He who Bends Time-Chapter 82 - something terrifying

The result of her fall from the wall—losing her grip like a fruit breaking free from a tree—would naturally end the same way: eventually landing on the ground and being mangled by the height of the fall. That was exactly what would’ve happened to Marian if she had truly hit the earth.

Even as she was falling, Marian showed no sign of moving, her body stiff like a statue made of stone. She remained frozen in an exact posture, as if glued in place.

But halfway down, she suddenly jolted—as if regaining her senses. Her breath quickened as she looked down. The speed at which she fell and the way her body spun uncontrollably in the air disturbed her, but in the end, she managed to twist herself to face the earth below.

"I’d be like a cherry that splatters if I really hit the ground from this height... I need to do something, and quickly!"

Marian looked around with the intuition she’d honed through survival—and in that moment, the harsh wind struck her again, throwing her balance off once more.

"Maybe..." Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind. Taking out a knife, she sliced her own hand, drawing her own blood and forming a thin crimson board, which she gripped tightly.

The board was extremely thin and light, and as the violent wind blew once more, Marian now had something to push against it. The result was a tug-of-war between the wind and the board, and Marian was thrown far off course from where she might have landed—sailing instead into a forested area some distance from the tower.

"Ugh!"

The battle between the wind and the blood-forged board finally ended as a powerful gust ripped it away, causing Marian to lose her grip. But just before she was about to crash to the ground, she landed atop a giant tree.

On her way down through the branches, she cursed out loud at each and every one that scratched or smacked her body.

Thud!

When she finally landed on the forest floor, her body was covered in dry leaves, and her hair looked like a bird’s nest—fit for laying eggs.

Standing up, she dusted herself off and straightened her clothing as best she could.

"That thing I saw... it wasn’t normal. Something ominous—so terrible it made me shiver down to my horns. This... This... I need help."

Remembering the dreadful sight she’d witnessed, Marian made a quick decision. Without delay, she took off—running away from the tower and heading toward the exit from which she had entered earlier.

---

A small patch of land that could be considered a forest...

High up in the branch of a large, tall tree, a man sat.

"Ugh!"

A thin branch cracked and fell nearby, causing Henry to frown slightly.

"Is it gonna break? Curse it. I knew I shouldn’t have come—I should’ve gone to Auran instead. This isn’t something I should be getting involved with at all. This is their mess, not mine. I’ve got my own problems to worry about," he muttered to himself, blaming his own choices.

"Alas, but what can I do? Abandoning a group of helpless kids—that’s not something my heart could bear. And if I really left, every time I remembered them, it would feel like being burned alive."

He let out a sigh.

" it’s fortunate that I was able to locate them in that mansion previously owned by Nick. Although we had to ride a long way down to the sixth floor, it was worth it."

While sitting atop the tree, Henry occasionally glanced around, watching for anything that moved.

"The little kid’s words were a bit clumsy, but I doubt he’d lie. According to him, there should be a few more carriages following this same path—each carrying another group of kids."

After a while of waiting, he finally caught a glimpse of a carriage arriving from afar. He quickly crawled down, and by the time he reached the forest floor, the carriage was already nearing the road where Henry was hiding.

Once on the ground, Henry concealed himself behind a tree. The carriage, driven by a man with an ugly face, passed by him slowly.

Once the carriage had gone a considerable distance ahead, Henry also started moving, following it—not on the road, but through the forest as much as possible—until they arrived at the edge of the woods, where the path opened into a rocky, debris-strewn land.

Henry did not give up his pursuit and continued to follow, staying hidden behind rocks and even laying flat on the ground to conceal himself behind slightly elevated patches of earth, making sure not to be noticed by the carriage.

"Although the coachman is at the front and can’t see me from behind, there’s still a chance that someone else might be in the carriage—just like that guy who could grow his hand larger," henry thought, recalling the previous encounter.

From a distance, while tailing the carriage, Henry finally saw it arriving at its destination.

It was a massive hole located at the base of a large stone cliff. The carriage rolled its way toward it before stopping briefly. From where Henry was hiding, he couldn’t see what was happening, so he crept a little closer. It was just close enough to see that the coachman was speaking with a few people who had emerged from deep within the hole. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hear what they were saying.

. . . . . . .

"Well, look who showed up. Did you get attacked, or find anything suspicious?" a man asked as he stepped out from the depths of the hole, addressing the carriage driver.

"I didn’t see anything," replied the coachman, still sitting on his seat.

"Ugh, this ugly freak is useless. I heard he can’t see very far," another man muttered as he emerged from the shadows.

"Hey, hey, wake up already. We’ve got work to do," he added, slamming his fist against the side of the carriage. From inside, a commotion could be heard. Lifting the cloth that had been covering the back of the carriage, the man peeked inside.

Inside the carriage, several children were tied up and hanging by restraints. They looked at the man with wide, terrified eyes. But one among them showed no fear at all. Calmly, he stood up and stepped forward.

"Get me out," said the child firmly.

The man grabbed him, lifted him up, and roughly set him down on the ground.

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