"Cough, cough!"
Alexander was startled and turned only to find his little brother was on all four. He hastily crouched next to him and supported his body.
"Are you okay?"
However, Damian was unable to answer as he continued coughing heavily. He vomited a lot of blood but was soon washed away by the rain.
Only.
"The Elementalist is exhausted! This is our chance!"
"Charge!!"
Alexander's eyes rolled toward the voice in disbelief, even after half of their troops had died in vain, they showed no intention of withdrawing. Crazy.
Seeing Damian's condition, their morale suddenly soared and waves of attacks began to unfold once more. The enemy dashed and marched forward.
"Tsk."
Ulrich clucked his tongue in annoyance, it seemed only after he annihilated them all would they finally realize that all of their struggles were fruitless.
Without thinking much he channeled his Aura into the sword and ran onward, a blue arc was drawn in the air as he swung his weapon followed by the fallen enemy corpses.
Fedel stealthy hopped into the enemy's rear and in the blink of an eye, bodies collapsed with their blood gushing out everywhere, but the rain rinsed their traces away.
Clashing metal and battle cries filled the space; they sang along with the downpouring water.
"Cough, cough!"
Alexander gritted his teeth. Even after he told him to not push himself, this brat never listened to him. Now just look at him, he couldn't stop spewing blood!
The flames of rage flickered in his heart and it kept growing, bigger and much bigger. Nonetheless, Alexander couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows.
Did Damian summon the rain? He had never heard of such a thing. Also, he didn't see any magic circle anywhere and how could he–wait, this wasn't the time to be curious about it.
"I told you not to–"
"Shut up! You make my head–cough, dizzy."
Damian hurriedly cut him off, he didn't want to listen to his nagging or reproaches, then he spat the bloody saliva to the side. Ugh, he hated how the metallic taste filled his mouth.
"I'm sorry. A–are you okay?"
"Does someone who keeps throwing up blood look okay to you?!"
Alexander said no more at the boy's growl. Damian cursed inwardly in frustration. Why did the main character's IQ suddenly drop? Of course, he wasn't all right! He was tired and his whole body somehow felt tingling.
'Is it due to Mana Core Exhaustion?'
Because his Mana was completely depleted right now and he massaged his head in unbearable vertigo, his hair subconsciously drew backward.
However, Alexander was stunned the moment Damian lifted his head and revealed his entire face without bangs. His complexion paled as if trying to match that porcelain and his lips were blue.
Alexander promptly snatched his hand that was resting on the forehead and coldness ran through his palm after their skin touched. Damian pulled back his hand.
"Don't touch me."
Yet, Alexander didn't answer and just clenched his fist. There was without a doubt that this imp had symptoms of Mana Core Exhaustion, and the fact that he stayed under the rain made it even worse.
Alexander stood and studied the surroundings. The fire had been extinguished, just as Damian had planned.
–Bang! –Bang! –Bang!
The Knights constantly repelled arrows that approached them. Ulrich was still fighting in the frontline and so was Fedel at the rear.
Alexander gazed down below and his eyes were locked with a pair of blue eyes. The boy's whole body was drenched in water and he shivered.
He couldn't help but facepalm his head and a sigh of lament escaped his mouth. At this point, the brat sitting in front of him was nothing less than a soaked little puppy.
Alexander was afraid that the whelp might die in the next few seconds. Although his coughing had stopped, it couldn't alleviate his worries about the damn imp!
He wanted to take him somewhere where he could warm his body and let him rest, but he did not see the end of this war.
'Should I… do it?'
Damian risked his life to stop the fire arrows and extinguished the flames. Shouldn't he also put his life on the line too?
'What's different is that I'm doing this for him, not for the refugees.'
Alexander stretched out his hand and his sword appeared in his grasp. Thanks to Sir Ulrich and Fedel, they were able to stall the enemy and gave him time to recover some of his Mana.
* * *
"Tsk."
I clucked my tongue whilst massaging my temples. Maybe my sights were a bit blurry but I saw how Alexander took out his weapon from his Magical Sphere.
"What are you going to do with your sword?"
"Hmm… to put an end to this war?"
'This is not a game where after you die, you can revive at your last checkpoints and I'm not even confident whether I'll be reincarnated again or not.'
Hence, as soon as I heard the sound of war waging, the first thing that came to my mind was the lives of the refugees, as they were undoubtedly the first target.
Since they and I were in the same boat, without much thought I rushed to save them. To hell with the plot, I wouldn't let them die like cannon fodder as the novel dictated.
Also, it was a pleasant experience to be able to talk to them while I was carrying out the tasks the Emperor gave me.
'They are nice people and I would like to converse with them again.'
Now that my burden had been lifted, it was up to Alexander.
–Drop –Drop
Rain bathed me. Even though it was cold, I let it cool my fury and sighed after I collected myself.
"Fine. Just don't die. I have a bunch of questions for you."
Yet, he just chuckled.
"Are you worried about me?"
I raised my head and I had never felt this relieved that my vision was hazing, otherwise, I would meet with his sinful smile. But on second thought, where the hell did his confidence come from?
Receiving no reply from me, he spoke once more. However, it was completely beyond my expectations.
"You did a good job, Damian."
My eyebrow furrowed. What was that? Out of the blue? Despite this, he didn't stop and continued.
"Thank you."
I shut my mouth tightly. It… would be best if he treated me the way he always did, like enmity, grudge, or whatever it was called.
'What's with the sudden change?'
Alexander, you gave me mixed feelings.
* * *
Silent.
Damian looked away without saying anything. Well, it was understandable. He wanted the little imp to trust him, yet, what he did was scold him. He just realized how shameless he was.
But he was going to put everything aside because right now, he had important things to do; he had to end this war so Damian and everyone else could rest.
"Hey, you!"
A knight turned and Alexander beckoned him to come. He approached them and bent his back.
"Your Highness, how may I help you?"
"Watch this brat."
"Pardon?"
Damian abruptly twirled his head and his shaded eyes caught Alexander pointing at him. This damn bastard! Did he just call him a brat?!
He tried to open his mouth but chose not to. Damian clutched his head at the sudden surge of headache. He could feel the Knight glancing at him before answering Alexander.
"As you wish."
"Thank you."
"At your service."
After that, Alexander spun his body toward the enemy ahead and channeled his mana into the sword. Soon, a faint light emanated from his blade.
He didn't know if this was enough to stop the war, but he hoped that his last attack would succeed in inflicting heavy damage on the enemy; enough to drive them out of this camp.
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