blogombal Page 40
Page 40
"That's called a social gathering! It's not something that's organized with the sad, desperate desire to get married... or a social event where people are pushed around like commodities..."
Lena let out a soft moan, which grew softer and softer until she finally buried her head in her chest, dejected.
"Could it be that the goddess has destined you to become a saint, and has never let you meet a good man?" Mino exclaimed, half comforting and half joking.
"That's exactly what I'm saying!" Lena immediately clenched her fist. "What's wrong with those men? One or two of them come up and try to hold someone's hand after just a few words. And the ridiculous ones all they know how to do is give roses, without even removing the thorns!"
"What I hate most now are people who bring a rose when they meet someone; it's giving me a psychological aversion!!!"
"Yes, yes, yes." Mino yawned, lay down on the lawn, and squinted contentedly in the sunlight. "I've learned my lesson. I'll never give you roses again..."
The warm sunlight shone on her, and the fatigue from the recent training surged up, making Mino sleepy.
I could only vaguely hear Lena's voice, which sounded like she was joking:
"...Too unromantic...One day...the gap...I promise..."
Huh? What? I can't hear you—
Mino struggled in her consciousness, completely bewildered. A vague sound flowed through her mind, and she suddenly opened her eyes, rolling over in bed!
The familiar ceiling and the prison-style decor gradually brought Mino back to reality from her dream.
"Those are memories from so long ago, I've forgotten them all... but I've actually dreamed about so many of them." Mino rubbed his messy hair and muttered, "What did Lena say back then...?"
Mino got out of bed, stretched her stiff back, and quickly washed herself with cold water.
"Hiss—hiss—That's strange, why does my back feel so sore today..." The soreness gradually became more pronounced after waking up. After washing up for a while, Mino grimaced.
Altottai looked out the window and had faintly heard rumbling thunder an hour earlier.
"It's another rainy day, isn't it? My lord, doesn't the cursed mark left on your back during your battle with the desert dragon cause you to ache on every rainy day?"
Artotai, recalling Mino's heroic figure in the past, couldn't help but sigh:
“My lord, you are truly patient. Even after a long time, the corrosive curse of the dragons will still leave an annihilation mark—that feeling is no less than the most agonizing burning of sealing wax when interrogating an enemy.”
"Is that so?" Mino frowned, beginning to doubt her own imagination:
"But I feel that the pain I felt before was not as intense as it is today—no, it's more than ten times more intense."
"Hmm." Altottai nodded calmly.
"After all, this kind of pain can be greatly reduced if you protect yourself with divine power."
"Now that your body is restricted to that of an ordinary person, your reserves of divine power are extremely low. Once they're used up... you'll definitely be in excruciating pain—"
Mino stood there stunned for a full quarter of an hour.
The next moment, as if his reflexes had kicked in, he suddenly curled up on the ground with a thud, rolling around frantically: "Damn it!!!! How, how can it hurt so much?! Waaaaaah, Altote, lend me, lend me some divine power, it's... burned out!!!"
"Hey!" Altottai exclaimed in shock.
"So you've never experienced this kind of pain before, and you've been using divine power to protect yourself 24/7?! The divine power of humanity's strongest hero is a luxury for them!!!"
"Hiss... hiss..." Mino broke out in a cold sweat, forcing a laugh: "Do you know what?"
"When a person is hit, it hurts."
"Anyone gets killed, they die! Don't try to lower the sophistication of that statement!!!"
Cold sweat broke out on her back. Enduring the pain, Mino finally stopped screaming. Her face was much paler and her body trembled.
"Hey, my lord, are you really alright? Why don't you lie in bed and rest?"
Altottai said with some concern.
“Don’t worry.” Mino waved his hand, a glint of wisdom suddenly appearing in his weak expression: “Altotai, don’t forget, I am a hero who can always break through desperate situations and bring hope.”
"Do you think I'm helpless with my power sealed?"
Altottai was slightly moved: "My lord."
This was the Mino he knew; no matter how desperate the situation, he could always find a solution from the impossible.
With a confident look on her face, Mino cut a small piece of white cloth from under the bed, picked up a small stone, wrapped it in the white cloth, and then tied the "head" tightly with thin rope.
Immediately afterwards, the white doll was hung upside down on the edge of the window.
Mino rubbed her hands together and prayed continuously over the "teru teru bozu" she had just made:
"Please stop the rain, please."
"Please stop the rain, please."
"Please stop the rain, please."
"You might as well go back to bed and lie down!!!" Altottai exclaimed in shock, "What's the difference between this and being helpless?!"
“Let me tell you the highest secret of magic… Altote.” Mino trembled as he gave a thumbs up.
"A heart that believes is your magic!"
"If you weren't a hero, I'd believe you, for goodness sake!"
Chapter 54 I, Nuomi, will never give in.
Kleidina stood at the entrance to the cell floor, gently placing one hand on her chest to calm herself before revealing a captivating smile. She then approached the cell, pushed open the door, and entered.
"Mino Warrior, now..."
As soon as I opened the door, I saw the pale-faced hero writhing on the bed like a maggot, making strange noises.
