The mid grade demon ran its claws down Nora's back, making her scream in pain. The system panels appeared before her in red.
[Warning!] [Danger!] [Alert]
All of them translated to one thing. She was screwed.
'Oh, why oh why did I not stay with the damned demon king?'
Now that she thought about it, this mid grade demon was very clever. It tired out the protagonists using its minions and then appeared as the final boss. Her mind, addled with pain, could barely sense the demon licking off the blood from her back.
Chills went down Nora's spine, making rationality return to her. Didn't Calix say that her blood alone could make a mid grade demon level up? Nora started screaming for help while summoning her power.
Bright pink flames burst out of her hands, enveloping the demon, but it was not enough, as she was still too weak.
"Stop struggling and accept your fate. You are a noisy human." The Demon gathered all its strength to end Nora in one strike. Nora never stopped struggling, but still closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain.
It did not come.
Nora looked back at the demon. Calix stood there, his arm had penetrated it. The demon scattered to dust as if it had never existed. But a dark miasma escaped. Calix did not chase the escaping fragment of the demon.
He caught Nora before she could fall.
He forcibly lifted her up. Nestled in his arms, Nora could see Calix's handsome face up close. His golden eyes were emotionless, long blue lashes fluttered slightly. He pressed his hand to her injured back.
"Does it hurt?" He asked quietly. She could feel restrained anger in his words.
Nora shook her head in fear of angering him further. She hissed when he poked her wound.
"Oh, fuck you!" She yelled.
"Wouldn't have happened if you stayed with me. So you should shut that foul mouth of yours," He warned.
Nora obediently shut her mouth and let him take her pain away. She knew he couldn't heal her because of the information from the novel.
"There must be health recovery potions in it," Nora said, gesturing towards Arabella's bag that was in a corner of the room. Calix walked over to the bag, shifted her to his left arm and picked up the bag with his right.
Instead of making her drink it, he poured it on her back. Nora hissed in pain.
"Healing would be faster this way," He reminded her.
Calix sat down, leaning against the wall with her on the lap and buried his head in the crevice of her neck.
"Why did you not go to my room?" He asked, sounding quite depressed.
"I thought it would be safer for me to be with Arabella than being alone," Nora confessed honestly.
"Fool."
"I definitely am. Thank you, by the way." She agreed.
"Why are you thanking me? I could kill you just like that."
"Still, you saved me."
He rubbed his head against her neck. Nora had never seen Calix like this. It almost seemed like he was sulking. She patted his head awkwardly.
"Are you trying to comfort me?" Calix asked, sounding puzzled.
She took back her hand, embarrassed. He looked into her pink eyes.
Calix had lived in this world for twenty-two years, and for the first time in his brief life, he couldn't understand a person. Everyone in this world wanted him dead for one reason or the other. But here was one in his lap patting his head fearlessly and comforting him, even though she was the one who got hurt.
He was confused, to say the least, but he felt he had made the right decision to keep her alive. She was entertaining.
Nora, who had gone through a life or death situation twice now, came to understand two things. One was the fact that even after the main characters reach the end of the novel, it would be very, very hard to defeat the demon king. Unless Calix just decides to let them kill him like the original novel.
Second was, Calix did not seem to be that bad of a person. Other than the fact that he became the demon king at a very young age because of his enormous power, she didn't know much about him. Nora wanted to give him the benefit of doubt.
Maybe there could be a way to save the world without him having to be killed. She deliberated this for a while.
At that moment, Calor rushed into the room.
"I sensed demonic energy! Are you alright Arabella?" Calor yelled into the room.
…
'My son, why are you late, just like my system?'
Nora pushed away Calix's head from her neck to avoid being caught in a suggestive position again and accused of unscrupulous things. Calix frowned but moved away from her a bit. He still held Nora in his arms tightly.
Calor caught sight of the injured Nora on Calix's arms and then the fainted Arabella and Carla.
"What happened here?"
"Long story short, the mid-grade demon came. Sir Calix chased it away. Arabella fainted. Carla is just sleeping." Nora summarized the happenings in a few words, not keen on speaking when her back still hurt.
Calor, who understood what happened, rushed to Arabella. She woke up after he chanted a spell that was not familiar to Nora. Arabella hugged Calor tightly, then looked at Nora. She was so shocked when she looked at her injuries that she gasped.
"Nora, what did that demon do to you?" Arabella asked, shocked.
"I'm okay, thanks to your health recovery potions. It's all almost healed now. Don't worry, Bella," Nora said with a slight smile. Calor kneeled in front of Calix.
"The Drakon household will never forget this debt. Thank you for saving my sister."
"The Veritas household also owes you a debt, Sir Calix." Arabella added.
Nora felt touched by this. She had always regarded them as targets to be captured. Like a Non Playing Character. But they were just as real as her.