Chapter 14 : Kidnapping

The Demon King’s gaze mercilessly descended on the fallen Flora, and slowly approached her.

I quickly raised my body and blocked the gap between her and the Demon King.

My legs were stiff from the overwhelming energy, but I couldn’t stay still.

The Demon King’s sword flew swiftly in front of my eyes.

A cold metallic energy brushed past, and blood spurted out.

The tip of the Demon King’s sword stabbed my chest, and blood dripped down.

“Get out of the way, you worthless thing.”

The Demon King’s words were filled with irritation and an unpleasant coldness.

I thought for a moment that this was the end, but I didn’t back down at all.

My determination to protect Flora allowed me to stand upright in the face of the overwhelming energy.

The Demon King’s sword tried to cut me in half, but it stopped for a split second.

It looked as if it had remembered something.

“…Dragon Heart… That’s right.”

I saw the Demon King’s red eyes shake slightly.

After a moment of hesitation, the blade flashed again and flew towards my shoulder.

“I won’t touch your heart, but I’ll cut off your head.”

A cruel smile spread across the Demon King’s lips.

At that moment, I bet everything on my last resort.

I raised my right hand with all my might and focused on the back of my hand in front of the Demon King.

The magical power inside me swirled violently, and a golden pattern appeared clearly on my skin.

Two brilliant golden wings.

It was the hatchling’s mark, symbolizing the dragon’s bloodline.

“Ha… hatchling…!?”

The Demon King’s red eyes widened, and confusion and wariness appeared on his face at the same time.

Hatchlings were absolute beings in the world of dragons.

Anyone who touched a hatchling had to endure the dragon’s wrath, and no one could escape that terrible retaliation.

It seemed that even the Demon King was not foolish enough to ignore that rule.

Not missing the slight trembling of the tip of the sword, he opened his mouth in a calm voice.

“I am a hatchling who came out to play. Do you really intend to turn all dragons into enemies?”

My voice was calm, but it contained a clear warning.

I tried to hide the trembling of my voice and maintain a strong expression.

This pattern was not real.

It was a fake mark created by my body that had been implanted with the Dragon Heart, reacting to its power.

I was not a real hatchling, and if the Demon King noticed that, both me and Flora would be finished.

Nevertheless, the Demon King froze for a moment.

The sword that was falling stopped and did not move,and the red eyes were still staring at the pattern.

It seemed to be thinking of the dragon’s revenge.

“Good…one day I will fight those damn dragon heads. But right now, it’s a bit annoying.”

The Demon King wiped his bloody cheek and laughed like a snake.

“Hatchling. Your heart will be in my hands in exactly one year. I will let you off today. Just get out of the way.”

But despite the Demon King’s threats, I did not move an inch.

“Flora. I have chosen her as my companion.”

The Demon King’s smile hardened and the anger in his eyes deepened.

“Do you think that little dragon cub’s brand is your lifeline?”

The Demon King laughed in a mocking voice and raised his sword high.

“It’s not even funny. I was going to cut them all down anyway. So just die here.”

The sword swung down at a menacing speed.

I sensed death.

It didn’t matter.

A world without Flora meant nothing.

The blade was about to pierce my skin and touch my veins.

The collar suddenly emitted a bright light, and my body flew to the side against my will.

The blade barely missed and struck the ground, splitting the rose vines, and blood-red petals scattered into the air.

“Peridot-sama…!”

The voice that came with the painful groan was Flora’s.

“Run away alive…! Please! Now… Now is enough. I will let you go.”

She continued, gasping for breath.

“Forget about me!”

Flora’s cry tore at my heart like a final scream.

Tears flowed continuously from her eyes, and her appearance was as pitiful and sad as the dew on a bloody rose.

The despair on her face seemed like a final will to save me from death.

The corners of the Demon King’s mouth twisted strangely.

The nori disappeared, and instead, a mocking satisfaction appeared on the Demon King’s face.

“Pfft, how ugly.”

A low, mocking laugh pierced the silence of the garden.

That laugh was an arrogant and cruel laugh, as if it came from the conviction that it could control everything.

The Demon King’s gaze turned to Flora, who was lying helplessly on the floor.

The Demon King reached out his large hand and grabbed the back of her delicate neck.

