4| Another Plot Hole?

The night was dark and moonless. It was a perfect night to commit a crime.

No, not a crime, a quest to save the world, Elynora reminded herself of that.

The dense forest in the estate of the Veritas Duchy was vast. The small mountains covered in dark clouds looked very ominous. She could even feel demonic energy running rampant in this area. Nora wondered if a passing demon would kill her before she even reached the Demon King.

She gripped one of the daggers on her waist tightly. It wasn't reassuring at all, since she didn't know how to use it.

According to what she had described in the regressed future, Calor intentionally went to the part which was drenched in demonic energy, fought with the demons surrounding the wounded 'demon hunter', and saved him.

Then the villain who was taken care of for a whole day by the female lead, found that she could grow a rare tree that could be used as raw material for making an ancient weapon that could enhance his powers.

A shiver went down her spine as she thought about it. That heartless villain that she wrote didn't have an ounce of gratitude. What if she was caught by that kind of villain? She shook her head vigorously. She must succeed!

She had intentionally walked here ahead of time, but unlike Calor, she had no protagonist's luck. In the novel, Calor had found the villain within ten minutes of walking through the dense forest. But she had been walking for over half an hour and not a single soul was in sight.

Not even demons!

If she caught sight of a demon, she would be relieved at this point, since she would at least know that she was on the right path. She was so tired because she had not yet fully recovered and plopped down on the ground. The ground seemed weirdly soft and wet.

Soft?

She glanced down to see that she was sitting on a white silk shirt that was covered in so much blood and was almost tattered. Near it was lying a man who looked absolutely ethereal.

Long blue hair, smooth tan skin without any blemishes, long blue lashes which shadowed high cheekbones. His nose was straight and pretty, and then her gaze fell on his thin pink lips which looked a bit chapped. His jaw line was so sharp it could cut her heartstrings. There was not even a shadow of a stubble.

And his body... God.

It was in absolute tatters! A long, three clawed gash stretched from his shoulder to his narrow waist. His abs were drenched in blood from the wound. Now that she looked closely, his tan skin seemed a bit pale, presumably from blood loss. Even his legs seemed to be injured, since she could see that his dark pants were torn near the calf.

Her heart immediately dropped.

This handsome guy was the villain?

She immediately checked his neck for the mark of the curse, and it was there. Yes, he was the villain. She had described his appearance as just handsome. In under two lines in the novel.

But this guy looked even better than her son, Calor! Much better! They weren't even on the same level! She internally shed tears and steeled her heart.

What a waste of beauty.

Nora took out the dagger from her waist and prepared to stab him. Her conscience hurt, but her life was on the line and this guy was the big, bad demon king. She decided to slit his throat. She stretched out her hand to his neck and fumbled for a proper artery. So that he'd bleed lots. And lots of demons would appear and peck at him.

Before she slit his throat, she took a light glance at the handsome face she hopefully never saw again. Golden eyes that looked like melting gold stared right back at her.

'Wait a sec, eyes?'

She immediately dropped the dagger in her hand in shock.

There was no anger in those eyes, nor surprise, just a look of acceptance. But, the molten gold in his eyes became a shade darker, the curse mark on his neck spread to his jaw, the surroundings started to drop in temperature rapidly and in a moment; it became bone chilling.

Ah, didn't I write in the novel that he was taken care of by the female lead for a whole day before he decided to open his eyes?

...

The word 'decided' didn't open a new damned plot hole did it? She didn't mean anything by that! Did the author's intention not matter at all?

[Alert! Host, fatal, murderous intent is detected. Alert!]

'Yes, I fucking know! The big final boss has opened his eyes and wants to kill me. I can see that!'

She now weighed her two options carefully.

One is to stab him and run away. The ending was obvious to this one. She'd be dead before she even takes a step. Will she even be able to stab this dude?

The other was to shamelessly lie her way through this situation. The demon king cooperated with the protagonist for a reason. He really was too injured and needed a place to recover.

If she pretended to help him, she'd be taking the original route, but hey, at least she would be alive for a few more days this way, in which she could come up with some new plot. Instead of the novel going the dead end route after her death.

She decided to bullshit her way through this mess.

Whether it worked or not, she decided to give it a shot.

Elynora glanced at the dagger on the ground and kicked it far away. She had another one anyway.

At this moment, Calix Azarith, the big bad demon king, moved his fingers a bit. For some reason, that gesture alone was very threatening and seemed like a death flag in the eyes of the scared shitless Elynora.

She panicked and lit a flame in her hand. Her ability to manipulate flames activated without her wanting it to as it sensed danger. The pink flame, the same color as her eyes, shone brightly under the moonless night.

"Are you okay? I was checking your pulse to see if you were alive. This place is dangerous."