Martial Arts Worlds

Chapter 174 The Woman

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In a dark cave, Kiernan limped one step at a time. His face was pale, as if all blood was drained from his face.

Behind him, a trail of blood followed like a crimson shadow, weaving a jagged line across the uneven ground.

"Hehehe… Hahahaha! AHAHAHAHA!"

Kiernan stopped walking, leaned against the wall, and just laughed maniacally.

However, this time around, the laughter sounded different from before. It wasn't only pure madness anymore. It sounded quite sad and lonely.

Drip! Drip! Drip!

Blood dripped from his right leg—it was because his leg was missing—there was only a stump where it should have been.

"Haa! Haa! Haa!"

Kiernan tried to catch his breath and touched his bleeding stump of a leg, then tightened his muscles to try to close up the wound, but it wasn't completely successful.

"Tight Binding…"

The blood kept trickling still.

'I-I'll need to leave the cave. I-I need my strength back, or I will die.'

Kiernan groaned in pain, kept moving forward, but he soon fell on his only remaining knee.

It was very hazy for him to think clearly, his vision blurred as he tried to stand up.

"Heh, well shit…"

Kiernan sat back down and leaned on the wall, too tired to move anymore.

'M-maybe a quick nap…'

Kiernan closed his eyes, and his head dropped down, but as soon as he began to slip into sleep, he saw the flash of the afterlife.

The dull gray skies, the dead trees, and the chilling wind that seemed to never stop.

Kiernan slammed his eyes back open and shook his head furiously.

'I am not going back there!'

He wanted to stand up, but then a hand appeared on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

"?!"

Kiernan looked over and felt his breath stop as he saw the woman standing over him.

She was gorgeous. A soft, fair-skinned face with gentle-looking eyes, but the color of her eyes was red like fiery rubies. They were framed with long, dark lashes.

Her shoulder-length black hair flowed like liquid obsidian, sleek and glossy. It framed her face in soft waves, cascading gently down to graze her collarbone.

She wore a simple yet elegant dress of pure black, its fabric clinging to her form with a grace that mirrored her every movement. The neckline revealed the gentle slope of her shoulders and the shape of her cleavage.

'Red eyes… Abracadabra…'

"You're hurt." She said softly. "You're Kiernan, correct?"

"Who are you?" Kiernan asked as he struggled to sit up, his vision blurry and his head pounding.

"It doesn't matter for now." She said and helped him to stand up. "You helped to save that girl. Good job. I also came here for her, but then saw her and your friend running down the forest.

"Your friend told me that you're here."

"Okay…" Kiernan coughed painfully. "Are you a detective?"

"No," she smiled, but then saw him bleeding more and more. "You're really hurt. Sit back down; I'll help you."

"Ah…" Kiernan sat back down and had to struggle to stay awake.

"Take this."

She offered him a flask and helped him to drink its contents. It was very powerful medicine, and soon he felt a wave of relief wash over him.

However, it also brought sleepiness.

"You will feel sleepy now." She said softly. "You can rest now. I will take you back to safety."

Hearing her soft voice made him close his eyes even faster. He was trying to struggle to stay awake at first, but eventually, it was impossible.

He slouched over, and his head fell on the woman's shoulder. Discover exclusive content at empire

She looked at his sleepy face, moved some of his hair out of his face, and whispered.

"Sweet dreams, hero."

…

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Kiernan shifted in his bed, his mind slowly becoming more aware of the incessant noise.

He slowly opened his eyes, feeling tired as hell, and saw a beeping machine right next to his bed with an IV drip attached to his arm.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

'Where the hell am I?'

Kiernan turned to his other side and saw the windows—it was dark outside, so it was impossible to tell the time.

He then saw that he wasn't the only one in the room.

Julian was sleeping in the corner of the room, snoring softly in his uncomfortable-looking chair. It didn't look like he had showered properly lately.

His face was unkempt with some beard budding out, and his hair just looked like a mess.

Kiernan picked up the TV remote and hurled it at Julian. It landed perfectly on his face.

"Ouch!" Julian jolted awake and looked groggily around. "Who…?"

As he asked, he noticed that Kiernan's eyes were open, staring straight at him.

"You're awake!"

Julian jumped to his feet and almost tripped over his legs but managed to walk over to the bed.

"Are you alright?!"

"Uh…" Kiernan rubbed his eyes. "I don't know. What time is it?"

"Uh, four in the morning." Julian checked from his wristwatch.

"I only slept like three hours?" Kiernan asked in surprise.

"Uh…" Julian scratched the back of his head. "Try three weeks."

"Three weeks?!" Kiernan's eyes almost popped out of his skull. "What the hell, man?"

"You were really exhausted when you came to the hospital," Julian said. "You were in a short coma, but luckily you received the best possible treatment."

"Three weeks…" Kiernan whispered, and then remembered. "Oh shit, my father must be panicking. The school is also supposed to start soon!"

"You sure focus on the wrong things at the moment."

Julian wryly smiled and then showed Kiernan's phone.

"No worries. I knew you didn't want to worry him, so I was texting on your behalf. I hope I managed to convince your father that I was you."

"Oh…" Kiernan relaxed again and then remembered that one hazy face from his memory.

"That woman. Who was she?"

"I don't have any idea." Julian shrugged his shoulders. "Raquel and I met her briefly at the forest. She probably thought I was the kidnapper at first because she seemed very hostile.

"Luckily for my life, Raquel quickly explained everything to her, and she had a complete transformation in behavior. She asked where the kidnappers were, and I told her about you.

"She brought you out of there and took you to this hospital. I guess you can thank her for saving your life with her medicine."

"…"

Kiernan just nodded silently, still processing everything that had happened.