Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 128 (Part 1):
“I ran straight there screaming, but it was too late. He had already disappeared into the darkness.”
“Was Dino dead at that time?”
Helmut asked calmly. James and Andro shuddered. Asuka shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know, there was no movement. But there wasn’t any blood. Maybe he just lost consciousness?”
Even if not stabbed with a knife, a person can die from a broken neck or a severe shock. Dino might have already been dead.
James and Andro’s faces turned abruptly pale. It was just for a moment, a brief moment of inattention, and Dino was captured. They had not noticed the assassin’s approach.
When they finally saw the true nature of the assassin, what they felt was not a vague fear. It was a tangible terror.
“Helmut, you’re not going to give up on Dino, are you?”
James asked with a worried face.
“Not yet.”
Helmut organized his thoughts. It was uncertain whether Dino was alive or dead.
But there was a way to find out. If the attacker had just intended to kill, he wouldn’t have bothered to kidnap. There must be a reason. He will approach again.
‘But what about these guys, will they be okay?’
They are dull. They can’t even maintain proper tension. They couldn’t even stick together for that short time.
But what can you do? The assassin targeted them because of Helmut. He would try to protect them as much as possible, even if they were a nuisance.
“Let’s eat this first. Talk after eating.”
Helmut handed over a water bottle and a rabbit. Their appetite had dropped, but hunger was a separate matter.
Everyone devoured the mushrooms and rabbit that Asuka had cooked as if possessed.
They were tense and had lost a lot of energy. Their stomachs sent noisy signals.
It was just enough for the four of them to barely fill their stomachs. It was hard to fill the stomachs of the swordsmanship department boys, but at least they were fed. Having food was a blessing.
“What do we do now?”
“Are we going back tomorrow? What about Dino.”
James looked uneasily towards the forest, now completely dark. The stars in the sky couldn’t brighten the dense darkness.
If things had gone as planned, by now, eight of them would have been enjoying a barbecue party around a bonfire. It was as if they had been thrown into an extreme situation out of nowhere.
“If I leave to search for Dino, who knows who else might be targeted.”
Helmut stated decisively.
“It’s best to stay here until dawn. Get plenty of rest. I’ll keep watch.”
The reason he volunteered to stand guard was simple. He couldn’t trust these guys to sleep. Staying up all night wouldn’t seriously affect his condition.
“Well, okay.”
Asuka calmly agreed. He was the first to lay down his sleeping bag and lie down, followed hesitantly by the others.
Excluding Helmut, the three of them lay down close together, all keeping their swords inside their sleeping bags with their hands on the handles.
Dino had been kidnapped not far from them. The tension was palpable.
Therefore, although Helmut told them to rest, apart from Asuka, who began to snore soon after, the other two tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep easily due to their anxiety.
Losing a friend right before their eyes was a huge shock. Until they confirmed Dino’s body, thinking he was alive seemed to make it easier to maintain their sanity.
It was past midnight. Helmut, sitting in front of the campfire and dozing off with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes.
A sharp sound and an arrow landed in front of him. Thud!
It was deliberately missed. A cloth pouch was tied to the quivering end of the arrow.
“What, what is this!”
“What’s going on!”
James and Andro startledly got up. Helmut looked in the direction from which the arrow had come.
‘The movement is fast. Did Fasho come himself?’
Despite not being greatly hindered by the darkness, he couldn’t leave these guys behind and chase after.
‘It seems he’s going to tell us the purpose of the kidnapping.’
Helmut untied the cloth pouch attached to the arrow.
“Ah, I was sleeping so well.”
Asuka rubbed his eyes and got up belatedly.
Helmut took out a piece of paper from the pouch. There was writing on it.
[ “If you want to find your friend, come alone to the big rock hill before dawn.” ]
“The big rock hill? How do we know where that is?”
“Our map is quite detailed. It should be marked. Ah, here it is!”
Andro pulled out a map and spread it out. Among the various terrains drawn on the map, there was only one place that could be called the big rock hill. Helmut estimated the distance through the map.
“If I run at full speed, it’ll take about 15 minutes. It’s not that far.”
“This distance, in 15 minutes?”
“For me, yes.”
James, who asked the question, closed his mouth. What can he say if the person himself says so? He awkwardly reached into his pocket. A moist touch was felt.
“Huh? There’s something in it.”
Without thinking, he shook the pouch, and something fell out. He recoiled in horror.
“What, what is this! Crazy!”
A small, white lump. Recognizing what it was, James looked as if half his soul had left his body.
It was a bloodied finger. The smoothly cut cross-section seemed to speak of the cutter’s skill.