Chapter 115 : Allen Amiel (5)

Chapter 115: Allen Amiel (5)

Fwoooosh!

White flames surged from my sword.

In the past, many had ignited flames, but I could say with certainty—never had the blaze been as fierce as it was now.

Allen’s eyes trembled at the sight.

Not only that, he even hastily flung himself backward as if to dodge.

Until now, he hadn’t flinched regardless of the attack. But this time, his momentum was clearly broken.

Anyone could see—he was afraid.

Seeing that, I didn’t miss the opening and quickly thrust my sword forward.

Clang!

Allen had to stagger back two steps just to block my thrust.

Knowing the kind of power Allen possessed, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘This might be…….’

The Philosopher’s Stone, which I had thought of merely as a ‘weird glowing stone’—

It had drastically elevated everything about me.

‘……Maybe I really can do it.’

That realization gave me a small, but definite confidence.

That confidence soaked into my sword, and with it, I began to steadily escalate the intensity of my attacks.

“Grrgh!”

But Allen, of course, wasn’t an opponent who’d be pushed back so easily.

He quickly regained his footing and soon charged at me instead.

I raised my sword high to meet his force head-on.

Our blades clashed.

Once. Twice.

Then so many times we lost count…

Bang! Bam!

Violent collisions followed one after another, bursting with white flames and thunderous roars.

Allen’s sword strikes remained heavy, sharp, and above all—devastating.

Each blow felt like crossing a fragile rope bridge over a deep cliff.

Even a moment’s carelessness could lead to instant death.

There were three reasons I could endure his onslaught.

My body, strengthened overall by swallowing the Philosopher’s Stone.

The Brand that let me escape danger at just the right moments.

And lastly, the treasured sword of the Everglenn family, which Cecilia had given me.

“Kh.”

Every time our swords clashed, they let out a screeching sound, as if groaning under pressure.

It wasn’t surprising—this was a ceremonial sword, and by ordinary standards, its durability and hardness were lacking.

Still, Cecilia’s sword performed its role perfectly—no, flawlessly.

Despite receiving Allen’s full might, it neither broke nor chipped. It didn’t even bend.

Thanks to that, I could confidently cross swords with Allen.

With any normal weapon, it would’ve been shattered by now.

‘Even so, I can’t keep dragging out this meaningless fight.’

After all, drawn-out battles were Allen’s specialty.

Even though we seemed evenly matched now, the more we exhausted ourselves, the more disadvantaged I’d become.

I focused my mind and swung my sword carefully.

Each time I moved, flames traced through the air in an arc.

But Allen didn’t back down easily.

Although he clearly feared the flames more than my sword strikes, his momentum didn’t waver one bit.

“Guh…!”

“Heehee!”

Every time our blades collided, a chilling roar rang out, and the shock jolted through our entire bodies.

Allen’s power was overwhelming.

I fought back with experience, quick thinking, and everything I had.

Neither of us stopped moving, not even for a second.

When Allen delivered a strike, I barely dodged and counterattacked during the opening.

Each time, Allen blocked with incredible reflexes and closed the gap again.

In those crucial moments, I used the Brand to widen the distance once more.

And that pointless cycle kept repeating.

The suffocating exchange continued.

But against all expectations, the momentum slowly began to shift in my favor.

Once the scale tipped, the balance crumbled rapidly.

Now, the one barely managing to defend was Allen.

‘What is this?’

Is he acting? Or is it a trap?

But that didn’t fit the image he’d shown until now.

Allen, more than anyone, would know I wouldn’t fall for such an obvious trap…

While I was puzzled, I quickly realized the reason.

The flame.

Each time I swung my flame-wreathed sword—even though Allen blocked perfectly—his momentum visibly waned.

I wondered how I hadn’t noticed sooner.

‘No, this is……’

Something was off.

It wasn’t that his momentum was weakening.

If I had to describe it… yes, it was like waves that once stirred up a storm slowly settling.

His force wasn’t fading.

The wild energy that raged within him was calming down.

‘This is……’

From my standpoint, cold sweat broke out.

If he regained his composure now…

The balance could tip again—no one knew to which side.

And just as I feared, the balance did shift.

But not in the direction I expected.

“Gah?!”

In the midst of our relentless battle—

Suddenly, Allen’s body stiffened unnaturally.

As if someone had seized him roughly.

As if he had stopped moving just to take my attack on purpose.

‘A trap?’

My instincts screamed.

In that moment, it was as if someone whispered to me:

Now, Lian.

‘No—it’s not a trap.’

More than anything, it was already too late to stop.

I poured all my strength into the hand gripping my sword.

“Enough already……”

And then—

“Wake the hell up, you bastard!”

Slash!

My sword cleaved through Allen.

Alongside the fiercely blazing flames.

As my blade, cloaked in white flame, brushed past his body—

Paradoxically, I saw Allen’s once-cloudy eyes regain clarity.

“Keuh, huff…”

He staggered back several steps, gasping for air.

Clatter.

His sword fell from his hand.

Thud.

And then, he dropped to one knee.

“Ah…”

He blinked blankly, glancing around, until finally his eyes met mine.

Panting heavily for a moment, he finally opened his mouth—

“……Lian?”

Gasping for breath, he barely managed to call his friend’s name.