"Uh, are you okay?"
Kleidina took a few steps back, her dress swaying slightly, as if she had been startled.
Mino, enduring the pain, looked up at Kletina and instinctively wanted to explain, but if she was mocked with "Oh kawaii koto" again like last time, it was better not to say anything.
Gritting her teeth, Mino forced a calm expression and said, "I'm fine."
"I was just kneading the milk."
"How old do you think you are?" Altottai muttered under his breath.
"No need to say more, you're here today to interrogate Lena for information, right?"
Fine beads of sweat clung to his face, and Mino's pale face hardened with a resolute gaze: "I advise you to give up sooner rather than later."
"No matter how cruelly you treat Altotai, I will not confess!!!"
"Hey! Why are you dragging me into this?!" Altottai exclaimed in shock, "That's not only not cool, it's shameless!"
Kleidina covered her mouth and chuckled, "That Ice Saintess has caused our Demon King's army quite a bit of trouble these past few days. To be honest, if the Demon King's castle's fighting strength hadn't been reduced to less than half, I would have liked to gather all the demons and send them out to see the Ice Saintess's pathetic state after her defeat..."
“Yeah, I’d love to see it too.” Mino nodded in agreement, thinking of the battle-worn version of the saintess, her robes gradually torn, her hair and figure somewhat disheveled after a series of battles…
Mino snapped awake, startled, and looked at Kletina with wary suspicion:
"As expected of the Rose Shadow Demon... to use such tempting images to interrogate me? How despicable!"
"...My interrogation hasn't even begun yet."
Kleidina blushed slightly and shook her head. Somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, she directly restrained Mino, and a rich magical power suddenly spread along with the rose fragrance.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Mino suddenly screamed.
"Huh?" Kleidina was slightly taken aback. She hadn't even started yet. Could it be... that she had used too much force just now?
"Stop pretending, Mino!" Kleiner quickly understood and smiled.
"You are the most powerful warrior in human history, a synonym for countless battles and fearlessness of pain. For you to show such a pained expression with such a small movement, your acting is a bit exaggerated..."
Mino's lips twitched, a sharp pain shooting through his teeth—"If you're so capable, try to withstand the dragon's curse with your mortal body!!!"
"What information do you want to know?"
“I think it’s not hard to guess.” Kletina counted on her fingers. “Human emotions are so monotonous, there are only a few types. To make that Ice Saintess’s emotions fluctuate to the point of causing a backlash…”
“Anger is too difficult to express. Most of the clergy in the Holy Church are as gentle as water, let alone the cold-hearted Saintess Lena. Hatred is the same, after all, that was the reason Lena attacked the demons.”
“Sad words might be more effective against those close to you, but unfortunately… the only thing I can think of is to tell Lena about your death, but she seems to have the ability to see through lies.”
"Therefore, the best choice is only fear or disgust—you just need to tell me what can most effectively trigger the shadow in Lena's heart and make her feel strong resistance."
"As for joy... hehe, we ruled that out from the start."
“A wise and calm ice saintess could never be so easily fooled as a little girl.”
Despite the pain, Mino sneered, "As expected of the shrewd and capable demons, your strategy is so detailed... But since you know you're going to deal with Lena, do you really think I'd give you information so easily?"
Even with his hands and feet bound by magic, Mino's head remained held high, and he laughed heartily:
"Don't forget! I am humanity's strongest hero! The hope of the Kingdom of Kur, the light of humanity! Even with my wings clipped by the Demon King's castle, no one can subdue my free will!!!"
"What's more, the one you're dealing with is another pillar of the human camp, my close friend from the same village for over ten years, the Ice Saintess Lena of the Holy Church!"
"To expect a human hero to betray the saintess's information? Ha! How ridiculous!!!"
Kletina now held a clear glass bottle containing fiery red roses, her pale pink fingertips gently caressing the bottle's rim.
"This is a rose nourished by the fiery poison, cultivated by my abilities for a long time, and each petal is covered with nerve pollen that can cause unbearable pain... Once nourished by divine power, it can proliferate almost endlessly, causing incurable suffering."
"Once such a rose is ignited, under the combined penetration of fire poison and pollen... even a fire dragon will be torn to pieces in pain."
Inside the bottle, a fiery red rose with dangerous thorn patterns on its petals emitted black smoke; just looking at it sent shivers down one's spine.
"That's it? You seem to underestimate me—"
Mino's lips curled into a sneer: "I'm putting my words right here today, if you can get even a single piece of information out of me..."
"I'll write my name, Nuomi, backwards!!!"
"You might as well just be called a coward!" Altottai nearly exploded: "Where did all that determination go?!"
Rumbling--
A soft rumble of thunder accompanied the gentle patter of raindrops against the cell window. Kleidina finally made up her mind. She slowly opened the bottle and snapped her fingers softly…
The fiery red rose branches gradually enveloped the pale flames, and terrifying fire poison and pollen danced and mingled wildly in the bottle, condensing into streams of blazing black air.
The next moment, she slammed the bottle neck down hard onto Mino's exposed back!
"what--!!!"
Mino screamed loudly.