[Ayuseya’s point of view]

 Illsy’s voice was so weak. He was trying as hard as he could to survive Dankyun’s onslaught, pushing himself beyond his limits, to the point of fainting from exhaustion.

In all my life, I had never seen another man try so hard for me, but seeing him in pain, seeing him suffer like that made my heart feel strangled by a hand covered with needles.

How can I let you suffer like this, Illsy? I said, but he didn’t reply.

I kept begging him to release me. It was the only way for him to come out of this alive, the only shot we had. Dankyun was a madman, a monster with unreasonable power. No one could win against him.

Tears flowed down my cheeks without me even realizing it. They were tears of fear for what could become of the gentle Dungeon Lord who helped me when most would have fled away. My heart hurt because I saw him in pain, because I saw him suffering when he had no reason to… Or maybe… maybe I wasn't able to understand his reason.

Illsy, it’s the only way to stop this madman. Please! You’ve done enough. You tried your best, but this… I told him and shook my head I don’t want you to die because of me, Illsy… I don’t want this. I don’t want to see Dankyun kill my… I stopped. What was Illsy for me again? A guardian? A helper? A servant? A friend? Or more? The answer to this question was whispered by my heart, and those were words I never believed I would say towards a Dungeon. Illsy, I don’t want to see Dankyun kill the one I could one day… I could one day come to love. I looked up at him, and it was then when I heard his final words.

Ayuseya… I release you…

So weak and frail was his voice, that I felt like he was about to vanish any moment now, and this frightened me.

As per his will, my body was then enveloped in a bright light. I closed my eyes. The next thing I felt was a sting in my left cheek and the pull of the earth under my feet. I was back outside.

“Ayuseya?” asked Dankyun confused.

Opening my eyes, I saw the sharp edge of his black sword. The glowing red runes covered it and spread a malicious aura all around it. What I felt on my cheek was the cut of his weapon. Luckily, Dankyun had a good enough control over it to stop his hand before he took my head off.

Even though I was bleeding, I looked him in the eyes. There were still tears in mine.

“What’s this?” he asked and pulled his sword back. “Dungeon Lord! Answer me!” he shouted, but no answer came from Illsy.

Looking back, I saw the green crystal just floating there without a single reply coming from it. Illsy was probably sleeping, exhausted from spending so much Magic Energy. He fought bravely, and for such a young Dungeon, it was an incredible feat alone just to have injured a Supreme Ranked draconian like Dankyun.

If I can buy him enough time, he’ll become stronger than him… I thought as I touched the flat surface of his Crystal Body. I opened my mouth to speak, but I remembered Dankyun wasn’t aware of the fact that I was able to use my voice again. For now, this has to stay as a secret. I have to make him believe that he still holds power over me… I clenched my fists and looked back at him.

“Why don’t you answer!” he said and lifted his sword up, but I stepped between them.

“What’s this?” he furrowed his brow.

I shook my head and then pretended to write something in my palm, to let him know that I didn’t have my blackboard with me.

“What are you trying to say, woman?” he asked coldly.

The way he spoke made it clear just how low I was in his eyes, but I didn’t let it bother me. I made the sign again, hoping he would understand.

“You want to say something, but you need something to write on?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

I nodded.

“Fine. Here!” he said and took out a storage crystal.

It looked like a small quartz pendant, but it was one of the best out there. It was capable of storing an impressive amount of loot inside. High ranked adventurers and military commanders found them indispensable for their missions.

From inside, he took out a small blackboard and some piece of chalk similar to mine. He handed it over, but kept his sword pointed at the crystal behind me.

‘Dungeon Lord is asleep. No magic left. I asked him to help me.’ I quickly wrote.

“What? Then that’s the reason why he’s not answering anymore? Wait, but what do you mean you asked him to help you?” he squinted his eyes at me and pointed the tip of his sword at my neck.

‘I’m afraid of you. I don’t want to be with you.’ I wrote.

“Hm? I don’t think you have a choice here, little princess. If you don’t become mine, your body will be offered to the 'Ball' in a year from now, wouldn’t it? We need to preserve the line, don’t we?” he smirked at me.

A shiver ran down my spine, and my body trembled a bit.

