Chapter 52 Chapter 52
"LEORA!!!" Yfraim screamed as he saw Leora—or what looked like her—shoot Rodrigo with an arrow.
"Don Rodrigo!" Leora (the real one) rushed to assist Rodrigo, who was choking on his own blood.
"Why would you play a prank like that?! You knew I had someone else in this room, and a mortal at that!" Yfraim barked at her.
"What?"
"Why did you fire an arro—"
"Are you an idiot, Yfraim?! Why would I ever do that?!" she screamed back, furious. Since he became King, no one had ever cursed at him, let alone his friend.
He froze, not because of the insult, but because he realized something.
"And since when do I ever use a bow and arrow, Yfraim?!"
She was right. She never used a bow; her weapons of choice were the sword and the dagger.
'What is going on?' He was confused. Who had mimicked his friend’s form? Whoever it was, they were incredibly skilled—they had captured her likeness and even her scent perfectly. He hadn't seen their true form at all.
"Are you two going to keep screaming, or are you going to help me treat Rodrigo?!" Ryuk yelled. He lifted the old immortal and vanished.
"They're at Alabaskar!" Yfraim said frantically.
"I know!" Leora snapped, her golden eyes glowing with rage. She pointed a finger at him. "We are going to talk later, King Yfraim!"
'Fuck.' Whoever was behind this was likely laughing at them right now.
When he reached Alabaskar, Leora and Ryuk were already trying to heal Rodrigo. He hoped they could mitigate the damage. He paced back and forth, waiting for the wounds in Rodrigo's back and chest to close.
"What happened?" Thor asked him, a strange, unreadable emotion on his face.
Yfraim swallowed hard. "We were just talking about his feelings when an arrow suddenly pierced his chest." He looked at the old man, who was clearly suffering, and felt a wave of despair. "When I looked to see who shot it, I saw Leora outside, smirking at us."
"I told you, it wasn't me!!! Goddammit!!! I'm not stupid enough to pull a stunt like that!!!"
Gray approached his furious girlfriend. If she weren't busy treating the old man, she probably would have punched Yfraim. "Calm down, Leora... focus on what you're doing," Gray soothed.
"Tell him that, not me!" she snapped at her partner.
Leora was raging, and Yfraim couldn't blame her. He had accused her without knowing the truth.
"Why isn't the wound healing?! Ryuk, do something! Are you getting rusty?! You're supposed to be the healer! Show that power now!!" She even turned her anger toward her own brother. She was panicking, and it showed on her face.
"L-Leora..." The old man reached out and held Leora’s hand. "I... I can't... do it anymore." He was gasping for air, struggling. "L-let... let it go." He smiled, though tears fell from his eyes. "T-take care of A-Aurora. T-tell her I l-love her very much. I-if I have one r-regret, it's that I d-didn't see her... with my l-last breath." He coughed, and more blood flowed from his wound.
"No, Don Rodrigo! Fight for your daughter! You should be the one to tell her you love her! You should be the one to take care of her, not me!" Leora’s frustration at the mortal’s inability to heal turned into an angry outburst.
"Leora." Thor placed a hand on her shoulder. When she looked at him, he shook his head in defeat. "You can't heal him. The arrow was tipped with poison. The venom of the Berkakan fish."
A heavy silence fell as they realized the gravity of Thor's words. Leora slumped back, punching the floor as she sobbed.
The Berkakan fish held the deadliest poison in their world; even young immortals could be killed if scratched by its spine. He knew only the Tagobtob creatures harvested Berkakan fish, as they were immune to the spines due to their rock-hard bodies.
Yfraim approached Rodrigo and held his hand. "Forgive me, my friend, for failing to protect you."
"I... I have a r-request for F-Fiel."
Hearing his name, Fiel immediately rushed to the old man’s side.
"I'm here, Rodrigo." The old mortal whispered something to Fiel, and Fiel nodded.
"I understand." Fiel turned to the others. "He wants you all to leave for a moment. He wants to rest quietly, in peace, and alone."
Yfraim tried to help Leora up, but she brushed his hand away. He could only sigh. She was truly furious with him.
"Where's Fiel?" Thor asked once they were outside.
"He stayed behind."
They were all shrouded in grief. They hadn't expected to lose the mortal among them, and Yfraim felt the weight of his failure—failing to protect a guest in the very heart of werewolf territory.
The girl had entrusted her father to them to keep him safe from the dangers outside, and yet... this was what happened.