Taming the Dark Lord

CHAPTER 5

Chapter 5 – Bloodshot

After walking past five or six streets, her arms started to shake slightly from holding the heavy book for quite sometime. She bit her lips and exhaled a deep breath, placing the book on her shoulder as she sported a tired expression.

With the book propped on her shoulder, the sleeve of her dress slid down as well, exposing her fair skin under the bright sunlight.

“Ma’am?” Someone called her from behind.

Amelia huffed and placed the book on her arms again. She turned around and saw a Knight looking at her. “You are?” She asked.

“Ma’am, I am one of the knights from the inspection team. It is unsafe here, please let me escort you back.” He said, his voice sounding so young and deep.

“That’s okay. I will head back myself.” Amelia smiled, turning down his offer politely.

There’s no way she would let anyone escort her back, not when she had a dark elf on her arms. How would she be able to put the book down if someone is right on her heels?

“I insist, ma’am. It is the Knight commander’s instruction.” The knight said resolutely, leaving no room for argument.

The Knight commander was worried to leave Amelia alone on the streets, especially when a dark magic was just casted. If something happens to her while the inspection team was on their patrol, it would end terribly for the Knight commander, and that he may be executed for failing to protect the Saint.

It doesn’t matter if thousands of civilians died, as long as the Saints stayed safe and unharmed.

Her heart pounded wildly at the knight’s insistence. With one hand holding the book, she waved her free hand, telling the knight that there’s no need for his escort. “Don’t worry about it. It’s okay.”

However, the knight stayed firm in his decision and ignored Amelia’s refusal completely. He stuck to her side and followed her all the way back to the Church’s entrance.

The knights that were guarding the front door all exhaled in relief, seeing Amelia safe and back to the vicinity. “Ma’am, you’re finally back. It is said that you should stay inside the Church for a few days until the murderer is caught.”

Amelia faked a smile and nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

Her hold on the book tightened, her nails digging right into the cover. Her palms were sweating profusely, and the panic in her heart seemed to grow even more intense than it already is.

She really had to bring the dark elf inside the Church. This may be the first time in the history of the cult of Light. Oh Lord, she was about to make history!

Amelia stepped back to adjust her bearings, and the knight quickly stood behind her. He looked around their surroundings with a watchful eye, as if someone would suddenly come out and attack them. “Ma’am, please head inside. It is dangerous to be here.”

She had no choice but to obey since she was cornered in all directions. Sighing, she walked back to her palace, and the book she was gripping on felt even much heavier. It felt like she was bringing a bomb inside the Church.

The cult of Light was so affluent that they had prepared a palace for each of the Saints, giving them their complete privacy. And every morning, someone would go inside the Palace to tidy the place up. There was no one inside the palace now, and the only thing that could be heard inside were the faint sound of curtains blowing in from the opened windows.

Someone could easily peek inside the palace from the outside, but doing so would entail severe repercussions.

Amelia fumbled around the door and her fingers made contact with the iron ring. The knob was dusty as she pulled the heavy door towards her, the shower of dust making way past her nostrils, tickling her nose with a scrunch.

This was the basement the last Saint left. Amelia never used it. In the basement, there was a small, wooden bed placed on the corner and other pieces of furniture were laid out as well. And on the side, there was also a pile of metal instruments that were used solely for torture.

Using magic, Amelia turned the book into a cart again. She carefully took the small elf from the bin and carefully placed it on the bed.

A bright pool of red soiled the bed the moment Amelia set the elf down. And after a short while, the droplets of red turned into brown as it was exposed in the air.

The healing abilities of dark creatures were quite powerful, but the wounds on the elf seemed to be incessant— blood kept oozing out of the cuts right in the middle of healing. The continual opening of the gashes made the elf look like a bloody mess.

Amelia pulled back, feeling squeamish from the amount of blood she had seen. She wondered who would do such vile thing to a little, harmless cub. A direct kill would have been more humane than leaving it this way. There’s absolutely no need to torture a living creature like this.

As if sensing the sudden shift in environment, the elf’s long lashes trembled, obviously struggling to open his eyes. It hummed out a pitiful moan from his tightly clenched lips.

The elf looked distressed, and it seemed like he was feeling excruciating pain. Even if the elf was already losing too much blood and on the brink of death, he still fought hard to be alive, wanting nothing but to make out his surroundings, as to make sure he’s in a safe place.

Amelia was strangely amazed at the elf’s strong will. If the dark elf makes it out alive, he would surely become a powerful creature.

Amelia’s heart roared, and the anger she initially felt slowly dissipated.

Although Amelia wasn’t exactly sure what to do with this situation, she knew that she couldn’t leave the tiny elf all alone.

She went out for a bit and fetched a basin of water. She folded her sleeves up on her arms, scooping out water with one hand as she leaned closer to the elf. She began cleaning the wounds with a soft cloth, doing it softly as to not hurt the elf even further. However, the blood that has solidified was extremely hard to clean. Frustrated, she was about to get up to retrieve a bottle of ointment when something clutched at her wrist.

Turning around, Amelia was taken aback by the sight in front of her. The dark elf opened its’ bloodshot eyes slowly, his orbs staring at her blankly, as if in a daze.