I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 119: Silent Oath
Everyone freezes.
Each of them can feel it. Something dangerous is coming. They don’t need to say it out loud to know it must be the Dungeon King. What they don’t know is how powerful it is, and that uncertainty makes everything worse.
They also know one thing for sure. This type of haelion is extremely sensitive to sound.
No one moves. No one speaks. They stay as quiet as mice.
Nothing happens.
Minutes pass in total darkness and silence.
As their eyes slowly adjust, the faint glow of the dungeon’s trees and bushes returns just enough to outline the surroundings in shadowy silhouettes. Rocks. Trampled ground. Broken light orbs.
Nothing new.
No unfamiliar shapes.
No shifting shadows.
No sudden smell.
Nothing.
Maeve is struggling.
Ever since she nearly died in this dungeon, darkness has become a problem for her. A real one. She’s been holding it together so far, but the longer the silence drags on, the faster her courage drains away.
Her breathing becomes shallow.
She swallows hard.
Just a little light. Just enough so I can see.
She lifts her hand and forms a small light orb, barely brighter than a candle.
The others see it appear.
A split second later, a sharp whistling sound cuts through the air.
The light orb shatters.
"Argh!" Maeve cries out, startled and terrified. From the moment the light forms to the moment it breaks, less than two seconds pass.
"Maeve!" Julian yells.
"Be quiet!" Arthur snaps immediately after.
Silence falls again.
Another few minutes pass.
As men of action, this passive waiting in the darkness doesn’t sit right with Liam and Arthur. They are sitting ducks. They are not behind any cover. They can’t really move to find cover. And even if they could, they aren’t fast enough to do it safely.
They are at a disadvantage.
Suddenly, there’s a hissing sound. Very similar to a snake’s hiss.
In the silence, it’s especially clear.
Maeve whimpers. Another thing she hates.
"Oh no," she whispers, barely audible. "Not snakes. Please. Please not snakes."
She repeats it like a mantra.
Another whistling sound. Sharp. Swift.
Followed by the sound of impact.
"Argh!" Maeve cries out.
"Maeve!" Julian shouts in panic.
A whistling sound shoots toward him.
Another impact.
"Ugh!" Julian grunts.
"Julian!" Arthur chokes out.
A whistling sound comes for him next. Another impact.
"No!" Liam exclaims.
A whistling sound toward him.
Followed by impact.
Silence.
Arthur opens his eyes.
The pain he was bracing for never comes.
Then what was that impact sound? What did it hit?
He moves slowly, carefully, and silently keeping his body low to the ground. Every motion is deliberate. Once he’s flat against the earth, his eyes catch something near his hand.
He picks it up.
A feather? And it’s broken?
It’s shaped like a bird’s feather, but it isn’t soft. The shaft is thick and rigid, more like bone than quill. And right at the middle, it’s snapped.
Not cleanly severed.
Cracked through, bent at an unnatural angle, fibers splintered but still barely holding together.
Arthur’s breath stills.
So that whistling sound... this was it?
A projectile.
Thrown at him.
But he’s not hurt. Not even scratched.
His eyes linger on the fractured shaft.
This didn’t miss. Something struck it midair.
Hard enough to break it.
Arthur’s fingers curl around the damaged feather.
Aldriana.
The impact sound wasn’t it hitting the ground or any of us, it was her stopping it. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
Once the realization dawns on Arthur, a warmth blooms in his chest.
It spreads like wildfire, and this time, he doesn’t stop it.
He knows exactly what it is not.
It isn’t infatuation.
It isn’t attraction.
It’s gratitude.
Pure, overwhelming gratitude at being loved and protected by someone who is not his family.
Arthur has never really known parental love. His parents loved him as a son, yes. But they were never truly parents to him. They never gave guidance. Never gave protection.
That role fell on him.
From a very young age, he was the one who protected.
The one who provided.
The one who carried the weight.
He had never had anyone stand in front of him before.
Never had anyone take the blow meant for him.
Not like this.
Arthur closes his eyes.
In the darkness, he makes a silent oath.
No matter what happens.
No matter the cost.
He will stand on Aldriana’s side.
Even if it is the last thing he ever does.
He suddenly wants to put his theory to the test.
He gets up quickly in one swift motion and grunts as he does it.
A split second later, a whistling sound cuts through the darkness, followed by a sharp impact.
Something drops onto his shoe.
Arthur looks down. Sure enough, a broken feather.
He smiles.
I’m right.
He summons as many fire orbs as he can. Even if each one is no bigger than his pinky finger, he sends them flying, scattering across the battlefield, which is now eerily empty. No trace of the previous battle remains.
Whistling sounds erupt in rapid succession.
Impact after impact.
Every fire orb is destroyed.
Arthur chuckles.
Whistling. Impact.
"You’re not afraid you’ll go bald if you keep this up?" he mocks the King.
Whistling. Impact.
"Forget it. You’ll never hit me."
Whistling twice. Impact twice.
"You can’t hit me."
Whistling. Impact.
"Are you stupid? You can’t hit me!"
Another whistling sound follows. This time, he hears it clearly. More than two.
But no feather reaches him.
"Arthur! Are you insane?!" Julian hisses from somewhere in the darkness.
Whistling. Impact.
"Jesus!" Julian exclaims.
Whistling. Impact.
"It’s alright, Jules. I’ve got you. I’ve got you all," Arthur says arrogantly.
Still taunting the King, he walks slowly toward the center of the cleared battlefield.
He stops.
Stands tall.
Arms wide open.
"I’m right here, you soon-to-be bald monster!"
Several whistling sounds follow, each paired with a sharp impact.
"You never learn, do you? Well, how could you? You’re stupid!"
Arthur waits for the next whistling sound.
But what he hears instead makes the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
"Yooouuuu... ’umansssss... musss... diieee..."
