With a sharp whistling sound, the exquisite, art-like harp bow crossed over a hundred meters, striking the leaping shark with precision and embedding itself into its body.
Even though the harp bow was not even half the size of the shark’s tail fin, it instantly smashed the colossal creature that had been above Gwyn’s head dozens of meters away.
“Boom!” Before Gwyn’s stunned gaze, the Black Tide shark crashed to the ground, shaking the earth and bursting into scattered pools of Black Tide water.
In the largest pool of Black Tide, a strange blade stood quietly.
Gwyn’s pupils shrank as he looked at it— He recognized this sword; wasn’t this Hysilens’s harp bow?
Gwyn turned around, stunned, only to see that Hysilens was already fighting the monsters emerging from the Black Tide again, as if nothing had happened.
Gwyn didn’t bother trying to ask Hysilens from over a hundred meters away; instead, filled with the relief of having survived a brush with death, he rushed toward Hysilens’s harp bow.
It might be called a harp bow, but it was still a divine weapon sharp enough to sever a hair.
Even if its form was a bit strange, it was still better than the weapons held by the Black Tide creations.
Perhaps because a new round of attacks had been launched against Hysilens, the Black Tide creations Gwyn faced were still just a handful of stragglers.
Relying on the physical stats and reaction speed boosted by the Golden Blood, as well as the weapon Hysilens had “lent” him, Gwyn managed to hold his own against these scattered minions.
Time flowed slowly under the cover of night.
When a hint of white appeared in the east of the pitch-black sky, the seemingly unstoppable Black Tide had slowly receded, withdrawing its edge.
Hysilens, who showed no signs of fatigue despite fighting all night, stepped over the ground eroded by the Black Tide and returned to the place where they had stayed the night before, only to see Gwyn, covered in Golden Blood, lying quietly on the ground, gripping her harp bow tightly.
“…” Looking at Gwyn like this, Hysilens’s gaze shifted.
She remembered the ocean floor, those clansmen who had fought endlessly against the Black Tide under her encouragement, who, after one brutal battle after another, would lie like this, never to make a sound again…
“Cough, cough…” Suddenly, Gwyn, who had seemed as if he would never open his eyes again, coughed violently, instantly snapping Hysilens out of her memories.
She looked down and saw that, at some point, Gwyn had opened his closed eyes.
“Is it over?” Seeing Hysilens, Gwyn, who felt his whole body limp and weak with his vision blacking out in waves, realized he wasn’t dead yet and asked in a hoarse voice.
“…” Hysilens stared blankly for a moment; the dying man before her seemed to gradually overlap with those long-lost compatriots in her Remembrance.
As if she had suddenly come alive, a touch of urgency appeared on Hysilens’s vacant face.
She leaned down to straighten Gwyn’s posture and tore at his already tattered clothes.
Volume 1: Chapter 15 Until Death Do Us Part.
“He…” Gwyn, who was preparing to leave some final words, had not expected that Hysilens, who had been so indifferent to him before, would suddenly do something like this.
He instinctively spoke up, wanting her to calm down— It wasn’t that he was playing some game of hard-to-get; it was just that after the fierce battle with the Black Tide, Hysilens suddenly acting so abnormally made Gwyn worry that she might have been affected by the Black Tide and undergone some mutation.
But before the weak Gwyn could call out Hysilens’s name, his mouth was already stuffed with a strip of cloth by her.
Before Gwyn could try to spit out the cloth, Hysilens’s voice reached his ears— “It will be a little painful next.
Bear with it.” “?” Hearing this, Gwyn froze for a moment, instantly realizing what Hysilens was about to do.
But before he could prepare himself, a searing pain suddenly shot from his right arm, which had long been numb and nearly devoid of sensation.
The pain was so intense that Gwyn’s eyes widened, nearly popping out of their sockets.
Fortunately, this pain passed quickly, followed by a cool, gentle sensation— Cool energy gathered in Hysilens’s palm, gently washing over Gwyn’s wounds like a refreshing stream, rinsing away the dirty blood along with the Black Tide residue she had just cleared, revealing the pale flesh beneath.
