The fight scene was underwhelming, to say the least. All the demons in the room aimed for the weakest and tried to pounce on Nora. Tried being the keyword. A blue beam of light shattered the condensed demonic energy, making the demon that tried to hurt her scream in agony.
Calix pulled Nora toward him, clasping her tightly.
Demonic energy shrouded the room, with groups of demons surging up and down, attempting to find a weakness to break through. But a powerful energy protected the area around Calix, leaving it untouched by the corroding demonic energy.
He looked down at Nora in his arms and raised his eyes. All the demons in the room seemed to explode into a million pieces at that very instant.
The doors to the room opened, and rushed in a very exhausted-looking Calor and Arabella, and a frightened Carla. All of them had witnessed the scene of the demons getting destroyed by Calix without even struggling.
"Sir Calix..." Calor trailed off. Calor was one of the best at fighting off demons, and even he struggled when faced with such a number. But how strong was Calix to destroy all the demons in the room in one move?
Calix also realized his mistake. He had acted impulsively, which was unlike him. He stopped releasing his aura, and the surrounding pressure gradually reduced.
Nora felt shocked as she had expected him to save her, but now the protagonists caught him because of her. She felt guilty when suddenly Calix frowned and staggered. Nora reached out to him reflexively, only for her hands to be sprayed with a mouthful of blood that he coughed.
The curse mark that had disappeared on his neck surged up to his chin again, and he fell flat on Nora, taking her down with him. After Calix fell on her, Nora rubbed her hurt butt. Arabella leaped forward, immediately kneeling beside Calix.
"Sir Calix!" Arabella yelled. She started to work her magic, bringing out several expensive-looking potions and pouring them into his mouth. Calor forgot his suspicions and reached out to help. Carla immediately turned away from the bloody sight, clutching onto Calor tightly.
Calor shook her off and carried Calix to the bed. While Arabella started to examine him after the initial first aid.
"It's the mana-sealing curse," she declared. Everyone in the room went silent.
"The backlash will be equal to the amount of energy expended. I had temporarily suppressed the curse with my powers, but Sir Calix forcefully used too much mana right now, which made the curse worse," Arabella said, sounding worried and guilty for even suspecting him for a moment.
"It's my fault. My fault for not noticing what was wrong early on and hurting Sir Calix. He got here before us after sensing that Nora was in danger," Calor said pitifully.
Carla said nothing. She was upset that no one was consoling her but didn't dare make a sound in fear of being criticized.
Upon noticing Calor's depression, Arabella reached out and took his face in her hand, gently caressing his cheeks. "It's not your fault."
Nora felt proud of the development in their relationship. She looked at Calix's face, still handsome even though it looked pale from blood loss. She felt a bit guilty.
"I will take care of Sir Calix. He will wake up soon. You all go and rest. The inn must be safe for now," Arabella declared. Calor nodded at her words.
"I will take care of him. It's because of me that he got hurt," Nora whispered. Calor and Arabella looked at each other.
"Yes, then we will be in the next room. Come and find us if anything happens," Arabella said and dragged a protesting Calor and a crying Carla out of the room.
After confirming that they were gone, Nora poked Calix's cheeks.
"Hey, wake up." She called for him, sitting on the bed and wrapping her arms around her knees.
He did not stir.
"I'll kiss you if you don't wake up," she said mischievously. The men of this era would surely be flustered, right?
But he didn't even move a muscle. Nora frowned. She leaned toward his face, poking his cheeks again. Did she really have to kiss him to wake him up? Nora didn't mind, really. She had no reservations about kissing such a handsome man.
And so she leaned in, her lips comically puckered like a pufferfish.
Suddenly, Calix opened his eyes. He looked at her lazily, like a languid cat. Nora cheered inwardly. Her prank had worked!
Nora knew he had only been acting. In the original novel, she had written several scenes in which this villain hurt himself to attain the protagonist's pity. That was why Calor never suspected him, even at the end of the novel, until Calix revealed himself as the demon king.
"Aren't you going to kiss me now?" he asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said shamelessly.
"Sure." Calix's voice dripped with sarcasm, which she pretended not to notice. Nora turned serious.
"Thank you for saving me today."
Nora was truly grateful. It was the first time she had realized the gravity of the situation. She couldn't rely on the demon king's whims every time she was in danger. Her goal was to complete the mission and live a happy life. But now she knew how stupid and wishful that thinking was.
She had to become stronger.
Calix didn't know what to say to the young girl. To be honest, she wasn't much younger than him, but her lovely face had turned serious, and he didn't know how to respond. However, it seemed she had finally made a decision.
So he said nothing and waited for her to speak.
"I want to know why the demons were targeting me," she asked finally. Nora would no longer ignore her problems and plot holes. She would face them head-on.