TYHL 108

~Chapter 108~

A blue shield appeared in front of Dad’s eyes.

“Rubian?”

There was a short, loud boom. In the dark night, the explosion was so strong it made the sky bright for a moment.

The blast sent a whirlwind everywhere.

Branches snapped off trees, flying around. When Dad saw me, he grabbed me and pulled me down to the ground.

“Duke! Rubian!”

Asha used her protection magic to help.

I hugged Dad tightly and closed my eyes.

‘A self-destruct magic item!’

My heart was pounding like crazy.

Why did he break it himself?

Thinking hard, I quickly found the answer.

‘He thought it was a different magic item.’

He was tricked. The Magic King fooled him.

He destroyed “the Fourth” because he didn’t complete his mission.

I bit my lip.

‘But Dad… is Dad okay?’

The wind slowly calmed down.

I grabbed Dad’s coat in a panic. I could feel my heart beating so loudly.

Once I realized it, all my strength left my body.

‘He’s alive.’

He didn’t die.

‘He didn’t get hurt by the Fourth.’

‘Did I block it?’

My head spun as I frowned.

The wild wind finally stopped.

“Rubian! Duke! Are you okay?”

Asha ran over in a hurry. Khalid too.

“Ruby! How did you get here?!”

Dad quickly got up and checked on me in his arms.

When he saw I was okay, he let out a long sigh and hugged me again. He was really shaken.

“What in the world…”

“Duke, Rubian…”

“She doesn’t seem hurt.”

Khalid caught his breath, kneeling on the ground.

“Rubian, lift your head. Let me see your face.”

Dad gently cupped my cheeks. People who heard the noise were running over from far away.

But I couldn’t lift my head.

The reason was…

‘Wait, wait. Time out!’

I felt a light that had been hiding in my stomach spreading all over my body.

‘I feel like I’m going to throw up.’

Ugh, Wizeria.

Are you really doing this to me?

The effect from the herb I drank hours ago was finally starting!

My spinning vision made me angry at my own knowledge.

‘It said drink the herb and cover yourself with magic…’

You should have told me that in advance!

Ruby!

Dad’s voice echoed in my ears. My grip on his clothes slowly loosened.

I quickly lifted my head before I fainted.

“Dad, I’m so glad you’re safe. But now I think I’m just… going to…”

I don’t even know if I said it right.

“See? You shouldn’t have gone against my father.”

I was confused from the start.

‘W-what is this?’

The vision in my dream was so clear. The first voice I heard was…

“You couldn’t have done anything anyway.”

It was a woman’s clear voice.

‘It wasn’t the Fourth?!’

No way!

“But looking at you now…”

The woman walked toward Leviathan with magic swirling in her hand.

“You’re cursed.”

Her white priest’s hood cast a dark shadow over her face.

Her red eyes, shown faintly in the pale moonlight, looked dull and empty.

She didn’t look like she had a will of her own. Like a puppet with strings…

“…Well. You stood alone against a black magician. Of course you wouldn’t be fine.”

“…”

“You’ve hidden it well until now.”

Leviathan stared at the woman, letting out a long breath.

War was harsh.

It was always hard to find traces of black magicians.

He used to think magicians were being oddly uncooperative, but now he finally understood why.

‘They secretly tried to get black magic power.’

Leviathan chased after black magicians with all his strength.

In the end, he found one and killed him, but during that, he fell into the black magician’s trap and was injured.

It was a curse—one that would slowly kill him.

“I thought I hid it well…”

His low, hoarse voice came out.

He was so weak, he didn’t even notice the magician coming closer.

He admitted it plainly.

“Looks like I’m almost at my limit.”

“You’re going to die soon anyway…”

The woman muttered in a flat voice.

“Let me make it easy for you.”

She reached out her hand. Her sleeve pulled up, showing a thin wrist, and on it, the branch of the world tree had grown long.

Leviathan tried to grab his sword, but then stopped.

