"Ugh," Nora groaned, a spike of pain throbbing in her head. She blinked her eyes open, finding herself lying on a rough, earthy floor inside what could generously be called a cave. She closed her eyes and opened them again, but the dim, damp sight was still the same. "Where am I?" she asked, her voice raspy.

"In a safe place."

She shot up immediately, scrambling backward away from the vo

"Hold on, don't move too much. You haven't healed," the voice cautioned again. Her gaze fell upon a young man with pure, snow-white hair and striking purple eyes.

"Huh?" she blurted out, momentarily incapable of believing the sight before her. The young man's appearance was overwhelming.

"You're safe. I won't approach you if you want, just calm down. I'll explain everything," he explained with a gentle smile and both hands raised in a clear gesture of surrender.

"..." For the first five minutes, Nora simply stared at this impossibly attractive young man. It wasn't that she hadn't met handsome males in her lifetime, but this was too much—not only his looks but something that made him seem innocent and trustworthy.

"Are you okay?" The young man frowned slightly, genuine concern lacing his voice.

"E-eh? Y-yes, I am," she stuttered, her cheeks immediately flushing.

"...If it hurts, you can let me know," he said softly, gesturing toward her leg.

Nora looked down, and her brain instantly froze.

"My leg," she whispered.

There was a bloody, bandaged stump right where her left leg should be. The sight instantly explained the intense, throbbing pain she had felt since waking up.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything about it," he said, his expression downcast and apologetic.

Nora continued staring in shock until a thought, sharp and desperate, kicked in. "My ring," she muttered. She suddenly remembered she had one high-level healing potion sealed inside her storage ring—the only one she was able to acquire before leaving home. With that potion, she could fix her leg. However, the ring was nowhere to be found.

"W-where is m-my ring?" she panicked, frantically searching her clothing and her body, but it was nowhere in sight.

It was gone.

"W-what's wrong?" the young man asked, his gentle eyes fixed on her.

"My ring! I can't find my ring!" she pointed out with growing desperation. Without that high-tier potion, there was no bringing back her leg, which meant she was effectively crippled in this mystic, dangerous world.

Eventually, she stopped searching, slumping back with a blank, defeated look. The ring was undeniably gone.

"I didn't see any ring. It must have gotten lost when the explosion happened," the young man offered, providing a possible insight.

Nora frowned at the word explosion. That single word triggered a fragmented, terrifying memory. She pushed herself forward and grabbed him tightly by the shoulder.

"Please, tell me everything. What happened?" she demanded, her thoughts racing to her guards and, most especially, Liam.

"I was... trying to escape some monsters last night when some sort of blue ball fell into a remote part of the forest. The noise that followed scared the monsters away. It sounded like an explosion and cries of... pain. When I got there, the whole place was a mess—trees blown apart and headless bodies. I got scared and ran, but that was when I saw you some distance from the explosion area. Aside from your missing leg..." He glanced quickly at her stump and trailed off, his face pale. "I realized you were alive after checking your pulse, then I brought you with me."

"...That can't be," she stuttered in utter horror, the sheer scale of the tragedy sinking in. The young man said nothing in response, simply watching her.

Sobs tore from her throat. Tears began flowing, hot and fast, down her cheeks.

"Everyone else is dead?" she asked, her voice cracking. He remained silent.

"Please, no, that can't happen! They can't be dead!" she cried, her grip tightening painfully on his shoulders. "They came here because of me! I can't let them die!" she screamed, shaking him, but he still offered no reassurance.

"SAY SOMETHING!"

"...I don't know for sure. I didn't stay long enough to know the fate of the others. I can't assure you anything," he finally said, looking away, unable to meet her gaze.

With a shudder, Nora released his shoulders and fell back against the cave wall, her eyes staring blankly at him, more tears tracing paths down her face.

He exhaled a quiet sigh, stood up slowly, and walked out of the cave entrance.

Nora didn't try to stop him or ask where he was going. She just sat there, utterly devastated, processing the reality of her loss and her new, crippling condition.

[Is there a reason for leaving her alone in that state? The chances of suicide are not null.] Nelia's voice was, as requested, clinical and devoid of feeling.

"She will be fine," Eliot said. The caring eyes from moments ago were gone, replaced by a chillingly clinical mind. "I indirectly suggested the possibility of them being alive. That doubt would make her want to confirm it herself, which will keep her anchored." He added, glancing back to make sure she hadn't attempted to follow him, before manifesting a sword from none other than her very own storage ring.

[Was crippling her necessary? Wouldn't she be a burden at this point?]

"I will fix it, but not now. The time is not right." he replied, inspecting the blade.

[So it's just to keep her from leaving?]

"Exactly. If I hadn't done that, she would have left the moment she woke up, and I can't have her running off and alerting the others," he responded calmly, cautiously making his way deeper into the forest.

Every single detail Eliot had narrated to Nora was a carefully constructed lie. He hadn't stumbled upon the explosion; he had caused it himself. Standing from a rocky, concealed hill, he had targeted the group, launching a huge ball of compressed fire using approximately 80% of his mana pool. He had aimed with a calculated trajectory, ensuring the sphere would keep expanding until it reached maximum size and exploded precisely over the campsite. Following the launch, he sped down with full mana enhancement to reach the scene before the blast faded.

While the explosion carried significant firepower, it did not kill the high-ranked hunters instantly; it merely stunned and scattered them. That was his calculated aim. While they were all distracted and thrown into confusion, he took advantage of the chaos to knock Nora out and kidnap her. He then immediately proceeded to cripple her leg and take her ring, knowing fully well it contained the exact means she would use to instantly fix the injury.

[What are you looking for now?]

"Nothing. I'm just giving her some space to think. She needs to be alone for this realization to set in properly."

[Why not just enslave her immediately?]

"Would you tell me how to do that?" Eliot countered, his focus unwavering.

[....]

"I didn't think so," he concluded. "Also, I have a feeling she would be far more useful to me the way she is now: broken, indebted, and looking for answers."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.