Chapter 102
Your mistake
Calix’s vision turned red when he saw Lea, wearing the necklace he had given her, running toward Zion.
Flames rose in a wide circle, cutting off their path of retreat. Wind joined the fire, fanning the blaze into an even fiercer inferno.
Lea, startled by the flames, froze in place for a moment, then turned to stare at the long, black blaze stretching out before Zion and Derek, who were running toward her.
…This was the ability Cal had awakened at the end of the war, before the regression.
The power, which had become known as the ‘Black Flame’ after he claimed a sweeping victory, was exactly that—long, black fire that stretched like a path. It was most often used to trap enemies. The moment anyone touched the fire, their body would instantly melt away, regardless of which part was touched.
The power was so fearsome that no enemy had ever dared try to cross the flames. Anyone would lose their will to fight after watching their comrades melt into nothing right before their eyes.
“…Kang!”
Zion was about to recklessly charge through it. Lea, unable to bear watching, hid behind a tree and returned to her human form.
Naked, she peeked out just enough to show her face and shouted urgently toward Zion.
“Don’t! You mustn’t cross that!”
Hearing her cry, Zion had no choice but to stop in his tracks, even without understanding why. Her expression and voice were just that dEsperate.
In truth, the aura of the flame was intense. This was the first time Zion realized the Crown Prince could use three elemental powers.
Only the wind attribute, which he shared with the Emperor, was publicly known. Had he been hiding it all along? A chill ran down Zion’s spine as he realized anew how terrifying the Crown Prince was.
Just then, a branch cracked behind her.
Calix had approached silently and now draped his jacket over her shoulders, growling fiercely.
“To think my dear sister would converse with a man in such a state… It seems the Lady has forgotten all shame.”
Lea was too frantic trying to stop Zion and Derek to even register his presence behind her. Her back straightened.
The jacket, filled with his familiar scent, was warm from his body heat. But his voice was so cold it felt as though frost had escaped his lips.
Calix stared so intently at the back of Lea’s small head—still turned away from him—it was as though his eyes could bore holes through it. He had clearly seen her transform from fox to human just now.
That night he thought had been a dream flashed vividly in his mind. From the narrow waist he’d held with both hands to the soft, luscious curves…
In a forest like this, with two other Espers right in front of them, wasn’t she being far too defenseless?
The thought that she might have shown herself like this to them more than once made his insides churn with such disgust that he felt like vomiting up his organs. Wrapping the stiff Lea tightly in his jacket, Calix scooped her into his arms. If he could, he would’ve hidden even a single strand of her hair.
Like a small animal caught in a trap, she couldn’t move a muscle.
“Lea. It’s time to go home.”
Speaking as gently as he always did when calling Luna, he whispered and floated up into the air with her in his arms.
Before such overwhelming power, Zion and Derek had no choice but to kneel in the face of the crushing helplessness of having to let their Guide go.
Espers were creatures who instinctively submitted to the hierarchy of ability.
* * *
Back in his palace, Calix walked straight into the bedroom and shut the door.
With an icy expression, he tossed Lea onto the bed as if discarding her.
“Ah!”
Thrown off balance, she tumbled. And in the process, her bare bottom was revealed beneath the jacket.
Calix leaned against the wall, licking his lips with an inexplicable thirst.
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