The woman’s eyebrows moved slightly when she saw.

Leviathan asked,

“Are you here to kill me?”

“Yes.”

“And if you don’t?”

“I’ll be punished.”

“By your… ‘father’?”

She didn’t answer, only stayed silent. Leviathan gave a small smile.

“What does that guy think of his daughter…?”

“…”

“He’s a terrible father. Why not run away?”

The woman stared at him.

“…Where would I go?”

“I don’t know.”

“…”

“But the world is so big. Maybe there’s somewhere you can be safe.”

Her doll-like eyes shook for a moment. The branch on her arm grew a bit.

She clenched her teeth.

“That mark… looks painful.”

“It’s nothing…”

“Maybe it’s because of the air here.”

Leviathan stepped back a little.

The woman caught her breath and put on a cold face again.

“Those who stand against our king… will pay a harsh price. That’s the rule I follow. No more useless talk.”

“That’s strange. Who makes their daughter live like that?”

Even just caring for her would never be enough.

Leviathan sighed and searched his coat.

When he moved suddenly, the woman readied her magic.

Then Leviathan took out a blue dagger and smiled.

“Aim for my heart. Don’t miss. Everything you want is here.”

“What are you…”

“And then run. Run far away.”

A silver flash cut through the night air.

“No…!”

A dark night.

Under the faint moonlight, this happened.

“What… is this…”

The Emperor let out a tired breath.

He looked at the ruined house in shock.

He had rushed here first, right after the explosion. His closest knights were with him.

If he hadn’t been watching the magician’s house the whole time, it would have taken longer to arrive.

It was a short but strong explosion.

People would soon gather. The Emperor knew he had to control things quickly.

‘Did the kingdom’s magician die?’

He gritted his teeth.

There was no sign of the magician.

Or to be exact, only some torn clothes were left…

He died as if he disappeared.

“Duke!”

The Emperor hurried through the wrecked garden.

Leviathan was sitting on the ground, hugging Rubian.

“What happened here?!”

He frowned and looked up.

“The cloak, please.”

“…”

“My daughter is sleeping. Please lower your voice.”

Grinding his teeth, the Emperor took off his own cloak and gently covered Rubian.

The knights tried to stop him, but that wasn’t important.

“What is going on here? Explain, Duke Zebert.”

Leviathan stood up slowly, holding the sleeping child.

“It looks like a magic overload. She suddenly lost control and exploded.”

Magic overload?

The Emperor frowned. The area where the magician had been was just black and burned.

“What… How are you both safe?”

Leviathan glanced to the side.

“Thanks to the base magician.”

Asha, with her messy hair, hiccupped.

“Did you use magic to block the explosion?”

Asha Drukan bit her lower lip, then nodded wildly.

“Yes, yes, I did!”

The Emperor’s eyes narrowed.

‘This base magician… is better than I thought.’

She’s useful.

He thought she only did daily life magic, but she had done a lot since the kidnapping case.

Then Leviathan, with a blank face, began to walk away.

“I’ll go back now. Khal, follow me.”

The boy who had been staring at the sleeping Rubian finally moved. He was the same boy who did so well at the riding contest.

The Emperor stopped them.

“Wait.”

“…”

“You still haven’t explained why you were here with the young lady.”

He looked sharp.

“I sneaked in because someone was after my daughter. I even found someone had stolen Rubian’s adoption papers.”

“What?”

“Then I overheard them planning to attack my house.”

“So you killed him?”

Leviathan looked straight at the Emperor.

“I told you—it was a magic explosion.”

“Huh… Then why was your daughter here?”

Surely, he wouldn’t bring his precious daughter to a place like this.

Leviathan sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“That’s what I want to know.”

What is he saying? The Emperor frowned.

Just then—drip, drip. Something was dripping.

The Emperor looked down and clicked his tongue.

“Duke, you’re hurt.”

He had a deep cut on one arm, maybe from a sharp decoration.