A sudden fit of coughing broke the silence inside the cave.
Paul, who had been dozing with his arms around his knees, jolted awake. "Mr. Siegfried, you're finally awake?"
Siegfried looked utterly dazed after waking, as though he had not heard Paul's call at all... He stared blankly at his hands.
Paul waved a hand in front of Siegfried's face, but still received no response... Not daring to disturb him, he could only watch in silence.
After a long while, Siegfried finally drew a deep breath and asked hoarsely, "Where are we?"
Paul hurriedly raised the communication bracelet on his wrist and projected a map. "We should be in the outskirts beyond the first ring of [Malindo]'s First District... Here, this spot."
Siegfried fell silent for a while. "What happened afterward?"
Paul could only explain how he had found himself here after waking up—he had regained consciousness before Siegfried and had no injuries. He had merely been knocked unconscious, then found this cave as a temporary shelter.
Siegfried fell silent again for a moment. "Paul, I need some clean water. Sorry for the trouble, but could you get me some?"
Paul paused, then nodded. "Sure. Wait here. It should be easy enough to find some in this forest."
Only after Paul left the cave did Siegfried suddenly cough up a mouthful of blood—he had merely been forcing himself to hold on. His body had sustained far more damage than he had expected.
His [Eternal Divine Art] had been shattered, and the Fantasy Greatsword was gone... More importantly, even his [Holy Mark] had been stripped away.
Since he first made his debut, this was the most devastating defeat he had suffered.
"Guevara encountered that woman from the [Freedom Army] before I did... Could his [Holy Mark] have been stripped away by