The infectious nature of the Black Tide went without saying; if the corruption of the Black Tide was not eradicated, even if Gwyn died, he would be contaminated and turned into a Black Tide monster.
Hysilens’s expression was serene, her gaze fixed intently on Gwyn’s wounds.
Only after the last trace of Black Tide corruption had been cleared did she slowly withdraw her hand.
After cleaning the wounds, they still needed to be bandaged, but Hysilens looked at the tattered rags on Gwyn’s body that were contaminated with the Black Tide.
She withdrew her gaze and let her eyes fall upon her own clothing.
“…” Hysilens bit her lip slightly and exerted force with both hands— “Rip!” A long piece of fabric was torn from her clothing by Hysilens.
“Huu…” Exhaling imperceptibly, Hysilens tore the fabric into strips and began to bandage Gwyn’s wounds.
After clumsily treating the first wound, Hysilens’s gaze turned to another wound on the lower part of Gwyn’s right arm, which ran from the back of his hand all the way to his elbow.
“Ugh!” Gwyn, already exhausted from the fierce battle, had almost drifted off into a deep sleep, immersed in that gentle, wondrous sensation, but was suddenly jolted awake by the sharp, unexpected pain.
His muscles tensed, and he struggled instinctively.
“…” Hysilens, who was busy clearing the Black Tide grime, frowned.
Unable to spare a hand, she simply twisted her body and pressed down onto Gwyn to keep him from moving around.
At this moment, Gwyn had absolutely no time to appreciate the beauty of being in such close contact with the Siren Princess; he could only hope that this painful treatment, performed without anesthesia, would end soon.
However, given that Gwyn had dozens of wounds, both large and small, from the night’s battle, his hope for it to end quickly was wishful thinking.
The first few intense stimuli, while unbearable, had suddenly given Gwyn, whose entire body was numb, a sense of being alive.
But toward the end, even during the most painful debridement, Gwyn’s body no longer reacted as violently.
While this saved Hysilens some effort, it also deepened the worry in her eyes, and her now-familiar movements became faster.
The last time Gwyn opened his eyes to look at the sky in his consciousness, the sun had already begun to set.
In other words, Hysilens had spent over half a day cleaning the wounds on his body.
“I wonder if, after enduring this ordeal, I’ll gain some kind of pain tolerance…” These aimless thoughts flashed through his muddled brain.
Finally, the treatment—which, in terms of pure pain, was definitely no less intense than last night’s brutal battle—was over.
Gwyn didn’t even have the strength to say thank you before sinking into a deep sleep.
“…” Watching Gwyn fall into a deep sleep, Hysilens remained silent for a long time, then leaned down again…
“Ugh…” As his consciousness slowly awakened from the heavy, pitch-black sea, Gwyn’s first sensation was thirst.
His throat felt like parched, cracked earth, and even making the slightest sound felt like it would tear it apart.
Still in a daze, Gwyn couldn’t even figure out his own situation.
He could only instinctively seek help, struggling to let out a barely perceptible sound— “Water…” It was unknown how much time had passed when a moist liquid was slowly delivered into his mouth, soothing Gwyn’s parched throat, seemingly carrying the scent of the sea breeze.
As Gwyn’s throat moved gently, the liquid with a hint of sweetness was swallowed slowly, nourishing his nearly desiccated body.
As he drank the sweet water mouthful by mouthful, Gwyn gradually regained some strength.
His consciousness slowly returned, and he opened his eyes with some difficulty.
What met his gaze was not a familiar ceiling, but Hysilens’s purple eyes, which held a hint of concern.
“You’re awake.” Hysilens’s expression remained calm, and her tone seemed like a simple statement of fact, but Gwyn could still hear the concern and worry hidden within it.
“Yeah, thank you.” Finally managing to say thank you, Gwyn squinted at the crimson sky— “Did I…
sleep for a day?” Given his previous state, it was impossible that he had only slept for a few hours.
