TFSAWE - Side Story: Chapter 25

A refreshing sea breeze brushed past Lina's face.

"How beautiful!"

Lina sat on a rock at the edge of the cliff, gazing at the setting sun on the horizon. It was a stunning view. She wished she could lay down here and gaze at it forever. However, her thoughts quickly dissipated as she caught sight of Aslan, standing behind her, completely naked and glaring at her.

Lina momentarily escaped from her current reality and turned her body to face Aslan.

"Aslan, can you create clothes with magic?"

"Growl."

In response to her question, Aslan bared his teeth. Lina rubbed her chin and sighed.

Gathering all her strength, she struck him with a powerful blow, seizing the opportunity when he showed an opening, and swiftly clasped a necklace around his claw. She realized Leon's words were not false as she witnessed Aslan's magic rapidly fading away. As his powers diminished, he began to shrink until he appeared as a human, just as she remembered. The only difference was that his hair was dishevelled with numerous wounds, and he lacked a single feather, but that was a trivial detail.

Lina quickly secured the necklace around his neck and used her powers to fix it in place.

"I studied ways to conveniently utilize my powers while living as a vagabond outdoors with Latvan. It's useful right now."

In any case, Aslan was now subdued. She had been fortunate. He had been injured, and the artifact proved to be more powerful than she had anticipated, while her powers remained unaffected. Lina became uneasy as she crossed her arms and stared at the dishevelled Aslan before her. She had previously imagined what it would be like to meet him again. She had thought it would bring joyous feelings and perhaps even tears, but now, she found herself fiercely chastising him before looking at his naked body with a troubled mind.

"Well, he's not the Aslan I met after all."

He was indeed Aslan, but not the Aslan she had been seeking. An unmistakable disappointment appeared on Lina's face.

"For now, the definite thing is that we are on the ancient continent. What should we do from here?"

First, they had to return to their original time.

"Everything must be in chaos."

Lina recalled Latvan's voice calling out to her. She couldn't help but imagine how he must be blaming himself and feeling remorseful at this moment. It pained her heart as if someone were stabbing it.

"He wouldn't have followed me, would he?"

Seeing the state of her bag, it was clear that it was dangerous. He must also be aware of that fact. Moreover, there was no guarantee that he would end up in the same place as her even if he entered. In that case, Latvan would thoroughly assess the situation before taking action.

Various thoughts came and went in Lina's mind. Were miracles still happening here, just like in their original world? Was time flowing the same way in both worlds? What if they returned and found no one there? But more importantly, she had promised to return to Leona, but what would happen now?

Unsolvable problems flooded her mind, causing her a headache. In addition, the rapid depletion of her powers due to extensive usage had made her overwhelmingly fatigued. First, she needed a place to rest and something to eat. Lina thought she should search the nearby area and stood up from her spot.

"Oh?"

Suddenly, her vision began to spin. Her weak body collapsed onto the grassy ground.

"Oh dear."

It seemed that the depletion of her powers was more severe than she had thought. Lina couldn't overcome the overwhelming drowsiness and slowly closed her eyes. Aslan, who had been standing there naked, approached the fallen woman. His eyes, which had been gazing at her just moments ago as she breathed heavily, were now tightly shut, and he only took shallow breaths.

Seeing him shivering and hunching his body, it seemed he was feeling the cold. Aslan reached out his hand and touched the woman. The moment his long fingers made contact with her arm, he was startled and quickly withdrew his hand.

"A human form."

Never before had there been a sight of a fallen human form in this realm. Aslan touched his awkward body and beheld the woman lying before him. He brought his face close once more and sniffed deeply. Though her appearance was human, fortunately her scent belonged to a mare, allowing him to catch a whiff of his own aroma emanating from her.

"Something I've never seen before."

Yet, why does her scent mingle with mine like this? It would have been acceptable if it were just my fragrance, but she carried another scent, much stronger than mine. Aslan found this fact deeply repugnant.

"If only my scent prevailed."

At first, he had entertained thoughts of ending her life, but that notion had vanished inexplicably. Aslan looked at the woman, realizing the futility of treating a human body as prey, and lifted her onto his shoulders. With one hand, he touched the necklace hanging around her neck. Although this artifact suppressed his magical powers...

"It seems its limits are approaching."

Observing the ever so subtle tremors, it appeared as if she was paying the price for a desire beyond my power to consume. If left unchecked, she would undoubtedly perish soon enough. Therefore, while Aslan felt discomfort, he decided to temporarily set aside his annoyance with the necklace. What captured his attention more was the fallen woman herself.

Though not well acquainted with humans, he did understand that they were feeble beings who sought shelter in homes, seeking refuge from rain and wind. Otherwise, they would not endure for long and perish in agony. Aslan recalled the den of beasts he had encountered in the mountain pass. After my arrival, I devoured them all, so it must have been deserted. Holding the woman, Aslan swiftly dashed toward that place.

Every time the woman's body trembled, a delightful scent emanated. Moreover, the touch of her soft and warm form against me somehow lifted my spirits. As Aslan ran, he realized what he desired.

He yearned to further envelop this woman in his scent.