Chapter 108
***
About ten minutes earlier, Eir had seen the flickering lights in the distance approaching the shed.
Along with the sound of a dog barking furiously.
“This damn dog. Seriously, why is it so damn strong.”
And the person being dragged along by the dog also caught her attention.
Eir had known from the start that they were coming for her.
It was the kind of anxiety she hated the most. The feeling of something closing in on her from afar, barking as if to say, “This is your end.” And she had nowhere to run.
But the first thought that came to her mind wasn’t fear or disgust—it was relief that it wasn’t the witches chasing Rubel.
If it had been the witches…….
She would have been left here, anxiously imagining him risking his life in another reckless fight, wondering how it would end.
For some reason, Eir thought that this feeling of anxiety, which she hated so much, was closer to what she was experiencing now as she watched the door open.
“It’s the witch!”
As the door opened and Magnus saw the pitiful woman inside, he shouted in excitement.
During the long search over the past week, he had forgotten his initial confusion and poured all his energy into finding Rubel and the witch who had kidnapped him.
After all, the witches had provided him with a spell-infused dog and explicitly demanded that he identify and kill the witch who had kidnapped Rubel. Magnus, though slightly conflicted about killing Rubel, had no qualms about this task and let the dog loose without hesitation.
The dog, barking furiously toward its target, bit the woman as soon as it was released. The woman, however, didn’t let out a single groan and simply collapsed.
“Ugh…….”
Her beautiful face twisted in pain, which was somewhat satisfying to watch.
“You’re the witch who kidnapped Rubel. What’s your true name? Speak!”
Magnus commanded the woman. The knights exchanged glances, unsure what a “true name” was, but no one seemed to know, so they just shook their heads.
Eir didn’t know what a true name was either. The dog’s teeth biting into her calf hurt so much that she drooled uncontrollably, too consumed by pain to think.
Magnus left her alone for a while, and only after some time had passed did he gesture to a knight to pull the dog away.
The knight, seeing the pitiful state of the ordinary-looking woman, couldn’t help but shout,
“Are you sure she’s really a witch?”
As soon as the dog was pulled away, blood dripped from the woman’s mangled leg. She tried to get up and escape, but her injured leg gave out, and she collapsed again.
Magnus shouted at the knights, who were panicking and unsure what to do.
“Don’t you understand that I found Rubel using this power? You heard the horn earlier, didn’t you?”
“But that was to cease attacks…….”
“Exactly! Who do you think sounded it? Rubel found me and told the knights not to attack this woman. He’s trying to hog all the credit. Now, speak, witch! Why did you kidnap Rubel?”
But Eir couldn’t answer. She was in too much pain to even groan.
Magnus shouted in frustration.
“If you don’t answer, I’ll let the dog loose again. Speak, witch! Why did you kidnap Rubel, and what’s your true name?”
Those were the only two things Magnus needed to know to kill her.
Eir bit her lip until it bled, trying to stay conscious. She had to get up and make it to the cliff. Fortunately, since they were on a high mountain, there were cliffs not too far away.
‘It’s nothing. Stay focused. It’s nothing.’
Eir repeated this to herself over and over.
Then she got up in one go and ran toward the cliff. But her injured body couldn’t move fast enough, and Magnus, who still needed her, ordered the knights to stop her. She was caught just before reaching the edge.
Her jaw and shoulders were grabbed, and her injured leg dangled helplessly.
“You dare try to run away?”
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