I rushed toward Khalissi. A gaping hole in her chest as she collapsed to the ground, but just before I got to her, I felt something hard impact my stomach.

“You bastard!”

I felt my ribs shatter, but I was able to protect myself by easing away from the blow while leaping back to create space between me and my attacker.

It was that girl, Astrid. I still sustained damage from her attack bit it was minimal compared to how bad it could’ve gotten.

“You killed him! Theon…”

Astrid was in tears, and the aura coming from her was unreal, but I couldn’t care less.

“Move out of my way, or I’ll kill you too.” I ordered, my eyes glowing as fiery as hers.

The only person who stood between me and Khalissi.

We glared at each other, the murderous energy emanating from both our bodies clashing. Throughout the chaos, Lilith’s wails could be heard as she held Theon in her arms, as well as Andros’s hysterical laughter.

Khalissi’s eyes were still on me, as she laid in a bloody mess on the cold hard ground. There was blood leaking from the side of her mouth, but her lips still curved upwards into smile. My entire being was overcome by rage.

Mana poured out of me. Thick and more violent that I’ve ever experienced before.

It felt as if my blood was boiling as I charged at Astrid, the ground beneath my feet melting with every step. She stood ready for my attack, her bloodlust exploding from her body in waves. Blue scales began sprouting from her skin.

It looked as if she was transforming into something.

Something monstrous.

Her entire body grew larger, but just then she was violently slammed down on the ground. The impact creating a large crater where she once stood.

A small shock wave was created as dust and rubble flew about. Andros moved so fast that neither Astrid nor I could react.

The grin on his face widened as he looked up at me while holding down his sister with one hand.

“You don’t have long left; it’s best you hurry up,” he said, directing my gaze toward Khalissi.

I wanted to kill that bastard right then and there for what he did, but Khalissi came first. I knew I was playing his game but at that moment, I could do nothing but swallow my pride.

Instead, I rushed beside her and knelt by her side. She wasn’t breathing, and her heart was ripped out. I held her up in my arms, but her body was limp.

She was dead. I knew all the signs perfectly, but still…

It couldn’t be.

How could she die like this?

As if she was nothing.

I looked around, and no one even cared for her death. This was my fault. It was my responsibility to protect her, but I failed.

This could’ve easily been Sylvie…

Or Isabella…

Khalissi’s face was pale, but she still wore a smile.

“Let me go, Andros! He killed Theon! He killed our brother!”

“My son!”

Around me was utter chaos, but I didn’t once glance back at them. Instead, I lifted Khalissi and solemnly made a promise to get my revenge on all of them.

All the way up to the demon king.

I’ll kill them all.

Only then could my real family be safe.

With this promise and Khalissi’s lifeless body in my arms, I left. For some reason, Andros looked as if he knew what I was about to do, and with a wide grin on his face, he released Astrid.

I activated my skill to switch places with my shadow hound before she was released, but even then, her speed was just too unreal as she exploded towards me. Her talon-like claws pierced my chest and were mere inches away from killing me before I disappeared.

I dodged death by the skin of my teeth and switched places with one of my void hounds in the forest.

Still I couldn’t rest. I wasn’t that far away from them. They would find me in no time if they really tried, so with Khalissi in my arms, I raced through the forest. I didn’t have the luxury of mourning her death, but I couldn’t leave her behind either, so instead, I ran.

I ran in the opposite direction of where Therissa was. This was the closest way to exit the wyvern king’s territory, so to others it would make sense that I would head in this direction.

The forest was vast, but still Astrid found me in just a few minutes, just as I predicted. She was in the sky, watching me rush through the forest with Khalissi, pure hatred in her eyes.

In the next instant, she dove from the sky, moving moving like a lightning bolt as she crashed into the forest, but just before impact, I switched places with the void hound I left beside Therissa.

From another side of the forest, I could hear a loud impact as well as what felt like a powerful earthquake.

My ploy worked, if only for a short while. My plan was to draw her away and make her think that I was planning to escape the wyvern king’s territory, which was now in an uproar.

The wyverns went mad in the sky, and it seemed even they were after me. Some of them even went mad and did a suicide dive; flying so high in the sky that they were out of sight before crashing down on the ground.

It was as if missiles were being dropped from the sky.

The reason I came back for Therissa was to use her to find the elf village, which was so deeply hidden in this forest that not even the wyvern king knew where it was in his own territory.

I arrived just in the nick of time and was granted another sliver of luck.

There were two elves standing over Therissa’s unconscious body.

“Princess! What happened to you?!”

“I knew I felt her presence somewhere in this forest.”

“We have to get her out of here quickly. There is little time left…”

Just as they spoke, they finally caught sight of me as they heard my footsteps approaching them.

Quickly, they turned their staffs in my direction. They were two women. One of them an elder while the other seemed quite young.

“Who are you?” the elder said, covering the young girl while she quickly stepped back and took a protective stance over Therissa.

Their staffs were still pointed at me as the tips swirled with magical energy while they prepared their attacks.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep