Chapter 103 Chapter 103
Nonetheless, the stubborn part of herself refused to die, and that stubborn part was what forced her to act now. “Travis.” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Travis.”
She got hit by another strong wave of darkness and skidded over the ground, her arms burning when dirt got into her bleeding injuries. Coughing, she attempted to push herself up, but she couldn’t. Her arms were trembling weakly, her body surrendering.
In a last effort to defend herself, she used her light to form a shield in front of her. If only she hadn’t left Travis, maybe they would have been able to defeat this madman, but alone, she stood no chance. Frustration made her eyes burn with tears. She always lost. She was always the weaker one. She had lost against Uriel, she had lost Maxwell, and now she was losing her life.
Her shield was shattered soon after, the light particles swallowed by shadows.
“Insolent human, did you really think you could use demon magic?” Zane taunted, coming closer. His form blurred before her eyes. She cursed, the pain becoming overwhelming.
Despair and fear made her heart sink. She knew that she was all alone; there was nobody who would help her. Eyes falling closed, she was swallowed by cold darkness.
\---
Feeling a hand touch her shoulder, she stirred and blinked, opening her eyes to glance at blurry treetops over her. The sky became darker gradually.
“Finally you’re awake. I was fucking worried about you.” She heard a familiar voice say. Tilting her head, she spotted Travis kneeling next to her. His red hair stood out to her, and his dark eyes were burning with concern. “Why would you fight him on your own, idiot?” he hissed, his angry words contrasting his actions when he gently brushed a few strands of black hair behind her ear.
“I’m sorry, Travis…” she mumbled, pushing herself up so she was sitting next to him. Her whole body ached, but she was still in one piece which surprised her. When she had lost consciousness, she had been convinced that this was it. She had faced a much too powerful demon on her own. Why would he just let her go?
There was only one plausible explanation in her mind. Her eyes took in the scene of destruction in the forest around her, seeing uprooted and burned trees, craters in the ground.
“You defeated him,” she whispered and looked at Travis with wide eyes. He scrunched his nose, watching her like she lost her marbles.
“What are you talking about? I didn’t fight anyone,” he retorted. “Did you hit your head too hard?”
“But there was a very strong high-class demon, right here! He wanted to kill me, and I’m damn sure he wouldn’t just change his mind and walk away, especially not after I went unconscious,” she said exasperatedly, nervously playing with a strand of her hair as she thought about it. His eyes had been filled with stifling hatred for her, there was no way he would show mercy. Demons did not know mercy.
“Valerie, calm down. I’ll tell you everything I know, okay? When I found you around ten minutes ago, you were laying here on the ground. Nobody was anywhere in the vicinity, but I sensed faint traces of strong magic, and the destruction of this place speaks for itself… a terrible fight must have taken place here. I didn’t know you were so strong, this is something else,” Travis said, looking astonished.
“I did fight the demon, but he overpowered me eventually,” Valerie said, her eyes roaming over the damage surrounding her. She was nervous, fearing that something horrible might have happened while she had been unconscious. “I’m not responsible for this chaos here. Someone else must have fought him.” She found the whole situation creepy and shuddered.
“I guess so,” he mumbled, narrowing his eyes before a smirk curled his lips. “Maybe your guardian angel was working overtime?”
She snorted, nudging him playfully. “Sinners don’t have guardian angels, silly.”
“Hey, I was just trying to make light of the situation.”
“How did you find me?” she then asked, curiously gazing at him.
Now he looked confused and stared at her like she had grown a second head. “What do you mean? What’s wrong with you today?”
“Huh?”
“You sent a beam of light towards the sky so I could find you easier. Did you forget, idiot?” he scolded, shaking his head at her. “That was the only way I could have reached you so quickly.”
“I… I did no such thing,” she breathed. “I was unconscious the entire time.” Her body froze and her eyes widened.
“If it wasn’t you, who else could it have been?” Travis muttered annoyedly. “Do you think a light demon randomly came here to destroy the forest? You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”
Valerie had a suspicion in her mind; the warm feeling of Hoperising within her heart. Eyes clouding with tears, she sniffled and glanced down at the silver chain wrapped around her wrist. She touched it with her fingers, feeling the chain links of the cold metal.
“Do you think it might have been him?” she asked breathlessly, the intensity of her gleaming brown eyes catching the half-demon off guard. He immediately knew who she meant.
“It’s possible…” he said, putting a hand to his chin as he pondered over it, “But how would he have found you here? Why would he help you? Didn’t you say he wanted to sever all connections between you?”
“Yes, that’s true,” she said bitterly. “Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part.”
“No, I’m sure what you said is plausible. Let’s be realistic about it: any other demon would have ripped you to shreds, not helped you.”
“You’re so nonchalant about it,” Valerie complained sarcastically and rolled her eyes.
“Assuming it was him, he would have needed to keep an eye on you to know you’re in trouble. Sounds to me like he still cares about you,” Travis said and smiled.
Valerie didn’t know what to think anymore. She was confused, didn’t understand Maxwell. If he really had helped her just now, what could have been his motive? He had been clear about his wish to leave her, and it had taken her a long time to get over the pain it had caused her, although the emptiness in her heart could not be filled, no matter what she did.