Feeling pain in her heart, Eve raised her hand and clutched her chest.
Thump thump thump.
A greater resonance than before enveloped her.
Eve slowly closed her eyes and recalled the magic remaining in her body.
She could not feel the earth magic that had gently enveloped her body.
Eve lowered her trembling gaze.
The fingertips resting on the chest were becoming transparent.
Eve realized.
That the time given to her had all come to an end.
Thud.
Her body vibrated violently again.
Eve's body slumped limply, as if the strength had drained from her legs.
The dragon quickly caught her collapsing body.
He hurriedly checked on Eve's condition.
With her face deathly pale, she could only move her lips, unable to speak properly.
It looked precarious, like a candle about to go out at any moment.
“Lily...?”
He muttered with a half-dazed look on his face.
He had seen countless people die.
Even at the resentful gaze directed at him, the dragon did not even blink an eye.
Since it had nothing to do with him.
But at this very moment, an unbearable anxiety consumed his body.
It seemed as though she, too, would never open her closed eyes, just like them.
The remaining embers of anger completely died down.
The dragon's revenge was temporarily postponed thanks to the woman who suddenly collapsed.
A faint glimmer appeared in Dais's eyes, which had been filled with resignation.
'This is a chance to escape!'
There would never be another golden opportunity like this.
Dais rolled his eyes with his damp hands.
Then, he threw it at the face of the knight who was still sitting there blankly.
As the cold snow touched him, the knight trembled like a boy waking from a nightmare.
He looked at Dais with a dazed expression.
"What are you doing! Are you blind?"
Dais whispered and shot back.
"Can't you all get a grip? Are you crazy enough to want to die?"
The threat of 'Do you want to die?' awakened the minds of the knights who were on the brink of death.
The knights, who had risen from their seats in an awkward posture, hurriedly left the area.
The knight who had been hit squarely in the face in the eye also got up from his seat and supported Dais.
However, he couldn't move properly because of the icicles stuck in his calves.
The knight had no choice but to pull out the icicle that was stuck in it.
A groan of rage burst out. Dais gritted his teeth and endured the pain.
Opportunity will come again. Absolutely...
Dais, who had been glaring at the fallen woman and the dragon, limped away.
The sound of damp snow being trampled was heard. It was the sound of a few rats scurrying away, but the dragon paid no attention to it.
It was because of Eve, who was slumped limply in his arms.
“Lily.”
As if trying to check her condition, the red eyes moved impatiently.
"Is it because of me? Because I, because I hugged you too tightly?"
He stammered in a very flustered voice.
The wolves would collapse and die with just the slightest force.
Losing his reason for a moment, he couldn't control his strength when he hugged her.
"It was difficult to control my strength. I will make sure this doesn't happen again..."
When he apologized clumsily, Eve shook her head with difficulty.
She should say that it's not that, that he did nothing wrong... but she couldn't open her mouth.
Thump. It was because of the resonance that shook her entire body. Her face was stained with even deeper pain.
It felt as if he was urging her on, saying that time was up.
Eve raised her hand, which had started to fade, and stroked his cheek.
The dragon hurriedly wrapped his hand around the back of her hand. The breath touching his palm was hot.
“...Listen carefully.”
Eve continued speaking with difficulty.
"Absolutely, absolutely, you must not give your heart to anyone. Understood?"
“Lily.”
"Promise me."
"..."
"This is the last promise I can make with you right now."
The dragon's eyes trembled slightly at the voice that sounded like it was saying the end.
"Why, why are you saying that?"
The breath touching his palm grew a little rougher.
"As if you were about to leave my side..."
He stopped speaking and bit his lip.
"...No, I can't let you go. Stay by my side."
He grabbed Eve's hand resting on his cheek and shook his head vigorously.
In the meantime, his own image was fading away a little faster.
“I’m not leaving.”
Eve continued speaking with difficulty.
"We're just parting ways for a moment."
However, the pain ringing in her body was getting worse and worse.
"No."
He shook his head again.
"I can't let you go..."
His words suddenly stopped.
The coldness that had touched his cheek disappeared.
Nothing was felt in the hand that wrapped around the back of Eve's hand.
The dragon lowered its trembling eyes.
