Chapter 20

Cough.

A lump of blood spilled out with an unexpected hyperventilation.

It was because I had accepted the blade that had pierced my heart without any resistance, with my whole body.

Normally, I wouldn’t have been fazed even a bit, but I had torn my own flesh and twisted it to make a hole in my heart.

Well, it was quite a valuable experience.

I gripped the hilt of the greatsword that had pierced my body tightly with one hand and yanked it out with a wobble.

The sensation of the blade tearing through was somewhat unpleasant, but the resulting blood I vomited was not too much.

“·····.”

As I looked at the fainted Erica for a moment, I lifted her distant right arm and brought it to her shoulder, which was covered in a hazy mist.

“Is this going to work?”

[ Well, there’s no reason it wouldn’t. ]

“It’s been a while, so I don’t really remember.”

Suturing the severed body parts together neatly.

It was something I had done quite a bit when I experimented on my own body in the past.

Back then, I had certainly gotten used to the pain, so I didn’t feel it particularly keenly.

[ This girl has such impressive regeneration stats that it will heal quickly once sutured. It should take about 2 or 3 days. ]

Other parts aren’t too bad·····. I just need to focus on the arm.

My blood is truly valuable; I hope she thanks me when she wakes up.

Though, that probably won’t happen.

I sprinkled blood into the air, creating a massive oval ring. The airflow swirled and formed a single current.

The Bloody’s body sparkled faintly, and her cloak fluttered. In the empty space of the ring, the structure of a magic circle formed, with multiple letters inscribed upon it. The slowly glowing symbol suddenly condensed into a thin film, slightly larger in length than the thickness of her arm.

I adjusted the size briefly against her shoulder before inserting it between her arm and shoulder to proceed with the suturing.

Muscles reconnected, and nerves linked together. The bones fused, and the flow of magic power began.

“Hmm.”

The magic circle flickered.

A small ring inscribed with various letters slowly rotated as it fitted into the severed area. Oh, seeing it like this looks pretty cool.

“Will it fit with the clothes on?”

It would be strange if the magic circle protruded from under the clothes.

[ Quite realistic. ]

“Since this is reality.”

I can adjust it later.

While the suturing proceeded through its initial phase, I sat down to rest for a moment, and Erica, who had been fainted, slowly opened her eyes and groaned.

“Are you awake?”

“····· Ugh.”

“Ah, be careful. Don’t move your arm.”

If it gets misaligned, it’ll be a headache.

Looking down at her arm with a puzzled expression, she abruptly lifted her head to look at me.

“I-I definitely pierced my heart·····!”

“Uh?”

Meeting her round pupils, I quickly decided to match her stance.

“Right! It was! My heart got pierced! Amazing. You did well!”

As I said that, I extended my hand and pointed to my chest.

My heart, which had already healed long ago, was only wrapped in torn clothing.

“It really hurt. I almost cried from the pain. You’re the first to stab my heart·····.”

It’s not the first time.

“·····not the first time, though it’s about the sixteenth, but anyway, yeah, that’s right.”

“What, what does that mean·····.”

Confusion took over her, and it was quite adorable.

“What’s wrong?”

“If my heart was pierced, I should be dead·····.”

“I almost died.”

I paused for a moment.

“But I survived.”

“Ugh·····!”

In an instant, Erica’s face contorted as she tried to grip her sword with her sutured arm but groaned in pain.

“I told you to be careful. It’s your one and only right arm. You need to treat it with care.”

Erica bit her lip while catching her breath.

I let out a smirk as I stood up from my place.

“I won the bet, and you, who lost in battle, couldn’t kill me. It was an inevitable outcome and a natural progression.”

“·····.”

Crack.

Her teeth ground together.

“Are you angry? Well, what can I say? That’s not what’s important.”

I slowly approached her, massaging the hand I had caught in the air.

“Now, no matter what I do to you, you can’t resist with that body.”

“·····You, you trash bastard!”

With her trembling body, she tried to back away, but there was a wall blocking her behind.

All she could do was grip the ground with her relatively uninjured left arm.

“Hehehe·····.”

“Don’t come!! I’ll kill you if you do!!”

As soon as I heard that, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Erica inhaled sharply, her face filled with confusion.

I counted to two in my head and quickly rushed towards her.

