The Tyrant Covets The Slave -R19 - Chapter 13

Someone led Beher to a secluded area of the tent. She wasn’t going to scream, but the suspicious man covered her mouth and held her tightly.

It was clear to Beher that he was a man. Because his muscle structure was different.

“Did you notice any signs of people here?”

A soldier rushed into the place where she had been a moment ago. A slight delay and she would have been discovered. At this point, she was grateful to the man who was holding her.

The man didn’t seem to be a soldier from her side, it had to be someone else, as he didn’t seem to be releasing her at all.

And the fact that she was being held by a stranger didn’t make it any easier.

‘Is he trying to rob me?’

That was what Beher had to think, so she raised her elbow and punched the stranger in the stomach. Even though it wasn’t a big blow, it hit him in the midsection and he couldn’t stand up.

“Ugh!”

The man let out a suppressed groan. The hand that had been covering her mouth dropped, and Beher turned and looked at him. She couldn’t see it clearly because of the shadow, but she knew who this man was.

Curly blond hair. Eyes tinged with moonlight. A frail, but stronger body than a woman’s and a tall stature.

It was Ron Smilla, a spiritist like herself.

He was a male spiritist who had been kidnapped by the Horn Empire three years ago. How could he have been kidnapped? Beher could only suspect her father.

He’d been beaten as well, and the fat on his cheeks had been lost. Even just by looking at his face, the scars of the beating were obvious.

How could a treasure given by the Lord God Odin come to be treated like this? As if Beher wasn’t enough, her father took other spiritists as well.

Beher’s brows furrowed as she thought of her cruel father.

“If you frown anymore, I’m sure you’ll be ugly when you get older.”

Contrary to what she thought, the man’s voice was cheerful. He pressed his finger hard between Beher’s eyebrows and straightened her wrinkles.

“…Do you know me?”

Beher knew Ron, but she had no idea that he knew her. It was amazing that he knew of her existence because she never attended the “World Conference” where spiritists gather.

“They say you can tell your friends apart by the way they feel. Didn’t you feel it too?”

Beher remembered the day she first saw Ron from a distance. She vaguely guessed that he was a spiritist. She didn’t understand why she thought that at the time, but he was right, they could tell their own kind.

Beher nodded. Because she could hear the soldiers whispering in the vicinity. Ron also nodded, and they began to walk through the grass as naturally as if they had planned it in advance.

“But how did you know?”

Ron chuckled at Beher’s question.

“I saw you coming out of the tent. And… You must have had a hard time in there just like me.”

They seemed to have an understanding without having to speak. Beher couldn’t describe it in words.

“Were you  running away too?”

Beher asked him casually.

“As you can see.”

“Where are you going?”

He hadn’t decided where he was going yet. He was thinking of the Horn Empire, but to get there he would have to pass through another country.

The quickest shortcut would be to go through the Forest of spirit and go straight to get there faster, but it was impossible. There were soldiers from many countries camped there. It was an unknown space that could not be entered without permission.

“I’m going to the Horn Empire, and I’m thinking of going through Kashir. Why don’t we go together? It will be rather safe because there is little interaction with the Vitan empire.”

Beher was troubled by his suggestion for a while. The Kashir Kingdom was densely forested. It was quite impossible for soldiers from other empires to pass through.

Beher hesitated. She changed the destination she was thinking of to from Kashir to Horn.

“That’s fine. I will accompany you until you reach the Horn Empire.”

“I’m glad to hear it, my friend. There are rumors that the Spiritualist of Vitan empire is a coward, but I guess that’s not true.”

“Rumors?”

Beher did not understand and asked Ron to explain.

“I’ve met some other spiritists. Your story is a bit famous among them. They say you never show your face and that you’re really ugly. There are a lot of rumors going around. I didn’t expect you to be so cute, but you seem to be around the same age as my sister.”

It seemed Ron had a younger sister. His expression melted for a moment when he said it.

Beher envied him for having a place to go back to, while she fled the place where she was born and raised. She was the complete opposite of him.

“If I arrive alive, I will introduce you to my sister. She’s very energetic.”

He stuck out his arm in a way that didn’t suit him. It seemed he was feeling good about leaving. The bruises on his flesh didn’t seem to bother him.

***

For several days Beher talked a lot with Ron. It was fun. She wished he could feel happy for the rest of his life.

Thanks to the two of them going without a break, they were able to reach the Kashir Forest earlier than expected. She thought about asking Kasir for help at this point, but they didn’t have enough time for that.

