Chapter 60: Unexpected Reunion
“Hehe~ this scent, oh, how I’ve missed it so much, my dear~” Liyana’s voice whispered into my ear as she clung to me tightly, her presence overwhelming my senses.
She climbed on top of my body, her nightdress draping sensually over her form.
The soft beams of light filtering through the window accentuated her gorgeous face and curvaceous figure, making her look even more enticing.
“L-Liyana, what are you doing?” I asked, confusion lacing my voice as I tried to process everything that was happening. The last thing I remembered was being in the heat of battle.
“I’m just having fun Hehe~… it’s been so long since we could cuddle like this, you know?” Her tone was playful, but the situation was anything but.
I was back in my old room, mysteriously transported from the battlefield. Liyana was with me, acting as if nothing unusual had happened.
My mind raced as I tried to piece together how I went from fighting the tempest wolf and protecting Snow in the stormy biome to lying in my bed, drained of all strength.
‘System….’ I called out in my mind, hoping for some guidance.
[…]
But there was no reply. The silence was deafening, leaving me even more perplexed and worried.
“Liyana, where am I? How did I get here?” I questioned, my voice trembling slightly.
She giggled, leaning closer. “You’re home, Riley. Isn’t it wonderful? You can rest now, no more battles, no more worries. Just us.”
Her words were comforting yet unsettling. Something was definitely off. My last memories were of intense combat, the pressure of the situation, and the life-or-death stakes. Now, I was in the comfort of my room, with Liyana acting as if nothing was wrong.
I tried to sit up, but my body felt heavy, unresponsive. Panic started to set in. “Liyana, this doesn’t make any sense. I was just… I was fighting. How did I end up here?”
She placed a finger on my lips, silencing me. “Shh, don’t worry about that now. You’re safe, and that’s all that matters.” Her eyes, though filled with affection, held a strange intensity that made me uneasy.
Unable to move or understand what was happening, I felt a deep sense of helplessness.
The situation was surreal, and the lack of response from the system only added to my anxiety.
What had happened?
Was this real, or some kind of illusion?
“Hey, you useless bloody system! At least explain something, like anything, please!” I shouted in my mind, desperately seeking any form of response.
[……..]
Once again, no reply came back.
“Hmm~ where are you staring at right now, Riley~?” Liyana’s teasing voice broke through my frustration. It seemed she noticed me staring into the empty air, waiting for a system message to pop up.
Grabbing my chin, Liyana forced me to face her. She sat on top of me, a mischievous glint evident in her eyes as she kept touching and smelling me over and over again.
“Liyana….”
“Hmm~ what is it, darling?” she asked playfully, clearly enjoying herself.
“Can you please stop?” I requested, trying to keep my voice steady.
“I-don’t-want-to~ hehehe” she giggled.
From my cheek to my neck, Liyana got closer, planting gentle kisses like a pecking little bird trying to claim her territory.
Seconds turned into minutes, and I could do nothing against Liyana’s overwhelming strength.
Granted, I had no strength left in me right now, but I doubted it would make any difference in a test of strength against her.
Growing up with her, I knew the best way to satisfy Liyana’s needs and whims was to let her do whatever she wanted.
Of course, I tried to prevent things that bordered on the sexual, but as much as I tried, at the end of the day, it was always her wishes that won.
But as the cute and lovable moments passed….
VOOOM!
Suddenly, an underlying pressure descended upon the room.
‘WTF?’
I thought, as the suffocating and dreadful sensation made my existence feel questioned, urging me to remain still for some reason.
“You’ve been a really bad fiancé, you know, Riley…” Liyana’s voice took on a chilling tone.
“Huh…?”
My confusion deepened, but it quickly turned to fear as the hands that had been gently stroking my chest moved upwards and gripped my neck tightly, choking the very little air out of me.
Tensions rose as Liyana’s eyes locked onto mine.
“You know, Riley, I’ve been very~ very~ patient with you~” she continued, her voice laced with a menacing undertone.
“L-Liyana?” My heart dropped and hastened in intensity as I stared into her crimson blood-red eyes. These weren’t the gentle and affectionate eyes she had always shown me. Instead, they were draconic, signaling the end of my life.
“From the black-haired girl to that golden-haired bitch, and now even the empire’s princess… You’ve been attracting too much attention, my dear~” Liyana said with a dreadful, sadistic smile. Black scales protruded from her neck, and her hands transformed from soft, delicate fingers into black claws reminiscent of talons.
“I knew I shouldn’t have let you go….” she hissed.
Fear gripped my heart. Her transformation was both terrifying and mesmerizing. The room seemed to grow darker as her true nature revealed itself, her dragon lineage coming to the forefront.
“Liyana, please, listen to me,” I pleaded, my voice strained from the pressure on my neck. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. You know how much I care about you.”
“Care about me? Ha!” she scoffed, tightening her grip. “If you truly cared, you wouldn’t have strayed. You wouldn’t have entertained those other women!”
Her words cut deep, and I struggled to breathe, feeling the claws digging into my skin. Desperation filled me as I tried to find a way to diffuse the situation.
Hearing the descriptions of the ladies she mentioned, I immediately understood what was going on.