Lily's hand, which he had held onto like a burning rope, vanished.
All that settled in his hand was the cold northern wind.
She was slowly being erased.
As if it could no longer exist in this world.
The dragon's heart sank.
"Lily, let's go to my lair."
He stammered heavily.
"The Dragon's Lair has healing powers. My eyes were healed there, too. If you go to the Lair, you'll be able to get better, too. So, Lily, come with me. Okay?"
He forced a smile, as if trying not to let go of the thread of hope.
But Eve shook her head.
She wasn't dying; she had simply used up all her allocated time.
However, the dragon had no way of knowing the situation. A slow smile formed on the dragon's face.
It was a look on its face as if it were asking for an explanation, but Eve didn't have time to explain everything.
"Sorry."
Because I didn't notice until the very end.
So, I realized too late that the person you loved was me, who had come from the past. I'm sorry.
Belated regret streamed down the corners of her eyes.
Eve closed her mouth at the pain ringing through her body.
He urged her on, saying that time could not wait any longer.
There was a lot she wanted to say.
But right now, this was the only thing she could say to him.
Eve pulled her lips away with difficulty.
"We will meet again. It might take some time, but I will definitely be your partner."
"..."
"So, absolutely never give your heart to anyone else. Got it?"
His throat began to ripple as if trying to prevent it from surging.
Soon, he slowly shook his head. Tears streamed down his white cheeks.
"...Don't go."
"..."
"Don't leave me behind, please..."
He hugged Eve a little tighter.
His shoulders trembled violently.
How could I leave behind someone crying so sadly and sorrowfully?
Eve parted her lips.
"Don't cry."
Her hand was gone now, so she couldn't wipe her tears.
She had to continue speaking, but her body, stripped of the earth's power, would not obey.
"Don't cry..."
She squeezed out her last ounce of strength and parted her lips as if whispering.
The dragon lifted its wet eyes and looked at her.
Her blue eyes were full of moisture, just like his.
It seemed as though his tears were hurting her heart.
A crying face like this couldn't possibly look pretty.
He hurriedly wiped his face. His palms were covered in soaking wet tears.
However, resentful tears streamed down as if they had been waiting, wetting his cheeks once again.
Eve did not blame the tears that flowed down again.
She blinked slowly. She looked as precarious as a candle about to go out at any moment.
The anxiety reached its peak.
The dragon couldn't stand it and trapped her in his arms, so she couldn't escape anywhere.
Thump, thump, their hearts pressed together trembled.
The dragon opened its eyes again.
"...!"
Her transparent body began to slip out of his embrace, softly like grains of sand held in a hand.
"No..."
The dragon hurriedly hugged her. However, Eve's body had already turned transparent.
The red eyes trembled slightly.
“Lily!”
He hurriedly reached out his hand, but her body, shattered like scattering flower petals, soared into the night sky.
Before she completely disappeared, she kissed her lips.
However, before it could be turned into sound, her form vanished. Because of this, the dragon could not hear her last words.
"Ah..."
He let out a groan like a sigh with a dazed look on his face.
"No, no. Lily, please..."
Don't leave me.
His sorrowful voice echoed through the night sky.
Soon, her figure vanished. Like the snow scattering right now.
She disappeared.
It was the moment his reason was buried.
***
Lily covered her mouth.
Fearing that a startled voice might slip out through her lips, she even hid her body behind a tree.
'Eve has disappeared.'
And that too, leaving that dragon behind.
She saw it clearly with her own two eyes, but she couldn't believe it.
Is it even possible for a human body to vanish as if being erased?
'But...'
Lily poked her face out from behind the tree where she had been hiding.
The dragon, who had been holding Eve in his arms just moments ago, was staring blankly at the night sky.
How long had he been like that? He slowly lowered his head.
Lily swallowed her nervous breath.
The face of the dragon glaring at her came to mind.
Intense possessiveness was etched in the red eyes.
'But since Eve has disappeared...'
It seemed as though the dragon, enraged by the grief of losing her, was about to go berserk.
If it were the dragon she faced, he would have done more than that.
It was then.
The dragon's upper body tilted forward as if collapsing.
Eventually, his shoulders began to tremble slightly.
Lily blinked blankly as if she couldn't believe it.
The dragon was crying.
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