The Rise of the Legendary Santhigar

Chapter 4: Woman in need

As Zoriel walked away from the municipal building, he couldn’t help but be amazed by what Lily had done.

But he stopped himself from showing it to the tiny fairy.

“Where are we going, Zoriel? I thought you said you’d start listening to me?” Lily asked, sitting on his shoulder.

She must’ve gotten tired of constantly flying by his side.

“I need to get my jeep back. I need it so I can work again,” Zoriel replied softly, making sure no one else could hear him.

Lily pouted. “But you don’t need to work. You’re a Santhigar!”

Zoriel let out a sigh. He still couldn’t quite believe what she kept saying he was.

It’s not like he was blind to these kinds of things—just... it was a lot to take in.

He didn’t bother replying. Now he had someone to wait with at the jeep terminal.

After a few minutes, a jeepney pulled up in front of them. Zoriel was about to hop on when a woman suddenly cut in front of him and climbed aboard.

He froze for a second, surprised—there was a strange black shadow clinging to her body.

“What...”

Zoriel quickly shut his mouth. He waited for the woman to get in before following.

He took a seat right across from her.

“Gosh! Can you see that?” Lily blurted out.

She flew closer to the woman wrapped in the black shadow.

“OMG! Zoriel! That woman is being chased by an elemental being!”

Zoriel frowned. He wanted to ask what that meant, but there were too many people around.

“Look! That black shadow covering her means the elemental is starting to take over! You have to help her!”

Zoriel clenched his fists.

How was he supposed to help her? He wasn’t like his grandfather.

Besides, the woman looked completely normal. He had a feeling he was the only one who could see the shadow surrounding her.

Zoriel quickly averted his gaze when the woman suddenly turned to him. He felt embarrassed, especially when he saw her brow furrow.

“Zoriel! You have to do something! Only you can help her!” Lily insisted, flying closer to him.

“Do something!”

Zoriel glared at her. He wanted to yell that he didn’t know how—but his mouth stayed shut.

Lily seemed to pick up on his inner turmoil.

She winced, then flew away from him.

“Fine! But you can’t just ignore this, Zoriel. You must help her!”

Zoriel let out another sigh.

He stole another glance at the woman—and was shocked to see her still staring back at him.

This time, he couldn’t look away. He met her gaze briefly, expression neutral.

The woman’s frown deepened.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” she suddenly demanded.

Zoriel froze.

The other passengers turned to look at her because of her sudden outburst.

Zoriel stared in confusion. She was glaring at him, eyes burning with fury.

“You… pervert!” the woman shouted. Her eyes were bloodshot with rage.

Zoriel was caught off guard when she suddenly stood and lunged at him.

She wrapped her hands around his neck and started choking him with surprising strength.

Zoriel coughed, trying to pry her hands off. But for some unknown reason, she seemed unnaturally strong.

“W-Wait! Miss! What are you doing?!”

Zoriel could barely breathe. Despite her petite size, it felt like ten people were gripping his neck at once.

He gripped her hands tightly, trying to pull them away.

“OMG! Zoriel!” Lily cried in panic. “Stop it!”

Some of the other passengers tried to pull the woman off him, but her strength was too much—even for them.

“Uhh... Salt! Zoriel, use salt!”

Zoriel glanced at Lily.

He suddenly remembered what his father used to say: that salt could repel any kind of elemental being.

“D-Does anyone have salt?! Throw some salt on her!” he shouted as best he could.

“I do! I have salt!” a woman at the end of the jeep called out.

She quickly pulled a plastic bag from her tote and opened a small packet of salt. Without hesitation, she threw it at the raging woman.

Zoriel winced as some of the grains hit his eyes.

Suddenly, the woman screamed like she was in pain.

She let go of Zoriel and started convulsing.

Moments later, she collapsed, unconscious.

Still gasping for breath, Zoriel caught her before she could hit the floor.

He was still trying to steady his breathing as he looked down at the now-still woman.

He let out a heavy breath.

“What the hell was that?”