The sound was thunderous—at least for Keryu, who hadn’t expected that attack. It was a flash of movement, faster than light. He didn’t even have the chance to react.

He had hesitated for a moment. He had decided not to use the bomb, as it would kill Maleshia as well, but that hesitation became his bane.

Pierce—Squlech!

The old man’s fist tore through his chest with brutal finality, leaving a gaping hole.

Where his heart had been, there was now only ruin—torn flesh, broken ribs, and voided life.

Blood sprayed like a fountain, coating the wall behind him, but the orb, which should’ve either been snatched away by the old man or fallen to the ground, disappeared.

With the last of his willpower, he had stored the bomb in his system storage, not wanting to let others gain something, even from his death.

He couldn’t scream. He couldn’t react. It all happened too fast. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t think, and that was all he needed to command the system.

Now, when he was lying in the pool of his blood, seemingly dead, his mind still didn’t fade.

He felt the pain—no, he transcended it. It was as if his body had been frozen in time, yet his soul remained active, clinging to the world with a fury that refused to die.

‘I… I’m still here…?’

He hadn’t expected this.

He was sure he should’ve died, so why was he still here?

He saw his body crumple, collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut. The old man, however, didn’t even spare it a glance.

It was as if he was done with him, so he turned toward Alex.

Ben was struggling; his Sword Saint aura was still flickering.

It was clear that Ben was still in his unstable sword saint form, trying his best to gain control but couldn’t.

However, he couldn’t do it, so Alex, who was close to the guy, moved before the old man could, his knuckles striking clean across Ben’s temple.

Crack!

Ben went limp. Unconscious.

The old man stared at Alex for a moment.

Then, unexpectedly, he gave a nod. “Thank you. I owe you a favor now.”

The old man might appear to be a fool, but he wasn’t. He understood that Alex didn’t have bad intentions, and he could tell that Alex had intentionally stepped in before, letting him kill Keryu.

Suddenly, his form flickered, making him click his tongue. “Tch, I guess time’s up.”

He stared at Alex, then Maleshia. “I’ll come to see you in a while.”

As the old man said that, Alex understood that the Wandering Emperor had understood the bigger game he was playing.

Alex, however, just nodded his head. “I will be waiting.”

The Wandering Emperor was one of the most cautious people in the book, yet he didn’t question what Alex would do with Maleshia; that alone was enough for Alex.

With that, the old man’s form flickered. The summoning tether snapped, and the Wandering Emperor vanished.

However, when that happened, things suddenly turned sideways.

Maleshia—the woman squirming in Alex’s grasp, her cries muffled—suddenly went still.

Keryu’s hazy mind registered it. ‘Why… is she not fighting anymore?’

Alex also released her, and Maleshia smiled.

No fear. No desperation. Only calm.

Then, in front of Keryu’s eyes, her form shimmered, hair changing color, height shifting, presence warping—

Until Lilia stood there, hands on hips, a teasing sparkle in her purple eyes.

“So?” She asked, turning to Alex. “How was my performance?”

Alex chuckled, brushing his fingers through his hair. “So good that I almost punched you thinking you were her.”

They both laughed, but Keryu, looking at all this, couldn’t.

‘What… the hell…?’

His mind reeled, and it finally clicked.

That strange silence when he had tried to connect with Maleshia telepathically.

It should have worked. His lovers were always within his link if they were in his line of sight.

But she wasn’t Maleshia.

‘She never was.’

‘They played me.’

His rage spiked. He tried to scream, but his mouth wouldn’t move. His body was already a corpse.

Then Lilia turned, curious. “By the way, why did you let Natasha escape?”

Alex’s grin returned, sly and composed. “I wanted to give her hope. I want to see where she runs to… and what’s so important for Keryu that he went through all this to get her out.”

Keryu’s eyes widened. ‘He was watching from the start!’

Lilia tilted her head. “What if she gets away?”

Alex just shrugged. “She won’t. She’s heading straight to her little sanctuary. She just doesn’t know there are three of my men trailing her from a distance. They’re under orders not to interfere—yet.”

And that…

That broke Keryu.

He felt the color drain from the world.

Natasha, his hope, his light in the chaos—he had doomed her. His desperation had painted a target on her back.

‘I have to do something… quickly!’

His soul trembled.

But before he could grasp anything more, before another thought could form, darkness finally swallowed him whole.

Keryu was finally dead.

…………………………

While this was all happening, Natasha had reached the location she was asked to.

It took her no longer than this, even though she had traveled a distance because she had used her powers to move as fast as she could.

She didn’t want to leave Keryu behind, as she knew that only death awaited him there, but she decided to trust him like she always did.

Keryu always had a solution for the problems.

No matter what kind of situation it was, he always rose.

Now, she stared at the location Keryu had asked her to come to.

