Chapter 4: Ch 4. A Queen?
Selena felt a slight trickle of sweat as she healed the wound on the man’s arm. Before long, however, the man’s eyes opened, gazing at her with mesmerising golden streaks in his irises.
"It’s impossible... Young Master Dali Hawksen is extremely difficult to heal once he’s been wounded. But it turns out she can do it! She really is a healer of extinction!" Forhen exclaimed, his eyes wide, leaving everyone else stunned as their god of war rose from Selena’s embrace.
"It can’t be... she really managed to do it," muttered Vylen, his astonished expression speaking for all the Beast Kings present.
"That woman has truly changed. It’s as if she’s been reborn... yet just a few hours ago she was one of the most useless women around," replied Dorven.
"Was it really true that her powers hadn’t awakened yet yesterday? It seems we were too hasty," said Stevan, his face looking pale. "After this, it’s not certain she’ll forgive us. We’ve treated her cruelly and belittled her all this time."
"You’re right, it’s not certain she’ll forgive us." Vylen was the most worried of them all. "She knows my secret; I’ve never even told my own bodyguard."
"I think you’re jumping to conclusions by assuming she’s already become a remarkable woman; it could just be an illusion. During the few months she’s been with us and living in Eldoria, she hasn’t shown any abilities at all." Stoner interjected, glancing at Selena, who was with the Young Master of the Mighty Eagles.
"But she’s already demonstrated her abilities; she’s revealed our secrets without a single mistake." Vylen shook his head quickly, looking at Selena with a hint of fear in his eyes. "I’m certain she truly is the Goddess of Healing Extinction destined for us. How foolish of me to have wasted her."
Selena observed Dali Hawksen’s complexion, which was beginning to return to normal after having been pale and extremely weak. With a glance, Selena could clearly see that the blood within this man’s body had begun to stabilise, although there was still a certain instability within it.
"Do you feel an uncomfortable surging in your blood?"
Dali Hawksen stared at it, then opened his calloused palm whilst taking a deep breath to ease the tightness in his chest.
"Oh God, why is it turning blue? It’s poison."
Dali nodded slowly. "I was poisoned when I was a teenager; at the time, I was practising swordplay with my father on the outskirts of Eldoria. As the heir to the title of God of War of the Eldorian world, several groups hostile to us deliberately speared me with a poisoned spear. My father searched far and wide for medicine and doctors, but no one could cure me," he said, prompting Selena to take the man’s hand and examine it.
"I didn’t even know anything about minor ailments like a fever, yet somehow in this world I’ve gained the ability to diagnose illnesses and physical ailments in others. Even though they aren’t human—they’re of the animal race." Selena swallowed hard.
"God has given me a second chance at life to be of use here after being betrayed by my husband," she thought to herself, then calmly stroked Dali’s palm, which felt hot. "I must make the most of it."
Instantly, Dali pulled his hand away, a look of surprise on his face as he withdrew it from Selena.
"Oh, did that hurt? Did I accidentally cause you pain?" Selena asked, looking at Dali’s face; he immediately shook his head stiffly.
"It’s not pain, it doesn’t hurt. But when you touch it, it feels so cool and comforting," said Dali, his face beaming as if he’d rediscovered his zest for life. "Have I met an angel? For years I’ve felt my palms burning, as if they were trying to kill me slowly. But just now, for the first time, I’ve felt them cool. Miss, what is your name?"
Selena breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his explanation. "I thought you were in pain," she replied with a calm smile, which made her beautiful face instantly glow in front of everyone.
Her beast husbands watched from where they stood, their fists clenched. Selena, together with another man there, seemed to be cheating on them, although they didn’t dare to forbid it outright.
The woman was healing their world’s god of war; naturally, they were allies, not enemies.
It was just that they felt a sense of unease in their hearts, as though Selena were drifting away and out of their reach, even though she was only a few metres away from them.
"My name is Selena Grece; I am a resident of the world of Eldoria. Have you never met me before?" she asked, causing Dali to shake his head.
"If I knew you, if my family knew you were such a brilliant healer, there’s no way we’d have let you slip through our fingers," he said, making Selena chuckle softly.
That laugh made her even more beautiful, and her face lit up with genuine joy. Her beast husbands continued to watch from a distance, their faces filled with panic and worry, increasingly noticing the stark contrast between the Selena of a few hours ago and the Selena of now.
"Young Master Hawksen, are you all right?" Forhen, who had been there all along, immediately approached, asking with concern. "How did you manage to return from the battlefield whilst wounded?"
Dali turned to the man, whilst Selena, feeling sufficiently relieved, stood up from where she was, as she was no longer bound by chains.
She looked towards her husbands, who stood frozen, continuing to watch her; they wore a variety of expressions, and amongst her three husbands—who showed no concern—Stoner and John appeared the calmest there, whilst still retaining a certain air of arrogance.
"I no longer care about your nature or your arrogance. Ever since I was born and destined to become the Healer of Extinction, it is you who depend on me, not the other way round." Selena thought to herself; people would no longer be able to treat her however they pleased, as they once did.
The owner of this body has been humiliated and insulted by her own husbands; now she will seek justice and make them pay for the humiliation she suffered in the past!
"Miss Selena, thank you very much for your help." Dali Hawksen, who had been speaking to Forhen, turned to her again. "As a token of my gratitude, I’d like to invite you to my home. Would you be willing to come to my house for dinner this evening?"
Selena smiled, but before she could reply, Vylen, Dorven and Stevan leapt towards them all at once.
"Young Master Hawksen, I just wanted to introduce one more of Miss Selena’s identities," said Forhen as he watched the three beast kings approach them.
"Oh? Is there an identity of hers other than the Goddess of Extinction Healing that I’m not aware of?" asked Dali, looking at Selena politely.
Dali is clearly better educated and of a higher calibre than the five beast kings who are her husbands. Is this because his first encounter with Selena was when Selena was treating him?
Aren’t the basic natures of these beasts all the same? Whether beastkin or beastmen, they are all beasts who do not necessarily possess good nature, except towards those who benefit them.
"Yes, apart from the Goddess of Healing Eldoria, she is the wife of the five beast kings: the Dragon King, the Lion King, the Wolf King, the Phoenix King and the Fox King. Officially, her status remains that of wife and queen to these five kings; you cannot simply invite a Queen as you please." Forhen spoke politely, and this made Selena snort.
"A Queen? Am I—the one who was nearly beheaded just now—also a Queen of these five Beast Kings, World Beast Council?" she asked harshly, causing them to freeze, whilst Dali looked taken aback. "No, you’re the ones who called me a liar, a fraud and a bringer of bad luck. Have you all forgotten?"