[Aestrea's POV]
I simply walked away from there.
No direction or plan.
Just… forward.
My fists were clenched so tight my nails dug into the skin.
I could feel the sting, but I give a single fuck.
Couldn't.
The cheers, the gasps, the looks...
All of them meant nothing now.
My boots scraped against stone, then shifted over dirt, grass. I barely noticed when I stepped into the garden.
The flowers swayed in the breeze.
But my body wasn't.
Haaagh—!!
I stumbled to one knee, clutching my ribs as a mouthful of blood burst from my lips. It hit the grass in splatters—dark red against the soft green.
"Guh…"
I groaned, wiping my mouth with the back of my sleeve.
My vision blurred for a second.
Not from the blood loss.
But from something deeper.
That attack from Lucas… it wasn't clean. It had traces of divine energy or whatever the golden energy inside my body was called.
It had burned deep into my veins, deeper than even my mana could instantly wash away.