‘I don’t want that.’

“The other choice is me. At the very least, I can guarantee that our child will be strong and beautiful!” he replied with an overwhelming confidence, but the thought of having to sleep with this man disgusted me.

‘You won’t harm me, anymore?’ I asked even if I knew the answer.

“Of course not!” he lied through his teeth.

‘Then I will become yours. I’m just afraid of pain.’ I showed him the message and then erased it.

‘Everyone here acted on my orders. Please, forgive them.’

“Is that so? This would explain a few things, especially those draconian students. Very well, I’ll stop the attack, but you are coming with me right now! As soon as we reach Teslov, we will get married and I” he dropped on a knee and took my hand into his. “I will show you a night you will never forget.” he kissed the back of my hand and showed me a wicked smile.

Shivers of hate and fear went down my spine, but I kept myself strong. I didn’t want Dankyun to be my first man, but there was no other choice now. Illsy had to survive…

I nodded and smiled back.

My chest writhed in pain because I didn't want this... I didn't want to let this monster touch me. It was horrible. Behind me was the Dungeon Lord who had been nothing but gentle and caring towards me, and in front of me was the monster who took me away from him.

Back then, why was it so hard to believe Illsy? If only I stopped thinking him to be the same as other Dungeons… If only I stopped comparing the two… I thought as I got up, helped by the man who was about to take me away from Illsy.

“Oh! If they acted under your orders, then does this Dungeon Lord follows Nanya’s or the headmaster’s orders?” he suddenly asked.

I blinked surprised. Illsy didn’t follow the orders of anyone, at least not in the way Dankyun believed. He simple followed along with their suggestions and requests. I never heard anyone say: “I order you” to him. It was possible that I wasn’t there when it happened, but I was pretty certain he acted independently.

‘Tuberculus’ I wrote on the blackboard.

“I see. To make sure we don’t get any strange surprises on the way, we’ll take him along as well. Hm, they must be under us.” he said and then looked down.

Taking my hand, he pulled me over to the hole in the wall. I had to make sure where I stepped to avoid the sharp pieces of cut metal and broken crystal scattered everywhere. After we stepped out of Illsy’s room, Dankyun stopped in the middle of the hallway and stomped on the floor hard. The force caused it to crack and form a hole in that place. He grabbed my hand and jumped down, dragging me with him. I almost screamed, but I stopped myself just in time.

“What’s this? D-Dankyun?” Paladinus asked while pointing his sword at us.

“Cease your fight, I found what I was looking for, and I intend on leaving this place quietly. However, if you insist on fighting against me, I will take you on and end your pathetic life.” he declared without even the smallest sign of remorse.

“H-How can we be certain that you won’t attack us?” the man asked in a trembling tone of voice.

“You are still alive, aren’t you?” he replied with a raised eyebrow.

While the two were 'negotiating', I looked behind them and noticed the frightened students who initially were looking with eyes of surprise at me. Of course, nobody knew where I was, and they all believed I ran away or hid outside of the academy, but as soon as I realized the truth, their gazes turned quickly from surprise to accusation for the trouble I unleashed upon them.

I looked down, ashamed of this, but it was a truth I couldn’t run away from. Dankyun came to this academy because of me. The one responsible for disrupting their peace and quiet was me. I was the one who called the storm...

Paladinus put his sword away and allowed the draconian Supreme to pass through. The moment one of Dankyun's soldiers who tried to get in saw him, he quickly turned around to spread the word to his comrades. In but moments, the battle outside came to a stop.

The students formed a path for us, and we walked through, baring the weight of all the gazes of fear and hate they cast down upon us. Between the two of us, Dankyun was the only one who appeared to enjoy the stir he had caused.

“What’s the meaning of this?” asked Tuberculus, who stepped forward.

“Are you the one in charge of this academy and the Dungeon Lord upstairs?” he asked.

“…” the old principal looked at me first and then answered “Yes. I thought I made that clear already.”

“Just checking. I’m here to inform you that this… peaceful visit has come to an end. I will depart together with Princess Ayuseya today. You will come with us to make sure we safely reach the next town. Do I make myself clear?” Dankyun asked.

“Yes…” Tuberculus replied clenching his staff and lowering his eyes.

