CHAPTER 85: PROTECTIVE

Some distance away from the castle, in a dense side of the forest.

Several dozens of guards circled around the large area; they had captured quite a few demons who were bound by chains and other restrictions. The guards lazily observed the situation, ready to take action if the need arose.

A little over thirty teenagers were gathered in the forest as they fought against these demons. Although they could still get slightly injured, their lives weren’t in danger, and all of them had already gotten used to killing these strange creatures.

Raino was the only one who was having difficulty killing the demons. He could barely run, and despite the healing potions he drank, his ass was still badly wounded because of his strange fetishes.

Some distance away from him, Fiona was fighting against an orc absentmindedly. She had noticed that since yesterday, Max had been acting very strange. He seemed rather cold and uninterested in her all of a sudden.

’Is he somehow angry at me? I’m sure he doesn’t know about that incident between me and that... that devil, so what could it be?’ While she was deep in thought, she kept shooting fire at the orc who kept closing in on her.

Max was fighting not far away from her. He too was fighting an orc. While dealing with the demon, he kept an eye on Fiona. He had been acting like a perfect red flag and not paying much attention to her, and the results were immediate.

It seemed she was now showing more interest in him, even now she kept glancing back at him.

’If I continue like this, I’m sure very soon she would be the one to confess to me,’ Max thought, feeling giddy. Although he didn’t feel too good about ignoring her, if this was what she wanted, then he would do anything.

Just while he was deep in thought, Max saw that because of her carelessness Fiona was about to be attacked by the orc’s heavy hammer. This wouldn’t kill her, but it would definitely injure her severely.

"Be careful—" Max shouted as his eyes widened. He couldn’t pretend in such a situation as he rushed toward her, to protect her and kill the damn demon who dared to try to hurt her.

Fiona noticed it too, her eyes widened as she saw the hammer that had already appeared right above her head. It was too late for her to dodge or block; she was frightened and let out a fearful cry and shut her eyes.

"Kiyaaaaaaah!!"

WHOOSH

THUD

Suddenly she was pulled away from the orc and landed in a comforting, tight embrace while the scream of the orc came to an end as his head was severed, which fell down and rolled on the ground.

At first, Fiona couldn’t understand anything. She wondered if she had gotten hurt, but then she felt the arms tightly wrapped around her body, and she was instantly filled with joy.

’Max saved me!! As I thought, he really loves me. He must have been angry at me earlier for something. Mmm it feels so good to be in his arms.’ Fiona felt as if her body was about to melt in his arms, feeling his strong muscles and the warmth of his body.

She slowly opened her eyes and mumbled: "T- Thank you, are you alright?"

Then she raised her eyes with a soft smile on her face, which froze instantly as instead of Max’s face, she saw the face she hated the most. It was none other than Vritra, for a few seconds she stared at his face in a daze.

She was just pulled out of danger and landed in his protective arms, her mind became a mess as she struggled to tear her gaze away from his face, her heart beating wildly. She was too vulnerable just now.

"Yes Fiona, I am perfectly fine. But it isn’t the time for you to be worrying about me. Are you fine?" He caressed the cheek of the frozen girl gently, then added in a softer tone, "Stop putting yourself in such dangers. If I hadn’t arrived here just now, do you know how badly you would have been hurt? I can’t let that happen. Never."

Fiona ignored his words. As she came back to her senses, the first thing she remembered was... Max.

She looked to the side and saw Max standing there with an emotionless face. Her mind instantly became a mess. She wondered why she kept ending up in such situations; wouldn’t Max get even madder if he saw this again and again?

She hastily pushed him away and got out of his arms. She stood on her feet and spoke to Max: "T- This wasn’t..."

"It’s fine. You didn’t get injured, right? Then you can return to your training," Max said coldly, going back to his character as he glared at Vritra. He hated Vritra touching his girl but couldn’t show too much worry about her.

"And you, stay away from her," Max shouted toward Vritra.

[Natural Hypnosis Activated.]

Vritra used his new skill, making Max even more firm in his beliefs, while Fiona began to doubt Max now. This skill didn’t control them but induced ideas in their heads and then made their beliefs firmer.

’Hmph. The more care you show for her, the further she will go away from you. Only by acting cold and indifferent will she fall in love,’ Max thought, laughing internally. He knew the more care Vritra showed, the more she would ignore him.

"..." Fiona was speechless. She first stared at the indifferent Max and then glanced at the dead orc. As she had believed, Vritra was stronger than he showed; even she wouldn’t be able to kill that demon with a single strike.

’But what is wrong with Max? He was never like this... does he really not care for me anymore?’ she wondered, feeling pain in her heart. A part of her had started to hate and resent Max.

"And what if I don’t? What are you gonna do even if I touch or hug her?" Vritra said, wrapping an arm around Fiona, who was shocked by this strange development.

Max was so angry that he instantly wanted to kill Vritra. He charged forward, ready to strike him with all his strength. He still couldn’t tolerate Vritra touching Fiona.

Several guards had charged forward earlier to save Fiona, but Vritra had done the job before them. Seeing the current situation, they could no longer just observe. They made their move and held back the angry Max, neutralizing his attack.

"Let go of me, I am going to kill that bastard!" Max roared. Vritra just stood calmly with his arm still around Fiona’s waist, who finally came to her senses and moved away from him, shooting him an angry glare.

"You two can’t fight like this, not here," one of the guards said lazily.

"Heh. Don’t tell me you want to challenge me to a fight? Or are you coward enough to just walk away?" Vritra taunted, putting Natural Hypnosis to full use.

"Hahaha. Let’s fight! An official fight between the two of us. Since it can’t be a death match, then whoever loses the fight will lose an arm!" Max shouted, influenced easily by his anger.

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