Numbers x Casket-Chapter 14: New Arm

In a time long past, there was once a warrior whose body was harder than any steel. Blades couldn't pierce his skin, and even spells enough to obliterate a whole town weren't enough to injure him.

Like an impregnable fortress, he drove the fiends away from his land. In every punch he threw, mountains shattered, terrain changed, and a simple stomp of his produced a crater hundreds of meters deep below ground.

His legend continued, and he was hailed as a true ruler; however, a certain day came, and he disappeared. Some said that he was already dead, while others believed that he ascended and became a deity, but no one really knew where he went; not a single trace of him could be found.

Thus, his place suffered constant invasion, his castle walls collapsed, and people died expecting that he would appear and save them from misery, but these were all a fleeting dream, a hopeless wish that was never meant to happen.

Soon, his kingdom fell, and his story became a forgotten legacy, buried underneath the debris of history.

. . . . .

With her mouth partially opened, Lindsay stared at the ripple of water, her mind processing what she had witnessed. Then tears began to form at the corner of her eyes, but she did her best to prevent them from falling.

"E-Efraim," she stammered, her voice trembling, still in shock.

This state of hers continued for several seconds until she slapped her face with both hands. She concealed her emotions at the moment.

Afterward, a worn-out grimoire appeared right before her. Its pages flipped, and a magic circle took shape in the center of the lake.

"Primor—" she was in the middle of chanting when a sudden torrent of water emerged, interrupting her casting.

The tears she did her best not to let fall dripped on her cheeks as she saw a familiar silhouette emerge from the downpour.

"You're alive!" she exclaimed.

However, her excitement turned into despair upon noticing that one of his arms was missing. She stared at the young appraiser. His head was looking above while his clothes were tattered beyond recognition.

"Efraim," she called out, but she received no response, not even a glance.

He remained suspended in the air for several seconds until a giant mouth with razor-sharp teeth came out of the water, aiming for him.

As soon as it snapped its jaws, Efraim bent his knees. He leaped upward with the help of the invisible platform of energy; his body drew an arc before tumbling in the open air.

The next second, a black shadow materialized in the location of his lost limb. It started as vague until it took shape, resembling an arm. Without holding back, Efraim clenched his newly formed fist and slammed it on the giant monster's snout.

A massive shockwave, enough to make the whole place tremble for several seconds, was created. Stalactites fell as the tremor continued; even Lindsay dropped to her knees as she lost her balance.

The strength of Efraim's attack sent the lindworm back to the depths of the lake. Its scales were pulverized while its head was bent all the way to its chest. It showed no movement, not even a flick; its large eyes were still open yet had lost their radiance.

Efraim stared at the ripple for a little while, then he averted his gaze and looked at Lindsay; the edges of his lips formed an upward curl.

As soon as their eyes met, with traces of tears still present on her cheeks, Lindsay whispered, smiling. "You did it."

Then, Efraim's body began to sway and fall from above, but he vanished as a magic circle caught him before touching the lake water.

Afterward, the same circular pattern materialized above Lindsay, and Efraim fell on her arms.

She looked at his unconscious face and examined its every feature: his pointed nose, his bow-shaped lips, and even the thick lashes of his eyes.

Then, she caressed his hair and noticed a scar inches away from his left eyebrow—a small cross-mark cut.

"I didn't know he had something like this," she uttered.

After all, his front hair obstructed it, preventing everyone from seeing the blemish.

The next second, Lindsay diverted her gaze to the appraiser's right arm. From the portion of his chest all the way to the end of his fingers, all of it was black, similar to a shadow. Eaten by curiosity, she touched his arm, and her eyes widened in amazement.

There was no warmth; it had coldness similar to ice while its muscles were tough and firm as metal.

"It's like it's made of steel," Lindsay commented.

Then, she gave it a soft flick, expecting a metallic sound, but it produced none.

"You're getting stronger each day; I wonder how many secrets you still have," she stated, reverting her gaze back to his face.

