How to Run Away from Obsessed Men

Episode 45

Count Rewan’s taunting voice echoed down the corridor, “Where are you hiding? If you come out now, I’ll spare your life.”

Lindsey’s face paled as she huddled closer to the boy.

“503! If you bring that woman to me, I’ll forgive all your crimes!” Rewan shouted again, his voice dripping with malice.

The boy trembled violently in Lindsey’s arms.

She held him tighter, whispering, “Can you run?”

“And what about you?” he asked, his voice shaky with fear.

“I’ll be fine. You need to run and find the transcendent who was with me earlier.”

The boy shook his head, but Lindsey spoke more firmly this time.

“Please, I can’t run. He hasn’t gone far, and he’s strong enough to protect us both.”

Tears welled up in the boy’s eyes, but her words spurred him into action. He stood up, sobbing, and began to run.

Lindsey watched as the boy disappeared into the distance.

Now, she was alone.

Everything she had told the boy was a lie. Lindsey didn’t believe Kenyan would come. He and Bianca were likely days away from finishing their mission.

Taking a deep breath, Lindsey steeled herself.

‘When did I start fearing death?’

If she had to die, she just hoped it wouldn’t be too painful. The thought of her divine power being drained from her body until there was nothing left was horrific.

But if someone had to die, it was better for it to be her, rather than the boy.

‘Of course, not dying would be preferable.’

With that thought, she clenched her teeth and began to run, despite the searing pain in her leg.

“Where do you think you’re going?” came Rewan’s voice from behind her.

She froze.

“You seem to be in quite the hurry.”

Count Rewan had caught up to her. His sword hovered dangerously close to her neck.

Lindsey slowly raised her hands in surrender. Rewan grinned, satisfied with her submission.

His knights blocked her path, trapping her.

“Did you really think you could escape?” he sneered, his voice full of mockery.

As he laughed, Lindsey suddenly turned around and placed her hand on him. Rewan didn’t react at first, assuming she could do nothing to harm him with her delicate hand.

But then, a strange sensation hit him. His head throbbed, and his body weakened.

Lindsey had begun to use her divine power on him, not to heal, but to disorient him.

His legs buckled, and his sword fell from his hand.

Taking advantage of the moment, Lindsey grabbed the dagger from his waist.

And then she struck.

“Argh! Damn it!” Rewan screamed as pain shot through his hand.

Lindsey stood her ground, glaring at him as he clutched his injured hand.

“You think I’ll just die quietly?” she spat, her eyes burning with defiance.

Rage consumed Count Rewan. Trembling with fury, he pointed at her.

“You’ll die a slow, agonizing death, I swear! I’ll drain every last drop of your divine power before I let you die!”

The knights seized Lindsey, pinning her to the ground.

“I’ll show you what it feels like to wither away!” Rewan snarled.

She squeezed her eyes shut as the knights held her down. She could hear their swords being drawn.

‘This is going to hurt.’

Her hands would probably be slashed first. She could already feel the tears welling up as the pain became inevitable.

Her vision began to blur.

But then, suddenly, she heard a scream.

“Arghhh!”

The hands that had been about to strike her were cut off, blood spraying through the air.

The loud screams echoed through the room as all eyes turned to the source of the chaos.

Standing there, with an expression colder and more terrifying than death itself, was Mikhail.

⋆★⋆

The corridor fell into silence.

Count Rewan stood frozen, unable to move, staring at Mikhail in shock.

Mikhail’s gaze slowly moved from Lindsey’s face to her neck, then down to her arms and legs, his expression growing darker with each passing second.

Mikhail’s gaze fell to Lindsey’s ankle, noticing how her body was covered in bruises and cuts. There wasn’t a single place left unscathed. Slowly, with careful hands, Mikhail knelt before her, his touch as gentle as if she were made of glass.

Lindsey had already passed out.

His hand touched her ankle, and a soft, glowing light emanated from his palm, enveloping her injuries.

