Rest

"Alright, that is about the best that I can do right now. I am completely out of mana now. But it should be enough for you to move and walk. Though, it will still be painful." Lily says as she falls backward on her ass, letting out a few labored breaths and dripping sweat in exhaustion. 

"Hmm. This should do good enough." Arthur replies by taking a step forward unsteadily but moves nonetheless. "Yeah, this is nothing much. Thanks." 

"You are an absolute monster." She mutters under her breath in exasperation. "You still need to rest to heal up fully." 

"I know. But not here. An entire day has passed, so we should find a cave." He says, picking her up and slinging her onto his shoulder, carrying her as he steps forward, picking a random direction further into the mountain range. 

"A cave? Where? This place is now a wasteland, thanks to you. I can only see mountains in the distance, and we are in the middle of a mountain range!" She complains, seeing nothing but the endless hole and the destroyed land around them. 

"Fret not. Even with this injured body, I can move pretty fast, and we should be back within the mountain paths in under an hour. There, we shall find a cave to rest for a few days before continuing our journey." Arthur replies with a wide, bright smile, as if unfazed by anything anymore. 

"Whatever." She utters lightly under her breath in return but does nothing in protest. 

The two then quickly make their way forward, heading towards the mountain peaks in the distance, traveling even deeper into the Abyssal Mountains. Further than any other mortal has ever gone before. 

And just like Arthur had stated, it didn't even take an hour for him to reach the mountains untouched by the previous battle. Then, after that, they easily found a cave to relax in and recuperate from their wounds and exhaustion. 

While Arthur quickly fell asleep within the cave the moment he entered and laid down Lily, however, started to use the little mana that she recovered to set up a few barriers and alarms at the mouth of the cave. It was the only thing that could ease her little heart so she could rest peacefully. 

Like this, the two of them fell asleep and rested for the entirety of the night, having slept from dusk until dawn, only waking at the few rays of sunlight that poked through the dark clouds overhead. 

Arthur was the first awake as he stretched and felt his body to check for how much of him was still injured. He frowned upon noticing that his body was still in no shape to fight any battles. 

His bones may have been repaired and put back in place, but they are weakened. Not only that, but he is low on blood, and many of his muscles remain torn and in disarray. At least, though, his outward injuries have healed up, leaving only scars to decorate his body. The most noticeable is the missing eye and the long scar that runs from his eye down to his stomach. 

"It feels a little disorienting to only see with one eye. This will take some getting used too." Arthur mutters as he lightly touches the scar over his eye, as it aches, desiring vengeance for its loss. "One day." 

"Are you not bothered by the loss of your eye? Or having such a large scar? Does it not make you feel upset?" Lily's voice soon sounds out, showing herself awake as she questions Arthur. 

"Not really. It is just another scar. I have many of those on me. What bothers me is that the battle did not finish, and I did not get to kill that storm being." Arthur replies. 

"Hopeless. You are truly hopeless. I mean, do you not care about how you look or whether you be able to find a mate with all those scars?" Lily questions back with her voice tinged in slight worry. 

"Ah, that. Well, I think that I am still very handsome and always shall be! Scars only add to my flavor. Plus, a mate, huh? Not interested. At most, I might try having a kid, seeing if they can get strong enough to give me a challenge. But, love, I doubt I will ever feel it." Arthur replies at first with an ooze of confidence and smugness but then turns to disinterest when talking about love. 

"Why did I expect more than that? Ah, whatever, I only want to get stronger anyways." She says, shaking her head, giving up on the topic. "Oh, since we need to rest and recover for a while, this is the perfect chance to teach each other some stuff." She then says excitedly. 

"Hmm, I guess so. I can try my hand at magic. For you, I have an idea of how to make you stronger. But, can you handle it?" He says as a ferocious grin appears on his face.

"Eh? What did you have in mind?" She questions back with a timid look, fearing that terrifying smile placed upon his face. She shivers at the thought of what he has planned but does not plan to falter, as she desires strength at any cost. 

"Hehe, of course, the best way to get stronger is to fight against even stronger foes. For now, you will fight me. Of course, I will hold back. Well, as much as I can. I promise to try not to kill you. But, well, things happen, so don't blame me." Arthur says back calmly. 

"That is impossible! I am gonna die!" She yells out in terror at the thought. [Will anything even be left of my corpse?] She thinks to herself, imagining the scenario. 

'It will be fine. How about you teach me magic first so I can get a little longer to recover." He says, motioning for her to come over to him. 

She sighs but still acquiesces as she walks over towards him, taking a seat directly to his right, preparing to teach him what she knows about magic and mana.