Azrael felt like a bolt of lightning had gone up his arm, his entire body spasmed pleasantly from Ashelia's touch and he tried to pry her grip away from his arm, but she didn't even budge. His brows furrowed. 'How in the world is she so strong?'
Before he could get another word out, the bandits who were on her heels had already caught up with her, forming a half circle around them that Azrael was sure they had done many times before.
Ashelia quickly scurried behind him to hide.
His lips twitched. 'I feel like a meat shield.' He eyed the men that surrounded them coldly. 'I see... so it's them.'
"You b*tch!" The leader of the bandits roared as he limped his way to the front of the group. His face contorted hideously in rage and pain.
"You think you'll get away fine after what you did to me?! I'll break you!"
Ashelia clutched the fabric of Azrael's damp tunic desperately as she trembled. 'Please…' She begged inwardly.
He was very odd but he was her only hope!
The leader spat at the ground. "Hey, you!" He called, brandishing his poison-laced weapon at Azrael. "Hand over the girl and leave. We will let you walk away like nothing happened."
Azrael was silent for a long moment before he let out a sigh. "If that is what it takes for you to let me go free, then I will do it."
Ashelia's entire body went cold. "What…?"
"I am not obliged to protect you." Azrael shrugged. "But of course, that could change."
Ashelia clutched his tunic tighter and bit her lip before she lowered her head and asked in a small voice. "What do you want?"
Her body? She thought. He was despicable but he was the only one she could rely on at the moment since Meryl was nowhere to be seen.
"Tell them that you are mine." Azrael smirked. "And I will protect you no matter the cost."
'I might even become your parmanent bodyguard.' He added in his mind.
"Huh…?!" Ashelia was taken aback.
'What is he going to gain from hearing me say that? or is he really mad?'
The bandit leader scoffed. "Look at this lad, he thinks he's a knight!" He mocked and roared with laughter, making his fellow goons do the same.
'Lad?' Azrael raised an amused brow as he flexed his fingers slightly, itching to draw blood. "And how long are you going to keep me waiting, Ashelia?"
Ashelia flinched. 'He–he knows my name!' She sighed. 'Of course he does.'
She pursed her lips. "...Do you promise?"
"Hmm…?" Azrael hummed with a smile.
"I–if I say what you want, do you promise you will protect me?" She asked.
"Of course. I always keep my word."
The tips of Ashelia's ears reddened. Fine. If saying what he wanted was what would get her out of this predicament, then she would say it a hundred times!
She sucked in a deep breath and glared at the bandits from behind Azrael. "You better leave now. I belong to this man, and if you try to harm me despite knowing that you will die!"
Azrael instantly roared with laughter, making Ashelia turn the colour of cherry. "Why are you laughing?!"
'You told me to say this!'
Azrael's heart had instantly started to race at an uncontrollable rate at her words. He placed a hand on his chest and sighed with satisfaction. "Ah, music to my ears.
"You heard the woman, I'm afraid I cannot hand her over to you." He responded with a smug smirk. "She now belongs to me, you see…"
The bandit scoffed, baffled at their act. "Hah! You think you're a hero now because you've got a woman hiding behind you, is that it?"
"You're sorely mistaken." Azrael countered as his eyes wandered to where a dagger was wedged hilt deep into the man's thigh. 'Oh?'
"I would go back and treat that nasty wound first if I were you." Azrael told him as he clicked his tongue in mock pity. "It will start to fester soon and then you will die from the infection."
"Bastard!" The man roared and launched himself at Azrael, his blade aimed at his throat.
But before his sword could hit its mark, Azrael exhaled sharply and leisurely extended his right hand, driving it right into the bandit leader's throat, flesh and muscle gave way with a sickening crunch as his fingers tore straight through and burst out the back of his neck.
Blood spurted from the gaping wound, staining Azrael's face and tunic in warm crimson. The bandit leader let out a guttural, choking screech, gurgling wetly as he shook helplessly, his body convulsed and thrashed for a few final seconds before it went limp.
Everywhere and everything was silent, like a graveyard.
Ashelia's legs buckled under her and she collapsed to the floor, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
'What… What was that? He's not… he's not human!'
A wave of nausea clawed up her throat from her stomach, she doubled over and vomited, her body trembling.
"Please close your eyes, Ashelia." She heard Azrael say in a soft tone. Amidst all the buzzing in her head, his voice sounded like it came from a mile away.
'That's… what you should have said earlier…' Ashelia thought despite all the ringing in her ears, but she did as he suggested. She covered her ears and didn't dare open her eyes, her heart beating wildly all the while the muffled screaming, running footsteps, crunching and gurgling sounded all around her.
Suddenly, all the noise stopped, there was dead silence for a long moment and then she heard a sigh, so clearly it might as well have been inside her head.
"How long are you going to remain like that?" She heard Azrael ask. "Do I have to wait all afternoon before you muster the courage to open your eyes and look at me?"
Ashelia swallowed nervously before slowly lifting her eyelids to behold the massacre in front of her.
Her eyes took in the mangled bodies, the blood stained grass and bushes and the man who stood at the center of all that carnage, covered in blood and looking unbothered. Her stomach churned intensely and she bent over to hurl again.
Azrael stiffened. "I apologize... I should have cleaned up my mess."
'He's savage…' Ashelia concluded while wiping her mouth with a trembling hand. 'and ruthless.'
She almost couldn't believe she had been so afraid of these people that he had taken out so effortlessly, and yet, for some reason, she wasn't as terrified as she was supposed to be toward this man who had killed them all… was it even right to call him a man?
But that didn't mean fear for him didn't exist. He was dangerous. She had to stay away from him as much as possibls.
'I'll try not to make my fear obvious for now since he saved me...'
She tried to stand, but her legs betrayed her and she fell back on the grass with a dull thud.
"Urgh…" She groaned.
Azrael's brows furrowed, then he rushed toward her and crouched. His bloodied hand gently tilted her chin upwards, enough for her to meet his eyes.
Ashelia gasped as a shiver ran down her spine. She swallowed. 'There's blood…'
"You didn't answer my earlier question." He started, searching her eyes.
"Wh… what was it?" She asked.
"I asked what a feeble thing like you is doing here all alone."