The Great Vampire General is a Girl! - Chapter 88

Raphael managed to grab Ivanka’s wrist in the last seconds before they both fell into the abyss. The girl’s wrist turned blue as Raphael gripped it as tightly as he could. Sweat from the stifling forest air made her skin slippery so Raphael almost let it go.

However Raphael failed to save her from injury. He could see that the woman’s legs were bent unnecessarily. She had a serious fracture and wouldn’t heal in a few hours. Ivanka winced in pain but she didn’t cry. Though she was very crybaby earlier because she was thinking about his poor little brother.

“You have to straighten it out,” Raphael said after examining her legs.

Ivanka tried to get up and support her slender body with a stick that she found. Then she stubbornly tried to walk.

“I can carry on, we’re going to climb to the top,” said Ivanka firmly.

Raphael shook his head.

“You’re in a lot of pain right now. There’s no need to pretend to be strong..you can’t walk like that anyway. Look, your legs will automatically bend when you walk. You dare not set your broken foot on the ground. You’re a pure-blood vampire, your body is healing your broken bones. You have to straighten it or keep it in the right joints. Or you will live forever with crooked legs,” Raphael advised her.

“Is it that bad?” Ivanka sounded doubtful. She complied and sat back down on the ground to straighten her legs. It hurt so much, the girl shed a few tears.

“I—I think I’ll wait here until my leg heals. You can leave me,” Ivanka said with a pale face and cold sweat running down the back of her neck.

“You are now my responsibility. After all, why did you have to do such a stupid thing? You can wait for one of us to accompany you. Now because of you, we are both trapped in a dark abyss. Did you forget that this mountain is famous for its monsters? Then, you want to stay here?Raphael couldn’t contain his annoyance.

“Okay, I’m sorry! But you’re exaggerating. I didn’t mean to,” Ivanka shook her head reluctantly.

“You just need one carelessness to make you die, life can not be repeated. without me, your brother will not recover. He will instead curse himself for your death,” Raphael drew his sword Demetria who had now changed to its original form.

“Ah, you, a wielder of a cursed weapon?” Ivanka looked surprised.

“Yeah, this isn’t a rare thing..but, how can a civilian like you know about this?” Raphael wanted to know.

“I— just read a lot,” Ivanka looked away as if to hide something. Raphael who was standing looking at her glanced at the bag she was carrying. With the tip of his sword, Raphael took her bag.

“Hey!” Ivanka protested. she couldn’t do much because of her broken leg.

Raphael was also in a not-so-tidy state at the moment. Falling into the abyss had left his hair messy, his uniform covered in dirt and his footwear muddy. He had used Demetria’s power of growing vines to slow their fall. Other than a few broken toes, he’s fine. Now, his broken toe bone was cured. And he could move it like before.

“That is mine!”

Raphael didn’t care and took the leather bound book that was owned by Ivanka.

“Sir, it’s a military secret so—”

“Your actions have endangered you, as well as the knights who are with you. So I have the right to search and investigate the contents of your bag,” replied Raphael coldly.

“Oh really? You’ll regret leaking what you read, sir! The Avalons won’t allow this!” Ivanka shouted again.

“Oh, so you’re going to admit that you stole this book? If you report me it means that you also have to confess how you got this journal, right?” Raphael smiled slightly at her. He was clearly in a more deserving position to lead right now. He didn’t want to let a girl of unknown origin underestimate him. From the start she was trying to dominate. Raphael was polite but, even when the girl was down she was still arrogant.

Ivanka was silent, she bit her lip in annoyance. Her broken leg had not fully recovered. Then she heard a wolf growl not too far from their current position. Raphael was surprised, because Ivanka didn’t seem worried about the wolf’s voice. The voice did come from above, maybe they wouldn’t hunt to the bottom of the abyss. What they should be afraid of right now are reptiles such as snakes and poisonous lizards. The girl seemed to know quite a bit about how to survive in the wilderness. Or did he just feel strong enough to beat a pack of wolves?

