Chapter 1307: 65. Beast

Click.

The sound was so faint, yet it still inevitably reached Muen's ears.

After all, by now, he had personally opened more locks than he could even remember. No matter what kind of lock it was, he was incomparably familiar with the sound of its cylinder clicking shut.

So familiar that he only needed to close his eyes to work out in his head how to pick it open within a few seconds.

But Muen still believed it was only his imagination.

After all, he and Dragon Lady shared a perfectly innocent relationship between companions. Whatever activity came next should naturally be wholesome and uplifting, full of positive energy. Under circumstances like these, why would she lock the door?

An illusion. It had to be an illusion.

He had soaked in the hot spring for too long earlier and steamed his brain silly. The aftereffects were only now—

"The heart truly is an indescribably complicated thing."

Behind Muen, Hamreign suddenly began to speak.

"Joy and anger, sorrow and happiness, grief and indignation, love and hatred, meetings and partings—we always believe we understand our own hearts well enough, but when the moment truly comes that we must face them directly, we discover that we never understood them at all."

"The human heart is simply that difficult to grasp. Since ancient times, countless powerful beings possessed strength capable of changing the world. They were brilliant beyond measure, enough that even I would admire them, yet in the end, they still failed to withstand the Pollution and erosion of Evil Gods... They, too, failed to understand their own hearts and lost in the place they cared about least."

"Even for me, it is the same. I need to face Pollution. I need to face Evil Gods. For this prosperous city, for the countless prosperous cities like it, for all the living beings in this world, I must keep the most dangerous things outside the world."

"Therefore, I cannot allow these complicated emotions to constantly disturb me, nor can I indulge the heart sickness that is gradually worsening and allow it to erode who I am."

"I... must understand my own heart."

"......"

Before Hamreign had even finished speaking.

Muen had already vanished from where he stood.

He didn't want to hear another word of what Dragon Lady was saying right now. His instincts simply detected danger, so without another word, his gaze locked onto the balcony window on the other side of the room. His Divine Kingdom unfolded in an instant, and by the time he reappeared, he was already at the edge of the balcony.

A mere ten meters didn't even require an instant for him to cross.

Outside lay the broad Glein River, reflecting the final traces of sunset.

But before his fingers could even touch the balcony window, he was thrown backward by a dazzling radiance so intense that it was almost impossible to keep his eyes open.

It was a golden restriction.

The exit had been completely sealed.

Muen's formidable strength, which had only recently increased by a huge margin—practically a qualitative leap, enough that even he had become faintly proud of it—was completely useless against this thin barrier, at least in the short term.

Another technique that severed the medium. Even his black flames would need time to burn through it... but where did he have that kind of time?

A single step away might as well have been the ends of the earth.

"Give up. We've already come this far. How could I possibly allow you to escape?"

Tap. Tap.

Dragon Lady's footsteps sounded.

They were merely the sounds of jade-like feet stepping across a soft carpet. By all logic, there was nothing frightening about them.

Yet to Muen's ears, they sounded like some kind of beast retracting its claws and fangs as it slowly closed in.

And he had nowhere to run.

"D-Dragon Lady, calm down. Could you calm down for a second?"

Cold sweat appeared on Muen's forehead as his heart sank straight to the bottom.

There was no longer any room left for wishful thinking, because he had finally realized that everything they'd done throughout the day seemed to have been part of Dragon Lady's calculations.

She indeed hadn't done anything bad to him. Nor had she mixed any evil intentions into their wandering around all day.

But all of that had merely been so she could...

Fatten him up before slaughtering him?

Damn it! So the reason she hadn't made a move right away was because she'd thought he'd already been drained too dry?

"Dragon Lady, you need to stay calm. When it comes to the heart, the most important thing is remaining firm in your original convictions. You can't let yourself be influenced so easily. Who knows whether whatever is influencing you might be hiding some unspeakable conspiracy?"

As the danger drew closer and closer, Muen didn't even dare turn around. He could only pour out his heartfelt sincerity, appealing both to reason and emotion, hoping that Dragon Lady could turn back from her wayward path.

If she turned back now, wouldn't they still be good companions?

"I am firm!"

Hamreign suddenly raised her voice.

Then, little by little, it lowered again.

Just like the path her heart had taken—from high to low, from hard to soft, changing again and again.

"I am firm... Or at least, I was."

Within the mist above the Shattered Sea, atop the ruins of New Tars, blood had formed their pact and warmth had passed between their palms. Back then, she had been absolutely certain that he was the companion who would walk forward with her into the future. As long as they stood side by side, they could cross time, cross calamity, cross everything.

At that time, the thing humans called love—that base and fleeting emotion—hadn't even appeared among the options in her mind.

...Perhaps it had appeared, but only for the briefest instant.

Yet after answering his invitation and coming to the human world, one experience after another had changed everything.

Had left her...

utterly confused.

"All of this... is your fault."

"......Huh?"

Muen looked completely dumbfounded.

His fault?

What had he done wrong?

