The Searing Bloodline

I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt my body being dragged backward.

The sound of metal armor colliding with and scraping harshly against the stone floor echoed out.

No direct impact reached me, entirely thanks to Sir Jager shielding me properly.

Claaaaang!

The sound of something hard clashing against another hard surface rang through the air.

I hurriedly extended my hand.

In truth, it was closer to a desperate flail than an extension, but Arjen’s bow willingly materialized to settle into my grip.

It was an artifact that manifested by reading my sheer will rather than requiring a set action.

Drawing upon my flame arrows, I checked the situation ahead.

“Lamierre!”

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

I could see Lamierre’s back as he deployed a semi-circular defensive barrier of a pure, translucent blue.

Under any other circumstances, I would have commented on how beautiful it looked, like a finely polished gemstone, but right now, I was far more amazed by its sheer density than its beauty.

The thin barrier was successfully halting the claws of the demon that had effortlessly torn dozens of people to shreds.

Screeech.

Sharp claws scraped against the sleek surface.

Lamierre took a half-step back but kept his upper body inclined forward.

I slipped out of Sir Jager’s embrace and raised my torso.

The arrow notched on my string grew progressively larger.

My chest began to feel suffocated, and a wave of nausea washed over me.

The moment I loosened the reins, the ecstatic dragon bloodline went wild, violently tearing through my unrecovered insides.

Instead of trying to soothe the dragon blood, I funneled all of it directly into my left arm.

It was scalding hot, as if it would burn through my veins and my entire arm, but Arjen had already taught me that this fire would never consume me.

Though it was the very power that had slowly withered and killed the past me—the ‘Kaian’ of the original plot—the dragon blood was, ultimately, an existence that lived to protect this empire and its master.

As I gathered the power I had secretly feared due to being severely burned by it multiple times, the power I had failed to fully draw upon before, the arrow expanded continuously.

It erupted into a blazing, furious heat.

Screeech. Crak.

The demon, putting strength into its grip as if to shatter Lamierre’s barrier through sheer brute force, grumbled.

[Ah, that is a bit much.]

The demon drew back its other hand into a clenched fist and thrust it forward.

Boom! Boom!

“Urgh!”

Lamierre’s upper body jolted violently from the impact of the slamming fists.

“Lamierre.”

Boom, boom, boom!

The demon inspected its fists, turning them back and forth after hammering against the barrier.

Seizing the brief respite provided by the distraction, Lamierre replied.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I am shooting.”

“Pardon?”

“Get down.”

Lamierre did not even ask for clarification and immediately rolled to the side.

It was a remarkably agile movement for a mage.

The bright blue barrier, which had lingered for a fleeting moment even after Lamierre broke his stance, vanished.

I released the string instantly.

Fwooooosh!

The arrow flew forward with a fierce, slicing sound.

Instead of exploding, it grazed past the side of the demon’s head and embedded itself into the ground.

Flaring up instantly, the fire originating from the tip of the arrow quickly formed a miniature wall.

I had no idea if this would actually stop the demon from invading the castle proper and indiscriminately slaughtering the residents, but it was erected for that purpose nonetheless.

I immediately notched a second arrow onto the string.

Tossing his scabbard aside, Sir Jager kicked off the ground and dashed forward.

“AARRRRGH!”

Well, his fighting spirit was commendable, but the execution lacked any real grace.

Even so, the sight of him swinging a greatsword enveloped in a hazy aura looked reasonably impressive.

Lamierre, who had rolled across the ground, bounded back onto his feet and began forming intricate hand seals.

Around Lamierre’s form, arrows made of water that mirrored the shape of mine began to manifest one by one in the air.

[Priest.]

“What.”

[Why are you alive?]

“Your question is entirely wrong.”

Sir Jager’s greatsword struck squarely against the demon’s branch-like arm, only to bounce right off.

Grit-teething, Sir Jager brought the high-lofted sword crashing down once more.

“Since when does being alive require a reason?”

An arrow, smaller and thinner than the first one I had shot, flew through the air with a sharp hiss.

Thwack!

[Every…]

The moment the arrow pierced the demon’s palm, it erupted into a violent blaze.

The demon struck Sir Jager’s body away as it took a step back.

“Cough!”

