The Crown's Entrapment

785  Killing Intent

"Don't you dare lay a hand on my wife."

Amon's voice echoed resolutely as Bella held her breath in his arms. The relief she felt was without comparison, his strength radiating off him as he defensively put himself between her and the man that tried to take advantage of her.

"Y-You… You chopped my hand off!" Bulun screamed as he clutched at the bloody stump that was once his hand. "You'll pay for that!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

Bella could only watch as Amon screamed at everyone around them. He was like an animal guarding its precious territory, and she didn't even hesitate to just stand by as Amon began to wreak havoc on the entire enemy caravan.

Despite already having full control of her body, she simply stood by as Amon punched and kicked his way through the enemy. Unlike her, the carnage he wrought was unmistakable as blood and guts littered the area. With each punch and kick, their enemies seemed to explode into a bloody mist as her husband's overwhelming power proved too much for the poor bastards.

"He's just one man!" Bulun screamed. "How are you all this incompetent!?"

She couldn't help but chuckle at Bulun's protests. As if he even had the right to complain when his own feeble attempts at fighting her husband didn't even leave so much as a scratch on Amon's body. There was simply no contest, and it wasn't long until Amon practically had the entire enemy caravan dead under his feet with Bulun completely at his mercy. The few who were left didn't even attempt to attack him, their fear keeping them rooted where they stood as they watched along with her helplessly.

"Wait! You can't do this!" Bulun screamed as Amon picked him up by the arms. "Lord Devon will destroy you! He'll never stop until he has you and your family under his heel!"

Bella almost wanted to say a few choice words of her own, but Amon's grunt stopped her from doing so. His voice was grave as his blood-soaked body glistened against the light, his muscles rippling as he held Bulun's body aloft with nothing but his strength.

"N-No! NOOO!!!"

Slowly, Amon began to rip Bulun apart limb from limb. Bella watched as her husband gave the man what was coming to her, Bulun's sickening screams doing nothing to her except give her satisfaction as her husband tore the man apart until all that were indistinguishable pieces of meat on the ground.

That… was kind of gruesome, even for her. "You didn't even leave him alive as a witness," she pointed out with a gasp. "Then again, he deserved every second of agony you gave him anyway."

Silence was the only response she got, and it was then that Bella noticed that something was wrong. "Amon?"

The more she looked at him, the more she noticed that her husband's stance was menacing even to her. His back was hatched, his muscles rippling as malice and anger rolled off him in spades.

"RRAAAGHHH!!!"

"Amon!?"

To her horror, Amon suddenly lunged at the few men that were still there, his fists balled up with fury as he began to beat them to a pulp. He wasn't himself anymore, and even she could tell what was happening.

"Amon, snap out of it!" she screamed at him. "It's over! I'm safe!"

Unfortunately, her words rang on deaf ears as Amon continued on his rampage. His warpath was scaring even her, and she couldn't help but think that once he ran out of enemies to kill, that he would turn his sights on her next.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to try-

"We're here!"

Bella was taken out of her frightened musings as Jayra's voice came from right behind her. With Bartos in tow, she couldn't help but feel relieved at their sudden arrival. She didn't know how they found her, but she was glad that they arrived in time to maybe help her snap her husband out of this.

"Bella, are you safe?!" Bartos immediately asked, only to see Amon on a rampage right in front of them. "Ah, right… I'll hold him off."

"I'll try to calm the dark energy within him down then," Jayra seconded as she began to chant a few spells. "Hold him down, Bartos."

Bella narrowed her eyes at the sudden intervention. "Wait, you two already know what's happening?"

"I saw it happening earlier when his anger and killing intent grew," Jayra explained even as she did her job. "Devon's energy inside him has been growing stronger and stronger the longer you were missing. We just chased him all the way out here, and it's only fortunate that he actually found you."

"Then I guess we can save the explanations for later," Bella nodded as she turned her sights on her husband who was currently being restrained by Bartos. "For now, let's get Amon back."

"Wait, are you thinking of walking up to him?!" Jayra incredulously asked. "You don't have the spell I put on Bartos earlier, and the dark energy coming off Amon right now can injure you!" "I will. I believe he can overcome this," Bella said in determination. "I'm sure of it."

Without fear, Bella stepped forward, the dark energy surrounding them seemingly not affecting her as approached. With Bartos still trying to keep him bound, Amon was practically kicking and screaming despite the man restraining him doing his best to keep him from going rampant.

"Bella?! What're you doing here?!" Bartos screamed at her. "I'm barely holding onto him as it is!"

Ignoring Bartos, Bella simply walked up to Amon, her hand reaching out to him as she smiled at him. "Amon, it's fine. You can stop this." She looked him straight in the eye, her love for him shining through as she ignored the pressure the dark energy was subjecting her defenseless body to. "I'm here now. I'm safe…."

With full confidence, she cupped Amon's face and leaned in to kiss him, her entire being burning from the dark energy even as she poured her love and soul into him. To her joy, the aura around them seemingly weakened, slowly but surely, until the foreboding feeling around them simply ceased to exist.

"B-Bella?"

"Amon…" she lovingly whispered to him, tears prickling in her eyes as she held him. "I'm glad you're finally with us again."

For a second, Amon reached out to touch her, only for his arm to turn slack as he lost consciousness.