I kept my grip tight on my sword, eyes fixed on him without letting my guard down.

“You’ve come to your senses now?”

“……Yes.”

Allen nodded.

His gesture was soaked in fatigue.

“Thanks to you……”

With those words, he reached toward his sword again.

I merely watched him.

There wasn’t a trace of hostility in his actions.

Clang!

Allen tossed the sword carelessly, and it flew through the air before landing far away.

He was still gasping for air.

“You alright?”

“It’s… a little much to handle.”

Allen forced a smile.

His trembling lips made it a grotesque expression, but he didn’t seem to care at all.

“Lian, please.”

Allen raised his shaking hand.

His gaze fixed on a certain spot.

“My brother……”

Kyren Amiel.

Allen looked at his bloodied older brother.

I understood what he was trying to say.

“Please… I’m begging you.”

“……Alright.”

I nodded.

Honestly, even I didn’t know how things had ended up like this.

Why Allen had become… so different from the way I remembered him.

But for now, I had to push those tangled thoughts aside.

Creak—!

As I approached Kyren, the spider clinging to his shoulder dropped down with a light thud.

Then, it began circling Allen, raising its front legs as if to threaten him.

But since Allen couldn’t see spirits, it was a meaningless gesture. Not that the spider seemed to care.

‘Damn.’

Rushing to Kyren’s side, I instinctively let out a sigh upon checking his condition.

It was dire.

That one word explained everything.

To be honest, it was a miracle he was even alive. The severity of his injuries and blood loss was astounding.

But that wouldn’t last long.

The flame of his life was on the verge of going out.

‘……It’s hopeless.’

I hadn’t formally studied medicine, but as a Cleric, I could at least perform emergency care.

That was enough for me to know—there was no saving him.

No, anyone could see it was a hopeless situation.

His pulse was so faint it was nearly untraceable, and his complexion had gone beyond pale—it was deathly white.

So much blood had spilled that it now only gushed out in irregular, weak spurts.

To be blunt—

He didn’t have long to live.

It was already too late.

If I’d healed Kyren right after I arrived… maybe I could’ve saved him.

My mind filled with tangled regrets.

‘……I have to do something.’

I wasn’t skilled enough in healing miracles to save someone this gravely injured.

No one knew that better than I did.

To be honest… using my divine power now would be no different than pouring water on the ground—utterly meaningless.

Even so, I couldn’t just stand there.

I scraped together nearly all of the divine power I had left and poured it into Kyren’s body.

Miracle of Healing.

The miracle permitted by Ilionel began to unfold through my hands.

“……Huh?”

And then, an actual miracle happened.

“……Hhh.”

Wounds that might never heal in a lifetime began to close in an instant.

His corpse-like complexion began regaining color, and his shallow, erratic breathing slowly steadied.

It was, in every sense, a true miracle.

Startled, I quickly realized what had caused this.

That glowing stone I swallowed—

It was really, truly something extraordinary.

Faced with these wildly unexpected events, I quietly thought to myself:

‘……This is seriously bad.’

I swallowed something like that on impulse—how the hell was I supposed to deal with the consequences?

Would I have to cut myself open?

No… it had melted like water. Would anything even be left if I did cut myself open?

“Ugh…”

While I was lost in such pointless thoughts, Kyren slowly opened his eyes.

He looked around for a moment, then muttered in a dazed voice.

“……Did my junior die too?”

“If you’re cracking jokes, I’d say you’re doing just fine.”

“I see.”

He gave a slight nod.

“What about Allen……?”

That was the first thing Kyren asked.

To his question, I answered:

“He’s alive. Can’t say he’s alright, though.”

“……Would you help me up for a bit?”

“Of course.”

I gladly lent him my hand.

Given that he was a critical patient just moments ago, I supported him as carefully as I could.

“Haa.”

Leaning against a tree stump, Kyren let out a heavy sigh.

He quietly surveyed the area.

Yul Runberg, collapsed.

Allen, wounded.

He let out a dry laugh.

“……Allen.”

At Kyren’s call, Allen flinched.

He was kneeling on both knees like a sinner.

Though he could have easily used the family’s secret techniques to heal his wounds, he left them open, still bleeding.

“Yes, Young Master.”

Allen replied.

Kyren murmured in a low voice:

“Don’t blame yourself.”

With his hand resting on the wound Allen had inflicted, Kyren looked around once more.

A formidable enemy lay fallen—one he never could’ve defeated on his own.

Allen.

Surely, he was the one who brought the foe down.

Even in his kneeling posture, the redness of his hair stood out vividly.

“Heh.”

Kyren chuckled unconsciously.

Then he closed his eyes and murmured quietly:

“……It’s not your fault.”

Yeah.

If anything…

“I lived thanks to you.”

……Thank you.

With that, Kyren fell silent.

Allen simply bowed his head without a word.

And so, the two said nothing more.

Watching the delicate, indescribable exchange between the two brothers, I quietly stood up.

I thought about stepping away, but Allen’s wounds were still untreated.

I should heal Allen first.

Just as I took a step with that thought—

“……So, is the talk over now?”

A familiar voice.

One that shouldn’t be heard here, now, reached my ears.

Airos.

Before I realized it, he had returned to his human form and was watching us from a distance.