“Is this what you were trying to pick?” Raphael opened her journal and showed her a page.

There was a picture of grass that looked stiff and sharp black in color with a few small flowers like firefly light sticking out of it. Next to the picture was written the name Devil Grassroot.

“Ah, that—” Ivanka looked away. She squeezed her hand too. She almost got the plant. But she slipped.

“How did you know?”

“Easy, because this page is more shabby and damp. You must have opened it often. But there is no clear information about this plant. Are you sure this can reduce the symptoms of the demonic DNA transformation?” Raphael asked.

“What? Demon DNA?” Ivanka tilted her head.

“I thought you knew that term. You really don’t know? I heard it directly from one of the avalon knights I know. Since I now know what you’re looking for, I’ll tell you about what I know,” said Raphael again.

“But we have to leave this place first. We can’t climb the abyss in your state. We’ll find another way.” He said again.

Raphael then lifted Ivanka’s body and carried her on his back. The girl of course protested. But Raphael knew she was going to do it, so he didn’t ask permission first.

“Be careful what you do, sir Raphael! I’m a lady, you can’t touch me carelessly!” Ivanka protested with a blush on her face. she was uncomfortable because even when she could only see his back, Raphael was still charming. His back was straight and broad, making her instantly feel safe as if she had a living shield.

“It’s an emergency, lady! if you don’t want to be touched you shouldn’t be wandering around recklessly.” Raphael responded impatiently. He was a vampire, of course Ivanka wasn’t heavy on him at all. It’s just that the dark surroundings made him hesitate to take a step. He could have stepped on poisonous snakes and other dangerous animals.

Then, the sound of a snake hiss was heard. The sound filled their surroundings, from what was initially faint to louder. Raphael immediately put Ivanka down and readied his weapon. Ivanka knew this was serious, she wasn’t as confident as usual. She even subconsciously forgot about the pain in her leg. Because none of that could distract her from this horror— As the two of them stared at each other with a pair of golden eyes with large reptile pupils.

Giant snake.

The monster was in hunting mode, so pretending to be dead or standing still wouldn’t be a solution. The snake would soon detect that there were two vampires who were ready to become its nutritional reserves for the next two weeks.

Ivanka coughed, unable to contain the tension that had overtaken her. This was the first time she had seen such a large snake. The snake quickly opened its mouth and devoured her whole.

“Lady Ivanka!”

Raphael was caught off guard. The snake didn’t even try to entangle them. Its body size was probably equivalent to an oak tree hundreds of years old. Raphael blocked the way of the snake and looked at him. The snake hissed and immediately pounced on him. He was eaten.

Raphael held his breath. He had never been in a place with such a stench before. Leftover food that has not been completely digested, the smell of stomach acid that will melt anything that enters the snake’s stomach, and the slimy stomach wall wants to make him vomit. But if he did, he’d just be wallowing in his own vomit.

“Ugh— Lady Ivanka!” Raphael called. The place was very cramped. He’d be out of air in a matter of seconds.

“Sir! You after me? But what are we gonna do? We’re going to die!” Ivanka looked nauseous. But she’s fine. The snake swallowed them both whole.

Raphael took her hand, and looked into her eyes. He gripped it tightly as if he didn’t want to part. Ivanka didn’t think that a knight she had only known for a day would be willing to sacrifice his life for her who was a nobody.

Raphael was still holding his Demetria sword. He then swung it. Then a bamboo tree grew from the flesh of the giant serpent’s stomach and tore its stomach from the inside.

Raphael could feel that the snake was in pain and his body was shaking violently. Raphael hugged Ivanka to protect her from the impact. There wasn’t enough air left that Raphael felt weak. He used Demetria once more to grow a bigger tree. It killed the snake in a few seconds.

With the remaining strength he had, Raphael tore open the wall of the snake’s stomach and took a breath of fresh air. He managed to get out, before the lack of oxygen and all the deadly shocks in the snake’s stomach had forced him to lose consciousness.. He collapsed unconscious on the damp ground.