novelraw Chapter 81
Chapter 81
Ch.81 Brother Hans, Let’s Hurry
At the sound of her death rattle, Nekhuf instantly sensed Nephert was in danger and drew his sword, dashing toward the source of the blood scent.
“Let go of Nephert!”
—Boom!
—Don’t bother me, blind man. You’ll join her soon enough.
—Boom! Boom!
A few swift exchanges passed between Nekhuf and Set.
Nekhuf relentlessly closed into the spear’s short range, striking with his blade’s tip to counter Set’s long reach, forcing Set to frantically parry with his spear.
Exploiting his signature speed and the short—but deadly once inside—sword, Nekhuf dazzled Set with relentless pressure and landed a hit on his shoulder.
The faint magic imbued in Nekhuf’s blade pierced through Set’s skin.
—Kgh… Not bad for a rookie.
Set hastily retreated and summoned another sandstorm.
He was gradually realizing that close combat with Nekhuf wasn’t as easy as he’d assumed.
Though he’d initially underestimated Nekhuf and allowed the first strike, he could no longer dismiss the blind warrior who’d persistently breached his spear’s guard and finally landed a telling blow.
Rather than continue an unfavorable melee, Set once again filled the dungeon with the very sandstorm that had left Nekhuf helpless at the start.
“Ugh…!”
—Strange. You’re clearly blind, yet you dodge my attacks—and your swordsmanship is sharper than any sighted man’s. But this ends now.
‘What should I do? How can I stop this?’
Feeling violent air currents ripple around him, Nekhuf swiftly dodged aside.
Even the strongest had limits to their stamina.
Surrounding himself with a protective wind barrier, he leapt toward safer ground.
He couldn’t keep dodging like this forever.
‘Damn it… Even if I die… I have to save Nephert.’
Losing Nephert for the sake of his own ambition was unthinkable to Nekhuf.
Hoping against hope, he called out to his fiancée.
“Nephert! How’s your body?!”
“I’m fine! I already drank a potion!”
Relieved to hear she was still alive, Nekhuf urged her,
“Run… I don’t think I can win.”
“What?!”
—Foolish! Did you think I’d let her go?!
At Set’s words, Nekhuf unslung the bow tied at his waist and nocked an arrow with lightning speed.
“You think only you can attack from range?!”
He drew the string and fired a green wind-arrow toward the direction of Set’s voice.
—Whoosh!
The sharp whistle of parting air grazed Set’s cheek, drawing blood. Set grinned savagely.
—Ho? A blind man who can shoot a bow? How amusing! Truly entertaining!
“Now’s your chance! Run!”
—Shut your mouth! Do I look like I’ll let you escape?!
Set’s roar shook the earth, unleashing a torrent of dense magic into the surroundings.
‘Damn it!’
Blinded by the thick magic and swirling winds, Nekhuf lost all sense of direction—yet he forced his voice to stay calm.
“Run now!”
As he spoke, he drew a second arrow.
—Whoosh!
—Thud!
His arrow struck a distant wall far from Set and dissipated. Only then did Nephert understand Nekhuf’s condition.
“No! If you’re going, we’ll run together!”
“There’s no time! Hurry!”
Translucent jade arrows materialized on Nekhuf’s bowstring, firing wildly in all directions.
—Whoosh!
But every arrow flew toward empty space, far from Set’s actual position.
Set murmured in genuine confusion, not mockery,
—What’s he doing? I’m right here—can’t he even aim?
To Nekhuf, however, it felt like mockery all the same.
“I’ll pierce your skull soon enough—just wait! What are you waiting for?! Run!”
By now, Nekhuf had already half-accepted defeat.
All he wanted was to save Nephert—even if it cost him his life.
He bitterly regretted the day he’d vaguely overcome Hans’s weakness without finding a better solution.
‘If only I’d searched for another way back then…!’
“We live together or die together! Undine! Destroy that bastard!”
Nephert summoned the water spirit to attack Set.
A high-pressure jet of water shot toward him—but Set thrust out his hand and swept it through the air.
—Whoosh!
A massive wall of sand blocked the water cannon.
Though the water eventually split the sand apart, Set was already gone.
—Haven’t had this much fun in ages. Farewell, Sand Elf.
He slammed his spear into the ground.
The floor beneath Nekhuf and Nephert suddenly caved in.
“Kyaaak!”
“Uwaaah!”
They plummeted onto a stone surface some ten meters below, buried instantly under collapsing sand.
Crushing pressure.
‘I… can’t… breathe…’
The weight of the sand pinned their chests so heavily they couldn’t even speak.
‘Is this the end?’
As strength slowly drained from Nekhuf’s limbs, he sank into despair and regret.
He cursed himself for foolishly dreaming of adventure as a blind man—dragging Nephert to her death.
If only he’d stayed quietly at home, neither of them would be dying here.
He hated the desperate effort he’d made to become an adventurer, and despaired at his fate to perish in this place.
Most of all, he felt guilty toward Nephert—led here by his own blindness and hollow dreams.
After all, he was the one who’d brought her to death’s door.
‘I’m sorry… Nephert…’
In that moment of utter surrender—
Why? A man’s voice rang clearly in his mind.
Bright, unwavering, as if he’d never consider giving up.
