CHAPTER 112: [WRONG ARC]

Kael moved faster, his boots thudding against the forest floor as the distant rhythm of beasts grew louder—more and more of them closing in.

The air was thick with tension.

He darted toward a tree, grabbed a hanging vine, and—without much thought—launched himself forward with a guttural yell that sounded vaguely like "Aaaahhhhhh!"

Like Tarzan.

If Tarzan had respiratory issues.

Mid-swing, Kael caught Yue’s expression out of the corner of his eye.

She was staring at him.

Blankly. Unmoved. Clearly not impressed.

Kael landed with a thud, coughed awkwardly.

"What?"

Yue tilted her head. "What are you doing?"

He sighed. Of course.

She didn’t know who Tarzan was.

Figures. Different world.

He said nothing and kept moving—faster now, back into the tension of the hunt.

Soon, Kael reached the spot where he had last seen the girl.

Please don’t be gone, he thought.

She wasn’t.

Still there—half-buried in dirt, streaked with dried blood, limbs awkwardly sprawled like a discarded doll.

Kael crouched beside her, quickly checking her pulse. It was steady—normal, at least.

But her skin was flushed, burning with fever.

She was probably unconscious from exhaustion.

Her pale face looked drained and worn, like she’d been running on empty for days.

He looked at the girl, frowning.

"This day just keeps getting better."

A low growl cut through the forest air.

Of course, he thought, not even surprised anymore.

A beast lunged from the shadows, fangs bared.

Kael raised one hand, conjured a vortex of mana, and let it tear straight through the creature’s skull.

The body dropped with a heavy thud, twitching once.

Without ceremony, Kael hoisted the girl into his arms.

"She better not puke on me," he muttered and began moving deeper into the forest, each step slower, more deliberate.

Behind him, the beast’s corpse steamed.

As Kael moved through the thickening forest, the fading light brushed everything in shades of fire and shadow.

He glanced up.

The sun was slipping below the treeline—another day burning out.

He sighed.

He had left the cave that morning with one goal: kill a beast.

A simple hunt, just enough meat for three—Selene, Elara, and himself.

Nothing fancy.

Now? He was bruised, bloodied, and cradling an unconscious elf girl in his arms like some morally ambiguous hero.

All because that strange rank 2 beast that played tag with his soul, then ran like it had taxes to pay.

And the battle that followed?

A blur of spells. Blood. Screams.

And that elf bastard—spouting cryptic nonsense about his "master" taking revenge.

Kael snorted quietly.

No fear. No regret.

His mask could block any divination—no matter how powerful the master was, they would never find Kael.

"All my clues are going to vanish soon," he said flatly. "Perfect."

With the number of beasts crawling into that place now, any trace of the fight would be gone soon.

The whole battlefield would be a chewed-up memory by morning.

Kael looked down at the unconscious elf girl slung over his shoulder like a bag of stolen grain.

A tiny smile tugged at his lips.

"An elf friend," he said, as if reciting a business report.

"Access to the elven kingdom.

Possible expansion opportunity for the Order of the Black Sigil."

He looked like a merchant preparing to smuggle black-market talismans through customs.

From somewhere above, Yue’s voice echoed:

"There’s a pond ahead. Looks safe."

Kael nodded without glancing up, shifting his grip on the girl.

Soon, Kael reached the edge of the pond.

A few beasts—rank 1 and 2—were there, lapping at the water to ease their thirst.

With a cold smile, Kael "kindly" ended their suffering, putting them out of their misery—and eternal thirst.

He set the elf girl gently on the ground, careful despite the grime.

From his space ring, Kael pulled out the battered book he’d bought at that dusty bookstore before this whole mess started.

Flipping through it, he found the section on fever remedies.

Without wasting time, he grabbed a vessel from his space ring and scooped water from the pond.

A fire was lit swiftly, the water brought to a boil with urgency—higher-rank beasts might come here to relieve their thirst, and Kael wasn’t sure he could kindly grant them eternal relief this time.

Once the water boiled, he added the herbs he’d collected, following the book’s directions carefully.

The pungent steam filled the air—harsh, medicinal, but promising.

Kael took a cautious sip himself, then brought the warm liquid to the elf’s lips.

She drank.

Still unconscious, but the reaction was immediate.

A slight twitch, a faint flicker of life.

Kael let out a low, grim chuckle.

"Well, at least you’re not dying"

Yue’s voice cut through the quiet.

"You’re looking like a parent feeding his kid medicine."

Kael said nothing, just shot her a sideways glance.

"Okay, bad joke," she muttered, then went back to keeping watch.

Kael carefully set the elf girl down.

Her clothes were tatters, torn and grimy.

He sighed, gathering all the vessels and stuffing them back into his space ring.

His eyes drifted away, thinking,

Selene must have been here.

Then, his gaze landed on his own clothes — shredded beyond repair.

Without a second thought, he shrugged off the ruined fabric and stepped into the pond.

Cold water lapped at his skin as he soaked, letting the moment stretch out.

After washing off, Kael stepped out of the pond wearing fresh clothes he’d pulled from his space ring.

Meanwhile, the elf girl stirred, eyelids fluttering open.

Where am I? she wondered groggily.

Then a sharp pain stabbed her stomach.

It must be the medicine—but something else nagged at her tongue: a bitter, unpleasant taste she couldn’t place.

Her gaze drifted upward—and landed on a man hastily dressed in fresh clothes, standing nearby.

In a cruel twist of her muddled mind, the dots connected in the worst possible way.

Unconscious. Pain. Strange taste. Clothes in tatters.

A man nearby...

....h-He must have done something awful to me.

A scream tore from her throat.

"AAAAAAA—!"

Kael spun around, eyes narrowing as the elf girl’s tears began to fall.

Where the fuck did my ’hero saves damsel in distress’ arc go wrong? he thought.

Unbeknownst to him—it hadn’t just gone wrong.

It was heading straight off a cliff.