Inviting his companion into the human world so she could understand that all her efforts had not been in vain, taking her shopping and traveling so she could experience the customs and scenery of different places...

Was there something wrong with that?

"This city is beautiful. The last city was beautiful too. All of this is more beautiful and more prosperous than I imagined."

"Hm?"

"The fireworks were beautiful. The food was delicious. And the people here don't hate me as much as I imagined they would."

"Huh?"

"As expected, I still love all of this."

"Wait, Dragon Lady... what exactly are you trying to say?"

Even after listening for so long, Muen was still utterly confused.

"What I mean is... since you disturbed my heart, naturally you have a responsibility to restore it to peace."

Hamreign finally reached the important point.

"Is that so difficult to understand?"

"O-Okay. If you say I was wrong, then I was wrong. That part isn't difficult to understand. But I don't think what you're doing right now is going to restore peace to your heart. How about we try another method? What about a classic all-night conversation between companions? I'm really good at telling stories!"

Muen continued trying to persuade her, his body trembling.

He could feel that beastlike presence getting closer...

Closer still.

"No."

Dragon Lady flatly rejected Muen's suggestion.

"Although I hate that woman, I have to admit that some of what she said was right. My current condition can no longer be resolved through ordinary methods. Rather than thinking endlessly, allowing my sickness to worsen while still failing to reach an answer, I might as well cut through the knot with a single stroke and use one powerful dose of medicine to completely lay my heart bare."

Her soft voice once again became hard and domineering.

Hamreign seemed not merely to be explaining herself, but dissecting herself as well, while simultaneously recovering the person she had once been.

"Hesitating and acting coy isn't my nature. If I'm uncertain... then I might as well gamble on it!"

"No..." The corner of Muen's mouth twitched as he continued trying to persuade her. "You're already going to gamble? I don't even know what you're gambling on, but what if you lose? Aren't you going to think about it a little more? Dragon Lady, don't give up on treatment! Going all-in with your life on the line is something terminal patients do!"

"There's no need to think any further. Although this was rather rushed, I still believe I have absolute confidence in victory."

Hamreign's words were filled with confidence. Even without seeing her face, Muen could almost imagine those golden pupils blazing brightly at this very moment.

"I have already completely understood human emotions. My previous definition was correct. Whether it is or isn't, the only difference lies in that tiny line called 'instinct.'"

Pure, noble, perfectly innocent companionship.

Filthy, base, inferior love.

Between the two...

Strangely enough, there was only that tiny line separating them.

But she didn't believe that so-called "single thin line" could truly shake her.

This had always been one of her strengths.

So now, she was going to prove it.

To that woman.

To him.

And to herself.

Tap.

Closer.

So close that Muen could already feel the warmth coming from her body and catch her scent.

Dragon Lady had also just soaked in the hot spring. At this moment, she was like a lotus newly risen from the water. Even with his back turned to her, the mere thought was enough to inspire endless fantasies.

But for Muen, along with those fantasies came fear.

He had thought Dragon Lady was different from those bad women, that she would never do anything evil...

But now it seemed she was the worst one of all!

What was he supposed to do?

Was he really about to be devoured completely?

But he hadn't made even the slightest preparation for anything like this. More importantly, the other party was the mighty Calamity, the Dragon of Death and Doom, the strongest creature beneath the heavens.

In front of her, wasn't he nothing more than a pitiful little kitten?

What else could he possibly do?

Just lie flat and allow an unprecedented storm to ravage him however it pleased?

"Don't be nervous."

Hamreign suddenly said:

"Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything to you."

"......"

Muen silently rolled his eyes.

Who was she trying to fool?

She had already driven him this far. What did she mean, she wasn't going to do anything?

Hadn't she already done enough?

Did it only count as "doing something" if she truly toyed with him until he became a pitiful, tearful wreck?

"I've said so much, yet you still haven't understood what I mean?"

Hamreign's tone remained as indifferent and calm as ever, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

But the meaning of her words was startling.

"The one being tested this time isn't you.

"It's me."

"Eh?"

"Is that strange? If the point is to dissect and understand my own heart, then why would you assume that I was going to do something to you?"

"......"

Muen froze.

Then realization struck him.

Right.

Dragon Lady had just said a great deal, but to summarize it—the one whose heart was in turmoil was her.

The one unable to calm her emotions was her.

The one who needed powerful medicine to treat her heart sickness was also her.

Although he also...

Well, he probably hadn't reached that point yet.

So she had never been some beast preparing to devour him completely.

And he wasn't some helpless, adorable little kitten.

If anything...

It should be the other way around.

"It's not that I'm going to do something to you. It's that you're going to do something to me. So..."

Hamreign spoke softly, but in a tone that allowed absolutely no refusal.

"Now, turn around."

Everything happened far too suddenly.

Muen's mind still hadn't caught up, and his body, which had become completely rigid, couldn't move in time either.

Yet that faint sound was still, as always...

Incomparably clear.

Rustle...

The sound of fabric sliding against fabric.

Muen had not yet turned around.

But that thorn-covered dress had already fluttered to the floor.