“Hehehe·····!”

“Ugh·····!”

As I lunged towards her, I twisted my arm and struck the wall behind her.

A dull noise echoed and vibrated.

Our eyes met, and a brief silence passed.

“So from now on, take care of your body.”

You are the only one who can kill me.

Her distorted face remained unchanged, and I reached out towards her.

I wedged my arms around her neck and knees, lifting her in a princess carry.

Her body, unable to resist, was easy to handle.

Maybe she realized that resisting was useless, as Erica only glared at me without saying a word.

Or perhaps it was because she lacked strength.

“I’m taking you to the hospital. The emergency room. This time, I·····.”

Hmm.

“I’ll be your guardian.”

The place where the battle took place was not far from the Association’s medical center. There was no need to use a teleport build, so I walked slowly.

The flickering streetlights that repeated turning on and off made a pattern, and the cool scent filled my nostrils, mingling with the echoes on the street.

Somewhere between calmness and excitement, as I moved my steps, the faded bustling street began to come into view.

While it was nice to be quiet, I wanted to talk right now.

Of course, she wouldn’t respond normally.

“I wonder what kind of reaction people will have if I walk into the ward like this, holding you.”

“·····.”

“No, just standing on the street showing your face like this would cause chaos, so maybe I should worry about that first?”

“·····What are you.”

Her mouth opened slightly.

“Why aren’t you killing me? I came at you with the intent to kill. I insulted and provoked you. Do you have some other motive·····?”

“Because you’re pretty.”

“·····.”

“I want to tie you up and look at you all day.”

Erica stared at me. The gaze seemed to be scrutinizing, and I unconsciously turned away.

“Does this mean you won’t tell me?”

A moment of silence passed.

“I’m trying to grant your wish.”

“·····Wish?”

“You said you would definitely kill me.”

The thought of being killed by her made it feel oddly ticklish.

“So I decided to help you.”

Frozen with her mouth slightly open.

“Well, do your best.”

“·····What do you mean?”

“Oh, we’ve arrived.”

It wasn’t the medical center but the entrance to the bustling street.

There weren’t many people since it was nearing midnight, but perhaps the aftermath of the battle hadn’t reached this place; there were an acceptable number of bystanders.

“Which do you prefer, noise or silence?”

“·····.”

“I’m going to do as I please anyway, even if you don’t answer.”

With that, I put strength into my legs and took off running. It was a quiet street, but faint sounds gradually filled the air. Her faint hair tickled my hand and arm.

The weight of her body pressed against my chest.

But there was no problem increasing my speed.

Surprisingly, it felt good. It was enjoyable.

Enjoyable, indeed.

With a slam, I pushed the door to the medical center open with my body. At that moment, my hat scattered magic power and enveloped my head. The colors of my skin and eyes changed, and the collar of my clothes rose up to my nose.

And I shouted.

“Ugh, we have an emergency patient! Help us!”

All gazes turned to us.

“She’s bleeding too much! She seems to be breathing!”

Erica looked at me in disbelief.

“Over here, please.”

“Professor Kim! Help us here!”

“It’s Erica!”

The commotion intensified, and things proceeded rapidly.

A girl covered in blood who looked dangerously wounded was taken away on a cart, and a medical assistant came to me.

“What is your relationship with the patient? What was her condition at first?”

“Guardian·····, I found her collapsed on the side of the road. I hastily performed suturing on her arm, which was severed.”

“Suturing? How did a regular person perform a high-tier surgical build·····.”

The medical assistant didn’t even finish their sentence and turned their gaze from me to Erica, nodding repeatedly that she was fine.

They were already talking to her while inspecting the magic circle that wound around her right arm.

“This level of precision is unprecedented. It would take healing mages hours to do this, if not more·····.”

“This isn’t something that can be done this quickly in surgery·····?!”

I thought desperately.

What excuse should I make?

Should I just run away?

As I turned my steps, a hand grabbed my shoulder.

“You’ll need to stay here for a while, sir. There are various questions to ask related to the patient.”

I hastily pressed down my hat and avoided eye contact.

“With the chaotic internal magical power, the expected ruptures and external bleeding have been neatly treated. Did you do this as well, sir?”

“Ah, yes.”

The medical assistant’s pupils widened.

This would surely complicate things.