EWH Chapter 135

‘What’s going on? Did he faint?’

Azar grew desperate as he watched Nathan falling in an arc. Even as he leapt forward, kicking off the ground, his gaze remained fixed on the sky.

At that moment, a harpy, enraged by the death of its companion, lunged at Azar with a ferocious snarl. Azar barely glanced at the harpy blocking his path before striking it down with his scabbard. Another one tried to tear at his shoulder with sharp talons, but Azar ignored it, focusing solely on running.

However, he felt a surge of anxiety, realizing he might not be able to catch Nathan at this rate. Amidst his labored breathing, he thought he could hear his own heart dropping.

BOOM!

Just as another harpy was about to attack, a greatsword came flying out of nowhere, impaling the harpy that was reaching for Azar and pinning it to a building’s outer wall. The harpy, skewered like a kebab, let out an agonized scream before going limp.

Tap! Thud!

Simultaneously, someone dashed across the rooftops and managed to catch the falling Nathan by a hair’s breadth. However, they seemed to slightly misjudge the force needed, as the weight caused both of them to tumble and roll across the ground.

“Ow! That hurts!”

The person who had caught Nathan, shielding him in their arms, cried out as their head hit the wall. They clutched their head, trembling in pain, before looking up at the sound of Azar’s footsteps. Their pained expression immediately brightened upon seeing Azar.

“Huff… huff…?”

Azar, still catching his breath, called out with an uncertain expression.

“Ra-Ramiya?”

In response, Ramiya, her vibrant red hair now a disheveled mess, cried out with overwhelming emotion.

“Azar! You bastard! How on earth did you manage to survive…!”

For a moment, Azar didn’t recognize Ramiya. While he knew his own appearance wasn’t exactly pristine, Ramiya looked even worse.

Her disheveled appearance was compounded by her bright red hair, which was not just messy but unevenly cut, now barely reaching her shoulders. Moreover, her body was covered in countless wounds, and her Academy training uniform was reduced to little more than rags. She looked as if she hadn’t eaten, slept, or bathed in days – a beggar asking for friendship wouldn’t have looked out of place.

Who would believe this was the daughter of the country’s only ducal family? Azar only recognized her because of her blue eyes, so similar to his own.

Meanwhile, Ramiya looked on the verge of tears. She was so overjoyed to finally meet the two of them that tears were already glistening in her eyes.

“Azaaaaar!”

“No, no! Put Nathan down first!”

Azar shouted urgently. Ramiya was trying to rush towards him while still holding Nathan. There was a considerable height difference between the two, causing Nathan’s long legs to pathetically drag on the ground. The way she held him resembled someone awkwardly hugging a tree, and perhaps because of this, Nathan let out a faint groan despite being unconscious.

“Oh no! Is Nover dead?! Don’t die!”

“He’s not dead!”

As Azar tried to stop a panicked Ramiya from shaking Nathan, Remberton came running from a distance, carrying Ali on his back.

“Didn’t I tell you not to rush ahead alone!”

Remberton shouted at Ramiya in irritation, panting heavily. Remberton’s appearance was not much different from Ramiya’s. He looked far from his usual neat and tidy self. His dark blue hair, usually tied back neatly, was now as disheveled as Ramiya’s, flying about wildly. His bright yellow eyes belatedly turned to Azar.

“…You’re safe.”

Remberton spoke in a calmer tone, briefly embracing Azar with one arm before releasing him.

“You all look terrible too.”

Azar replied with a wry smile.

“What happened to Ali?”

“He passed out from overexertion. He’s depleted his magical power. No matter how vast his reserves, using it recklessly led to this state.”

Remberton explained with a look of exasperation. Ali was groaning on Remberton’s back, his face pale. He seemed to be having a nightmare. Azar roughly patted Ali’s head before surveying their surroundings. Five of the six harpies were either dead or unconscious.

“…One’s missing, did it escape?”

Azar clicked his tongue as he belatedly realized the absence. He then retrieved his sword from the ground, sheathing it, before approaching the dead harpy with his arrow and wand still embedded in it. He pulled out Nathan’s wand, twirling it once to shake off the blood. He also checked the arrows. Fortunately, they weren’t broken and seemed usable at least once more.

