Chapter 226: ·In the Name of a Kiss

For a single stretched instant, time itself seemed to slow. Romina’s mind went completely blank.

The grotesque creature dripping with foul pus had pinned her down by force… and kissed her. The realization nearly shattered her sanity. An overwhelming sense of psychological revulsion collided violently with the physical sensation itself, creating a bizarre contradiction inside her mind.

There was no imagined stench. No slimy, rotten touch. Instead, what met her lips was warmth. Softness.

Human warmth.

The dissonance struck so hard that, for one impossible moment, Romina even felt a flicker of embarrassment.

Wait.

Her thoughts snapped back in panic. What was she thinking right now?

Her mind screamed in chaos, yet her body remained trapped beneath Nolan’s expertly applied restraint. No matter how desperately she struggled, she could not break free. Air in her lungs grew thinner and thinner. In desperation, she bit hard at the monster’s mouth, trying to force it away.

The creature did not retreat. All she tasted instead was the faint tang of blood.

Just as the suffocating pressure became unbearable, the “monster” suddenly forced open her clenched teeth.

A stream of icy liquid poured violently into her mouth.

“Mmph!”

Instinctively, Romina tried to spit it out, but the force holding her was overwhelming. Every ounce of resistance proved useless, and her choking only worsened. The suffocation intensified.

Unable to endure it any longer, she finally swallowed. The freezing liquid slid down her throat and spread rapidly through her body, like an entire bucket of ice water dumped over her head. Her mind, once consumed by grief, rage, hatred, and despair, abruptly cleared for a fleeting second beneath the violent shock.

Then the world before her began to twist.

Warp.

Distort.

The four-armed monster restraining her flickered like a corrupted illusion, its body spasming with static before dissolving entirely. In its place appeared a familiar face, Nolan’s face.

Far too close. Close enough that there was no distance between them at all.

Romina could count every eyelash reflected in those emerald-green eyes. Within them, she saw her own stunned reflection staring back in disbelief. All her struggling stopped instantly.

Sensing the change, Nolan realized the potion had finally worked. He loosened his hold and released her. Their lips parted.

Air rushed back into Romina’s lungs, yet an inexplicable feeling of loss welled up inside her chest. Only now did her mind fully process what had just happened.

Nolan… hadn’t died.

And he had kissed her.

“Cough…”

Straightening himself, Nolan wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. When he lowered it, a streak of blood stained his fingertips. Romina had bitten through his lip during her struggle.

“Romina. Can you hear me?” He looked at the dazed elven captain before him, his voice carrying a trace of apology. “Sorry. Things were urgent. That was the only method I could think of.”

The normally composed and regal Romina, who carried herself like a queen of the forest, flushed scarlet in an instant. The blush spread from her cheeks all the way to her pale neck and pointed ears. Unable to meet Nolan’s gaze, she lowered her eyes toward the floor and answered in a voice barely louder than a whisper, “…Mm.”

Thank goodness. Nolan let out a quiet breath of relief. At least she had recovered her senses. And judging by her reaction, she did not seem furious over his rather outrageous method. He reached out, intending to help her up.

Unexpectedly, Romina stared at him blankly before slowly raising a hand to touch his cheek. Her fingertips brushed lightly over the wound on his lip. “Is this an illusion, Nolan?” Her voice trembled softly.

Before he could answer, she continued in a dreamy murmur.

“Don’t tell me the answer… Even if this is an illusion… it’s a beautiful dream.”

Nolan froze. He had never imagined that the legendary ranger known in his previous life as the “Silent Watcher,” famed for her cold composure and iron resolve, possessed such a vulnerable side.

Looking into those misty eyes clouded with confusion and shy longing, he suddenly felt his heart soften. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

Romina’s body trembled faintly. Could it be…

Even in such an absurd situation, Nolan could not help letting out a small laugh. He gestured helplessly toward the battlefield around them. “Unfortunately, this is reality. Cruel reality that nobody gets to escape.”

Reality…

Romina slowly looked around.

Wood Elves lay scattered throughout the hall, unconscious but still breathing. If true monsters had attacked them, there would have been no survivors.

Above them, Ailindel danced through the air with spear in hand, battling endless waves of blood-red vines. Emerald wind blades collided with foul-smelling crimson rain in a violent storm of destruction.

And high upon the ceiling, the rotting abomination known as Rosm still laughed triumphantly.

As everything clicked into place, Romina’s face turned so red it seemed ready to burst into flame. So all of it had been real. Nolan had not died. She had merely fallen into a horrifying illusion. 

And Nolan… had awakened her by forcing the potion into her mouth that way?

Her thoughts dissolved into complete chaos. The illusion had felt terrifyingly real. Clearly, it stemmed from Rosm’s red mist and his corruption of the Foundation of Life. She vaguely remembered elderly travelers once speaking about terrifying forms of mental manipulation. Unless the caster was killed, such control was nearly impossible to break. Yet Nolan had somehow shattered a double-layered spiritual distortion.

Could this perhaps be the legendary…

Power of love?

“How do you feel? Can you still fight?”

Nolan had no time to unravel whatever romantic nonsense was currently spiraling through the beautiful elf’s mind. Right now, he was far more interested in climbing up there and beating the rotten-faced bastard senseless.

“Ah? O-of course!”

His words snapped Romina back to reality.

Her heart still pounded wildly, but she was still Forest Home’s finest warrior and captain of its ranger patrols. She immediately forced aside the chaos in her thoughts and returned to combat focus.

“There’s still a strong urge to attack everything around me,” she admitted softly. “But at least… I can tell friend from foe again.” Her eyes flicked briefly toward the bite wound on Nolan’s lip, and embarrassment flashed across her face once more.

Before either of them could say anything else, two controlled Stag Guards charged from opposite sides with furious roars.

Nolan reversed his grip on Mountain’s Resonance and swung the sheathed blade sideways, smashing precisely into the left guard’s knee joint and instantly throwing him off balance. At the same time, Romina lowered her stance. With a deft motion, the bowstring of her greatbow snapped upward from below and struck the wrist of the guard on the right. The moonblade flew from the guard’s hand.

Nolan stepped forward immediately, chopping the left guard unconscious with a precise strike to the neck. Meanwhile, Romina had already circled behind the second guard. She looped the body of her bow around his throat and pulled sharply backward. The guard collapsed limply to the floor.

The entire exchange took less than three seconds.

Back to back, the two of them settled once more into fighting stance.

A ripple passed through Romina’s heart. She was absolutely certain she had never trained alongside Nolan before. Yet their coordination moments ago had felt seamless, as though they had fought together a thousand times already. She could clearly sense Nolan’s terrifying combat instincts. He always seemed able to predict her movements in advance, naturally adjusting his own positioning to support and complement hers.

Together, they produced far more than the sum of their individual strength.

“What’s your plan, Nolan?” she asked. “That rotten bastard up there has stolen part of the forest will’s authority. Wood Elves can barely get close to him.”

He glanced toward Ailindel. “Ailin’s soul-forged power is unique. It can ignore the influence of the ‘putrefaction’ authority, which makes her the best person to handle those endless blood vines.” Then he turned back toward Romina. “As for me… nobody understands how to deal with trash like him better than I do.”

His emerald eyes sharpened.

“Create an opening for me. I’m going up there.”