An Absurd Hypothesis

Heavy footsteps left deep imprints on the ground, each labored breath rasping like a broken bellows.

Every inhale felt like flames scorching his lungs, every step forward sent tearing pain through his muscles.
Bloodshot eyes reflected exhaustion, as Kant squeezed out the last dregs of his life force to escape this place…

The elven princess on his back, normally light as a feather, felt like an insurmountable mountain.
In his prime, Kant could’ve carried five of her, but now, she weighed him down, crushing his breath.

Unbearable pain flooded his mind, tormenting his nerves.
A normal person would’ve collapsed, but Kant knew this was the aftermath of Wind Spirit Moon Shadow’s ninth segment…

The intense physical strain and energy burn had torn his muscles, damaging them extensively.
The body’s energy was finite; in a crisis, without enough fuel, it consumed whatever it could.

His earlier Draw Slash, paired with the ninth segment, had burned nearly all his strength.
The result was decent—the volatile Vampire Progenitor had half her body obliterated by the light beam.
Yet, at the last moment, she’d lunged, sinking her sharp fangs into his neck…

Though the gemstone dagger’s beam had incapacitated her almost instantly, limiting how much blood she took, it hurt like hell!

Who’d claimed being bitten was pleasurable?
Utter nonsense!

His blood felt like it was burning, even now.
Pushing her half-destroyed body and head to the ground had left two clear bite marks on his neck.

Though he’d barely won, exhaustion nearly knocked him out.
His indomitable will kept his broken body moving, carrying the unconscious princess toward the forest’s edge…

“What sins have I committed…
Not a single normal person on this journey…”

Kant licked his cracked lips, his trembling, struggling body like brittle wood ready to snap.

“Ugh… where am I?”

After an unknown time, Princess Felicia stirred on his back.
Her long lashes fluttered, and her emerald eyes, like those of a sleeping beauty, slowly opened.

Her weak question carried the haze of just waking.

“Finally awake?”

Feeling her stir, Kant’s deathly tired heart found a sliver of relief.
If she hadn’t woken, and he’d collapsed, they’d both be lambs for slaughter.

“You are…”

Felicia’s blurry gaze focused on the back she rested on.

“Heh, quite the forgetful princess, aren’t you?”

Despite his struggle to walk, Kant teased to ease her mood.

“You were all about me killing your sister.
Now you’re on your enemy’s back and don’t recognize me?”

His hoarse laugh prompted a flicker of confusion in Felicia’s eyes, then anger as memories surfaced.
But the anger faded quickly, replaced by a curious intensity.
Like a puppy, she leaned closer, sniffing his clothes…

The ticklish sensation on his back nearly toppled Kant, already weakened by exhaustion.
His legs, caught between numbness and pain, wobbled, nearly collapsing.

“Hey, don’t mess around…”

Kant forced a warning from his parched throat, but before he could lecture about propriety, Felicia’s tone grew firm.

“No, you’re lying.”

“Lying about what?
You’re the one acting off since waking up…”

Kant had no energy to argue with the newly awakened princess.
He just wanted to cover as much ground as possible while still conscious.

Though he’d shredded half the Vampire Progenitor’s body, who knew if she’d recover and pursue?
Vampires’ healing was infamously terrifying across Seraris…

Honestly, if not for his guilt toward Felicia, in this life-or-death moment, with her dragging him down, he’d have ditched her and fled.

“Your body carries the scent of elven blood, and your skin even smells like my sister.
You’re not human!”

Felicia’s words nearly made Kant’s eyes roll back, shattering his worldview.
What?
He’d eaten their sacred fruit, accidentally killed her sister, admitted his fault, offered to atone, and saved her life.
And now she was revoking his humanity?

Eating a fruit made him non-human?
Did elves have no concept of rights?

Oh, elves?
Never mind then…

“Hey, I admit I indirectly caused your sister’s death, but you can’t just turn me into your sister because of it!”

Kant tried to explain, his mental state oddly turbulent.
Logically, in a life-or-death escape, he needed absolute calm.
Exhausted and carrying her, wasting energy on explanations was pointless.
He should shut up and focus on running…

But for some reason, when Felicia linked his identity to her sister, his heart jolted uncontrollably.

Combined with Aemiya’s earlier words and his own anomalies, an absurd hypothesis formed.

It was so ridiculous he wouldn’t have entertained it before, but once it emerged, it grew uncontrollably, swelling in his mind.

His irrational explanations might just be a desperate attempt to quell his panic.

No way, impossible.
Him, an elf?

Felicia’s sister?
The idea was laughable.

How could it be true?

Yet, the more he denied it, the stronger the notion grew, as if his subconscious embraced the impossible.

Amid his inner turmoil, the pain from the battle surged again, unprovoked.

Excruciating headaches worsened his state, and his body collapsed onto the soft grass, entwining him and the elf princess…