After collecting the arrows, he pulled the greatsword out of the wall. The impaled harpy fell to the ground. Azar stared at it for a moment before slinging the heavy greatsword over his shoulder and turning around.

“By the way, Raya…”

“Hm? What?”

Remberton hesitated, unsure how to phrase his thoughts as he looked at Ramiya holding Nathan. Something seemed off. Was it because of Nathan’s long legs? The way he was crumpled in her arms looked somewhat pitiful.

“No… his dignity…”

Remberton stammered, observing the scene. Ramiya responded as if there was no issue.

“Does Nover have any dignity left?”

“…”

Remberton fell silent. Well, she had a point. They had seen too much to worry about dignity now. But he was about to suggest that carrying him on her back might be better when Azar, who had approached unnoticed, spoke while planting the greatsword in front of Ramiya.

“He looks uncomfortable. Just switch with me.”

“Oh, fine.”

Azar handed his bow and quiver to Ramiya before expertly hoisting Nathan onto his back.

“We let one escape. It might bring back its group, so we should find a place to hide.”

Since Azar and Remberton were carrying Nathan and Ali respectively, Ramiya was currently the only one able to fight properly. If they encountered a horde of magical beasts or another group of harpies in this situation, things would undoubtedly turn ugly.

They hurried to move far away from their current location.

“…I thought something terrible had happened to you. The harpies were mimicking your voices, and everything they said was awful.”

“Oh, we did encounter them. They were absolutely insufferable! Right, Remi?”

“The worst part was when they lured magical beasts to us.”

“Exactly!”

Ramiya shouted in agreement.

“Thanks to that, we couldn’t tell where we were anymore…! We were originally heading to where we thought you might have fallen, but all the paths here are strange! And our senses are off too…! There’s no end to the headaches.”

As if venting her frustrations from their ordeal, Ramiya grumbled to Azar while they ran, searching for a place to rest.

“Azar, do you know what floor we’re on?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure…”

Azar hesitated at Remberton’s question. He was also confused about their current floor. While fleeing from magical beasts, they had gone to the second floor, which they hadn’t visited before, then to some upper floor of unknown number, and even back down to the first floor, losing their way in the process. This made him appreciate anew how well Nathan had navigated until now.

“Ah! There! Let’s go there!”

Suddenly, Ramiya shouted, pointing to a spot.

They entered through a massive door. The interior was more spacious than expected. After crossing a long colonnade lined with pristine white pillars, they found themselves in an elegant hall.

“This… looks just like a temple.”

Remberton muttered involuntarily as he surveyed the interior. As he was the only one among them who had been to a temple before, the other two simply tilted their heads, responding with a noncommittal “Is that so?”

The decorations throughout were uniformly classical, elegant, and dignified. The three of them went around opening every door they came across. They systematically checked ordinary bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a reception room, a study, a prayer room with an altar, a passageway leading to an inner courtyard, and so on, before returning to what appeared to be the reception room.

They laid the two unconscious individuals on the sofa and sat down in a circle on the rug covering the floor.

“I’m dead tired…”

Ramiya mumbled in an exhausted voice as she flopped down onto the rug.

“Both of you should rest. I’ll keep watch.”

“Are you sure that’s okay? Azar, you don’t look well either.”

“I’m better off than you two. Stop arguing and get some sleep.”

Ramiya had already passed out. Remberton briefly protested before leaning back against the sofa, looking somewhat ashamed. Soon, the reception room was filled only with the sound of steady breathing.

“…”

Tick. Tack.

Azar sat with his back to the sofa, hugging his sword, staring blankly at the flames flickering in the fireplace.

This place resembled the others they had seen. It looked as if people had been here until just moments ago and had briefly stepped out. The logs in the fireplace, lit by an unknown hand, crackled steadily, refusing to die out. Thanks to this, the air here was warmer than in other places.

“Yawn.”

As the warmth enveloped the room, drowsiness began to creep over him.