Taming the Dark Lord

CHAPTER 4

Chapter 4 – The Abnormally Heavy Cub

It was already too late.

The march of the inspection team was going way too fast, and the sound of metal horseshoes stomping against the pavement grew louder and louder. The clamor of clanging metal, shuffling feet and neighing horses all ringing together in Amelia’s ears that it’s almost deafening. She needed to think fast, the cluster was almost right behind her.

Amelia knew that she wouldn’t be able to outrun them. She quickly took off her cloak and stuffed it haphazardly inside the cart. She transformed the cart into a book, and smoothened the white dress she was wearing, making sure she looked presentable enough.

Taking a deep breath with a book clutched on her hands, and dress swaying slightly in the wind, she was now back to looking like a Saint, as noble as ever.

But the dark elf was still sprawled out on the ground.

Amelia looked sideways and stared at the lying form. After a moment of hesitation, she snapped her fingers together, hiding the elf from plain sight with a layer of concealment.

The stain of blood also disappeared into thin air.

After deeming the place acceptable enough, she walked out of the alley as if nothing happened. A knight almost collided with her, with the team behind him halting to a full stop. The one that was leading the pack happened to be the Knight commander, whom she met at the entrance of the Church.

“Ma’am.” The Knight commander said, raising his hand in a salute.

Amelia eyed the crowd that was in front of her, feigning ignorance. “What brings you all here? Did something happen?”

“Dark magic was sensed inside a residential house nearby, and a large number of people have died. I’m afraid that someone from the Dark cult has sneaked into the city. All of the knights are currently on the look out. Did Saint Amelia notice anything unusual?” The Knight commander asked.

Amelia shook her head. “I didn’t notice anything.”

While she was talking to the Knight commander, several knights walked straight into the alley behind her and began searching around. Amelia’s heart was pounding violently against her chest, and she hoped that the Knight commander wouldn’t be able to sense her growing anxiety.

She was a Saint. And as a notable figure in the society, it is one of her duties to kill dark creatures she runs into, especially the dark elves who posed a great threat to the community.

Dark elves are infamously known to cause trouble, and she should be handing it over to the authority, or kill it without batting an eyelash. Hiding it from the inspection team was not something that she should be doing.

Amelia knew that she would undoubtedly kill it if it were a full-grown dark elf. However, the dark elf she was faced with was a young cub, one with tiny arms and legs. Perhaps he was all alone, Amelia thought, and that he might have just lost his entire family.

Amelia was overwhelmed by her innate instinct to protect cubs no matter what the race it’s from. The dark elf was also quite similar to a human being in appearance. It was still lying on the ground, barely breathing and his tiny body was covered with deep gashes. It seemed like he’s about to die the next second.

Her heart softened at the pitiful sight.

It wouldn’t be too much trouble anyway. Amelia promised herself that she would save the dark elf just this once.

Amelia paid attention to the sounds in the alley, attentively listening to the knights’ chatter.

She knew her strength when it comes to magic, so she was not nervous at all. She was even talking to the Knight commander so casually despite her raging thoughts.

The knights who were searching around the alley came back. They nodded towards the commander, and upon understanding, the Knight commander bid his goodbye. “Ma’am, there is still something I have to attend to. I’ll get going first.” He said as he saluted and turned towards his horse, mounting it gracefully. He prodded his horse forward, and the army of knights followed close behind him as they left the street.

Amelia stood still for a moment. The street that was brimming with knights and horses earlier was now deserted, only a few civilians and Amelia were left behind.

After a short while, Amelia turned and went back into the alley.

Just like when she first got there, the alley bore a gloomy, dim atmosphere, as if the sunlight wasn’t able to reach it completely. There were wet mosses lining up both the walls and the pavement, and muddy pools of water could also been on the corners. A placard was put up on the right wall, bearing the name of the street Oya Street.

The unconscious dark elf was right below the placard, and he was still bearing the same position Amelia first saw him in.

Amelia squatted and leaned close to the wounded elf. Scrutinizing it carefully, Amelia saw scars all over his body, and the wounds were clearly caused by knives. It was gashed so deep that she could make out the bones underneath it.

How did he manage to survive in this state?

If it weren’t for the elf’s small breathing, Amelia would’ve thought that it is already dead. With how injured he was, one would figure that he would not survive at all.

The cuts looked painful to begin with, and Amelia couldn’t help but feel sympathetic towards the wounded little elf.

Should she decide to leave the elf there, broken and injured, it would not be able to get up on its’ own before the inspection team arrives once again for the next round of searches.

Amelia knew what would happen if the dark elf was found by the inspection team. It would either be beheaded then thrown into the cemetery, or it would be displayed as a specimen in an exhibit.

It doesn’t matter how old it was. The cult of Light already made it clear that no Dark creature deserves sympathy, and that they all should be killed firsthand.

It doesn’t matter what the cult of Light said. Amelia had already decided that she would help the elf from its’ demise. A good deed seemed necessary in situations like this one, so she sent the elf further down the street and stood up.

She turned the book back into a small cart, and pulled a black blanket out of it. She wrapped the elf from head to toe, and she made sure that the cloth didn’t graze the wounds as she adjusted the elf into a small ball.

She wondered how old the elf was. He had skinny arms and legs, and when he was wrapped around the blanket, he could fit inside the small cart quite perfectly.

With her sharp ears, she was able to make out people coming towards her direction. She quickly stuffed the elf inside the cart and laid out various cloths over it, hiding it completely before transforming the cart back to a book once again— a book that weighed five times heavier, to be exact.

Amelia adjusted her grip on the book after walking for a while. Her arms felt numb, the book marking her skin red from its’ weight. She guessed that the book she was carrying now was at least one third of her own weight.

How could a tiny cub be so heavy? Are their bones much heavier than humans?