IWS Chapter 30

Episode 30

“So noisy.”

Akron frowned as he raised his sword.

The air around his blade rippled like waves, and soon a brilliant aura formed around it.

Aura had levels. Some were so faint you could barely see them, while others shone like sunlight.

Each person’s aura had its color—his was pure white, like a sun made of dragon’s flame.

Akron pointed his glowing sword at the mid-level monster.

Though he stood quite far from it, he gently swung his sword.

To others, it might have seemed like a simple move.

But it wasn’t.

His aura shot forward like a crescent moon, cutting through the air.

—Screeech!

A monstrous scream rang out.

The creature’s mouth, once gnashing with teeth, split diagonally and fell apart.

Its core, the heart of the monster, was neatly sliced.

To truly kill a monster, you had to destroy its core—a rock-hard mass deep within.

And he’d cut it perfectly.

“Hah…”

The knight who had been trapped gasped, releasing the breath he’d been holding.

Akron’s aura had passed right over his head.

Had he moved even slightly, his head would’ve been sliced off.

He looked down.

A few strands of his hair had been cut off.

His knees almost gave out.

A shadow fell over him.

Akron was now standing in front of him, holding out a hand.

“I thought I was dead…”

The knight gave a half-laugh, half-sigh.

Realizing his lord had aimed with such precision made the monster slayer before him seem scarier than the monster itself.

“But you didn’t die.”

When the knight took Akron’s hand, he was effortlessly pulled to his feet.

Akron didn’t linger. He turned and scanned the rest of the soldiers.

“Everyone’s safe.”

It was Cheron, one of Akron’s trusted retainers, who came to report.

Some had minor injuries, but thankfully, no one had died.

“Good. We’ll rest here for the day.”

“I’ll prepare for the camp right away.”

Cheron led the knights in tending to the wounded and setting up tents near a cliff edge, a good lookout point against more attacks.

The sun was now high in the sky.

Though monsters were active during the day, they were fewer and weaker.

Night, however, brought stronger, more dangerous swarms.

So the knights always rested by day and fought by night.

As the camp was built and the knights settled, Cheron turned to Akron.

“My lord, may I ask… why the sudden monster hunt?”

Usually, the hunting squads were led by Akron’s sub-commanders.

With the Grand Duchess newly arrived, Cheron had assumed Akron would stay behind.

But Akron simply looked at him and said,

“Go rest.”

And walked away.

Cheron sighed. There was no pressing further once Akron dismissed you.

What a strange man.

He didn’t know what was on Akron’s mind, but he did know one thing—

When Akron personally joined the hunts, the knights were far less likely to die.

Still, he watched his lord walk away, slowly disappearing from view.

Akron walked farther from the camp.

The blackened land stretched endlessly.

Nothing would change, no matter how far he walked.

He stopped, raised a hand to his forehead, and closed his eyes.

Yuriel.

He spoke her name silently in his heart.

When he had found Yuriel with Helia, the situation had already exploded.

In that instant, as he raced to save her, he remembered what happened back in the capital—

The first time he’d truly felt despair.

He had thought she would die.

Even though it was only for a moment, the feeling of regret was unbearable.

She had lived. She stayed by his side.

But the memory of that day left a deep scar in him.

It had been the second time her life had been in danger before his eyes.

[That woman will destroy what’s yours.]

That voice—a—voice only Akron could hear—had whispered in his mind.

It struck while his thoughts were vulnerable, worming its way in.

That bitter despair returned to him, stronger than ever.

She was the first person he’d ever cherished.

And with that came a new fear—a—fear he’d never known until now.

“Are you okay?”

After blacking out, he had awakened to find his body had changed.

He had become the very monster he hated most.

“A monster… I created a monster.”

But then, another voice—not the same one—rose inside him.

It reminded him:

You must always hide what you are.

His real self was nothing more than a shiny shell—

Beneath it, a lunatic. A monster, not human.

So, after abandoning Yuriel that night, he shut himself inside his private study.

He couldn’t bear to face her again.

He feared she’d speak of what she saw… of what he truly was.

So he left.

Under the excuse of hunting monsters, he ran from her.

How pathetic.

He knew full well it was cowardice.

But his old trauma trapped him, and he couldn’t escape it.

Killing monsters was easier than facing her.

Now it had been six nights in a row, fighting without rest.

It helped clear his mind, but not his heart.

“We’re going home.”

When he finally couldn’t bear it anymore, he gave the order to return.

But as they rode, a strange fear gripped him.

Yuriel had every reason to reject him.

A week wasn’t enough time to erase the memory of that horrible night.

He knew that.

But he couldn’t stop himself from riding toward her.

Even if she looked at him with disgust, his heart wouldn’t stop.

As the castle came into view and the gates opened, he knew it was almost dawn.

She’ll be asleep.

He’d clean himself up first. Maybe then he’d look less monstrous.

But the moment he stepped into the hall—

He locked eyes with Yuriel.

“You’re covered in blood.”

She said,

He had expected her to run from him.

But instead, she walked toward him.

Akron froze, breath caught in his throat.

Even as he silently climbed the stairs to clean up, his mind was in chaos.

Why didn’t she run?

He didn’t understand.

As a child, before he had control of his power, everyone had called him a monster.

Rightfully so, he thought.

Even though they didn’t say it anymore, he still believed it.

Even when he dreamed of Yuriel, he assumed:

“One day, she’ll call me a monster too.”

Now, he could control his powers—but the voice still waited, lurking.

It was the curse of the black dragon—a madness constantly whispering inside him.

Before that incident in the capital, he believed he could live with being seen as a monster.

But that was wrong.

Yuriel made him want to hide his true self.

He didn’t know when his feelings had changed.

But now, he had to face them.

Pathetic.

He hesitated outside the bedroom.

He hated that he wanted something from her.

That earlier moment—when Yuriel didn’t flinch—had given him hope.

False hope.

When he finally opened the door, he realized how foolish he had been.

“You’ll catch a cold.”

That’s what she’d said.

He had wanted to apologize for leaving, but all he could do was smile stupidly.

Yuriel had gently dried his wet hair.

Akron placed a hand over her stomach, sending dragon energy into her body.

The baby inside her stirred a little, resisting, but Akron easily calmed it with his power.

Yuriel herself slowly started to drift to sleep.

And just before she fully dozed off, Akron finally asked the question that haunted him.

“Do you think I’m disgusting?”

Her answer was so simple.

“Not at all.”

There was nothing in this world that mattered more than those words.

He held her close.

And for the first time in a long while, Akron finally felt like he could sleep peacefully.

Meanwhile…

Two weeks had passed since Yuriel arrived in the western lands.

She was starting to learn the layout of the castle and the faces of those working inside.

The gardens were bustling with workers she had brought in.

Now, thanks to their hard work, the garden was finally neat and organized.

“It looks nice without all the weeds.”

said Roinah, standing beside her.

There were no extravagant flowers or fountains yet, but it finally looked like a real garden.

“Yeah. Good thing we hired help.”

Yuriel nodded in agreement.

The space was surprisingly large, and it had only taken a few days to transform it.

The workers had given their all.

Now, all that remained was planting flower seeds.

It would take time, but one day this place would bloom.