Hellbound With You (WN)

Pulling his own blade from his belt, Philip expectantly approached her and lifted his hand to slash at her. Yet his blade never reached her because before he knew it, he was being thrown backwards. The wall crumbled as his back smashed into it, creating an earthquake.

Alicia looked up and saw Zeres looking down at her. His eyes wide with mixed horror and barely suppressed anger.

And then, he turned and she watched him walked towards Philip. The mad witch was already stumbling over, trying to stand.

"My King… what did –" Philip was thrown to the ground this time even before he could fully straighten up. Zeres' had kicked him over and over again without a single word, never allowing the male witch even a single break.

The mad witch eventually tried to fight back using his forbidden curses, but they were futile against Zeres. Because at that moment, Zeres looked like Lucifer himself incarnated. The torture continued until Philip was scrambling on his hands and knees, crawling towards Zeres and begging for mercy.

But Zeres lifted him, suspending him in the air. The mad witch who was already drenched in his own blood smiled, thinking that his king is finally appeased from the beatings given and willing to hear his plea.

Zeres' eyes gleamed with frosty hellfire and the next moment, blood splattered around. Using his b.a.r.e hand, Zeres had gripped Philip's neck, and in a blink of an eye, his head rolled on the floor followed by his body.

Alicia could hardly believe that the brutal man before her was Zeres. She never expected him to kill someone that way. Effortless and brutal. Without any hesitation.

When he turned to her, his silver hair and pale skin was painted in scarlet. The contrast was so vivid and the color of his eyes had changed too.

Slowly, he approached her and crouched before her. His hand reached out to brush her hair away from her face, but he halted the moment he saw his own blood-soaked hand in his field of vision. Gritting his teeth, he clenched his hand and dropped it.

He wiped his hand on his clothes and then placed them to be hovering above her head. Greenish and silverish glow enveloped Alicia once again. Zeres' healing power was unusually warm and strong that Alicia could not even feel any more pain nor discomfort during the process.

Slowly feeling better, Alicia opened her eyes and looked at Zeres. His eyes were back to their normal colour but the bloodl.u.s.t that was emitting from his body still cloaked around him heavily like a living creature. Even if he was quiet, his rage was obvious. She could tell he was angry – but not at her or the mad witch he just brutally killed – but towards himself.

He had yet to look her in the eyes, completely focused on her healing, first and foremost. It was then that Alicia remembered the time. She was certain it was past midnight now and she felt utterly relieved. Now she had to keep him here. Because she now realized something – that Zeres would not hesitate to kill to save her. Though the thought of it made her throat run dry and her heart squeeze hard. She could not help but feel afraid at the extent he was willing to go.

What would happen if he clashed against Alexander or Ezekiel? Alicia's unease suddenly became so intense she began to feel extremely awful.

When she felt that he was about to finish his task, Alicia lifted her hand to touch him. She had to hold onto him. She must not let him go, no matter what. But he caught her wrist, his gaze sharp.

Alicia grabbed onto the sleeve of his shirt as she glared back at him. When suddenly, Zeres whipped his head towards the window.

His sudden reaction made Alicia panic. No! Did he feel something? Had he caught onto something already? She cannot let him notice the activities that were happening outside. The lights from his hand started to disappear and Alicia knew it was because he was going to shift his focus towards something else. He would definitely notice something if…

Fueled by her anxiety, Alicia suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck. She hated that she had to resort to something so basic and female such as this, but she had no other choice.

Zeres instantly became still, completely shocked while Alicia tightened her arms around his neck. She was not going to let him go. If all her efforts in trying to change Zeres' mind is futile, she would at least try to help Ezekiel and the others to make their plans work. She could not accept on how useless she was anymore so she must do everything to keep this person with her.

"Let go," his cold voice echoed after a long while.

"No… Don't leave me, please." She tightened her hold on his neck and begged softly. She then felt Zeres stilled again. "If you leave me again… I'm certain I'd be killed many times over when you come back."

Another long silence went by before he moved. His hands held her forearms, trying to peel her off him. "No one will harm you again. I'll kill them all if they try to –"

"I don't believe you. I am lucky because you arrived right at the very last second. If you were late even for a second later, I'd be dead by now. And you know full well … with my current condition ..." She cut him off, her grip on him tightening a little more. She was thankful he had just healed her, and he deliberately gave her more strength with his strong magic.

She heard a low groan vibrated in his throat. "I said let go!" his voice was controlled. "I won't leave, so just let go, Alicia or else..."

"Or else? What? Are you telling me you're going to rip my arms off you?"

He fell silent for a moment, but she felt him smile, and she was quite certain it was not the pleasant smile that suited him. "Yes. So let go of me now while I'm still sane."

"Go ahead then. I still won't let go –"

"Alicia!!!" he roared, angry. That was the first time he had yelled at her and uttered her name with such cold and angry voice. This should be enough to scare her especially at the way he killed that mad witch before her flashed in her vision. But how could she feel any ounce of fear when his hands on her arms were trembling as he tried to tug at them in great hesitation and obviously unable to make himself harm her?