Chapter 20: Anna is betrothed?!
He sat on the bed and pondered about his abilities. Overall, each of them had superseded his expectations. His affinity had so much potential that he couldn't determine its borders. The second one helped him escape the Ice Gem snake and he could even manipulate the thoughts of others.
Although it had restrictions like his affinity, the pros outweigh the single con. His regeneration was still in the dark and his health worried him.
It had not even increased by a single point since the beginning! And he forgot to question Lia about it.
The moment he wore Infinite Touch, the door made a creaking sound and opened. He raised his head and sighted the individual who entered his room.
Her innocent and calm gaze scanned through him as she slowly closed the gap between them. The belt at the waist highlighted her slender waist and wide hips. Her cute face did not do justice to her seductive body hidden behind her robe.
A brilliant smile graced her alluring lips that begged to be kissed, and the silvery glow of the moon painted an air of elegance and mystery to her presence.
"I'm sorry if I wasted any of your precious time," her soft calm tone rang and Cristian shrugged. He had gotten a good idea of his class skills from that spare time, so there were no losses.
As she came closer, her palms glowed. Her lips moved, and Cristian guessed it was a spell. "Three broken ribs and some internal injuries. I'll deal with it right away." Cristian's brows furrowed as he knew that five ribs were broken and an organ had been ruptured due to the blood that came out of his mouth.
'Regeneration. strangely I did not feel any pain.' he mused inwardly.
His bones pulling out of the pierced organs and fixing themselves would have been a painful experience that might scar him for a while. Cristian had forgotten that when his regeneration went into action, he struggled to survive in the Nile stream.
The hard current had pulled him into its depths and it took lots of strength, stamina, and focus to survive.
His struggle to survive overwhelmed the pain.
He felt mild pain, but it was tolerable. Anna watched his face distort for a split moment but her expression did not change.
As a tier 0 priestess, she treated few and none had died, but she was now used to the pain on their faces.
"Be careful, the woods are dangerous at night," Anna said, her soft tone ringing like that of a woman worried about her lover.
Cristian replied with a nod, "I will, and..." he paused to gain her attention, and like a charm, it worked.
Their eyes met, his emerald irises staring deep into her golden ones. While his mind had been clouded with ambition to journey to the unknown peak, hers were clear. She had no other thoughts apart from fulfilling her duty of her class and there lurked a strange sense of submission that puzzled Cristian.
That submission wasn't to him and as much as he would love to know who would be cruel enough to do this to an innocent beauty like Anna, a bigger question occupied his mind.
"Forgive me, but who or what is this Thorn the Chief spoke about?" he was dying to know, as that name couldn't leave his mind.
Anna's eyes trembled. Shock, confusion, and fear flashed in her eyes. "My betrothed abhors that name, so I urge you not to speak of it again. It's for your own good." he could feel Anna's genuine concern in her eyes but a word made his ear ring.
"Betrothed?" Cristian gasped with wide eyes.
"Unfortunately so. Others envy me because I would be among the lower concubines of the grandson of the Great Sun; Emperor Raguel Athelstone, but I don't want it. If he really had anything for me, then he would have squashed this Dark Wolf Lord... I'm sorry, I spoke too much." Anna regained herself after her subconscious outburst.
The corners of her eyes were red and her chest undulated heavily, showing how much she tried to conceal those negative emotions.
Her golden eyes dilated as Cristian stood up and embraced her. He made sure there was some space between them and his gentle stroke calmed her.
Subconsciously, Anna closed the gap, pressed her softness against him, and tightly clutched his fur coat.
The feeling of her alluring softness drew no attention from him as Cristian's thoughts revolved around that name; Raguel Athelstone.
'There's no way I'm related to royalty, so we must have the same surname. Odd but still possible, he pondered inwardly.
Anna lost herself to the warmth of a man and the pleasures of his tingling strokes. "You could easily run away." Cristian gave an idea as he enjoyed her lavender scent.
"That is the worst idea..." she chuckled and pressed her finger against his back. As if punishing him for his diabolic advice.
Cristian smiled. He knew why she paused. "Cristian," he said to the innocent beauty who did not know what outsiders would say if they saw her now. They were hugging intimately, yet there were no lustful thoughts.
It might be Anna's innocent aura changing Cristian, or he just wasn't prepared to face the enormous problem behind her. And while Cristian enjoyed her presence, he was more focused on Sheila.
While both he and the blue-haired beauty were at odds, it only made things more interesting for Cristian.
"No last name?" Anna queried with flickering eyes. "None," Cristian answered firmly.
"Hmm, you have a nice name. It's a perfect fit with your looks and your advice is horrible," Anna said bluntly and they both laughed.
Suddenly, Cristian shivered and broke into the hug. "why did you do that?" he queried with raised brows.
"Because I anticipated your reaction. The way you shivered, it's amusing." The innocence in her voice almost made Cristian facepalm himself.
She had puffed out a breath of hot air that brushed against his neck and triggered a violent reaction from his body.
That was a seductive suggestion by some ladies, but to Anna, it was something she conjured up and thought it would amuse her to see his reaction.
They chatted without realizing their intimacy. While Cristian warned her, the golden-haired beauty stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes.
RING!~RING!
The loud sound of a bell quaked their eardrums. Anna's demeanor changed, her playful attitude vanished, and her face became solemn.
"What is going on?" Cristian queried. He planned on going out, killing some beast, and leveling up before heading to the dungeon, but that plan now had a shaky foundation.
"The bell means the town is under attack. The Dark Lord, he's here!"
He picked up Burning Fury and ran after Anna, whose speed made him gasp, but he remembered her class.
Most of her stats would be in intelligence and agility.
In a matter of seconds, they came out of the manor. The chief and his son were nowhere to be found. They might have rushed out or found a secure spot to hide.
Cristian frowned when he saw the chaos. People were running in different directions. Mothers looking for their kids, men looking for their wives, and the list continued.
It was a small town, and the evening was still early, so many stayed outside. "We're doomed. The Dark Lord is here to eat our children!" a man hollered in despair.
"I should have run when I had the chance!"
"Mother!!"
Shouts, curses, and screams filled the place, and the Dark Lord's unknown army had not even approached the gates.
"Go to your homes and calm down. The Dark Lord will be dealt with. I swear on my name and that of this warrior" The chief appeared from nowhere and bellowed.
The crowd calmed with only whispers of the stubborn ones echoing. Cristian's lips twitched as the Chief had just dragged him into the mud.
If the chief falls, Cristian also falls. He knew a bit of the law of this world. A brand would be placed on him if he escaped.
'Smart, you dry bones,' he commented in a sarcastic tone. This was one reason he wanted to go to where his fellow transmigrators were. He could easily level up without facing opposition from an established force and if he had been stronger, he could have broken the bind of the old coot's words.
Yet, the chief's lack of hope could be felt by the people and it made them rowdy. The commotion became worse than before, and Cristian frowned.
"SHUT UP!" his voice boomed. He drew his blade and plunged it deep into the paved ground. Flames swirled around the blade and the combustion illuminated the place gaining the attention of the crowd.
They shut their mouths due to fear as there were reckless and evil adventurers who were known to have gone rogue and massacred people. n)-o))v/-ε-)L-/b))I-.n
"Get back to your homes this instant!" he barked, his tone dripping with sinister depths of unknown consequences.