The Forbidden Forest at the academy's edge was no place for a picnic. Giant trees with dark purple leaves blocked the sunlight, creating a state of eternal twilight. The scent of damp earth and ancient mana residue filled the air.
"Why do I have to carry your bag, Lady Heist?" I grumbled, hauling Elara's luxury leather bag over my shoulder. "You have dozens of servants, yet you choose the scholarship student you hate as your pack mule."
Elara walked ahead of me with a graceful stride, her silver wand occasionally parting the thorny bushes. "First, I don't hate youforever. I'm simply interested in you. Second, a personal assistant does as they are told. Stop complaining, or I'll raise the taxes on your father's territory."
"Dictator," I whispered under my breath.
Ahead of us, the main party led by Prince Julian and Clarisse was busy fighting off a few low-level Shadow Wolves. Julian shouted enthusiastically, swinging his light-sword as if he were dancing. I could see the hateful glares Julian threw my way every chance he got.
He was planning something. I knew it from the way his shadow knights had slipped into the bushes ten minutes ago. As a former player, I knew this was the 'Accident in the Forest' plot.
"Alex, do you feel that?" Elara suddenly stopped. Her genius mage instincts had caught something strange.
"Feel what? The scent of the Prince's failure?" I shot back sarcastically, though my nerves were actually tightening.
Suddenly, the ground shook. A magical explosion erupted in front of Julian's group.
BOOM!
"Monster! It's an Ancient Earth Drake!" one of the students screamed.
A giant earth dragon with rocky skin emerged from the ground. However, something was off. The dragon's eyes were glowing a brilliant red, a sign it had been provoked using Frenzy Lure Magic.
Julian shouted, "Protect Clarisse! Elara, take the right flank!"
Julian steered the dragon toward Elara's position. That was his plan. He wanted the dragon to attack Elara, then he would be 'too late' to save her, while I, as her assistant, would be trampled to death. That way, he'd get rid of me and teach a 'lesson' to the Elara who was starting to drift away from him.
But Julian was a fool. He underestimated the power of an ancient monster in a frenzy.
The dragon didn't just attack Elara. It opened its maw, gathering a massive amount of gravitational energy. Its target wasn't just us, but the entire area within a 50-meter radius.
"Julian! What are you doing?! Get back!" Elara screamed, trying to put up a magic shield.
But Elara's shield shattered instantly upon contact with the dragon's gravity wave. Elara was thrown back, her leg caught in the roots of an ancient tree. The dragon lifted its massive leg, ready to stomp Elara into a pulp.
"Help!" Clarisse screamed, but Julian actually retreated in terror. His plan had backfired—the dragon was too strong for him.
I sighed, dropping Elara's bag to the ground.
"Honestly... what a troublesome, cheap drama."
In an instant, I vanished. I didn't use a flicker-step spell. I used Mana Acceleration on the air molecules around me, creating a vacuum that pulled me forward at the speed of sound.
BUM!
I appeared exactly beneath the falling foot of the dragon. I held back that tens-of-tons weight with just my left hand.
The entire forest went silent, save for the sound of the dragon's bones cracking as they collided with my physical strength. Elara looked up, her eyes widening as she saw me standing over her, holding back death with an expression of utter boredom.
"You... Alex?" she whispered, trembling.
"Sit still, Lady Heist. You're blocking my view," I said coldly.
I clenched my right fist. I didn't need a chant. I simply compressed the mana inside my fist until the air heated up and sparked with black electricity.
"Forbidden Art: Void Breaker."
I punched the dragon's knee. The strike didn't just break bone. The shockwave traveled through the dragon's body, vaporizing its internal organs, and exploded out of its back in a pillar of black light that pierced the sky.
KRAAAAAAAA!
The giant dragon died instantly, its body collapsing away from us with an earth-shaking thud.
I stood amidst the swirling dust, my right hand still smoking with black soot. I turned toward Julian, who was sitting limp in shock.
"Prince," my voice was low, yet it echoed through the forest. "Your plan was pathetic. If you want to kill me, do it yourself. Don't involve a monster you can't even tame. It's disgusting."
Julian couldn't answer. He was shaking violently.
I turned back to Elara. She was still sitting on the ground, staring at me. But her gaze... was different. Her cheeks were flushed crimson, her breath was ragged, and her hand was clutching her own chest. She wasn't afraid. She was aroused by the absolute dominance she had just witnessed.
I held out a hand to her. "Can you stand? Or do you want me to carry you home?"
Elara didn't take my hand. Instead, she grabbed my collar, forcing me to lean down until our faces were level. Her red eyes flashed with pure madness.
"Alex..." she whispered, her voice raspy and full of passion. "You... you are everything I've been looking for. This power... the way you looked down on that prince... I want it. I want you."
She licked her lips, ignoring everyone watching us. "You saved me. That means your life, your power, and every strand of your hair now belongs to me. I won't let the Prince, that Saintess, or even God take you away from me."
I felt something was wrong. Seriously wrong. The seed of obsession I had feared was no longer just a seed, it had grown into a carnivorous plant ready to swallow me whole.
"Uh... Lady Elara? You're being a bit scary right now," I said, trying to pull back.
"Scary?" Elara smiled, a perfect yandere grin. "This is just the beginning. Let's go home. We have a lot to 'discuss' in my office tonight."
Dammit. I had just saved her life, but it felt like I had just lost my freedom forever.