[12] The Important Targets

With the battle done, I could afford a moment of relaxation. I removed a decently clean cloth from my pockets and cleaned my face and weapons. King, having just finished his meal, walked up to me and clawed at my pants, asking to be cleaned as well.

I would have knelt and done just that had I not heard the sound of puking from behind. When I looked over, I saw the woman stroking the teen's back as he continued to vomit his guts out. I found the scene more disgusting than my earlier battle, the image of bile coming up my throat effectively making me shiver at the thought.

Shaking my head, I focused on cleaning up King's bloodied face. It didn't look like they were used to this kind of killing. I don't want to scare them than I already did.

I discarded the blooded cloth with fire magic as I patted any dirt or debris off of myself, King following suit for no reason other than he wanted to copy me. By now, the boy had ceased retching and was watching me with fearful eyes.

The look made me pause. Did my shadows move earlier without me noticing? Did they know what I was? Did they already hate me?

Those thoughts started brewing in my head, however, before they could consume me I cleared my throat. They couldn't possibly know about me already. If there were shadows that appeared, then both of us would have noticed it instantly. The sight of these hunters' brutal deaths must be what they're horrified of. I should say something.

"I'm sorry about the blood. Are you both alright?" I asked softly as I tried to approach them, only for the duo to step back as soon as I did.

The teen would try to put himself in front of the woman, his eyes glancing at the large gash on her arm. However, the woman was adamant, extending her arms to make herself a larger target than the one behind her.

Her entire body was about ready to flee yet her eyes reminded me of a tiger. In a small yet firm voice, she asked. "Who are you?"

"A passerby. I heard the explosions go off and I decided to check it out in case of something bad happening." I couldn't take my eyes off her injury and caved in on my worries. "We should get that injury treated before it could get infected."

The boy, in the moment of silence that followed, spoke up. His voice was harsh, attributing to what he had experienced.

"How do we know this isn't just some ploy?!"

His sudden movement prompted a scolding from the woman, pushing him back with a harsh whisper of "Young Master!". So they weren't mother and son.

"I'm not here to harm you. A death by bounty hunters is a death I am not willing to let happen to others on my watch. I couldn't stand still after I found out about the situation. So I will say this once again, we should get that wound treated, fair maiden." 

She searched my eyes, waiting for the second set of terms to come, relaxing when she didn't find what she was looking for. I couldn't keep up with her stare, the large gash was bothering me.

All kinds of infections and treatments came to my mind. If it was infected, there was a large possibility that I needed to cut off the arm. On the bright side, if it wasn't, then my strongest healing magic should be able to heal enough to administer proper treatment.

The boy still tried to wriggle to the front, growing more frantic when I stepped closer and the woman did nothing to stop me. 

"Holly, I swear to the sun, if you sacrifice yourself for me I will never forgive you until I die!" He screamed when he failed to switch places with the woman without seriously hurting her. "As your master, listen to me, Holly!"

Each step was leveled and controlled, like a rancher taming a horse who went wild. They were weak enough to launch an attack but if they were to choose to flee, I would be seriously concerned for that woman's arm.

"Let me take care of-"

I tried to conciliate the young master, only to immediately backfire.

His voice grew in volume—the birds nearby flying away after the spook that his voice caused. "Stay away, monster! You're just going to kill us like you did those hunters! I'm not going to let you kill Holly!"

A tinge of insecurity tainted my movements, something that was immediately noticed by Holly, although she didn't make a move to call me out on it. Despite my time in that accursed village, I was still surprised when faced with this treatment.

I tried not to let it affect me and responded, "I'm just trying to help."

The young master would have screamed once again if not for Holly's preventive body language that covered his line of sight to mine.

"Is Sir Karl alive?" She asked.

I remained confused for a moment before I made the connection that Sir Karl must be the one who was fighting the snake anima. "When I arrived at the scene, he was already engaged in a fight with the leader of this ambush. I would have joined the fight and helped him defeat the anima if not for the reveal that your lives were at stake. King and I came here as fast as we could."

"Lies! She's lying! Sir Karl must have slain that snake bastard and is coming to look for us as we speak! Don't fall for her schemes, Holly!"

"It's the truth." I insisted. "So, please let me help you. I do not want to see you get sick from an injury I had the chance of treating."

Holly sighed. The strength from her whole body left her. The adrenaline must have started to wane off and she was beginning to feel the full brunt of pain that came with her injuries. The young master was too caught up in his fear not to notice the subtle sway that his servant started to due to sheer exhaustion. 

In a show of speed, I appeared right in time to catch the woman before she could fall to the ground. The young master jumped with a scream, surprised.

Without another word, I started treating Holly's wounds. A green glow emitted from my hands that washed over Holly's body. Her eyes were half-lidded, sunken from the blood loss while her pupils were distant.

"Get away from her!" The young master couldn't do anything, stuck in a large distance between Holly and himself with King preventing him from going further by simply standing there. The bear made no attempts to attack him yet he was deathly afraid.

I didn't heed his command, continuing to administer as much magic as I could into the healing spell. My magic could only be taken so far, barely closing up the large gape of her laceration but at least the bleeding had finally stopped. Any more use of the spell would prove futile, as the strength of the spell itself wasn't that strong, and would only attribute to me losing more of my mana than anything else.

Cringing a bit to myself, I pulled out one of the more expensive healing potions from my inventory. Angling her head, I guided her to drink the liquid without wasting a single drop.

The effect was immediate. Her eyes were no longer recessed, all the little scratches had fully healed, and the gash started to scar at the edges. The wideness didn't look as daunting as before, no bone could be seen from the naked eye. Some traditional medicine and bandages should do the trick, it would leave a scar and deform her skin a little, but it's better than having to chop the whole arm off.

I was eternally grateful that the cut hadn't been infected. 

"How are you feeling?" I asked, tentatively moving her to a more comfortable position as I finished bandaging the wound. 

"Like I crashed a carriage down the mountainside," She said with a chuckle.

"You... healed her..." The Young Master said in disbelief, approaching me with uneven steps before collapsing beside Holly where he held her hand tightly. "I thought she was going to have to lose her arm... you saved her."

"I did my best."

"Holly..."

"I'm alright, Young Master Ezekiel. This Knight in Shining Armor saved me, you don't need to be so harsh to her."

Ezekiel turned to me, his deep frown a result of some inner conflict. With a swallow, he spoke, "Thank you and... and I'm sorry for the things I said."

"I would have been the same if it had been King. I understand." At his name, King approached us and nuzzled against my stomach.

At first, Ezekiel feared him, withdrawing from his presence. His eyes would flicker to the corpses behind us, no doubt recounting how King had killed them without an ounce of care. Now he stared at the bear, acting cute with its high-pitched grumbles and behavior that fitted that of a baby wanting the attention of their caregiver. 

His fear faded as he stared at him, however, his concerns didn't stop there. He gave me a stare, one that I recognized. I would have told him that he was free to ask me whatever he wanted but he beat me to it.

"That potion. Were you chosen by the gods?"