“……!”
A sharp, ripping pain shot through her body as she felt something piercing her abdomen.
Elsesz gasped for air, her trembling hand instinctively reaching for the wound. A cold metallic object embedded in her flesh was yanked out in an instant.
With practiced speed, Henry pulled out his dagger and pushed Elsesz aside, rising to his feet.
“Hypocrite or not, I don’t care what you say.”
“You…….”
“I’m going to kill you here and protect my hometown.”
Henry coldly pressed the blade to Elsesz’s throat, her weakened body barely able to hold itself up.
“Don’t be too bitter about it. Even if you managed to kill me, you’d just be labeled a villain who murdered the town’s hero. Who would believe you?”
To the townspeople, Elsesz was nothing more than an outsider.
As Henry raised his dagger to strike the final blow, a small, shaky sob echoed through the trees.
“Hic…….”
A child’s cry.
Henry’s entire body froze.
He turned toward the sound, his face twisting in horror.
“……Noel?”
The little boy, who had followed Elsesz into the forest to warn her, stood there, paralyzed in fear.
It wasn’t the sight of the monstrous beasts or the dark sorcerers that terrified him most. No—what scared him the most was the man he had always looked up to, the man who had protected their town, now poised to kill someone.
And this was Henry’s worst nightmare.
To be seen as a monster by the people he cared for.
Henry immediately withdrew his dagger and approached the boy.
“Noel, no. This isn’t what it looks like.”
But as he reached out, he noticed the blood on his hands.
Noel flinched and took a step back, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Henry wiped his hands on his clothes and tried again.
His fingers trembled slightly as they reached out.
“She’s a bad person, Noel. I was just punishing her. Don’t be scared.”
But Noel shook his head violently, stepping further away.
“Liar…….”
“……You heard everything, didn’t you?”
Noel didn’t answer.
But his expression did.
Fear, disappointment, and something else.
Disgust.
Henry felt his world crumble.
“Don’t look at me like that. Everything I did… it was for you. For our town.”
Noel said nothing.
“If you look at me like that… it really makes me feel like a villain.”
Henry’s voice cracked.
But the boy’s gaze remained unchanged.
That was the moment Henry’s expression hardened.
With a swift movement, he grabbed Noel’s frail arm and shoved him against a tree.
“Hck……! D-Don’t, Henry…….”
Noel gasped, struggling as tears welled up in his eyes.
But Henry’s grip only tightened.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to be a hero like me?”
Noel swallowed hard, unable to respond.
“Then do what’s best for the village and die here.”
Henry raised the dagger once more.
And then—
A fist slammed into his face.
“Urgh…!”
Henry was sent flying before he even had a chance to react.
Elsesz cracked her knuckles and walked toward him, her face twisted in fury.
“Cool-down time’s over, you piece of shit.”
Henry stared up at her, stunned.
‘How… already…?’
Even with a healing potion, a wound like that shouldn’t have allowed her to move so soon.
There was only one explanation.
Monster.
There was no other word to describe her.
In truth, Elsesz had a secret.
‘When the dimensional rift opened, the Demon God’s power recovered even more.’
As befitting the final boss, the more the Demon God’s power returned, the faster her recovery became.
Of course, the stronger that power grew, the higher the risk of being discovered.
But right now, it was an advantage.
Elsesz grabbed Henry by the collar and yanked him up.
“What was that? ‘Die for the village’?”
Her teeth clenched so hard they ground against each other.
“You’re beyond redemption, you absolute piece of shit.”
And then she punched him. Again.
*****
“Kuhk…!”
Henry let out a pained groan as his body slammed against a tree.
And then—
“Hic… Nuna…….”
Elsesz snapped back to her senses at the sound of Noel’s trembling voice behind her.
No matter how vile Henry was, he was still a beloved older brother figure to Noel. Letting him witness such a brutal beating wasn’t ideal.
She turned toward Noel, intending to tell him to leave the forest.
But at that very moment—
A black magic sphere hurtled toward Noel.
It was too fast. She couldn’t stop it.
“Noel!”
The attack struck, and the boy staggered before collapsing.
And before Elsesz could react, another dark magic projectile followed, aimed straight at Noel.
The black mage had recovered.
Elsesz lunged, pulling Noel into her arms and rolling aside just in time.
The magic sphere barely grazed her arm as they tumbled.
‘Damn it. I should’ve finished that bastard off.’
She had only knocked one of the black mages unconscious, hoping to interrogate them later. The other two had been eliminated.
Between Henry and the black mage, the latter was more likely to know about the mastermind behind this mess. But right now, ensuring Noel’s safety took priority.
Elsesz didn’t hesitate.
She conjured a spell and struck.
“Guh…!”
Already fatally wounded from the previous battle, the black mage crumpled without even managing a scream.
‘One left.’
Henry was still reeling from the impact of her earlier attack, showing no signs of movement.
Elsesz hid behind a tree and checked on Noel first.
‘That spell should’ve been fatal…’
For a normal child, the attack would have been instantly lethal.
If he was alive, she could use a potion. But if he was already gone… there was nothing she could do.
‘Please… Please be alive, Noel.’
She held her breath as she checked his breathing—
And then she froze.
A faint light shimmered across the dark wound spreading from Noel’s back to his nape.
The injury was healing, slowly but surely.
“This is…?”
Elsesz recognized the glow.
It was the same power Astaire possessed.
‘Divine power?’
Noel’s latent divine energy had activated in his moment of crisis.
But it wasn’t enough.
The dark magic was dealing continuous damage, outpacing Noel’s healing ability.
Without hesitation, Elsesz reached for her bracelet, ready to intervene.
And then—
‘Huh?’
The ground beneath her lit up with a radiant glow.
A surge of divine energy flooded the area.
Her eyes widened.
She had seen this before.
‘This is… a mass heal?’
Just as mages could unleash wide-area attacks, top-tier healers could cast large-scale healing spells.
Only the most elite could perform such magic.
And in this village, there was only one person capable of it.
‘Astaire!’
Thanks to Astaire’s perfectly timed Mass Heal, Noel’s injuries rapidly faded.
And so did Henry’s.
Elsesz carefully laid Noel down behind a bush and made her way toward Henry.
As expected, his wounds were completely healed.
Henry spotted her and let out a crooked laugh.
“Your priest is more impressive than I thought. A high-ranking healer capable of Mass Heal, huh?”
“That’s right. A real hero—one leagues above you.”
Her words struck a nerve. Henry’s smirk twisted into something darker.
“Is that so? What a shame, then. Looks like your priest wanted to save you, but in the process, he ended up helping me instead.”
“No, he helped me too.”
Henry tensed as Elsesz approached, completely unfazed by his taunts.
There was something unnerving about her expression.
She smiled.
“Because as long as Mass Heal is in effect…”
Her voice dropped to a chilling whisper.
“I can beat you within an inch of your life, and you still won’t die.”
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