Xavier couldn't even blink his eyes the entire time Selentia swung her sword against Dain. He could feel his heart beating strangely fast, his lips slightly parted as he slowly blinked, and only one word came out of his mouth.
"Beautiful."
He gulped as Selentia and Dain's swords clashed, and she sent him flying across the room. Slayer glowed beautifully in her hand, and with each slash, something sparkling, like gold dust, filled the air.
He tilted his head up and stretched out his claw to touch the golden dust falling around him, his gaze fixed on Selentia, whose swordwork looked like a dance. The blood she spilled scattered in the air like beautiful flower petals, her sharp eyes and precise footwork breathtaking.
At that moment, Xavier thought:
*I couldn't move my eyes from her even for a moment. The strange burning sensation in my heart was so unfamiliar, yet it wasn't unpleasant.
Even in the midst of a deadly battle against someone clearly stronger than her, she didn't fall back or flinch. Rather, the spark in her eyes every time she swung her blade made them look like a field of greenery greeted by the warm summer sun. She wasn't fighting; she was dancing. Like a beautiful maiden, her feet were swift and light, her body flexible.*
Xavier's breathing was a little uneven. He had never felt such an urge inside him—no, he had been feeling this way ever since he met Selentia. He didn't fully understand it, but he knew, for some odd reason:
*If it's for her, perhaps I will save the world she loves so much.*
Xavier was nothing like the person he pretended to be in front of Selentia. However, he never wished for her to know that. As Selentia destroyed Dain's aura core, the storm of auras calmed down, and the air became clear.
Xavier turned his head to the side and saw Ezekian standing in the corridor. His blood ran cold as he read the expression on Ezekian's face.
Ezekian's golden eyes were sparkling, his cheeks clearly flushed. He blinked and parted his lips to say something, and it didn't escape Xavier's notice. Xavier's eyes turned cold as he heard it, the subtle anger he had felt earlier toward Ezekian growing stronger.
"I can't give up on her…" Those were the words Ezekian mumbled while looking at Selentia. Xavier clenched his jaw, and murderous thoughts began to fill his mind.
*Should I just kill this bastard? If I slowly kill him in the dead of night…*
However, his murderous thought came to halt when he caught on a gimpse of Selentia.
Selentia turned around after destroying Dain's aura core, and the first person her eyes fell on was Ezekian.
She hadn't expected to see Ezekian looking at her with eyes full of admiration and affection.
It was hard—hard to forget and forgive the man she had loved for over 30 years. She had no plan of ever reaching out to Ezekian or taking his hand, but every time he looked at her with such softness, her heart felt strange.
Ezekian was a poison she had willingly consumed for 30 years, and she didn't know how long it would take to recover from him.
The intense eye contact between them held so many emotions—love, hate, resentment, admiration, and so much more.
As Xavier read the air between them, he felt his heart sinking. A strange, stinging pain in his chest was intense and terrifying. Unconsciously, Xavier realized something odd and depressing.
*She loves him, doesn't she? If I do something to that bastard, she'll cry, won't she? *
Xavier lowered his head, feeling bitter. For that moment, he wished he weren't so good at reading people and their emotions. He wished he weren't so adept at understanding others' feelings while struggling to comprehend his own.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden surge of strong demonic power. His eyes widened as he turned to see Dain standing up again, the air around him dark and purple. Xavier knew exactly what was about to happen.
"CAPTAIN, MOVE!" Xavier screamed.
Hearing him, Selentia turned around to see Dain summoning a final blow of demonic power surging toward her. Xavier flapped his wings, trying to reach her, but before he could, Ezekian stepped in.
Creating a strong barrier infused with divine power between her and Dain, Ezekian shielded her.
"NOOOO, I CAN'T LOSE THIS WAY!" Dain screamed in agony as his own demonic power rebounded, hitting him instead. Instantly, his body crashed into the wall, and he fell amidst the rubble.
The entire Nyxveil mansion shook, and Ezekian looked at Selentia, panting. She was too stunned to respond.
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?" Ezekian asked worriedly, grabbing her chin to get a better look at her face. She turned her head to see Dain lying covered in blood among the rubble, then looked back at Ezekian.
The way he looked at her—like she meant the world to him, his eyes filled with worry and tension—was something she had never seen before. This was the first time in both her lives that Ezekian had ever touched her beyond a formal kiss on the back of her hand. His warm hands cupping her cheeks made her heart flutter for a moment, despite the strange turn of events.
