CHAPTER 84: PROGRESS

The wind screamed like a hungry animal, whipping the snow against Ester’s face. Her cloak flapped violently, nearly ripped off with each gust, but she kept going. The muscles in her legs burned with each step, sinking knee-deep into the soft snow, but she didn’t stop.

On her back, Damon’s body seemed to weigh more than any mountain. It wasn’t just the physical weight—it was what he represented.

"Idiot..." she muttered for the tenth time, her teeth clenched. "Why didn’t you stay close to me?"

Her jaw clenched.

"Why did you have to separate?"

The snow crunched against her boots. With each step, anger boiled.

"Why didn’t you keep going? Why did you have to disappear like some idiot?!"

Her breath came in white clouds, filled more with fury than exhaustion.

"Why did you make me look for you in this icy hell?!" She practically spat the words, her voice nearly drowned out by the wind.

But as she walked forward, the tone of her voice changed. The echo of her own fury turned against her.

The anger burning in her throat began to transform into something more acidic.

She felt her heart tighten.

"...No," she murmured, her eyes fixed on the snow ahead. "It’s not just that."

The weight on her back felt more real, heavier.

"Why did I care?" Her voice wavered, almost swallowed by the storm. "I didn’t have to... care."

She pressed her fingers against her thigh, feeling the cold tearing even through her glove.

"But I cared. Damn it."

Every step now seemed to echo inside her.

The silence between the roars of the wind was filled with the questions she didn’t want to ask, the answers she didn’t want to admit.

"I shouldn’t get distracted. I shouldn’t lose focus. My job is clear, my mission is clear. It always has been. Perfection, discipline, control. Nothing more."

But then... why did that icy aura of his move her so much?

Why was the sound of his shallow breathing still stuck in her memory, hammering like her own heart?

Ester closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the tears well up, but they froze before they could fall.

"It’s not you, Damon," she murmured, almost a broken whisper. "It’s... me."

She took a deep breath, but with each step the air seemed heavier.

Perfection. The ideal she had always strived for. Always demanding more of herself than anyone else could imagine. Never making a mistake. Never faltering. Always carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders without anyone noticing.

But now...

Now she stumbled. Not because of the storm, not because of the snow. But because her mind was full.

Full of flaws.

"I should have stayed closer," she confessed, her voice rasping. "I should have predicted you’d do something stupid."

The wind carried away some of her words, but they echoed within her.

"I should have protected you."

With each sentence, her anger evaporated, replaced by an emptiness that only grew.

The storm raged, the weight on her back seemed to increase, and Ester found herself trapped in a truth she never wanted to face:

Maybe the problem wasn’t Damon.

Maybe it had always been her.

The wind roared, and Ester walked with her head down, her eyes fixed on the snow in front of her. The words still burned in her throat, swirling between guilt and frustration. Each step felt heavier than the last, not just because of the unconscious body on her back, but because of the invisible weight crushing her mind.

The silence of the storm was suddenly broken.

"...She’s cute."

The voice was hoarse, weak, but clear enough.

Ester froze instantly.

"...What?" she murmured, turning her head sharply.

It was then that she realized. Damon was awake. A tired half-smile graced his lips, his eyes still half-closed, but shining with that same insolence she knew well.

Ester, overcome with fright, lost her balance.

"Ah—!"

She took a false step, and his body slid off her back, falling heavily into the snow.

THUD!

"AAAAARGH!" Damon groaned, writhing as he hit his ribs. "FUCK, Ester! Was that on purpose?!"

Her heart raced, her face burning in the biting cold.

"D-Don’t look at me like that!" she snapped, her voice louder than she intended. "If you hadn’t said something stupid like that out of the blue, I wouldn’t have...!"

She stopped, realizing how red she was, and clenched her fists.

Damon, still holding back the pain, raised an eyebrow, his expression a mix of pain and pure defiance.

"So... you admit it," he said through gritted teeth, his crooked smile growing. "I was right. You’re cute."

Ester’s blood seemed to boil.

"Shut. Your. Mouth." she snapped, trying to maintain the coolness she always carried, but her voice cracked slightly at the end.

She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back up, her hands shaking with anger and embarrassment.

Damon coughed, but didn’t miss the chance to poke.

"Careful there, if you keep that up you’ll end up crushing me against you."

"DAMON!" she practically screamed, her face flushed to her ears.

He laughed, even though the pain was evident.

Ester, for her part, didn’t know if she wanted to bury her face in the snow and disappear or freeze the idiot right there and never hear from him again.

[Progress: 98%]

"The time has come..."

"Ester..." she called, her voice low.

She was still red-faced, trying to regain her dignity after the scene. She turned abruptly, her eyes narrowed. "What now?"

Damon sighed, forcing a smile.

"My legs... don’t work."

Silence fell for a moment, only the wind screaming around them.

Ester arched an eyebrow. "You’re kidding."

"I wish I was," he replied, letting his body slide a little against the tree until he almost fell back into a sitting position. "But if I take one more step, I’ll kiss the snow right away. And... honestly, I don’t think you want to drag me all the way to town by my boot, do you?"

Ester closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, as if asking for patience from the gods she herself despised.

"You’re nothing but trouble..." she murmured, before crouching down with her back to him. "Hurry up."

Damon raised his eyebrows. "Look... what a wonderful view..."

"DAMON." Her tone was so menacing that even the blizzard seemed to hesitate.

He raised his hands in surrender, chuckling softly. "Okay, okay... don’t kill the invalid."

With effort, he leaned against her shoulders, pushing himself up until he was settled back against her back. The icy heat of her mana enveloped him like a shield against the storm, and for a moment, Damon closed his eyes, simply accepting the comfort.

So...

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

[You used Asmodeus’s Touch]

Every finger of his began to touch her as he reached for her back. Everything was possible. He used it every chance he got.

"Let’s do a test... I might die."

He leaned forward slightly, his lips approaching her face, and before Ester could suspect, his teeth lightly bit the tip of her ear.

"Hm~... warm," he murmured, his voice thick with teasing.

Ester froze in place.

Literally. The snow around her hardened, the air grew heavy, and for a moment, even the storm seemed to choke.

A blush rose like fire to her face, her hands trembling as they gripped his legs to keep him steady.

"D-DAMON!" The scream came out higher than she would have liked, a mixture of indignation and embarrassment. "Are you crazy?!"

He laughed against her ear, the heat of his breath contrasting with the biting cold around her.

"I’m just testing if you can still feel anything other than anger."

"I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!" she snapped, nearly stumbling with rage, but lacking the courage to actually let go of him this time. "STOP THIS SHIT, OR I’LL KILL YOU!"

Damon, even through the pain and exhaustion, laughed out loud, as if every second of her irritation was fuel to keep breathing. "She took it reasonably well. Considering she’d probably kill me."

Ester, for her part, was torn between the urge to throw the idiot into the snow and the strange heat that insisted on building inside her, burning even brighter than the surrounding blizzard.

His laughter echoed through the white valley, a hoarse sound that Dornava felt like an irritating balm against Ester’s already frayed nerves. She tightened her grip on his legs, as if holding him were a physical correction to his audacity—holding him while simultaneously suppressing the blush that was rising against her will.

"You insolent bastard," he growled, his voice thin, as intent on not trembling as it was on not smiling. "Shut up and be quiet."

Damon tilted his head, like a cat that’s been scolded and found it the best entertainment of the day.

"You talk too much when you’re blushing, you know that?" he said, eliciting another short, irritatingly quiet laugh. "It’s adorable."

[Progress: 99%]