“The same spot that was injured last time…,” Mikhail murmured, his voice low and menacing.

As he spoke, his eyes darkened even more.

He still didn’t fully understand emotions, and he couldn’t be certain if he was truly capable of feeling them.

But he knew this much—if anger existed, this was it.

He placed a hand over his chest, feeling the rapid, heavy thudding of his heart.

“What have you done to her?” Mikhail’s voice was deathly calm as he stared down at Lindsey’s battered face, her injuries telling him everything she had endured.

His usually impassive face lost all traces of emotion, becoming an empty mask. Yet, the sheer force of his presence, the deadly intent rising from him, filled the air like a suffocating storm.

Count Rewan chuckled nervously.

‘Why?’

He couldn’t understand it. These transcendents, Mikhail, Bianca, Kenyan—they were all immensely powerful, able to wield the goddess’s strength. They didn’t need clerics. He knew they had to understand how appealing the idea of being a transcendent without relying on clerics truly was.

But here they were, rejecting that opportunity.

‘They oppose the grand plan?’

Even the emperor and the majority of the nobles agreed that sacrificing a few “insignificant” lives for progress was necessary.

‘The death of a few insects is inevitable for change!’

His eyes, filled with disdain, landed on Lindsey again.

‘I’ve heard that there are some pathetic transcendents who cling to their clerics… but I didn’t think those as powerful as them would be one of them.’

He couldn’t fathom why they would be attached to a mere cleric. Lindsey, with her filthy blood, had to be controlling them somehow.

Consumed by his fury and unable to comprehend the situation, Count Rewan made the grave mistake of shouting at Mikhail.

“Why do you care so much for this worthless, filthy…?”

He never finished his sentence.

Mikhail’s sword was already slicing through Rewan’s neck, the count’s head falling to the ground before he could realize what had happened.

⋆★⋆

Kenyan and Bianca ran as fast as their abilities allowed.

“Why… why didn’t we see this?” Kenyan growled.

“The missing clerics… it was Count Rewan all along.”

Bianca said, her voice tight with guilt.

She didn’t give many details, but Kenyan could sense her foresight ability had given her some clue about the danger they were racing towards.

“Damn it!”

They had believed that the mansion was the safest place in the lawless territories, but they had unknowingly left Lindsey in the jaws of a snake.

He cursed himself bitterly, recalling how he had promised to protect her. How foolish those words felt now.

As they neared the estate, Kenyan’s eyes narrowed.

In the distance, they spotted a young boy, pale and terrified, stumbling near the gates.

‘Who is that? He’s not one of the soldiers.’

Kenyan would have ignored him, but the boy’s face seemed familiar. Recognition hit him hard.

“You…”

“S-she’s in danger! She’s going to die!” the boy cried out, his voice trembling with fear and urgency.

“Speak clearly! Where is she?” Kenyan demanded.

“The underground prison!” the boy managed to choke out.

Without a second thought, Kenyan and Bianca sprinted towards the prison.

But as they got closer, Kenyan’s pace slowed.

Blood. Blood everywhere.

But it wasn’t Lindsey’s blood.

Bianca muttered in shock, her eyes wide.

“Why are Count Rewan’s knights…?”

The knights lay sprawled across the floor, lifeless.

As they ventured deeper into the underground prison, Kenyan froze at the sight before him.

There stood Mikhail, holding Lindsey in his arms.

A wave of relief washed over Kenyan—she was safe.

But that relief was mixed with an unexpected bitterness.

His chest tightened painfully.

He had arrived too late.

Mikhail had been the one to save her.

Lindsey was alive, and that should have been enough for Kenyan.

But as he looked at Lindsey, unconscious in Mikhail’s arms, something snapped inside him.

A deep, irrational anger flared up, hot and wild.

He had been too slow.

Mikhail had been faster.

And though it was childish and foolish, Kenyan couldn’t stop the surge of jealousy and fury that consumed him.