Their hot breaths mixed together, and the thrill of melting ran through his whole body. It was ecstatic. He thought he was going crazy. He felt like he was going to die because he was so happy that he was annoyed by the passing of time. Jeremiah wished everything would stop at this moment.
The fact that Karina had accepted his confession opened her heart. The fact that she had forgiven him was hard to believe, but if it was a dream, he was so happy that he would never want to wake up. He even felt a strange sense of satisfaction. The urge to delve deeper and feel all of her, and the will to treat her affectionately and gently, were all at once swirling through his head. His mind was seething with those terribly conflicting emotions.
After a while.
“Ha.”
The lips of the two people who had been touching each other parted with Karina's urgent breathing, which was out of breath. It was painful.
"Karina."
Jeremiah took Karina's hand and placed it over his left chest. Her hand touched his heart.
"Can you feel it?"
His heart was beating so fast that it was indescribable. His eyes looking at Karina were soft and affectionate like spring flower petals. Like a flower filled with honey, they were filled with affection that could not be hidden. Karina blushed slightly, but she did not avoid his gaze and nodded straight at him. She was so cute and lovely.
He was overwhelmed with unbearable excitement, distracting his mind. He could only think of Karina. Her slightly swollen lips were so luscious and pretty. Jeremiah could not hold back and swallowed her lips again. The sweet and soft feeling spread throughout his body, filling him with joy. Karina's eyes relaxed tiredly as if she was possessed, and became hazy as if she was hallucinating. Excitement and satisfaction filled his chest tightly. The thrill and dizziness that felt like electricity ran through his blood vessels and surged through his body.
Jeremiah did not regret throwing himself for her. He would have given his all for Karina. But unfortunately, their happy times did not last long.
"Ugh...!"
With a soft groan, Jeremiah pushed Karina away gently but urgently.
"Cough! Cough!"
Hot blood gushed out from his teeth. His front teeth, already stained red with blood, became soaked with red again. The pain in his tattered body returned.
“Ha.”
Jeremiah let out a labored, pained breath. He felt dizzy and his vision was blurry. He had lost so much blood.
"Jeremiah!"
Karina, who noticed that his condition was worsening, desperately held onto him as he staggered.
"Don't lose consciousness. Just wait until someone comes..."
But Karina couldn't finish her story. She knew it too. The ice cave they were in was a place that was difficult for ordinary people to access. Even the knights of the North wouldn't be able to find them right away.
Karina clenched her hands tightly again, feeling helpless and inferior. Jeremiah carefully wrapped her hands around the backs of her hands. Jeremiah already felt that no one could save him. In his last moments, it was enough for Karina to be by his side.
"It's okay. Just stay by my side like this for a little while. I'm happy if you stay by my side."
"But..."
"And this."
Jeremiah took a white pendant out of his bosom and placed it in her hand.
"This is...!"
Karina knew immediately what it was...
"If you have the Dragon's Heart here, you can live. Your soul will not be broken without me."
"...!"
Karina's eyes were distorted with sorrow.
"I'm sorry and thank you. For forgiving me and loving me. Thank you so much, Karina."
Rather, that was what he wanted to say.
"What can I say when you say that? I can't hate you anymore."
Jeremiah chuckled.
"Are you laughing now?"
She spoke in a tearful voice.
"Why do you always..."
Karina bit her lower lip and blinked her wet eyes to clear her vision that was blurred by tears. The tears that had been in her eyes like dew fell down.
"I'm sorry I realized it so late. I'm sorry I couldn't be on your side. I'm so sorry I made you feel so hurt and miserable."
Tears welled up in Karina's eyes as she listened to his repeated apologies. She didn't want to hear that. Her heart grew impatient as she listened to his breathing grow weaker and weaker.
"Don't die. You can't die. Show me how sorry you are for living. Just treat me well enough to make up for the sorry you are."
Jeremiah smiled faintly at her words. Now, his brows were furrowed as if in pain.
"I've always liked you, ever since I first saw you... Even though you may not remember."
The light in Jeremiah's eyes began to dim.
"If I had the chance... I would do anything... to make you happy."
Even his weak voice grew smaller and smaller. His lifeless, feeble breathing trembled pitifully.
"I love you."
With those last words, the strength in his hands that had been holding her tightly disappeared. His eyes, barely able to support the weight of his eyelids that had been barely open, closed.
"No..."
Karina's eyes were distorted with pity and sadness towards him. She quickly hugged Jeremiah and begged...
"Please."
Karina made a wish.
"Please save Jeremiah."
Whether it be a god or a dragon, she would do anything to save him. Karina gritted her teeth and begged.
'Please save him!'
But despite her fervent prayers, no miracle happened. Instead, she felt Jeremiah's body In her arms sagging limply.
"...!"
Karina's hands were shaking. Her heart, which had been beating as if it would burst earlier, was now beating so slowly that it was barely noticeable. Even that was getting weaker. His breathing and pulse seemed to be fading, and the blood that was seeping out of him excitedly seemed to be telling of his death. Her eyes went dark. She was so scared and frightened. She felt like her mind was going blank. Then Karina suddenly started screaming like a crazy woman.
