to make you give in."