Flying straight through the air, Sir Jager crashed heavily into the sandbags stacked against the rampart.

A dull, heavy thud resounded.

As I notched the third arrow, I forced down the dry-heave rising in my throat.

[…action has a reason.]

Shaking its burning hand wildly, the demon advanced toward me.

I aimed the tip of the arrow directly at the demon’s head.

The distance between us was barely ten paces.

It was far too close for a bow.

However, this was the only weapon I possessed.

I stubbornly increased the size of the arrow.

Suppressing the fluid rising within my chest by holding my breath, I drew the string back to its absolute limit.

[Put that away.]

“…”

The demon stopped in its tracks and raised both hands to the height of its head.

[I had no intention of killing you right away. I told you, didn’t I? I have things I want to ask.]

The hand holding the tip of the arrow trembled violently.

My shaken insides no longer felt nauseous; they simply agonized.

It felt as though they were being torn to pieces.

Tears gathered from the sheer pain welled up in my left eye and spilled down my cheek.

Right then, the dozens of water arrows created by Lamierre rained down upon the demon.

Instead of sharp punctures, a barrage of dull, heavy impacts echoed out, sounding like fists hammering into flesh.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Glancing briefly to confirm Lamierre’s deathly pale face, I let go of the string.

Crack!

[AARRRRRGH!]

The arrow embedded itself dead center into the hollow left eye socket.

The demon clutched its face with its hands, letting out a bizarre, scraping shriek that sounded as if it were dragged from the absolute depths of hell.

[You… piece of… b*tch—]

Flash.

A silhouette arrived as swiftly as if it were flying, spraying a brilliant yellow light.

The light sliced through the demon’s arm elegantly and soundlessly.

With a dull plop, the severed arm fell to the ground.

The demon staggered, taking two steps backward.

The owner of that brilliant yellow light, Commander Elindo, thrust his longsword forward at chest height.

The demon barely managed to evade the blade, which targeted the chest—the area where a human heart would reside.

Black smoke swirled and rose profusely from the gashed wound.

[I will slaughter you all…]

Listening to the demon’s rage-filled growl, I released the fourth arrow.

Its chest pierced through by the fourth arrow, the demon hurled its severed arm on the ground straight at me.

Losing my grip on Arjen’s bow, I collapsed forward onto the ground.

I woke up on Sir Jager’s back.

My mind was a complete blur due to the violent jolting as Sir Jager ran while carrying me, and my chest and stomach ached fiercely.

The pain in my abdomen, in particular, felt like it would kill me.

It was not a stomach ache; it was a excruciating agony that felt as though my raw flesh had been sliced and ripped apart.

“Block them! Block them with your bodies or whatever it takes!”

Sir Jager’s scream-like shout vibrated deeply against my chest as I leaned on his back.

I raised my limply hanging arm and gripped his shoulder.

“Your Highness?”

Intent on answering the calling voice, I put strength into my gripping hand, clutching a handful of his attire.

“You are awake. Thank goodness.”

“Ugh…”

Blegh.

Unable to even manage a proper retch, a small gasp escaped me as clumps of fluid spilled continuously from my mouth.

It was a thick, metallic… mass of blood.

What on earth was this?

I had been in agonizing pain multiple times before, but vomiting blood was a first.

Is this really blood?

Staring blankly at the dark red mass of blood I had spat onto Sir Jager’s armor, I let out another gasp, vomiting up the contents of my stomach once more.

This time, it was a clear, bright scarlet blood.

“Please bear with it for just a moment.”

To clear my hazy consciousness, I squeezed my eyes shut before forcing them open.

The sound of shattering wood and stone, screams, desperate cries, and curses—all sorts of horrific noises filled the surroundings.

That was not all.

The stench of blood, burning flesh, rot, and someone’s vomit—a cocktail of utterly repulsive odors hung heavily in the air.

My stomach turned inside out.

Fortunately or unfortunately, it was blood, not bile, that continued to rise up my throat.

Lacking the strength to even spit it out, I simply let the fluid filling my mouth trail down before barely swallowing the rest.

What is happening?

I wanted to ask, but no words would form.

“The castle gates… The castle gates have been breached!”

Lamierre’s shout echoed out.

I rolled my eyes to survey the surroundings, desperate to grasp the situation.