—You’re not seriously thinking of quitting, are you? Future great adventurer, Nekhuf?
Why now? Why did that memory surface at this exact moment?
Was it oxygen deprivation?
Nekhuf saw a vivid hallucination: that man smiling brightly at him—a smile that believed, without doubt, that Nekhuf would rise again.
Nekhuf had never seen Hans’s face—he was blind, after all.
But somehow… right now… he could see Hans’s face perfectly: a confident smile, certain that Nekhuf would win.
At that sight, Nekhuf felt as if struck by a hammer.
That man believed in him—believed he wouldn’t give up.
And in that unwavering faith, Nekhuf found himself smiling back without even realizing it.
How long had it been since someone truly expected something of him?
Even his fiancée, Nephert, had always been half-doubtful of him.
But… that man was different.
His gaze and tone held absolute conviction.
And so, Nekhuf found courage.
‘I’ll never… give up. Even if I die… I won’t surrender!’
As he thought this, Hans’s bright smile appeared once more.
—That’s the Nekhuf I know.
‘Thank you, Brother. I can’t lose! I mustn’t give up! I’ll never quit!’
Though pinned under crushing sand, Nekhuf summoned every ounce of strength and called upon his spirit.
‘Undine! Blow this sand away!’
Answering his will, Undine unleashed a mighty torrent that blasted the sand aside.
“Cough, cough…!”
Nekhuf gasped for air—but Nephert lay motionless.
Set watched them with bared teeth, smiling like a child who, without understanding good or evil, crushes ants for amusement.
—Ho? Strong willpower indeed.
At that mocking tone, Nekhuf clenched his jaw.
‘How do I win? How can I…!’
Desperately, he searched his mind for a way out.
‘There has to be a way.’
He recalled the magic infused in both Hans’s Fog and Set’s techniques—tiny magic particles clouding his senses, distorting the wind currents from all directions.
Yet deep within, Nekhuf held firm belief:
Leah, who’d slain the Demon King, and her master—Hans—had trusted him.
‘I believe in myself.’
He felt fear—but refused to be consumed by it.
He was terrified—but wouldn’t cower or surrender.
With that resolve, Nekhuf wrought a great miracle: the blind boy who’d lost his sight to childhood fever began to see the world anew.
Everything appeared in shades of blue—but shapes were crystal clear.
He saw Set standing proudly at the dungeon’s center.
Slowly, Nekhuf lowered his blindfold, revealing glowing blue eyes.
“You can see?”
Though the world looked monochromatically blue, as if colorblind, forms were sharp:
Set’s massive frame, beast-like face, and the long spear in his hand—exactly as described in myths of King Set.
—Strange. Your magic flow has changed.
Nekhuf turned to find Nephert—and saw her larger, more beautiful than in his memory.
Seeing her chest rise faintly, he sighed in relief.
“Phew… Thank goodness.”
A faint, confident smile settled on his face as he stared at Set—a smile brimming with certainty that he would win.
That smile infuriated Set.
—Arrogant. Just because your eyes opened, you think you can defeat me?
“We’ll see.”
Unfazed, Nekhuf picked up Nephert’s bow from the floor.
He drew the string taut—and a single, brilliantly radiant arrow materialized on the bowstring.
Aiming squarely at Set, Nekhuf released the string the moment Set swept his hand to command the sandstorm.
—Snap.
The luminous arrow became a flash of light—
—Kkh!
—and pierced straight through Set’s heart.
Set dropped his spear limply, clutching his pierced chest.
—Me… defeated… so hollowly…!
Ignoring Set’s collapse, Nekhuf checked Nephert’s condition.
‘Thankfully, no serious injuries.’
Realizing she’d only fainted, he sighed in relief, gently lifted her, and walked toward the dungeon exit.
“Hmm… Where are we?”
Nephert stirred in his arms.
Nekhuf carefully set her down.
“You’re awake? How do you feel?”
When Nephert looked up at his voice, his blindfold was gone—and his glowing blue eyes gazed directly at her.
“Nekhuf? Your eyes… Can you really see now?”
Nekhuf smiled—but a single tear traced down his cheek.
“Yeah. I can see. I see you.”
—Thud!
Overwhelmed by the miracle, Nephert threw her arms around him, trembling.
“Oh, God… Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Hearing her tearful voice, Nekhuf held her tightly and wept.
“Huhh… Nephert…”
It was an unforeseen miracle for them both.
Later, they re-explored Set’s dungeon, discovered its treasure, and became widely known across the Sand Elf villages and the New Continent as the conquerors of Set’s lair.
Nekhuf and Nephert gained wealth so vast it would last their entire long elven lives.
Seizing the opportunity, they decided to travel the world together…
—Knock knock!
A knock on his door pulled Nekhuf from his reverie.
‘Who is it?’
He opened the door—and there stood the man who’d smiled at him in the sand, identical to the one in his memory.
With an annoyed expression, the man said,
“Nekhuf, why aren’t you coming?! Did you forget we’re watching a play tonight?”
Only then did Nekhuf remember their evening plans.
Embarrassed, he gave an apologetic smile.
“Sorry, Brother Hans. Let’s hurry.”
As he spoke, his face was filled with a deep, heartfelt smile.
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