It was their complete defeat. Even if he wanted to, he knew he couldn’t go against Dankyun’s words.

“Very well! I’ll let my soldiers know of this as well. We shall depart in about an hour or so. Oh! And your forest is in flames. I would put that out if I were you. As for Nanya, she’s somewhere in a pile of trash near the dormitory.” he said it as if it wasn’t important, but with it, he practically declared that if anyone dared to go against him, they wouldn’t come out unscathed.

“We understand…” said Tuberculus.

“Good!”

With that being said, we walked over to the exit, which was being blocked by a pile of furniture. Dankyun didn’t bother digging his way through it, he unsheathed his sword and walked over to the room next to it. With four fast and powerful slashes, he cut a big hole in the wall and kicked it over. We went through and were greeted by his soldiers.

It appeared some of them were injured, but they didn’t suffer any significant losses. They still were in a pretty big number as far as I could see, however, none of them greeted or bowed down to me as their princess. Their loyalty was only to Dankyun, but that much was to be expected.

As soon as he gave them the orders, the soldiers packed up the camp and prepared the horses. This took them about an hour, just as he said. During that time, I stood by Dankyun’s side. He didn’t let me out of his sight even for a moment. Since everything I had was still inside Illsy, I had nothing to pack, yet this draconian never even bothered to ask. I began to worry about what I was going to wear during the long trip back home.

“It’s time to go, Princess Ayuseya.” he declared and offered me a seat on his horse.

I nodded and smiled like a good little trophy wife.

I hope Nanya and Illsy will be alright… I thought as I looked back at the academy.

“I’ll take these. You won’t need them for now.” he told me and took away the blackboard.

Again, I smiled and nodded at him, letting him do as he pleased.

The headmaster joined us shortly after. He was packing light, just enough for a trip to the city and back. Dankyun placed him between his commanders, and we departed like that, without saying a single good bye or even looking back. The journey was going to be slow. At a pace that would take at least eight or even ten hours until we reached Therion city.

For most of the time, I tried to ignore everyone around. To ignore their presence because I could feel Dankyun’s arms around my waist. They were strong and kept me still as if afraid I was going to run away from him with the first chance I got.

It reminded me of that night with Illsy, when he pulled me in his embrace. His arms weren’t strong, but they weren’t weak either. Illsy was gentle and didn’t worry I would run away. If I believed I would feel better, he would let me do it. If I wanted to pull back, I could.

His kiss was so soft, his lips so gentle… Illsy pulled me close because he trusted me. Illsy was caring and didn’t force his smile… Sigh. I made a mistake, didn’t I? I thought and then looked up at the branches above us.

Each step we took brought us farther and farther away from the only man who was true to me, but I was too much of a fool to recognize his worth.

No… I was scared of him. I shook my head. I was scared of how honest he was. Isn’t that foolish? I looked down at Dankyun’s hand around my waist.

It was so different from his, but my heart clearly knew which one it desired.

I closed my eyes and let my thoughts fly back at the few times when I spoke with Illsy, at his words, at his touch, at his gaze, at his gentle presence. Speaking of which, he never did make his fog of darkness appear until Dankyun arrived at the academy. He was a Dungeon who never held the desire to kill.

My foolish Dungeon Lord husband… I said to myself.

Those simple words made me smile.

It made wonder what I could have gained if I didn’t act so foolishly. It made me wonder what it could have been if Dankyun simply didn’t exist. Maybe I wouldn’t have met Illsy at all.

Guess that’s the only thing I can thank Dankyun for… He made me flee from Teslov and meet Illsy, but now… I thought about my future with this monster. He was going to be the first one to touch me at night, the one I would wake up next to, the one whose children I would bear.

My fists clenched tight around the reins. I didn’t want that to be my future. I hated it…

We stopped after three hours to let the horses rest and eat something. Dankyun’s commanders gave each of them a stamina potion diluted in water and some hay. Meanwhile, we used that time to grab a quick bite to eat, but I wasn’t given the same food as the soldiers. I received dried hare meat and some fruits, but I couldn't tell if it was worse or better than them.

