Slowly opening her eyes, Saine finds herself in an unfamiliar room. Sharp and searing pain runs through her body as she tries to sit up. She gasps but quickly regulates her breathing to ease the pain. After a moment, gripping the covers, she lets out a deep breath and looks around. That's when she finally notices the 'Hero' sitting beside the bed hunched over and sleeping.
"What the?!"
Saine hastily moves away only to be caught off guard by the pain making her groan. With cold sweat, Saine tries to calm down and control her breathing but finds it hard to focus. Her mind is in turmoil remembering what happen, failing to kill the hero, being hit by an arrow and now being close to the hero.
Unconsciously clutching her chest and gnashing her teeth, Saine finally feels the heavyweight of her failure. Years of planning, sleepless nights training, countless dangers faced, and worst of all giving up the pride of demi-human to wear a human skin... all for nothing. Trembling and silently crying, Saine let the pain take over.
With all the noise Saine is making, Ezekiel, the 'Hero' wakes up. Seeing Saine in pain, he quickly moves to be by her side. He then reaches out from his pocket to pull out a vial.
"Quickly drink this it will help with the pain." He tries to gently put it in Saine's hands only to be slapped away by her. He swiftly retrieves the vial and tries to give it to her again. Once again, Saine only throws it away. Ezekiel could only helplessly retrieve it again and again, growing extremely anxious all the while.
Saine overwhelmingly in pain mentally and physically couldn't care less about what the hero is trying to do. She feels that once again that the world she knows is collapsing and there's nothing she can do. After another wave of sharp pain sweeps her body, Saine gasping realizes that feeling pain is better than the sinking feeling of despair so she starts pounding her chest to make the pain more intense.
In horror, Ezekiel grabs her hand before she could hurt herself again. Seeing streams of tears running down Saine's pale face and pressing her lips tightly while trembling, Ezekiel's heart feels like being impaled by millions of sharp icicles. He couldn't stand to see Saine suffer any longer so he secures Saine's hands with his own and puts the content of the vial in his own mouth. He then pries Saine's mouth with his and pushes the medicine into Saine's mouth making sure she swallows it.
Swallowing the medicine, Saine finally comes to her sense and shoves the hero away. Wiping her lips vigorously as she moves away.
"What the hell are you doing?! You!...." Saine wants to curse more but stops when she sees the hero with his shoulders trembling and lowered, his lower lip quivering, and his mesmerizing emerald eyes tear-filled. Again, she questions the heavens why a divine-looking person exists.
The hero moves to Saine's side afraid that she's in pain again when Saine suddenly quiets down and just stares at him. He then wipes away the tear stains on Saine's cheeks with his sleeves and gently wipes the tears in her eyes with his hand. He then put his forehead to hers to check if she has a fever.
Feeling the tenderness and gentleness of Ezekiel towards her, Saine feels the long-forgotten warmth seeping into her heart. Then it hits her, she's feeling the warmth from the 'Hero' her sworn enemy. The person she ought to kill but failed to. Her eyes widen and with a rush, she shoves Ezekiel again and grabs her blade on top of the side table, unsheaths it, and points it at Ezekiel.
Saine finds herself unable to hate the hero, and she hates herself for it so. The longer she looks at the hero silently looking back at her helplessly, the more unsteady her hands become. Not long enough she lowers her blade.
"What kind of sorcery are you casting? Why can't I hate you when I have to? I need to!!" She desperately shouts.
Shaking his head, Ezekiel looks at Saine with all sincerity and answers, "I didn't do anything of that sort. All I did is try to heal you."
After a pause, Saine snorts, "Nevermind, as if you'll ever tell me the truth."
Hearing what Saine said, he lowers his head and bit his lip. Wouldn't it be really nice if he could really cast a spell like that so he can stay beside Saine. But he honestly only cast some healing spell on her but her being demi-human; high healing barely helps because of the inherent repulsion of affinity between holy (healing spell) and chaos (primal instincts in demi-humans) elements.
Seeing how the hero is quiet, Saine honestly states,
"The fact that I find myself drawn to you and find the hatred I have harbored all this time disappear in instant is really frustrating you know? Ah, but what would you know about hatred..."
Saying her piece, Saine immediately rushes towards the window behind the hero and jumps out. Then after landing somewhat safely after falling three-story high, she swiftly activates her primal instinct partially. She needs speed but she also needs to be conscious enough to choose which way to take.
"I can't kill my sworn enemy and even find him attractive, I really am the lowest of the low," Saine mutters under her breath. Making up her mind, she makes her way to her village. There she will end it all and finally get some long-awaited rest.