"First, those chantless spells that even I have no knowledge of..." She paused and stroked the back of her finger on his cheek.

"And now, this overwhelming strength," she continued.

. . . . .

Almost an hour had already passed when the old man and the assassin regained their consciousness. Lindsay filled them in about what happened.

Captain Zed couldn't help but nod in astonishment.

"To think that there was still one of these creatures underneath," he uttered while staring at the lindworm's carcass.

"And that young man killed them both," he added.

His respect towards the appraiser went through the stalactites.

Upon hearing this, Lindsay's soft laughter hummed in the atmosphere. She looked at the old man and pointed her finger at the monster's scales.

"Lend me a hand in bringing some of those for him," she stated.

Without any complaint, the captain nodded, and he leaped towards the creature. He started to peel its scales, but even after using all of his strength, he failed to get one.

"Seriously! How did he punch it to death? It's too tough!" He exclaimed, wiping the sweat on his forehead.

Given this fact, Lindsay crossed her arms and raised one of her hands to the level of her chin.

As her forefinger grazed and rested on her lips, she asked. "Is it possible to bring it back whole?"

Captain Zed blinked several times and shook his head in a gentle manner.

"That's impossible, young lady," he answered, rejecting the idea.

"Then please continue on your task," Lindsay replied, teasing the old man.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

Accompanied by a deep sigh, the captain resumed plucking the scales.

Meanwhile, Enrick was in front of a pile of land with a large purple crystal and a quiver on top; he was sitting right there while hugging his knees. He was still in shock; his eyes were filled with sorrow.

Several minutes ago, he wrapped Kendra's remains in a black cloth and buried her next to the cave walls.

She was his childhood friend; witnessing her die a miserable death was a torment he would never forget.

Then, memories of them together came flashing inside his mind.

'Enrick!'

'Hey, Enrick!

'You! Silly.'

'Enrick! Come back here!'

Her voice reverberated inside his thoughts. The realization of not hearing those melodies again left a deep wound on his heart.

"Kendra," he uttered in silence, and tears began to fall from his eyes.

. . . . .

Later on, Captain Zed managed to pull out four pieces of Lindworm's scales.

"Young lady, are these enough?" he asked while catching his breath; there was a short interval between his words.

Lindsay looked at the old man and smiled.

"Yes, thank you, Captain," she expressed her gratitude.

Then she moved her gaze towards the appraiser, who was still sleeping beside her.

"Should we get going now? Though our hero is still asleep," she asked the old man without even looking at him.

Captain Zed jumped down from the lindworm's body and walked towards his master's direction. He placed the scales next to the appraiser before strapping them one after the other on his back.

While knotting the slits of the strap, he looked at Lindsay and spoke with a curious tone.

"Do you have any plans? At any point in time, the Grand Lord will summon you back," he asked.

However, Lindsay didn't reply; she just stared at the appraiser the whole time. Upon seeing this, the old man didn't delve any further.

As soon as he completed strapping the scales, he picked up the unconscious appraiser and placed him on his right shoulder.

They moved towards the tunnel while Enrick looked back for one last time before following them behind.

Despite the damages from the battle, the serene atmosphere of the lake remained as soon as the equators left the cave.

On their way up to the surface, Lindsay summoned several wind outbursts to send them above ground.

"Young Lady, you really need to learn long-distance teleportation magic!" the old man yelled while his body drifted in the air.

It took them almost a quarter of an hour to reach where they came from. It was already dusk, and the crescent moon was already present in the sky.

"Finally out!" Captain Zed exclaimed as he placed the appraiser on the ground.

He spun his shoulder and cracked some bones on his neck by moving it sideways. Then, he noticed Lindsay, staring above; he looked to where her gaze was, and he froze on the spot before trembling in fear.

High in the air, a silhouette of a person could be seen, his clothes fluttering in every breeze of the wind.

"Father," Lindsay whispered, void of any emotion.

. . . . .