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T/N: It seems like Daphne accidentally found the altar of some god that will give her more divine powers? Let’s hope for the best 🙏
Edmund at the end be like ‘I’m diving in first, follow if you want’ lol
Chapter 54
“It doesn’t seem like we’ve gone too deep inside.”
Damian said as he ate the fruit he picked up. Damian explained that Daphne had regained consciousness not long after fainting, and he had brought her to the cave.
“Two days….”
And now, two full days had passed since then. That meant Daphne had woken up after two days, and it had also been two days since Edmund had failed to find them.
“I tore pieces of clothing along the way to leave a trail. The search party should find us soon.”
“…I see.”
“Then, get some rest.”
As if he had finished everything he needed to do, Damian headed toward the entrance of the cave.
Daphne, who had been sitting in a daze, quickly stood up at his sudden movement.
“Why are you getting up?”
As soon as Damian asked, he realized why.
“Someone has to stand watch at night.”
“Ah, then when should I take over?”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“But….”
“Mother.”
Damian called her softly.
“There is nothing you can do. You can neither gather food nor stand guard.”
He wasn’t wrong. Daphne was powerless. If an unavoidable situation arose while gathering food or standing watch, she would be helpless and would only end up relying on Damian.
“So just stay put.”
With that, Damian turned his back to her and left the cave entrance. Daphne couldn’t say another word.
— — —
The next day, it rained.
Damian gathered food. Damian left traces. Damian stood watch. All Daphne did was sit still.
Damian usually slept before sunset and woke up at dusk to keep watch. After returning from leaving markers while picking fruit, he lay down early to rest before his watch.
Crackle, crackle.
The firewood burned steadily. Watching Damian’s back in front of the fire, Daphne lay down without touching the fruit, turning away from him. An awkward silence filled the cave.
“Why did you save me?”
It was Damian who broke the silence. His last memory was Daphne holding onto him tightly, completely disregarding her own fall. It was something he had wanted to ask as he watched over her unconscious body.
Why? Why me? Why would you?
“You could have died.”
The moment that strange substance engulfed him, Damian instinctively realized: I’m going to die.
His body burned with an unknown heat. The moment he saw black mist rising from his own body, he knew it was the end. Damian had seen it once before: Edmund in a rampage. The moment he recognized that he looked exactly like Edmund, wreathed in dark mist, someone pushed his shoulder.
Damian could have withstood it, but then he saw Daphne. If he lost control here, she was the one who would suffer the most. The moment he realized that, he let himself be pushed. He relaxed and flung himself into the air.
“I just don’t understand you at all….”
Damian murmured quietly. His throat burned hot. His mother, Daphne, was an incomprehensible person.
“Damian.”
Clearing away her hesitation, Daphne sat up, her resolve firm. At the sound, Damian also raised his head. Daphne parted her lips. Damian waited. Unlike before, there was no one else here. Just the two of them. He could afford to wait.
Daphne gazed at Damian. Her eyelashes trembled, her breathing quickened. Pushing past the prickling anxiety, she spoke.
“If such a thing happens again, I….”
Just as her throat tightened and she paused, Damian suddenly bolted upright.
“Shh.”
Placing a finger to his lips, he stared into the cave, concentrating on a faint sound in the distance. Moving cautiously, he pulled Daphne behind him. For a moment, Daphne held her breath in confusion. Then, a low growl echoed from deeper inside the cave, making her shoulders stiffen.
“Mother, outside, I left markers.”
“Damian.”
“Follow them. There’s a river ahead.”
Daphne understood what he was trying to say. Panicked, she grabbed his sleeve.
“Damian, come with me!”
“You’ll only slow me down!”
Daphne flinched. Coldly shaking off her grip, Damian spoke in a low voice.
“Even if we go together, we’ll be caught.”
Damian pushed her toward the cave exit. Rain poured down, drenching her instantly.
Daphne turned around. From the cave’s depths, an unknown beast emerged. Her gaze shifted to Damian, who had no weapon.