‘Did she see?’
‘Since when?’
‘How?’
I was pretty sure my Liyana senses weren’t acting up, so how?
Blood splattered out of my neck as Liyana proceeded to lick it, her tongue warm and unsettlingly gentle.
“Liyana, I think there’s been a misunderstanding here” I said with gasped breaths, struggling to keep my voice up with all the pressure on my neck. If the strength she put into it was even a tad bit stronger, my neck would’ve exploded off my body.
“Misunderstanding~? I don’t think so, my dear…. I know you were the apathetic type, so I trusted you… I put my faith in you!” Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at me with the intensity of a wife betrayed by her husband, catching him in the act. She looked at me as if her whole world had ended. “I really trusted you, Riley, and yet… you cheated on me!”
Her words pierced through me, adding to the physical pain. “Liyana, please, listen to me,” I pleaded, my voice trembling. “I didn’t cheat on you. There’s nothing between me and those women. You’re the only one I care about.”
Her grip loosened slightly, but her eyes remained fierce. “Then why? Why were you with them? Why did you let them get close to you?”
“It’s not what you think,” I said, my voice desperate.
Like seriously!
When the fuck did, I cheat on her?
As a matter of fact, I did everything in my power to avoid getting closer to the heroines for a reason. Sure, I may have gotten closer to Seo, but that was more of a friend-type relationship than anything.
I even avoided getting too close with my favorite character, senior Alice, for the very same reason I found myself in right now.
And as for Rose, we were nothing more than acquaintances, Janica and Clara were basically of the same status as well.
Although Snow and I did get a little bit closer, it wasn’t to the point that one would consider it cheating. I even downright ignored and denied her advances.
So, if Liyana really was watching, surely, she would understand, right?
“Riley, you’re mine!” Liyana screamed, her voice filled with anger and desperation.
Her face then deformed as her draconic side started to manifest. Slowly, her once-precious white teeth turned into serrated sharp blades. Her soft lips had slitted cuts in them that went from ear to ear. Horns sprouted from the sides of her head as the mana around her crackled like red lightning.
“Liyana, calm down!” I shouted, trying to reach her through the rage and transformation.
“Calm down? How can I calm down when you’ve been flirting with all those other girls?” Her voice was a guttural growl, a mix of human and dragon.
“I wasn’t flirting! I swear, you’ve misunderstood everything!” I desperately tried to explain, but her transformation continued, her body growing more monstrous by the second.
“Liyana, please, listen to me,” I pleaded. “You’re the only one I love. I did everything I could to keep my distance from them.”
But she didn’t listen….
Slowly but surely, she was turning into the worst monster this world had to offer, becoming the very nightmare I dreadfully tried to prevent for all these years. She was the amalgamation of fear and destruction that would soon eat this world whole.
“I won’t let anyone take you away from me, Riley~!” she said in a whispering tone as she then opened her mouth wide.
Feeling my body slowly tearing apart, I sensed my death looming.
“Liyana, wait!!!”
Screaming with all my might, I tried to prevent her from eating me.
With my arms out in the empty air, I struggled to keep my breath intact.
Huff…! Huff…!
My heartbeat was palpitating in intensity as I could still feel and hear the sensation of destruction touching my skin.
“Riley…?”
A sudden quiet voice caught my attention. I turned around quickly with wide-open eyes.
There, Seo stood with her eyes wide open, a hint of tears evident in her eyes. She looked both unbelievably happy and sad at the same time.
“Seo…?” I asked as confusion grappled over me once more.
‘Wasn’t Liyana trying to kill me just now?’
“You—you’re finally awake!” Seo exclaimed, her voice a mixture of relief and joy. She rushed over to my bedside, her hands trembling as she reached out to touch me.
“W-what happened? Where am I?” I asked, still disoriented.
The last thing I remembered was the sensation of Liyana’s transformation, the suffocating grip of her claws, and the overwhelming fear of imminent death.
“You’re in the medical ward,” Seo explained gently, her fingers brushing my cheek. “You’ve been unconscious for days. We found you on the battlefield, barely alive. I… I was so worried.”
“Days?” The realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
Everything felt surreal, like a fever dream.
‘Seriously, what was going on?’
“But… what about Her Highness Sno—ugh!” My hands landed on my forehead as a headache, similar to an axe being embedded in my brain, pierced through my skull.
“A-are you okay?” Seo suddenly got closer to me, gently tapping me on the back as I struggled to breathe properly. “T-that’s right, d-doctor… wait for a bit, Riley. I’ll call for the doctor, so please rest for a little longer.”
Gently guiding my body back to the bed, Seo glanced at me one last time before immediately running outside of the white room I was in right now.
‘This ceiling… I’m really in the infirmary…’
Haha… Seriously, what in the actual fuck was going on? I closed my eyes, trying to piece together the fragmented memories that swirled in my mind. Liyana, the battle, the tempest wolf, and now… this?
The only thing missing is the overly arrogant and useless system.
[WELCOME BACK MASTER!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS FOR BEING ALIVE! WOHOOOO! YOU WERE SO COOL~~~!!!!]
‘…..’
‘I should’ve stayed asleep’