This small stop lasted for only twenty minutes and then we were back on our horses. We moved fast because Dankyun wanted to leave Illsy’s territory before he woke up. Even if he did, with me and Tuberculus as hostages, he wouldn’t attack them. Besides, I told him not to until he grew stronger.

Another three hours came to pass. Nothing changed, and we were almost at the edge of Illsy’s territory. As for how I knew this, it was rather strange, but I simply felt it. It was the same feeling one would have upon getting ready to leave their own home. I didn’t know how much more we had until we went past it, I just knew it was getting close.

In an effort to try to forget Illsy and accept my new life, I tried to close my eyes and stop thinking about him.

Flashes of him smiling at me, kissing me, the moment of our embrace, they all returned to me with increased stubbornness each time I tried to push them away. I could clear my mind for a moment, but then I thought about him again. My heart would then start to beat fast and my stomach to feel funny. I couldn’t take Illsy out of my mind.

Did he curse me? I thought, but then I let out a sigh. I knew what that was. Only I could have the luck of falling in love with a man after I left him, but I think… I believe he is a man worth falling in love with, especially when looking at the alternative, Dankyun. Sigh… If there is any god out there, please, listen to my prayer and make sure Illsy and the rest are safe. Please… I looked up at the sky.

“We’re not that far now, Princess.” Dankyun announced, believing that I was just bored with the journey.

Of course, this man only knew the quiet and easy to bully Ayuseya. Illsy knew and cared more for the real me.

Nothing to do now… nothing but wait and… I thought, but then something hit me and made me fall off the horse.

Dankyun jumped back and caught me before I hit the ground. All the soldiers stopped in their tracks.

“What happened?” he asked surprised, but he was holding me too tight. It hurt.

I shook my head.

“It looked like she was hit by something.” said Tuberculus who pulled his horse close.

“Hit by something?” Dankyun furrowed his brow and looked at the trees around us.

His first reaction was to search the surrounding area for a hidden enemy. He even made a sign to two of his soldiers to check it out. They did as ordered and jumped off their horses. While they searched, the other soldiers made a wall around us.

Even I was confused by what was happening.

“I don’t believe it’s someone from my academy.” said Tuberculus, making sure he didn’t ignite Dankyun’s wrath again.

“It better not be.”

I gulped and waited patiently on my knees for something to happen, but the forest was silent. A second attack never came, but everyone still held their guard up, since they couldn’t explain what happened to me. Even I didn’t know.

“There’s no one in the forest, master.” said one of the soldiers after they returned, but it was only then when I noticed what they were.

The two soldiers were actually two very beautiful el’doraw women. Their dark skin that changed with their emotions, dark hair, and long pointy ears like Shanteya’s defined their species, but they were wearing the same type of armor as the other soldiers here. It was a surprise to see he had followers of another species.

“Either they left or the Dungeon Lord came after us. I doubt this to be the case though, but I’ve seen him use a spell capable of grabbing someone no matter how powerful their Magic Armor was.” Dankyun told us as he pulled me up and looked back at the road.

I don’t think Illsy is here… I thought as I looked around for a sign, but there was nothing up there between the branches of the trees or up in the sky.

“Move with caution.” ordered Dankyun and pulled me up.

It hurts… I thought, but I could only wince and follow him.

I made two steps and then I bumped into an invisible wall. It was applied only to me, the others were unaffected by this force.

“What’s this?” asked Dankyun surprised.

I shook my head. I had no idea either.

He waved his hand around, but there was nothing there, however, when he pulled me towards him, I bumped into a flat surface. There was something there, but none of us knew what it could be.

“How strange.” said Tuberculus rubbing his chin.

“What’s the meaning of this old man?” asked Dankyun as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at him.

“There’s no need to get violent, I have no idea either. It’s the first time I’m seeing such a peculiar barrier.” he replied calmly.

“Tsk! Have you two ever seen or heard of anything like this before?” he glared at the two el’doraw women.

They looked at each other for a moment and then back at him. They shook their heads. I was starting to get the feeling that it was another of Illsy’s mysterious abilities. If he could dispel my curses, who knew what else he could do.

Not good! I’m thinking about him again! I closed my eyes and tried to get him out of my mind.

“Princess Ayuseya? Are you feeling alright?” Dankyun asked.

