Eric stood up while groaning in pain, then staggered toward his right side within the foliage of trees. He was already close enough—just two trees away.
"Eric, i-is there really no other way?" Riya sniffed.
Eric smiled indifferently. "What other ways are there? The longer this goes on, the more difficult it will be, and that is ignoring the possibility that another Dark Elf Mana Wielder might arrive. If that happens, there is simply no hope. I will only end up being a nice-smelling dish on their dinner table."
Eric was certain that if he delayed any longer, he'd smell so tasty on the Dark Elves' dining table that even he would salivate.
Soon, he arrived behind the last tree and searched for a small ditch or stump.
After finding a bulge on the tree trunk, he could put his right leg on it. With his left hand, he grabbed another branch stump on the tree. After that, he gently placed his right hand on the side of his abdomen. Only then did he notice his birthday dagger was missing. It must've fled the moment it realized he was about to die.
Eric closed his eyes, not due to the pain of betrayal from his birthday dagger but to listen, though it wasn't necessary as the Dark Elf couples were conversing loudly among themselves while slowly walking the same path Eric had taken.
Among the two, the black-cutie Elf girl's voice was especially pleasant, as if birds were tweeting.
Damn hormones!
Both Dark Elves stopped a few meters away from the tree Eric was 'hiding' behind.
Eric heard the jiggling Dark Elf girl say something excitedly—something very similar to what the previously smirking, perverted Dark Elf boy had said. It probably meant "My turn."
Soon, Eric heard noises like wind rotating and twisting in a circular motion, and at the same time, the surrounding area brightened with a yellowish hue.
He exhaled deeply and did exactly what the Dark Elves had expected: he jumped backward with all his strength, twisting sideways to face both Elves.
The Dark Elves weren't surprised at all, as they had great hearing ability due to their long ears. They had heard when Eric positioned his foot to jump with the tree's support.
The Dark Elf girl smiled sweetly at Eric.
Eric had to say—with those large, shining dark eyes, even the lustrous dark skin texture, and not to mention that figure was too...
Damn hormones!
The temptress Dark Elf shot her Fireball toward Eric, which immediately came howling at him with tremendous speed.
The Dark Rose had an anticipatory gaze in her eyes, full of delight at how her Fireball would hit the 'handsome' human boy.
But because she was too confident and focused on the after-effect, she didn't notice a single small throwing knife similarly plummeting toward her, much more silently, with only a 'shi' sound of air being cut—which also got covered up by the Fireball's roar.
Before the Dark Elf girl could understand what had happened, there was a 'pitch' sound followed by a 'thud', as if something had penetrated someone's skin.
She stiffened, stunned.
The Dark Elf boy beside her—always wearing a 'handsome,' 'cool,' and 'confident' smile—froze.
He saw it, but it was too fast.
Neither of them was prepared for it, as they actually had no idea that the human had something hidden in his tattered outfit, and neither had they heard any sound of metal while they were approaching.
They could even hear Eric's breath within the sounds of the ocean hitting the cliff, but how come they only heard the sound when it was already too late?
The reason was that both Dark Elves were too casual and confident, as they believed that a human mortal was just a 'mortal' to begin with, not to mention he was already too injured to pose any threat toward them.
The Dark Elf boy slowly turned his head toward his side, toward his beautiful sister, only to see she was also dazed, and a small knife had lodged deep into her throat just above her collarbone. It had gone deep enough for only the end of the handle to poke outside of her throat, with dark red blood flowing out in huge amounts like a waterfall.
"LUNAEFYR…!"
Eric heard the handsome Elf boy scream out something, possibly the beautiful dark rose-like girl's name, but he was not in the luxury of hearing the name of his first kill.
Eric really wanted to know whether he had successfully defied the heavens and defeated his hormones or not. Sadly, the moment he threw the knife, he was soon after hit by the fireball directly on his chest.
Eric originally wanted to throw two knives at both Dark Elves, but he was not confident in getting both kills, as he could not estimate how tough their defense or constitution was. So, he only focused on one with his full strength—the one who had exploded him more than once!
The moment Eric threw his knife targeting the pit of the Dark Elf girl's throat, he too was hit by her fireball right between his chest and abdomen.
With his left forearm, he just managed to guard his eyes; the rest, he was not too concerned with. Even if he died, so be it—but if he didn't, then at least he didn't want to go blind.
After the impact, Eric was launched even farther back—well beyond 20 meters at least. He had already jumped backward toward the ocean, and with the fireball's impact, he was pushed further away into the distance.
This was also part of his rough plan, as he was not sure if there were rocks beneath him or not, and the waves were too violent. He wasn't confident in jumping too far in his current injured condition, so he wanted to use the fireball's force to increase his meager chance of survival.
The impact wasn't as powerful as the previous one, probably because Eric was already in the air and moving backward, or because his chest was sturdier, or perhaps because he was ready this time and his muscles had tightened before impact. Or it could also be because he was already in pain from his back being fried and couldn't register new pain so quickly—but nonetheless, he was already losing consciousness.
