Chapter 1.7 (2/2)

Still a little overwhelmed from the sudden attack, I clumsily pushed myself up from my place draped over the boy’s chest. I stared down at him, my wide eyes darting around his face in utter shock. I couldn’t fathom where his sudden strength came from. After all, just moments ago, he seemed as if he was on the verge of death, unblinking, unmoving, and already as pale as a ghost. Despite all of that, this boy still managed to save both of us.

“Over here, there’s a survivor! Soldiers, prepare to attack! Ready!”

A confused cry escaped from my throat. Then I lifted my head to look up at the monster that stood in front of me ominously. What the heck?! I thought that ugly beast was dead, had it really still been breathing all this time?

The soldier quickly gathered after they had finally closed the distance. However, with this measly amount of soldiers, there was no way we would be able to stop the demon’s second attack. Although I could run away from it, the boy’s injuries were just too extensive to get out of the monster’s periphery in time. It was already evident that he was breathing harder, his breaths more frequent and shallow because his injury had worsened as he held me and together, rolled us over to escape the demon’s attack. There was absolutely no way that I could run and just avoid the incoming attack, leaving him behind to the monster’s mercy.

Then, someone shouted viscerally.

“Magician!”

I stretched my hand forward and concentrated my mana.

BOOM!

A bolt of lightning emerged from the sky, traveling chaotically through the expanse of the airspace to strike the head of the monster. It all happened in the blink of an eye. The charred monster slowly fell to the ground like a telephone phone in a tempestuous storm.

BANG!

The earth shook with the thunderous sound that had erupted.

“Wow…” The sea of soldiers that surrounded me who witnessed the display of magic I had just executed was rendered speechless. They were left standing there frozen, like statues, their mouths hung open in awe.

For goodness’s sake these people…. don’t just stand there admiring me! Give me some help!

“Urgh.”

A sharp pain emerged in my head, spikes of extreme discomfort originating from my temples. I tried to massage them to no avail. It was expected since it was the first time Fiona’s body handled so much stress. Doing that much magic in such a hurry certainly took its toll. However, my injuries were incomparable to those the boy sported.

“Get a hold of yourself!”  I was overcome with worry, panickedly shaking his shoulders in an attempt to make him keep conscious until help arrived. All of a sudden, it dawned upon me. How could I have not seen it before?

“Ahh!”

I looked over the boy once again, this time paying attention to various details with keen eyes- old clothes presumed to be a commoner’s, dark hair like the midnight sky and misty blue-gray eyes.

At first, I didn’t recognize him because of his dusty appearance and his age being younger than I had expected. However, it was clear as crystal now.

Isn’t this the main male character, Sigren!? Why is he here? Wasn’t he supposed to be introduced six years later, at the start of the original story? Why has he appeared before my eyes right now?! Does he meet Abel around this time? Why?!?!

The thoughts weaved in and out of my brain before becoming tangled in a flash. This entire predicament seemed like one giant Gordian knot. My knowledge about the novel’s events was useless in this situation. Honestly, I didn’t know much about this period because I had never written it myself- the story which I wrote began six years later. I was absolutely clueless about what had happened in this world before that and hence, every action I’ve taken up til now was purely guesswork.

Stop! I need to stop thinking about this, stubborn brain! This is the worst time to be thinking about this.

Sigren was the male protagonist of my magnum opus and a hero who would save this world. Additionally, that very man was dying right in front of my eyes. His death would mean the end of all hope! It would be a crisis of apocalyptic proportions… On that note, I noticed that all the blood that had traced his wounds had disappeared.

“Please call paramedics here soon!” I screamed in desperation.

***