I Just Wanted to Avoid Death - Chapter 106
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Edward had shouted hysterically things like, “You’re not Yeshion!” and “You deceived me!”—but those cries had faded from his ears after Rosaline started sobbing loudly.
Hearing that tearful wail, Yeshion had felt strangely relieved. He was glad that at least he was the only one who’d gotten hurt.
‘I suppose I’m tougher than I thought…’
The moment Edward’s dagger pierced him, he’d truly thought he was dead.
As his eyes closed helplessly and consciousness slipped away, deep regret had flooded him.
He regretted that he might never again see Eldis’s face, with those gentle smiles whenever their eyes met and those occasional expressions of annoyance.
Even more than before, he felt a sharp regret that he might never again meet Adelio, who treated him like a friend—so close that neither status nor distance mattered.
‘I’m…not dead yet.’
He was comforted by the realization that he could still see them, at least a little longer.
But as he slowly exhaled and closed his eyes, Yeshion sensed something strange.
‘Has it always been…this quiet?’
The temple was usually quiet, of course.
Yet, that quietness was never total silence. It merely meant it wasn’t as noisy as a market—there had always been footsteps and soft murmurs.
The priests’ prayers constantly echoed through the halls. The voices of believers pleading from outside to be let in never ceased.
But right now, it was utterly silent.
There were no footsteps, no murmurs from the priests, not even voices of believers coming from outside.
Swallowing nervously, Yeshion slowly reopened his eyes. Anxiety gradually filled his chest.
“…Eldis.”
He needed to see him.
Eldis would explain why everything had gone so quiet. He could also tell him exactly what happened in the Mishemol Duchy, and how Yeshion had ended up back here.
Struggling, Yeshion forced himself upright, gasping for breath. Even that small movement made his body scream in pain.
‘But why…?’
He couldn’t understand why it hurt this badly. It wasn’t just pain from being stabbed—it felt more like when he’d been poisoned, teetering between life and death.
‘Come to think of it…’
“You seem exhausted, so let’s end treatment here for today.”
When Eldis had treated him that day, Yeshion clearly recalled Eldis mentioning, ‘It hasn’t been completely detoxified yet.’
‘Again…?’
Was this lingering poison causing such severe pain?
‘Seems a bit expensive for meddling in someone else’s affairs.’
Yeshion laughed bitterly.
It truly was a deadly poison. The remaining toxicity was slowly eating away at him. Perhaps this outcome had been set in stone since the moment he’d been exposed to the Gebi poison.
Given Eldis’s personality, he probably tried countless times to heal Yeshion. Yet, if the pain remained this intense despite all those efforts…
‘It means the divine power stopped working.’
In other words, Yeshion’s body could no longer accept divine energy.
Healing required at least a bit of vitality within the body to accept divine power—enough strength to aid recovery.
‘Well, I’ve nearly died too many times already…’
Yeshion lowered his gaze with a bitter expression.
If divine healing no longer worked, it meant there was no option left except to wait for death to come naturally.
‘There’s no way Eldiz doesn’t know that.’
Even during the delirious moments when he couldn’t regain consciousness, Yeshion remembered someone always being nearby.
Sometimes Rosaline, sometimes Eldis. Today it had been Adelio.
‘They’re all fools…’
He felt gratitude—and guilt—that they hadn’t yet given up on saving his life.
With that bitter realization, Yeshion struggled to climb down from the bed, his legs trembling.
Staggering out of his room and walking down the hallway, he silently vowed that if he somehow survived, he’d personally make sure to dispose of every last trace of Gebi poison—though he wouldn’t touch it himself.
As Yeshion murmured under his breath, the corridor remained eerily silent. Usually, many priests lingered along the route to Eldis’s office, yet now there wasn’t a soul around.
And as he looked out the window, another strange detail struck him.
It had definitely been spring when they’d left for the Mishemol Duchy, but now the leaves were falling from the trees outside. He even felt the sky had turned strangely red.
While he stood gazing blankly out the window, a quiet voice spoke up beside him.
“Priest Yeshion…?”
“Ah…finally, someone’s here. I need to ask you something.”
Yeshion managed to speak with difficulty.
Yet unlike Yeshion’s relieved reaction, the priest’s expression gradually twisted with horror.
“…Why are you still alive?”