Without looking back, Damian whispered, “I’ll be right behind you.”
But his words were swallowed by the beast’s roar.
* * *
Gasp. Gasp.
Panting heavily, Daphne ran mechanically. She didn’t know how long she had been running or if she was even headed in the right direction.
“Ah!”
She tripped over a rock she hadn’t seen and fell. Pain surged through her, but she didn’t even try to get up, struggling to catch her breath. Clarity hit her like a slap.
;What have I done?;
She had used Damian as bait to escape. Her breath caught in her throat. She jumped to her feet, ready to run back.
‘What can I even do?’
Damian was right. She was useless, a burden. But was fleeing the right thing to do? Standing still in the rain for only a moment, Daphne began to move again.
「Come here.」
A voice called to her. Daphne’s vision blurred. Ignoring the scratches forming on her limbs, she walked through the forest, entranced.
「Closer.」
Her steps quickened. When Daphne stopped, a worn altar stood before her. A fierce wind howled. As if drawn in, she stepped forward.
Though aged, the altar was well-maintained, as if frequently visited. Cautiously, Daphne moved deeper inside. As she approached the offering table—
Vwoom.
A searing heat flared in her chest. Hurriedly, Daphne reached into her pocket and pulled out a hair ornament. The heat came from the gemstone embedded in it. Her strength drained away.
“Mother!”
As her consciousness faded, Damian’s voice echoed faintly in the distance.
In the midst of a fierce battle with a beast, armed with nothing but sheer will, the creature suddenly vanished. Sensing something was off, Damian rushed toward the river, only to find no trace of Daphne.
The rain had already washed away any footprints, but faint traces of blood on the leaves led him to this mysterious altar, where he witnessed Daphne collapsing onto it. Fortunately, she had merely fainted.
Just as Damian felt a wave of relief, his eyes widened at the sight of something on the ground.
“This is….”
* * *
“Where?”
Edmund’s swift steps came to an abrupt halt. Alec took a deep breath before responding.
“The heavy rain cut our search short, but we found a piece of fabric tied to a tree branch.”
Edmund’s brows twitched slightly.
“Whose?”“We don’t know yet…”They hadn’t identified the owner, but without another word, Edmund started moving again. He mounted his horse and rode toward the entrance of the Black Forest. Soon, he arrived at the camp set up by the Black Knights a few days ago.
“Your Excellency.”The one who found the fabric was none other than Eugene, a knight of the Black Knights. After saluting, Eugene explained the situation.
“There was no blood on it. It was clearly left behind as a marker.”Edmund stood at the edge of the cliff where Damian and Daphne had fallen, listening silently.
“If we go further in, we might find more traces.”
The rain poured down, just like that day. Edmund stared intently at the water flowing beneath the cliff. Watching him, Alec instinctively licked his dry lips. Edmund looked as if he was about to jump.
“Alec, prepare to descend.”
“What?”Alec, who had been preparing to stop him just in case, snapped his head up. And in that instant, he realized exactly what Edmund was planning.
“You’re not seriously… planning to go down there right now, are you?”“I am.”“That’s too dangerous.”The rain had made the current stronger and the water level rise significantly. One wrong move, and even Edmund could be in grave danger. They hadn’t even found Damian yet. Losing Edmund as well was not an option.
“You haven’t even recovered.”
Alec’s gaze shifted to Edmund’s right shoulder. As expected, his injury had worsened since that day.
Carrying Daphne and Damian had put too much strain on him, and the damp air from the rain had accelerated the spread of dark energy. On top of that, he hadn’t been resting, eating, or sleeping properly. It was no surprise that his condition was deteriorating.
“At least wait until the rain – Your Excellency!”Alec’s voice rose in alarm. Edmund had leaped off the cliff. Moments later, the loud splash of water echoed through the heavy rain.
“D**n it!”Without hesitation, Alec threw off his cloak and followed, diving straight down after him.