Immortal Desire
Chapter 53

The lady in the armor led the way out to the forest with the confused knight in tow. The trees and the mystical heavy air was familiar. Seth stopped on his track and inhaled lungful of air. His brows frowned when he came to one conclusion: The forest was the same as the previous one where he was conversing with the witch.

“Damn witch! She tricked me,” he muttered, lifting his head to follow the lady in front. “W-what?” the knight panicked when the lady aimed her sword at him, ready to pierce his eye any minute. ‘What’s wrong with her?’ he asked himself.

The lady who called herself ‘Kiera’ glared at him. “I’m used to society’s label but I won’t accept it if someone like you whom we fight for refers to us as witches.” She watched him carefully, waiting for his next move and when she was certain that he wished not to argue, she pulled her blade away and continued to lead the way. “I’ve met the most powerful vampire so far and I didn’t expect that someone like you with an obvious lower rank would dare to insult Kiera,” she snickered.

Seth followed her with his mouth shut. He could fight with her but there was no hint of hostility in her words although she was striking a pose to assault him. The lady also offered to treat his wound which she caused anyway. His head was filled with thoughts about the stranger. Her posture while holding her weapon, her swift motions when she was about to attack, her sparkling green eyes, the strands of her golden hair in the side of her face, her slightly parted lips when she was looking at him with a disgusted expression, the warm and soothing scent she emitted… everything about her was addictive to him. Like a flash of lightning hitting him straight from the sky, Seth completely forgot his mission.

“We’re here,” the lady said. She stopped in front of a small hut built beside the river. Pushing the door made of slabs, its shabby interior was revealed. “Don’t just stand there. Your wounds are getting worse,” she rolled her eyes when he remained standing outside.

“Is this safe?” Seth asked worriedly. He was careful when he entered the door which he thought would break any moment. To make sure he wouldn’t accidentally blow the hut, he slightly docked his head down before crouching inside. “Phew! It’s more dangerous than fighting the beast,” he murmured when he finally took a seat on a wooden bench.

“Tsk. Will you say something more terrible once I pour this potion on your decaying skin?” The lady wasted no time and eventually poured the antidote on Seth’s wound.

“AHH! Oh, shit! It hurts!” He cried while jumping. It was his first time using a healing potion, and he never knew it would hurt so much until he experienced it.

“Oh? So the so-called immortals could scream like that too,” she laughed while watching the other wailed in pain. “Shh… keep your voice low,” she suddenly whispered and covered his mouth with her hand. They crouched on the floor.

The knight stopped moving around. If he could stop breathing at that moment, he would have done so. Her addictive scent calmed him down.

The sound of footsteps coming in their direction was getting louder. There were about ten people and two horses based on the weight of their footsteps. He could tell the enemy’s number even without looking, and she knew how many ‘visitors’ she got because just like him, she was also trained. Seth glanced at the lady who remained quiet while still holding him.

“Hey, witch!” A man’s voice from the outside caught their attention. Hard objects hit the door. They were pebbles kicked by the people who just came. “We know you’re in there. Get your butt here and surrender yourself! Let’s have some fun together, hahaha!” They were lascivious men of l**t. All words coming from their mouths were as filthy as their intention.

The lady sighed and got on her feet. “Where are you going?” Seth asked her when she headed to the door. She looked back at him and smiled. Her smile screamed of pain and devastation. “I’ll take care of them. Stay right here. No matter what you’ll hear, it will be best if you pretend like nothing is going on.” She left him inside to face the hungry men outside. They cheered when she finally opened the door and showed herself.

“Good. You must have heard about what happened to the other Kiera who tried to fight back. If you don’t want to get hurt, simply follow what you were told.” Seth heard the same man’s voice. He waited for the lady to reply, but she said nothing.

‘Damn, will she let them have their way?’ he thought as he tried to look for spare clothes to wear. He still had many questions to ask, and he had the feeling that he wouldn’t be able to get answers if something happened to her. He clicked his tongue when he found nothing except a few old dresses which he couldn’t use. Sighing, he rushed to the window to see what was going on.

“Now, take off your armor.” The man with a thick beard ordered the lady who was standing in the middle of the crowd, motionless.

“Remove your shitty armor!” the man yelled. The lady smirked as she moved her hands to take off the heavy armor she was wearing. Under the metal suit, her delicate frame and ladylike attributes were revealed. She was wearing a thin layer of clothes underneath. Her skin was white but filled with scars. Seeing the deep scars in different shapes could prove that she had been on the battlefield for years.