"Eric…!" Riya cried out with her tear-soaked voice.
Before Eric could roll his eyes at Riya's overdramatic shout, he lost consciousness entirely, just before hitting the angry ocean.
-
Doom. Splash. Swish. Silence.
All sorts of noises were heard by Riya the moment Eric fell into the ocean.
She held back her tears and panic in her heart.
Riya almost wished to experience the same pain as Eric and die together with him, but she kept her rational thought intact. If she did that, then her own calm observation would be disturbed, and she wouldn't be able to judge the situation properly.
Although she couldn't do a thing, she didn't want anything to happen to Eric's body while being completely unaware. And if he died, she would die too, so it didn't matter—the outcome would be the same.
Riya waited patiently, listening only to the confusing sounds she could hear from Eric's ear.
She waited and waited, but it seemed Eric didn't hit the cliff; in fact, the outside seemed quiet and peaceful, almost as if he was gently floating in the waves.
Riya thought deeply as to why, recalling the last event and what had happened.
Eric had jumped backward with all his strength, and with the fireball's direct impact, he was pushed further toward the ocean—away from the cliff wall. And there was also the rebound of ocean water when it hit the cliff, so maybe that also pushed Eric away along with the water.
Eric never had time to look below the cliff from where he jumped, so there was also a chance the cliff was different from the violent side. No matter the reason, Eric didn't collide with the cliff—and that was at least one piece of good news, as that would have been certain death.
Even so, the overall situation wasn't good. Eric was far too heavily injured, and some ocean water had already entered his body.
But for now, he hadn't drowned, and no dangerous aquatic animals seemed to have attacked him. That made sense—what fish would swim near such a violent collision of land and water?
But if Eric wasn't treated soon, even if he didn't drown or get swallowed by some beast, his severe injuries would still kill him.
Riya could forcefully wake Eric from his unconscious state, but that would be sending him straight to hell. Unconsciousness was also protection from pain. So it was better that he slept.
Whether he survived or not, she would be the only one mentally tortured along the way.
Riya hugged her knees and sobbed silently.
She hated the situation—especially how helpless she was.
Eric had suffered an ambush from two Mana Wielders, and not to mention, it began with a sneak attack.
He was just a mortal!
After crying quietly for a long time, Riya grew angrier—angry at Eric's weakness, and at her own uselessness.
She got so angry that she stomped, glaring 'upward' where there was nothing, and with full wrath, she roared, "If we survive this tribulation—mark my words—I will make Eric so strong the whole universe will TREMBLE!"
After screaming her heart out, Riya panted. She could disable such 'living' effects, but since she was born with human features, she wished to stay that way unless necessary.
That declaration wasn't directed at Eric, so he remained undisturbed—it echoed only within the nonexistent Mind Space.
Riya knew there was no "up" or "down" in Mind Space, and whether she looked up or down, it wouldn't make any difference. She knew she was just throwing her frustration and helplessness out, but what she had just declared—she meant every word of it!
After a while, Riya calmed down and once again sat back, hugging her knees, and waited for something to happen. Either Eric would die, or perhaps he would land on some island. Then, with some luck, he might wake up.
After an unknown time, Eric hit solid ground. Perhaps it was a beach or some rocky land, Riya couldn't recognize it, but she didn't wake Eric up, as he was not in any condition to wake or move, so she quietly waited.
She didn't have to wait long before she heard someone's yelp, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching rapidly.
"Aaa... H-hey, a-are you alright?" a panicked voice called out.
Riya heard the 'worried' tone and released a sigh of relief.
Though she still wasn't certain whether this person would put Eric into a hotpot to cook him or try to save him, at least there was another intelligent species wherever Eric had been swept away to.
Then she noticed something strange about the voice.
Riya was certain the voice didn't belong to Ringwood Town's folks; she even doubted it belonged to any human, as it was just too 'sweet' for a human's voice. It probably would have melted Eric's hormone-influenced heart if he'd been conscious—it was that unusually sweet—but without a doubt, it belonged to a female... or maybe a very feminine male. Riya couldn't guess, as she had very little information about the world.
She even wondered if Eric's eardrum had been damaged or blocked by something. Regardless, she at least recognized the language the girl used was Celestia.
Soon, Riya sensed Eric being lifted and then carried away, and with that her doubt also cleared, as it was definitely a woman. She didn't think a man would have breasts. But the girl definitely had great strength, as she carried Eric in a princess-carry position and with ease, too. Eric was quite heavy with his nearly seven-foot height, and being in the water for so long had only made him heavier. There was also the chance that the girl was a Mana Wielder.
"Mother... Mother, look!"
Riya held her breath, wondering what she would hear next—whether "Mother, look—look, I found ourselves dinner," or perhaps "Mother, look, I found a dead body. Shall we feed it to our dogs?" or "Mother, see, I found this person. I think he is still alive. Let's save him!"
Riya prayed it would be the last one.
Riya even promised in her heart that if they saved Eric, then she would even convince him to sacrifice his first time to them—if necessary...