Heir Of The Supreme
Chapter 53: Bound Together (2)

Chapter 53: Bound Together (2)

Walking through the dark expanse of the cavern, Blaine and Cecelia stuck to the small patches lit by the bioluminescent moss.

Blaine, who had originally lacked any clothes, put on the tattered rags that belonged to the deceased Kelonian woman.

They were ripped and soaking wet but still offered some degree of protection in case Blaine was attacked.

While it felt disrespectful to loot the dead, the fact remained that Blaine had simply nothing else to wear.

He had no clue as to why he was naked, to begin with, but he adapted surprisingly quickly to his situation.

However, losing his clothes wasn’t the biggest problem.

Blaine had lost his sword as well.

The sword he wielded was one of the biggest contributors to his personal strength, even allowing him to fight enemies stronger than himself.

Without it, Blaine’s combat ability had plummeted.

However, that didn’t mean he was completely unarmed.

The two shiny daggers glimmered eerily in his hands, attested to this fact.

Army personnel are prepared religiously for any situation that may unfold in the chaos of combat.

As such, they typically had several backup measures if things fell through.

One such measure was an emergency combat knife.

If one were to lose their weapons in combat, they would become defenceless and unable to retaliate.

While unarmed combat training was a skill that helped in such situations, it was almost universally agreed upon that having some kind of weapon was better than not having any at all.

Which was why soldiers typically carried a small dagger with them.

These daggers could also be used for other purposes, such as butchering the flesh of slain monsters or as a makeshift utensil for eating meals.

Due to their usually miscellaneous purpose, these daggers were often made from the remains of Rank-1 monsters, and ones with low classes at that.

At least that was the case with one of the daggers in Blaine’s hands, the one they salvaged from the black-haired woman’s corpse.

However, the other dagger was an entirely different story.

Just by holding it, Blaine was already sure that this dagger was as powerful as the sword he usually wielded.

Meaning...

It was a Rank-3 Artifact.

Blaine had already expected that the princess had some kind of weapon on her person, but this was beyond his expectations.

Giving someone who couldn’t even wield mana a Rank-3 Artifact was like putting pearls on a swine.

Considering the immense mana costs needed to properly utilize it, it was already weird enough for a 1-Star like himself to possess one. Still, without mana to begin with, its power was effectively useless.

It was nothing more than a slightly more durable kitchen knife.

For a weapon on par with Lyn’s onyx daggers, it was almost funny how badly they were being wasted.

However, the identity of their owner silenced any such notions.

After all, she was the princess of an entire kingdom.

If there was anyone who could justify such behaviour, it was none other than her.

It was necessary for it to be at least this strong because it was meant to protect her life in the worst-case scenario.

After Blaine had set her free from the rope binding her, Cecelia entrusted the blade to Blaine, given that he was the best-suited amongst them to wield it.

Since they were going to be exploring a place that was undoubtedly teeming with danger, they needed to do everything possible to ensure their survival.

As they walked silently, an awkward tension was palpable in the air.

However, neither of them spoke a word.

While Blaine was the same as ever, Cecelia was too preoccupied with the questions in her head.

And it just so happened that much of her confusion stemmed from the boy walking beside her.

She was most certainly sure that Blaine was heavily injured in the earlier confrontation; she clearly saw his body broken and tossed around like a puppet whose strings were cut.

Yet...

The youth was completely unharmed.

She had even personally... Verified it with her own eyes.

As she tried to suppress the memories of that incident, she felt her face turn red like a tomato.

’Focus damnit!’

Internally chastising herself, Cecelia shook away her intrusive thoughts and focused on the situation at hand.

She had seen Blaine somehow kill the black-haired man, a feat that she had initially thought was impossible, and witnessed the corpse of his supposed sister.

So, what happened to the blond-haired woman?

If the black-haired woman was so brutally murdered, it was likely that her companion met a similar fate.

Did this mean that someone killed her enemies and healed Blaine?

If so, then it must have been their teammates who got separated earlier.

But if so... Why was Cecelia still tied up? And where were they now?

Nothing made sense!

She debated asking the boy next to her for an explanation, hoping the auburn-haired boy might know something.

’No... That wouldn’t help at all."

How could she get a mute person to explain anything?

’It might just be better to focus on escaping first,’ Cecelia resignedly thought.

She had no idea where she was nor how to get back.

Having lost her smart tablet in the earlier chaos, she couldn’t check where they were or how long they had been in there.

Being stripped of her technology was like cutting off one of her limbs.

The only things she had on her were the prototype Power Analyzer, which she kept on hand for field testing, a small pre-charged flashlight, and several miscellaneous items like a scent-removing spray.

While the flashlight would prove helpful in exploring the dark cave, it would also alert any nearby monster of their presence.

Needless to say, Cecelia wasn’t too keen on using it at the moment.

Then, a soft growl forced its way out of Cecelia’s stomach.

She didn’t know how long she was here, but she did know one thing.

It was high time they found something to eat.

The river seemed to contain fresh water, so they didn’t need to worry about that, but not having food was a serious problem.

The longer they went on without eating, the weaker they became and the easier prey they became for passing monsters.

’Thinking about it... Strangely, we haven’t seen anything yet.’

Typically, creatures would be attracted to the scent of fresh blood, so Cecelia was somewhat surprised that nothing had attacked them yet.

As she began to think this, a loud rumbling sound filled the air.