He startled me, and I quickly opened my eyes. My reply was a forced smile and a nod of my head. After that, I looked around and touched the barrier, trying to see where it might start or end, but it went from the ground up, all the way to the sky. Neither going left nor right helped. It was like a giant invisible wall.

“Hm, I wonder…” said Dankyun as he took out a Dungeon Level Detection Stone.

Where he stood, the stone didn’t react, but as soon as he stepped over to my side, the rock activated and showed the number 86. Illsy was leveling up quite fast, but how could that be possible?

“That accursed Dungeon Lord! He bound you somehow to his Dungeon Territory! AAARGH!” Dankyun screamed and punched a tree.

The trunk couldn’t handle such brute force and cracked in the middle. The ground shook, and part of it was uprooted. After another moment, the whole tree came falling down towards him because of the crater left at the base. The two el’doraw women jumped up and kicked the tree at the same time, changing its fall towards the other side.

I watched surprised as they cut down with their bare hands a tree over 20 meters tall and with a thick trunk of over 1 meter in diameter. It was amazing, but at the same time frightening. In my entire life, I could barely snap a branch in half let alone cause a tree of that size to fall down in one hit.

I gulped and looked at him.

“What did he do?” he asked and glared back at me.

Do? What is he… I thought, and I looked down.

The black tattoo ring came into view, reminding me that I was one of Illsyore’s wives. I was a Godlike Dungeon Lord’s wife.

Is this… Is this the reason? I thought and then looked up at Dankyun.

He noticed the ring.

“What’s this? WHAT’S THIS?!” he shouted and grabbed my hand so tight that it hurt.

“Stop this. Please, you are hurting the poor girl.” Tuberculus tried to help me.

“You stay out of this old man… Actually…” he looked over at him and saw that he was outside of the dungeon’s territory.

With a smirk on his lips, Dankyun snapped his fingers and one of the el’doraw appeared behind him. Tuberculus didn’t have the time to react, and the woman stabbed him in the back with a knife. She pulled it out and then kicked him in the wound, sending him flying off the horse and onto the ground, away from us.

Tuberculus groaned and tried to get up, but the woman moved fast and struck him hard in the middle of his chest, breaking through the armor he had put up and sending him flying into a nearby tree. His red blood stained the trunk and ground below.

Looking at my surprised face, Dankyun told me “What? I never intended to let him live. He was going to die either now or in half an hour or so from now.” he then looked back at the two women and spoke calmly. “Stab him one more time and toss him somewhere over there. Oh, but not in the heart. I want him to suffer. If the bleeding isn’t going to kill, the poison will.” he ordered and the el’doraw did as told.

I saw with horror how the woman walked past Dankyun, and without any remorse stabbed him with the same dagger right in his stomach. After she pulled out her blade, she grabbed him by his grizzled hair and dragged him away, while he squirmed in agony.

There was no doubt about it, the headmaster, the old man who welcomed me kindly to his academy, was going to die now. I felt bad for him and wished there was some way I could help him, but in front of Dankyun and his army, which not even Illsy could defeat, what was I to do?

My body trembled with fear just from the mere thought of it. I tried to calm myself down, to appear unshaken and dignified in front of them, but when Dankyun crouched down in front of me, my heart shrank. He looked into my eyes and then touched the cheek he had cut earlier, now healed of any wound. My fear of this monster was as clear as day to anyone who gazed upon me.

“Now, I’m going to give you your board and chalk, and you are going to tell me exactly what that Dungeon Lord did to you and how I can undo it.” he smiled.

A chill went down my spine.

How can I lie to him now? This wasn’t part of my plan… This… I thought as I looked at him in fear.

“Here you go.” he offered me the blackboard.

“I… I don’t need it.” I said and looked back at him.

It’s over anyway… I thought.

“W-What?” he said surprised.

Even the soldiers looked surprised at me. Everyone knew I was a mute, including Dankyun, who was the one who cursed me in the first place. It was obvious that this wasn’t something he expected to happen. One thing was removing the engagement between us and another to remove the curse I couldn’t even tell anyone about.

I smirked.

“There is someone there with a greater power than yours, Dankyun…” I told him.