The house was dilapidated.

The wind howled through cracks in the wooden boards as if the world knew what would happen but didn’t approve.

Natasha stood in silence, her breath shallow, the pungent stench of rot and mildew pressing into her senses.

The building was more ruin than home, buried deep within the slums of Originveil’s third peak—a place forgotten by time and trampled by fate.

A haven only for the broken, the diseased, and the desperate.

It was the Dumpyard.

She entered the house, moving toward the only room in the house.

A thick layer of dust covered the floor, cobwebs hung like curtains, and rats scurried through the hollow spaces of the walls. But none of it mattered.

Not when she was staring at ‘him’.

Suspended in a massive test tube at the room’s center, submerged in thick, glowing blue liquid, floated the body of a boy—limp, naked, pale as porcelain.

It was a boy.

Her heart thundered in her chest as her hands clenched into trembling fists. ‘It’s here. The body.’

She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and fell to her knees beside the console on the floor—ancient, rust-covered, yet still humming faintly with energy.

Her fingers moved over it, brushing off the dust.

She remembered his words.

“If anything happens, go to the place. Start the tube. No questions.”

“If I fall, that’s where I’ll be waiting.”

She knew he had fallen.

Even if he had somehow survived, he would probably fall soon.

Her lips pressed together. She reached for the small compartment under the console and pulled out a fist-sized stone—a mana stone.

She plugged it into the socket near the base and twisted the connector until it clicked.

Then, her hand hovered over the activation rune.

Her mind whispered hesitation.

But her heart screamed, Go.

She pressed it.

Whirrrrr—

The runes on the floor flared to life. The liquid inside the test tube shimmered violently, the dim blue hue morphing into a brilliant, blinding silver.

And then… the world fought back.

The air turned heavy, like unseen hands pressing down on her shoulders. The mana in the room surged out of control, shrieking like a thousand voices whispering from the corners of reality.

Her teeth clenched. Her knees buckled.

The boy inside the tube began to twitch.

First, a finger. Then, an arm. Then both legs kicked once violently.

The liquid churned, boiling now, and hairline cracks began forming along the glass.

The runes on the floor flickered. Then pulsed.

BOOM!

The test tube exploded.

The glass shattered in all directions, and a surge of pressure blasted outward, throwing Natasha to the ground. Smoke and mist clouded the room, and the air was thick with mana and glass dust.

And then… she saw him.

A silhouette stood amidst the wreckage—head bowed, steam rising from his skin, silver light still coiling around his figure like chains of a broken seal.

Her heart caught.

“K-Keryu?” She whispered, stumbling to her feet.

The boy didn’t look like Keryu, but she knew it was him. She wasn’t a fool to not understand what was going on.

The figure, however, swayed.

Then collapsed.

“Keryu!”

She dashed forward, catching him just before his body hit the ground. He was warm. Breathing—barely.

His eyes were closed, and his body was trembling. His muscles were weak, like jelly, bones still stabilizing after resurrection.

She cradled him, one arm under his back, the other on his chest. “Keryu? Can you hear me?”

Then, his lips moved—barely.

“…Natasha…?”

She leaned closer, eyes wide. “Yes! Yes, it’s me! I’m here—you’re back, Keryu. You’re safe now. Just rest, I—”

But his voice, though weak, cut through her words.

“Don’t… talk. Just listen.”

His tone sent chills down her spine.

“They’re coming… Alex’s men. You have to… move us to the portal. Now. Before they arrive. I… I can’t move… I can’t see… Just go.”

Natasha froze for a fraction of a second, her eyes widening with realization.

She knew that Keryu had known all this from the start, and that was why he had explained these things to her and asked her to do what she did.

He’d known all along.

And now, even in this state, he was thinking ahead.

She felt her love for him increase, hoping it would keep growing like this, but knowing that it wasn’t time to think of such things, she quickly shook her head, pulling him closer. “Hold on.”

She shot to her feet, cradling his half-conscious body like it weighed nothing.

The old wooden door burst open under her shoulder as she ran into the street, moonlight spilling across the broken cobbles and dirt.

The teleportation node wasn’t far—not with her speed. But that didn’t mean it would be an easy thing to do, as she was carrying a naked man on her back.

She would attract a lot of attention.

Her feet pounded the pavement.

Shouts echoed in the distance—three voices, closing in.

“They’re here!” She gasped, her heart hammering.

Keryu didn’t respond.

But she didn’t stop.

The wind howled louder than before. The world felt off-balance, like fate had tilted on its axis. Every step felt like defying the will of something greater—something watching.

She didn’t care.

Because Keryu was alive.

Because he still had a chance.

And she would drag him through hell if that’s what it took.

Just a little more—

She saw it.

The teleportation portal of the third peak.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep