IPUAVNP Chapter 131

Episode 131

 

“Brody!”

During that time, Brody, who had been lying on the ground, snapped back to her senses upon hearing Kyle call her name.

She couldn’t comprehend the situation—why black bears had suddenly appeared to aid the wolves and fight against the lions. However, there was no time to dwell on understanding it now.

What mattered most was rushing to Kyle immediately.

Brody quickly got to her feet. Her body, still reeling from the shock, staggered momentarily, but she steadied herself and started running again.

“Kyle!”

Kyle, too, was struggling to keep his exhausted body upright as he ran toward Brody.

Seeing Brody alive and running toward him, thanks to the timely arrival of the bear, he let out a heavy breath of relief.

And when Brody finally reached him and collapsed into his embrace, despite his body burning in agony as if trapped in hellfire, Kyle felt as though he had finally escaped that very hell.

Holding her in his arms was his paradise.

Desperate, he rubbed his face against Brody’s small frame without pause. If he weren’t in his beastly form, he would have crushed her in a tight embrace.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

He asked, inspecting her small body with deep concern.

Brody was just as worried.

“Kyle, are you okay?”

Hearing his rough, unsteady breathing and seeing his battered body up close, Brody’s eyes welled up with tears.

Their concern and affection for each other were equally intense.

Having realized their love, they could now read each other’s hearts just by looking into each other’s eyes. But there was no time to confirm their feelings in the middle of a battlefield.

Kyle, who had been checking on Brody, suddenly sensed the energy of a beast charging toward them and lifted his head.

It was Leonit Baldwin.

Somehow, he had managed to escape the black bears and was now sprinting toward them, covered in blood, seething with rage, determined to kill.

He had seized a rare opportunity and did not hesitate.

Kyle knew full well that his body was in no condition to fight as he had before. If he faced that lion now, he might truly die this time. But he had to fight to protect Brody.

Just as he was about to tell her to run, something unexpected happened.

He had assumed all the wolves were still engaged in battle at the frontlines against the lions.

But suddenly, a lone wolf sprang forward, blocking Leonit Baldwin’s path.

“Abel…!”

Kyle shouted.

Abel had recklessly decided to face Leonit Baldwin alone—to protect them.

Kyle immediately tried to rush to his younger brother’s aid. But in that instant, Leonit Baldwin lunged at Abel.

Abel barely dodged the lion’s snapping jaws as he spun away with lightning-fast reflexes.

However, as he evaded the attack, Leonit Baldwin’s swinging forepaw struck his thigh, and his sharp claws tore through his flesh.

“Ugh!”

Blood splattered as his skin was ripped apart. In an instant, blood soaked his leg, and his body tumbled to the ground.

“Abel!”

It was Zelda’s voice.

She had been following behind, ready to help, and now cried out at the sight of Abel collapsing.

But before Abel could react to the warning, it was already too late.

Leonit Baldwin showed no mercy. In his berserk state, all he saw in front of him was Kyle Roden.

No matter who his actual opponent was, his rage burned solely with the desire to kill.

At the same time, this very madness had narrowed his vision. With his attention fixated entirely on Abel, he had momentarily forgotten about Kyle—the one he truly needed to eliminate.

Just as Leonit was about to sink his fangs into Abel’s neck, Kyle struck first, attacking his vital point.

“Ugh!”

Leonit Baldwin gasped as Kyle clamped onto his throat.

Thrashing wildly, he struggled to shake Kyle off. But Kyle refused to let go, even as he was dragged along.

Seizing the opening Kyle had created, Abel, who had managed to stand, and Zelda, who had just arrived, launched their attacks.

Abel struck Leonit Baldwin’s side, while Zelda targeted his stomach. With his vital points being relentlessly assaulted, Leonit Baldwin began to weaken, unable to fend off the wolves.

And finally, when he collapsed onto the blood-soaked battlefield, closing his eyes for the last time, the outcome of the war became clear.

Ascal Baldwin, who had been fighting the black bears, realized there was no hope of victory.

With only a few lions left, he fled toward the southern plains. But the black bears, determined to reclaim their much desired land, pursued them fiercely.

Now, the only ones left on the battlefield were the wolves.

The war had shifted into a battle between the black bears and the lions.

The wolves had achieved their sole objective—rescuing Brody. It was time for them to leave.

 

***

 

Thus, with the help of the black bear tribe, the Roden wolves safely retrieved Brody and hurried back to their territory.

Due to their wounds, the wolves could not head straight to the capital. Instead, they traveled to the leader’s estate in the west to recover.