Whether it was due to the darkness or my vision being blurred by the intense pain, the only things visible were reddish lights swaying wildly like wisps of ghost fire.

Ah, I don’t know anymore. It just hurt immensely.

I had thought I was well-acquainted with pain by now, but this belonged to an entirely different dimension of agony, making it truly, incredibly painful and wretched.

The sheer suffering made me want to cry, but no tears would fall.

I wanted to at least let out a sob, but my stomach ached so brutally that I could not even muster a faint sound.

“This way, quickly…”

“His Highness is…”

“…”

Familiar voices drifted from the surroundings, but the actual words failed to register in my ears.

My limp head slipped from Sir Jager’s shoulder where it had been resting.

Hurriedly adjusting his hold to hoist me up higher, Sir Jager called out, “Your Highness!”

Unable to answer, I closed my eyes.

My vision faded into absolute darkness.

Rather than a fear of dying if I lost consciousness here, a wave of relief washed over me at the thought of escaping the immediate agony.

[You truly are… fragile, aren’t you?]

A familiar voice echoed.

Since I was in no condition to pay attention to anyone else’s words, I simply let them drift past.

[And here I wondered why you were being so overly cautious.]

I don’t care, shut up.

I am hurting to the point of dying, or rather, it feels like I am going to drop dead any second, so why are you whispering right into my ear?

[Kaian.]

Was it not my ear? Was it inside my head?

Whatever. What does it matter where the sound is coming from?

The objective reality was that I was in immense pain. It truly, deeply hurt. It hurt so horribly that the inability to even weep felt sorrowful.

Tears finally fell.

Just as I was resenting the universe for why it was subjecting me to this, something brushed against my agonizing stomach.

[Endure it.]

“Gah… huff, ah…”

I lacked the strength to move a single finger, yet my body contorted entirely on its own from a pain that felt as though a hand had reached into my punctured abdomen and was violently rummaging through it.

My mind turned completely blank.

“Ah, ugh, cough…!”

[Yes. Just a little more.]

It felt as though my internal organs were being firmly grasped and violently ripped out.

Flailing my limbs as I struggled wildly, I bit down on my tongue.

If it was going to hurt this much, dying felt like a much better alternative. I wanted to die.

However, instead of my tongue, something else was caught between my tightly clenched teeth.

Why, exactly, who are you? Why? For what reason?

Only after an eternity seemed to pass did the entity that had been violently clawing inside my stomach finally withdraw.

[You did well.]

Listening to the sigh-infused voice, I finally let go of my consciousness.

A pristine, white snowfield was the first thing that entered my view.

Next were my retainers, who looked like complete beggars.

Sir Jager, whose side hair was burnt and singed from whatever had transpired; Sigret and Lamierre, who were chewing on something with black soot smeared across their faces; Commander Elindo, who was vigorously scrubbing his armor while leaving his hair clumped with dried monster blood untouched; and several residents whose names I did not know but whose faces were familiar due to frequent encounters.

Nick and Nick’s mother.

Scanning them purely with my eyes, I clenched and unclenched my fists.

My hands felt numb and lacked strength, likely due to poor blood circulation.

As I took a deep breath, my stomach flared with pain, forcing me to stop instantly.

I raised my limp arm, only for it to drop loosely onto my chest.

Even so, was it just ‘a moment ago’?

It didn’t feel like I would have woken up so quickly.

Regardless, my chest, which had felt like it was splitting apart ‘a moment ago’ by my standards, had become reasonably manageable.

Feeling the regular thumping of my heartbeat, I closed my eyes.

Ah, I didn’t die.

When the pain was at its worst, I had wanted nothing more than to die, but now that the agony had subsided, I felt glad to be alive.

After all, a living dog is better than a dead lion.

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of footsteps treading on snow drifted over.

“Your Highness.”

Without answering, I simply opened my eyes.

Kneeling beside me, Sigret took my hand, which I had painstakingly resting on my chest.

Startled, Sir Jager and Lamierre bounded up from their seats.

Watching the two approach, I closed my eyes once more.

“Your Highness…”

Sigret remained still for a long time, resting his forehead against the back of my hand.

I curled just my index finger, gently tapping Sigret on his forehead.