It was not known where the Vitan soldiers were hiding.

The two of them were getting more and more tired as they ran without rest. They were running out of energy and had no time to pay attention to their wounds. They were able to use their spirit power to some extent, but they couldn’t cope with the ridiculous numbers of the pursuing army.

And the anxiety soon became a reality.

While they were taking a break, the army was scavenging the forest. Without energy, Beher and Ron started to run. They couldn’t be caught here. They wanted to be free.

Thanks to running without resting with that in mind, they finally reached the borders of the Horn Empire.

Just a little! Just go a little bit longer. Beher didn’t even think about wiping the sweat from her face. She just had to swing her arms a little more and move forward.

But, at that moment….

Whoosh!

An arrow passed by, and Ron collapsed.

“Ron!”

‘You can’t do this. I’ve somehow come to rely on you… You only thought of the day you came to the Horn Empire without missing a single moment.’

Even though Beher had only just met him, his presence gave her strength. If it weren’t for Ron, she wouldn’t have been able to break through the difficult terrain alone.

Besides, he comforted Beher in a terrible situation. She shuddered rather horribly as she had been caught in an unfamiliar empire.

Beher grabbed the fallen Ron and cupped his cheeks.

“Ron! No, no, no. You have to get up. We’re almost there! You promised to introduce me to your sister! Please get up! Please get up!”

If it was his arm or leg, there might have been some hope. But the arrow went right through his heart.

Why is it so cruel? Don’t they know how precious life is….

Tears began to fall from Beher’s eyes. She was scared. She had seen people being decapitated in front of her eyes many times. But there was no such grief and pain.

And for the first time, she realized the fact that she had given him compassion. Such a feeling that they could rely on each other to move forward together and comfort each other.

He had become an invaluable friend.

Ron gasped, struggling to breathe. Then he grabbed Beher’s hand.

Instantly, a red light glittered around his body. That light seeped into Beher’s body.

Beher didn’t have a grasp of the situation as to what just happened. It felt somewhat strange. It was unfamiliar. Why?

“It’s you… it was you.”

“Ron, what are you talking about? Get up! We’re almost there, please…!”

Ron began to talk, vomiting blood. Beher also knew that there was already no hope. She was feeling devastated.

“I can’t… explain for long… I’ve imprinted myself on your body. I know it’s hard, but it’s the only way you can be free of the demons… the demons that threaten to destroy you. You have to find it. Only then will we all be able to live. ….”

Ron was struggling to tell her something, but Beher couldn’t really hear at this moment. Only Ron, who was turning black, was etched in her eyes.

Beher couldn’t believe what had happened. The pain was so great. She couldn’t imagine that just the fact that she had given him affection could hurt so much. Her heart ached as if it had been cut out with a knife.

“Ron!”

“This is for my…sister…”

Ron handed Beher the topaz necklace that was hanging around his neck. Beher’s heart ached at his actions, as if it was his last will.

Why should we be treated like this?

Is Odin’s treasure really the right one?

Is it true that we were born as experimental subjects?

It seemed that I would lose my identity and become a monster.

At that moment, Beher’s arm was rubbed by an arrow flying from afar. It cut her, and blood fell.

“Ron……”

She couldn’t stop herself from sobbing. Her eyes were blurry as if rain was falling from the sky. She knew she had to escape, but her feet couldn’t move.

She blamed herself, thinking that if Ron had escaped alone, he would have made it out just fine.

“Don’t cry, just go…”

“…….”

“Run…you have to run. All you have to do is be strong. Don’t worry about it. This blood is nothing. Many things have been placed in it. It’s okay, there is no need to cry. Run away and live so that you will never be hurt again. Please…, please don’t let them take that power away from you. Ack…..ack….I’m fine. ….”

Ron’s eyes slowly closed. He looked like he was about to run out of breath. Looking at Ron, Beher thought.

‘Should I just sit still and cry like this? Should I be caught by the Vitan empire and whipped again?’

‘Just like that… just like that! I won’t be able to get revenge if I stay still like this.’

Beher rose quickly from her seat. She hid Ron’s breathless body deep in the bushes, then she kissed the back of his hand.

“Don’t worry. I will continue your will…No, from now on, your will is mine. I will avenge you. So please… watch how I live. Ron. I was happy to meet you, if only for a moment.”

Beher hid herself somewhere, only thinking about freedom. And she dreamed of revenge.