Married To The Enemy Kingdom's Illegitimate Prince-Chapter 138 — The Battle (4)

"Crown prince!"

Hearing the cry even among the growling monsters, the soldiers briefly glanced at the crown prince but resumed their fight.

One wrong move and their lives would be lost as well.

"Are you alright?" Lucian gently laid Valen on his lap, checking for injuries.

Valen chuckled, confusing Lucian.

"Can you stop being nice for once? It’s annoying."

"I... apologize..."

"No. Just let me die in peace, alright? No one will miss me. My family’s gone. But you can’t die. You need to live. I couldn’t even protect Arisia. As your older brother, can you just let me protect you for once?"

Tears Lucian had been holding back fell onto Valen’s face as his breath slowed and grew uneven.

"I’ll ask the grand duchess to heal you."

"No, don’t," Valen stopped Lucian from speaking to Cynthia. "Look at her." He pointed at Cynthia, who stood at the front, sweat dripping down her face after nearly finishing the purification. "She’s exhausted. The mana stones will soon be depleted. Save her powers for something more important."

"But you’re the one who’s supposed to inherit the throne!" Lucian protested, unwilling to let go.

"And? You have royal blood too."

Hearing those words, Lucian clenched his jaw. The words he had longed to hear felt empty, bringing only sorrow, leaving his heart heavy and his mouth bitter. Something didn’t feel right, but he couldn’t understand what.

"Hang in there, Your Highness," Lucian said simply, knowing Valen wouldn’t last much longer.

More than the physical injuries from the demons, their magic was the most dangerous. It was like poison to humans—those too weak to resist dark magic often died.

Valen’s body began to darken, his breath hitching for a moment before going still.

Lucian clenched his jaw, gently laying Valen’s head on the ground before standing. A fierce fire surrounded him as his magic powers surged, uncontrollable due to his unstable emotions.

He charged toward the demons, burning them one by one, slashing through them like animals in a hunt.

The soldiers stepped back, allowing the grand duke to take charge.

[NOOO!]

Isla’s deafening cry echoed, but Lucian didn’t pay attention.

Soon, only burning demons remained, their ashes scattered across the barren land of Tervland. Knights and a few surviving civilians stood near the sinkhole, protected by mages and their shields.

"Your Highness! Please, stop! You’ll exhaust yourself!" Cynthia shouted, fear clutching her chest.

He wouldn’t die from this... would he?

The thought chilled her to the bone.

"Keal," Lucian growled, his mind too focused on killing the demons in the air to pay attention to Cynthia’s screams.

[Y-Yes?..]

For once, Keal hesitated. He had been by Lucian’s side ever since he was born but it was the first time he witnessed such a powerful force, threatening even him, a high-ranked demon.

"Kill them," he ordered.

"Let me handle the princess’s body, Your Highness," Suyou sprang before Lucian, although he was unsure to whom the grand duke was ordering.

Lucian growled but then closed his eyes in agreement.

"Wait until he finishes," he added, glancing at Keal’s shadow.

Suyou inhaled deeply, closing his eyes, using a spell he had never thought of using on Princess Arisia.

She is not the princess. It’s a demon... I need to free her...

He repeated, his jaw tightened.

The princess he once knew, the one whom he loved and cherished, the one he vowed to protect at the cost of his life, the one who left a hole in his heart , the one who’s absence had casted emptiness in his world was gone.

His focus on Iana, he whispered words no one could hear. Between his palms, a bright turquoise light flickered, slowly growing before he casted it on Iana.

A scream echoed in the silent desert along with the burning sound of the fire Lucian had set on the demons.

Iana’s body had to leave Arisia’s body due to Suyou’s attack— infecting a large amount of poison in the body to the point another soul would be unable to inhabit the body.

[Damn you!] Iana cursed, attacking Suyou with her body nonstop until she made sure it entered his body. [Die!]

Arisia’s body fell to the ground, and Suyou ran towards the body in the hope of catching it. However, that was his mistake— Iana had taken the chance to cast her magic on him.

Hit by the dark magic, Suyou didn’t seem too affected. He had caught Arisia’s body in his arms, gasping for air. His body bleed but he didn’t care what happened to him. Catching Arisia’s body and making sure no further harm came to it was far more important than his very life.

"Get out of there!" Cynthia shouted, gathering as much magic as she could to strike Iana with a fireball. She threw it towards the demon but it was too late. Iana had already casted a dark scarlet magic spell on Suyou, who now lay on the ground, gasping for air, Arisia’s body beside him.

The fireball soon burned Iana’s large figure to ashes but that didn’t matter to Cynthia. She rushed to Suyou, her knees hitting on the ground. She tried her best to heal him but his condition only deteriorated.

"Why isn’t it working!?" She shouted, frustrated. It seemed all her magic powers had vanished after all these attacks! The golden flicker of magic merely flashed and disappeared constantly, unstable.

"Y-Your Highness," Suyou managed to speak.

"Don’t close your eyes. I will heal you," Cynthia said, resolute to cure him no matter what.

"Please tell my mother... that finally... I will be able to stay by Her Highness’s side... forever."

His voice did not shake. His words merely cut due to his unsteady breath.

"Your mother?.." Cynthia mumbled but shook her head quickly. "No! You need to live for the princess!"

But no matter what she said, it seemed to be nothing more than empty words.

Suyou’s ragged breath stopped and his body also turned dark, almost poisoned.

Cynthia gritted her teeth, but no tears came out no matter how heavy her chest felt.

Was it a punishment? To witness so many deaths because she neglected what she saw in her visions because of her revenge? Telling herself she still had a few years left before this chaos?

But... how would I know that... everything would happen faster than in my past life?...

[Is that all you’ve got?]

Isla snickered, still inside the queen’s body, flying in the air as she circulated the crowd.

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