"I threw up until my throat burned. No, that's an understatement. I vomited until I felt like my very soul was trying to leave my body."
The visions Folia had forced into my mind—those thousands of variables of my own agonizing death—weren't just images. They were sensory assaults. I could smell the stench of my own rotting organs, taste the metallic tang of clotted blood, and feel the cold maggots of the island burrowing into my phantom flesh. It was so visceral, so utterly repulsive, that even the "perfect" Prince Folia ended up doubled over, retching into the obsidian dirt beside me.
Once we had both finished emptying our stomachs, a heavy, awkward silence fell between us. Folia wiped his mouth with a silk handkerchief, his golden eyes flickering with a mix of lingering rage and renewed focus. Without a word, he grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and leaped into the canopy of a massive, twisted tree. We began to move through the branches, leaping from one skeletal limb to another. Folia wanted to stay off the ground; we had caused enough noise, and the island was waking up.
We traveled like ghosts for an hour until we reached a clearing overlooking a hidden canyon. That's when we saw them.
Down below, a group of Shadow Hunters was deep in conversation with a unit of knights. These weren't just any soldiers. My blood ran cold when I saw the crest on their backs—the Royal Seal of the Nordaran Crown.
"Dammit," I hissed, my knuckles whitening as I gripped a branch. "Those bastards never give up. They follow me like a bad smell."
First, it was Lillio and the Blood-Red Lily. Then that treacherous bitch Lydia and her "Swords of the Dawn." And now? Who did they send this time? Super-Arsehole?
Folia's hand clamped over my mouth, forcing me to stay still. He leaned forward, his ears twitching as he focused his mana to amplify the sounds from the canyon floor. We listened as the leader of the Shadow Hunters spat on the ground in front of a high-ranking knight.
"We did what you asked," the Hunter growled. "We kidnapped the dragon hatchling. But why? The beast is worth a fortune on the black market. Why use it as bait?"
The knight stepped forward, his armor gleaming with a dull, menacing light. "Because the King wants the heretic. He wants the Human Demon, Celosia, lured into a trap he cannot escape. The boy has a weakness for that creature. We will use it to break him before we execute him."
The Hunter let out a dark chuckle. "Fine. But in exchange, you knights help us eliminate those Imperial siblings. We know Prince Folia and Princess Yulea are on this island. We want their heads as trophies."
I felt the branch beneath us tremble. A three-way alliance. The Kingdom of Nordara, the Shadow Hunters, and now they were all gunning for the Asuran royals too. Why was this happening to all of us? I understood why they wanted me—I'd been a thorn in the King's side since I tore Cassian a new one—but Folia and Yulea seemed like they hadn't done anything to Nordara.
Wait, I caught myself. Why do I even care? It shouldn't matter to me if the Prince and his sister get slaughtered. As long as I survive and get Ilea back, the rest of the world can burn. But looking at Folia's profile—his jaw set in a hard, dangerous line—I realized my survival was currently tied to his.
Then, the final blow fell. The knight captain removed his helmet, revealing a woman with hair like spun silver and eyes as sharp as diamond shards. Jessica Tiulo. "Scheiße," I whispered. Jessica Tiulo was the commander of the Order of the Death Angels. She was widely considered one of the top five strongest knights in the entire realm. Her reputation for ruthlessness was legendary; she didn't just kill her targets; she erased them from history. Is my head really worth sending a Death Angel?
Folia decided we had heard enough. He began to weave a complex distraction spell, a ripple of spirit magic designed to draw their attention to the opposite side of the canyon so we could slip past. But as he released the energy, the branch we were on—already weakened by the island's rot—decided to snap.
I didn't just fall. I tumbled through the leaves like a sack of potatoes, hitting every branch on the way down before landing face-first in the dirt, barely twenty meters from the clearing.
"Niemand weiß, woran es gelegen hat," I'd like to say, but yeah... it was definitely me falling off the damn tree.
Jessica Tiulo didn't hesitate. She was a blur of silver steel. She lunged at me, her rapier glowing with a holy light that felt like it was searing my skin from a distance. I'm not ashamed to admit it: I nearly pissed myself. The fear was a cold, paralyzing weight in my gut.
CLANG!
Folia dropped from the sky like a golden meteor, his own blade parrying Jessica's strike just inches from my throat. The shockwave of their collision blew the nearby Shadow Hunters backward.
"Run, you idiot!" Folia roared, his aura exploding outward to keep the knights at bay.
The chase was on. We bolted into the dense jungle, the Death Angels and the Hunters hot on our heels. It was a nightmare. I was pushing my body to the absolute limit, my lungs screaming for air, while Folia stayed by my side, parrying bolts of magic and arrows meant for my back.
I couldn't understand it. Why hadn't he abandoned me yet? He could easily slip away, return to Yulea, and use his superior power to hide. Why was he risking a direct confrontation with a Death Angel just to keep me breathing?
As we ducked behind a massive obsidian crag to catch our breath for a split second, I looked at him. My brain, which sometimes lacks a filter in the worst moments, decided to speak.
"So..." I gasped, leaning against the rock. "It turns out I really am important and smart, aren't I? You can't bear to let me go, you royal arsehole."
Folia stared at me for a heartbeat. His expression didn't change, but his eyes danced with a dark, amused light. Without a word, he reached out, grabbed my shoulder, and simply... let go. I was leaning back, expecting him to hold me up, and instead, I fell flat on my ass into a puddle of mud.
He leaned over me, a smug grin plastered on his face. He didn't say a single word. He didn't need to. His silence told me exactly how much "importance" I currently held in his eyes.
"Get up," he finally said, looking back at the flickering lights of the pursuing torches. "The Angels are coming. And if you fall again, I'm leaving you as a snack for Jessica."
I scrambled to my feet, wiping the mud from my face. Ilea was still out there, being used as bait by a Death Angel. And Folia? He was still a psychopath, but he was my psychopath for now.
Until next time, when we face the Death Angels.