They planned to rest in the estate’s mansion for a day before returning to the capital tomorrow.

Although Kyle had not sustained any new injuries in this war, fighting in his weakened state had caused his stitched wounds to reopen.

Because of that, Kyle had to receive treatment for his wounds throughout the evening after they had arrived.

While Kyle was being treated, Brody waited outside the room.

She had wanted to stay by his side, but Kyle refused.

Even though the treatment was performed with magic, the process was excruciating not only for the one being healed but also for anyone witnessing it.

So, Brody had no choice but to crouch by the door for hours, enduring the torturous sounds of Kyle groaning in pain.

By the time the door finally opened, the sky outside had already turned pitch black.

The exhausted mage who stepped out informed Brody that the treatment was complete and told her she could go inside.

Rushing into the room, Brody found Kyle sitting on the bed near the window, his face weary.

He was shirtless, unaware that she had entered, struggling to slip his arms into his shirt while gasping for breath.

Brody froze in place as she caught sight of the large scars peeking through the fabric.

She felt like she couldn’t breathe.

At that moment, it was as if her heart shattered into pieces.

The pale face, the sweat dripping from his brow as he struggled with something as simple as getting dressed—he was no longer the strong, unshakable man she had known.

‘…So Kyle Roden rushed to our land, desperate to save someone who supposedly meant nothing to him?’

For her.

He came to save her…

‘And he put on quite the grand display of love when he arrived. So I utterly crushed him for it.’

A sigh escaped her lips.

She had wanted to save Kyle, yet she was the reason he had ended up so badly wounded.

The realization that Kyle had almost died because of her crushed her with guilt.

Then, Kyle, who had just noticed her presence, stopped in his tracks when he saw Brody standing there, silently crying.

“…Brody.”

Seeing her in tears, there was no way Kyle’s heart could be at ease.

He reached out to her carefully.

“Come here.”

When he gently urged her again, Brody finally moved toward him.

Kyle took her wrist and guided her to sit on the bed beside him.

“Why are you crying?”

“Hic…”

“Don’t cry.”

His trembling hand reached for her face and tenderly wiped away her falling tears.

It was such a careful, gentle touch.

But that only made Brody’s heart ache more, making her unable to stop crying.

She lowered her head when she saw the scars peeking through his still-unbuttoned shirt.

“…Because of me…”

Seeing her blaming herself, Kyle immediately spoke.

“It’s not because of you. This happened because of me.”

“…”

“I was the one who put you in danger. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have had to go through any of this…”

But as he tried to comfort her, his voice trailed off.

Because how many times had she already suffered because of him?

The guilt tore Kyle apart.

“I’m sorry.”

Right now, Kyle was in unbearable agony, knowing that the person he had hurt the most in his life was Brody.

And knowing just how much he loved her made it even more painful.

“Brody, I’m sorry for everything.”

He felt as if being torn apart by the lions ten more times wouldn’t hurt as much as this.

“It’s all my fault. Even the pain I caused you…”

His throat tightened, choking his words.

The deeper his love, the deeper his regret—his tears fell silently.

And through those barely spoken words, Brody understood Kyle’s heart.

She looked at him, struggling with his emotions, and shook her head.

“…It’s okay.”

It hurt, but it was okay.

The wounds he had given her weren’t meaningless, but it didn’t matter anymore.

The moment she received his apology, everything was okay.

Swallowing back her tears, she reassured him again.

“It’s okay, Kyle.”

Now that she had forgiven him, what hurt her most was knowing that her pain was hurting him even more.

She regretted the harsh words she had thrown at him just days ago.

And seeing him unable to meet her gaze, head hanging in guilt, only made her heart ache more.

Slowly, Brody moved closer to him.

Then, as she wrapped her arms around him, Kyle pulled her tightly into his embrace.

Their bodies pressed together without a single gap—just as their wounded hearts melted into one.

It was a warmth that soothed every scar, every ache they had endured.

And when their hearts finally became one, Kyle whispered carefully to Brody.

“Brody.”

His voice, trembling yet filled with emotion, was meant only for her ears.

“I love you.”

The sincerity in his voice, the way his arms tightened around her, everything about him was filled with desperation and longing.

The raw, unfiltered emotion was passed entirely to Brody, who trembled in his embrace.

She bit her lip as her heart pounded.

She had already realized Kyle loved her, but hearing it directly from him was entirely different.

And now that she had heard those words, she was certain of her own feelings, too.

“…Me too.”

Brody answered his confession.

“I love you too, Kyle.”