Therefore, Gwyn judged that he had likely slept straight through to the evening of the next day.
“You have been asleep for three days.” Hysilens shook her head gently.
“Three days?” Hearing this, Gwyn couldn’t help but widen his eyes slightly.
The shocking news made him feel a bit more alert, and he marveled inwardly— “Severe injuries, massive blood loss, three days without food or water…
Any ordinary person would have been stiff by now, yet I’ve actually managed to hold on until now…
The stats provided by the Golden Blood are truly high.” While feeling this, Gwyn said solemnly, “It seems I owe you my life again…” “…” Hysilens’s red lips parted slightly, but in the end, not knowing what to say, she simply shook her head in silence.
“If it weren’t for you, I would have died several times over by now.
There is no need for words of gratitude for such a great kindness; I will certainly repay you in the future.” Gwyn didn’t intend to dwell on this subject.
Just as he was about to change the topic, a “muffled thunder” sound suddenly rang out, interrupting him— His stomach, having been hungry for three days, had been activated by the sweet water and was now rebelling.
“…” Hysilens, whose expression had been calm, curled the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile, which made Gwyn feel slightly embarrassed.
However, before Gwyn could speak, Hysilens turned and left.
A moment later, she returned with some dry rations and a bowl of porridge, feeding them to Gwyn with somewhat clumsy movements.
“Thanks, I feel like I’ve come back to life—” After eating a little, feeling the warmth in his stomach, Gwyn couldn’t help but exhale lightly.
“Your wounds haven’t healed yet.
It will take some time for you to recover.” Hysilens’s eyes flickered slightly as she said slowly.
“Yeah, but that means I’ll have to continue troubling you for the time being.” Gwyn sighed softly, looking at Hysilens.
Gwyn had just tried to move his body, but the pain started before he could even exert any strength, so he had to give up.
There was no village ahead or shop behind, and there was still the possibility of being attacked by the Black Tide; as a severely injured person, he could only rely on Hysilens.
“It’s fine.” Hysilens gave the answer without hesitation.
Immediately after, perhaps feeling that she had been a bit too eager, Hysilens added— “Anyway, I have nowhere else to go.” “Hmm, then I’ll leave it to you.” Gwyn smiled.
“…” Hysilens shook her head, not answering Gwyn.
She simply raised her zither, and as the bow—which had been cleansed of all stains—was gently drawn, a melody from the deep sea flowed out, permeated with the solitude and loneliness of the deep sea.
Gwyn did not interrupt, listening quietly to her music— He didn’t understand music; ninety percent of his music classes back in school had been taken over by other subjects, to the point where he could be said to lack basic musical knowledge, but that didn’t stop him from thinking the music Hysilens played sounded good.
While it sounded good, the sense of loneliness within it was something that could not be shaken off no matter what.
Even though…
compared to last night, the sense of loneliness in Hysilens’s music seemed a bit fainter, Gwyn could still hear that feeling of being alone in the world, solitary and isolated.
The song ended, the music gradually fading, leaving only the sound of their breathing and the faint breeze.
Gwyn looked at Hysilens standing alone in the wind, feeling that perhaps he should say something— “In the days to come, would you mind bringing along an extra burden?” “A burden?” Hysilens, who had been observing Gwyn from the corner of her eye, asked in confusion.
“Hmm, broadly speaking, it’s someone like me who probably can’t offer you any substantial help and might even hold you back.” Gwyn nodded gently, looking at Hysilens and speaking slowly, “You are very lonely, and I happen to have nowhere to go.
Why not let me stay by your side?
Although my only function might be to cheer you on when you fight against the Black Tide, and to listen to your music from the deep sea after the battle…
but even having just one listener could make your loneliness a little less, couldn’t it?” “…” Hysilens turned around, looking down at Gwyn lying on the ground, watching the light in his eyes.
Her lips moved slightly, and her voice was very low—