However, there was someone who was deeply hurt by what had just happened. Xavier's eyes slowly lost their shine as he stared at them. He thought:
*I can't even save her or stand next to her in my true form. I couldn't use my power to counter the attack directed at her. All I could do was watch as she was saved by that bastard.*
The feeling within him was painfully familiar. Even though half the mansion had been destroyed, Ezekian and Selentia stood amidst the rubble, the sunlight streaming down on them as the roof had been blown away.
To anyone watching, it would have looked like a scene straight out of a fairytale.
And Xavier felt the same. The bitterness in his mind grew stronger, fueled by his own incompetence and status.
*Selentia Nyxveil is the Princess of the Nyxveil Family, chosen by the gods and destined to be the Slayer of Evil. And I… I'm just an illegitimate prince, a vessel of evil. Shouldn't I be satisfied with her promise to save me? What is this greed within me?*
"Thank you for saving me," Selentia said, her tone unexpectedly soft as she moved away from Ezekian, who gave her a gentle smile.
Xavier forced a bitter smile and slowly turned around.
*How odd. I think I'm sleepy.*
Xavier hopped down the stairs, unable to flap his wings to fly in front of others. Selentia's eyes caught sight of him leaving, and she felt uneasy.
The gap between Selentia and Xavier was too vast and deep. By nature, Selentia was the embodiment of Life, and Xavier was the embodiment of Death. They didn't know it at the time, but they were destined to clash against each other.
The evil within Xavier was too dark and deep to be controlled easily, and Selentia's fate as the Slayer of Evil was sealed.
However—
"Hey, did my swordsmanship leave you so stunned that you're sneaking off?"
Xavier's eyes widened as he heard Selentia's voice behind him. Before he knew it, he was dangling in the air as Selentia carefully carried him in her arms.
A wide smile was plastered on her lips as she looked at him. Xavier's heart skipped several beats, and the temperature in his body rose. Though, in his dragon form, it was nearly impossible to detect.
"As if. You're still weaker than me," Xavier tried to sound crooky, but inside, he was happy, especially when he saw Ezekian's pained gaze.
"Yeah, yeah. I know my sword dance is too beautiful. Thank you for that," she grinned proudly. Xavier just jumped and sat on her shoulder, nuzzling softly against her chin.
"Hmmm, that's unexpected…" From the second floor, Edwin looked down at the destroyed scene.
"Your son is involved with demon worshippers, Zaphry," Edwin said, his voice cold and serious, reflecting Zaphry's own anger.
"I can't believe it. My own son…" Zaphry clenched his jaw tightly. Edwin glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "What are you going to do? It seems, just as your daughter suspected, there's a serious conspiracy against your family."
Zaphry was barely holding back his anger and the urge to torture Dain to make him reveal everything. However, he knew he had to remain calm. From the situation, he could conclude that there were too many spies surrounding him.
"For now, it would be best to pretend I didn't recognize the demonic power," Zaphry said coldly.
The knights rushed into the mansion in large numbers, shocked by the destruction. The Nyxveil mansion was built with advanced defensive mana stones, and the extent of the damage spoke volumes about the intensity of the battle.
Until now, they hadn't been able to enter due to the clash of auras and swords between Selentia and Dain. The shockwaves from their battle had made it impossible to intervene.
Knight Commander Benjamin Grace glanced at Zaphry.
"Take Dain to the doctor and lock him in the underground jail afterward," Zaphry commanded, his tone absolute and grim, sending shivers through everyone.
Elizabeth was on her knees, trying to process what had just happened, while the maids had fainted. Alancia, standing in the corner, trembled with fear as she looked at Dain and then at Selentia.
Dain was heavily injured, his face nearly unrecognizable under the blood and wounds. The only thought in Alancia's mind as she looked at Selentia was:
*She's terrifying… A monster.*
It was a thought shared by everyone in the room. Selentia stood without a single scratch, her expression unreadable but her presence overwhelming.
She looked at her father and gave him a small bow, mumbling under her breath, "This should be enough for you to understand, right?"
Zaphry didn't say anything, but his eyes looked sadder than ever. Giving her a small nod, he turned away.
Selentia glanced at the rubble surrounding her and at Dain, who was being dragged away by the knights. Her expression was unreadable, but Xavier understood something.
There was no regret in Selentia's mind—only a cold, silent anger that didn't bode well.
" This came to an end faster than I thought," She mumbled under her breathe.
And so, a long and eventful day in Selentia's life came to an end.