Even if he defeated Illsy once, I still considered him far stronger than the monster before me for the simple reason that in my eyes, the Dungeon Lord had everything Dankyun lacked: kindness, compassion, modesty, and most importantly… love. Maybe it was foolish to believe so, but I honestly didn’t care anymore.

“Princess, I’m glad you can talk, but how?” he asked with a forced smile, but his annoyance was at its peak.

He was shaken by this, he even ignored my words, but maybe I could use his moment of confusion towards my advantage? It was a long shot, but I had to try.

If this works, he should start fearing this ‘someone’ who can easily remove such extreme curses because they might surpass him as a Supreme. If it doesn’t, then I’m dead anyway. I can’t leave Illsy’s territory, and now I am free of my curses. There is no reason for my country to wish to marry me off to him now, and he knows that. I thought and with a gulp, I told him the following words:

“Yes. The curse you put upon me was removed in a matter of seconds.”

“S-Sec-Seconds?!” he stuttered.

“And so was my family’s curse.” I added and squinted my eyes at him.

All the soldiers around me began to whisper among themselves when they heard this. Even the two el’doraw women who returned from dumping Tuberculus somewhere in the forest had a similar reaction. It was already known that not even the best healers on all three continents could do nothing to remove this curse, but here I was proclaiming it was gone. The proof for it was the fact that I could speak, showing them as clear as day that my other curse may have been removed as well. Still, it made me wonder just how many of all those around me actually knew I had two curses instead of one. For Dankyun, it was clear, but the others were just following orders.

“BUHAHAHA!” he burst into a loud laughter, silencing all the voices around him.

I blinked surprised and took a step back from him. He was laughing like a madman.

“You… Haha! You say you got rid of your curses?” he asked after he stopped.

“Y-Yes.” I replied.

“So… if you were to return, the kingdom would be saved as they say, right? I mean you would be able to strengthen the royal family again. Sigh! This is a good day! A good day indeed!” he said with a smile as he looked up at the sky.

For a moment, I thought my plan succeeded. If in his eyes, I stopped being a disgrace and instead became a proper draconian Princess, maybe he would stop with his mad behavior and actually try to work with me to restore Teslov to the glory of the old. Unfortunately, I forgot that Dankyun may have had different plans in regard to how he could restore the power to the throne.

“I see, then… You cured your curses… I see, then… I just have to kill you and take another princess as my wife.”

Those words spoken with a frightening calm sent shivers down my spine all the way to the tip of my tail. I took a step back, I wanted to flee, but the soldiers formed a wall behind me.

“What’s this? You would betray your Princess?” I asked.

“They never were yours to begin with, Princess Ayuseya.” said Dankyun as he approached me.

“Why would you do this, Dankyun? Why?” I asked as I clenched my dress.

My hands were trembling, and my heart was beating faster than ever. I was staring death in the eyes, and there was no way for me to escape its terrible claws.

“I simply hate the current royal family, and I want the throne.” he shrugged and then pointed his black sword at me. “I have just one final question. What do you want your last words to be?” he asked with a smile.

My final words? How cruel… I thought and closed my eyes for a moment. Yes, those would be right if they were supposed to be my last words… I opened my eyes and smiling at him, I said “I have just two things to say. Dankyun, you’re an idiot, and the man I love is Illsyore.”

“How foolish.” he shook his head and then prepared to attack me.

I closed my eyes. This was it… No matter how hard I tried to run away from him, no matter how fast I was, no matter where I went and who tried to protect me, Dankyun always managed to catch up to me. Maybe this was my fate? At least, I would die knowing I said those words which set my heart free of any pain and heavy chains…

“Ayuseya?” I heard his voice, but I couldn’t believe it.

“Ayuseya? Are you alright?” I heard it again.

No doubt it was Illsy’s voice. I opened my eyes, but instead of the forest, I saw the metal room where his crystal body was. Shanteya and Nanya were here as well, but what was important was that Illsy was here!

“I…” my voice wouldn’t come out. My eyes swelled with tears, and without caring who saw me, I jumped forward and embraced that big green crystal. “Illsy!” I cried.

“Yes! I’m here… I’m… Don’t worry. You’re safe, Ayuseya.” he spoke to me in a kind and gentle voice.