Page 108 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
[Guardhas activated. Transferring attack.]
[You have successfully redirected damage.]
[You have been hit by aCold Iron Bolt. Critical Hit 1000 points piercing damage.]
[Warning! Vital organ failure. You are dead.]
[You have beenRevived. Health 110/1274.]
[You have the conditionBleed.]
[You suffer 20 pointsBleeddamage. Health 90/1274.]
[Warning! Your Health has dropped below 7%. Rest recommended.]
[You suffer 20 pointsBleeddamage. Health 70/1274]
[You have been healed withGreater Health Potion. Health 1070.Bleedeffect negated.]
“Everything happened so fast,” Gerda was talking to him as he read. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
He glanced at her as she pulled out a spell scroll. “[Cleanse].”
The spell removed the stains, magicking away the traces of his death. Except for the giant tear in his shirt, of course.
“Where are we?” Julian closed his system window and pushed into a sitting position.
They were in a small, comfortable bedroom. The bed was lush with soft covers and copious decorative pillows. There were paintings of the Dark Enchanted Forest on the wall with a door, and another was entirely covered in bookshelves full of books, knickknacks, and plants.
The opposite wall was curved out to make space for a cushioned bench below three large windows with green and white curtains. Even more pillows adorned the bench.
“My home,” Gerda replied, pulling out another scroll.
“Your—Your home? You brought me to your house?” Julian immediately felt overconscious. “Is thisyour bed?”
“I couldn’t very well portal us onto the sky bridge,” she said, matter-of-factly. “[Mend].”
His clothing ruffled and tugged all over his body, repairing itself. The tear disappeared as if it had never happened. Though he was still a bit ruffled, he at least looked like he’d not been dead.
Julian gently touched his chest, feeling nothing out of the ordinary but still sensing a phantom pain. It should fade quickly, as these things usually did for him.
“Whynotthe bridge?” Julian asked. It would have been easier to clean up the mess and less destructive to Gerda’s bed.
It was a nice bed.
He needed to not be lying on it because that trail of thought was sudden and unexpected and too much for him right now. Julian swung his legs over the side; they tangled with Gerda’s skirt, and her hair fell on his thighs. It wasn’t the biggest space, and Gerda was very, very close.
She tossed her wavy tresses over her shoulder and out of the way, but since she was looking down at him, the strands slipped forward again.
“I didn’t know if there were other assassins in the palace. Better safe than sorry.” She gave up on her hair and put the back of her hand against his forehead, nodding in approval at his stable temperature.
She then moved to fix his collar.
“You made a strange noise before collapsing.” She continued touching him, focused on setting things right and not noticing he was holding his breath. “Shame about my pastries, though; I dropped them to catch you—There we go.”
She stepped back and looked him over. “Good as new. Let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll bring us back.”
Julian couldn’t help it; a short laugh escaped him.
