Herietta pushed the dagger deeper and deeper, ignoring the blood soaking her hands. Then she twisted it diagonally. At that time, she felt like something was disconnected.

The wolf, that had been flinching and groaning, trembled and then drooped. That was the last moment. The vessel that contained the soul did not move anymore. She couldn’t even see the slightest movement like breathing.

Herietta was convinced. This time, the wolf’s breath was completely cut off.

‘Thank goodness.’

Herietta was deeply relieved. The unpleasant smell of blood stung her nostrils, but she didn’t care. Confirming once again that the wolf was really dead, she let go of the dagger she was holding tightly.Two bloody hands fell helplessly to her side.

‘I’m really glad.....’

Herietta tried to calm herself down by sweeping away her surprised heart, but suddenly she felt a chill from somewhere.

A black shadow fell over her head.

‘What?’

Herietta immediately raised her head. And she stood stiff in the spot.

A sword was thrust right in front of her face. The tip of the black-edged blade was threatening as if it was about to pierce her throat.

Herietta realized it deep down. If she moved rashly, her neck would be cut off by that sword.

The tension made the inside of her mouth dry. Her gaze slowly moved upward along the blade.

As expected, a man in black armor stood across from her.

The man was wearing a dark gray helmet close to black. Because the design was covering all sides, his face was not visible. The only hole left was the eye socket at the front of the helmet. But even then, because of the dark shadows, she couldn’t see anything properly.

Herietta gulped dryly. She had to explain that she was only trying to help him, but she was silent. It felt like the tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth. Like it had been raining in the middle of winter, her body shuddered.

Even though she was just standing in front of him, she couldn’t even breathe properly due to the intimidation he radiated. The loud thumping of her heart was enough to deafen her ears.

She could feel the man’s eyes hidden in the shadows watching her closely. Wherever his gaze landed, goosebumps rose. She was hot as if she had been burned.

It was a strange feeling. A feeling that can’t be easily expressed in words.

“Ex, excuse me.”

Herietta, who had managed to get her heart together, opened her mouth.

And at that very moment, the man who had been standing like a rock moved. He twisted his sword, which was aimed at her, at an angle. A tendon bulged on the back of his hand that was holding the handle of the sword. It looked as if he was about to wield it.

Herietta’s eyes widened.

Was he trying to stab her like this? Startled, she quickly sat down in place, cupping her head with both of her hands. She then curled her body into a circle. It was an instinctive gesture in preparation for the danger that would soon befall her.

A light breeze blew up showing that the man was moving quickly. There was no time to scream. She closed her eyes hard.

Slash.

Thump.

Along with a dull sound like a hammer hitting a pumpkin, an animal’s shriek came. The unpleasant, sharp smell thickened once again. There was no need to visually confirm that it was the smell of blood.

Before long, the sound of something heavy falling to the floor came behind Herietta’s back. The ground seemed shaking with the recoil.

Herietta took a deep breath, still closing her eyes. Before crouching down, she was sure the man would cut her with a swing of his sword. But the pain did not come.

‘What happened?’

Herietta trembled and wondered at the unexpected development. Moreover, what is the source of the sound she had just heard, she wasn’t sure. After hesitating for a while, she opened her eyes and looked around.

“?”

The man was still standing in front of Herietta. But the tip of the sword aimed at her neck was no longer visible. His gaze was also not on her, but on something behind her.

What the hell are you looking at?

‘No way.’

Herrietta slowly twisted her upper body and turned her head away.

“!”

Behind her, about a step away, a huge wolf lay down. It was the body of a dead wolf with its tongue sticking out. Like it had been cut with an ax, the center of its head was mercilessly crushed.

It was only then that Herietta realized what had happened. It seemed that there was another wolf besides her.

“.... ”

Herietta, who had been staring blankly at the wolf’s corpse, straightened her body and looked straight ahead. The sword the man was holding was covered in red blood. The blood must have belonged to the wolf that was trying to attack her from behind.

‘He helped me.’

Just as Herietta had helped him, he had only helped her. It happened so quickly that he wouldn’t have time to warn her.

“Tha-Thank you.”

Herrietta stuttered and thanked him. She blushed that she had completely misunderstood his intentions.

“I lived thanks to you.....”

As she continued her words, the man put his sword into the scabbard. It was a simple movement, but even that was as smooth as a calm stream.

Eventually, the man bent down. Then he got down on one knee and stretched out his hand towards Herietta.

‘What are you trying to do?’

Herietta trembled and crouched her body. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but it was too early to put her mind at ease.

He must have seen that she was very nervous, so his hand hesitated. That was weird. Even though she couldn’t see his face because he was wearing a helmet, she sensed that he was conflicted.

But that’s for a while. He moved his hand again. His big hand passed her as it headed towards Herietta. He then grabbed something and pulled it out.

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