CHAPTER 386: RELIEF WRAPPED IN DREAD

"Arghhhh!" the troll bellowed, the sound sharp enough to rattle teeth. It had found a red sword buried deep in its foot—driven there by Cassian the instant the creature’s step came close enough to pierce all the way through. For a giant like the troll, it wasn’t a crippling wound... but judging from its howl, it hurt like hell.

Inside his war armor, Cassian allowed himself the smallest, pained smile. Blood was already soaking the padding beneath the plates, his body a mess of torn muscle and fractured bone. The sheer shockwave from the troll’s footstep had been enough to rupture him from the inside, armor or no.

That strike had been the last he could manage. Now, all he could do was endure—and pray help arrived soon. His war armor might still be intact, but his body wasn’t in any state to move. Every drop of mana his domain gathered was being poured into healing.

The troll didn’t give him that luxury. With a snarl, it yanked the sword free from its foot, glaring down into the crater where the deep-red figure lay. Then, with terrifying speed, it brought a massive fist down. The impact crashed into Cassian like a collapsing mountain, making him vomit fresh blood as his domain strained to knit his battered body together—only for another blow to follow, then another, a frenzied barrage pounding the ground and everything in it.

The troll finally paused, panting heavily after its relentless pounding of the ground. The armor still held, unbroken, though blood had seeped from the gaps and soaked the dirt beneath in a dark crimson stain.

Its ragged breaths came in harsh, guttural huffs. Flared nostrils caught his scent, and the beast’s beady eyes locked onto him—not with mere hunger, but with something sharper, meaner.

This wasn’t prey anymore. No... this puny creature had dared interrupt its hunt, slowed its charge, and—worst of all—made it stumble. Like a fly that refused to die, he was still moving, still breathing.

A growl vibrated from deep within its chest, so low Cassian felt it in his ribs. Its lips peeled back to reveal teeth like cracked tombstones. This wasn’t going to be a kill—it was going to be a punishment.

’Yeah... definitely not my best day.’

his vision was fading too though he didn’t fear death as he didn’t felt it coming today atleast and that might be casuse of his abiltiy to not feel pain if he could have he would have releasied how bad his condstions was and with each punch from the troll it’s was getting worse and worse.

The troll wasn’t giving Cassian even a heartbeat to recover from its previous blow. He had no idea how he was still alive—his bones felt shattered into pieces, and his chest ached where fragments of his own ribs had punctured his heart.

As his vision began to blur, Cassian’s thoughts grew hazy. ’Shit... someone came... fast...’

Then, to his surprise, the troll suddenly froze mid-attack. Cassian quickly putted his armor away in it’s marking form down his hand, realization striking him as he saw the fear in the creature’s eyes.

’Damn it... did it have to be him?’

Relief and dread twisted inside him as a brilliant crimson flash streaked from the distance, heading toward the warrior circle that sealed his sword. Cassian hated the idea of anyone knowing he possessed those weapons—especially now. In this state, he couldn’t even wield them, and if the wrong person found out, they could take them from him... whether he was alive or dead. And the man coming to his aid? He was more than capable of doing either.

As Naset Lawk appeared the next second, he looked down at Cassian’s mangled body."Oh, my dear red-haired friend... you seem to get yourself into trouble far too often," he remarked casually.

Despite the troll being frozen in time, its eyes still shifted, filled with a kind of fear Cassian had never seen in a monster before.

Cassian couldn’t respond—his face was a mess, and with bone fragments lodged here and there, his healing was slow. Speaking was impossible. Still, his eyes remained intact, locked on the man standing over him.

As if guessing his thoughts, Naset said, "Don’t worry, I paused time for you as well. You won’t heal, but you also won’t die." He then turned his gaze to the troll. "Well, well... you seem to have made this one quite angry as it didn’t kill you outright... or did you use something to protect yourself from it?"

Cassian’s chest tightened, not from pain, but from a creeping unease. He would have voiced it if he could—but his shattered vocal cords offered nothing, not even a groan. He couldn’t nod, couldn’t shake his head. Even the smallest gesture was beyond him, leaving him trapped in silence.

The man glanced at him briefly, as if expecting an answer. When Cassian gave none, the man’s focus shifted back to the troll. He raised his hand, then snapped his fingers.

The troll crumbled. Not all at once, but slowly—its massive body collapsing in on itself until it became nothing more than a drifting mound of dust.

The sight pulled Cassian’s mind back to the night they fled Cirmon Castle—Katherine’s Parisosa spell. That one had destroyed its victim at the cellular level, leaving only dust behind. But this... this was different.

The energy here didn’t feel like destruction. It was something colder, hungrier—like the very life had been drawn out, leaving not even a husk to rot. Just emptiness, as if the creature had never existed at all.

Cassian’s fear deepened as he stared at the man—who remained completely expressionless. Then, hearing a faint rustle from behind, the man said coldly, "Your friends are here. Let’s continue our conversation once you can actually speak..." With that, he vanished.

Cassian finally let out a faint breath of relief as warmth began to spread through his body. His fingers twitched, bones snapping back into place one by one. His Domain worked tirelessly, mending him like a golem clumsily reattaching its shattered pieces.