"Please! Jeremiah's empty wish was for me to be happy! If you were going to grant his wish, you couldn't let him die like this!"
Karina cried and screamed.
"You're a dragon! You made a contract! Then you should grant my wish! What kind of dragon is it that can't even grant one wish!"
She cried out and cursed the dragon. Her scream-like voice echoed loudly in the cave. Karina desperately hugged Jeremiah as if she would never let him go.
"I can never be happy if he dies! So, do whatever you want!!"
At that moment, a blindingly bright light engulfed the surroundings.
"...!!"
Karina looked up in surprise. The white pendant Jeremiah had given her was glowing, absorbing his blood and Karina's tears.
"This is..."
It was the pendant that Mikhail had given her, saying that it would allow her to meet the dragon, and it was the one that Jeremiah had used in his past memories to drop blood and summon the dragon. The moment she realized that she had a strong conviction that this would save Jeremiah. Karina quickly grabbed the pendant and instinctively placed it against Jeremiah's chest where his heart was. Then as if it had been waiting, the pendant emitted a strong magical power filled with life and was instantly absorbed into Jeremiah's body.
A bright light enveloped Jeremiah's body. His serious injuries were healing at a visibly fast rate. Even his leg, which had been bent at an odd angle, was healed as if it were a lie.
"Ah..."
The surprise was short-lived.
"Phew..."
Jeremiah let out a long breath.
"Jeremiah!"
Karina quickly checked his complexion and heartbeat. His heart, which seemed ready to stop at any moment, was beating strongly again.
"Ah... Thank goodness."
It wasn't perfect, but she felt a little relieved to see that his complexion had returned. Just now, he had been on the edge of a cliff with no room to step, but it seemed like he had overcome a difficult situation.
All the strength left Karina's body as she relaxed. A smile of relief and joy appeared on her tear-stained face. She was so relieved that Jeremiah hadn't died. Only then did the trembling of her body subside.
Karina hugged Jeremiah tightly. And she kept him warm for a long time so that his body temperature wouldn't drop.
Jeremiah woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he found Karina holding him unconscious. Surprised, he hurriedly checked her condition. Fortunately, she seemed to have just fallen asleep. He looked around again.
'Inside the ice cave.'
He couldn't figure out how he was okay. But soon he could feel it. The dragon power that he had stored in the pendant to pass on to Karina had returned. Karina had definitely saved him. The joy of being alive and being able to see Karina was short-lived. His expression darkened.
"No. Karina will die soon if I leave her like this."
He couldn't leave it like that. He had to get the dragon's heart back that the warlock had stolen. He needed the dragon's heart to save Karina.
'For the eternal life and absolute power promised to the Emperor, I need the heart of the dragon.'
Before Jeremiah fell here, he remembered what the warlock had said.
'If he were the Emperor, he would be in the capital palace.'
Jeremiah decided to head to the capital to find the dragon's heart. However, rather than taking Karina to the dangerous capital, which was like a battlefield, he decided that it would be safer to leave her in this ice cave where the dragon's heart had been sleeping for a long time. If it was inside this cave, the monsters running wild outside would not be able to approach it without permission. Jeremiah carefully laid down the unconscious Karina.
"Karina. Just wait a moment. I will find the dragon's heart as soon as possible and offer it to you. Until then."
Jeremiah took Karina's hand and kissed her cheek gently as if making an oath.
"Please wait until then. I will be back with you soon."
***
Mikhail arrived in the north where monsters were swarming. He should have gone straight to deal with the warlock to avenge his master and father, Pavel. He heard from Max, who had returned to the magic tower, that there was a traitor and that the Emperor and the warlock were behind the attack on the magic tower, so it was clear who the target of his revenge was. He also found out that their target was the dragon's heart in the north.
However. The traitor had planned to attack the magic tower for a long time, and while everyone was focused on stopping the monsters, he had stolen all the magic stones stored in the magic tower, not only that, he had killed his master. Mikhail couldn't say for sure if he would be safe if he faced the warlock. That's why he wanted to see Karina one last time before going for revenge. He wanted to gain strength by seeing her. However, the place he arrived at when he found Karina was strange.
'The forest of the north.'
Selena and Hasten were clearly told that she was staying in a hiding place. However, the location coordinates of the artifact given to Karina were not clear. Even the accuracy of the location coordinates was dropping as if they were being interfered with by something.
Mikhail first used a search spell to search the surroundings widely. However, not only Karina's location but also the warlock's aura was already only visible here and there.
'Could it be that he has already left the North in search of the Dragon's Heart?'
Mikhail's jaw clenched tightly. He had been using teleportation magic several times to hover around the area because the signal was not being received properly. At that time.
"Uh?"
Something sparkled in the distance. As Mikhail got closer, he saw an ice cave so large and beautiful that he would never have guessed it was in such a place.
'What's this?'
Mikhail went into the ice cave he had found.
He didn't let his guard down, wondering if there was anything inside the cave.
However, the deeper he went, the closer he got to Karina. And the center of the cave.
"Karina!"
There, Mikhail was able to meet the person he had been searching for.
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