“What a disgusting body. If not for your pretty face which remained unscratched, no one would even dare to pay attention to you. Pah!” The man spitting saliva on her, but she didn’t budge on where she stood. “I heard you are still a virgin. If you beg me to take you, I might consider having you on my bed. I have my men here who are willing to play with you after I deflower you. It’s not a bad deal. You should consider yourself lucky to experience what heaven is like,” the man continued his speech.

‘Heaven huh,’ Seth gritted his teeth. The towel hanging in the nail’s head stuck in the wall caught his attention. With a malicious grin on his face, he snatched the towel and wrapped it around his body before he jumped over the window. “Bastards! Who do you think you are to talk about heaven, you brute!” He yelled before kicking the man whose speech was interrupted when his face met Seth’s feet.

“How dare you?!”

“That’s my line, oldie. How dare you think of taking advantage of this lady’s body when you look like a malnourished pig?!” Seth glared at the man who was crawling on the ground. “Your words pissed me off when I heard them. Now that I saw your face closer, it pisses me off more.” He snatched the lady’s hand and pulled her away from the crowd only to be stopped by other men.

“Get out of my way.” The knight’s voice was stern. So many things have already happened since the witch sent him to this place. ‘Right! The witch mentioned doing something that will affect the present,’ he beamed when he remembered about the witch. Seth held the lady’s hand tighter. “The present…” he mumbled. “I should be protecting Latina right now.”

“What did you say?” the lady asked him when she vaguely heard what he murmured. Seth shook his head and laughed. “Nothing, I just realized that I may be still trapped in this dream. Since this is my dream, I should have all the rights to do what I want.” The lady looked confused about what he said. “Don’t worry, I won’t let these bastards lay their filthy hands on you.”

Without him knowing, his words eased the burden in the lady’s heart. “Thank you,” she whispered, softly.

In a blink of an eye, Seth beheaded all the enemies in front of him. His speed was faster than he remembered. He was so fast that he was able to pile up the dead bodies and erased all the evidence by burning them to ciders in less than a minute. He made an exception and let the horses go. They neighed as they ran wild away from him.

“You killed them,” the lady said. Her voice was shaking. She had killed countless beasts before but never harmed any human.

“If not, they’ll kill you. In this world, it’s to kill or be killed. You think they’re going to be satisfied after they abuse you?” Seth brushed his palms together to rid the dirt. “I don’t know if it is possible to meet you somewhere since this is just a dream. If we happen to cross our way someday, I won’t forgive you if you no longer remember me. After all, there should be no one around here who’s more handsome than I am.” He smiled and patted her cheeks.

“Are you going?” she asked. She hadn’t properly thanked him yet. It was only several hours since they met, and she wanted him to stay longer.

“I’m not sure how but I need to go back,” he took a few steps backward. “Once I’m done with anything else, I’ll find you. So stay safe until then,” Seth said. He could feel the familiar force pulling him. The witch’s spell was about to lose its effect. “Until then,” he smiled one last time.

“Wait! What is your name? My name is… ”

The young knight watched the lady reaching out her hand to him. He felt the strange energy dragging him from the back when he had the urge to hold the lady’s hand after she told him her name.

“My name is Seth…”

The gentle breeze and the fragrance coming from the tree leaves and flowers tickled his nostrils. Seth opened his eyes and was greeted by the serene moonlight. “Eh…?” he mumbled. He blinked his eyes and was shocked when a tear fell. “Why the heck am I crying?” After lifting himself, he rubbed his head while trying to recall what happened. “Argh! I don’t remember anything other than talking to that old hag. It was still dark, so I might not have passed out for too long.”

Feeling his own body, he found out that there seemed nothing to worry about. Everything was the same as before he lost consciousness, but he still couldn’t tell the reason why he fainted in the first place. He roamed his sight around to check his surroundings while enhancing his sense of smell to find Latina’s whereabouts.

“I appreciate your offer but you don’t need to come with me. This is where we depart, Azrene.”

Seth’s ears perked when he heard Latina’s voice. He followed where her voice was coming from and halted when he saw her talking to a petite girl with blonde hair. The girl’s face was familiar but what caught his attention the most was Latina’s appearance. She looked different. There was a slight bump on her belly and her expression was cold. The sparkles in her eyes were gone. Her beauty was still there but she rather looked empty.

‘What happened?’