Flora’s body was lifted into the air like a scarecrow. was raised.

Her face was distorted in pain, and her lips were tightly shut, but not even a moan escaped.

As the Demon King’s grip tightened, a vivid red mark was engraved on her neck.

I wanted to run away right away.

I wanted to save her from the Demon King’s grasp at all costs.

But my legs wouldn’t move because of the magic of the leash that bound me.

I was overcome by helplessness, and I could only struggle in my mind.

As I watched her moving away, I couldn’t help but feel a fire burning deep inside me.

The Demon King dragged Flora to the center of the garden.

As her body skimmed the ground and was dragged, dust and rose petals scattered.

The dress was already stained with dirt and blood, and the red leaves of the trampled roses clung to her body.

Where the Demon King stopped, a strange and bizarre energy rose up.

It was a space.

Amidst the swirling black fog, a dimensional rift opened up like a crack.

Inside, indeterminate colors and lights danced as if they were living creatures.

Just looking at it evoked a sense of disgust that made my heart freeze, like a gate to hell.

The Demon King lifted Flora up and slowly stepped toward the dimensional rift.

Her voice resonated low and cold.

“You, I’ll use you as my toy from now on.”

There was no hesitation or sympathy in his cold voice.

He threw Flora into the dimensional gate as if she were a discarded piece of luggage.

A dull thud rang out, but I couldn’t even tell what she had hit.

Flora’s body disappeared into the gap of fog.

For a moment, I saw her disheveled red hair, but it was soon completely swallowed up by the black darkness.

My heart pounded.

The dragon’s magic that had been tormenting me so terribly went berserk and mercilessly tore at the inside of my chest.

It didn’t hurt.

Because nothing was more painful than losing her.

My heartbeat grew stronger.

The magic tore through my blood vessels and rose up, breaking the magic of the leash.

The magic that had been holding my body back was released, and my body regained its freedom.

My legs gave out and I collapsed.

My legs wouldn’t move, so I reached out.

My voice didn’t come out.

I tried to shout Flora’s name.

But only a strong metallic taste and blood clots poured out from my throat.

The Demon King turned his gaze away for a moment and looked down at me, and then followed Flora into the dimensional rift.

The black armor was slowly swallowed up by thick fog, and the Demon King’s presence soon completely disappeared.

The dimensional gate closed in an instant, and all that remained was a sticky stench and an eerie aftertaste.

The rose vines were strewn across the floor, and the deep red petals were trampled and tangled with the dirt.

The faint remnants of magic floating in the air would soon disappear without a trace.

The garden had been ravaged as if a violent storm had swept through it.

I sat collapsed in the middle of that desolation.

The feeling of the dirt slipping down from my fingertips was so vivid.

A deep sense of helplessness came over me.

My life up until now flashed before my eyes.

I had always lived within the framework set by someone else.

As an illegitimate child From the moment I was born, I grew up as an experimental subject, and unexpectedly ascended to the position of Duke.

None of that was my choice.

I had no will from the beginning.

Every moment was going as someone had planned, and I just lived as if I was floating.

My meeting with Flora, being kidnapped by her, and even being left alone like this now felt like it was predetermined.

The flow of my life was always not my own choice, but someone else’s decision, and everything just went as planned.

I just followed along helplessly.

This time was no different.

I couldn’t stop Flora, I couldn’t catch her.

I felt a deep sadness in my heart at the sight of myself being able to do nothing but watch.

I reached out and quietly swept the dirt.

A cold, damp feeling remained on my palm.

The broken pieces of flower petals mixed with the dirt fell between my fingers.

That image resembled my shattered heart.

When the red debris faintly swept across my vision, only one name echoed in my head. ‘Flora.’

The name made me cry and stab me sharply at the same time.

Her rose scent, her blind love… now everything was gone, and all that remained was an incalculable emptiness.

My empty heart was heavy, and the weight of nothing pressing down on me.

The world lost its color.

In my eyes, where only one side of light was visible, only gray was reflected.

Only the feeling of the white leather leash touching my neck remained vivid.

The last trace she had left was still wrapped around my neck like a tenacious string of fate.

I was alone again.

All that greeted me was a hole in my heart that would never be filled and a familiar loneliness.